The next day, Hans showed up at Erica’s place, a pink gift box in hand.
And how did I know this with such certainty?
Because the condo I’d just bought was right next door to the heroine’s.
7
I found the perfect vantage point.
From my balcony, I could see the coy reluctance on the heroine’s face and the mole on the tip of Hans’s nose with crystal clarity.
“Hey, System,” I mused, “how can a guy with a personality like Hans’s be such a simp for the heroine?” It was a question that had always baffled
- me.
The System didn’t know either. “Maybe… because she’s the heroine?”
That was as logical an explanation as any. As the female lead, every important man was contractually obligated to fall for her, no questions
asked.
I watched for a bit before heading back inside. I was about to crawl into bed for a glorious nap when a text from Hans came through.
Hans: “Open the door.”
I shot up in bed like I’d been electrocuted.
Had he seen me earlier?
4/5
09:08
Chapter 1
09.08
I peeked out from the balcony again. The yard next door was empty. I leaned over the railing, a position that gave me a clear view of the street below my building.
The moment I did, my eyes locked with a pair of intense, dark ones.
He was looking up at me, the afternoon sun casting a golden halo around him, making him look even more devastatingly handsome.
“Diana Vance. Come down and open the door.”
I slipped on my slides and went downstairs to let him in.
He got straight to the point. “You used my card to buy a condo here?”
“Didn’t you say I could spend it on whatever I wanted?” I shot back, completely unrepentant.
Hans’s gaze swept across the first floor before settling on my face. “Why here?”
I paused for a few seconds, then asked him seriously, “Do you want the honest truth, or the real truth?”
Since it was his money, I figured I should at least pretend to care about the feelings of my sugar daddy.
Hans didn’t hesitate. “The real truth.”
“To get a front–row seat to watch you simp for another woman, of course.”
C
09:08
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
8
I had finally managed to piss Hans off.
His face was terrifyingly dark. He looked like he was torn between strangling me and exercising every ounce of his self–control.
I could get away with this for one reason: my father.
09.08
Years ago, my dad had saved Hans’s life, and he’d been a crucial supporter as Hans built his empire. It was the only reason I’d secured the position of his fiancée in the first place.
“Diana, don’t you have anything better to do?” Hans finally managed to bite out, reining in his temper.
I nodded. “I’m a trust–fund baby with all the time and money in the world. What do you think?”
Besides, I used to be a simp myself. And because I knew what it was like to stand in the rain, I was determined to tear his umbrella to shreds. I needed to see what the man I could never have looked like while chasing someone he could never have.
Hans was powerless against me.
Suddenly, he grabbed my wrist, his gaze traveling up my arm until it landed on a small mole on my bicep.
He was starting to suspect I wasn’t the same person. It made sense. The shift from a meek, gentle flower to my true, give–no–fucks self was jarring.
“If you like living here, then fine,” Hans said, releasing me. “But I’m going to be very busy for a while, Diana. I need you to behave.”
“Sure,” I said with a dismissive wave.
He gave me another long, searching look. Just as he turned to leave, his phone rang.
“Hey, Hans,” I called out.
He turned back, his expression still annoyed. “What now?”
I beamed at him. “Could you take out the trash on your way out?”
9
I was woken up by a cacophony of clanging and chanting.
I checked the time. Only nine in the morning.
1 shuffled downstairs in my slippers and opened the door to find a group of people in robes swarming my yard. The one in the lead was ringing a bell. When he saw me, he circled me several times, the bell ringing furiously.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded.
No one answered.
“Host, I think… they might be performing an exorcism,” the System offered.
“Exorcise my ass!” I slammed the door and stormed back inside, immediately calling Hans. The second he picked up, I unleashed a torrent of rage. “Hans Thorne, are you out of your goddamn mind?!”
My own father didn’t even know I’d bought this place. The only possible culprit was Hans.
“It seems it’s not working,” came his infuriatingly calm reply.
“Of course it’s not working! Hans, get these weirdos out of my yard, now!”
His tone remained unhurried. “Don’t worry. They’ll leave once the ritual is complete.”
I took two deep breaths, but the noise outside was still driving me crazy.
I tried a different tactic. “Aren’t you worried they’ll disturb Erica?”
1/0
09:08
