Wrong Bed, Right Billionaire

I finally met my online boyfriend of three months in person—or so I thought. Morning sunlight poured through the floortoceiling windows, blindingly bright.

I clutched the hotel's ridiculously expensive Egyptian cotton sheets to my chest.

My face flushed hot as my gaze dragged over the raw, coiled tension of the eightpack abs on the male body lying next to me. "Connor," I breathed.

The man beside me went rigid. "You can't even tell who was just kissing you?" My brain flatlined. "You're not Connor? Then who are you?" He let out a dark scoff.

His jaw locked tight as he yanked his arm out from under my neck. "Definitely not fucking Connor." Chapter 1 Cold sweat broke out across my skin.

I snatched the duvet and hauled it up to my chin. "Who… who the hell are you? What did you do to me?" The blanket wasnt big enough.

My frantic yank left his eightpack fully exposed in the morning light. My throat bobbed as I swallowed hard. He turned his head, shooting me a dark look.

A long arm shot out, flicking a corner of the blanket right over my eyes, cutting off my view. "Who am I?" A low, dark chuckle vibrated in his chest. "You were calling me baby all night long." Baby?

I wanted to bash my head against the headboard until I passed out. Rustling sounds filtered through the fabric.

By the time I ripped the blanket off my face, he was already fully dressed. "Look, man… no, wait… ugh," I stammered, clinging to a desperate shred of hope. "Last night… we just… kissed… right?" His hand, holding out my scattered clothes, paused.

He shook his head with a smirk. No? We didn't do anything else? The tension bleeding out of my shoulders felt euphoric.

His long fingers hooked the strap of my top, reeling me in close. He tilted his chin toward the trash can. I followed his gaze.

If I wasn't losing my mind, there were exactly two used foil wrappers sitting at the bottom of the bin. My breath seized in my throat. My legs instantly turned to jelly.

Panic spiked through my veins, my scalp prickling while a dull ache suddenly made itself known in my lower back. I sat there, paralyzed.

The absolute horror of last night crashed over me. I swallowed a mouthful of ash. Right on cue, my phone started buzzing. Connor?

Guilt clawed at my throat as I hit accept. "Hello?" "Where are you at? I grabbed breakfast, I'm coming to pick you up." I threw a panicked glance at the man sitting near the bed.

My chest tightened. "I don't even know where I am…" Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. "The InterContinental," the man beside me drawled flatly. Fuck!

Who told him to open his mouth? "The penthouse suite at the InterContinental?" Connor went dead silent on the other end for a few seconds before his voice spiked an octave. "Maddox?

Is Maddox right there with you?

He actually took you to his private turf?" Maddox? "Who the hell is Maddox?" I slapped my hand over the phone's mic and hissed at the guy in front of me. A muscle ticked in his jaw.

I stared at him, lost.

A second later, he leaned in, his warm breath fanning over my ear as he dropped his voice into a dangerous, gravelly whisper. "Next time you let a guy put in all that physical labor, maybe ask for his name first." My brain stalled. "Maddox is my roommate.

I got caught up with some stuff yesterday, so I asked him to pick you up. He's a solid guy, right?" Connor was still rambling cluelessly through the speaker. Roommate?

I stared blankly at Maddox, my mind wiped. "Yeah… he's great," I choked out, swallowing back the hysterical sob building in my chest.

An hour later, Connor, his buddies, and I were crammed into a booth at a cheap corner diner.

Staring at the greasy pancakes and lukewarm coffee on the table, the atmosphere was suffocatingly awkward. I had managed to piece the nightmare together.

Connor had been too busy obsessing over a limited sneaker drop last night, so he sent his roommate, Maddox, to pick up my drunk ass.

And I, in my infinite wisdom, mistook Maddox for Connor and threw myself at him. I ranked lower than a pair of freaking shoes. "This is my guy, Maddox.

Dropped cash on a fivestar hotel without blinking, absolutely insane." Connor slapped Maddox on the shoulder, grinning at me. "That's brotherhood right there.

A guy worth getting deeply acquainted with." Deeply acquainted with… A hysterical laugh bubbled in my throat as my cheeks caught fire. "Look at you broke losers.

I can barely bum twenty bucks off you guys, take some notes!" Connor roasted the rest of the table. "Take notes on what?

We don't have fathers sitting on the university's board of trustees." "The guy literally owns Southern U.

You think we're going to try and compete with that?" The frathouse banter was giving me a pounding headache.

I mechanically stirred my lukewarm coffee, sneaking terrified glances at Maddox.

While I was practically crawling out of my skin, he just sat there, lounging in the cramped booth with absolute, infuriating calm.

How the hell was he so chill? "But wait, why did you book a room for yourself at the exact same hotel last night?" Connor asked, his brain finally catching up to the fact that Maddox and I had been on the same phone call, walking out of the same lobby together.

The entire table fell dead silent and stared at us. My stomach dropped into my shoes. Fuck. How do I explain this? Chapter 2 I was screwed. The truth was going to spill.

