The billionaire I was forced to live with

CHAPTER 1

The elevator chimed softly as the doors slid open onto the penthouse floor.

Caroline stepped out beside me, balancing two iced coffees in one hand while adjusting her sunglasses with the other.

"So..." she said, looking down the quiet hallway. "Where's the grand welcome? I was expecting balloons, maybe a string quartet."

I laugh

"You've watched too many movies."

"I've watched just enough."

She nudges my shoulder before following me to the door with a big ‘B’ on it

My new home, the smile I'd been wearing since yesterday found its way back onto my face.

I finally had my own place.

No dorm room.

No hotel suite.

No guest room at Cassie’s house

Mine.

I open the door and walk in to meet the movers and two men in suits, one looking sharper than the other, arguing.

Caroline and I look at each other, frowning.

"Excuse me."

Everyone turns, and Barry visibly relaxes.

"Miss Shepherds, thank God."

"What’s going on??"

Before he could answer, the man in the sharp suit looked me up and down. He was taller, with a cold expression on his face, and he had an intimidating aura around him. I’ll call him Captain Condescending

"And you are?"

I frowned at his tone.

"Sabrina Shepherds, and you are?"

His expression didn't change.

"This is my apartment." He said, a crease forming between his brows.

"I'm afraid that's impossible." I take a step forward

"I'm sorry?" The other man in a suit comes between us, extending his hand out to me for a handshake. “Maxwell Clarke. There seems to be a slight misunderstanding here.”

He folded his arms.

"This apartment belongs to Mr. Raj," Maxwell continues.

He gestures toward the taller man.

His eyes met mine, cold, unimpressed.

One glance was apparently all it took for him to dismiss me.

"You must be mistaken." I lift the key fob in my hand. "I signed the lease yesterday."

"So did I.”

Silence settles between us—a ridiculous silence, because one of us has to be wrong.

"I have the lease agreement," I said, opening my handbag.

"Would you look at that, so do I."

I pull out the folder and hand it to Maxwell.

"What the hell is going on?" he mutters under his breath

He scans the documents carefully, every second stretching longer than the last.

Finally, he sighs.

"How did you obtain these documents, Miss Shepherds?"

"My agent."

"Which one?"

"Elizabeth Fanning, from Douglass Elliman."

His face drains of color.

"Oh..."

"What?" I demand.

He rubs both temples.

"I need to make a few phone calls." He walks into another space in the apartment, leaving us standing there in a stare-off

"What happened is that you got scammed." Captain Condescending says

I stare at him.

"I'm sorry?"

"You heard me."

"I rented this apartment legally through a licensed agency."

He looked completely unconcerned.

"Well, I didn't get scammed."

"So..."

He looked back at me.

"...that leaves one option."

The arrogance.

I want to wipe that smug expression off his face with my knees.

Maxwell returns to the room looking more pale than before

God! Is he dying?

"Mr. Raj, Miss Shepherds, I can assure you neither of you was scammed."

Caroline finally joins the conversation.

"Mind explaining how that's possible?"

Maxwell exhales.

"I'll contact both agents and the landlords immediately."

"...Landlords?"

"My client and her husband are currently... going through a divorce."

Something tells me I’m not going to like where this is going.

"I'll arrange a meeting for everyone involved."

He looks between us.

"I strongly suggest both of you bring your attorneys."

Without another word, he hurried out of the apartment.

The door closes.

No one speaks.

Barry scratches the back of his neck awkwardly.

"So..."

I pinch the bridge of my nose.

"Take everything back to storage."

"You sure?"

"What choice do I have?"

He nods before directing the movers back toward the elevator.

We all walk out into the hallway, all the excitement I had before gone. Captain Condescending was already making phone calls.

Caroline leans against the wall beside me.

"So..."

I sigh.

"So."

"You could always call your dad."

Before I could answer—

"Excellent idea."

The deep voice came from behind me.

His royal Arrogance had finished his phone call.

He tucked his phone into his pocket before looking directly at me.

"Call Daddy." His lips curled into the faintest smirk. "Maybe he'll buy you the building."

I blink. And not just once or twice, rapid fire.

"Excuse me? Who even are you?"

He simply reaches into his jacket pocket and, without another word, hands me a business card.

Heavy black cardstock, simple, elegant.

Arjun Raj

Chief Executive Officer

Core Waste Solutions

I look up.

He was already walking away.

Arrogant jerk.

I glance back at the card before shoving it into my handbag with more force than necessary.

Caroline folds her arms.

"I already don't like him."

"Well, you’re not the only one.”

ARJUN

Rich girls.

They all came wrapped in expensive handbags, polished smiles, and the unshakable belief that someone else would clean up their mess.

I lean back in the back seat, watching Manhattan blur past the window.

The apartment is perfect, close to work, private, quiet.

Now she’s shown up.

"This is my apartment."

I scoff.

As if.

"Where to, sir?" my driver asks.

"Mark's."

Twenty minutes later, I let myself into my best friend's townhouse without knocking.

"In the kitchen," Mark calls.

"Obviously."

He appears around the corner with a beer in hand before bursting into laughter.

