When The Heiress Gets Dumped

---- Chapter 3 My tiny Charlotte apartment felt even smaller as | paced. A minor meltdown was in progress. Wine was involved. Why was | even here? To prove a point to my father, Arthur Kessler. He wanted me grounded. He thought | was too used to the Kessler empire. He wasn't wrong, but this felt like exile. The doorbell rang. | wasn't expecting anyone. | peered through the peephole. Ethan Sterling. What in the actual hell? Ethan Sterling, scion of Sterling Corp, tech and venture capital. Our families were rivals, sometimes collaborators.

And my parents, years ago, had tried to arrange a "society pairing" between us. |' d said I d rather volunteer for Mars colonization. He hadn' t ---- been thrilled either. | opened the door. He leaned against the frame, impeccably dressed, looking amused. "Kessler. Rough night?" "Sterling. What do you want?" | slurred a bit. The wine. "Just checking in. Your father asked me to, you know, keep an eye on things. Since Sterling Corp is opening a hub here." "My father needs to get a hobby," | muttered, turning back into my apartment. He followed me in, wrinkling his nose slightly at the décor.

Or maybe the half-eaten pizza. "Charming place. Really captures the struggling artist vibe." "It's temporary," | snapped. He picked up a framed photo of me and Marky. "This the local beau?" | snatched it from him. "Was." "Ah. Hence the tears and the cheap wine." "It's not cheap!" It was, but he didn' t need to know that. | might have thrown a cushion at him. He caught it, unfazed. ---- "So, what happened with Prince Charming?" "He knocked up my co-worker and they' re getting engaged," | said, collapsing onto the sofa. Ethan actually looked surprised for a second. Then he smirked.

"Well, that' s efficient. Saves on wedding invitations." "You' re a real comfort, Sterling." "| try." He sat in my only other chair, looking out of place. "Speaking of fathers and expectations... yours is planning a visit." | sat bolt upright. "What? When?" "Soon. And he expects to meet your 'serious boyfriend.' To assess your 'stability.' His words." My father. Of course. This was his idea of a test. Find a nice, stable, boring guy in Charlotte. Marky was supposed to be that guy. Clearly, a misjudgment on my part. "You' re kidding me," | groaned.

"Do | look like ' m kidding, Kessler?" Ethan' s eyes were serious now, despite the lingering smirk. "He' s not happy you rejected the last five 'suitable' young men he paraded past you in New York." ---- This "real world" challenge was getting more complicated by the minute.