I held my breath, shooting Maddox a panicked look. He was infuriatingly calm. You just slept with your buddy's practicallygirlfriend, and you're not even breaking a sweat?!

He took a lazy sip of his black coffee, tapping his fingers against the table. "That hotel is owned by my family's trust.

Since when do I need to submit an application to bring someone there?" The entire table choked on their breath.

Their expressions practically screamed: Fine, you're filthy rich, you can do whatever the hell you want. "So… next time we book a room, think your family trust can hook us up with a friendsandfamily rate?" Connor laughed, trying to diffuse the suffocating tension. "Who exactly are you planning to bring?" Maddox shot back.

Connor turned to me, nudging my shoulder. "I'm a guy with a girlfriend now." My immediate instinct was to check Maddox's reaction.

I collided straight into his dark, interrogating stare.

A violent tremor shot down my spine. "We're… all… friends here." I ducked my head, too terrified to meet his eyes again. "Back off, Sloane's just shy!" Connor gloated, misinterpreting my terror for cute bashfulness.

I just mechanically pushed the food around my plate. After a round of rowdy congratulations, they started planning to drag me on a tenmile hardcore hike out at Wildcat Canyon.

A hike? My legs instantly turned to jelly. "I'm… not feeling that great," I mumbled, tugging at the hem of Connor's shirt, trying to politely beg my way out of it. "No worries!

If you tap out, I'll carry you on my back." He thumped his chest. "It's your first time meeting the guys… just do me a solid here," he whispered, pleading.

Trapped, I forced a stiff nod. "Idiot," Maddox sneered from across the table, his eyes locked dead on me. Whatever.

I just needed to maintain maximum distance from him before this whole thing blew up in everyone's faces. "Wait, Maddox. Weren't you supposed to pick up your girlfriend yesterday?

Where is she?" one of the guys suddenly asked. My stomach plummeted.

He has a girlfriend… He has a girlfriend and he still… What a piece of trash. "Exgirlfriend," Maddox snapped, his patience evaporating. "You guys broke up again?" "Yeah, she even texted us yesterday saying she was coming down to buy us dinner." "Man, you two are always off and on.

You fight, you make up in bed, we all know the drill…" "Do you not know how to hit the block button?" Maddox shoved his chair back, ready to walk out. "Don't be so coldblooded.

She's a sweet girl, completely obsessed with you, and always hooks us up. Just give in and get back with her," Connor started preaching. Maddox froze midstep.

He turned his head, a dark smirk playing on his lips. "If she's that great, want to trade?" Trade? Who the hell says that?

Absolute scum. "Hell no, we don't operate on the same wavelength." Connor shrank back, terrified to push it. "Besides, our Sloane could never handle a guy like you.

Right, Sloane?" Being suddenly thrown into the crossfire, I nearly choked on my spit. "Uh… yeah," I managed to lie.

Maddox shot me a heavy, loaded look before spinning on his heel and stalking out the door. We barely made it a quartermile up the trail before my body quit on me.

Taking advantage of Connor running off to buy water, I collapsed onto a boulder and fused to it. "Still got energy left in the tank?" A tall shadow blotted out the sun.

I tipped my head back. Maddox. I shot a nervous glance in the direction Connor had disappeared. I knew exactly what Maddox was implying. "I'm totally dead.

But… I promised Connor." "Are you actually stupid?" he snapped viciously. "I…" I needed a legitimate excuse.

I couldn't just bail halfway up the mountain and look like a flake. "Whatever, just leave me alone." I was basically throwing myself to the wolves. "Fine." For some reason, that pissed him off.

He threw me a scathing glare. "Don't come crying to me later." I didn't even have to wait for later.

The second Connor cheerfully announced we had only covered a tenth of the trail, I wanted to sob.

Seeing that I was legitimately about to pass out, Connor graciously offered to put me on his back. Chapter 3 The rest of the guys started hooting and catcalling.

Dreading the absolute torture of the trail ahead, I bit the bullet and climbed onto Connor's back.

But for some reason, my skin prickled with unease. "I'm done walking." We barely made it a few steps before Maddox's voice cut through the air.

The whole group stopped, staring at him in confusion. "What's up, man?" Connor asked. "I'm exhausted." Maddox dropped onto a nearby rock, refusing to move another inch. "Care to explain how you're already exhausted?" Connor pushed, only to get instantly shut down by a lethal glare from Maddox.

Maddox pulled out a cigarette, tilted his head to light it, and took a long drag. "I'm taking a shuttle up.

Do whatever the hell you want." "What's his problem today?" one of the guys muttered, completely lost.

Maddox tilted his head back, exhaling a plume of smoke with an arrogant smirk. "Lower back pain." As he said it, his dark eyes slid deliberately over to me.

My lungs seized. "Gotcha." "Say less, man. We get it." The guys erupted into a chorus of snickers, exchanging knowing looks.

One of them walked over and clapped Maddox on the shoulder with exaggerated solemnity. "Pace yourself, brother.

