THE BILLIONAIRE WHO RUNIED ME

Chapter Three

"Good morning, wife.” The words burned into my brain.

My heart slammed violently against my ribs as I stared at the note again, convinced I had read it wrong.

Wife? My fingers trembled as I flipped the paper over but there was nothing.

Just those two words written in bold, confident handwriting.

A cold wave of panic crashed through me. “No… no, no, no.”

I grabbed the marriage license again and my name was there.

Ariana Valenti and Damien Moreau.

My breath caught in my throat.

Damien Moreau? The name detonated in my mind like a bomb.

There was no way, absolutely no way.

This was the name of my boss. The CEO of Eclipse Entertainment. The man who controlled my entire career and whose presence could silence an entire boardroom with a single look.

The same man I had just f****d.

“Oh my God.” I buried my face in my hands.

My stomach twisted violently as flashes from last night crashed back into my mind. The fight, the bar, his hands on my waist, the kiss that stole the air from my lungs, and the way he f****d me so good…. Heat flooded my face.

“I did not sleep with my boss,” I muttered to myself. Then I looked at the ring again. The very expensive ring. “Shit.”

The room door suddenly clicked open and my head snapped toward it… and then he walked in. It was Damien Moreau.

The moment our eyes met, I instantly recognized him. His dark hair is slightly messy, his sharp jaw, and those piercing eyes that could make executives sweat during meetings.

And right now those same eyes were calmly studying me as if nothing in the world was wrong.

My heart went wild as I exclaimed. “You!” I breathed.

His lips curved slightly. “Good morning, Ariana.”

My brain short-circuited. “You’re….”

“Yes,” he answered

“My boss……and we…..Oh my God!” I launched out of the bed so fast the sheets tangled around my legs and I fell but Damien caught my arm before I could fall flat on my face.

“Careful.”

“Don’t touch me!” I snapped, jerking away.

He released me instantly, raising his hands slightly.

I grabbed the papers and shoved them toward him. “What is THIS?!”

His gaze flicked to the documents. “Those appear to be legal documents.”

“Don’t play games with me!” I shouted. My head pounded as humiliation and rage flooded my veins. “You married me?!”

“You signed it.”

“No, I didn't. I was DRUNK!”

He tilted his head slightly. “You were happy to.”

My jaw dropped. “Are you insane?!”

His expression didn’t change. “You’re upset.”

“Of course I’m upset!” I yelled. “I woke up MARRIED to my boss!”

The room was filled with heavy silence. Then Damien walked to the bar and poured himself coffee like this was a normal morning.

“You were in danger last night,” he said calmly. “I brought you somewhere safe.”

“And married me?!”

“Well, you agreed.” I stared at him like he’d lost his mind.

“Did you manipulate me?”

His eyes snapped to mine. I could see the danger flickering in them. “I don’t manipulate people, Ariana.”

“Oh really?” I laughed bitterly. “You run one of the most powerful labels in the country!”

His voice dropped. “And yet you signed the license yourself.”

My chest tightened because the horrifying truth was… I couldn’t remember signing anything.

“Last night,” he continued quietly, “you said you wanted out of your marriage.” I froze. “You said Julian treated you like a game." My throat closed. “You asked me to help you leave.” My heart skipped. “That license,” Damien said calmly, “does exactly that.”

The divorce papers sat on the table like a ticking bomb.

Julian would lose everything if this marriage were real.

My stomach twisted violently. “I have to go.”

Damien didn’t stop me or argue. I grabbed my clothes and dressed as fast as possible.

The humiliation burned through every inch of me.

I had slept with my boss and kind of married him and I couldn’t even remember how.

“Was it real?” I demanded suddenly.

Damien leaned against the counter. “It was.”

My chest tightened painfully. “Did you want it to be?” he asked quietly.

I didn’t answer because I didn’t know. So I ran.

*********

By the time I reached my penthouse an hour later, my nerves were all over the place.

I pushed the door open and immediately froze. Julian was in the living room and he was pacing around like a caged animal.

The moment he saw me, his face twisted with rage. “Where the hell were you?!”

I dropped my bag slowly. “Out.”

His jaw clenched. “You disappeared all night!”

“And?” I shrugged coldly.

His eyes burned with rage. “Do you have any idea what’s happening right now?!”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Julian grabbed his phone and shoved it in my face as I looked at the headlines filling the screen.

BUSINESS HEIR JULIAN DEVEREUX CAUGHT WITH MYSTERY WOMAN

There were photos, clear photos of Julian kissing another woman outside a restaurant. My stomach flipped at the sight of it.

“The media is destroying me!” he snapped.

I stared at the images. “You did this to yourself.”

His eyes narrowed dangerously. “You’re my wife.”

“So?”

“You’re supposed to help fix this!”

I laughed in disbelief. “You cheated on me and you want ME to fix it?”

“Yes!”

My temper exploded. “Absolutely not.”

His face darkened. “You’re going to post photos with me,” he said coldly. “Smiling and telling the f*****g world that we are in a happy marriage. The usual f*****g lie,” he yelled and I froze.

The word I had never said to him came out of my mouth in a whisper. “No.”

Julian blinked in shock. “What?”

I left out a deep breath as I repeated myself, fiercely “I said no.”

For the first time since I’d known him… his mask cracked. “You ungrateful…..” He stopped mid-sentence. Because his phone suddenly buzzed again.

Once, then twice, then nonstop. Julian frowned and looked down.

His face went pale.“What… the hell?”

A cold chill crawled up my spine. “What?”

Slowly, he turned the screen toward me. My blood turned to ice.

The headline on the blog was massive.

ARIANA VALENTI SPOTTED LEAVING BILLIONAIRE DAMIEN MOREAU’S PRIVATE HOTEL AT 7AM

Below it were photos of me. Paparazzi shots of me walking out of Damien’s hotel this morning.

My heart stopped.

Julian’s eyes lifted slowly to meet mine. Pure fury burned in them.

“You cheated on me,” he whispered.

My mouth opened, but before I could speak…my phone buzzed again. It was a notification from Damien.

Meet me at the office!

Julian looked at it, and then he started laughing. It was a cold, terrifying sound.

“Let's go meet your f*****g lover,” he said in a cold tone that made me shiver.