Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire . Chapter 85: .“Are you ready to get started?” the woman asks. “Our massage therapists are professionals, and they’ve seen it all before. Besides, I’m sure she has too, right?” She looks over at Archibald, winking.Archibald looks like he’s two seconds away from dissolving into laughter. The corners of his mouth twitch.Isabella laughs weakly. “He sure has! Yes. Many times. Ha-ha.”“Enjoy your massage,” the woman says, smiling. She leaves the room, the heavy door closing behind her with a solid thunk. Isabella feels like she’s just been locked inside a death chamber.“Did you know we were going to have to get naked?” Isabella hisses at Archibald in a loud whisper, eyes rapidly scanning the room, looking for something—a robe, a towel, anything at all to cover herself. There’s nothing.“I mean, I kind of assumed,” Archibald admits. “It’s normal for a massage. But I thought you knew that! You didn’t tell me you had never had one before! So I assum
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire . Chapter 86: .---“You did what?” Isabella asks, bursting into laughter so violently she almost topples over onto the brick path underfoot. She grabs at Archibald’s arm to steady herself. “You’re kidding me.”“Nope,” Archibald says, tongue poking at the inside of his cheek. “And it worked, too. I never heard them again.”She’s just been told another Warren story—there seem to be an endless number of them. Apparently when Warren first started dating his private girlfriend, Haley, they were getting it on so loudly that it was keeping Archibald awake at night. When Archibald decided he had had enough, he plugged in his keyboard at full volume and started playing the theme song to every cartoon he could think of. As well as his five-year-old-equivalent skill level would allow, anyway—which is to say, not very well.Warren eventually burst in, yelling over the music, demanding to know why Archibald was ruining the ambiance. Archibald told him tha
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire . Chapter 87: .“Isabella, tell me if this is what you want. I can never tell what you’re thinking,” Archibald says quietly. His eyes are dark and vulnerable, reflecting the glowing light of the pool.“Yes, I want you,” Isabella breathes, one hand moving up to tangle in Archibald’s wet hair. Archibald pushes all the way forward, his chest pressing against Isabella’s body. The edge of the pool digs into Isabella’s back.“Then let me kiss you when no one is looking,” Archibald murmurs.So Isabella lets him. It’s frantic and heated, a blur of hands everywhere all at once, all their clandestine feelings finally flooding out into the open for anyone to see. Their quiet gasps, the nip and pull of Archibald’s bottom lip between Isabella’s teeth, Archibald’s broad hands sliding up Isabella’s stomach—this is the most honest they have ever been with each other.“God, ever since I met you, this is all I’ve been able to think about,” Archibald breathes, his
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire . Chapter 88: . “Archie. Wait,” Isabella says. “Hmm?” Archibald asks, thumbs rubbing tiny circles into Isabella’s hip bones. “You know I don’t do one night stands,” Isabella says quietly. Archibald smiles up at her. “Trust me, Isabella, this definitely won’t be a one night stand.” “Oh. Okay,” Isabella breathes. “Take them off.” Archibald pulls down his swim trunks, not without a bit of effort, as the wet fabric clings to Isabella’s thighs all the way down. His cock springs out, red and leaking. He truly can’t remember the last time he was this turned on. Archibald could ask to fuck her with no condom and she would probably agree. “So pretty,” Archibald murmurs, wrapping a finger around Isabella’s clit and squeezing lightly. Isabella moans, high and cracked, her back arching. “Don’t, don’t,” she gasps. “Seriously, I’ll come.” “Did I get you that worked up?” Archibald says, pressing a kiss into Isabella’s inner thigh. “Let me fix it.”