You can't just coast on youth forever…" Maddox didn't even bother brushing him off; he just lowered his head, a dark chuckle vibrating in his chest. "Dial it back, guys!

There's a girl present!" Connor barked.

The frat pack finally snapped out of it and shut their mouths. "Hey…" I gently tugged at the hem of Connor's shirt. "Maybe I should just take the shuttle too." "You don't want a piggyback ride?" Connor asked, oblivious. "No, it's not that…" I shook my head rapidly, letting out a defeated breath. "I'm just really heavy." "Are you?" Connor purposefully hitched me higher on his back, weighing me before dropping a deadpan, "Yeah, a little bit." A phantom dagger lodged itself right in my ego. "Screw it, let's all take the shuttle!" Ultimately, the entire group crammed into the shuttle carts to the summit.

We killed time at a mountaintop cafe and grabbed dinner, completely wiping ourselves out by the time we finally dragged ourselves home that night.

Collapsing onto my bed, every single bone in my body felt shattered. My lower back was throbbing with a vicious ache.

Connor texted that he wanted to carry me in a few gaming matches and dragged me into a group chat with his roommates. I didn't have the energy to even look at a screen.

I scrubbed my face and blacked out the second my head hit the pillow. When I woke up the next morning, my mind kept spinning.

I finally decided I had to set the record straight with Maddox. Opening the new group chat, I tapped on his profile picture and fired off a private message. [You around?

About yesterday… I was completely wasted. I mistook you for Connor.

My bad.] It took him half an hour to finally shoot back a reply. [Mistook me?] [Yeah.] I typed, swallowing my pride. [Do Connor and I look like the same person?

Are you intentionally insulting me?] Thinking back, the two of them were literally night and day. One was a golden retriever jock; the other was an absolute menace to society.

Staring at the glowing screen, I could practically visualize the arrogant sneer curling his lips. [You're partially to blame for this too.] [Oh?

Care to enlighten me on what exactly my 'blame' is?] My teeth dug savagely into my bottom lip. [You… you didn't push me away.] Honestly, during the hike yesterday, some fractured memories had started bleeding through the blackout.

When Maddox picked me up, he definitely said something about his roommate being busy and stepping in to grab me. But my brain had been completely marinated in alcohol.

Throwing a guy who looked like that into the mix? My circuits instantly fried.

I hadn't registered a single damn word. […] He sent back a string of ellipses, treating my accusation like absolute garbage.

Cornered by my own guilt, panic started to spike. [You knew exactly who I was looking for, yet you didn't stop me. You're no saint in this either.] He was just as guilty.

Why was he acting like I orchestrated the whole disaster? [You literally just said I'm no saint.

A decentlooking girl throws herself at me completely wasted, and you expect me to just push her away? Am I even a man at that point?] [You…] Decentlooking?

I couldn't tell if I was being complimented or viciously insulted. He completely trapped me. My fingers hovered over the keyboard, trembling with frustration.

I couldn't find a single comeback to flip the power dynamic. [So what exactly do you want?] [Yesterday you were begging for me, calling me baby.

Today you're letting another guy carry you around, flirting right in front of my face.

Let me ask you—what exactly does that make me?] Staring at the screen, a vein throbbed in my temple. Adrenaline obliterated my rationality.

My thumbs smashed the keys. [It makes you unlucky as hell.] Chapter 4 [?] That was his only reply, a single question mark. Whatever. I left him on read.

After that toxic little exchange, Maddox and I completely cut contact. I also cleared the air with Connor.

We were strictly in the friend zone. "Did meeting me in person disappoint you?" Connor asked, refusing to let it go. "No!" I frantically scrambled for a polite rejection. "I've been in the workforce for two years, and you're still in college.

I just think… we're better off as friends." He went radio silent for a few seconds before shooting back, "You don't want to be my sugar mama?" Excuse me???

Is this what college kids are doing these days? Just entirely giving up on life?

I decided it was time to hit him with a brutal reality check. "To be completely honest, my current hourly wage barely covers my rent.

I can hardly keep myself alive." A beat later, he replied, "Can you keep yourself alive until the end of the month?" I slowly typed out a single word: [Yes.] "Thank god.

Ever since the Black Friday sneaker drops, my bank account has been literally zero. I eat like a bird, I promise I won't drain your wallet." My chest physically hurt.

But the crushing weight of the guilt from the hotel incident won out. I caved and agreed to spot him until the end of the month. I didn't even know what was wrong with me lately.

My energy levels tanked, leaving me dragging through my days in a permanent fog. Over the weekend, Connor invited me out to eat. "Come through.

The guys are all here, we're just going to run some games." My immediate instinct was to bail.

But remembering his zerodollar bank account, I figured I should show up and cover his tab.

Plus, the unresolved tension with Maddox was rotting in the back of my brain, driving me insane.

It wasn't until I pulled up to the location that I realized this wasn't some casual diner.

