I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis
Chapter 233 - 234 The Convenient Option

Chapter 233: Chapter 234 The Convenient Option

Thirty seconds that felt like thirty years passed.

Daniel: [Not exactly. But she’s in Wessexia. Something artsy. Dance, I think. Ashton never got over her. You were just the convenient option. I also heard she looks a lot like you...]

I dropped my phone face down on the mattress.

Heat pressed against the back of my neck.

My chest felt tight, like I’d swallowed something solid and it refused to go down.

Daniel: [Everything I said is true. Ask Ashton if you don’t believe me.]

I did what I should have done a long time ago and blocked his number.

Of course I knew what he was doing.

He’d tried every angle to wedge himself between Ashton and me, and now he thought he’d found a winner, stirring up shit about Ashton’s so-called secret love.

I wasn’t buying it.

Okay, maybe halfway, but not more than that.

If Ashton really was carrying a torch for someone, I didn’t need it spoon-fed through Daniel’s rubbish texts.

I could ask him directly, face to face.

I kept the lamp on and forced myself to stay awake.

Ten turned to eleven, and still no sign of him.

I curled up with my phone and drifted off waiting.

I didn’t know how long I’d been out.

My eyes stayed shut, but the rustle of the sheets pulled me halfway back.

Ashton slipped into bed quietly.

His chest was warm against my back.

I slid closer, barely conscious, dragging the blanket up to my chin.

There was something I’d meant to ask, something important, but it hovered just out of reach.

He brushed his mouth over the corner of mine.

I mumbled something that didn’t make sense.

‘Go back to sleep,’ he whispered.

I did.

When I opened my eyes, sunlight had already bled through the curtains.

His side of the bed was cold.

I sat up slowly, eyes gritty, brain still not fully switched on.

Last night’s messages came flooding back like a slap to the face.

I still hadn’t asked Ashton about the woman, the one Daniel couldn’t shut up about.

But after a full night’s sleep, it didn’t feel quite so urgent.

I’d ask when Ashton actually had five minutes to spare, and when I wasn’t half-dead from waiting.

I’d barely reached the bottom of the stairs when Yvaine’s name popped up on my screen.

‘Movie?’ she said the moment I answered. ‘No excuses. You’re coming. We hit the mall first, then dinner after. There’s a new sushi place on Fifth. Supposed to be decent.’

‘Sure,’ I said. ‘I’ve got nothing going on. Want to grab lunch first?’

She let out a long, irritated breath. ‘Can’t. I’ve got a blind date at noon.’

‘A what?’ I nearly missed a step. ‘You’re going on a blind date? Did you and Cade break up?’

‘No. But I’m not marrying the guy. My parents don’t even know he exists. If they did, they’d lose their minds.’

Thinking back to my own first impression of Cade, I could sort of understand where her parents were coming from.

‘I couldn’t get out of it,’ she said. ‘They’ve been pushing for weeks. I said yes just to shut them up. I’ll smile, nod, and be out before dessert.’

Something clicked. ‘Wait. Your blind date wouldn’t happen to be a guy named Declan, would it?’

‘Might be?’ she said lazily. ‘Didn’t catch the name. I was just told to dress nice and show up on time.’

‘Wow,’ I muttered, shaking my head. ‘Skyline really is tiny. Declan’s Ashton’s younger brother.’ Half-brother, technically.

‘Wait, what? Huh. That explains why my mum kept going on about him being from “a good family”. She made it sound like he shits gold. Is he... normal?’

‘He’s alright. Bit of a thrill-seeker. Ashton says he’s obsessed with motorbikes lately.’

Yvaine snorted. ‘Perfect. If he’s just here to tick the box too, we’re golden. I’ll eat fast and get out. Meet you at the mall after?’

‘Yep.’

I left the house at one, got to our meeting spot on time, and waited.

Ten minutes passed.

Then twenty.

I called her twice.

No answer.

The film was about to start when I finally saw her.

She was dragging her feet across the pavement, shoulders slumped like a wilted flower.

I marched over. ‘You look like you got mugged. What happened?’

She flopped down onto the bench beside me and let out a long sigh. ‘I should’ve stayed home. Lunch with Declan turned into a bloody disaster.’

‘Spill.’

‘We were getting along fine. He’s laid-back, didn’t ask anything weird, mostly joked about how forced the whole thing was. Then Cassian showed up.’

‘Seriously?’ I’d have thought he’d backed off after seeing how close Yvaine was with Cade on the Elmridge trip.

‘He was sitting two tables away. He overheard my name, wandered over uninvited, then started mouthing off at Declan.’

‘What’d he say?’

‘That Declan’s useless, doesn’t have a job, lives off Ashton’s leftovers, has no direction in life, and isn’t good enough for a Carlisle. He said it all right to his face. Loudly.’

‘Bloody hell.’

‘I told him, “He might be reckless, but at least he’s not cheating on anyone behind their back.”’

‘That’s a solid line.’ I could just picture Cassian’s face turning beet red.

‘Guess who walked in just then? Cade.’

‘Oh no.’

‘He saw us, lost it. He thought I’d gone there to meet Cassian. He was two seconds away from decking him. I had to physically shove them apart.’

‘What did you tell him?’

‘Didn’t get the chance. He was shouting in front of everyone. Accused me of stringing him along. Said I never really wanted anything serious. Then he stormed off. Didn’t even look back.’

She exhaled through her nose, eyes on the floor. ‘I should’ve stayed home and eaten bloody instant noodles.’

‘Are you gonna break up with him?’