Attracted to a Scandalous Billionaire

Naya Asher never trusted happiness.It always felt like a delicate glass ornament in her hands. Beautiful, glimmering, but too fragile to last. Good things slipped away from her just when she started to believe they were real. And Ares Kingsley… oh, Ares. He had been her exception. His touch, his smile, the way he called her name like it belonged in his mouth— all of it had made her think maybe, just maybe, she deserved something good. Nights spent tangled in his sheets. Afternoons where he turned his billion-dollar world off and pressed his forehead to hers. Those private stolen hours had felt like a promise. But now? “Breaking news,” the anchor’s sharp voice stabbed through the air. Naya’s breath caught as her eyes locked on the TV screen in her tiny apartment. The camera panned over flashing lights, security guards, screaming reporters clawing for a glimpse of him. Ares Kingsley, the man she thought was hers. He was surrounded by a chaos of microphones and hungry eyes. And the headline at the bottom of the screen glowed like a knife against her chest: BILLIONAIRE PLAYBOY SCANDAL: ARES KINGSLEY ACCUSED OF SLEEPING WITH THREE BEST FRIENDS AT HIS POOL PARTY “No…” The word escaped her lips, barely audible. Her pulse roared in her ears. Three women? A pool party? She had been with him just nights ago, curled up against his chest, his fingers brushing her skin as he murmured he wanted no one else. Her knees weakened. She gripped the armrest of the worn sofa, her brown skin damp with sweat. “Lies… it has to be lies,” she whispered, but her voice betrayed her. The phone vibrated on the table, the screen flashing one name. Ares. Her breath strangled in her throat. She picked it up with trembling fingers and pressed it to her ear without a word. “Naya,” his deep voice rushed through, low and urgent. “Baby, listen to me. It’s not what it looks like—” But his words became distant, swallowed in a tunnel of noise. She couldn’t hear him anymore, couldn’t hear anything except the thunder of betrayal echoing through her chest. Her vision blurred. The room tilted. “Naya! Are you there? Damn it, answer me!” The phone slipped from her hand, crashing against the floor. Then… darkness. She woke to the sterile smell of antiseptic and the rhythmic beeping of machines. Her lashes fluttered open to a blinding white light. A hospital ceiling. The steady whoosh of oxygen somewhere close by. For a heartbeat, she thought maybe it had all been a dream. But her throat burned raw from swallowed tears. “Naya…” The voice cracked like glass. She turned her head weakly and froze. Mira. Her best friend. Glamorous, perfect Mira with her long lashes clumped by tears, mascara smeared down her cheeks. Mira flung herself forward, burying her face in Naya’s arms. “Oh God, Naya, he ruined me,” Mira sobbed. “That bastard… he got me pregnant.” Naya’s world shattered all over again. Her heart pounded so loud she thought the monitor beside her would explode. She stared at her friend, at her trembling lips forming words she couldn’t process. Pregnant. Ares. Bastard. Her body stiffened, but she didn’t push Mira away. She couldn’t. Her arms, frail and weak, just lay limply around her friend’s shaking shoulders. No one knew. Not a soul in this glittering city knew she had been Ares Kingsley’s secret lover. That every kiss Mira was cursing belonged to her once, hidden behind locked doors and whispered nights. And now Mira’s tears soaked her hospital gown, turning her into a silent graveyard for her own heartbreak. She couldn’t even save herself. How could she save anyone else? Naya turned her face away, her vision blurring with hot tears. She tried to stand, her body trembling as she pushed the blanket aside. She had to leave. She couldn’t breathe in this room, couldn’t listen to Mira’s grief layered over her own. The door burst open. Sophia and Clara stormed in, heels clicking against the tile, designer perfumes flooding the air. Their eyes landed on Mira first, and then on Naya, halfway out of bed, clinging to the rail for balance. “Oh, Mira,” Clara cried, rushing to her side. “We came as fast as we could.” “You’re leaving?” Sophia’s voice was sharp, accusing. “Of course she is,” Clara sneered, folding her arms across her chest. “Typical Naya. Always selfish. Always slipping away when things get hard.” Naya froze, her lips trembling. “I…” her voice cracked. “I just—” “You just what?” Sophia snapped. “Mira is falling apart! She’s pregnant and broken because of that monster, and you—what? You want to walk away?” Clara’s eyes gleamed, vicious. “Some friend you are.” Mira lifted her face from Naya’s arms, her tears glistening. “Please… don’t fight. I can’t—” But Sophia cut her off, glaring at Naya. “If you cared about her, you’d stay. You’d fight with us. We’re her best friends. We’re supposed to stick together.” Their words sliced through Naya like knives. Each syllable hammered guilt into her bones. Naya’s eyes filled with tears. She pressed her lips together, helpless and broken . She wasn’t strong enough to defend herself, not strong enough to tell them the truth: that she had loved him too, that she had lost him too. Instead, she wept silently, tears spilling down her cheeks, her body shaking as though her very soul was unraveling. She wanted someone—anyone—to tell her this was a nightmare, that the headlines were wrong, that Mira wasn’t pregnant, that Ares hadn’t betrayed her. She wanted someone to shake her awake from this horror. The door opened again. This time, a doctor walked in, clipboard in hand. His voice was firm. “That’s enough. Miss Asher needs rest. She suffered a severe panic attack. Her body shut down from the stress.” The room fell silent Sophia blinked, stunned. “A panic attack?” Mira pulled back, wide-eyed. “She fainted… because of that?” Clara muttered, “Unbelievable.” The doctor ignored them and looked at Naya gently. “You need to stay calm. Rest, drink fluids. No more stress, understood?” Naya nodded faintly, her voice hoarse. “My phone… where’s my phone?” Mira lowered her eyes. “You dropped it when you collapsed. It… it smashed on the floor. I panicked, Naya. I left it and just rushed you here.”