It was an ultraexclusive, membersonly vintage estate restaurant nestled halfway up the mountainside. The atmosphere practically reeked of old money and ridiculous price tags.

So much for not draining my wallet… Pushing through the heavy doors, I found the guys huddled around their screens, gaming. My eyes immediately did a sweep of the room. No Maddox.

The tight knot in my chest instantly unraveled.

Seeing me walk in, the frat pack immediately started shuffling around, aggressively clearing the seat right next to Connor. "Sit here.

We're just running a few matches before the food drops," Connor grinned, patting the leather cushion next to him. "Why did we come to a place like this?" I dropped into the seat, keeping my voice low. "Maddox picked it." He snatched my phone to log me into the game, poured me a glass of ice water, and literally grabbed a menu to fan me.

Maddox? Just hearing his name made my stomach do a nasty flip. "You don't need to fan me, I'm not hot," I deflected. "Yeah, it's his birthday today.

He's treating us to a massive dinner." Connor cheerfully started peeling an orange for me. For a massive jock, he was surprisingly attentive. "His birthday?" I completely froze.

My first thought was the panic of showing up emptyhanded. "We never do gifts for birthdays, don't even stress about it. The guy literally doesn't care.

He just always throws cash around, and there was no way I wasn't dragging you along for toptier food." He dropped the peeled orange segments into my palm.

I couldn't exactly reject the gesture, so I just popped them into my mouth. "Damn, Connor, treating the wifey right?

Peel us an orange too!" "Forget the food, I'm already choked full on the PDA." The entire table erupted into catcalls.

Mortification welded my jaw shut. "Fuck off, stop talking garbage. Sloane and I are strictly friends right now." He shot them a warning look before turning to me. "Ignore them.

They're just complete idiots." Hearing him draw that boundary actually loosened the vise grip on my lungs. I get it. College guys operating in a pack just ran their mouths.

It was whatever. "Why aren't you playing Jungle?" I stared at his character selection screen, totally lost. "I figured I need to branch out, run some different classes." I stared blankly as he locked in the cutest, most glittery support mage on the roster.

This hulking athlete was seriously playing the magical girl? I bit the bullet and grouped up with him and his boys for a few matches.

Five crushing defeats in a row. "I'm still getting the hang of her…" Connor defended himself. You're doing great. Now never pick her again.

Chapter 5 "Where's Maddox?" one of the guys yelled, unable to take the brutal losing streak anymore. "Let's just wait for Maddox…" Connor muttered awkwardly, tossing his phone onto the table.

I had never gamed with Maddox before, so I didn't get why they were all banking on him as their savior. I found out pretty damn quick.

He walked in with a lit cigarette clamped between his lips. He froze for a fraction of a second when he saw me, then strolled over to the window seat.

He lounged there, booting up the game with the cigarette still dangling lazily from his fingers. What followed was nine consecutive rounds of brutal annihilation. I was numb.

Watching the player with the ID "LuY" ruthlessly harvest the map, claiming the untouchable MVP title every match—that kind of dominance made my pulse race.

This was technically my first time queuing up with him, but his playstyle felt weirdly familiar.

Like when I played a squishy DPS character and got locked down by an enemy mage's stun.

His assassin would always launch out of some random brush, tank the incoming damage for me, and then execute a flawless counterkill with only a sliver of health left.

The mechanics were insanely slick. "Why did you just stop moving? You just stood there taking all that damage?" I asked him.

He tapped his ash, shooting me a sideways glance. "Had to make them think I was an easy target.

How else was I supposed to bait the kill?" "Huh…" You could do that? "Absolute garbage at the game, but still addicted," he drawled lightly, crushing his cigarette out.

Was he insulting my skills? "Maybe you should stop playing DPS, Sloane.

Try running a tank?" Connor suggested helpfully. "Or a pocket healer." "Yeah, a buffer works too." They were definitely insulting my skills.

Just as my face started burning with embarrassment, Maddox spoke up. "Play whatever you want. If we lose, it's on me." That shut everyone up real quick.

Because he was a literal god in the server. We kept running matches and never dropped a single one. Was this what getting completely carried felt like?

As we kept pushing, the way Maddox controlled the tempo felt exactly like how Connor used to carry me. But his ID wasn't on my friend's list. We had never played together.

Maybe all hightier jungle mains just had the exact same aggressive playstyle? I was probably overthinking it. Late into the session, Maddox's exgirlfriend suddenly showed up.

She was cute and bubbly, radiating the kind of energy that made her impossibly hard to hate. "Baby, let me get in on the next match," she beamed, smiling like a little ray of sunshine.

Maddox didn't give her an ounce of face. He shoved his chair back and stood up. "I'm burnt out. You guys play." I had hit my limit too.

The room suddenly felt suffocatingly tight, so I got up to grab some fresh air. The second I stepped outside, I spotted him. He was smoking again.

How massive was his nicotine addiction? I almost raised a hand to say hey, but the thought of his ex inside made things feel ridiculously awkward. I decided to just keep walking.