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire . Chapter 89: .Archibald murmurs against the top of Isabella’s head. “After all, I have spent the past three days trying to woo you. I was starting to think my efforts were not going to pay off.”Isabella pulls away, blinking up at him. She laughs. “Trust me, Archibald, you didn’t even have to try.”After they’ve both gotten all rinsed off, Isabella turns off the shower, then helps Archibald step out, handing him a clean towel. He ruffles it over his hair, trying to dry it a bit. “I’m going to look like a monster in the morning, going to sleep with my hair like this,” Archibald warns her. “You might be scared of me.”“I don’t think I will be,” Isabella says, smiling.The rest of it is calm and quiet and comfortable: they each get dressed in their pajamas, completing their respective pre-bedtime routines, turning off all the lights and crawling into bed. Isabella’s in a clean white t-shirt and gym shorts, and Archibald is only wearing sweatpants
Ditch the Ex, Date the Billionaire . Chapter 90: . Unfortunately, Isabella’s mood drops moments after she arrives at work on Monday morning. Beaming, she wishes her co-workers a ‘Good Morning’ and walks to her desk, where she finds a sticky note that has Hector’s handwriting on it. ‘Please see me in the office.’ It’s not unusual that Hector leaves her notes like that, so Isabella’s still in good spirits when she knocks on Hector’s door. “Good Morning,” She greets the man cheerfully. “You wanted to see me?” “Close the door, please.” Even though Hector spoke calmly, his voice sounded very cold. Smile faltering, she obliges and nervously sits down in front of Hector’s desk. “What’s going on?” He looks at her sternly. "You said you wanted me to be honest with you, so… I’m disappointed and upset that you didn’t even feel the need to call or text me to cancel our appointment.” “What appoint–” Isabella begins, but then, it hits her.She was supposed to have dinner with Hector on
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 91:.She was supposed to have dinner with Hector on Saturday. Fuck. Guilt hits her like a freight train. “O-Oh my god, I’m… I’m so sorry, Hector, I… completely forgot. I was on that vacation with Archie, and–”“I saw,” Hector interrupts, folding his arms in front of his chest. “Your Instagram post was all over the internet. I hope you know that I would’ve completely understood if you had canceled, but standing me up like that without saying anything? It’s disrespectful and not something I expected of you.”She desperately tries to swallow the lump of tears forming in her throat. “I know, I’m sorry. Why didn’t you call me when I didn’t show up?”“Because I forgot my phone at home. What does it matter, though? It’s not like you could’ve teleported over here anyways. I would've still sat there like an idiot.”“I’m really sorry,” She repeats. “Can I please make it up to you? How about we go and have dinner today? Or tomorrow?”Hector knits hi
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 92: .Groaning, Alan drags his ass out of bed and takes a long shower. If he’s not mistaken, his grand mother will be at the penthouse this weekend. It’s the perfect opportunity to spend some time with her and beg her to talk to his grand father.Even if he willingly left the company on his own, he needed his grand father to still back him up whenever needed. Yet, Alan is still nervous when he unlocks the door to the penthouse an hour later. To avoid running into his uncle, he didn’t announce his visit beforehand, which Alan regrets when he finds the living-kitchen area completely empty. Did he mistake the time frame that his grand mother was supposed to come? However, when Alan lets his eyes roam, he doesn’t see any indication that anybody is even around. It's just way too tidy… Frowning, he opens his mouth to call for someone, but a loud yelp and a slapping sound coming from the corridor startles him. What the hell?Heart pounding
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 143: .It happens by accident.Archibald’s out of town again for work but tries to call in the evenings when he can and Isabella, consequently, does her best to be available despite the three-hour time difference. Dara can roll her eyes all she wants — and does — but keeps her smart remarks, if not to a minimum, then to an average.(“It’s part of our arrangement!” Isabella protests noisily as if the forty-five minutes she spends holed up in her bedroom have anything at all to do with those initial terms of their relationship and aren’t simply because she misses the man like a limb when he’s gone.Dara makes an unflattering snort and digs her elbow into Isabella’s side, stealing a pretzel out of her bag while she’s distracted.“Uh-huh,” she says, “Is that what we’re calling it now, Ms. Codependent?”“I don’t think I like you anymore.”Isabella, among other things, is a liar. A bad one.)It happens by accident because Isabella’s bundled up
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 142: .See, if Isabella’s life was a movie, this is where it would end.A great romantic conclusion tied up with a neat little bow, roll credits, and scene.But this isn’t a movie, and this isn’t where it ends.“I’m thinking about going back to school,” Isabella says one afternoon during a lunch date. She doesn’t stop stirring anxiously at her gelato until Archibald reaches out to physically stop her before it turns to soup, and she won’t like it as much.“I think that’s a good idea,” he replies.Isabella is still basically unhireable, further blacklisted professionally by the drama that came out of her father’s quick but messy trial that put him in jail for years and ruined any good reputation any of them might have had.(The man left a single furious, frothing voicemail on Isabella’s phone that could be summed up as three straight minutes of death threats that included everyone from Isabella herself to the cat to the goldfish that had o
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 142: .“You know, I almost broke up with you last night.”Archibald’s steady calm, the largest holdover from last night, holds up even as he nods in agreement. “I know.”Isabella scowls at him.“How’d you know? I barely knew until I’d decided not to.”“Because I know you. You’ve been given precious few people in life who haven’t broken your trust, and I did that by going behind your back. It would have been an understandable reaction, and I wouldn’t have begrudged you—“Isabella slams that ocean blue tumbler down on the table with a clatter. Her eyes are bright with emotion, and her lips are turned down in an irritated scowl.“Maybe you wouldn’t,” she snaps, “but I’d sure as shit begrudge you if you just, what, let me break up with you without so much as asking me not to? What the fuck, man.”“You are an adult who can make your own decisions—““Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I want you to just let me go when I’m about to do something stupid!
