A one night stand that turns into something else

She doesn't believe in chasing love. Not when it never seems to stay. Olandria has built a life she's proud of-her boutique, her clients, her independence. She knows her worth. So when every man she meets disappears without explanation, she tells herself it doesn't matter. Until it starts to. Nic Vansteenberghe doesn't do relationships. He does control, business, and keeping things exactly where he wants them. So when a high-stakes deal depends on him having a stable girlfriend, he needs a solution-and fast. Olandria needs a fake boyfriend. Nic needs a perfect image. It should be simple. It isn't. Because the one man who keeps interfering in her life... is the same one who's been making sure no one else ever gets the chance. And the worst part? She doesn't even know she was already his.

Olandria and Nic have worked together for a tech company for years now. Nic has had an insane crush on Olandria the entire time. The second that he thinks he has his chance, he drops the ball. He doesn't know that she feels the same way for him.

~ Three years later ~ A shared past. A complicated present. And a connection that refuses to fade.

COUTURE & CHAOS An Elite Slow-Burn Fashion Romance A Novel by Tochi Udeh Olandria Laurent built her name on control. Every look deliberate. Every word measured. Every relationship temporary. She does not get distracted. Especially not by a man she mistakes for staff. Nicolas Vans doesn't correct her. He watches. And somewhere between flashing cameras and bass-heavy nights, the mistake becomes something neither of them can undo. Hudson Williams is everything the world expects her to choose. Refined. Respected. Safe. Nicolas is none of those things. And yet- The more Olandria insists she isn't falling, the more chaos begins to feel like the only honest thing in the room. Some matches are polished. Others are dangerous. She was never supposed to want both.

A collection of oneshots about my favs: Nicolandria!

Nicolas Vansteenberghe, Viscount of the most prestigious estate in all of the Ton, has long resolved that love is an indulgence he cannot afford. His betrothal is sensible, advantageous, and entirely unromantic-precisely as intended. Which is why it is intolerable that the woman who unsettles him most is not his future bride, but her friend and far more aggravating companion, Olandria Carthen. Olandria is sharp where he expects softness, defiant where he demands decorum, and dangerously perceptive of the man he keeps so carefully restrained. Olandria insists she despises him just as much and Nic convinces himself his fixation is irritation. Yet with every glance and every conversation edged too close to truth, duty begins to tremble beneath desire. And in a season built on restraint, nothing is more scandalous than wanting precisely what one must never have. Welcome to the season, Dearest Gentle Reader.

Olandria Carthen is finally choosing herself. Celebrating her 24th birthday with a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Barcelona, surrounded by her bestest friends and as far away from chaos as possible. Until he shows up. Nicolas Vans has a habit of showing up where he doesn't belong. He's cocky, infuriating, and way too familiar. The kind of man who blurs lines, says the wrong things, and never explains himself. One week. One destination. And too much history. This is a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers story about bad timing, off-limits desire, and what happens when the person you're falling for isn't nearly as single as you thought.

Olandria is a civil litigation attorney who has just been put on a case regarding club owner Nicolas Vansteenberghe. Throughout the trials and tribulations of the case, she reconnects with a dream she once had. With the stories that she has heard about Nic, she was made to believe that he was the kind of man everyone accused him of being. Her mind changes, though, as he reveals parts of himself he has never allowed anyone else to see. Will this be a blossoming romance between two people with unfulfilled dreams, or a disaster that will ruin the both of them altogether?

Olandria Carthen and Nic Vansteenberghe have never gotten along. Through unusual circumstances however, they find themselves discovering that they each have much to learn. #inspiredbythedealoneofmyfavoritestoriesofalltime