It was his birthday, his ex showing up was completely normal. I didn't even know why my chest felt so weirdly tight about it.

I barely took two steps before a voice snagged me from behind. "You said yes to him?" He dragged the words out, a lazy drawl completely stripped of emotion. "Said yes to what?" I turned back to look at him.

A mocking smirk touched the corner of his mouth. "He said he was bringing his girlfriend to my birthday dinner." I froze.

Connor was running his mouth again. "He and I are just friends." I had no idea why I even felt the need to clarify that to him. "Friends?" He looked down at me, his tone laced with heavy disdain. "A friend who spots his bills?

If you're feeling that generous, why don't you sponsor me?" I stared at him. Everyone knew his family was loaded. He was just mocking me. "My hourly rate is way too low.

I can't afford a trust fund kid like you," I shot back. He went silent. He took one last drag, put it out, and flicked the butt perfectly into the trash can.

He raised his eyes to meet mine and dropped a single word. "Idiot." Did he just curse at me? A flash of heat hit my chest.

I didn't have the patience to deal with him, so I spun around and headed for the restrooms.

But he just shoved his hands into his pockets and shadowed me down the hall. "Why are you following me?" I stopped and demanded. "I'm going too." He tipped his chin toward the signs.

I choked on my words, swallowed back my annoyance, and kept walking. But before I reached the doors, my stomach lurched. A wave of intense nausea hit me, making my knees buckle.

I had to slap a hand against the wall just to stay upright. Chapter 6 I didn't have a second to spare. I bolted into the restroom and emptied my stomach into the nearest stall.

My ears were ringing, my head spinning so hard I felt like my soul was being ripped straight out of my body. What the hell? Was there something wrong with the food?

When I finally pushed out of the bathroom, a thin layer of cold sweat coated my spine. A dull, heavy ache was already starting to radiate across my lower abdomen.

The second I stepped into the hallway, I collided with his gaze.

He was leaning against the wall right outside the door, his dark eyes locked dead on me. "What's wrong?" He dragged his gaze up and down my frame. "Not feeling great." My entire body felt dangerously hollow. "Where exactly?" he pushed.

My brain was too foggy to come up with a decent lie. "My stomach… and I've got cramps…" "If you feel like garbage, why did you even show up? Are you completely stupid?

Do you not know how to say no?" He snapped, his tone so vicious it literally welded my jaw shut. He definitely hated my guts.

Why else would he always talk to me like I was a massive inconvenience?

I was standing right in front of him, physically suffering, and he was just ripping into me. "I'm leaving." I ducked my head, swallowing the sudden, pathetic burn at the back of my throat.

I spun on my heel and walked away. Back in the private room, I pulled Connor aside and told him I felt sick and needed to head home. "Go get some rest.

Let me grab my keys, I'll drive you." He immediately reached for his jacket. "No, stay and play. I'll just order an Uber." The food hadn't even dropped yet.

I couldn't drag him away from this. "Good luck getting a cell signal for an Uber all the way up here," Connor said, walking over to me.

Right at that moment, a sleek black Audi pulled up to the estate's front entrance. The horn blared once. Everyone turned to look. Maddox?

I stared for a split second before tearing my eyes away. After the way he just verbally executed me in the hallway, I absolutely did not want to look at him. "Something came up.

I'm heading out," he announced through the rolleddown driver's side window. "It's literally your birthday, and you haven't even eaten.

Where are you going?" his exgirlfriend demanded. "Put the food on my tab.

My dad needs me for something." He was utterly ruthless, just doing whatever the hell he wanted without giving anyone a second thought. "Then I'm coming with you." The girl lunged for the passenger door handle. "Not happening." The locks aggressively clicked into place.

The girl yanked the handle a few times, her face flushing crimson as she stood there, utterly humiliated. "Hey, are you heading back into the city? Can you drop Sloane off?

She's sick." Connor grabbed my arm, dragging me toward the car. My heels dug into the pavement. We had literally just gotten into a fight.

There was zero chance he was going to say yes. "Get in." He dropped the words effortlessly. Get in?? "Good looking out, brother!" Connor shoved me toward the Audi.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Maddox's ex turn an even deeper shade of red. Mortification crawled up my neck, but the nausea churning in my gut overrode my pride.

I bit the bullet and reached for the car. I popped the rear door open.

He turned his head, shooting a glare over his shoulder. "Shotgun." "I'm fine in the back." His eyes darkened. "You're nauseous.

You want to sit in the back and throw up all over my leather?" Right. Riding in the back when you're motion sick was basically a death sentence.

I swallowed my pride, slammed the back door, and slid into the passenger seat. The car merged onto the winding highway.

I pressed the side of my head against the cool glass of the window, staring blankly out into the dark. We didn't exchange a single word.

The silence inside the cabin was thick and suffocating.

As we hit a red light, he suddenly reached into the back seat and tossed a bag into my lap. "What is this?" I stared blindly at it. "Look and find out," he bit out, his tone freezing cold.

