"What do you say, bellissima?"
"Stop calling me that, Arius."
"Over my dead body, wife."
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:˚ ♡ ⋆｡˚･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
Lucian West was in desperate need of a job to pay for her mother's loan. When she finally gets the job, her boss offers h...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
《♡°♡°♡°☆°♡°♡°♡》
Arius
"Wake up!" Nonie's sharp voice pierces through the haze of my sleep. What the hell? I barely open my eyes before I feel an icy torrent of water drench me. "Ouch!" I gasp. The cold water hits my skin like a jolt of reality, and suddenly, I'm wide awake.
What in the world? Why is Nonie holding an empty jug of water over my head? And why am I soaked from head to toe?
"About time you woke up!" she yells, not at all concerned that I’m clearly still disoriented. She grabs me by the arm and yanks me to my feet. A grown man doesn’t need to be dragged out of bed like a child. My head is spinning—this has to be some kind of fever dream.
I blink, still trying to make sense of my surroundings. "Nonie, what are you doing here?" I croak, my voice thick with sleep.
She doesn’t answer. Instead, she shoves an iPad into my face.
"What is this?" I grunt, still groggy, not fully grasping the situation. I take the device from her, squinting at the screen. She looks furious, her jaw clenched, her eyes almost blazing with frustration.
"See for yourself, Ari," she snaps.
I look down at the screen, my heart dropping into my stomach. The words on the screen burn into my brain: 'The CEO of Moreno Enterprise Hooking Up with Ashley Frank.'
What the hell?
I stare at the article in disbelief. Multiple tabloids have picked up the same story. They’re all running with the same ridiculous rumor. The photos they’ve used are from last year, during a business meeting with Ashley. We were at a club discussing her new project, and the shots are clearly doctored.
We were never that close. In fact, we kept our distance and everything between us was strictly professional. The only person who could’ve spun this lie is Troy, my biggest rival. This feels like something straight out of his playbook.
"Say something, you liar," Nonie demands, snatching the iPad out of my hand.
I run a hand through my wet hair, frustration bubbling up. "This wasn’t from last night, I swear. I never lied to you when I said I don’t have a girlfriend," I explain, trying to remain calm, even though the situation is spiraling out of control. "These articles are fake. The photos are from last year, and they’re edited."
Nonie stares at me, her eyes filled with disbelief. "Your reputation is ruined, Arius."
"I know, Nonie. I know," I mutter, feeling the weight of the situation crash down on me.
---
I need to clear my head. I don’t have time to deal with this right now, but it's impossible to ignore the mess I’m in. I drive to The Nathans, my favorite coffee shop. It's the only place I can go where the world slows down, and I can just breathe for a second.
