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Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Billionaire Escape Plan: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

51 Kabanata

Chapter 1: Alex Comes to Town

Most girls dream of marrying a billionaire.Me? I'd rather make fun of one. Especially if the billionaire in question is Alexander Grant.Excuse me - Xander Grant. That's right - the "mega-hot" entrepreneur who's appeared on both Modern Startup Monthly's "Richest Innovators Under 35" list and Celebrity Spark Magazine's "Hottest Eligible Bachelors" list in the last year.To me? He's still the guy who once ran naked down Main Street with "Free the Goats!" painted across his butt cheeks. My partner in crime until we went off to separate colleges and he and his buddy went on to sell the dating website they designed for a cool twenty-three million dollars. Practically overnight, he became known as one of the hottest young entrepreneurs in the country - a far cry from the guy I knew with the overlong hair and the weird obsession with dinosaurs.Alex and I have seen each other a handful of times since his first big deal - his mom has always tried to badger him into coming home for holiday

Chapter 2: The New Alex

Maple Avenue is usually fairly quiet - let's be real, all the streets in Haverton are usually fairly quiet - and since most of the town's population is already here, it's not hard to guess who might be pulling down the street right now. Especially when the car in question turns out to be a black Lamborghini.That's new, I think as the luxury car comes to a stop next to the mailbox. In high school, Alex drove a teal pickup truck with his name spray-painted on the side - and yeah, that was exactly as classy as it sounds. In the years after he sold his first website, he upgraded to a more reliable sedan - an expensive sedan, but something practical. I guess it was only a matter of time before he decided he needed something more stylish and sporty. Every billionaire bachelor needs an obnoxious car, doesn't he? I'm pretty sure that's in the rich dudes' handbook somewhere.But as much as I want to roll my eyes at his choice of wheels, I can't help but grin as he gets out of the car. Alex w

Chapter 3: Can't Avoid Him

I look up at myself in the bathroom mirror. Long days in the summer sun have brought out the gold and red tones in my otherwise light brown hair. They've also brought out the freckles on my cheeks and upper chest - the latter of which are on full display in my pale blue sun dress. Wes always liked my freckles - he always teased me that he was on a mission to kiss every single one - but now I can only picture him kissing Madison Harris. I wonder how many freckles he's kissed on her.Just make it through the party, I tell myself. Just get through the next hour. Make small talk with the friends and neighbors, say hello to Alex, and try to ignore the fact that something has changed about him. That you might not know him anymore. I think that's what's freaking me out the most - I thought that by coming here today I'd see a familiar face, find comfort with a friend who's known me longer than anyone outside of my immediate family. Instead, seeing him has made me aware of how much time has pa

Chapter 4: What He Knows

"Well?" I ask Alex again, keeping my tone light. "Aren't you going to answer my question? Do you have a girlfriend?"His expression never wavers. "Not currently, much to my mom's disappointment.""Well," I tease, trying to edge back down the hall, "you have to keep your eligible bachelor status, after all. Otherwise you'll break the hearts of thousands of tabloid readers the world over. Didn't you always tell me that relationships were overrated anyway?"The old Alex would have laughed at that, but the new one just watches me closely with those intense blue eyes of his, a small wrinkle appearing between his brows."Are you sure everything's all right?" he asks me."Of course! Why wouldn't it be?" I've managed to progress a few steps backward down the hall, but he follows me, closing the distance between us again."Well, we've been speaking for about five minutes and you have yet to make a joke about my suit," he says."I've made plenty in my head," I say, forcing a laugh. "Tell

Chapter 5: My Life Implodes

"Mae?" someone says.I blink, coming out of the fog of my thoughts. We've finally reached the table of food. Oh, sweet merciful cheeseburgers. Thank you for rescuing me from my despair."How have you been?" Eliza asks as she passes me a paper plate. "And where's Wes? I would have thought he'd come with you today.""He couldn't make it," I say quickly."Ah, that's a shame," says Collette. "He's always such a gentleman. So handsome.""And so sweet," chimes in Eliza.Until he sticks his cock in another chick. I press my lips together and help myself to a giant mound of coleslaw."He's still coming with us to the Apple Festival next week, isn't he?" my mom says. "Your dad and I still have to give him his birthday present."This is too much. "I...I'll have to ask him.""We've already got a festival ticket for him," my mom says, frowning slightly. "I thought you told me he could go.""I'll ask him," I say again quickly. I look up from the table, only to find Collette staring quizzi

Chapter 6: I Have the Worst Stalker

My car is parked at my parents' house, right next door, but if I go into the house to grab my purse and keys, I know my mom will only come in after me and try to get me to tell her everything. Instead, I just keep speed-walking - past my parents' house, past the one beyond that, all the way to the end of the street. Only then am I out of sight of the people in the Grants' yard, and only then do I break into a run.I don't know exactly where I'm going - I just let my feet lead the way. Haverton is small enough that I could make it back to the house I rent with Lucy without too much trouble, but that's the first place they'll look for me. I need to be alone right now.Somehow, I end up down by the river. I jog down the overgrown dirt path, trying not to trip over tree roots or overgrown weeds. Note to self - ballet flats are definitely not the best getaway shoes. This time of year the woods here are green and lush and thick, drowning out the sounds of the streets behind me. I rarely se

Chapter 7: The Drinking (and Bad Judgment) Begins

I'm desperate for a drink."Fine," I say to Alex. "What do I have to do?""Just get out of the water," he replies. "Then I'll give it to you.""Wait - are you afraid I'll drop it in the river? I wasn't the one who got butterfingers during the flag football championship - ""I still maintain that the sun was in my eyes," he says. "But no, that isn't the reason. I'd just prefer to get you out of the water. Just in case.""In case of what?" I cross my arms. "Are you afraid I'm going to hurt myself? It's hard to hurt yourself in a foot and a half of water.""But not impossible."I can tell he's not going to budge on this, so I quickly weigh my options. Which is more important - to feel the cool water rushing around my legs, or to feel the sweet burn of alcohol on my tongue? Today, the alcohol wins.I wade back to the riverbank and step out of the water."I promise I'm okay," I say, reaching out for the flask. "I'm just...just feeling a little crazy, that's all." And like I want to

Chapter 8: The Us We Left Behind

"I'm not upset about Wes," I say, almost more to myself than to Alex. "I think I'm more upset about the fact that I just made an idiot of myself in front of half the town." I take another swig of whiskey. It's getting easier to swallow each time."Be careful with that, Mae.""I will. I am."He doesn't look like he believes me. "If I'm understanding this right, then Wes was clearly the one at fault. As soon as people hear the full story, they'll turn all their anger on him.""And save all their pity for me. No, thank you. I'd rather just chill here with this whiskey." I turn and walk over to one of the large, flat rocks on the river bank, stepping up onto it in my bare feet and then settling down cross-legged.Alex stays where he is, and I suddenly feel as if all my energy is draining out of me."Really, I appreciate you checking on me," I say quietly. "But you don't need to stay. I don't want you to miss your mom's party. She'll kill me if you do.""She'll understand."His refu

Chapter 9: Drunk and Drunker

"I never brought Wes down here," I say abruptly. I don't know why, but I need Alex to know that. This was always our place - mine and Alex's. "It didn't seem right. Not that you and I were ever like me and Wes. We weren't romantic or hooking up, I mean." God, this alcohol is making it hard to explain what I mean. Or maybe it's just that Alex - or Xander, or whoever he is now - is making me nervous for some reason.I grab another little rock and toss it into the water, laughing to cover up this weirdness that has settled over me."You know, Lucy still refuses to believe that nothing ever happened between us," I say. "Some people just can't seem to accept the idea that men and women can just be friends." I tilt my head back and look up at the leaves overhead. In my buzzed state, the patterns they make are mind-boggling."None of my guy friends ever believed it either," he says. "Though they liked to tease me about never being able to seal the deal.""And look at you now," I say. "One

Chapter 10: Just Like Mr. Darcy

Kissing Alex might not be that bad, I tell myself. Weird, maybe. But probably not bad. I mean, the guy dates supermodels now. They're probably just in it for the money, but he can't be that bad a kisser if they stick around for more than a few dates, right? Or do gold diggers not care about that sort of thing? I mean, if I were a gold digger, that would totally still be part of the equation. I don't care how rich a guy is - if he's all drool-y when he kisses, I don't think I'd survive very long in that relationship. And when it came to sex..."Do gold diggers care about sex?" I ask Alex.He blinks. "What?""In a relationship, do they care about the sex and the kissing and all that, or just the money?"He sits up abruptly. "What the heck are you talking about?"The sudden absence of his weight on top of me makes me feel weirdly empty."Weren't we just talking about this?" I say. "About gold diggers and bad kissers and..."He looks at me like I'm possibly insane, which means it wa

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