I pulled the bag open. A hot water bottle.

I shot him a deeply confused look. "Are you… expecting your period soon?" He dragged a hand harshly through his hair, the tips of his ears flushing red as he actively avoided my gaze. "I heard girls get stomach cramps and nausea around that time.

Put that damn hot water bottle on your stomach, it'll help." The realization slammed into me. I had completely lost track of my cycle. "You just 'heard' about it?

Exactly how many hot water bottles have you handed out?" There was zero chance a guy knew this much about menstrual cycles without a massive roster of exgirlfriends.

Despite my absolute sass, I pulled the warm rubber bottle out and pressed it firmly against my aching abdomen. "Who exactly would I be handing them to?" he shot back.

His jaw tightened, a flash of genuine irritation breaking through his cool facade. "Are you an absolute idiot? Do you not use a calendar?

You knew it was coming and you still dragged yourself all the way up a mountain.

If you're not the one suffering, who the hell else is going to?" Chapter 7 The guy had a serious anger problem. The tips of his ears were burning a dark, angry red.

Honestly, it wasn't that I didn't know how to track my cycle, I just never bothered. Thanks to pulling allnighters grinding ranked matches, my hormones were a complete disaster.

It just showed up whenever it felt like it. Pressing the scalding rubber against my stomach, the vicious cramping slowly started to back off. I actually owed him one.

The guy was an absolute savage, but the fact that he managed to pull a hot water bottle out of thin air genuinely blew my mind.

He pulled up to the curb outside my apartment building, his eyes tracking over to the glowing neon sign of a 24hour CVS. "You need pain meds?" "No, I never take pills." I usually just rode out the cramps.

It wasn't worth popping painkillers.

He threw the Audi into park, his fingers tapping the steering wheel. "You live alone?" "Yeah." I instantly crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly on high alert. "Why?" "Why do you think?" His eyes dragged over me with lazy, mocking disbelief. "You think I'd actually try something when I'm completely sober?" A phantom slap across the face would have stung less. "You were completely sober that night, too," I muttered under my breath. "What was that?" His head snapped toward me, his gaze suddenly sharp. "Nothing." I snapped my mouth shut. "Give me your phone." "Why?" He didn't even bother answering.

He just snatched the phone right out of my hand, punched in a string of digits, and saved the contact as Maddox.

He tossed it back into my lap. "Call me if there's an emergency." "I can't just text you?" I asked, completely without thinking. "I ignore my texts," he stated, his tone dead serious.

The sudden, weirdly intense shift in the atmosphere made my skin prickle. I frantically scrambled to redirect. "What kind of emergency would I even have?

You're the one with places to be. Didn't you just tell your ex your dad needed you?

Why are you still here?" "I'm leaving." The dark, icy scowl instantly slammed back over his features. Jesus. I was completely lost.

What the hell did I even do to piss him off this time? I dragged myself upstairs to my apartment and blacked out on the couch for an hour.

When I finally woke up, starving, I reached for my bag to go grab some takeout, only to realize my driver's license and credit card were completely gone.

I racked my brain before the sickening realization hit me: they definitely slipped out of my pocket in his car. I had no choice. I pulled up his number and bit the bullet. [Hey.

Can you check your car and see if my driver's license and credit card are in there?] I tossed the phone onto the counter and went to splash some cold water on my face.

By the time I came back out, my screen was lit up with notifications.

He had sent a photo of my ID. [This?] [You need them right now?] [Answer me.] The timestamps were from ten minutes ago. Didn't the guy literally just say he ignores his texts?

Guilt instantly flooded my chest. [Yeah, sorry, I stepped away.

Just drop them off with Connor, I'll grab them from him another day.] The second I hit send, my phone instantly vibrated with an incoming call. "Be downstairs in five minutes." "Downstairs?" My brain stalled.

The line went dead before I could even process the demand. Five minutes. I didn't even have time to change out of my oversized sweatpants and faded tshirt.

I just shoved my feet into my slides and practically sneaked down the stairs like a criminal. The second I pushed through the lobby doors, I saw him.

He was leaning against the massive oak tree by the entrance. One hand was gripping a paper bag, while the other held a lit cigarette that he was lazily dragging on.

The evening wind was aggressive, tossing his dark hair into a messy, effortless sweep across his forehead.

When he turned his head and locked eyes with me, a sudden kick hit my ribs.

My heart literally skipped a beat. "Have you been waiting long?" I jogged over, ruthlessly crushing the weird flutter in my chest, and lightly tapped his shoulder.

He looked down at me.

A fleeting, almost imperceptible smirk curved the corner of his usually arrogant mouth. "Take it." He shoved the heavy bag into my chest, then turned to crush his cigarette out against the concrete planter.

I grabbed the handles, peeking inside. Sitting right on top were my missing cards.

Tucked underneath was a highend takeout box from that exclusive estate restaurant and a steaming cup of decaf hot cocoa. "Drink it while it's hot.

