Billionaire's match novel

---- Chapter 530 Nick analyzed the consequences with painstaking care-but in all the scenarios he imagined, as long as Khloe came through unscathed, he felt no fear, no regret. Khloe's chest tightened, a mixture of gratitude and anger rising in her. "What if you... if you get hurt while protecting me?" Even imagining the possibility made her chest ache. She could still see the mountainside, the peril, the way her heart had stopped-she would never, ever go through that again. One near- loss was enough. "| won't get hurt." Nick understood her thoughts before she could finish speaking.

He didn't wait for her protests, instead starting to soothe her, brushing her cheek and neck with gentle kisses and tender caresses. But Khloe wasn't in the mood. She pushed him back slightly. "How can you say you won't get hurt? Do you think you're made of steel? Even steel breaks when the sky falls... didn't you almost die saving someone?" He had risked everything for that little girl. If he had... if he had truly given his life, what would she have done? ---- Khloe knew the fire in his heart, and she felt the weight of every word he spoke about protecting her.

She loved that fiery, incorruptible spirit buried deep in his bones. Yet sometimes, she wished he could be a little selfish, a little more mindful of himself. "You promised me-you can't only think about sacrificing yourself in the future. Even if you love me, it shouldn't be this way. Protecting yourself first is a form of love for me, too." She felt it necessary to emphasize it again. She lifted her hand, curling her fingers toward him "Promise me-if we ever face danger at the same time, you save yourself first.

That's perfectly normal, even if we're married..." "I can't." Normally, whatever Khloe asked, Nick would agree instantly. Listening to his wife was always the most important thing Usually, these "promises" were just words-they'd never actually face such dangers. But today was different. The risk was real, tangible, and unavoidable. If it happened, he couldn't promise her that he wouldn't sacrifice himself. Beneath his gentleness and composure lay an unbreakable love ---- for her.

Khloe felt it in every glance, every touch, every quiet word Her hand lingered in midair, staring into the depth of his dark, almost obsessive eyes. Slowly, her fingers curled and retracted. She understood him. Because she understood, she also knew-some things were etched into his bones, impossible to change. "Nick... have you ever thought about what would happen to me if you weren't here? "You protect me so completely. | love you so much, | depend on you. And then... you leave me alone in this world. Do you think...

that would be happiness for me?" The neon lights outside the car window swept across Nick's chiseled features, throwing his conflicted emotions into stark relief. "| know, and | trust you. Even without me, you'll be fine. But it's me-I can't leave you." He had thought about it, over and over. And because he had, he couldn't bear to let her face even the slightest risk. Khloe was different from him. Though they had shared similar lonely childhoods, she loved this world more fiercely. Her soul radiated warmth like the sun, healing and relentless.

---- She would crawl out of any mire, over and over, and start anew. Even without being Niel's daughter, she could carve her own happiness. He was different. Because of Khloe, he found the world no longer dull and cold. Without her, even a brief sorrow she endured would follow him still, his love accompanying her-helping her walk forward, stronger than before.