Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 74: Dance .Archibald frowns a little. “Don’t make fun of me. People really have been bothered by those things.”“I’m sorry,” Isabella says, and she is. She can’t help it—she reaches up, tucking a lock of hair behind Archibald’s ear. “I think those people must have been pretty silly. You seem great just how you are.”He smiles sadly. “You’re playing the role of over caring girlfriend impressively well right now.”“I’m not playing anything,” Isabella says, shaking her head. “I meant what I just said.”“Oh,” Archibald says, his face softening. “Okay.” “You’re the one who’s best at caring, anyway, not me.”“I have to be the best at everything I do,” Archibald says seriously. “It’s a complex.”She glances over Archibald’s shoulder, eyes roaming over the rest of the dance floor. She spots Dara and Riven swaying together prom-style, Dara’s arms looped around Riven’s neck. Several feet behind them, she is shocked to see Alan is slow-dancing
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 75: Flight .“You better hurry up. You’re going to be late,” Dara calls from the bathroom, voice garbled as she brushes her teeth. Isabella glances up from where she’s wrestling with her tiny carry-on suitcase on the bed, her body flung halfway on top of it, trying to squish it down enough that she’ll be able to zip it closed. “Who are you to lecture me about being late? You’ve never been on time for anything in your life.”“I think I was on time for a doctor’s appointment once,” She says. Dara hears her spit her toothpaste into the sink. “Seriously, though, I’m just trying to help. Didn’t you say you needed to leave by 10:30?”Isabella grabs her phone, tapping the screen. It’s 10:35. Shit.“It’s later than I thought,” She says, zipping up her suitcase with a final grunt and hauling it off the bed. It hits the ground with a loud thud. “You’re right, I gotta go.”“Do you have everything you need?”“I think so.” Isabella wheels her suitca
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 76: .boyfriend 💖 10:45AM just got to the airport :) are you here? Isabella hastily types a reply with one hand as the elevator dings and reaches the ground floor. Isabella 10:46AM sorry i’m running late :( just leaving my apartment now, taking a cab so i’ll be there as soon as i can boyfriend 💖 10:46AM oh sure you are boyfriend 💖 10:47AM have i fallen victim to an elaborate scheme to ship me off to the island alone so you won’t have to deal with me anymore Isabella 10:47AM if i was going to do that, trust me, i would ship you off to somewhere much further awayShe shakes her head and smiles, slipping her phone back into her shorts and climbing into the cab idling at the curb in front of her apartment building. “Gimpo Airport,” She tells the cab driver, and the driver nods and merges back into traffic.She is oddly excited to see him. The gala was last weekend, and they haven’t seen each other since then, since there wasn’
Ditch the Ex, Date the Billionaire . Chapter 77: . Oh,” Isabella says. “Hi.” “Hi. How was the drive?” Archibald asks, releasing her. She gets a good look at him now that they’re up close. He has a little bit of a glow about him, like he’s been spending some time in the sun this summer. “It was fine. Traffic was bad, so I was worried about being late. I’m gonna check in. You already did?” Archibald nods. “Shouldn’t take long.” She turns around to look at the check-in counter and is relieved to see there’s hardly a line. “Okay, wait here? I’ll be right back.” After waiting in the short queue, the process of checking in is ultimately quick and easy, and once she shows her passport and gets her boarding pass, she heads back over to where Archibald is sitting. He doesn’t have a suitcase with him—only a large black backpack. “That’s all you brought?” She asks. “How’d you fit all your clothes in there?” He slings the backpack over his shoulder easily, trailing behind her as t
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 78:.The flight is quick—only about an hour long—and they don’t talk much, although it’s not awkward. Isabella takes care of a few last minute things she needed to wrap up for Hector before the trip, working on files she’d saved to her phone so they’d be accessible offline, and Archibald puts headphones in and plays a game on his phone. When they touch down in Jeju, there’s hardly a cloud in the sky, and the sun feels brighter somehow, like the whole world is a little more saturated. They fly in low over the water, deep blue and sparkling.The resort they’re staying at is called The Shilla, and since it’s all the way on the other side of the island, it has a dedicated shuttle that runs hourly from the airport. They follow the signs out of the airport towards the public transportation hub and wait for the next one to come. The ride is comfortable and goes by fast, too. It’s a large bus with soft, cushioned seats and powerful air condit
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 79: .“I think we just need to accept that this is naturally going to be a little awkward,” Isabella says with a nervous laugh. “I mean, all of it. Sharing a room, sharing a bed, pretending that we’re together for the next four days. It’s a much bigger commitment than what we did at the bar, or at the party. It’s normal for it to be weird. What we’re doing is weird.”“I guess so. And I can see how the fucking swans could make it feel, um, weirder.”“Is that a sentence you ever anticipated you would speak during the course of your lifetime?” She asks as she walks back towards the door to grab her suitcase.“I’m afraid not.”“Don’t worry about me,” She tells him, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “I just want you to have a good time. You deserve to, after how much you’ve helped me. And considering we have endless amounts of free alcohol at our disposal and don’t even have to leave our room to go to the pool, having a good time should be
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 80:.“I’ve gotta say, I’m glad you convinced me to keep the room,” Isabella says.“Me too. Imagine if we had to fight with all the other people—I mean, peasants—over the shared hot tubs instead? That would have been unimaginable.”She swirls the water in front of her with her hand. “Imagine not having our own pool? Imagine having to wake up early every day to scavenge for a lounge chair that isn’t taken yet? I’m not built to withstand that kind of struggle. I wouldn’t have survived.”“Maybe the receptionist could sense it,” Archibald says, his brow furrowing in realization. “She gave us the complimentary upgrade because she knew it would save our lives.”“I forgot to text Dara and brag about it,” She suddenly remembers. “I love making her mad. It’s one of my favorite pastimes. I need to send her a picture tomorrow.”“It sounded like she really wanted to go on this trip. If it wasn’t for me, I bet she would have talked you into taking her
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire . Chapter 81:.When Isabella wakes up the next morning, bright rays of sunshine are streaming through the glass wall, reflecting and shining directly into her eyes. She winces, barely awake, shifting her body slightly, trying to orient herself in the unfamiliar bed.As she moves, she realizes there’s something unfamiliar touching her cheek. Warm, soft... skin? She opens her eyes, squinting. She’s greeted by the sight of a tattooed arm so close to her face that it takes a moment for her eyes to focus on it.Isabella wakes up the rest of the way with a jolt, her eyes flying open in panic.She quickly assesses the situation. Archibald still seems to be asleep, and Isabella quickly thanks every single deity she’s ever heard of for that, because the situation they’re in is—well, it’s compromising, to say the least.They must have gravitated towards each other in their sleep. Isabella is much closer to the center of the bed than she remembers, and Arch