Don’t Fall for the Billionaire Lover

Connor's voice echoed in the darkness, and Chloe broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.

He sounded more panicked than she'd ever heard him, trying to calm her even though his own voice was barely there.

"Hey, don't cry, babe... I wish I could reach over and wipe your tears right now."

Chloe could picture exactly what was happening-he was pinned under the rubble, totally stuck. She was almost sure he'd thrown himself over her when everything came crashing down. He had to be in terrible pain.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt?" she asked, voice shaking.

Connor let out a soft laugh, trying to sound tough.

"No, it doesn't hurt. Not at all."

But Chloe could hear it-the way he was forcing himself to sound okay, the weakness in every word.

She wanted to cry even harder, but held it in. If she lost it now, it would only make things worse for him.

Everything around them was pitch black. Only their shallow, uneven breaths broke the silence.

Neither of them knew how deep they were buried, or what was happening outside, or if there was even a chance they'd make it out alive.

A sick feeling settled in her chest. The odds weren't good.

"Connor... we might really die in here," she whispered.

"We won't," he said, as if sheer willpower could make it true. "My brother will find us. He won't give up."

She wanted to believe him. She could picture his brother-probably tearing the earth apart to get to them.

But hundreds of meters underground? It felt impossible.

Still, she forced herself to sound steady.

"Promise me, okay? Hang on until he finds us. You can't die, Connor. You hear me?"

Neither of them could move an inch, crushed beneath the weight of earth and stone. Chloe could hear it in his voice-he was hurt bad, maybe worse than he'd let on. Her heart was pounding, every second ticking by like a countdown she couldn't stop.

Connor tried to reassure her, his voice gentle and soft.

"I promise, Chloe. I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay with you."

Time crawled by, each minute colder than the last.

"Connor," she said quietly, "let's just talk, okay?"

"Yeah. Of course."

She took a shaky breath. "Can I tell you a secret? I actually liked you from the very first moment I saw you."

He tried to tease her. “You mean at Bluewater Bar, when you thought I was a male model?"

Chloe smiled in the darkness, shaking her head.

"Nope.

When I was five, at Center

Hospital. We didn't actually meet for the first time by the river-it was on the hospital lawn. You used to sit on this bench every morning at nine, catching sun. I'd go out on the

balcony just to watch you

"I remember thinking, 'How can there be such a good-looking boy? Even better than Lucas.'

I obsessed over how to get you to notice me-like dropping my ice cream on you

by accident, or 'losing' a hair clip near the bench so I could come look for it. Every day I just wanted to meet the cute boy on the grass."

"That day by the river wasn't a coincidence, either. I followed you. You looked so sad, and I kept

wondering why someone so pre et

could took so lost. When I thought you might jump, I couldn't stay quiet-I had to do something."

"Do you remember, when we went back together, I gave you a lollipop? I'd been saving it since the first time I saw you. I told myself, someday I'd hand it to you, and then we'd be friends."

Chloe laughed a little at the memory.

"You always thought you were the mastermind in our story, but really, it was just a little five-year-old girl who'd already picked you out. I had my eye on you from the very start."noveldrama

She let out a sigh.

"It's just... a shame I forgot about you for so many years."

Connor was quiet for a moment, genuinely surprised. He'd always thought the river was where it all began. He never realized Chloe had been watching him long before that.

He managed a weak laugh.

"So, when you were five, you liked me for my looks. Fifteen years later, you still

fell for my face. You're really loyal, you know that?"

Chloe laughed a real, shaky laugh that made her eyes sting.

"What, are you calling me shallow?"

"Absolutely," he teased, and she huffed in protest.

Connor's tone softened. "But honestly, that's probably the one thing I can thank them for Claire and Killian. They gave me this face, and because of it, I got you."

That made Chloe's heart twist.

She hesitated, then asked, "Connor... do you hate them?"

It was something she'd always wondered, something she needed to know.

"No. Not anymore," he said quietly.

"My life's been a mess, but I don't

want to remember all that pain. I just want to remember the good things. Like you. Every second we've had together. Even this-being here with you I feel happy."

Chloe felt tears sting her eyes all over again.

They kept talking, their words filling the darkness as the minutes slipped away.

Neither of them knew how long they'd been trapped.

Connor's voice grew softer, each reply quieter than the last.