The Villainess Swipes Black

The second I discovered my villainess status, I played the perfect, tame pet for my sugar daddy. I dropped the screaming matches. I stopped blowing up his phone.

I bit my tongue and never begged him to stop in bed. I just reached out and swiped his black card. Gideon thought he finally tamed me. Behind his back, I stripped his place bare.

The day I hit my cash target, I slapped a sticky note on his door. Think you rule the bedroom? Old fossil! You suck as a provider! Time to upgrade to a new sugar daddy.

Chapter 1 I used to slap him across the face. If he came home late and woke me up, I’d deadbolt the front door and leave him in the hallway. The sheer audacity of it all.

Every time his inner circle thought Gideon would finally kick me to the curb, he’d turn around and beg for my forgiveness.

His boys couldn't wrap their heads around it. "What kind of voodoo hex did that psycho put on you?" Gideon would just smirk. "Mind your own damn business." Another latenight poker game.

The bourbon flowed, and they lost track of time. The grandfather clock chimed twelvethirty.

Usually, if Gideon’s customized Porsche wasn't in the driveway by midnight, my calls would blow up his phone. Tonight? Dead silence.

Asher stared at Gideon’s screen, jaw slacked. "Hell freezing over? Why isn't your little terror dragging you home?" Gideon stared at the empty notification center.

A deep crease formed between his brows. He tapped his banking app. His features instantly relaxed. "She exhausted herself shopping.

Probably passed out." Asher leaned over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of the screen. His eyes went wide in shock. An endless, scrolling wall of transaction alerts.

I had practically bought out Fifth Avenue. "Holy shit. Did she hit the boutiques or rob a bank?

That's a psychotic amount of swiping." Gideon shot him a cold, lazy glare. "It's not your platinum card. Back off.

Only pathetic men complain about how much money their women spend." Asher clamped his mouth shut.

Character assassination complete, Gideon grabbed his phone and stood up. "Keep playing. I'm going home to my girl." A minor blip on his radar. He didn't think twice.

He just assumed I was in a food coma or exhausted from retail therapy. He had no idea I was officially done caring. Gideon left for his corner office at dawn.

I slept until the smell of my private chef's truffle pasta woke me at noon. I took a bite. The silver fork slipped from my grip. It slammed against the porcelain.

A wave of glowing, floating text materialized out of thin air, burning directly into my retinas. [Wow, the villainess really lives on easy mode. No 9to5, gets whatever she wants.

Talk about spoiled.] [So what? She's just a sugar baby. A temporary toy with no ring.] [Doesn't matter. The female lead drops in a week.

Wren is getting booted.] [The main couple's chemistry is insane.

The second Aurora shows up, Gideon is going to drop Wren like trash.] [Can't wait to see this gold digger fighting stray dogs for half a bagel. LMAO.] My lungs constricted.

I couldn't drag in a single breath. The truth ripped through my chest. I wasn't just living my life. I was the doomed, toxic villainess in a trashy romance novel.

Gideon was the untouchable billionaire male lead. Aurora, the pure, flawless female lead, was scheduled to spawn in exactly seven days. They’d fall madly in love.

And I was destined for absolute ruin. My blood spiked. I grabbed my phone, ready to rip Gideon a new one. Cheating on me before we even broke up?

Was I just a prop in their twisted little roleplay? My thumb hovered over his contact name. The glowing text surged again, flooding my vision. [Ugh, here she goes again.

Throwing a tantrum. The male lead is going to be so sick of her.] [Right? A literal sugar baby acting like the legal wife. Major red flag.] [Let her be crazy.

The crazier she acts, the more perfect Aurora looks. He's going to despise Wren.] [He only keeps her around because she's hot.

The second Aurora breathes in his direction, Wren is out on the streets.] [Girl better start hoarding cash now before she ends up homeless and starving.] Chapter 2 Let them talk.

Even though I was getting flamed, the floating text actually gave me an epiphany. Why the hell was I playing Gideon's kept woman in the first place? For the black cards. Period.

I slammed my phone facedown on the marble counter. My entire strategy shifted. I wasn't going to give those invisible commenters the screaming match they craved.

I was going to hoard cash. Then, the second the female lead spawned, I would dump him. He wanted to humiliate me? I would strike first.

I’d make him the first billionaire sugar daddy in Manhattan to get publicly discarded by his sugar baby. I ditched my lunch and ordered my driver to Fifth Avenue.

I tore through the designer boutiques. I pointed at the highest price tags. Gideon practically threw his unlimited Centurion cards at me anyway.

I swiped them without a second thought. On the ride back, the glowing text swarmed the tinted windows. [This villainess is a financial parasite.

