Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 302

Abriella gave her a sly, secretive smile but didn’t explain a thing. Instead, she turned to the bodyguards and waved them off. “Alright, you guys can go. Ms. Lincoln’s with me now, she’s safe, I promise!”

Micah nodded, started up the car, and pulled away.

The Bentley glided out through the front gates, and Dean was still there.

His Maybach sat by the curb, headlights off. He was leaning against the door, tall and broad-shouldered, a cigarette burning between his fingers. The tiny red ember flickered in the shadows.

The white Bentley swept past him.

Dean’s eyes stayed locked on the car, his glare as sharp as the tip of his cigarette.

He took a long, hard drag. The smoke burned all the way down, but no matter how much he tried, it couldn’t smother the restless energy churning in his chest.

—

Upstairs, Emmy trailed after Abriella into the elevator.

Her stomach twisted. She pressed herself against the wall, looking a little green. “Why’d you suddenly move out? Did your parents even agree to it?”

Abriella had always been the center of her parents’ universe. A few years back, they were so paranoid she’d run off to her birth parents in the countryside that they actually hired bodyguards to follow her everywhere, day and night.

Abriella just shrugged. “Like they had a choice? Their darling daughter came home, and if I stuck around, I’d just be ruining their perfect family reunion. Me moving out is probably the best thing that’s happened to them all year. I bet they’re popping champagne right now.”

She rolled closer on her hoverboard, voice dropping to a whisper. “Plus, this place? I didn’t pay a cent for it. Someone gave it to me. It’s almost four thousand square feet. Pretty sweet, huh?”

“Was it Steve?” Emmy blurted.

Abriella grinned and shook her finger. “Steve? Please. That guy wouldn’t even buy me coffee, let alone give me a place like this.”

The elevator chimed and the doors slid open.

Only two apartments per floor—nice and private.

Abriella zoomed ahead on her hoverboard, pressed her thumb to the scanner, and the door clicked open.

“Come on in. Crash here tonight. Tomorrow, you have to see this view—it’s the best riverfront spot in the whole city!”

But Emmy’s face had gone pale. She slapped a hand over her mouth. “Bathroom? I’m gonna be sick.”

Abriella froze, then rushed her down the hall.

Emmy just made it in time, collapsing in front of the toilet and throwing up her guts.

“If he can’t even accept Evelina, there’s no chance he’d ever come back to me.”

After all, Dean had caught her with James more than once. She’d even admitted it to his face.

And Dean wasn’t just obsessed with cleanliness—he was controlling to the point of being scary.

Back when they were together, if she so much as shook hands with another guy or brushed against someone, he’d drag her to the sink and scrub her hands with sanitizer, over and over, at least ten times.

Emmy didn’t think Dean was the type to ever let go of his hang-ups.

So whatever he wanted tonight, she knew it had nothing to do with her.

She thought out loud, “Evelina’s only shot now is to become Dr. Pepper’s student. I’m guessing Dean wants me to drop out of the AI competition this winter. That way Evelina won’t have to face me as a rival.”

“He’s got this weird, over-the-top sense of responsibility. Maybe he thinks this is how he can make up for what he’s done to her.”

Abriella’s voice got sharp, her anger rising. “Are you kidding? He’s the one who broke off the engagement, he’s the one who feels guilty—so now he wants to get in your way? What is wrong with him?”

Emmy gave her a tired, crooked smile.

“Maybe… I’m just used to it.”