Under His Billionaire Roof novel Chapter 24

Noah avoided her for two days.

Leighton caught glimpses of him. Leaving early for work. Coming home late. His office door always closed. No midnight texts. No stolen glances across the dinner table.

It was like they'd gone back to the beginning. Strangers sharing a house.

Except now it hurt worse. Because now she knew what his touch felt like. How he tasted. The sound he made when she kissed that spot on his neck.

Friday night, Chloe went out with friends. Left Leighton alone in the house with Noah.

She tried to stay in her room. Tried to focus on apartment listings. On packing. On anything except the man down the hallway who wouldn't talk to her.

At ten, she heard his office door open. Footsteps in the hallway. Then a knock on her door.

She opened it. He stood there in jeans and a wrinkled t-shirt. Dark circles under his eyes. Hair a mess.

"Can we talk?" His voice was rough. Tired.

"Okay."

He walked past her into the room. Paced to the window. Back to the door. Restless energy radiating off him.

"I've been thinking," he said finally.

"About?"

"About you leaving. About this job."

"Noah..."

"Don't take it."

The words hung in the air. Simple. Direct. Impossible.

"What?"

"The job. Don't take it. Stay here."

Her heart hammered against her ribs. "Why?"

"Because..." He stopped. Started again. "Because I don't want you to go."

"That's not a reason."

"It's my reason."

"It's not enough."

"Why not?"

"Because wanting me to stay isn't the same as having a reason for me to stay." She crossed her arms. "Give me a real reason, Noah. One that means something."

"I just did."

"No. You told me you don't want me to leave. That's about you. About what you want. I need to know why I should give up this job. This opportunity. This chance to start over somewhere that isn't here."

He was quiet. His jaw working. Hands clenched at his sides.

"Tell me you have feelings for me," she said. "Tell me this is more than just sex. Tell me you want to try. Really try. Not just sneaking around but actual dating. A real relationship."

"Leighton..."

"Say it. If you mean it, say it."

"It's not that simple."

"Yes, it is. Either you have feelings for me or you don't. Either you want this to be something real or you don't."

"I don't know what I feel."

The words were like a slap. "You don't know."

"I'm trying to figure it out."

"Well, figure it out faster. Because I have a job offer that starts in two weeks. I have a chance to build a life that doesn't involve hiding and lying and pretending I don't care about someone who can't decide if he cares about me."

"I do care about you."

"But not enough."

"That's not fair."

"None of this is fair." Her voice rose. "I made the rules. No feelings. Just physical. Because I was stupid enough to think I could do that. That I could just sleep with you and get over my feelings for you. But I couldn't. And now I'm leaving because staying here, being with you like this, it's destroying me."

"So you're just going to run away?"

"I'm not running. I'm choosing myself. I'm choosing a future where I'm not waiting for you to figure out what you want. Where I'm not the secret you're ashamed to admit."

"I'm not ashamed of you."

"Then tell Chloe. Tell her we've been sleeping together. That we're... whatever we are. Tell her you want me to stay."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because she'll never forgive me. She has one rule. One. And I broke it."

"So you care more about Chloe's opinion than you do about me."

"That's not what I said."

"It's what you meant."

He moved closer. Close enough to touch. But he didn't. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to fight for me. I want you to choose me. I want you to stop hiding behind excuses and admit that you feel something."

"I do feel something."

"What? What do you feel?"

"I don't know how to describe it."

"Try."

"I feel like I can't breathe when you're not around. Like something's missing. Like I'm going crazy trying to figure out how to make this work when everything says it shouldn't." His voice was raw. Desperate. "I feel like I'm losing my mind and the only thing that makes sense is you."

Her breath caught. "Noah..."

"Yes."

"That's not fair."

"Life isn't fair. Love isn't fair. But I'm not going to put my life on hold waiting for you to decide if I'm worth the risk."

"You are worth the risk."

"Then prove it."

They stared at each other. Both breathing hard. Both hurting.

"I can't," he said finally. "I can't give you what you're asking for."

Something inside her shattered. "Then I guess we're done here."

"Leighton..."

"I'm taking the job. I'm moving in two weeks. And whatever this was, it's over."

"Just like that?"

"What else do you want from me? You can't tell me how you feel. Can't commit to trying. Can't even give me a reason to stay that's more than 'I don't want you to go.' So yes. Just like that."

He looked like she'd physically hit him. "This is really what you want?"

"No. But it's what I need."

"I don't understand the difference."

"I know. That's part of the problem."

He moved to the door. Stopped with his hand on the handle. "I'm sorry. For everything."

"Me too."

He left. The door closed behind him with a soft click.

Leighton sank onto her bed. Wrapped her arms around herself. Tried to hold the pieces together.

Two weeks. She had two weeks to pack her life. Say goodbye to Chloe. Leave this house and everything in it.

Including Noah.

Her phone buzzed. A text from him.

*I do care about you. More than I know how to say. I just don't know if that's enough.*

She stared at the message. Wanted to respond. Wanted to tell him it could be enough if he'd just try.

But she didn't. Because caring wasn't the same as choosing. And she was tired of being something he cared about but wouldn't fight for.

She deleted the message. Turned off her phone. Lay back on the bed.

In two weeks, this would all be over. The sneaking around. The lies. The heartbreak.

She'd be free.

So why did freedom feel like losing everything?