SHE KISSED A FROG - A BILLIONAIRE SCANDAL

Natalie King should have been living the life she’d earned. Award-winning. Top of her graduating class. Galleries once whispered her name with the reverence they reserved for legends in the making. But that was before him. Before the perfect smile. Before the poison. Before her masterpiece was stolen and her name smeared until it drowned.” Three years later, she’d clawed her way back- degree finally in hand, reputation patched but still fragile. The wound he’d left had never closed. It pulsed quietly beneath her ribs, a reminder that justice was still owed. Now, she had a plan. By day, she would embrace her dream job - an art consulting role at one of the most prestigious luxury brands in the world. By night, she would plot her revenge in secret. A year of freedom to set her pieces on the board, to lure her enemy into the perfect trap. That night, the pieces moved for the first time. Her phone buzzed, jolting her out of the moment. A number she didn’t recognize. She almost ignored it, until she saw the subject line. An Evening You Can’t Afford to Miss. Against her better judgment, she opened it. The digital invitation unfurled in gleaming gold: Midnight on the Azure Queen - Amalfi Coast. A yacht party so exclusive, it made even seasoned billionaires beg for a ticket. It promised elite art collectors, champagne fountains, and a Mediterranean moon that “would make even cynics believe in magic.” She wasn’t a cynic. She was worse. But she needed to be seen again, even if only for one night. Needed to remind herself what winning could look like. And if she could rub elbows with people who could boost her career while she planned Steele’s destruction? Even better. But really, she wanted to stand in the heart of their glittering world and know - soon it would all burn. The streets leading to the private marina were slick with rain, headlights blurring into molten streaks. Natalie’s vintage black dress clung to her like scandal, hair swept into a loose knot. She’d left early, determined to arrive before the networking peak. But fate, as usual, had other plans. Halfway to the marina, a silver Aston Martin blew past her, slicing through a red light. Minutes later, flashing blue lights filled her rearview. “What the -” The officer barely glanced at her registration before informing her she’d been clocked “in the vicinity” of the speeding car. By the time she explained -twice-she was thirty minutes late -and furious. When she finally reached the yacht, the golden hour had passed. The investors were already deep in champagne and conversation. She felt like an imposter. The yacht was a cathedral of glass and steel against the black velvet of the Mediterranean night. Champagne cascaded down crystal towers. Diamonds glittered on wrists and in smiles. The air was warm with the scent of salt and money. She was about to head for the bar when she saw him. Tall. Lean muscle under a perfectly tailored charcoal suit. That expensive kind of handsome that could headline a scandal in Tatler one day and a humanitarian award in Forbes the next.The resemblance was subtle but there, the sharpness of the jaw, the arrogance in the tilt of his mouth. Her pulse spiked, half fury, half something far more reckless. Liam Cole. Cousin to the man she’d sworn to destroy. “I believe you’re late,” he said, his voice low and edged, as if time itself answered to him. Natalie’s pulse kicked hard. “I was busy being pulled over because someone decided traffic laws were optional.” His smirk was slow, infuriating. “Ah. My bad.” “No,” she said, stepping past him, “your fault.” He leaned in just enough for her to catch the clean bite of his cologne. “And yet… you’re here.” The air between them crackled. Neither broke eye contact. Somewhere, a champagne cork popped like a starting gun. Natalie told herself to walk away, and instead said, “Enjoy the party, Mr. Cole. This will be the last time we speak.” She didn’t believe it for a second. Neither did he She left him standing there, his gaze on her like a promise. A dangerous one.