Their Villain, The Mogul's Beloved

Chapter 1

Bang-

The door to the private room slammed open, hard enough to rattle the walls.

A frantic figure rushed in, shouting, “Olivia’s in trouble!”

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That one line sucked the air out of the room. The place, decked out with flowers and streamers for a proposal, went from warm and celebratory to dead quiet in a heartbeat.

At the center of the crowd, Lucas Wright–the guy of the hour, down on one knee with a ring in his hand–spun around, stunned. “What the hell did you just say?”

Matthew Hill, the guy with the loud blue hair, rushed forward, his voice urgent. “Mrs. Clark called. Olivia’s been in a car accident, she’s at the hospital right now.”

And just like that, chaos erupted. Everyone bolted for the door, tripping over each other to get out.

Olivia Sutton was the group’s untouchable queen. Gorgeous, sweet, crazy talented, and stuck with a fragile body that made everyone want to protect her.

Now that she was in trouble, no one cared about the proposal anymore. It was like the whole room lost interest in the whole thing.

Even the groom–to–be just turned and left.

“Lucas-“A soft, almost dreamy voice called from behind.

The room froze. Everyone suddenly realized the other star of this show–the girl Lucas was proposing to–hadn’t said a single word.

In the scramble, someone must’ve hit the light switch, because the bright room dimmed to a faint glow from some amber fairy lights.

Natasha, pushed to the corner, stood there, her face half in shadow. That stunning face of hers, always a head–turner, was weirdly calm. No emotion, no nothing.

“You didn’t even wait for my answer,” she said, voice steady,

Just minutes ago, Lucas had dropped the big question. “Will you marry me?”

His tall frame stopped dead in the doorway, like it just hit him he was about to bail on his almost- fiancée without a word.

He didn’t answer her. Instead, he softened his tone, trying to smooth things over. “Natasha, I’m

babe. I gotta get to the hospital. Just… head home, okay?”

sorry,

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waver, but

Lucas.”

“Natasha, come on. This isn’t

answer? It’s now or never.” Her

about Natasha tonight felt

snarky jab about Olivia, like hoping she’d stay in

She was chill, like she’d seen this whole

some reason, that made his stomach

eyes. “Come on, Natasha. You’ve been stuck to Lucas like glue for twenty years. You’re head over heels for the guy. You

“Yeah, seriously. It’s just a proposal. You can do it another

tie the knot. This whole thing’s just for show,” another voice

but Natasha didn’t blink. Her sharp eyes

heavy sigh and stepped closer, doing what he always did–patting her head like she

Olivia could be in

he’d apologize to Olivia without a second thought, then turn to Natasha–fuming like a wildcat–and talk to her like she

was cute,

proposal? Just going through the motions. Lucas never

exploded behind Natasha. Sadie Torres, her ride–or–die bestie, had been holding

it. “Lucas, what are you, her personal EMT? Why’s it always you running to Olivia’s rescue? And how freaking convenient is it that

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was a date, now it’s your damn

her heart

once again, Olivia had swooped in and wrecked

Total jerk move, ditching Natasha for Olivia

She turned on the crowd. “And you

What’s the

the hospital, you’ve probably spent a fortune on flowers

turned

defend Olivia till his last breath. “You’re o quick to lose it when someone talks smack about Olivia, but do you even remember who your irlfriend

face darkened, but before he could say anything, Natasha

voice was calm, final. “You walk out that door

went dead silent. Lucas’s frown deepened. He glanced at Natasha, his tone

“Don’t say stuff you’ll regret, Natasha. I’ll be back, and

turned and

‘When I get back, I’ll make it up