A Stand-in Bride

Chapter 1

Zhan

"I can't believe that asshole," Dilraba says as she storms into my office. I drop my pencil to my desk and reluctantly drag my eyes away from the evening gown I'm designing.

After a couple of tough weeks, I woke up this morning with my creative block completely gone. I knew exactly what to design for my upcoming fashion line, but with my best friend here, there's no way I'm going to get this dress out of my mind and onto paper.

"Morning babe," I tell Dilraba, suppressing a smile. There's only one person she gets this riled up over, and I have no doubt whatever story she's about to tell me is going to be wild.

"Yang Yang stole my concept and presented it as his own. He won the project I spent months preparing for - with my ideas!"

I lean back in my seat and let my gaze roam over Dilraba's dishevelled, long, wavy hair. My bestie always looks impeccable, but not today. Looks like Yang Yang really got to her this time.

"Weren't you the one who sabotaged him last time? You punctured his tires so he'd be late to the meeting when you knew that tardiness was the one thing the client wouldn't tolerate."

Dilraba smirks wickedly, her eyes lit up with delight the memory. "If not for that, his company might actually have gotten that resort deal. That was a multi-million dollar deal. Honestly, I'm kind of disappointed it was so easy to mess with him. Usually he's smarter than that."

I shake my head and lean in, giving her my full attention. She won't leave until she's had enough time to complain about Yang Yang, her biggest rival. Yang Enterprise and Wang Real Estate have been business rivals for as long as I can remember, but Yang Yang and Dilraba definitely took it to the next level.

"So shouldn't you have expected him to retaliate?"

Dilraba glares at me as though I've betrayed her, but she knows I'm right. Honestly, even though they keep sabotaging each other, they both pretty much end up with an equal half of the opportunities that come their way, dominating the real estate industry together.

"I want revenge," she snaps. "That bastard. I can't believe him. You have to  help me Xiao Zhan."

I pick my pencil back up and shake my head, "Nope. Not going there." I'm not crazy enough to offend a psychotic billionaire like Yang Yang. Dilraba is the only woman alive who continuously gets away with that and I doubt she even realizes that the only reason that happens is because he lets her.

My phone buzzes and I reach for it absentmindedly, freezing when I read the caller ID. Wang Yibo. My heart tightens as I stare at my phone, watching it ring.

"Xiao Zhan?" Dilraba says, her voice soft, concerned.

I look up, snapping out of my daze and force a smile onto my face. How long have I been zoning out for? "It's your cousin," I tell her, before accepting the call.

"Hi Yibo," I say, my calm tone in contrast with the beating of my heart.

He chuckles and a sharp sense of longing rushes through me. "Xiao Zhan, I'm surprised you even picked up. You've so hard to reach these days. You're even busier than I am."

I lean back in my seat and smile. It's been a while since I last heard him say my name. "What's up?" I ask, knowing that whatever it is he's calling for is bound to hurt me. Wang Yibo is a habit I can't kick. He's a shameful addiction, an illicit secret.