All Chapters of Accidentally Bound to the Elusive King: Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

The Thousand-Dollar Word VomitIf rich people’s tears had a scent, it would definitely be the lavender-infused soap in the powder room of the Grand Hyatt Ballroom.I leaned against the marble sink, staring at my reflection in the gold-rimmed mirror. The girl looking back at me looked like she belonged here, but my bank account knew the devastating truth. My fingers trembled as I smoothed down the emerald-green silk dress I had scraped my last savings to buy. I had even forgotten to cut the price tag off the inside seam, praying I could return it tomorrow without anyone noticing the sweat stains from my current panic attack."You can do this, Sera," I whispered to myself, though my voice sounded dangerously hollow. "You did not spend your last one thousand dollars on a professional escort just to chicken out in a luxury bathroom."Six months ago, I was the head programmer and co-founder of Nexus Tech. I was also the girlfriend of Julian Croft. I spent three years surviving on instant n

The Running Shoe Escape ProtocolLooking at the heavy, silver fountain pen resting on Alexander Sterling’s sleek digital tablet, my mind suddenly flashed back to how last night had actually ended. The memory hit me with the force of a physical blow, making my cheeks burn all over again.After Alexander had so elegantly reduced Julian to a sweating, stuttering mess in the middle of the Hyatt ballroom, he had turned his full, undivided attention to me. The sheer gravity of his gaze, combined with the way his large hand had remained firmly anchored to the small of my back, had made my survival instincts scream in absolute panic.I was a fast-talking, hardworking coder, but I was entirely out of my depth. The moment Alexander had leaned down and whispered that his hourly rate was far too expensive for me to pay back in cash, my brain had completely short-circuited.So, I did the only logical thing a panicked, breathless woman in a cheap dress could do.I bolted.The second Alexander had t

The Masterclass in Public HumiliationThe air inside the main exhibition hall of the Metropolitan Tech Convention Center was thick with the scent of ozone, expensive cologne, and corporate desperation. Massive digital displays flickered on every wall, throwing cold, blue light across the faces of hundreds of high-profile investors and tech moguls.My arm was still locked firmly with Alexander Sterling’s as we glided through the crowd. The sheer velocity of the gossip trailing behind us was almost loud enough to drown out the ambient techno music playing from the speakers. Every head turned. Every phone was raised. But Alexander walked with the steady, unbothered grace of a king inspecting his courtyard, his large hand occasionally reaching over to pat mine where it rested on his forearm."Breathe, Seraphina," he murmured, his deep baritone completely steady as we neared the center of the exhibition floor. "You’re gripping my sleeve tightly enough to stop my circulation.""I am breathi