New beginning: Billionaire love story

Claire rubbed her tired eyes, staring at the never-ending stream of paperwork on her computer screen. She had been pulling an all-nighter, going through documents and files for a potential new client that could change the game for her company. The glow of her desk As she scrolled through another tedious contract, her phone buzzed loudly on the desk, snapping her out of her zone. Glancing at the screen, she groaned. "Oh great, it's him."

lamp flickered slightly, reminding her of how much she had been burning the midnight oil lately. But there was no time for rest. Not yet.

It was Alexander.

Claire rolled her eyes, ignoring the call. She didn't have the patience to deal with whatever drama he wanted to drag her into tonight. But the phone kept vibrating, buzzing like an annoying mosquito that wouldn't quit. After the third call, her patience was gone. She grabbed the phone and forcefully swiped to answer, her voice dripping with irritation.

"What?" she barked into the phone, clearly annoyed.

There was silence on the other end, just the sound of breathing. Claire narrowed her eyes, gripping the phone tighter. "If you're just gonna breathe into the phone like a creep, I'm hanging up."

Finally, Alexander spoke, his voice low and hesitant. "Claire, I wanted to talk."

Claire sighed loudly, leaning back in her chair. "I don't want to talk, Alexander. In case you haven't noticed, I'm working."

"But it's important-"

"Nothing you have to say is important to me," she cut him off coldly. "Why are you even calling me at this hour? Where I am or what I'm doing is none of your business."

There was a pause, and Claire could almost hear Alexander scrambling for words. Before he could come up with anything, Claire shook her head and ended the call. With a huff, she tossed her phone onto the desk and flipped it to silent mode. She had more important things to deal with than whatever Alexander wanted to whine about tonight.

By the time midnight rolled around, Claire had had enough. Her eyes were blurry, and she couldn't focus on the screen anymore. Deciding to call it a night, she shut down her computer, switched off the lamp, and grabbed her bag. The office was eerily quiet-everyone had left hours ago, and she was likely the only one still there.

As she stepped into the elevator and headed down to the lobby, she absentmindedly fumbled with her car keys. She wasn't expecting anything unusual, just a quick escape to her car and straight home to collapse in bed. But as soon as the elevator doors slid open, she froze.

There, sitting in one of the lobby chairs, was Alexander.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Claire muttered under her breath. She rolled her eyes and started walking toward the exit, determined to ignore him completely.

But Alexander wasn't going to let her off that easily. The moment he spotted her, he jumped up and hurried over, standing directly in her path. Claire stopped abruptly, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot impatiently. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her tone sharp with irritation. "It's midnight. Shouldn't you be, I don't know, anywhere else?"noveldrama

Alexander shifted nervously on his feet, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wanted to apologize... for what I did. I acted stupidly a few days ago."

Claire raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Stupidly? Yeah, that's one way to put it. You punched Adrian, Alexander. If anyone deserves an apology, it's him, not me."

He sighed, nodding. "You're right, but-"

Claire held up her hand, stopping

him mid-sentence. "But nothing. I've

heard enough of your excuses and apologies. And guess what? You never change. You do the same thing over and over again, and then you come crawling back, saying sorry like it's supposed to fix everything." She took a step closer, her voice cutting through the silence. "It doesn't."

Her words hit Alexander like a punch to the gut. He'swallowed hard, feeling his chest tighten. For a

u

moment, he didn't know what to say, didn't know how to respond. He stared at Claire, trying to find something-anything-that would make her see he was trying, that he wasn't the same person she thought he was. But the words just wouldn't come.

Maybe she's right, he thought to himself. Maybe this is a sign. Maybe it's time to stop chasing after her, to let her go. But deep down, he knew he couldn't. He was too attached to her, too wrapped up in what they had-or what they used to have.

Claire sighed, shaking her head in frustration. "Look, Alexander, whatever this is, whatever you think this is-it's over. We're done. Our relationship is strictly business now, nothing more." She uncrossed her arms, turning to walk past him toward the entrance. "You need to let it go.

Alexander opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He watched as Claire strode past him, her heels clicking sharply against the lobby floor. She didn't look back once.

She pulled out her car keys, unlocked her car, and slid inside without a second thought. Alexander stood frozen in place, watching as she drove away, the tail lights disappearing into the night.

He stood there for what felt like an eternity, his heart sinking as the weight of her words settled in. Apologies wouldn't fix this. Nothing he could say or do would change the way things had become.

Claire was gone, and he was left standing alone in the empty lobby, wondering why he couldn't just let her go.

Eligos leaned forward, his eyes glued to the glowing computer screen, fingers dancing across the keys as he orchestrated his plan. He'd been at this for hours, no breaks, no distractions.

The dim light of the room and the quiet hum of his computer were the only companions in his dark hideout. His eyes flicked from one screen to another, absorbing data, clicking through endless files, setting traps, laying the groundwork for what was about to unfold.

For a few days, he'd been digging into Claire Peterson's digital life, trying to figure out what made her tick. And today, he finally hit gold.

He smirked, shaking his head in disbelief as he stared at his findings. "Well, well, well... What do we have here?" he muttered under his breath. His eyes glinted with amusement as the truth unfolded before him like a complex puzzle.

Claire Peterson, the woman who looked so clean-cut and untouchable, had been hiding the biggest secret of all. She was The Raven. The creator of Cryptonic. Eligos chuckled softly, almost in awe of her.

"Who would've thought? Miss Perfect has been playing a whole different game this entire time."

Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arms over his chest, watching the screen with a mixture of admiration and irritation. "She's good," he said, laughing to himself. "Real good. But that's what makes this even more fun."

For years, Cryptonic had been the stuff of legends in the hacker world, a near-impenetrable system designed by a ghost. No one knew who had built it. No one even had a clue. And now, sitting in his dark room with only the soft glow of his screens to illuminate him, Eligos had cracked the mystery.

The image of Claire's face stared

back at him from his monitor. She looked innocent enough, almost too innocent Eligos narrowed his eyes, studying her picture as if searching for some hidden clue in her expression. How could someone who looked so... ordinary, be at the

center of something this big?

"A snake," he muttered, his voice low, filled with icy disdain. "You've been hiding in plain sight this whole time."

His fingers tapped idly on the desk as he stared at her face. "But tomorrow," he whispered to himself, his lips curling into a wicked grin, "tomorrow, the game begins."