Chapter 1 · I Went For The Prince, But Married The King

I took a job at an old-money billionaire's company for one reason: to bag his son, the heir.

Three months later, that heir and I both got married.

The only problem was that he married his childhood crush.

As for me, I married his dad.

The morning after the wedding, I went online and posted a tearful rant: [Guys, I got totally scammed. I thought I was marrying a mature, gentlemanly alpha CEO. Turns out, that was just the image he put on before the wedding.]

*****

I worked my butt off at my old job, but they fired me anyway. That moment changed everything for me.

The world was clearly rigged. Instead of killing myself for a paycheck, I decided to let someone else handle the pressure.

I was done with the daily grind.

My new career path was simple: bag a billionaire, marry into a wealthy family, and live the soft life as a trophy wife. That was the only way to win.

I promised myself that once I secured the bag, I would track down my old boss and slap the soul out of him. I needed to ask that jerk if he regretted squeezing me dry before tossing me out like trash.

Early that morning, I put on a "clean girl" makeup look that screamed innocent but expensive. Dressed like a sweet angel, I headed straight to Lynch Group.

I actually had a history there since work brought me face-to-face with the heir, Gabriel Lynch, two months prior.

He froze the second he saw me.

He made a point to praise my work during the meeting, and before they left, his assistant, Eddie, even slipped me Gabriel's card.

But back then, I had a steady paycheck and was focused on my career. I had zero interest in climbing the social ladder.

I never saw the disaster coming. Two months later, right after I drained my savings for a condo down payment, I lost my job.

Suddenly, my three-thousand-dollar mortgage was a ticking time bomb.

I wanted to strangle my past self for being so arrogant.

Desperate for a paycheck, I applied to Gabriel's tech company, but they rejected me immediately.

So, I aimed higher and sent my resume to the parent company, Lynch Group.

Lynch Group was famous for its impossible hiring standards, but I had to find a way in. I knew Gabriel's startup was backed by his father, Xavier Lynch. They shared the same skyscraper.

It was the only way to stay within Gabriel's orbit.

The irony wasn't lost on me: the son's company rejected me, but the father's group actually pulled my resume.

After two rounds of interviews, I landed the job at Lynch Group.

I made a silent vow: If I managed to marry Gabriel, I would be the best daughter-in-law Xavier ever had.

*****

It was day one at Lynch Group. I stepped into the elevator and took a deep breath, trying to hype myself up to crush it.

I punched the button for the 31st floor, the project department. However, the universe decided to throw me a curveball.

The elevator stopped on the 27th floor. Gabriel walked in, a deep frown etched on his face.

He was so deep in thought that he looked right through me.

His assistant, Eddie, trailed in right after him. He seemed to place who I was and gave a quick, friendly nod.

My heart started hammering against my ribs.

Xavier really came through for me.

I seriously thought my fairytale romance was starting right then and there.

Just as I was about to open my mouth to say hello, a beautifully manicured hand shot through the closing doors.

That hand was less than two feet from my face. It took about five seconds for the owner of that hand to shatter my trophy wife dreams.

The doors slid back open. A drop-dead gorgeous woman stormed in and threw herself right into Gabriel's arms.

"Gabriel, please don't be mad at me," she sobbed, burying her face in his chest. "I didn't want to leave back then... I had no choice.

"You promised you'd never leave me..."

Gabriel didn't say a word, but I watched the tension in his brow instantly vanish.

I felt a cold bucket of reality dump over me.

Eddie caught my eye and jerked his head toward the hall, so I scrambled out of the elevator with him.

The doors slid shut, sealing the two of them inside.

This time, nobody stopped them.

Eddie hit the call button for another elevator. "Sorry about that," he said smoothly. "Don't worry, you've still got plenty of time before the shift starts."

I nodded, feeling like a balloon that had just been popped, but I managed a dry laugh. "Looks like Mr. Lynch is having a happy reunion."

Eddie's expression got weird.

When the elevator arrived, he leaned in and whispered, "That was Diana, Mr. Lynch's childhood crush. They have a lot of history."

"That's sweet," I lied, trying to sound casual.

