Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 143: .It happens by accident.Archibaldâs out of town again for work but tries to call in the evenings when he can and Isabella, consequently, does her best to be available despite the three-hour time difference. Dara can roll her eyes all she wants â and does â but keeps her smart remarks, if not to a minimum, then to an average.(âItâs part of our arrangement!â Isabella protests noisily as if the forty-five minutes she spends holed up in her bedroom have anything at all to do with those initial terms of their relationship and arenât simply because she misses the man like a limb when heâs gone.Dara makes an unflattering snort and digs her elbow into Isabellaâs side, stealing a pretzel out of her bag while sheâs distracted.âUh-huh,â she says, âIs that what weâre calling it now, Ms. Codependent?ââI donât think I like you anymore.âIsabella, among other things, is a liar. A bad one.)It happens by accident because Isabellaâs bundled up
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 142: .See, if Isabellaâs life was a movie, this is where it would end.A great romantic conclusion tied up with a neat little bow, roll credits, and scene.But this isnât a movie, and this isnât where it ends.âIâm thinking about going back to school,â Isabella says one afternoon during a lunch date. She doesnât stop stirring anxiously at her gelato until Archibald reaches out to physically stop her before it turns to soup, and she wonât like it as much.âI think thatâs a good idea,â he replies.Isabella is still basically unhireable, further blacklisted professionally by the drama that came out of her fatherâs quick but messy trial that put him in jail for years and ruined any good reputation any of them might have had.(The man left a single furious, frothing voicemail on Isabellaâs phone that could be summed up as three straight minutes of death threats that included everyone from Isabella herself to the cat to the goldfish that had o
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 142: .âYou know, I almost broke up with you last night.âArchibaldâs steady calm, the largest holdover from last night, holds up even as he nods in agreement. âI know.âIsabella scowls at him.âHowâd you know? I barely knew until Iâd decided not to.ââBecause I know you. Youâve been given precious few people in life who havenât broken your trust, and I did that by going behind your back. It would have been an understandable reaction, and I wouldnât have begrudged youââIsabella slams that ocean blue tumbler down on the table with a clatter. Her eyes are bright with emotion, and her lips are turned down in an irritated scowl.âMaybe you wouldnât,â she snaps, âbut Iâd sure as shit begrudge you if you just, what, let me break up with you without so much as asking me not to? What the fuck, man.ââYou are an adult who can make your own decisionsâââYeah, but that doesnât mean I want you to just let me go when Iâm about to do something stupid!
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 140:.There is coffee, kept hot in the kind of insulated tumbler that costs too much and coordinates with the beachy colors of the house. Isabella has a suspicion that it was bought specifically for her, because Archibald is a crazy person who thinks about that kind of stuff. It doesnât stop her from drinking it.âTell me what you did,â Isabella orders before she can talk herself out of it and in spite of the very large part of her that doesnât actually want to know. âSomething something something about buying out the board?â she elaborates with a pointed stare. Because Chantelle, of all people, wouldnât be bailing unless the ship is sinking. The ship might already be sunk if sheâs that willing to abandon what she sees as her birthright. A birthright that sheâs always seen as a competition, even though sheâd won right out the gate and Isabellaâs so stupid that it took literally being disowned to see that she never stood a chance.âOh, th
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 139: .Isabella and Alan had settled many a disagreement with an angry tussle in bed that was worth the drop afterward for being able to get a little of her own back, to feel seen and heard. Except that Archibald already makes her feel seen and heard, and right now Isabella just sort of wants one of them to hurt, and sheâs not sure who.âStop, stop, enough,â Archibald orders, kinder than Isabella deserves, and wipes the beginnings of tears out of the corners of Isabellaâs eyes before she even realizes that sheâs about to cry. âI know, baby. I know.ââYou donât know anything.â It comes out way less cool and way more pathetic when Isabellaâs voice cracks on what is definitely an overtired, strung-out sob. âYou donât know anything.ââI know that youâre exhausted and running on fumes and that youâd rather have the kind of sex thatâs not good for you and that you donât even want than get what you need,â Archibald tells her. âIâd say I know pl
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 138: .The only tears Chantelleâs ever shed have been of the crocodilian variety, as purposeful a tactic as any insult. Even after sheâd forced herself to learn how to stop, sheâd never managed to wield emotion like a weapon. At times like this, Isabella sort of wishes that she had.Isabella trembles and wraps her arms around herself, chilled even underneath the blanket. The edges are getting wet with saltwater and crusted with sand, and she would bite anyone who might try to take it from her.Archibald doesnât touch her, but Isabella can feel him practically vibrating with the way he wants to. Right now, Isabella would be happy to bite him, too.âI donât think youâre stupid.ââWell, it sure feels like it.âArchibald literally wrings his hands in open distress, and even now, it doesnât feel remotely like a win. Isabellaâs gotten exactly what sheâs asked forâspace and someone else being the one to hurt, but it doesnât lessen her own, not e