Don’t Fall for the Billionaire Lover

Connor watched helplessly as Chloe broke down, her sobs shaking her whole body. He felt his own eyes burn with tears.

He knew exactly what the past year had been like-for both of them. Every minute, every tiny moment was burned into his memory. For him, it had felt like his soul was locked away, shut in some small, dark box with nothing but endless emptiness and despair for company.

Connor had been through his share of hard times, more than most, and there had been plenty of moments when hope seemed completely out of reach. But nothing compared to this—the relentless, suffocating darkness that never seemed to end.

If Chloe hadn't been there, talking to him every day, keeping him tethered to the world, he honestly didn't know if he would've made it. She'd become his only light, the single bright thread in a year that had felt like one long, endless night.

He never gave up, though. Every day, he fought to claw his way back. It was like being a seed buried deep in frozen soil, waiting through countless cold nights, finally breaking free and reaching toward the sun.

Now, all those emotions-shock, relief, wild joy-crashed through him at once. But seeing Chloe crying like this wiped everything else away, leaving only a deep, aching pain for her. The past year had been harder on her than on him. She'd faced everything: the loneliness, the exhaustion, the harsh glare of the media, the constant pressure from work. Connor couldn't even imagine what it took to survive all that.

And now, all the feelings they'd both held in came pouring out at once.

Chloe cried as if her whole world was falling apart. All Connor could do was hold her hand tightly, refusing to let go.

Right then, Isaac and Winston showed up.

The moment they saw Chloe, they understood-something terrible had

happened. Both men froze in the doorway, eyes immediately welling up with tears.

Isaac couldn't bring himself to step inside. He was a big guy, but tears streamed down his face anyway.noveldrama

Memories of battling side by signet

with Connor flashed through his mind-the fights they'd survived together, the way they'd built their Al company from nothing, the endless nights, the laughter, the sense that anything was possible.

It broke him. Isaac just sank to his knees in the hall, sobbing.

Winston was quieter, but the pain was no less real. He swallowed it down, stepped into the hallway, and started calling the family. Chloe needed all the support she could get right now.

The Shaw family lived close by. As soon as they got the call, they rushed to the hospital.

The Sartori family heard the news soon after. Marian fainted when she found out. Jeffery and Nemo werez together they dropped everything and headed straight to the hospital. Valeria and Madison were overseas, but the butler called them right away. They hadn't always been

close to Connor, but after everything

they'd all been through, after

learning the truth about his past,

things had changed. Old grudges

over family money felt pointless now. They cared about him-maybe more than anyone realized.

Over the past year, while Connor was bedridden, Chloe had searched high and tow for the best doctors, even tried every weird remedy

people suggested. She'd turn net

down most of the stranger ideas, but she always appreciated the effort.

Now, hearing that their brother was gone, Valeria and Madison cried as they frantically searched for the next flight home.

It didn't take long before the hallway outside Connor's room was packed with people. Everyone saw Isaac still sitting at the door, sobbing, and Winston leaning against the wall, silent, his eyes red and shining with tears.