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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Ditch the Ex and Date The Billionaire Conversations
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 63: Conversations ."Hector wants to be your friend?" Archibald steals one of Isabella’s fries and dips it into the ketchup. Isabella got home from work at 6:00 p.m., but Archibald had to stay for another hour because of a board meeting. Since he had something to eat there, he quickly stopped at a fast food restaurant to bring her burgers and fries for dinner."Yeah,” She answers brusquely, taking a bite of her cheeseburger.Frowning about her one-word answer, he steals another fry. "You don't sound excited about it." "I am.”“... But? ” Archibald asks when she doesn’t continue.Shrugging her shoulders, she fixes her eyes on the counter she’s sitting at. “Isn't it a little... inappropriate? He's my supervisor." "And I am like your main boss," Archibald chuckled. "Hector is a family friend. He’s… almost like a second son or would I say, one of my dad’s mentees, so I don’t think you should worry about it." "Yes, but that's different. I
Ditch the Ex and Date The Billionaire Arguments
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 64: Arguments .“Oh my… I’m so sorry, Alan.” Hector looks at Alan compassionately. “Even if your grand father don’t believe you, he should know that you are only doing all of these because you care for your uncle and don’t want him to be used.” “I know,” Alan grunts, clenching his fists. “But something like this was doomed to happen, imagine my grand father deciding to put me on suspension, considering how much my uncle is sucking up to Isabella. It’s what I’ve been afraid of all this time. But hey, at least now I know how low they both think of me.”Hector tries to smile encouragingly. “I’m sure he doesn’t think low of you, Alan. He’s just… a little blinded by love.”Alan snorts. “That’s not love. That’s having a midlife crisis and being desperate. But I don’t fucking care anymore. If she decides to bleed him dry, so be it.”“So… you don’t want to break them up anymore?” Hector asks, lifting his brows. “You’re just giving up?”Alan shru
Ditch the Ex and Date The Billionaire Who?
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire . Chapter 65: Who? . “What ended up happening to the call later? The one with the investors?” Hector asks, eyes flickering back and forth between his two computer screens as he rapidly types away on his keyboard. He’s wearing a navy suit today, his hair neatly combed back off his forehead, trademark wire-framed glasses perched on his nose. “It’s still happening today, but it was bumped to 4:30,” Isabella says. She’s sitting with her legs crossed at one of the two tables in Hector’s large office, her hair falling down into her eyes, scanning through a contract and highlighting all the points she wants Warren to review. “I sent you an updated calendar invite a few minutes ago.” “Thank you,” Hector says. He sounds distracted. “Also, sorry—did you talk to the events team about the gala? About the plants?” “Yes, I did,” Isabella says. She can feel a smile creeping onto her face, but Hector would give her hell if he saw her smirking about this,
Ditch the Ex and Date The Billionaire Text
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire . Chapter 66: Text .Isabella 2:36PM You must not be that busy considering you’ve spent the last 30 minutes texting me boyfriend 💖 2:37PM i needed a break from work. can you really blame me? Do you have any idea how hard it is? Isabella 2:37PM i literally have no idea what that is boyfriend 💖 2:38PM i’m honestly so jealous Isabella 2:38PM well this little conversation was nice and weird but i am starving and need to order food and get back to my job thank you boyfriend 💖 2:38PM ok! don’t forget to send me the info Isabella 2:39PM i’ll send it when i’m done with work. also to be completely serious for a moment: thank you, i really appreciate that you are coming with me boyfriend 💖 2:40PM don’t worry about it. i’ve never been one to turn down a free meal. plus i’m bulking right now Isabella 2:40PM does that mean trying to get bigger? it didn’t seem to me like you need to do that at all???? boyfriend 💖 2:41PM oh really? how
Ditch the Ex and Date The Billionaire Begin
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 67: Begin .The gala is being held at a gorgeous venue on the water—all natural wood and tall ceilings and open air, decked out from top to bottom with lush greenery. The open space has been set up with dozens of tables for everyone to sit and eat dinner, along with multiple bars scattered along the perimeter, and there’s a podium near the front where most of the unit heads will give their speech and announce the annual employee award winners.Isabella decides to ride with Riven, who’s attending as Dara’s plus one. Having Archibald come meet her at Dara’s apartment seemed like overkill, so she ended up just texting him that he shouldn’t bother and telling him they could meet at the venue. When they arrive, Archibald is already waiting in the lobby, off in the corner by himself and staring down at his phone. It takes Isabella a moment to spot him, because he looks like a completely different person than what he is usually like at the of
Ditch the Ex and Date The Billionaire Subpar looks
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire . Chapter 68: Subpar looks . Isabella makes her way towards the closest bar, and Archibald trails behind her, doing the stereotypical boyfriend-in-a-crowd thing, one hand lightly pressed to her back, steering her gently through the empty spaces between mingling employees. A few people stare at them for a little too long. After all the buzz that her breakup with Alan created, Isabella knows the office busibodies must be thrilled to see her with Archibald. They maybe didn’t expected to see her actually confirm the news that the blogs had been spreading about her and Archie. And she’s happy to give them something else to talk about. After they order their drinks, they crane their necks to find Dara, and they eventually spot her all the way on the opposite side of the space. She’s sitting at a table with Jane, a woman from the finance department who Isabella is somewhat acquainted with, along with her girlfriend. As fate would have i
Ditch the Ex and Date The Billionaire Cheesy
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire . Chapter 69: Cheesy . They arrive at the table, and Archibald pulls out Isabella’s chair before sitting down in his own. “I mean, I was trying to throw him off, but I still meant what I said.” “Wha—” “Wine!” Dara exclaims giddily, making grabby hands at the glass Isabella is holding. Isabella passes it to her, frowning. “You look like you need to start drinking,” Riven says to Bella. “Also, Jana is already two drinks ahead of us. We need to catch up.”Jana giggles from behind her half-empty wine glass. “I always try to get at least four drinks deep before the speeches start. You know how long-winded most of these knuckleheads can be.” “I know that better than anyone,” Isabella says, laughing. “So, I don’t think I’ve met your girlfriend?” “Oh, you’re right,” she says, beaming. She turns to the woman next to her, who’s very pretty—she’s wearing a fitted red dress with matching red lipstick. “This is Hazel. She’s a physiotherapist.” “Nice
Ditch the Ex and Date The Billionaire CH 70
Thankfully, as the sun slowly sinks below the horizon and the three-course dinner is served, the conversation starts to get a little easier, largely thanks to all the alcohol they’re consuming. The collection of empty bottles and glasses on the table has begun to accumulate into quite the impressive hoard.They’re all taking turns getting up and ordering rounds of drinks for everyone at the bar, and they even had Riven take an extra turn, stashing an extra round of beers at the table, since the bars will be temporarily shut down during any of the CEO's speech and the awards presentation.Isabella feels a deep pang of sympathy for all the employees hired over the past year who are attending the gala for the very first time and are unaware of this fact.The dance floor always opens up right after the award presentation is done—and seasoned professionals like maybe Alan, Dara and even Archibald are always well-lubricated enough in time to hit it right away.Luckily, it seems like Archiba
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Ditch the Ex and Date The Billionaire CH 143
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 and Date The Billionaire CH 142:
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 and Date The Billionaire CH 141:
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 and Date The Billionaire CH 140
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 and Date The Billionaire CH 139
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 and Date The Billionaire CH 138
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 and Date The Billionaire CH 137
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 and Date The Billionaire CH 136
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 and Date The Billionaire CH 135
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
