I Saw The Spoilers: My Broke Boyfriend is a Billionaire

I want this broke boy.

I grab Adrian's hand.

The gym goes dead silent.

Bentley freezes. His basketball hits the floor. Thud.

He stares at me like I grew a second head.

He knows I am a gold digger. He knows I don't do poor.

And Adrian? He is wearing shoes with holes in them.

But Bentley can't see the air glitching above us.

He can't see the neon spoilers floating in 4K resolution.

"Alert: Adrian is the missing Reginald heir."

"Net Worth: Billions."

"Time until inheritance: 3 Months."

Bentley sneers. He laughs.

"You picked the charity case over me? You're desperate."

I squeeze Adrian's fingers.

I look Bentley dead in the eye.

He thinks he won.

He has no idea I just secured the bag.

Chapter 1

I am a gold digger.

But I am good at hiding it. To everyone else, I am friendly. I am nice. I treat everyone the same.

But when it comes to men? My standards are non-negotiable.

He has to have money.

And, okay, he has to be hot.

In my eighteen years of life, Bentley was the closest thing to perfection I had found. His family is old money. Big business. Rumor has it they are second only to the mysterious billionaire family in the state.

Of course, a family like that was out of my league. So I settled for Bentley.

He was arrogant. High maintenance. A total diva.

I chased him for months before he finally agreed to be my boyfriend.

But once we were together? He was a nightmare. He complained I wasn't clingy or caring enough. He threatened to break up with me every other day.

"Let's just break up. You only chased me for my money anyway."

"I saw you talking to Knox. You interested in him now?"

"Don't let that McLaren fool you. It is used. It is practically worthless."

"Block his number right now or we are done!"

It was exhausting.

He had practically monitored every attractive guy in my contacts list.

Two months ago, we got into another fight.

The reason? I was twenty minutes late to his birthday party.

"This proves you don't value me!"

"You weren't late for the school assembly! Mrs. Patterson is more important to you than I am!"

"Let's break up. We need to cool off."

Same old script.

Seriously?

Was he delusional? I am not a trust fund baby like him. I can't just blow off Mrs. Patterson.

I was tired. So I gave him what he wanted.

"Fine. Break up."

"Don't contact me."

Chapter 2

That day, Bentley's face went ghost white. He stared at me for a long time. Then, without saying a word, he grabbed a bottle of vintage wine sitting on the table.

Smash.

The bottle shattered against the floor. That bottle was worth twenty grand. He destroyed it like it was nothing.

Just to show me he could.

He didn't contact me after that.

Two months passed.

I calmed down.

I had to. Bentley was my ceiling. He was the best I could do.

Who doesn't love money?

My family is working class. My parents are obsessed with my little brother, Trevor. Every good thing, every spare dollar, goes to him.

I want out. I want to escape this life.

But I am not a genius. I study hard, but I am average at best. Ranked somewhere in the middle of the pack.

My only asset is my face.

So I use my looks. I take shortcuts. I feed my ambition. What is wrong with that?

I made peace with it.

School had just ended. Bentley had been spending every afternoon at the basketball courts lately.

I packed my bag and headed toward the gym.

The plan was simple. Corner him. Apologize. Act soft. Beg for forgiveness. Get back together.

I reached the gym entrance.

But before I could step inside, a voice stopped me cold.

"Layla."

It wasn't Bentley.

It was Adrian.

Chapter 3

Adrian.

The school legend. The academic genius.

He is always number one. Six-foot-two. Insanely hot. He even beat Bentley in the School Heartthrob poll by a narrow margin.

I cast the deciding vote.

Not for any deep reason. Just aesthetics. Adrian is exactly my type.

My inner Libra demanded fairness, so I gave him the vote.

But other than that, we never spoke.

Adrian was a loner. He never talked to anyone in class.

Rumors followed him everywhere. People said they saw his mom, Mrs. Fletcher, picking through discarded produce at the market.

They said his dad was dead. They said his grandma, Betty, was sick and racking up hospital bills that cost hundreds of thousands a year.

Bottom line: Adrian was broke.

He was the scholarship kid. He worked shifts at the boba shop and the convenience store just to survive.

In the cafeteria, he bought the cheapest sides. Two scoops of veggies. No meat.

Even the girls on diets ate more than him.

I am not heartless. Once, I felt a pang of pity. I slipped a hundred bucks into his pencil case when he wasn't looking.

Anonymous. No note.

Now, standing at the gym entrance, I frowned.

Did he find out about the money?

I read enough novels to know how this goes. The poor, brooding genius usually has an ego made of glass.

He probably thinks I was insulting him with my charity.

Is he here to yell at me? To throw the money back in my face?

I prepared my defense. I was ready to snap back.

But his next words froze me in place.

"Layla."

"I like you."

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

Chapter 4

I was stunned.

The gym entrance was crowded. People were streaming in and out.

I glanced back toward the basketball courts.

Bentley was there. He had walked out without me noticing. Sweat glistened on his forehead from the game.

His crewAustin and the rest of the guyssurrounded him. They were staring right at us. They looked amused.

They didn't even try to lower their voices.

"Yo, isn't that Bentley's girl?"

"Ex-girlfriend, bro. Get it right."

"Hahaha, right! Ex. Gotta admit, Layla has a spine this time. It has been two months. Usually she comes crawling back by now."

"Think she found a replacement?"

"Adrian? The broke scholar?"

"Hey Bentley, you think she'll say yes?"

I felt my face heat up. It was humiliating.

I looked straight at Bentley.

I tried to send him a signal with my eyes. Don't misunderstand. This isn't what it looks like.

But he didn't even look at me. Not once.

He just stood there. Bouncing the basketball against the pavement.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

He looked amused. Like he had stumbled onto a scene that had absolutely nothing to do with him. He let out a short, mocking laugh. The corner of his mouth lifted.

"Huh?"

He smirked.

"Why should I care if she accepts? Adrian is brilliant. If he wants Layla, she is the one punching above her weight. She is lucky."

My heart plummeted.

It hit me then. Bentley didn't like me. He never did.

He only accepted me because I chased him so hard. Because I was convenient.

Agreeing to the breakup wasn't a punishment for him. It was a relief.

Fine.

Good, actually.

At least this way, I kept a shred of dignity.

Chapter 5

Even if I wasn't getting back together with Bentley, I wasn't planning on accepting Adrian's confession.

We had been in high school for three years. We had exchanged maybe twenty words. Total.

Getting together out of the blue?

It felt reckless. It wasn't responsible.

I opened my mouth to reject him.

Suddenly, a massive wall of text floated in front of my eyes. A barrage of comments.

"Here it comes! The drama scene! The Male Lead is confessing to the villainess!"

"Hahaha look at her expression. Does the side character actually think Adrian likes her?"

"It is just a dare. He lost a bet with the heroine. He is forced to do this."

"Poor Male Lead. He just realized his crush doesn't like him and is pushing him onto someone else. And now he is about to get rejected by this shallow gold digger."

"It is so sad!"

"It is okay! Just wait. Once he is recognized by the billionaire familyReginald's familyand inherits his billions, our heroine will take him back!"

...What?

Reginald's family?

The billionaires? The richest people in the state?

My heart slammed against my ribs.

I knew the gossip about that family. Everyone did.

Rumor had it that VivienneReginald's wifewas frail. She only ever had one son.

But because of some brutal corporate warfare, that son was kidnapped when he was four or five.

He vanished.

There was never any news.

For over a decade, their business empire grew, but they never stopped looking for that child.

The floating text kept scrolling.

"It is happening soon! Three months until Adrian is found!"

"The family is in Europe for business right now. Once they bump into the original kidnapper in the UK and get the lead, they will fly back immediately..."

"Our Male Lead won't have to suffer anymore!"

Three months.

Okay.

Thank god I hadn't said no yet.

I love money. I am honest about that. How could I possibly let a winning lottery ticket walk away?

I curved my eyes into a perfect, practiced smile.

"Sure."

"I accept, Adrian."

I was too shocked by the floating text to notice anything else.

I didn't see Bentley standing behind me.

I didn't see the blood drain from his face until he was pale as a sheet.

I didn't see his fingers trembling. Violent. Uncontrollable.

Chapter 6

"What? The side character said yes?"

"How is that possible! Isn't she the ultimate gold digger?"

"She was only with Bentley for his money. She is a total snob."

"According to the plot, she is supposed to regret it like crazy AFTER Adrian goes back to his rich family!"

"Exactly!"

"Besides, if she does this, what happens to our Kayla?"

Kayla.

Adrian's childhood friend.

The "Heroine," according to the floating text.

They said she was the one who set up this bet. She made Adrian confess to me.

Why? Because she has a crush on Bentley. She wanted to nuke any chance of Bentley and me getting back together.

