New beginning: Billionaire love story

Alexander lay in his massive, king-sized bed, staring at the ceiling. It was one of those frustrating nights where sleep just refused to come. He rolled over and glanced at the clock-3 AM. Great. His mind wouldn't shut off, and he knew exactly why. Claire.noveldrama

He couldn't stop thinking about her. No matter how much time had passed, no matter how many times he tried to distract himself, she kept sneaking back into his thoughts. Was there a chance they could reconcile? Or was it too late?

He sighed, running a hand through his messy hair, knowing full well that Claire wasn't the kind of person who forgave easily. Especially not after everything that had happened.

Annoyed with himself for even entertaining the idea, he got out of bed. Sleep clearly wasn't happening, so he might as well do something productive. He headed to the kitchen, the soft hum of the city outside barely audible from his penthouse high above the streets. Grabbing a mug, he poured himself some coffee-black, just the way he liked it.

He made his way to his study, pushing the door open with his shoulder. The space was immaculate, filled with expensive furniture, shelves lined with books he never had the time to read, and the soft glow of a desk lamp casting long shadows. Alexander flicked on the TV, letting it play quietly in the background. He hated silence. It always made him think too much.

Sitting down at his desk, he took a sip of his coffee, the bitterness snapping him back into focus. Time to get to work. He opened his laptop, his fingers immediately tapping away on the keys. He had some meetings to schedule with investors for his hotel. There was always something that needed his attention, something to keep his mind occupied and away from Claire.

Hours passed, the coffee in his mug long gone and his eyes growing heavy, when suddenly, something on the TV caught his attention. He paused, his fingers freezing mid-type as he turned toward the screen. The newscaster was talking about a car explosion. Alexander wasn't really listening until he heard a name that made his blood run cold.

"Adrian Saint Laurent."

He frowned, his heart skipping a beat. The footage on the screen showed a charred car, still smoldering as police swarmed the scene, investigating.

"Breaking news: a car belonging to Adrian Saint Laurent, grandson of one of the wealthiest men in the world, Mr. Laurent himself, was found in flames late tonight..."

Alexander's hand froze over the keyboard. His gaze shot up to the TV. The image on the screen showed a car-completely charred, still smoking in the night. Police officers were walking around it, investigating the wreckage.

He frowned, sitting up straighter. "What the hell?" he muttered to himself, leaning forward and turning the volume up.

Alexander's frown deepened as he stared at the screen, trying to make sense of it.

What was going on?

The reporter continued, "The fire is now under control, and authorities are still looking into the cause of the explosion. No official statements have been made yet, but sources say Adrian Saint Laurent was injured. His condition is unknown at this time."

The car was totaled, practically cooked from the inside out. The fire had been put out, but the damage was obvious. As the camera panned to the police on the scene, Alexander felt a sudden, sharp knot form in his stomach.

Could Claire have been with him? The thought made his chest tighten with anger. If she had been with Adrian and gotten hurt... He clenched his jaw at the very idea.

Without thinking, he grabbed his phone and scrolled through his contacts, finding Claire's name. His finger hovered above it, hesitation creeping in. What was he going to say? Claire would never answer a call from him, not now. He cursed under his breath and tossed his phone on the desk.

There had to be another way.

After a moment, an idea struck him. He picked up the phone again, this time dialing a different number. His Pl. The guy was good, and more importantly, discreet. It took a few rings-probably because it was almost 4 AM-but finally, the line picked up. "Yeah?" came the groggy voice on the other end.

"Sorry to wake you," Alexander said, his tone firm but apologetic. "I need you to look into something for me. Adrian Saint Laurent. There was a car explosion, and I need to know what happened."

The PI grumbled something unintelligible, but Alexander could hear him shuffling out of bed. "I'll look into it," the PI mumbled. "Give me a couple minutes."

"Thanks." Alexander ended the call and sat back in his chair, rubbing his temples. This wasn't how he wanted to spend the night, but something about the whole thing didn't sit right with him.

He turned back to his laptop, but the work on the screen blurred. His mind kept drifting back to Claire, to Adrian, to the damn car explosion. Annoyed, he opened a browser and started searching for updates. After a few minutes of refreshing the news feed, hefound what he was looking for.

A video of Mr. Saint Laurent, Adrian's grandfather, leaving the hospital. The old man looked as composed as ever, despite the journalists swarming him, throwing questions his way. His security team tried to shield him from the barrage of cameras, but the man didn't flinch. "My grandson is fine," he said sternly. "He's okay. There's nothing more to say."

With that, he got into a sleek black car and drove off, leaving the reporters in his dust.

Alexander frowned, still feeling unsettled. If Adrian was fine, what exactly would have happened? Before he could think too much about it, his phone rang again. It was his Pl.

"Got some info for you," the PI said, sounding more awake now. "Adrian Saint Laurent was having dinner with Claire Peterson when the car blew up."

Alexander's grip tightened on the phone. "Claire was there?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, she's fine. Only Adrian got hurt, but they haven't released any details on how bad it is or why the car exploded."

Alexander sighed in relief, but the anger was still there, simmering just beneath the surface. "Thanks. Let me know if you find anything else."

He ended the call, leaning back in his chair, deep in thought. Something about this whole situation was off. Cars didn't just explode. Not unless they were faulty-or tampered with. His mind raced with possibilities. What if someone had planted something? What if this was intentional? Adrian Saint Laurent wasn't exactly a nobody-he had

enemies, no doubt.

Alexander's jaw tightened. This was why he didn't trust Adrian. There was something about him that screamed trouble, and now Claire was caught up in it. She needed to stay far away from him, but would she listen? Probably not.

Still, Alexander couldn't shake the

feeling that he had to do something.

He wasn't the type to sit back and let things unfold on their own. If Adrian had enemies capable of this, then Claire was in danger. And if Claire was in danger, well... he wasn't going

tejust stand by and let it happen.

He stared at his phone, his finger hovering over Claire's contact once again. He could warn her, tell her to stay away from Adrian, but would she believe him? Or would she just assume he was trying to meddle in her life? Either way, he had to try. He couldn't let this go.

Taking a deep breath, he made a decision. Tomorrow, he would find a way to talk to Claire. She needed to know that she couldn't trust Adrian, and even if she didn't want to hear it from him, he wasn't going to let her get caught in the crossfire. Claire was too important for that.