Cast Out, Then Claimed By My Rival Billionaire

The area outside the Frunard Courthouse was drenched by relentless rain.

Eliana Wallace stood beneath an umbrella on the courthouse steps while rainwater seeped into the edges of the marriage documents she held.

Only ten minutes had passed since she and Connor Harrison finished registering their marriage.

Anyone in Frunard would have found it impossible to believe that the city's fiercest rivals were now husband and wife.

Just yesterday, Eliana had been standing outside Damien Stanley's apartment, the door slightly ajar. He had once been her boyfriend, and she could clearly hear what was happening on the other side of the door.

Isabel Wallace, her sister and the Wallace family's biological daughter, said in an overly sweet voice, "Damien, when are you finally going to get Eliana's shares? How much longer am I supposed to keep sneaking around as the other woman while you pretend to be with her?"

Damien answered in a low, husky voice, "Don't rush me. Your grandmother left every one of those shares to Eliana before she died, and she made it impossible for Eliana to access them until she's married. All I have to do is convince her to marry me. Once that happens, everything she owns will end up in our hands. After that, why would either of us give a damn about her?"

Hearing that from the hallway didn't make Eliana storm through the door.

Instead, she had pulled out her phone and quietly recorded everything. Once she had enough, she walked away and headed straight to a bar, where she drank until she was barely aware of herself.

After everything she had given Damien over the years, Eliana finally realized how foolish she'd been.

The truth was that her feelings for Damien had never been as deep as she once convinced herself they were. Six years ago, everyone discovered that she wasn't the Wallace family's biological daughter, and her privileged life disappeared almost overnight. Damien had remained beside her through it all.

At the time, Eliana took his loyalty as proof that his feelings were real. Even after losing nearly everything, she'd believed she was fortunate enough to have someone who still genuinely cared for her.

Only now did she understand that Damien had entered her life because he wanted the shares her grandmother had left solely to her after her unexpected death.

The whole thing was almost laughable.

How had she ever mistaken a man like him for the love of her life?

That night, Eliana drank far more than she could handle, and most of what happened afterward became a blur.

One memory remained clear. She'd grabbed a man's tie, backed him into the corner of a booth, and kissed him with reckless urgency.

A clean cedar scent clung to him and reminded her of cold winter air.

Eliana brushed her lips against his Adam's apple before whispering, "Don't leave. Stay here with me."

The man wrapped his arm tighter around her waist until the force of his hold almost hurt. "Eliana, do you even know who I am?"

She had not looked up at him. Nor did she have any desire to find out who he was.

Not long after, he led her to his car.

The cabin was nearly pitch-black, and the faint dashboard lights barely revealed the man's features.

Only then did she finally get a clear look at him.

It was Connor. Her longtime rival.

They'd been at odds since childhood. After the SATs, Connor had returned to the capital, Ozhork, for college, and their paths hadn't crossed since. After six years apart, Eliana had almost pushed him out of her memory entirely.

But seeing him again made one thing obvious. He wasn't the boy she remembered anymore.

His frame had filled out, and his features had grown sharper with age. His eyes, however, hadn't changed at all. Every time he looked at her, there was still an unreadable intensity in his gaze that she could never quite understand.

Eliana's first instinct was to get away, but she'd already missed her chance.

Connor caught her around the waist and pulled her back before she could escape. With little effort, he forced her into the passenger seat.

He bent over her next and snapped the seat belt into place.

Connor drove straight to the underground garage of a hotel. Once they arrived, he brought her out of the car and into the elevator before selecting the top floor.

As soon as the doors slid shut, Connor turned toward her and pressed her back against the mirrored wall.

The second he kissed her, the strength seemed to leave her body.

Nothing about his kiss was gentle. He was demanding and relentless, refusing to give her a chance to pull away.

One hand settled behind her head while the other held firmly to her waist, leaving barely any space between them.

Eliana pressed her lips together and fought to stay quiet. Connor seemed to notice because he slowed down and brushed his mouth over hers again and again, almost as if he were deliberately testing her patience.

Eventually, she gave in. Her arms circled his neck, and she kissed him back without waiting for him to make the next move. Connor answered with a quiet laugh before lifting her into his arms.

Once they entered the room, he didn't bother switching on the lights.

Connor pressed her against the wall near the entrance. Then he caught the zipper of her dress between his teeth and slowly dragged it down in one smooth motion.

The soft rustle of her dress dropping to the floor seemed unusually loud in the dark room.

The cool buttons of his shirt brushed against her bare skin, and the sudden chill made her instinctively pull away.

Connor immediately drew her close again. With one hand, he undid his shirt and let it fall beside her dress.

Heat spread through her the moment his palm settled against her skin.

His touch moved slowly from the curve of her lower back, lingering as though he wanted to memorize every inch of her.

Eliana tipped her head back as her breathing grew uneven.

Connor bent closer and trailed kisses along her collarbone, each one making it harder for her to think clearly.

Her fingers slipped into his hair as she whispered breathlessly, "Connor... Slow down..."

He answered with a quiet sound but showed no intention of stopping.

A moment later, Connor lifted her into his arms, and she instinctively wrapped herself around him.

He supported her firmly before carrying her toward the floor-to-ceiling window.

Eliana glanced over her shoulder. Frunard stretched far below them beneath a sea of glowing lights, and her flushed reflection stared back at her from the glass.

When she looked at Connor again, her gaze traced the strong lines of his shoulders and the faint sheen of sweat across his skin.

As the moment grew more intense, she buried her face against his shoulder and struggled to keep herself quiet.

However, Connor was still every bit as troublesome as the boy she'd known years ago. The more she tried to hide her reactions, the more determined he seemed to draw them out of her.

Just when she thought she couldn't take much more, he deliberately slowed and brushed his lips near her ear. "Stop holding back."

Eliana stubbornly refused.

Connor clearly wasn't willing to accept that answer.

The sudden change caught her off guard. Her fingers tightened against his back, and a broken sound escaped her before she could stop it.

That finally seemed to satisfy him.

The rest of the night blurred together as they moved through the suite, leaving Eliana too exhausted to keep track of anything beyond Connor and the overwhelming rush of the moment.

By the time everything finally quieted, she barely had enough strength to move. She curled against him instead, her body still trembling from exhaustion.

Connor slipped an arm around her waist and rested his chin against the top of her head while his breathing slowly returned to normal.

Then his voice broke the silence of the dark room. "Eliana... It's really been a long time."