It shouldn't have cooled down yet." He suddenly raised his hand, his long fingers reaching out as if to brush against my forehead. But halfway there, he froze.

A muscle ticked in his jaw before he rigidly pulled his hand back. I stood there, completely stunned by the aborted movement. "Thanks," I choked out. "How much was all this?

Let me Venmo you." The second those words left my mouth, the atmosphere violently shifted.

His expression instantly locked down, that familiar, mocking arrogance sliding right back into place. "You want to pay me back? Sure.

Go ahead and cover the tab for the penthouse suite. And while you're at it, reimburse me for those two wrappers in the trash can." "You—" Was he even a man?!

How petty could you possibly get? Chapter 8 "What, don't want to pay up?

Think you can just take whatever you want from me and get away with it?" The words were laced with barbed wire. "Venmo or Zelle. How much?

I'll send it right now." Refusing to back down, I whipped out my phone. He didn't even make a move for his device.

He just stared at me, a muscle ticking in his jaw before he finally bit out, "Are you genuinely this stupid, or just acting?" What the hell was that supposed to mean?

He was constantly calling me an idiot, and it was seriously starting to piss me off. "Fine, I'm the idiot, and you're the absolute genius. Happy now?" That shut him up.

But he still just stood there, completely planted on the pavement. I couldn't figure this guy out. "Weren't you supposed to be with your dad?

You guys having a business meeting in my lobby?" I pivoted, trying to break the suffocating tension.

He shot me another dark glare. "My dad doesn't have the free time to deal with me." Huh? "Then what the hell are you doing here?" "Just assume I've completely lost my goddamn mind," he clipped out, letting out a harsh, frustrated breath. "Whatever.

You look fine. If I stay here any longer, I'm the one who's going to end up with a problem. I'm out." He spun on his heel and stalked off into the dark.

I stood there staring after his retreating back, completely lost. Why was his temper always running so hot?

As he disappeared down the street, my eyes drifted back to the concrete planter. Lying there in the dirt were at least half a dozen crushed cigarette butts.

Walking back up to my apartment, those cigarette butts burned themselves into my brain. A sudden, insane thought hit me: Did he never actually leave?

Had he just been standing down there this whole time? That thought consumed my brain for days. I couldn't make it make sense.

Mostly because my physical symptoms were violently demanding all my attention.

I had zero appetite, waves of nausea constantly threatened to take me out, and my period was severely MIA. Finally, I snapped and turned to Google.

The top search results were basically telling me I was dying—eat well, sleep well, and check off my bucket list.

But as I kept scrolling, a single comment buried at the bottom of a thread caught my eye: Girl, are you sure you aren't pregnant? Pregnant? How the hell was that possible?

What kind of sick joke was that? I didn't even have a boyfriend… My brain stalled for exactly three seconds. Panic instantly flooded my veins.

I practically crawled out of my apartment and bolted down to the corner Walgreens, snatching a pregnancy test off the shelf.

My heart slammed against my ribs as I waited in the bathroom.

When those two solid pink lines materialized in the little plastic window, it felt like a literal lightning bolt struck the crown of my head. My soul left my body.

I sat paralyzed on the toilet lid for thirty minutes, questioning my existence. Nothing made sense.

We explicitly used protection that night… There was no way my luck was this phenomenally tragic, right? I tossed and turned the entire night, physically unable to close my eyes.

The next day, I bit the bullet and booked an appointment at a private OBGYN clinic.

Filling out endless intake forms, agonizing in the waiting room, getting my blood drawn… After a brutal, nerveshredding ordeal, the lab results were finally placed right in front of me.

Even knowing what was coming, the printed conclusion still terrified me so badly I couldn't pull air into my lungs. "Intrauterine pregnancy, six weeks viable." "You're planning on keeping the baby, correct?" That was the very first question the female doctor fired at me. "Ah…" Her voice violently snapped me back to reality. "Probably… not." Her fingers froze over her keyboard.

She leveled a serious look at me. "Why wouldn't you keep it?" How the hell could I keep it? This was a catastrophic accident.

This was literally going to ruin my life. "Society places a lot of stress on women these days.

So many couples spend years trying to conceive and can't." She was probably judging the hell out of me, even if her tone remained completely sterile and clinical. "I was drinking," I blurted out, desperately grabbing at the first flimsy excuse I could find. "Sigh… just because of that?" She picked up my chart, scanning the numbers. "Your lab levels are incredibly strong." Setting the paper down, she shifted into explanation mode. "We strongly advise against alcohol consumption when actively trying to conceive, but an accidental slip before you know you're pregnant isn't an automatic death sentence for the fetus.

It all comes down to the lab work.

A single instance of drinking, as long as your current vitals and followup scans are clear, means the baby is perfectly viable." She dumped a massive lecture on me, making my face burn with humiliation.

I dropped my gaze to my lap, my throat locked tight. What was I supposed to say? That the father was a college frat boy? That we weren't even dating, let alone married?

