The Billionaire Next Door (But He's Also My Ex)
Skye Parker thought leaving Leo Westcott behind in college would spare her heart, but life has a cruel sense of timing. She’s just been fired from her struggling startup—only to realize the man who broke her is now the one controlling her career. Worse, he lives next door. Every hallway encounter, every shared glance, every accidental touch ignites the past she tried to forget. Can she trust him when betrayal seems to lurk in every corner, from former friends to rival companies—and even Leo himself? She’s forced to confront not just her feelings, but her self-worth, her career, and her ability to choose herself over the man who still has her heart. Leo, the polished billionaire with secrets of his own, must learn that power can’t replace vulnerability, and that protecting someone sometimes means letting them go. Secrets, seduction, and sabotage threaten to destroy them both—but will love survive the mess they’ve made of each other’s lives? Get ready for a story of passion, ambition, and heartbreak that won’t let go until the very last page.
Baca
Chapter: Secret AllianceThe first thing I felt wasn’t fear.It was betrayal.My laptop screen was still open from last night. The copied blueprint files. The timestamp. The proof that someone inside this company had tried to reroute my entire project to an external server.I didn’t even sit down. I just stood there in the empty office at 7:12 a.m., staring at the blinking cursor like it was judging me.Someone had tried to steal my work.And I had almost missed it.My throat burned. Not from crying. From anger. I worked too hard for this. Too many late nights. Too many times Leo stood over my shoulder telling me to “prove I deserve the position.” Too many moments swallowing pride.And now this?My phone buzzed.Unknown number.My heart jumped so hard I nearly dropped it.But it wasn’t the same one from Leo’s phone last night.This one only said: You’re closer than you think.I went cold.Okay. Fine. If we’re playing games, let’s play.By nine, I was in the conference room with the only person in that buildin
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-03-04
Chapter: Proof or nothing“Did she fall for it?”I don’t even realize I’ve said it out loud until Leo shifts behind me.His voice is thick with sleep. “Skye?”I’m still staring at his phone in my hand. My chest feels tight. Like someone tied a string around it and pulled.The message is from Daniel.Time stamp: 2:14 a.m.Right around the time Leo and I were—I swallow.“Why is Daniel asking if I fell for something?” I ask quietly.Leo goes still.Then he pushes himself up on one elbow, eyes focusing. He sees the phone in my hand. Sees the screen.And something flashes across his face. Not guilt exactly.Annoyance.He takes the phone from me calmly. Too calmly.“Because he’s fishing,” Leo says.“Fishing for what?”“For leverage.”That’s not an answer.I stand up fully now, blanket sliding off me. Morning light makes everything look too clear. Too honest.“You’re telling me you didn’t know about the sabotage?”His eyes snap to mine. “What?”“The fire alarm. The screen. The flooding. Now this message.” My voice c
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-03-04
Chapter: No way out“I never stopped thinking about you.”That’s the last thing Leo says before the fire alarm goes off.Not a soft little beep. Not polite.Full on screaming.Red lights flashing. People yelling. Someone spills champagne. The music cuts mid beat.For a second I just stand there, staring at him, like my brain can only process one disaster at a time.Then the sprinklers hit.Cold water crashes down from the ceiling. Women scream. Men curse. The ballroom turns into chaos in seconds.“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mutter, already soaked.Leo grabs my wrist. “Move.”We push through the crowd toward the exit. My heels slip on the marble floor. He steadies me without thinking. His hand stays on my waist longer than necessary.Outside, the night is a mess of flashing fire trucks and confused guests huddled under the awning. Rain starts pouring like the universe said, let’s make this worse.“This is sabotage,” I say, breath shaky. “First the screen. Now this?”Leo’s jaw tightens. “Probably.”“D
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-03-04
Chapter: The night I refused to breakMy name echoes through the ballroom speakers.And it’s not followed by applause.It’s followed by a screenshot.Huge. Projected. Impossible to ignore.My private message to Leo from three months ago. The one where I told him to stop looking at me like I still mattered. The one where I admitted I hated how he could still make me feel weak.The entire room goes quiet.The kind of quiet that doesn’t breathe.I feel it in my throat first. Then my stomach drops. Then heat. Everywhere. My hands go cold but my face burns. People are staring at the screen. Then at me. Then at Leo.Someone laughs. Not loud. But loud enough.This was supposed to be our company’s biggest night of the year. Investors. Press. Influencers. Cameras. I spent two weeks planning this event down to the napkin color. And now my humiliation is the entertainment.I don’t look at Leo at first.I can’t.Because if I look at him and he looks disappointed or detached or worse… amused… I think I’ll actually collapse.The host c
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-03-04
Chapter: When the masks slipsThe gasp from the crowd feels like it punches the air out of my lungs.The screen behind Leo is huge. Too huge. And the photo is crystal clear. Me. Him. My back against my apartment door. His mouth on my neck. His hand under my hoodie.Intimate doesn’t even cover it.It looks raw. Private. Stolen.For a second, no one moves.Then the whispers start.Leo is still on stage, microphone in hand, frozen. Not embarrassed. Not panicking.Calculating.I can’t breathe. My skin feels hot, like every eye in the room is crawling over me. My chest tight. My throat burning.Maya stands beside me, watching the screen like she’s admiring her own art.“You’re insane,” I whisper.She tilts her head slightly. “You look good though. I picked that one carefully.”I don’t think. I just turn and slap her.Hard.The sound cracks louder than the whispers.Her head snaps to the side. A red mark blooms across her cheek.For one split second, the room goes quiet again.Then everything explodes.Security moves. P
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-03-04
Chapter: The things we never saidI don’t sleep.I just lie there staring at the photo Valeria sent like it might change if I look at it long enough.Leo. Outside some building. Those same men from my hallway. The ones who almost broke my door down.And he’s smiling.Not fake smiling. Not tense.Smiling.My chest feels hollow. Like someone scooped everything out and left the shell.My phone still shows his last message.If you walk away now, I won’t stop you.I almost laugh. Because maybe I should’ve.But instead of walking away, I do the dumbest thing possible.I go digging.By noon the next day, I’m not just hurt. I’m spiraling.I skip work. I don’t even text an excuse. I sit cross-legged on my bed with my laptop open, old emails pulled up. Old folders. Old photos.College.I haven’t looked at those in years.There’s one picture of us on the library steps. I’m wearing that ugly oversized sweater I thought was cute. He’s got his arm around me like I belong there.We looked so young. So sure.So stupid.The breakup fl
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-03-04
Masuk