She just dropped three million in an afternoon. Does she even know how hard the male lead works?] [Aurora is so much better. She actually cares about him.

Mutual pining is the sweetest.] [Aurora knows how to budget. Unlike this gold digger who only knows how to bleed him dry.] [Am I the only one jealous?

She gets to sleep with him AND spend his money. Let me swap places for an episode!] [Why be jealous?

A gold digger will never experience true love.] I rolled my eyes hard enough to see my own brain. True love? What a useless concept. I didn't need true love.

I needed cold, hard cash. I spent the entire evening ripping the tags off the Birkins and Cartier watches. I listed every single luxury item on a highend resale app.

By the time I checked the clock, it was well past midnight, and the penthouse was still dead silent. Muscle memory kicked in. I reached for my phone to blow up his line.

My fingers hovered over his name. I pulled back. I needed to play the perfect, docile pet. Keep him happy, keep the cash flowing. The heavy oak door clicked open.

Gideon stepped into the foyer. Normally, I'd have the deadbolt locked. Tonight, I practically skipped out to greet him. I dropped a pair of velvet slippers at his feet.

I slipped the Tom Ford blazer off his broad shoulders. I held out a crystal glass of iced water. "Thirsty?" I tipped my head, batting my eyelashes. Gideon froze.

He stared at me like I'd just grown a second head, his face contorting into a mask of pure confusion. "Wren… which foot do you want me to step inside with today?" I blinked. "Both, if you want to jump." Gideon shifted his weight.

He carefully stepped inside with his left foot. He took the glass from my hand.

His dark eyes scanned my face, searching for a trap. "You're pissed," he muttered, his voice dropping into a low, defensive gravel. "I lost track of time.

I'll be home exactly on time tomorrow. I swear." I flashed him my sweetest, most innocent smile. "It's totally fine. You guys work hard. You deserve a break. I'm lifting the curfew.

Come home whenever you want." I pushed the glass flush against his chest. "I drew you a bath. Your robe is hot from the towel warmer. Go wash up." I leaned up on my toes.

I pressed my lips against the rough stubble of his jaw. He dropped the glass onto the console table. The ice clinked sharply. He locked his hand around my wrist.

His thumb dug into my pulse point. "You're seriously not mad?" "Not at all." Gideon went dead silent.

He backed away slowly, his eyes locked on me the entire walk down the hallway to the master suite. [Why is she acting normal? Where is the tantrum?] [Look at Gideon's face.

He looks terrified. Shows how toxic she usually is.] [Who cares? Seven days until Aurora shows up and kicks her out.] [Acting sweet won't save her.

She's just a placeholder.] [Our baby Aurora is genuinely sweet. A million times better than this giant walking red flag.] I glanced at the floating text, not paying it much mind.

I had zero time for their drama. I walked straight to my walkin closet and ripped the tags off a sheer, crimson La Perla corset. It was time to put on my battle gear.

Chapter 3 Gideon stepped out of the steamfilled bathroom. His eyes locked onto me, and his breathing instantly fractured.

I was wearing a sheer lilac silk chemise—his absolute kryptonite.

I closed the distance and looped my arms around his damp neck. "Daddy, I burned through twenty million of your money today.

You aren't mad, are you?" Gideon froze for a split second before a dark brow arched. "That's it? Swipe whatever you want.

As long as you're happy." I leaned up and pressed my mouth hard against his, tasting mint and heat. "Then wire me some actual cash.

Your black cards don't have a limit, but the bank alerts you every time I swipe. I have zero privacy. I want to buy you a surprise." Gideon's Adam's apple bobbed.

A harsh, rough swallow echoed in the quiet room. The physical distance between us vanished as his body heat bled into mine. His gaze gradually darkened.

When he finally spoke, his voice scraped like gravel. "We have actual business to handle first. I'll wire it tomorrow." [WTF, why the sudden fade to black?

Are you leaving us out?] [Show the premium members the explicit content, cowards.] [Hello, 911? I'm reporting a crime.

I don't care what kind, just arrest them.] … I unlocked my phone screen the next morning. A fresh banking alert glowed: Incoming Wire Transfer: $50,000,000.

A smug smile tugged at my lips. [Can I just live the villainess's life for two days?

The male lead is insanely generous with her.] [Honestly, I'm having a hard time believing he's going to fall for Aurora.] [The commenter above obviously hasn't read the rest of the book.

This is nothing. Wait until Aurora shows up. Gideon turns into an absolute wife guy.] [Can Wren just die off already?

Being broke is annoying enough, but watching a toxic red flag get rich is infuriating.] I swiped the holographic text away, completely unbothered.

