The Billionaire's Intern (Maya Thompson) novel Chapter 490

<Chapter 219. Nothing But a Transaction

Chapter 219: Nothing But a Transaction

The echo of her desperate plea bled out into the freezing afternoon air.

But the damage was already done.

Near the main entrance, a few employees heading out for their break stopped dead in their tracks, their jaws dropping at the scene unfolding.

Down the sidewalk, passersby slowed to a crawl, nudging one another and whispering furiously as they took in the sudden, scandalous spectacle of a woman groveling on the pavement.

Yet, despite the shock, not a single person dared to pull out a phone.

In this district, everyone knew better.

The name Nicholas Ashcroft carried the weight of an emperor. His face was instantly recognizable to almost anyone, especially in the heart of the high-stakes corporate district, where even the executives sitting at the very top of the towering high-rises could only dream of meeting him.

As the heir to one of the five most powerful families, he was known not just as a powerful billionaire, but as one of the most elite, untouchable bachelors in the city.

Messing with a man like him was practically a death wish.

Brandy remained on her knees, completely exposed to the gathering audience, her chest heaving as she stared through her tears.

She had expected a reaction.

She had expected him to match her fire, to burn her down with his wrath, or at least acknowledge the raw, bleeding confession she had just ripped from her chest.

Instead, her grand declaration of love seemed to vanish into the void of his indifference.

The gathering crowd didn’t faze him. Ashcroft didn’t even look toward the onlookers, completely unbothered by the pathetic public scene unfolding around him.

He didn’t yell. He didn’t even sneer.

Instead, he just looked down at her, his expression shifting from blind rage into a cold, devastating calm, The sheer pity in his dark eyes was far more punishing than a blow to the face.

“It’s not a crime to love someone, Ms. Martinez,” he said, his voice terrifyingly quiet, dropping like lead in the freezing air.

He took a slow step closer, towering over her as he gestured casually at her trembling, tear-stained form on the pavement.

“But this?”

<Chapter 219. Nothing But a Transaction

His voice turned icy, dripping with quiet disgust. “This pathetic public spectacle you’re putting on? It’s disgrace.”

Brandy’s breath caught, her tears freezing on her cheeks.

“You knew exactly what this was from the very start,” Nick continued, his tone stripping away all her romantic illusions with surgical precision.

“It was a transaction. A job. You were paid for your time, and you walked away with exactly what you negotiated, probably even more.”

A short, humorless laugh escaped him as his hand swept lazily toward the concrete driveway.

“No one forced you into that place, let alone into that room, and no one forced you to stay. So don’t sit there in the dirt acting like a victim of love when you’re just a professional who forgot how to do her job.

His gaze narrowed, turning razor-sharp.

“I don’t owe you my time or attention, and I certainly don’t owe you my heart just because you decided to

catch feelings, Ms. Martinez.”

His voice remained low-smooth, dark, and heavy enough to crush her without a shred of effort.

Leaning down slightly, he forced her to look into the absolute void of his eyes.

“You knew the rules of the world you chose. You were paid to be a fantasy for most, and a temporary distraction-a physical release to some. That is it.”

The words hung in the air between them, stripping away every ounce of romantic delusion she had spent two years building.

“You’re paid for your silence and your convenience, not your obsession,” Nick continued. A flicker of pure revulsion crossed his face before hardening into stone. “And right now? You’re ruining the only thing about you that actually had any value.”

He took a step back, looking at her like she was nothing but a stain on the pavement.

“Your professionalism.”

The word struck her with the force of a physical slap..

She shrank back into herself, her fingers scraping helplessly against the cold concrete as if trying to find something, anything, to hold onto.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify