I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis novel Chapter 88

Chapter 88 Genial Host, Hostile Guest

Ashton gave Declan an approving nod, then turned to Gwendolyn told you I’d bring my wife today. Anyone gives her trouble, they’re taking me on.‘

His voice was low, but it carried.

Loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

The words weren’t just meant for Gwendolyn.

They were a warning shot to the entire Laurent clan.

Anyone who’d been whispering behind my back a second ago suddenly remembered how to shut up.

A few awkward beats passed before the party resumed its rhythm, the chatter awkward at first, then slowly picking up pace again.

Ashton took my hand and led me to the enormous sofa in the centre of the room.

I braced myself for the glares, the barbed questions, the sudden onset of passive–aggression.

But instead, everyone smiled.

Some even tried to make it look convincing, though it was obvious they were clenching their molars behind those well- practised grins.

I’d thought Ashton’s (allegedly) illegitimate status would’ve put him in a precarious spot with the family, but apparently not.

They were treating him like royalty.

No one dared raise their voice, not even Reginald.

Which made me think–if people did suspect our marriage was a sham, would anyone actually have the guts to say it out loud?

Probably not.

So why, exactly, was Ashton still going overboard with all those rehearsals?

It wasn’t like we needed to sell the act that hard, but he’d been treating this like some kind of military drill.

Then there was the whole thing about his grandfather, Edouard Laurent.

According to Ashton, the old man was on his deathbed at a nursing home and just wanted to see him get married before he went.

Hence the fake marriage.

Hence the real marriage certificate.

But when I finally saw Edouard, sure, he looked old and a bit frail he needed a cane–but he didn’t seem like he was about to kick the bucket.

His attitude towards me landed somewhere between Reginald and Declan–not overly warm, but not icy either.

Polite. Neutral. Watchful.

Which tracked.

He wasn’t like his son, Reginald, who wore every thought on his sleeve like a bad name tag.

Edouard hadn’t built an empire by being the type to blurt out anything without weighing it first.

He thanked me for my gift, even complimented my dress–very grandfatherly, very smooth.

+15 BONUS

ird didn’clonow any better, I’d have thought he actually liked me.

Then the party got properly underway.

There were speeches, gift–giving, cake–cutting, photo taking the whole shebang.

Not long after, Ashton was called into the study by his grandfather

Twas left alone on the sofa, quietly matching names to faces and of serving the dynamics of a multi–branch

I felt it almost immediately—that creeping sensation of being walied.

Not just the polite kind, either.

This was surgical, skin–peeling scrutiny.

I tried to ignore it, but one particular stare coming from my right was doing a fantastic job of making my shoulders lock up.

I turned my head and locked eyes with a woman in the corner.

She wasn’t blinking-

Fuck.

Isobel Brooke.

The jolt that went through me was embarrassingly visible–I actually flinched.

Her gaze hadn’t changed since high school.

Still that cold, reptilian deadness, like she’d

I shivered.

It wasn’t fear.

Skin me just to see how I was wired.

It was that reflexive revulsion, like when you feel something wet and squishy in your shoe and realise you’ve just crushed a slug

When Serenna Oakley mentioned that Isobel was coming back to town, I’d thought, ‘Skyline’s huge. What are the odds we’d ever bump into each other again?‘

Yet here we were, not even a few days later, and I was staring straight at her.

I leaned slightly towards the girl next to me–dark hair, barely out of college, tapping away on her pho like she was in her

bedroom instead of a party.

Ashton had introduced her earlier, but my brain had already dumped her name.

‘Who’s that?‘ I asked, keeping my voice casual as I nodded subtly towards Isobel.

She looked up, then followed my line of sight. ‘Oh. That’s Isobel… something. She’s with Quentin, Ashton’s second uncle’s kid. Pretty sure they’re getting engaged soon. That’s probably why she’s here. Y’know, tagging along as future family.‘

I looked again.

The way Isobel’s eyes had been slicing through me told me everything I needed to know.

Serenna had been right: Isobel still hated my guts.

I exhaled slowly, the walls starting to press in around me like the air had thickened.

Too many people had swarmed me already–chit–chatting, fake–smiling, all trying to suss out one thing: how close was I to Ashton?

2/3

Chapter BA Genial Host while Guest

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