The Billionaire's Revenge Fiancée

Olive The sound of my palm striking Atlas’s face silenced the entire ballroom. For one beautiful second, nobody moved or dared to breathe. Then someone gasped and the whispers began. I lowered my hand slowly and stared at the red mark blooming across Atlas Floyd’s cheek, my palm still burning from the slap. Atlas didn’t move. He simply stood there in the middle of the Grand Meridian’s ballroom, one hand tucked into the pocket of his perfectly tailored black tuxedo, his head turned slightly from the force of my blow. The billionaire CEO looked exactly as he always did, impossibly composed, devastatingly handsome, and completely untouchable. Except for the fact that I had just slapped him in front of three hundred of New York’s wealthiest people. His jaw clenched. Slowly, he turned his face back toward me, those dark eyes landing on mine. They were cold. “Did you just slap me?” His voice was quiet. I lifted my chin. “Yes.” “You’d better have a good reason, Ms. Bellini.” A murmur swept through the ballroom. Hundreds of eyes were fixed on us. The wealthy guests who had been laughing over champagne minutes ago were now watching me as though I had just committed murder. I didn’t care. Tonight, I was settling a score. “You ruined my deal,” I spat. “Still stealing things that don't belong to you? Some things never change. Haven’t you done enough, Mr. Floyd?” “What deal?” He was feigning ignorance. “The Beaumont contract.” Something flickered across his face, and I continued before he could speak. “You, of all people, know how much my company needs that deal to survive, and you still stole it from me. Are you so threatened by me that you feel the need to ruin everything I work for?” “Olive.” He called me by my first name, his voice carrying that hint of warning I knew all too well. “You attacked me because you think I stole your deal?” “I know you did.” His lips curved into a humorless smile. “Of course you do.” My fingers curled into fists. I had known Atlas Floyd for most of my life, unfortunately. Our families had moved in the same circles when we were children. We had attended the same schools, the same charity events, the same ridiculous parties where adults pretended their children were friends because it was convenient for business. And Atlas had always hated me, or perhaps hate wasn’t the right word. He had simply enjoyed making my life miserable. He ruined my science project when we were twelve. He hid my shoes before a school recital. He told the boys at school that I had a crush on the headmaster’s son when I didn’t. And when we got older, his little games became considerably more expensive. A supplier suddenly withdrew from my company. A venue mysteriously became unavailable hours before one of my biggest events. An investor changed his mind after Atlas had supposedly “just happened” to speak to him. There had always been a reasonable explanation, a plausible deniability, but somehow, every time Atlas Floyd appeared, something I had spent months building came crashing down. Tonight had been no different. The Beaumont family had been prepared to invest twenty million dollars into my wine company, Bel Wines. Twenty million dollars. That contract could have taken my struggling company from barely surviving to competing with some of the biggest names in the industry. And tonight, right before I was supposed to sign, the Beaumonts had withdrawn. Their reason? Someone had sent them fake financial documents claiming my company was drowning in debt. The documents had been convincing enough to scare away the investors. Ethan, my boyfriend, had told me Atlas was seen speaking to Mr. Beaumont two days ago. That was enough for me. Bel Wines had been suffering ever since my father suffered heart failure two years ago. As if that wasn’t enough, our vineyards had been hit by a disease around the same time, destroying several of our grape farms. The family business had been struggling ever since. This contract was supposed to give us a fighting chance. Now it was gone. I had loans to repay, hospital bills to pay, employees depending on me, and a business that was slowly bleeding to death. So yes, I was pissed. And after ruining me, Atlas had the audacity to stand here tonight at his charity gala, playing the perfect billionaire philanthropist, like the saint I knew he wasn’t. This was the last time I would allow him to mess with me. Never again. “Pretend all you want, but I know what you did.” My voice dropped. “I came here to tell you that if you mess with my company or me again, I’ll make you regret it. I’ll come at you with everything I have left.” I stepped closer. “Stay out of my way, Atlas.” Atlas suddenly scoffed and my anger surged. “You think this is funny?” “No.” His gaze traveled slowly over my face. “But I do think you’re going to regret this. You’ve just made a very big mistake.” My stomach tightened. “Is that a threat?” I took another step closer, showing him that I was not intimidated. We were almost eye to eye thanks to the six-inch heels I was wearing. Atlas smirked slowly and for some reason, a chill traveled down my spine. “No.” His voice dropped. “It’s a promise.” Before I could respond, a familiar voice cut through the crowd. “Olive!” I turned. Ethan was pushing through the guests toward me, with my best friend, Sophia, following closely behind. Those two had been my support system for the past two years, standing by me every step of the way. After informing me about Atlas supposedly stealing the deal, they had personally driven me here. Ethan reached me and grabbed my hands. “Olive, what the hell are you doing?” “He ruined my contract.” I tried to explain but Ethan didn’t let me finish. “That’s enough. Let’s go.” He pulled me roughly toward the exit. I winced. He had never been this rough with me before. “Ethan—” “It’s a contract. There’s no need to create a scene.” His words hit me like a thunderbolt. A contract? He of all people knew how much I needed that deal. He knew how much my family was struggling. He knew I had come here specifically to confront Atlas. So why was he suddenly acting like it didn’t matter? Before I could question him, Atlas moved. In one swift motion, he stepped between us and caught Ethan’s wrist. His grip was so tight that Ethan immediately stopped. The air around Atlas seemed to grow colder. “Let her go.” His voice was low, dangerously calm. Ethan went rigid, meeting Atlas’s eyes. The scary billionaire CEO always had that effect on people, Ethan wasn’t an exception. “Atlas.” I slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch him.” I immediately moved to stand beside Ethan. Atlas stared at us, eyes narrowed. For a moment, his gaze lingered on Ethan, then it shifted to Sophia who was hiding behind him. Something unreadable passed through his eyes. Atlas looked back at me. “You really have no idea what’s happening, do you?” He sounded almost amused. I frowned. “What does that mean?” His expression became strangely thoughtful. “Nothing.” He straightened and adjusted his cufflinks as though nothing had happened. Then he looked directly at me, his lips curving into the faintest smile. “You should leave. You’ve embarrassed yourself enough tonight.” I gritted my teeth as my blood boiled. Before I could give him another piece of my mind, Ethan successfully pulled me away from the crowd. “You shouldn’t have slapped him, Livvy,” Sophia said once we were outside. “We brought you here to talk to him, not start a fight.” “He deserved it.” “Listen to Sophia. You’re too hot-tempered,” Ethan added. My eyes narrowed. Why was he being like this? Usually, Ethan was the first person to defend me. He was the one who had spent the entire afternoon telling me how Atlas had ruined my deal, how I couldn’t let him keep getting away with it. Now he was acting as though I was the problem. “Too hot-tempered?” I repeated. “You know what I mean.” Ethan opened the driver’s door. “You let your emotions get the better of you tonight.” Sophia quickly nodded. “Exactly. You should have just talked to him.” I paused for a second. Had I really overreacted? “Can we please just go home?” I said, glancing between them. Sophia was already looking at Ethan. Their eyes met for a brief second, then she immediately looked away, almost bashful. I frowned. Something about it felt strange, but I pushed the thought aside. They were my boyfriend and my best friend. I trusted them. Ethan opened the car door and honked when I didn’t move. Sophia took the passenger seat. I sighed before climbing into the back seat. They started talking quietly in the front, their voices dropping whenever I looked up. I frowned but said nothing. I knew they had gradually become friends over the months. I had bigger problems. Ethan dropped me off first, and Sophia waved as the car pulled away. That night, I couldn’t think about anything except how to save Bel Wines.