I headed downstairs and ordered my private chef to prep Gideon’s favorite Wagyu and truffles.

I timed the midtown traffic perfectly and strolled right into his corporate headquarters. Gideon stepped out of the glass boardroom.

He stopped dead in his tracks, shock flickering across his sharp features. "It's ninety degrees out.

Why are you here?" I stepped aside, revealing the immaculate plating in the executive lounge. "To keep you company for lunch." He stared at me for three agonizing seconds.

His eyes narrowed, dissecting my every move. "You came all the way down here… just to feed me?" "Yeah.

Sit down before the steak gets cold." Gideon sank into the leather chair beside me. He spotted the garlic butter prawns and reached for the prep gloves.

I slapped my hand over his wrist. "I got it. You just eat." I snapped on a pair of prep gloves and started peeling the shrimp. Gideon didn't touch his food.

He stared at the peeled meat in his bowl, then slowly dragged his intense gaze up to my face. "Wren.

Did I do something to piss you off?" "No." His dark eyes bored into mine, trying to strip me down to the bone. "Are you sure?

Then why are you acting like a complete stranger these past two days?" I met his stare without flinching. "How am I acting weird?" Gideon didn't say a single word.

He just stared, analyzing me like I was a complete stranger wearing his girlfriend's face. I let out a soft breath and dropped my chin, feigning hesitation. "Fine.

I want you to buy me a penthouse in Midtown. Nothing massive.

Just a small luxury condo where I can crash when I need some alone time." A muscle in his jaw ticked. "Why the hell do you need alone time?" I shot him a timid glance through my lashes. "I don't want to be overly obsessed and suffocate you.

Everyone says personal space is a healthy boundary." It was a bulletproof, modern excuse.

But Gideon wasn't buying a single drop of it. "Who's been gaslighting you with this garbage? Asher?" Chapter 4 I froze. A denial hovered on my tongue. Then I remembered Asher.

That absolute dog constantly whispered in Gideon’s ear, painting me as a walking red flag. I kept my head down and my mouth shut.

I just kept dropping peeled shrimp into Gideon’s porcelain bowl. Might as well get my revenge on him before I leave. Let Asher take the fall. Gideon’s hand clamped around my wrist.

His face hardened. He stripped the latex glove off my fingers and grabbed a hot towel, methodically wiping the grease from my skin. "I'll buy the condo.

But you aren't moving out." "Obviously not," I lied, staring back with wide, innocent eyes. "Just a place to crash for a few hours.

I'll always come home at night." "You know I can't fall asleep without you." The tension bled from Gideon's shoulders.

I struck while the iron was hot. "Actually, could you just wire me the cash equivalent? I want to hunt for the perfect layout myself." "Fine.

I'll have my assistant clear the transfer." A laugh bubbled up my throat. I swallowed it down hard. "Thank you, baby." The floating text exploded into a frenzy. [Ahhh!

This villainess is such a gaslighter! No wonder the male lead is completely manipulated.] [Gideon, wake up! She's playing you!!] [This gold digger is obsessed.

Every other word out of her mouth is money.] [Can we fast forward? I hate watching her thrive. I just want to see her destroyed.] Another massive direct deposit hit my account.

I didn't care what the glowing text said anymore. I finished my lunch and strutted out of the executive suite. Gideon watched the elevator doors slide shut.

He pulled out his phone and fired off a text to Asher. Keep talking trash about my girl, and we are done. Miles away, Asher stared at his phone on the green of the country club.

He stared at the screen, internally screaming for divine intervention to clear his name. I stopped tracking Gideon's location. I stopped throwing tantrums.

I stopped calling him at 2 AM. I brought him lunch. I showed up at his exclusive networking events playing the perfect arm candy.

Gideon's inner circle swore I had a personality transplant. Asher took it to the extreme. He spotted me at a VIP lounge a few nights later.

He physically circled me three times, staring at me like I was an alien exhibit. "Wren, did a demon possess you?" He flicked a few drops of his iced martini at me like holy water.

I flashed him a warm, manufactured smile. "Don't be ridiculous. I just had an epiphany. I should treat Gideon better. He is my provider, after all." "You seriously believe that?

Then why did you just roll your eyes at me?" "You're hallucinating." Asher opened his mouth to argue. Gideon shot him a warning glare. Asher snapped his jaw shut.

They went back to their bourbon and business talk. I scrolled through my phone, bored out of my mind. A conversation about hypercars drifted over the music. An idea struck.

Another perfect excuse to bleed him dry. I shifted on the leather sofa and wrapped both arms around Gideon's bicep. "Baby, you've been working so late recently.

