Wed to the Billionaire Neighbor

Your family needs to buy us a fully paid, top-trim Porsche Cayenne as a wedding gift. Anything less is beneath my standards, and I won't even touch the steering wheel, the man Id been dating for two years demanded, handing down an ultimatum with a deadpan stare.

I gripped the steering wheel, keeping my voice deadpan. "And what exactly is your family contributing financially?"

"Five grand. Tops." He didn't even blink.

"Be reasonable. Don't expect to drain my parents' retirement fund."

"Deal." I scoffed, holding his gaze. "Since you're being so cheap, we'll sign an ironclad prenup and keep our finances separate. Don't expect to get a single cent from me."

His jaw clamped shut.

He threw a fit, abandoned me on the shoulder of the interstate in the freezing snow, and blocked my number.

Weeks later, a text popped up on my screen:

[Have you thought it through? If you apologize right now, the wedding is still on.]

I typed back with a smirk.

[Sorry. I'm already married.]

Chapter 1

The weather was brutal this year. A mix of freezing rain and a massive blizzard had grounded all flights and shut down the trains. I was driving my boyfriend home for the holidays, only to get stuck in dead-stop traffic on the interstate.

Wesley sat beside me, practically radiating a suffocating tension. I opened my mouth, ready to crack a joke to lighten the mood.

He stared blankly at the taillights ahead. "Your family needs to gift us a fully loaded Porsche Cayenne. Anything less is beneath my standards, and I won't even drive it."

My head snapped toward him. His jaw was set tight. His eyes were dead serious.

This wasn't a bad joke.

Before this, Wesley had always played the perfect gentleman. His Ivy League PhD halo masked his scheming; otherwise, I wouldn't have wasted two years of my youth on him.

I dug my nails into the leather steering wheel. "And what exactly is your family contributing to this wedding?"

A defensive stiffness crept into his shoulders. He let out a half-laugh. "Three grand. Five grand, tops."

I forced my voice to stay level. "So, your family chips in five grand, but you expect my family to buy a luxury SUV."

A muscle ticked in his jaw. He knew it sounded absurd, so he doubled down on the defensive.

"Be reasonable, Monroe. My parents didn't have it as easy as yours. You expect me to drain their entire life savings just to get married?!"

I gave a curt nod. "Fine. Then we sign a prenup. No financial help from your parents, and absolutely no cars or cash from mine."

His face contorted. He glared at me, his voice sharp.

"If your family doesn't pay up, how are we supposed to renovate the house?! Do you ever think about our future together?!"

The house Wesley kept talking about only had his name on the deed. Not only did it come with a massive mortgage, but he also expected me to fully fund a hundred-thousand-dollar luxury renovation. Meaning, after we got married, his meager salary would go straight to paying off his own house, while Id be bleeding dry paying for the Porsche, the renovation, and every single household expense. He was treating me like his personal, long-term ATM.

This entire marriage wasn't a partnership. It was a calculated heist.

I sat in silence. I stared at his profile, studying the sharp lines of his face as if looking at a total stranger. He always played the moral high ground, but the second his core interests were on the line, the mask slipped.

"That's your pre-marital asset," I said coldly. "It has nothing to do with me."

His eyebrows snapped together. "How does it have nothing to do with you? You get to live in it rent-free after we're married."

"Isn't that enough? You want to live comfortably, right? So obviously you should pay for the renovations!"

I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. I didn't want to start a screaming match on an icy highway, but the venom leaked into my voice.

"Listen to yourself. Your family chips in five grand, and mine is supposed to shell out over a hundred grand. Does that sound even remotely logical to you?"

Wesley's face darkened. "Your family is loaded. Mine isn't."

"What's the big deal if you pay a little more so we can have a good life?! We've been together for two years, Monroe. Do you really have to be this calculating?"

The sheer hypocrisy hit me like a physical blow. I swallowed the bitter taste of wasted years and pressed my lips into a thin line. I stared out at the relentless snow.

I didn't say another word. The decision crystallized in my mind.

There would be no wedding.

Chapter 2

Our car crawled forward another thirty feet, suffocating in a thick, oppressive silence.

