Reborn at Eighteen The Billionaire's Second Chance novel Chapter 114

“Making a ” I stared at him. “He lied! He stole from me! That money

was mine!”

“That money is gone, Elara.” His jaw was tight. “Whether it was spent

on you or not doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is you just

humiliated my grandfather in his own home on his eightieth

birthday!”

“He humiliated me first!”

“You don’t get it, do you?” Julian stepped closer. His eyes were dark,

intense. “Those people down there? They don’t care about truth or

fairness. They care about power. About who holds it. And right now,

you have none. So standing up there, demanding things, making

accusations–all you did was make yourself look desperate and

ungrateful.”

The words hit like physical blows. Because he was right. I knew he

was right. I’d seen it in their faces, heard it in their whispers.

But I couldn’t just let it go. Couldn’t just smile and nod and accept-

“He owed me that money.” My voice came out small. Broken. “It was

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Chapter 114

all I had left of my father.”

Something shifted in Julian’s expression. The anger didn’t disappear,

but it… softened. Slightly.

He looked away. Jaw working.

“The money,” he said after a long moment. “Your father’s insurance

payout. How much was it supposed to be?”

I blinked. “I… I don’t know the exact amount. But Mamá said it was

enough for college. Enough to-”

“I’ll find out.” He still wasn’t looking at me. “I’ll check the records.

The original trust documents. And if there’s anything left, anything

that was supposed to be yours… I’ll transfer it to your account.”

My heart stuttered. “You… what?”

“But.” He turned back, and his eyes were hard again. “You have to go

back down there tonight. You have to smile, and thank Grandfather

for his generosity, and play the grateful ward. Can you do that?”

Could I?

The thought of walking back into that ballroom, facing those pitying,

Chapter 114

contemptuous stares, pretending everything was fine when my

father’s memory had just been violated, his legacy stolen-

“Why?” The word came out hoarse. “Why would you help me?”

Julian’s expression went carefully blank. “Because you’re making my

life difficult. And this is the fastest way to make it stop.”

A lie.

I could see it in the tension around his eyes, the way his hands had

curled into fists at his sides. But I didn’t push. Didn’t question.

Because I was tired. So tired. And I needed that money. Needed it to

get out. To survive.

“Fine.” I wrapped my arms around myself. “I’ll go back down. I’ll play

nice. Just… can I have a minute? To… compose myself?”

His shoulders relaxed fractionally, “Stay here. I’ll have Anna bring you

some water. Something to eat. You haven’t had anything all night.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Elara.” His voice dropped. “Don’t argue with me right now.”

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Chapter 114

I wanted to. God, I wanted to. But the fight had drained out of me,

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