We barely spend any time together. You should buy me a car. Then I can just go for a drive when I get lonely." The entire VIP lounge went dead silent.

Every single pair of eyes locked onto Gideon. His boys knew I had just drained over a hundred million from his accounts this week alone. They all waited for the hard rejection.

At the very least, they expected him to hesitate. Gideon just gave a sharp, single nod. "Fine.

Want me to have the dealership send over some options?" I flipped my phone screen around and shoved it in his face. "No need.

I think this Pagani is super cute." Asher choked on his whiskey. He sprayed his drink. "That thing is twenty million dollars!" Gideon didn't even blink.

He shot Asher a look of pure disgust, then pulled out his own phone. "Buy it." "Thank you, baby!" Chapter 5 [Wait, are we using the same currency?

She’s buying a hypercar like she's picking up groceries.] [I'm actually sick. He just bought a Pagani on the spot.

Is twenty million pocket change now?] [This villainess burned through enough cash in a month to fund my next ten lifetimes.] [Lowkey hoping Aurora delays her entrance.

Let Wren drain his accounts a little more. This is incredibly satisfying to watch.] A smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth. I stared at the glowing numbers on my banking app.

I was loving every second of it. I ran a quick mental audit. Two hundred and thirty million in liquid cash. Enough to buy a private island in the Caribbean and completely disappear.

I checked the calendar. Aurora’s spawn date loomed closer. Time to map out my exit strategy. But I had one final mission before vanishing.

I needed to strip Gideon’s Hamptons estate down to the studs. We had designed every inch of this estate together. The layout, the custom Italian leather, the art.

My chest tightened at the thought of another woman invading my space. Gideon possessed an endless real estate portfolio. He wouldn't miss one house.

I needed a solid window of time to clear the place out without triggering his security detail.

He practically handed me the perfect opportunity on a silver platter by announcing a sudden business trip to Seattle. The glowing text confirmed it. Aurora was landing.

The exact second his customized Porsche cleared the security gates, I dialed a highend moving crew. The Ming dynasty vases in the foyer? Packed.

The original Basquiat hanging in his study? Bubblewrapped. The vintage RomanéeConti in the wine cellar? Crated.

I even swept his entire Patek Philippe collection into a velvetlined duffel bag.

The floating text went dead silent for twenty minutes before the realization hit. [LMAO the villainess is pulling a heist and ghosting!] [Gideon is going to completely lose his mind when he gets back.] [Imagine coming home from a business trip and only finding loadbearing walls.

RIP.] [Wait, isn't this grand larceny?

Can he call the cops?] [I am aggressively seated for the male lead's reaction.] I monitored his entire trip through the holographic comments. [AHHH!

Aurora finally spawned!] [The airport meetcute! She dropped his files, their hands brushed, they locked eyes. I'm screaming.] [Soulmates.

Actual soulmates.] I yanked my gaze away from the floating words. But the updates hijacked my vision for the next three days.

A live, relentless broadcast of Gideon falling for someone else. [They ran into each other again!] [Dinner date!] [Aurora touched his arm!

Oh my god, they are officially endgame.] I lay staring at the empty ceiling. The glowing text burned the corners of my eyes. A strange, hollow ache scraped against my ribs.

It felt a little sour, a little bitter, but mostly it was a sense of relief that the dust had settled. But beneath the physical drop in my stomach, my muscles finally uncoiled.

The crushing weight lifted off my chest. No wonder my phone stayed completely silent. He was busy locking down the female lead. The plot demanded it. I couldn't fight the narrative.

But I absolutely refused to be the pathetic, discarded collateral damage. I ripped my suitcase open and booked a oneway firstclass ticket out of JFK.

I stood in the completely gutted master bedroom one last time.

The echoing silence felt heavier than usual, a stark contrast to the chaotic warmth we once shared here, but I ruthlessly shoved that fleeting nostalgia down.

I slapped a neon sticky note right on the mahogany door. Thought you were actually good in bed? You dusty old fossil! You are a terrible provider!

I’m upgrading to a new sugar daddy! I pulled out my phone. Block number. Block Instagram. Block LinkedIn. I purged his digital footprint from my life with clinical precision.

The commenters were stunned. Chapter 6 [LMAO a fossil? The male lead is literally twentyeight.] [Wren is hilarious for this.

Gideon just got dumped out of nowhere.] [Wait, she isn't throwing a tantrum? What happened to the plot? This completely deviates from the canon.] [She's just walking away?

That's letting her off way too easy.] [Uhm… so is his stroke game actually trash?

Asking for Aurora, don't get it twisted.] I swiped the holographic text away and sank back into the firstclass leather seat. The jet engines roared to life at exactly 2 AM.