Tap, tap, tap. Someone rapped on the glass. I turned my head, instantly rolling down the window in surprise. "You're driving home for the holidays too?"

Brooks offered a wry smile. "Yeah. Who knew the interstate would turn into a parking lot?" He handed two cans of steaming coffee through the window.

I murmured a quick thank you.

Brooks caught sight of Wesley in the passenger seat. "Bringing the boyfriend home for the holidays, huh?" He gave Wesley a polite nod of greeting.

Wesley just stared back with a face made of stone, giving a barely-there nod before jerking his head away to stare out the windshield.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. Brooks just chuckled, brushing off the blatant rudeness. I popped my door open and stepped out into the freezing wind to actually talk to him.

Brooks was my old neighbor. We used to be thick as thieves back in high school, but we'd naturally drifted apart once college started.

I pointed a gloved finger at a sleek black Mercedes three cars back. "Is that yours? You bringing a girlfriend home too?"

Brooks blinked, surprised. "How'd you guess?"

I just smiled. I didn't mention that the woman sitting in the passenger seat of that exact car had been glaring daggers at the back of my head this entire time. The hostility radiating from her was practically physical, and I wasn't about to play dumb.

After a few minutes of catching up, I faked a shiver and stomped my boots on the icy asphalt. "You should get back inside. You're going to freeze to death out here."

A tight, strained look crossed his face. "You go ahead. I need some fresh air."

I slid back into the driver's seat. Through the rearview mirror, I watched Brooks shivering between the rows of idling cars, stubbornly refusing to retreat to his own heater.

I leaned over and grabbed an unopened, limited-edition La Mer skincare set from the backseat. I marched straight over to Brooks's car.

"Can't just drink your coffee for free," I said, holding up the box. "This is perfect for your girlfriend. Consider it a thank you. Come on, introduce me."

Brooks laughed, though it sounded a bit hollow. "It's been years, Monroe. Since when did you get so formal?"

I followed him to his Mercedes. The girl inside tracked my every move with narrowed eyes. I leaned down to the rolled-down window, putting on a bright smile.

"Hi! Thanks so much for the coffee earlier. This is a gift, I thought you might want to try it."

Harlow rolled her eyes. Her gaze snagged on the ridiculously expensive luxury box for a split second, but she forced a haughty sneer. "Take it away. I don't use such cheap brands."

I blinked, genuinely stunned by the sheer audacity. I glanced up and caught Brooks's facehe looked utterly mortified. He opened his mouth, clearly about to apologize for her, but I beat him to it.

"We're even now," I said smoothly.

Brooks froze. Then, a genuine, relieved smile broke across his face.

Chapter 3

If she wanted to play games, I wasn't going to beg.

I carried the La Mer set right back to my car.

Wesley shot me a dark look from the passenger seat. "Back so soon? Couldn't give it away?"

I thought he might actually comfort me. Instead, a nasty sneer twisted his lips.

"They hand you two cheap coffees, and you trip over yourself to hand them a luxury gift set. Why are you so generous with total strangers?"

My grip tightened on the wheel. "I gave them a gift. So what? Have I not been generous enough with you?"

Wesley's eyes narrowed into slits. "My sister asks you for a single lipstick and you refuse, but you throw a whole designer set at a stranger without blinking!"

He scoffed. "I see right through you, Monroe."

I turned in my seat, staring him down. "Since the day we started dating, I've bought your mother's clothes. I've bought your family's winter groceries. I've paid for your father's liquor and cigars."

"Why the hell should I fund your sister's makeup habit on top of it? I'm your girlfriend. Not your family's personal ATM."

A muscle feathered in his jaw. Unable to counter, he ducked his head, aggressively tapping out messages on his phone. The air in the cabin grew thick and suffocating as the traffic finally crawled toward the next rest stop.

"Pull over," he snapped.

I slammed the brakes, jerking the car to a halt on the shoulder. I gave him a cold stare.

Wesley pushed the door open, one hand gripping the frame. "Drive yourself back. My family is coming to pick me up."

I blinked. "You're not coming to my family's house for the holidays?"

He let out a derisive scoff. "Why the hell would I go?" He looked down his nose at me, delivering his final warning.

"You better think long and hard about whether you want this marriage. You've already slept with me. Who else is going to want you now?"

My breath hitched. "Are you seriously trying to slut-shame me?"

Slam.

He shut the door in my face.

An Ivy League PhD. And he was resorting to the most pathetic, bottom-feeding manipulation tactic in the book.

I pulled out my phone, my fingers flying across the screen.

[What century are you living in? You think sleeping with a woman makes her your property? Is your dk a branding iron? Why don't you go hump the dirt and claim the whole planet while you're at it?]

[You're a ten-second disappointment on your best day. I've spent two years funding your life, and all you've done is drain my bank account and try to gaslight me.]

[Congratulations. You are officially single. Take your five grand and your fragile, pathetic ego, and go find some other sucker willing to fund your charity case. Get the hell out of my life.]

I hit send. A red exclamation mark instantly popped up next to the green bubble.

He had already blocked me.

Perfect.

Chapter 4

Wesleys hometown was only twenty miles away. I still had a five-hundred-mile drive ahead of me. He had dumped me on the side of the interstate and blocked my number.

A hot, stinging wave hit the back of my throat. My vision blurred as tears I refused to shed spilled over my lashes, scalding my cold cheeks. Two years. My stomach churned, a heavy, nauseating knot tightening in my gut at the thought of the time I had wasted on him.

Later that evening, his sister texted me a photo.

Wesley, sitting across from another woman at a dimly lit restaurant. He was dressed sharply, leaning in with that practiced, gentle smile. The woman was gorgeous, gazing back at him. The chemistry in their locked eyes practically leaped off the screen.

[Looks like Im getting a new sister-in-law. Teehee.]

The truth was a bitter pill. He didnt give a damn if I froze to death on this highway. But he had plenty of time to book a dinner date the second he ditched me.

CRASH.

A violent series of crunches shattered the quiet. My pulse spiked. I jerked my eyes to the rearview mirror.

Metal twisted into metal. A massive pileup had just unfolded fifty yards behind my bumper.

I gripped the wheel, my chest heaving. Safe. I was safe.

I forced my breathing to level out and eased off the gas. Compared to almost dying in a multi-car pileup, realizing Id dated a scumbag for two years was a minor inconvenience.

By 8:00 PM, I finally pulled into the next rest stop. My nerves were shot. I decided to park and sleep in the car for the night.

My phone vibrated. I expected Wesley looking for a fight, or his sister gloating. Instead, an unknown number flashed on the screen.

"Monroe? It's Brooks." A harsh cough interrupted him. "Can you give me a ride?"

I stood outside the rest stop convenience store, the freezing wind biting through my coat. Finally, a silhouette emerged from the blowing snow. I broke into a run.

As I got closer, I saw Brooks. He was practically a walking block of ice. In this weather, ten minutes outside was lethal. Had he walked all the way from the previous exit?!

I shoved two piping hot coffees and a warm sandwich straight into his jacket. "Where the hell is your car?"

The edges of his eyes were rimmed red. "My girlfriend kicked me out."

I grabbed his hand. His fingers were stiff and cold as ice. "Come on. Let's get you in my car."

Brooks's tall frame stiffened slightly at my touch, but he didn't pull away. Once inside, the warm air of the cabin wrapped around us.

I handed him my thermos, my fingertips brushing against his broad palm. He lowered his gaze, his eyes lingering on my hand. The icy tension radiating from him seemed to thaw just a little.

I cranked the heat to the max and poured the last bit of hot water into the cup for him.

It took him a long time to stop shaking. His hands still trembled as he pulled his phone from his pocket and hit record on a voice memo to Harlow.

"Harlow, stop being mad. Pull over. It's not safe for you to drive alone in this snow. Wait for me, I'll drive you back."

I watched him in silence. He was unbelievably grounded. Even after his girlfriend abandoned him in a blizzard, his first instinct was still to make sure she was safe. The contrast between him and Wesley gave me emotional whiplash.

Harlow didn't reply.

Brooks dialed her number again and again. Finally, the call connected. He kept his voice steady.

"We can argue about everything else later. The roads are black ice right now. Pull over and let me drive you."

Harlow's voice bled through the speaker, dripping with malice. "I don't need you. I'm already taking the local highway home."

A cruel pause. "Have fun freezing."

The line went dead.

I didn't know how deep those words cut, but Brooks just sat there, his knuckles white around the phone, staring blankly out the frost-covered window. In the reflection of the glass, a faint glisten caught the light in his eyes.

I cleared my throat, desperate to break the suffocating silence. "Hey," I said softly. "If it makes you feel any better my boyfriend dumped me on the highway, too."

Chapter 5

Brooks stared at me, his eyes wide. "In this blizzard? He actually left you alone to drive all the way back?!"

I forced a tight, cynical smile. "Yep. He tossed me out because I refused to buy him a sixty-thousand-dollar Porsche as a wedding gift."

Brooks let out a short, hollow laugh. "What a coincidence. My girlfriend kicked me out because I refused to buy two more houses for her family."

My jaw dropped. "Isn't one house enough? Why two? And the market is terrible right now anyway."

Brookss mouth twisted into a bitter sneer. "She has a deadbeat younger brother. She demanded I pay for our house in full, and on top of that, I have to buy a detached villa with a pool specifically for her brother as a condition for the marriage."

I almost slapped the steering wheel. "What is this? A royal decree? She hits the jackpot and the whole village gets a castle?"

Brooks could only shake his head with a humorless smile.

"Did you agree to it?" I asked.

He shot me a look that said everything. "What do you think?"

Even if he lost his mind and said yes, the Brooks family would never allow it.

We decided to keep the car parked at the rest stop for the night. The temperature dropped drastically. We dug every heavy coat out of our suitcases and piled them on top of ourselves, but neither of us caught much sleep.

When I finally woke up, I realized Brookss heavy wool coat was draped over me. I sat up and looked through the frosted window. He was standing outside, a cigarette pinched between his fingers, arguing on the phone.

I cracked the window to let some air in, and the conversation drifted through the gap.

A woman's voice shrieked through the speaker, brimming with self-righteous indignation. "Once you're married, you're family! Harlow is very devoted to her family."

"Shes not after your money; she just wants them to have a better life. If you really cared about her, you wouldn't be so petty over this!"

Brookss voice was pure ice. "Care about her? She abandoned me on the interstate in a blizzard. Did she ever ask how I was supposed to get home?"

The woman on the other end scoffed loudly. "You're a grown man with two working legs! You could have easily hitched a ride! You let Harlow drive home all by herself in this snowdid you even bother to check if she made it safely?!"

My eyebrows shot up. I had literally watched Brooks beg her to pull over so he could drive her safely.

Brooks let out a harsh laugh. "Why don't you go ask Harlow if I called her or not."

The woman didnt miss a beat. "Figure it out yourself, Brooks. Your family has already sent out the invitations. If you cant coax her back, I'd love to see how you explain this humiliation to everyone."

Brooks didn't say a word. He just ended the call.

I waited until he crushed his cigarette under his boot before asking if he wanted to grab some food inside the convenience store. He looked utterly drained, his head bowed, lost in thought. I didn't press him. It wasn't my place.

We bought some snacks and coffee and got back on the road.

Chapter 6

Taking turns behind the wheel was infinitely better than driving solo while managing Wesley's toxic mood swings. The traffic was still a nightmare, but the air inside the cabin shifted. Brooks was just mapping out our strategy to score some hot food at the next rest stop when it happened.

The tires lost all traction.

The car spun sideways, careening straight toward the concrete barrier of the overpass.

One wrong move and we'd be plummeting over the edge.

I death-gripped the handle. "Pump the brakes! Pump the brakes!"

Brooks's knuckles turned stark white against the steering wheel. He pumped the brakes, wrestling the wheel against the ice until the tires finally gripped the road.

We drifted onto the emergency shoulder and threw it into park. My chest heaved. Only the erratic sound of our breathing filled the silence.

Brooks finally broke it, his voice low. "Sorry. Hit a patch of black ice."

I shook my head, my hands still trembling slightly. "Are you kidding? You're a way better driver than me. If you hadn't been at the wheel, we'd be dead."

Brooks froze. He let out a soft, rueful laugh. "Your boyfriend lost someone incredible."

Our eyes met. The space between us suddenly felt a lot smaller.

I shifted in my seat, suddenly hyper-aware of the tension, but my phone buzzed. Saved by the screen.

It was Wesley's sister again. A barrage of photos and screenshots flooded my screen. One was a picture of a brand-new, top-tier La Mer set. The rest were screenshots of her friends begging her to set them up with her brother.

[Why are there so many women dying to be my sister-in-law? Teehee.]

I stared at the screen, biting back a laugh. What a clown. Wesley looked great on paper, sure. But the second it came to actually putting a ring on it, I'd love to see what woman in her right mind would trade five grand for a hundred-thousand-dollar shakedown.

We were still stuck in the frozen wasteland when we spotted figures in the distance handing out instant ramen on the side of the road. We hadn't had a hot meal in twenty-four hours.

"Capitalism at its finest," I muttered. "In this weather, they're probably charging twenty bucks a cup."

Brooks grabbed the thermos. "Stay put. I'll go grab some."

He opened the door and stepped out into the freezing wind. Minutes later, he jogged back, carrying two steaming cups of noodles.

"Locals from a nearby town," Brooks said, his breath pluming in the cold. "They're handing them out for free."

It was a total whiteout outside. I couldn't even fathom how they managed to hike up the embankment with heavy supplies. A lump formed in my throat.

I reached into the backseat, grabbing two of the expensive gift boxes I'd packed for the trip, and climbed out of the car.

We ran over and pressed the boxes into the hands of the stunned locals. When they tried to refuse, we just dropped them in the snow and sprinted back.

As we reached the car, I suddenly realized our hands were laced together.

My chest heaved, my breath coming in short, erratic gasps from the sprint. Brookss hand was broad and surprisingly warm, gripping my fingers tight. We locked eyes in the middle of the blinding snowstorm. The howling wind seemed to vanish, replaced by a dangerous, magnetic tension pulling the air tight around us.

Brooks cleared his throat, naturally releasing my hand as he pulled the door open. "Get in. Food's getting cold."

The cramped cabin quickly filled with the savory scent of hot broth. We sat shoulder-to-shoulder, huddled over our steaming cups.

Brooks stopped eating. He turned his head, his dark eyes fixing onto mine.

"Why don't you just marry me? I don't need you to buy me a Porsche. I don't need renovation money."

"Keep your own assets," he said, his voice dropping an octave. "And when the holidays roll around, we won't even have to argue about whose parents to visit. Your mom and dad are literally a two-minute walk away."

I swallowed hard. That last part was a lethal selling point. I was a total daddy's girl at heart. If it hadn't been for Wesley's manipulation, I would've never left my hometown in the first place.

Brooks held my gaze. "I already broke up with Harlow."

The image of Wesley's smug face flashed in my mind, followed by his sister's ridiculous texts. I clenched my jaw, a sudden surge of adrenaline kicking in.

"Deal."

We made the pact right then and there.

The second we hit our hometown, we were going straight to City Hall.

Chapter 7

Once we cleared the blizzard zone, the drive south was smooth sailing.

Brooks and I talked the whole way down to kill the hours. We clicked effortlessly. We both loved scuba diving, killed time with Sudoku puzzles, and were massive foodies always hunting for the next hidden gem.

A memory suddenly flashed through my mind: taking Wesley to a fifty-dollar-a-plate buffet. We had walked in excited, but he ended up berating me for a solid month afterward for "wasting money on luxury."

I used to be so stupid, constantly walking on eggshells around his fragile male ego, aggressively downgrading my own lifestyle just to cater to his insecurities.

The conversation with Brooks flowed naturally. He glanced at me, a teasing glint in his dark eyes. "Do you remember that talking stage we had back in high school? Why did you ghost me out of nowhere?"

Heat rushed to my cheeks. I thought about dodging the question, but finally caved. "Do you remember that senior trip? I got intense food poisoning, and you literally sprinted into the girls' restroom to hand me toilet paper