THE BILLIONAIRE EXCEPTION

Untitled Episode

I was in a haze the next day.

I couldn't focus on work. All I kept on doing was staring at my phone, waiting for Damian to text me the address.

Every time the phone rang, I thought it was him. But it wasn't.

By the time I was about to leave work, I had come to terms with the fact that the whole thing had been some kind of joke.

After all, he was just some billionaire, right? He probably forgot about me the second he sent that text.

That was when my phone rang again.

My heart almost flew out of my chest as I frantically opened the message.

Damian: Eight o'clock. La Maison Blanche. I'll have a table waiting.

I blinked several times in shock before I processed what I was seeing.

My breath caught in my throat when I read his message again and again.

La Maison Blanche, one of the most exclusive and high-end restaurants in the city. I had passed by it countless times, and I would glance at the menu board every single time. But I've never once considered even stepping inside because dining there was far beyond my reach.

For a moment, I simply stared at the text, taking in every word. Then, I typed my reply.

Me: Okay. See you there.

It took me an hour to get ready. I wore a black dress Ana lent me, which looked amazing on me. I fixed my make-up and did my hair.

For the first time in a long while, I looked beautiful.

---When I got to La Maison Blanche at precisely eight o'clock, the restaurant was perfect. The place was decorated with crystal chandeliers and white tablecloths, and the gentle piano music set the romantic mood. The hostess greeted me warmly as I entered the place.

"Reservation for Blackwood?" I asked the hostess softly.

Her smile faltered as she looked at the screen of her computer. "I'm sorry, miss, but there is no reservation under that name."

My heart stopped. "Are you sure? He said he would have a table waiting for me."

She checked the computer again. "I'm sorry, but there is no reservation for Mr. Blackwood here tonight," she said. "In fact, we are fully booked."

I gave a little nod before saying my sorry and walking away from the front desk, embarrassment burning on my cheeks.

Damn it. What was I thinking? He was a billionaire heir, and I just thought he would have dinner with me. He was a man who had supposedly disappeared, who had given me a business card like he was some kind of god-given prince

I really am an i***t.

As I was about to walk out of the restaurant, I stopped dead in my tracks.

There, sitting at a table near the window, were Maya and Noah.

Maya was laughing at Noah's expense, her hand resting on his shoulder. They were together, smiling at each other, as if I was not the woman who had just broken their world in half.

I wanted to walk into a gaping hole in the floor right then and there.

Unfortunately, it was not to be.

Maya's eyes landed on me.

Her smile turned vicious as she looked me up and down.

"Well, well," she said, loud enough for half of the restaurant to hear,

"Vivian. What a surprise."

I forced a smile. "Maya. Noah."

Noah looked at me, and I almost saw something familiar in his eyes - regret? Sorry? It was gone in the blink of an eye.

"Vivian," he said flatly,

"What are you doing here?"

"Meeting someone," I said, my voice surprisingly steady. "But I'm just leaving now."

"Oh, someone?" Maya said mockingly. "Who? Your imaginary boyfriend?" She chuckled and looked at me with narrowed eyes. "I heard you are staying at a hotel. That has to be so sad, doesn't it? Did you not find anyone to let you stay with them? Did I take your wealth away, and you can't afford your own place anymore?"

I felt my face burn with embarrassment. "I'm fine, Maya."

"Of course, you are," she said, her lips forming a smile as she walked up to me. Her voice dropped to a whisper, venom dripping from every word. "You always were so pathetic. That is why he chose me, you know. I'm better than you in every way." Her eyes narrowed on me. "Especially in terms of looks and money."

I couldn't breathe. Noah didn't say a word. He just looked at me with an emotion that I couldn't quite decipher.

That was the worst possible thing he could've done.

As I was about to make a run for it, I heard a chair sliding across the floor.

I turned my head towards the source of the sound and saw a man standing up from the table. He was good-looking, with a salt-and-pepper beard and sharp features. He wore an expensive suit that draped over his tall, muscular frame in a way that suggested he knew exactly how good it looked on him. He had an air of confidence about him.

His eyes were not on Maya and Noah, however, but on me. He gave a thin smile as he approached me.

"Excuse me," he said,

"I couldn't help but overhear."

Maya turned to him and narrowed her eyes at him. "And who are you?"

The man gave no response to her question. He just kept walking until he was right in front of me. He gave me a charming smile and held out a hand. "Richard. I was having dinner in the private booth over there." He gestured to the table where he had been sitting a minute ago. "I couldn't help but notice that someone is treating you quite poorly, and I do not like that."

I looked at his hand. "I thank you, but I don't need your help"

"You're right," he said smoothly, "but I am going to offer my help anyway. A woman such as you is not fit to be treated like that in a place like this."

I blinked in surprise.

Did he just say that?

Maya's eyes were wide with horror. "Excuse me? Who do you think you are?"

Finally, Richard turned his attention to Maya. When he did, it was clear that whatever good intentions he had just moments ago had flown right out the window. His face darkened.

"I am someone who knows how to treat a woman with respect," he said silkily,

which sent Maya's face into a deeper state of shock.

Noah was the first to speak. "Look, this is none of your business. Vivian and Maya have history. You don't know what you're talking about."

"You know what you are talking about," Richard said calmly.

"I know that you sat there silently and watched your ex-girlfriend humiliate Vivian. If that isn't enough to tell you what kind of man you are, I don't know what else will be."

He turned back to me. "Come. I have a table, and I want to buy you dinner. You look like you need a friend right now."

I hesitated. I didn't know this man. He was a stranger.

But then I looked at Maya's angry face. I looked at Noah's disappointed one. I thought of Damian, who had promised to be here, and he was nowhere to be seen.

So what is it now? You want me to follow some random stranger like an i***t?

Noah scoffed loudly.

"Oh! I'm not some random stranger," Richard replied

as he gave me a charming smile

"I'm Richard"

"Richard Blackwood, you know where to fin

d me if there's a reason for that".

Their eyes widened; so did mine.

I asked myself

What in the name of Blackwood is going on in my life?