Their Villain The Mogul's Beloved novel 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!"

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

"And if I say you can't go?" Natasha's voice didn't waver, but it had a bite. "You know I can't stand her, Lucas."

He sighed, clearly over it. "Natasha, come on. This isn't the time to act up."

"My answer? It's now or never." Her words were cool, almost too cool.

Lucas's brow furrowed. Something about Natasha tonight felt different.

Normally, she'd be throwing a fit by now, maybe tossing out some snarky jab about Olivia, like hoping she'd stay in the hospital for good.

But this Natasha? She was chill, like she'd seen this whole mess coming.

For some reason, that made his stomach twist.

"Pfft, what's with the theatrics?" Matthew scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Come on, Natasha. You've been stuck to Lucas like glue for twenty years. You're head over heels for the guy. You were probably losing it when he popped the question. No way you're saying no."

Someone else piped up. "Yeah, seriously. It's just a proposal. You can do it another day. Olivia's life's on the line here."

"Exactly. You two were always gonna tie the knot. This whole thing's just for show," another voice added.

The room buzzed with snide comments, but Natasha didn't blink. Her sharp eyes stayed locked on Lucas, waiting for his call.

Lucas let out a heavy sigh and stepped closer, doing what he always did—patting her head like she was some kid.

"Be good, alright?" he said. "Don't make a big deal outta this. Olivia could be in real danger. This isn't the time to throw a fit."

Same old song and dance. Whenever she and Olivia butted heads, he'd apologize to Olivia without a second thought, then turn to Natasha—fuming like a wildcat—and talk to her like she was being childish.

To him, her anger was cute, not serious. Her feelings? Never mattered.

This proposal? Just going through the motions. Lucas never even thought she'd say no.

As the crowd faded into the distance, some tagalong who'd come for the drama suddenly spoke up. "Hold up. Isn't Olivia—the one in the accident—Natasha's foster sister from the Clark family?

"I heard they're legit cousins. Why didn't anyone ask Natasha to come to the hospital?"

Someone snorted. "Ask her? So she can finish Olivia off?"

"Huh? Spill the tea!"

"Oh, buckle up. Let's talk about how Natasha's been nothing but ungrateful and nasty…"

The usual venom and gossip followed, same as it had for years. Whenever Natasha and Olivia's names came up together, the knives came out.

Sadie's face burned red with anger as she glanced at Natasha, who was oddly silent.

The world's gossip couldn't touch Natasha anymore, but losing someone she loved? That hurt like hell.

She watched Lucas walk away, step by step, just like she'd watched their once-tight bond fall apart over the years.

She kept staring as he walked out of her life for good.

Sadie asked, "If this crash hadn't happened, would you have said yes to him?"

Didn't matter. The ending was set in stone. Olivia would never let Natasha get her happy ending.

And Lucas'd never pick Natasha over Olivia.

The second he turned his back, he didn't realize that while the future might stretch on, the girl who once wanted to marry him was done waiting.

'Lucas, I'm letting you go for real this time,' she thought bitterly.

On the cluttered table, Natasha's phone lit up with a new message.

A short, smug text, oozing with victory: [You lost.]