Blackmailing My Playboy Ex

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Ever since I was little, my mom drilled one rule into my head: Date the hot ones, but marry the reliable ones. So, at twenty-four, I started dating Gideon. Gideon was a certified player. His motto: Out of all of them, you're the one I love the most.

And me? I was a top-tier manipulator. My motto: The only reason I can't sleep is because you're not in my bed.

Everyone in our circle thought we were the perfect match.

But exactly one month ago, my mom was diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer.

Standing in that freezing hospital hallway that reeked of bleach, watching family members sitting all alone, I suddenly got sick of this never-ending game of situationships. I needed a legal partnersomeone who could actually help me weather the storm.

I was going to break up with Gideon.

Chapter 1

Gideon hated picking up his phone, but tracking him down was never hard. He had a VIP booth at the club. Three hundred and sixty days out of the year, that was exactly where you'd find him.

He was tall and unfairly gorgeous. Even in a packed room, my eyes landed on him instantly. Right now, he was taking a penalty shot from some game.

The young girl plastered herself to Gideons arm, deliberately thrusting her chest forward. She shot me a provocative glare. "Wifey, we're just playing Truth or Dare. You're not gonna be a buzzkill, right?"

"Of course not," I said smoothly. "You're so cute, why don't you just pack up and move in with us?"

My overly enthusiastic invitation earned me a massive eye roll from her.

I looked at Gideon, putting on my best pout. "Gideon, I think she hates me. Maybe I should just leave. But it's still raining out, and I don't have an umbrella."

"So maybe" I rested my hand on the shoulder of the frat boy sitting nearby, trailing my fingertips over his tight biceps under his sleeveless tee. He radiated that hot, California-sunshine kind of energy. "Maybe this guy can walk me to my car."

Gideon's gaze slid over to the college boy, raking him up and down with an icy stare.

The boy practically jumped out of his skin, waving his hands frantically. "Stella, don't mess with me. Everyone knows Gideon is obsessed with you."

That seemed to appease Gideon. He grabbed his glass and downed the rest of his drink in one swallow. Shoving the young girl off his arm, he stood up and pulled me flush against his chest.

"I'm out," he announced to the table. "My girl's getting jealous. I gotta take her home and make it up to her. Put everything on my tab today."

"Hell yeah, Gideon! You're the best!"

Amidst the cheers and whistles, Gideon kept his arm tight around me as we walked out. In the car, his eyes kept darting over to me from the driver's seat.

"Are you actually pissed? You know I was just messing around. Out of all of them, you're the one I love the most."

He repeated that exact line every single month. I was so sick of hearing it. If I wasn't a total sucker for a pretty face, we would have crashed and burned a long time ago.

He looked at me with those deep eyes that could make anyone melt, leaning in close until his lips brushed my ear. "Baby, what perfume are you wearing? It smells so fucking good. Baby, I want"

"I want us to break up."

I cut his little seduction routine right off.

The fingers spinning his lighter snapped to a halt. His Adam's apple bobbed in his throat. Then, he leaned in close, his hot breath hitting my collarbone. "Baby, what kind of roleplay game are we doing this time?"

Sometimes we played those kinds of games to keep things interesting. When I didn't say anything, a teasing smirk tugged at his lips.

"Billionaire CEO and his helpless secretary? Pilot and the flight attendant? Doctor and nurse?"

"Gideon, I'm serious." I kept my face stone-cold.

His smirk vanished. He went back to flipping his lighter, resting his other arm over the back of the seat. He looked like the epitome of a spoiled, filthy-rich playboy.

"Alright, Stella," he said flatly. "Give me a reason that actually convinces me."

"You have way too many women on the side."

"Has a single one of them ever shown up in front of you?" he fired back. "Have you ever caught me in bed with anyone else? Stella, I need hard proof."

Thinking back over the past three years, I genuinely didn't have any hard proof.

"I want to get married."

Everyone knows players are terrified of being tied down. I waited for him to finally back off.

Instead, he didn't even blink.