The city lights receded and grew smaller until they disappeared into the clouds. On the third day of his Seattle trip, Gideon rerouted to Portland for a site inspection.

He bumped into a strange woman at the private terminal. He couldn't pinpoint the exact issue. A sudden, inexplicable irritation crawled under his skin. He brushed it off.

Ten minutes into the luxury SUV ride, Gideon terminated a brief conference call. He tapped Wren's contact name, ready to demand her exact location.

A semitruck violently Tboned his side of the vehicle. He woke up two days later, squinting against the harsh glare of hospital fluorescents. His attending physician walked in.

The strange woman from the tarmac. Dr. Aurora. Aurora flipped his chart.

She diagnosed a minor concussion, entirely downplaying the fact that the trauma completely wiped a specific chunk of his memory. A primal instinct screamed at Gideon.

The missing fragments mattered. He dug his nails into his palms. Nothing but static. His executive assistant practically scrambled into the room, handing over his recovered phone.

Gideon unlocked the screen. Pinned to the very top of his messages: a Ragdoll cat avatar glaring with absolute disdain. He scrolled through the text threads. Clearly his girl.

But he initiated almost every single interaction. Gideon mimicked his own past tone, typing out a quick message. Baby, did you eat yet?

The message instantly turned green, missing the Delivered receipt. He was completely blocked. A cold sweat broke across his forehead. He cycled through every single social app.

Blocked. Across the entire board. What the hell did he do? Commit a capital offense? For some reason, a faint sense of panic stirred in his subconscious.

He needed to get back to Manhattan immediately. His vitals hadn't entirely stabilized. He ripped the IV out of his arm anyway, demanding an immediate discharge.

Aurora happened to be transferring back to a New York hospital. She suggested sharing the private flight. It made clinical sense. A doctor on standby midair.

Asher pulled his GWagon up to the private hangar. He spotted the two of them walking down the airstair sidebyside. His jaw practically hit the steering wheel. Holy shit.

If Wren caught even a glimpse of this, she would burn the entire state to the ground. Asher scrambled out of the car as they approached.

He finally got a good look at the girl beside Gideon. Zero makeup, a messy claw clip holding back choppy hair. She radiated a cool, aloof energy.

Aurora spotted Asher and immediately created distance. She offered a perfectly polite, entirely cold nod. "Thanks for the lift, Gideon. Schedule a followup MRI.

Avoid elevating your heart rate." Aurora disappeared into a cab. Asher stared at her exhaust fumes for five solid minutes.

Gideon kicked Asher squarely in the shin. "Chase her to the psych ward. Get your brain checked while you're at it." Asher rubbed his leg, completely speechless.

Halfway down the interstate, Asher finally got the full briefing. The amnesia. The blocked numbers.

He slapped the steering wheel, barking out a laugh. "I told you, you were raising a literal tyrant." Chapter 7 During the drive, Asher unloaded Wren's entire history.

For a guy who usually couldn't shut his mouth, he was surprisingly gentle about it. He dropped the 'toxic psycho' labels and stuck strictly to the cold, hard facts.

But when he hit the part where Wren casually siphoned over a hundred million dollars in a single breath, his voice cracked with raw disbelief.

He fully expected an amnesiac Gideon to side with him. To show at least a fraction of shock.

Instead, Gideon's tone remained exactly as flat and unfazed as it had before the crash. "Let her swipe. It's pocket change. I need to see her." Asher choked on his own spit.

He drove Gideon up to the Hamptons estate gates. He planned to drop him and run, but his morbid curiosity won out. He tailgated Gideon up the driveway.

He desperately wanted to witness Wren's face when she realized Gideon couldn't remember her. She might actually slap him across the jaw.

Asher fully intended to record the incoming bloodbath for the group chat. Harboring pure chaos, Asher followed Gideon through the heavy oak doors.

As he stepped inside, his heart practically stopped. Total, echoing emptiness. Every single footstep bounced off the bare walls. Pure terror flashed across Asher's face. "Holy shit.

Did you get robbed? What kind of thief steals the trash cans? Were they desperate for cash or what?" Gideon stood frozen. He stared at the gutted mansion.

Only the loadbearing pillars remained. A violent throb pulsed at his temple. A sickening dread pooled in his gut.

That dread cemented into reality the second he reached the master suite. His eyes darkened to pitch.

He locked onto the chaotic, scrawled handwriting on a single neon sticky note stuck to the bare wood. Thought you were actually good in bed? You dusty old fossil!

You are a terrible provider! I’m upgrading to a new sugar daddy! Gideon snatched the paper. The veins on his forehead popped out. Then his vision went black and he passed out