It was a plot twist I didn't see coming, but I shouldn't have been surprised.

On the bright side, I had the job, so my mortgage was covered.

On the downside, my plan to bag the heir and retire early was officially toast.

I told myself to wake up and stop chasing fairytales.

Chapter 1

I took a job at an old-money billionaire's company for one reason: to bag his son, the heir.

Three months later, that heir and I both got married.

The only problem was that he married his childhood crush.

As for me, I married his dad.

*****

I worked my butt off at my old job, but they fired me anyway. That moment changed everything for me.

The world was clearly rigged. Instead of killing myself for a paycheck, I decided to let someone else handle the pressure.

I was done with the daily grind.

My new career path was simple: bag a billionaire, marry into a wealthy family, and live the soft life as a trophy wife. That was the only way to win.

Early that morning, I put on a "clean girl" makeup look that screamed innocent but expensive. Dressed like a sweet angel, I headed straight to Lynch Group.

I actually had a history there since work brought me face-to-face with the heir, Gabriel Lynch, two months prior.

He froze the second he saw me.

He made a point to praise my work during the meeting, and before they left, his assistant, Eddie, even slipped me Gabriel's card.

But back then, I had a steady paycheck and was focused on my career. I had zero interest in climbing the social ladder.

I never saw the disaster coming. Two months later, right after I drained my savings for a condo down payment, I lost my job.

Suddenly, my three-thousand-dollar mortgage was a ticking time bomb.

I wanted to strangle my past self for being so arrogant.

Desperate for a paycheck, I applied to Gabriel's tech company, but they rejected me immediately.

So, I aimed higher and sent my resume to the parent company, Lynch Group.

Lynch Group was famous for its impossible hiring standards, but I had to find a way in. I knew Gabriel's startup was backed by his father, Xavier Lynch. They shared the same skyscraper.

It was the only way to stay within Gabriel's orbit.

The irony wasn't lost on me: the son's company rejected me, but the father's group actually pulled my resume.

After two rounds of interviews, I landed the job at Lynch Group.

I made a silent vow: If I managed to marry Gabriel, I would be the best daughter-in-law Xavier ever had.

*****

It was day one at Lynch Group. I stepped into the elevator and took a deep breath, trying to hype myself up to crush it.

I punched the button for the 31st floor, the project department. However, the universe decided to throw me a curveball.

The elevator stopped on the 27th floor. Gabriel walked in, a deep frown etched on his face.

He was so deep in thought that he looked right through me.

His assistant, Eddie, trailed in right after him. He seemed to place who I was and gave a quick, friendly nod.

My heart started hammering against my ribs.

Xavier really came through for me.

I seriously thought my fairytale romance was starting right then and there.

Just as I was about to open my mouth to say hello, a beautifully manicured hand shot through the closing doors.

That hand was less than two feet from my face. It took about five seconds for the owner of that hand to shatter my trophy wife dreams.

The doors slid back open. A drop-dead gorgeous woman stormed in and threw herself right into Gabriel's arms.

"Gabriel, please don't be mad at me," she sobbed, burying her face in his chest. "I didn't want to leave back then... I had no choice.

"You promised you'd never leave me..."

Gabriel didn't say a word, but I watched the tension in his brow instantly vanish.

I felt a cold bucket of reality dump over me.

Eddie caught my eye and jerked his head toward the hall, so I scrambled out of the elevator with him.

The doors slid shut, sealing the two of them inside.

This time, nobody stopped them.

Eddie hit the call button for another elevator. "Sorry about that," he said smoothly. "Don't worry, you've still got plenty of time before the shift starts."

I nodded, feeling like a balloon that had just been popped, but I managed a dry laugh. "Looks like Mr. Lynch is having a happy reunion."

Eddie's expression got weird.

When the elevator arrived, he leaned in and whispered, "That was Diana, Mr. Lynch's childhood crush. They have a lot of history."

"That's sweet," I lied, trying to sound casual.

It was a plot twist I didn't see coming, but I shouldn't have been surprised.

On the bright side, I had the job, so my mortgage was covered.

On the downside, my plan to bag the heir and retire early was officially toast.

I told myself to wake up and stop chasing fairytales.