"You look pissed."

"I am."

"What happened?"

I toss my jacket onto one of the barstools.

"Apparently, the apartment I wanted was double leased."

His grin disappears.

"...Come again?"

I explain everything while rummaging through his fridge.

By the time I finished, he was staring at me like I'd grown another head.

"So..." He folds his arms. "...you've never met this woman before?"

"No."

"And you're already convinced she's the problem."

"I don't have to know her."

He sighs.

"There it is."

"What?" I say defensively

"The judgment."

"I'm being realistic."

"No." He shakes his head. "You're projecting."

I rolled my eyes.

"Google her."

"What?"

"You heard me."

He pulls out his laptop anyway.

"Sabrina Aiman Shepherds..."

His eyebrows climbed.

"Daughter of Derek Shepherd, founder of Novawatt. She’s an only child; mom died when she was ten….and that’s it."

He kept scrolling.

"Interesting."

"What?"

"There's barely anything about her."

"So?"

"No scandals."

I shrug.

"Money buries scandals."

"No social media either."

"Probably has people running it."

He closes the laptop.

"You've already decided who she is."

"I've met her type before."

"You met one person."

"One person who cost me three years."

The kitchen falls silent.

He knew better than to continue that conversation.

Instead, he grabs two aprons.

"Let’s just cook something ."

For the next hour, the conversation drifted toward work.

The bottling plant acquisition, Harold's ridiculous demands, supplier trying to renegotiate.

Business made sense.

People didn't.

My phone buzzed just as we finished eating.

Unknown Number.

"Raj."

"Mr. Raj, this is Maxwell. The meeting has been arranged."

"When?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"I'll be there."

"Please bring your attorney."

I ended the call without another word.

I was getting my apartment back.

________________________________________

BRIE

By nine the next morning, my stomach was tied into knots. Linda glanced over as she adjusted the cuff of her blazer.

"You've worn a hole into that coffee cup."

"I can't help it."

"You can."

"No."

She laughs.

"Brie."

"What if I really got scammed?"

She sighs dramatically.

"You didn't."

"You don't know that."

"I do."

She picks up my lease agreement.

"I've read every page three times."

"And?"

"It checks out."

"So does his."

She shrug.

"Then someone else messed up."

By the time we arrived, everyone else was already seated.

An older man, an older woman, two attorneys, Maxwell, Elizabeth, Arjun.

Of course he looked perfectly relaxed.

"Sorry we're late," Linda says as we sat down.

Arjun scoffs

"What?"

"I assumed people like you preferred elaborate excuses."

I stare at him.

"People like me?"

Linda's hand lands gently on my arm.

The elderly man cleared his throat.

"I'd like to apologize."

He looks genuinely exhausted.

"My wife acted without consulting me."

The woman beside him scoffs.

"The building belongs to both of us."

"And we're separated."

"I still own half."

Their attorneys immediately jump in.

"My client's actions were entirely legal."

"So were my client's."

Within seconds, they were arguing over ownership percentages.

"Excuse me."

Everyone stopped.

"I've been paying for a storage unit for two months." All eyes turned toward me. "I'd really like to stop."

Arjun scoffs.

"Not everything revolves around you."

I look directly at him.

"I'm sorry, did I ask for your opinion?"

A muscle jumped in his jaw.

Linda nudged my knee beneath the table.

Her turn.

"My client signed a valid lease," Linda began calmly.

"If another lease exists, that isn't Miss Shepherds' fault."

Arjun's attorney spoke next.

"My client also signed a valid lease."

"And neither party is willing to terminate."

The room descends into another argument.

Elizabeth suddenly raised her voice.

"What if they both stay? They split the apartment."

"What?" Arjun and I say together.

"They each pay half the rent until the ownership dispute is resolved."

I stare at Linda.

She leans toward me.

"It isn't ideal."

"No kidding."

"But legally it's probably the cleanest temporary solution."

Across the table, Arjun's attorney was whispering something similar.

After several more minutes of discussion...

I nod once.

"My client agrees."

Across the table—

"So does mine."

I look at Arjun in shock.

"I expect the revised agreement within twelve hours."

Then he walks out.

Just...walks out.

Like none of this had inconvenienced anyone else.

"Oh, no."

"Brie."

"I'm just talking."

"You promise?"

"No."

She sighs.

"I figured."

I catch up with him outside.

"Hey!"

He keeps walking.

"Excuse me!"

He finally turns.

"What?"

"What is your problem?"

"My problem?"

"Yes."

"You've spent two days acting like I personally ruined your life. I don't know you."

"You don't have to. I know your type."

"My type?"

"Rich, entitled, daddy fixes every inconvenience."

I laugh.

"You've got to be kidding."

"I'm not."

"The only reason I agreed to this arrangement is that I know you'll give up within a week."

I stare at him.

"You think you know me?"

"I know enough."

My hand moves before my brain has a chance to stop it.

Crack.

His head snaps sideways.

I lower my hand slowly.

"You don't know the first thing about me. So next time you decide to judge someone..."

I meet his stunned eyes.

"...make sure you've actually met them first."

Then I turn on my heel and walk away.