That this whole nightmare was the result of a drunken hotel mixup? "I… I need to go home and think about it." I snatched the lab report off the desk and practically fled the examination room.

I ducked straight into the clinic's restroom. Staring down at the printed numbers on the paper, a vicious migraine instantly spiked behind my eyes. Great. Absolutely fantastic.

I literally created a human life. I stood in the sterile bathroom for a few minutes, desperately trying to force my heart rate back down to normal.

But the second I pushed the door open to leave, I collided shoulderfirst right into the doctor who was just walking in.

Chapter 9 I reached out, hesitating over whether I should say hi to the doctor, but the second I lifted my head, my eyes locked straight onto Maddox.

He was standing right at the sinks, bent over washing his hands. My breath instantly seized in my lungs.

My first instinct was to spin around and dive straight back into the restroom. Please, God, do not let him see me.

But then… "Oh, it's you." A familiar voice rang out right behind me. My blood ran cold.

Keeping my head ducked low, I forced a rigid smile at the doctor. "Hi." "About what we discussed in there, really take the time to think it over.

The bab—" "I know, thank you so much, I will definitely think about it!

I actually have somewhere to be right now, gotta go!" I frantically cut her off, my voice pitching up in sheer panic. "Alright…" She probably assumed I was genuinely late for something and didn't push it.

The second I lifted my head, my eyes collided with Maddox's. He was leaning against the counter, watching me with absolute, leisurely amusement. My heart rate violently spiked.

I desperately tried to pretend I hadn't seen him and made a break for the exit— "Mom," he called out casually. Mom? What the actual hell?

My brain completely flatlined. "What are you doing here?" The doctor behind me turned around, a warm smile breaking across her face. "Give me ten minutes, I'm almost off the clock." All the oxygen instantly evacuated the hallway.

The doctor was his mother? The terror of my secret blowing up right in my face consumed every brain cell I had left. "Do you two… know each other?" Maddox's mom wasn't blind.

Catching the heavy way Maddox was staring at me, she instantly picked up on the tension. "No! We don't know each other!

I'm leaving now." I plastered on a painfully awkward smile, spun on my heel, and practically sprinted down the corridor at top speed.

I genuinely thought if I ran fast enough, the terror wouldn't be able to catch me. I was wrong.

He intercepted me right outside the clinic's pickup zone. "What are you running from?" His dark voice slid over my shoulder.

A vicious prickle erupted across my scalp. "I wasn't running." I stared dead ahead, refusing to look at him.

He stepped right into my line of sight, completely blocking my escape route. "I don't bite. Do you really need to dodge me like the plague?" "No, I just have somewhere to be.

It's an emergency." Please, just let me go. My mind was an absolute disaster zone. "What kind of emergency?" He didn't budge an inch. "Just…" My brain was fried.

I couldn't even hallucinate a coherent lie. A cold sweat broke out across my palms. "I know what you're here for.

Why are you acting so deeply embarrassed?" A knowing smirk played on his lips. "You know?!" It was over. Goosebumps violently exploded down my arms.

I literally braced myself for the universe to deliver the final killing blow. "My mom is the top OBGYN here. What else would you be booking an appointment with her for?

Your… irregular period?" He dropped his voice, taking a halfstep closer. "I'll have her actually sit down and take a good look at your charts another day, see if she can fix those brutal cramps…" The suffocating pressure in my chest instantly vanished.

Thank God.

He just thought I was here for my missing period. "Stop asking." I frantically cut him off, desperate to kill the conversation. "Just drop it." "You're literally in physical agony and you're still not taking it seriously?" That dark irritation flared back up in his eyes. "It's medical privacy." I shoved past his shoulder and marched down the sidewalk. "Fine, I won't ask." He fell right into step beside me. "Where are you going?

I'll drive you." Why was he so relentlessly clingy today? "Weren't you literally here to meet your mom?" I stopped in my tracks, my patience entirely snapping. "Meeting's over." Over?

Was I suffering from auditory hallucinations?

Didn't he and his mom just establish they were doing something after her shift? "I seriously have somewhere to be," I said, leveling a deadserious glare at him. "And I said I'm driving you." His tone was absolute, completely unyielding.

The exhaustion was winning. I didn't have the mental capacity to keep fighting him on the side of the road. "Fine.

Whatever." Once we were in the Audi, he demanded to know the address for my "emergency." Since the whole thing was a massive lie, I obviously didn't have a destination.

I just awkwardly muttered that the plans got abruptly canceled. "So you dragged me all the way out here to run in circles…" He slid his dark gaze over to me. "I'm starving." "Then… just drop me off at the next intersection and head home." His expression instantly turned lethal. "Connor gets a free meal out of you, but I'm somehow not qualified?" What the hell?

Why was he suddenly dragging Connor into this? Feeling the dangerous drop in the cabin's temperature, genuine intimidation prickled down my spine.

I bit the bullet and forced out a single word. "Fine." I picked the restaurant