I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis

The Laurent family estate sat alone at the top of a private hill, like it thought it was too good to share real estate with the rest of us. The only way up was a winding mountain road that made my stomach do backflips.

Lately, all anyone in Skyline could talk about was the elusive Laurent heir like he was the second coming of Gatsby with better hair. I’d heard his name so many times it started to feel like subliminal messaging. At this point, I had to see what all the fuss was about.

Traffic on the way up was a nightmare—Skyline’s elite crawling up the mountain like glittery ants in black-tinted SUVs. We weren’t even at the top when Yvaine told the driver to pull over.

She got out first. I followed, tugging my dress down an inch—not that it helped.

Technically, I should’ve arrived with Ashton to sell the whole engagement thing. But he’d texted to say he’d be running late.

Yvaine hooked her arm through mine as we headed up the rest of the way on foot.

The dress she’d picked for me was... bold. A silver slip covered in enough rhinestone fringe to double as a disco ball. Definitely not my usual vibe, but tonight wasn’t about subtlety. The thing clung to me like a second skin, sparkling even in the patchy mountain moonlight.

And the slit? Let’s just say one wrong move and I’d be charged with public indecency. I’d paired it with a pair of silver stilettos that made my calves look deadly and my ankles like they could cut glass.

With my hair pinned up and a pearl clip at the back, I almost passed for classy. Almost.

By the time we reached the Laurent gates, I was trying not to stare but—bloody hell. Even the door was smug. Giant wrought iron monstrosity with gold accents and enough marble to pave a Greek tragedy.

Now, the Carlisles weren’t exactly paupers. Yvaine’s family practically ran Skyline’s social scene, and her brother had been expanding the family empire like Monopoly was a blood sport. Still, even she raised an eyebrow at the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

‘Is that... a fountain inside the gate?’ she whistled.