"Pick a date. I'll go to the courthouse with you."

To him, marriage was just a piece of paper. Till death do us part, through thick and thinall that meant nothing to him.

I was forced to pull my last card. "My mom told me I need to find someone reliable."

He tossed the lighter onto the dashboard, a wicked, almost dangerous grin spreading across his face. "Then I guess I'll just have to go ask your mom exactly what makes me unreliable."

Chapter 2

My mom had just gotten out of the hospital, and dragging her into this mess was out of the question, so I shot the idea down fast.

"Okay, okay, I am just messing with you." He pulled me back against his chest, dropping a satisfied kiss on my hair. "I knew my baby was just throwing a little tantrum."

Later that night, his phone buzzed against the nightstand. I threw a sideways glance at the screen. Piper. The ultimate one that got away.

According to his inner circle, the only reason I even secured my spot in his bed was because she took a flight out of the country three years ago.

"Gideon, your phone is going off."

He stepped out of the bathroom, a towel slung low on his hips. Beads of water still clung to his skin, tracing a slow path down the strong column of his neck and over a ridiculous set of abs. The man was practically sculpted out of marble. If he did not look like a literal god, I never would have wasted three years of my life letting him ruin me.

I swallowed hard, pulling the duvet up over my head to pretend I was asleep while keeping an ear completely dialed in to his conversation.

"Yeah?"

A pause.

"Today?"

Another pause.

"Alright, I am on my way." He tossed the phone on the bed and leaned over, pressing a quick kiss to my cheek. "Baby, something came up. Be good and stay here."

It was one in the morning. A man getting a midnight distress call from his golden girl and walking out the door meant exactly one thing. I needed to catch him red-handed.

The second his taillights disappeared out of the garage, I was right behind him. We pulled up to the destination. I sat in my car for a full hour, giving them enough time to get comfortable, before I marched up and pounded on the door.

The girl who answered the door was wearing a massive men's hoodie, her long hair falling in messy waves over her shoulders. The size of that sweater obviously belonged to Gideon.

Compared to her effortless, messy-haired vulnerability, I looked like a psycho, shoving my phone camera directly into her personal space.

"Stella, have you lost your mind trying to catch me doing something?" Gideon stepped out of the bathroom. He was still wearing the exact same clothes he left our apartment in, without a single wrinkle on the fabric.

I pulled my brows together. That made zero sense. Gideon usually needed a solid two hours for a warmup alone.

His eyes locked onto my recording phone, his jaw tightening. "Stella, delete the video." He reached out, demanding the device.

I yanked my phone back against my chest, shaking my head. "You told me breaking up required hard evidence."

"What kind of evidence is this?"

"It's the middle of the damn night. You didn't just drive all the way out here to use her toilet."

Right on cue, Piper let out a choked sob.

Damn it. I was the actual girlfriend here. I should be the one pulling the crying card.

Piper curled her fingers into the cuff of Gideon's sleeve, her voice trembling. "Gideon, I am so sorry. I did not mean to cause trouble between you two."

I almost laughed out loud. Please. I practically invented the fake-innocent victim act. She was playing way out of her league.

I grabbed his other sleeve, widening my eyes and pitching my voice into a perfectly pathetic tremor. "Gideon, you can yell at me all you want, but I just need to know the truth. Between me and her, who do you actually care about more?"

He pulled his arm out of Piper's weak grip, pulling me firmly against his chest. His fingers dug sharply into my waist as he lowered his voice.

"Baby, stop making a scene. Delete the video. Be good."

I actually thought I had secured the win over his little golden girl. Turns out, he just wanted to neutralize the threat of the video.

I bit down hard on my lower lip until the metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth, my nails digging so deeply into my palms they almost broke the skin. I tipped my head up, forcing my eyes to shine with unshed tears as I looked at him. "So, you're going to stay in her room tonight, right?"

I could see a muscle feathering along his jawline. His patience was tapped out. "Go home. I actually have things to handle."