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 140:.There is coffee, kept hot in the kind of insulated tumbler that costs too much and coordinates with the beachy colors of the house. Isabella has a suspicion that it was bought specifically for her, because Archibald is a crazy person who thinks about that kind of stuff. It doesn’t stop her from drinking it.“Tell me what you did,” Isabella orders before she can talk herself out of it and in spite of the very large part of her that doesn’t actually want to know. “Something something something about buying out the board?” she elaborates with a pointed stare. Because Chantelle, of all people, wouldn’t be bailing unless the ship is sinking. The ship might already be sunk if she’s that willing to abandon what she sees as her birthright. A birthright that she’s always seen as a competition, even though she’d won right out the gate and Isabella’s so stupid that it took literally being disowned to see that she never stood a chance.“Oh, th
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 139: .Isabella and Alan had settled many a disagreement with an angry tussle in bed that was worth the drop afterward for being able to get a little of her own back, to feel seen and heard. Except that Archibald already makes her feel seen and heard, and right now Isabella just sort of wants one of them to hurt, and she’s not sure who.“Stop, stop, enough,” Archibald orders, kinder than Isabella deserves, and wipes the beginnings of tears out of the corners of Isabella’s eyes before she even realizes that she’s about to cry. “I know, baby. I know.”“You don’t know anything.” It comes out way less cool and way more pathetic when Isabella’s voice cracks on what is definitely an overtired, strung-out sob. “You don’t know anything.”“I know that you’re exhausted and running on fumes and that you’d rather have the kind of sex that’s not good for you and that you don’t even want than get what you need,” Archibald tells her. “I’d say I know pl
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 138: .The only tears Chantelle’s ever shed have been of the crocodilian variety, as purposeful a tactic as any insult. Even after she’d forced herself to learn how to stop, she’d never managed to wield emotion like a weapon. At times like this, Isabella sort of wishes that she had.Isabella trembles and wraps her arms around herself, chilled even underneath the blanket. The edges are getting wet with saltwater and crusted with sand, and she would bite anyone who might try to take it from her.Archibald doesn’t touch her, but Isabella can feel him practically vibrating with the way he wants to. Right now, Isabella would be happy to bite him, too.“I don’t think you’re stupid.”“Well, it sure feels like it.”Archibald literally wrings his hands in open distress, and even now, it doesn’t feel remotely like a win. Isabella’s gotten exactly what she’s asked for—space and someone else being the one to hurt, but it doesn’t lessen her own, not e
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 137:.It's still pitch black outside, but Isabella finds herself at the edge of the water anyway. The ocean doesn’t give a damn about Isabella’s battered foundation and rolls happily up the night-cooled sand, leaving only foam and bits of seashell behind.Isabella sits at the shoreline and tucks her knees up under her chin.She wonders, miserably, where Chantelle plans to go.God, she hopes her sister gets as far away as she can.Isabella's spent her whole life loyal, but Chantelle? She’s fanatical to a degree that Isabella could never quite manage, and she wonders if putting her loyalty into a cage match with her relentless drive to protect herself finally did what nothing else could—crack that fanaticism. She’ll never know; it’s not her place now, and even if it was, Chantelle would never let her.God, she hopes Chantelle got as far away as she possibly can.Mai, with much derision, refers to it as Isabella's "better place theory." Mom
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 136: .“Oh, please. Because your boytoy just woke up and bought half our board and their corresponding shares out from under us for some weekend summer fun? I didn’t think you had it in you, but I guess you had to grow a spine sometime.”Isabella’s brain goes blank. Chantelle’s words land with all the delicacy and grace of anvils, pinning her down under their weight like a butterfly in a box.“I didn’t—you’re wrong,” she protests.“Sure, okay. Keep telling yourself that. Anyway, don’t bother saving this number; I’m ditching the phone once my plane boards. Congratulations on your win, Izzy. We always knew you’d ruin the family, but I didn’t think it’d be like this. Have a good rest of your life, I guess.”There’s a click and then a dial tone. Isabella tries to call back, but it goes straight to a generic voicemail that she knows won’t ever be checked. At best it’s a burner phone; at worst it’s Chantelle’s regular phone that she’s willing t
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 135: .There’s the temptation after breakfast to go back to bed and find another way to entertain themselves, but Archibald shuffles her to go shower instead.“It’s about ten miles to get into town,” he says when Isabella protests in an appropriately dignified manner, definitely not pouting at having to put pants on. “You’ll like it.” Isabella does pout, then, and is rewarded for her bad behavior by being hoisted up onto the bathroom counter and thoroughly kissed until she’ll say yes to just about anything. And she does say yes, eventually, and delays the inevitable by about ten minutes by sticking her hands down the back of Archibald’s pajamas.Isabella’s never had this kind of domesticity in a relationship before, and it should feel strange but it doesn’t, just scaffolds its way up the norms built in by months of getting to know each other. It doesn’t feel weird at all for Isabella to snag Archibald by the wrist and tug him into the sho