All Chapters of I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis: Chapter 271 - Chapter 280

‘See you.’ I stood at the door, waving as Étienne climbed into the car with the rest of his delegation, my smile fixed in place.The moment the cars disappeared down the drive, my team erupted into cheers.Peter Carl crushed me in a hug. Louis-François nearly tripped over his own feet sprinting back inside for the case of champagne he had been saving.‘We did it!’ Clémentine flung her arms around us, her voice thick with emotion. ‘Mirabelle, we did it!’I wriggled free, grinning until my cheeks ached. ‘Yeah. We did.’After two gruelling months, our autumn/winter jewellery collection was finally launched. Today’s meeting sealed the deal with Cartier’s Paris distribution arm. Soon, our necklaces, earrings and statement pieces would adorn runway models and grace the pages of Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar.Valmont & Cie was still bleeding from the financial crater Fabrizio had left, but this was a start. A damn good one.The team herded me into the conference room. Champagne corks poppe

‘You’ve really changed,’ Lea said, turning to look at me. ‘When you said you wanted to go on a cruise, I thought you were joking.’‘Yet here we are.’ I stood at the railing, gazing out at the Mediterranean. September dusk had painted the sea in shifting shades of violet and gold, the horizon glowing as the sun sank lower.Not everyone had gone to the ball. Out on deck, clusters of young passengers mingled and laughed. Some were taking selfies against the pink sky, others pointed excitedly as dolphins arced from the water. Music drifted faintly from the ballroom doors, but out here the sound was mostly laughter, the slap of waves and the click of cameras.Lea inhaled deeply. ‘It’s beautiful. Thanks for bringing me out here.’I said nothing.‘We should have stayed and said hello to Mirabelle,’ she added, testing me.‘I will,’ I said. ‘Just not now.’ I would speak to Mira once I had dealt with Lea.The thought of Mira’s face propelled me away from the railing. ‘You need to get changed.’

The sudden pull threw me off balance. My body tipped sideways and I began to sink.But instead of plunging endlessly, I landed against a broad chest.I blinked, disoriented, and looked up at the man holding me. His face was hidden by the scuba mask.I glared at him, irritated, and tried to wriggle free, raising my hands to signal that he should put me down.Instead of complying, Ashton pressed my shoulder, stopping me before I could move further, and signed faster than I could. ‘Something’s wrong. Don’t move.’Even without sound, I felt the weight of his warning.I froze. He wasn’t joking.I signed back, ‘What is it?’He didn’t answer. Still holding me, he tilted his head upwards.I followed his gaze. At first I saw only water shifting above us. Then I noticed the ripples spreading wider, stronger, gathering momentum.Ashton’s eyes lingered on the disturbance f

My palms dampened with sweat, though my body had been chilled moments before. Irritation welled up, wave after wave.He was silent, but his mind was clearly turning. Was he thinking the same thing? That he was stranded here because of me? Was he regretting following me?But I hadn’t asked him to come. Why should he blame me? If we were handing out blame, wasn’t it him who had ruined my peaceful cruise, him who had paraded a new girlfriend in front of me?The emotions twisted tighter and tighter until they strangled my reason.I snatched the bundle of branches from his hands. ‘Why won’t you say anything? Do you think I’m useless? A burden? That I can’t do anything? Why should you keep watch alone? I can do it too! These branches, whatever you’re trying to make, I can do it! Why won’t you let me? Why do you always decide for me?’Sweat rolled down my forehead as I glared at him, face burning red,

We trekked a good distance without finding anything else from the yacht.My legs began to ache, and I rubbed them absently. Ahead stretched only more endless beach.Frustration rose inside me. This island was far too big for just the two of us to finish searching, yet it was too small to be spotted easily by the rescue teams, if there were any.I kept the thought to myself. The more I dwelt on it, the more I wished I could travel back in time and slap myself for rushing into a diving trip, and for dragging Ashton into this mess with me.Then I noticed that Ashton had veered off the beach.He was heading straight into the forest.I stopped.Daylight made it safer, but I still felt uneasy. The thick trees pressed close, heavy with shade. I had always feared that kind of suffocating place.‘Are we really going in there?’ I called.Ashton glanced back. He paused mid-step, then turned fully to face me.He reached out and caught my hand.The heat of his palm startled me.Then he spoke in a