Ficorpio
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
You and Adrian Cross were mortal enemies, yet somehow the entire world insisted on treating you like a couple madly in love.
From school all the way into adult life, you’d explained it hundreds—maybe thousands—of times. Eventually, you got too tired to bother. Let people gossip. Let them make up whatever they wanted. You and Adrian had absolutely nothing going on.
Then one day, a stunning woman with flawless makeup kicked your door open and stormed inside. She pointed straight at you and said, “Break up with Adrian Cross. Name your price, and I’ll give it to you.”
You were just about to explain.
Then your gaze locked on the man standing behind her.
Tall. Long legs. Broad shoulders tapering down to a narrow waist.
Ethan Sterling.
The boy you’d secretly loved all through high school.
In an instant, every word of explanation flew out of your head. Your eyes lit up, and you nodded at the woman without hesitation.
“You mean that?” you asked. “Then I don’t want money. I want him.”
Before this, you’d just heard the heartbreaking news that Ethan Sterling—your high school dream guy—had fallen on hard times. Supposedly, his family had lost everything. He’d gone from ice-prince heartthrob to pretty-boy trophy type, living off his face, and rumor had it some rich older woman had him wrapped up in a sugar-baby arrangement.
When you heard that, you’d cried at home for two straight days.
After crying your eyes out, you’d only gotten angrier.
If some rich woman was going to bankroll a man that gorgeous, why couldn’t it be you?
You were rich too.
So why wasn’t a miracle like that ever landing in your lap? Were you not wealthy enough? Not trying hard enough?
You were furious about it.
And now?
Wasn’t this opportunity basically delivering itself to your front door?
You were sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window of your family’s upscale coffee shop, soaking up the sun and still feeling quietly miserable over Ethan Sterling’s situation, completely oblivious to the fact that happiness was already making its way toward you.
“So you’re Sophie Bennett?”
A woman’s voice rang out above you—sweet on the surface, but edged with unmistakable hostility.
You turned, puzzled, and found a striking brunette standing there with her arms crossed, looking you over from head to toe with open criticism.
“Huh. You’re not that impressive. Your skin’s a little fairer, your waist’s a little smaller, that’s all,” she said dismissively.
You’d been surviving on gym meals for a month. There was no way you could suppress your smile at that.
“Why, thank you,” you said generously. “You’ve got a great figure too.”
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
“Don’t cozy up to me.” Her face darkened at once, and she got straight to the point. “I only came here for one reason today: break up with Adrian Cross. Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you.”
Adrian again.
You were seriously going to lose your mind over these never-ending rumors. Why was it that no matter how many times you explained it, everyone still insisted you and Adrian were a thing? At this point, you had every reason to suspect Adrian was using you as a human shield to shake off all his unwanted admirers.
But if you didn’t explain yourself, it would just make you look guilty.
So you took a breath and said patiently, “First of all, gorgeous, Adrian and I are not dating, and I don’t like him. Second, I wish the two of you a lifetime of happiness and several beautiful children. Third, I don’t need anything, so you really don’t have to—”
You broke off mid-sentence.
Your gaze had locked onto the man approaching behind her.
You’d seen plenty of men in your life, but even a glance at his build was enough to make your heartbeat pick up—broad shoulders, narrow waist, long straight legs. He was wearing nothing more than a simple white shirt, and somehow it still couldn’t hide the sheer male heat rolling off him.
Your eyes traveled upward.
The moment you saw his face clearly, you froze.
Ethan Sterling.
What was he doing here?
It had been years, and somehow he was even better-looking than he’d been in high school. Strong brows, sharp eyes, a high elegant nose—his expression was cool and distant, but even that kind of indifference was enough to make a woman’s heart soften.
Ethan’s gaze skimmed over you in passing, not the slightest ripple on his face, as if he’d just looked at a stranger.
Fair enough. Back in high school, you were probably just that girl who’d blush and run if he said a single word to her. You’d been classmates, sure, but there was no reason he’d remember you. And honestly, that cold expression of his hadn’t changed at all—still carrying that same air of looking down on everyone equally.
“Claire, can you go home first?” Ethan’s attention stayed entirely on the woman in front of him, his voice touched with a trace of careful coaxing.
“Back off. This has nothing to do with you.” She brushed his hand away impatiently.
Your heart gave a violent thud.
This was the first time you had ever seen Ethan humble himself to soothe someone. Could this Claire be the rich woman supporting him in some sugar-baby arrangement?
No wonder she was acting so outrageously confident. So she was experienced at this.
You little witch. Your luck was insane.
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
That was Ethan Sterling. The ice-prince heartthrob himself. In high school, he hadn’t even dated anyone, and now he was actually somebody’s puppy-boyfriend type?
By now, you had completely forgotten that Claire had come looking for you in the first place. Your mind was filled with only one thought:
Why wasn’t I the one bankrolling Ethan Sterling?
At this point, Claire wasn’t the one trying to convince you to break up with him.
You were the one who suddenly wanted to convince Claire to dump Ethan.
Ignoring Ethan’s attempts to stop her, Claire dragged out the chair across from you and sat down like she had no intention of leaving without getting what she wanted.
“Sophie Bennett, I’ve seen women like you a hundred times,” she said. “Claiming you’re not interested, then throwing yourself at a guy behind the scenes.”
“You think Adrian Cross actually likes you? He only agreed to date you because he couldn’t deal with you hounding him anymore.”
“My advice? Learn when to quit. Don’t push your luck.”
She kept going and going, but your brain had already filtered out everything except Ethan Sterling.
By the time her words reached your ears, they’d basically turned into: Here, I brought you a man. Want him?
Yes.
Obviously yes.
You couldn’t take it anymore. You reached out, pinched Claire’s chattering mouth shut between your thumb and forefinger, and said, “Close it. I only need one answer. If I agree to break up with Adrian, will you give me whatever I want?”
Claire slapped your hand away and let out a disdainful huff. “Name your price.”
Smiling sweetly, you shook your head and pointed straight at Ethan, your gaze unwavering.
“I have plenty of money. I want him.”
“What did you just say?” Claire shot out of her chair, staring at you like you’d lost your mind. “You want him? Do you even know who he is?”
“Of course I do,” you said openly. “He’s the man of my dreams.”
Shameless as it was, you’d had a thing for Ethan Sterling ever since high school. And after finding out he’d become exactly the kind of pretty-boy trophy type people lost their minds over, you’d wanted him even more. Who could possibly understand the value of a three-dimensional, CEO-faced man after life had supposedly “trained” him into obedience?
Ignoring Claire’s stunned expression, you walked straight over to Ethan and spoke with complete sincerity.
“Ethan Sterling, I know your family went bankrupt and you’ve had a hard time. But you don’t have to keep pretending to be strong anymore, because your support system is here.”
“Bankrupt?” Ethan’s face went blank, as if this were the first time he’d ever heard that news.