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Chapter 12: Mr. Annoying Contradiction
Last Updated:
2025-08-07 21:49:03
Latest chapter
Wicked Swipe Chapter 16: Appreciation
Isla’s POVFor the entire event, Julian never really let me go. He kept this perfect half-step ahead of me, close enough that his arm brushed mine every time we stopped. It wasn’t escorting so much as making sure I stayed perfectly positioned in the shot, like I was just another piece in tonight’s curated exhibit.Walking beside him, I couldn’t help thinking of my mum and my sisters-in-law, always the picture of elegance at public events. The difference is, I wasn’t Julian’s wife. Hell, I wasn’t even officially anything.“This is Isla, our visual merchandiser from the London office,” he said smoothly to a circle of Eleanor Rowe executives from New York and Milan.He didn’t have to do that. This was a party where no one cared who you were unless your name was worth Googling or your dress cost more than their monthly mortgage. But every time Julian said my name, it was like he’d pulled out a chair for me at the big kids’ table.“Oh?” A silver-haired woman from Milan arched a perfectly
Wicked Swipe Chapter 15: Then Be My Date
Isla's POVThe last two days, Julian and I had only caught each other in the mornings. Breakfast at the hotel, before he vanished again into the tangled jungle of back-to-back meetings at Eleanor Rowe’s Shanghai office.The rest of my time was spent mostly at Eleanor Rowe’s flagship store; the grand opening was tonight.The first time I stepped inside, I almost muttered “wow” thirty times under my breath. Four floors dripping in luxury, smack in the heart of Shanghai’s busiest shopping district.I stood for a good long while outside, watching the relentless flood of people shuffle by on the crowded street. Tonight, the display lights would blaze to life, glass curtains would pull open, and every eye in the city would lock on Eleanor Rowe’s shimmering jewel of elegance.Suz, the visual manager of Eleanor Rowe Shanghai, had taken me under her wing. She didn’t care I was a green intern still wet behind the ears in the fashion world.My plan was to pour all I learned here into designs for
Wicked Swipe Chapter 14: The Ice Cream
Isla's POV“I changed my mind. I want ice cream. You want one too?” I announced, already walking toward the street stand like I hadn’t just survived a steamboat dinner date that made my ovaries scream.The smell of waffle cones and caramel syrup hit me like a truck full of regret.Julian’s arm stayed wrapped around my waist like we were stuck in the world's longest slow-burn scene—one that refused to move past the damn hugging stage.His tall, solid frame hovered behind me like some expensive, intimidating bodyguard, forcing me to do a weird shoulder wiggle just to fish my wallet out of my crossbody.“Vanilla,” he said flatly.I snorted. “Of course you’d pick the most basic flavor known to man.”Without waiting for his rebuttal, I ordered one matcha for myself and one scoop of existential crisis, aka plain vanilla, for Mr. Predictable over here.The ice cream guy smiled, but his eyes were bugging out, probably wondering if we were a couple, or if this was some kind of very aggressive
Wicked Swipe Chapter 13: Attractive Man
Isla's POV“How long did you live in the States?” I asked, trying to sound casual between the clinking of glasses and the loud, chaotic chorus of Shanghai nightlife.My eyes followed his every move from across the steam rising from the hot pot, which, frankly, felt like a metaphor for what this dinner was doing to my brain.Julian glanced at me, then went back to slicing a dumpling in half with his chopsticks. “I was born there.”My chopsticks froze mid-air. Okay, plot twist. Small, but mighty. I looked at him again—sharp jawline, those laser-cut eyes, and that exclusive air of entitlement usually reserved for British men raised in Victorian-era homes with oil paintings of dead ancestors.“Seriously? You give off full-blown British aristocrat. Like, your face literally screams, ‘I’ve never stepped foot outside Kensington’”He shrugged. “Being born there doesn’t mean I’m from there.”Without any drama, he casually took the last dim sum and placed it on my plate.Ugh… annoyingly sweet.
Wicked Swipe Chapter 12: Mr. Annoying Contradiction
Isla's POV“We could’ve shared a room, you know. Save some money.” I leaned back against the elevator wall as we ascended to the floor where our hotel rooms were. Julian still looked at his phone.Let me guess, an email from the team. Or maybe something so not necessary it should’ve gone straight to spam.This Shanghai trip was supposed to be strictly professional. But there’s nothing strictly professional about being trapped for three days straight with the man who makes me want to commit at least three HR violations behind closed doors.The last few days had been a blur of finalizing presentations for the grand opening of the flagship store. Deadlines, revisions, and insomnia are worthy of their own Olympic category. All for the chance to prove I belonged in a room full of senior execs.And for a hot second, I forgot one tiny, lethal detail. This business trip was with Julian freaking Wolfe.Panic hit me the moment we met at the airport this morning. My heart knew this wasn’t just a
Wicked Swipe Chapter 11: The Perfect Act
Isla POV“You sure you’re actually dating him?” Irene asked, her voice sharp enough to match her winged eyeliner.She’d spent the entire event eyeing Julian and me like we were the pre-show disaster to a circus she didn’t even pay for. Clearly hoping one of us would trip and give her something to gloat about for the rest of the year.Her face was basically a walking billboard of judgment. It's as if she were born with a natural talent for weaponizing fake smiles.“He’s a bit too old, isn’t he?” she added, one brow arched so high it was practically moonlighting as a ceiling fixture.I nodded. Obviously, I was dating a man whose hotness had officially passed into hazardous territory for women with fully functioning nervous systems.“And he’s your boss. You really think he’s not just playing around?”God, I nearly toasted her. Literally. I almost raised my glass and gave a full standing ovation for how spectacularly Julian and I had sold the lie. If Irene was this pressed, it meant we we
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