In the original timeline...

I reject Adrian. Bentley rejects me.

And the "pure and innocent" childhood friend rushes in to comfort the heartbroken boy.

Adrian might not love me, sure. But getting rejected publicly in front of the whole school? That stings. It is embarrassing.

Kayla created the situation. But she plays the savior.

She strings Adrian along, acting like his emotional support animal. Meanwhile, she spreads rumors that I am a shallow monster who tramples on the feelings of poor boys.

Behind the scenes? She quietly chases Bentley.

Until Adrian gets found by his billionaire family.

Then she finally "accepts" his feelings.

And the book gets its Happily Ever After.

Chapter 7

I have to admit. She is good.

High-level manipulation.

If she hadn't dragged me into this stupid bet and planned to ruin my reputation with rumors, maybe we could have been friends.

But not now.

I don't play nice with people who try to destroy me.

I glanced toward the corner.

Kayla looked shocked when I said yes.

Her expression froze.

But then, a look of secret delight crept in. She looked over at Bentley.

The school rumors always said I forced Bentley to date me. That he was sick of me.

Now that he is finally free, he must be thrilled, right?

I stepped forward.

I reached out and took Adrian's hand.

The crowd gasped.

SLAM.

A deafening noise echoed through the entrance.

Bentley threw the basketball onto the concrete. Hard.

His face was wooden. Completely void of emotion.

He didn't say a word. He just shoved through the crowd and stormed out.

His crew scrambled after him, frowning as they apologized to the students Bentley had pushed aside.

"Sorry, sorry! Just a family emergency!"

"Hey, no one is mad! Bentley is in a great mood!"

"Why does he look so scary? Uh... he just didn't play well! Hahaha..."

"Stop asking! We have to go! Bye!"

Chapter 8

"Layla... did you really mean it?"

Adrian looked completely bewildered. He was the main character of this scene, yet he looked the most confused.

I had dragged him away from the staring crowd by his wrist. He still looked like he couldn't believe reality.

He lowered his voice. He sounded unsure.

"We have barely spoken. I thought... I thought you didn't even know who I was."

Adrian pressed his lips together. He looked away, his eyes filled with insecurity.

I got it.

High school is tribal. I spent my time in the rich kid cliques because of Bentley.

Adrian sat in the back row. He was silent. Invisible.

The only person he ever talked to was Kayla, his childhood friend.

The floating comments were sighing in my vision.

"Yeah, see? The Male Lead and the Villainess are from different worlds."

"Adrian didn't even want to confess. He felt it was rude to prank her with a dare, whether she said yes or no."

"Kayla kept pushing him. She jokingly threatened to end their friendship if he didn't do it. He had no choice."

"What does that mean? Are you blaming our baby Kayla? This is the Villainess's fault for saying yes! She is weird!"

"Ugh, this is annoying. Just clear up the misunderstanding. I want to see the leads be sweet together. Don't let the gold digger win!"

Adrian looked down at his hands. He clenched them into fists.

After a long silence, he seemed to make a decision.

"Layla."

He sighed softly. He looked at me with guilt in his eyes.

"Actually."

"You probably don't know the reason for today. I did this because..."

He didn't have to finish. I knew exactly where this was going.

He was going to confess about the dare.

If he clears up the misunderstanding now, the game is over. How do I secure the bag if we break up five minutes after getting together?

I am a schemer. I couldn't let that happen.

I put on my best surprised face. I interrupted him before he could ruin everything.

"What? You think I haven't heard of you?"

"Adrian, what goes on in that head of yours?"

"Do you have any idea how famous you are at school?"

That stopped him cold. The confession died in his throat.

He coughed, startled.

"Me?"

"I am... famous?"

Wow.

For a genius, he really had zero self-esteem.

Why was he so insecure about his status?

I nodded gently. I took a step closer.

I grabbed his hand.

I made my voice sound incredibly serious. Sincere.

"Yes."

"Adrian, you are amazing."

"Do you know how many people envy your grades? How many people want to be your friend?"

"Take me, for example. I try so hard, but I can barely keep up with half of what you do."

I lowered my head. I pretended to suddenly remember something.

"Oh!"

"Speaking of that. I actually tried to get to know you before. I put some money in your pencil case."

"It wasn't much. Just a hundred."

"I saw you eating so little in the cafeteria. I just thought... maybe you could use it to buy some snacks?"

"Adrian... you don't blame me, do you?"

"I really, really didn't mean to offend you