The Billionaire Next door (Who I Hate) のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 8

KATEIt was everywhere.You couldn’t escape it.“ROMANO HEIR LINKED TO DRUG SCANDAL.”The headline stared back at me from my phone screen for the fifth time that morning.I exhaled slowly and locked it, but it didn’t help.Voices carried the same story anyway.“Did you hear about Natalie Smith?”“They say she was running an entire network…”“And Leon Romano was involved…”“Of course he was. People like that always are.”I tightened my grip on my bag and kept walking. Head down, pace steady. Like I hadn’t heard anything, like I didn’t know exactly who they were talking about.Natalie Smith. Leon Romano’s girlfriend. Ex-girlfriend now probably, had been arrested, exposed and ruined.And somehow, his name was tangled in it.By noon, the story had spread. News sites. Social media. Gossip blogs.Everywhere I went it was the same trending topic. Every conversation I heard was about Leon Romano being a suspected drug dealer.Even people who had never heard of the Romanos suddenly had opinion

KATEMrs Romano’s eyes met mine.And just like that, I knew I wasn’t welcome.The verdict didn’t need words.It was in the way her gaze lingered a second too long. In the slight tightening of her lips. In the silence that followed.I lowered my eyes and took my seat.The dining table was too long. Too polished. Too perfect.Everything about this place reminded me of what I wasn’t.Dinner was served. No one spoke.The silence wasn’t empty, It was heavy.Mrs Romano sat at the head of the table, composed and elegant.Mr Romano looked… tired. Like he didn’t want to be here at all.My father, on the other hand, was thriving.Laughing too loudly, talking too much, trying too hard to belong.Mum sat at a far end, quiet and awkward. She hadn’t looked at me since I arrived. Not like I wasn't used to that.I swallowed and forced myself to eat even though every bite felt like sand in my mouth.Leon hadn’t said a word. But I could feel him.Every now and then, his gaze brushed against me.Not sof

KATE “What kind of bride ditches her wedding reception before the toast?”I sighed in frustration. “An unhappy bride.”To save face I returned my attention to the wardrobe, desperate to put something on, but not before I saw his mouth twitch at my statement.Where were my clothes? They were here before I went down to the reception.“You think this marriage is a joke, don't you?”I paused.“Do you even realize what is at stake here?”His voice was calm, even, unreadable as always. Although I thought he must be angry, who wouldn't be? Then again I didn't care. Damn him.I spun around “Of course I know what's at stake, your bloody reputation everyone seems to give a damn about.”The suite was quiet for a moment. Until Leon took a step forward, then another and another, leaning in till he was a breath away from my face.“My bloody reputation is now your bloody reputation Katie.”My chest was heaving slightly. The air was suddenly clouded with his scent and I couldn't breathe well enough.

Sleep never came.It wasn’t for lack of trying, I had spent hours lying still, eyes closed, willing my body to shut down, but my mind refused to cooperate. Every time I drifted close to sleep, something pulled me back.His voice.The way he spoke as if everything had already been decided long before I was even aware of it. By the time the first hint of sunlight slipped through the curtains, I was still awake, staring at a ceiling that didn’t belong to me in a room that felt too perfect to be real.There was something strange about waking up in a place that had been prepared for you without your consent. It wasn’t just the luxury or the silence but the intention behind it. Everything in that room had been chosen, arranged, and placed with a purpose, and none of those decisions had been mine. That realization sat heavy in my chest as I pushed the covers off and stepped out of bed, my bare feet meeting the cold floor.I found myself walking back to the wardrobe room without thinking, as