I leaned into the hit, delivering the final blow. "I am sorry. I was being way too clingy. But do not worry, it will never happen again."

His fingers clamped around my wrist like a vice, the pressure steadily increasing until it bruised.

Piper chimed in, playing the perfect peacemaker. "Gideon, maybe you should go back with her. I can manage on my own."

Hearing that, Gideon snapped his head toward me. "Stella, I tolerate your little games normally, but you are crossing a massive line tonight."

The warning in his voice dropped the temperature in the room by ten degrees.

Chapter 3

Sure enough, no matter how good a manipulator she was, a single word from his golden girl always won.

I yanked my hand out of his grip and hit delete on the video right in front of his face.

I walked away without looking back.

I packed my things and moved back to my own apartment that very night. But my chest still felt uncomfortably tight. Maybe he had whispered he loved me so many times I actually started to believe the illusion.

But looking at it now, he cared about Piper. At least, more than he cared about me.

After Gideon and I broke up.

My mom was thrilled. Ever since her surgery, she had been desperate to see me settled down with a legal partner. That very day, she signed me up for a VIP membership at an elite matchmaking club.

"Stella, here is our platinum package for two thousand, and the diamond for four thousand"

"Give my daughter the most expensive one."

"Mom, you still need money for your chemo treatments."

"At my age, I do not care about that anymore. Your future is what matters. We will take the highest tier."

The consultants face broke into a massive, blinding smile. After swiping the card, she slid a stack of heavy, glossy files across the desk and told me, "Stella, these are the absolute highest quality men we have on roster."

I flipped through the photos, and it was hard to even look at them. My brain was hijacked by Gideons sinfully gorgeous face.

"Stella, your phone is ringing," the consultant pointed out.

The flashing screen on the desk displayed a name: Gideon.

"Hello?"

"Stella, you said you deleted that damn video!"

Hearing the raw fury in his voice felt surprisingly satisfying. I did delete it last night. But the anger had burned too hot to just let it go. I pulled it straight out of my recently deleted folder and sold it to a major gossip tabloid for two grand.

Now, the top trending searches on every major media outlet read:

[Gideon of the Billionaire Family Caught in Midnight Rendezvous]

[Piper Revealed as Illegitimate Daughter]

So Piper was an illegitimate daughter. No wonder Gideon had been so desperate to make me wipe that video.

I dragged out my words, pouring on the fake innocence. "Gideon, I just saw the news too. I swear I hit delete."

"How did it still get leaked? I'm so clumsy, I can't even get a simple thing right. I made you worry all over again."

Gideon let out a harsh, breathless laugh on the other end of the line, ignoring the fact that we had literally broken up last night. "Where are you? I am coming to pick you up."

I kept my grip tight on the phone. "Gideon, we are done. Besides, I am actually really busy right now."

"Stella, I never agreed to that breakup."

That was the thing about scumbags like him. They wanted to keep their precious first love safe while still having their cake and eating it too.

When I did not answer, he demanded, "What are you busy with?"

"Busy finding a new man!" I cut the call and immediately jabbed my finger onto a random profile in the VIP folder. I set the date at a high-end lounge I knew Gideon frequented. It was not about anything elseI just wanted to make him sick to his stomach.

The man sitting across from me had razor-sharp features, rivaling Gideon in the looks department. He had a bit of that same commanding vibe.

"Hi handsome. I am Stella."

He smiled, extending his hand. "Nice to meet you. I am Vincent."

Vincent?

That name sounded familiar.

He stood up, a perfect gentleman, and pulled out the chair for me. His movements were smooth and polished.

Once I sat down, I cut straight to the chase. "Stella, twenty-nine, single-parent household. I have my own house, my own car, and savings. I have been in three serious relationships."

"So Gideon was not your first love?"

How did he know about Gideon?

And the fact that I lied to Gideon about him being my first love how did he know that too?

Chapter 4

I was still trying to process the situation when Gideon charged out from behind me, grabbing Vincent by the collar.

Thick blue veins popped along the back of his hand.

I reached out to stop him, only to hear his voice vibrating with absolute intensity. "I already explained the situation with Piper to you! I will find a way to get that video scrubbed from the internet!"

Damn it. I actually thought he was losing his mind over me.

Turns out, he was just playing knight in shining armor for his precious golden girl. I was giving myself way too much credit.

I stayed in my seat, taking a slow sip of my coffee as I watched the drama unfold, until the pieces finally clicked together.

I was at the wrong table. Mine was 608; this was 806. Vincent was his older brother.

No wonder the name sounded so familiar. Just my absolute luck.

I grabbed my purse, attempting to slip away unnoticed, but Gideon caught me dead to rights.

"Gideon, let go! I actually have places to be!"

He ignored my struggling, shoving me into the passenger seat of his car.

Inside the car.

Gideon gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned bone-white. The sheer force radiating off him made me legitimately worry he might put a fist through the dashboard. "Stella. You are breaking up with me because of my brother?"

God as my witness, I literally just sat at the wrong booth.

When I kept my mouth shut, he kept pushing. "I thought I was your first love? You actually had the nerve to lie to my face? Unbelievable."

He was practically having a conversation with himself at this point.

I shifted awkwardly in my seat. "It only counts as a first love if it's someone you actually care about. Everything before you was just me being young and stupid. They don't count."

"You really are full of surprises." A harsh, mocking sound escaped his throat as he slammed his foot on the gas.

I hated it when he drove like a maniac. He knew that. The fact that he was doing it anyway just cemented the fact that he was completely useless as potential husband material.

The car finally lurched to a halt in front of the exact same coffee shop where we first met.

I had zero idea what kind of game he was playing, but I followed him inside anyway.

"How long have you known him?"

I stared at him, genuinely confused. "Who? Vincent?"

Hearing Vincent's name, the muscles in his jaw clenched hard enough to snap bone. His eyes darkened, looking exactly like a predator whose territory had just been invaded. He bit down viciously on the filter of a cigarette, lighting it up while his chest heaved with heavy, ragged breaths.

"I sat at the wrong table. I have known the guy for literally five minutes."

Not a single ounce of belief registered on his face. He tossed the lighter onto the table with a sharp clatter, continuing his interrogation. "Between him and me. Who is better?"

I just told him I sat at the wrong damn table! And he was still trying to turn this into some pathetic alpha-male dominance contest.

I rolled my eyes hard enough to see my own brain. "Obviously, he cannot compare to you, Gideon. You are drop-dead gorgeous, you throw money at women like it is water, and"

"Stella, give me the actual truth!"

The truth? Fine.

"Vincent is insanely attractive, massively successful, a perfect gentleman, and actually acts like a mature adult."

Smash.

He slammed his coffee cup down onto the table, the porcelain shattering into jagged pieces.

See? I tell the actual truth, and he throws a temper tantrum.

"Stella. Good. Perfect. You are absolutely unbelievable."

"You remember this. I am the one dumping you."

The lethal edge in his voice could have cut glass.

Bullshit! He was dumping me? On what grounds?!

I had not said a single word about his endless rotation of side pieces, including his untouchable golden girl, Piper. I might have played the manipulative girlfriend card a few times, but I never actually cheated on him!

Watching him turn to leave, I could not hold my tongue. "Gideon. Stop right there."

The tension bled out of his shoulders, and a smug, knowing smirk curled the corner of his mouth. "What? Already begging me to take you back?"

I flashed him a brilliant smile. "You misunderstood. I need my breakup fee."

He lost it. "Stella, you! Fine!"

Gideon ripped his phone out of his pocket and authorized the transfer.

[A notification flashed on my screen confirming an incoming wire transfer from a Swiss bank account. A solid ten million dollars.]

Not a bad payday at all.

Chapter 5

"Stella, you are going to regret this!"

I dropped the act. I stood up and patted his shoulder. "Do not worry. I will start regretting it right after I find a new husband and blow through every last cent of that money."

The muscles in Gideon's neck bulged, his face flushing a dark, furious red