Page 131 of Billionaire’s Ruin

There was a splash.

A loud, humiliating splash.

The cold river swallowed my head before I even registered what had happened. One second I was a dignified man steering a boat; the next, I was flailing under the surface like a malfunctioning fish.

Arms flapping.

Legs kicking.

This was it.

This was how it all ended.

Pathetic.

Wet.

And spectacularly embarrassed.

“Kai!” Her voice reached me through the water—bright with alarm, but bubbling with giggles. “Stand up.”

“What?” I sputtered, swallowing half the river.

“Stand up, Kai!” She yelled again, louder this time.

I planted my feet on instinct—and froze. The water barely reached my waist.

“Oh…” I said, deadpan.

She doubled over. Her laughter was shaking her shoulders. “You’re such an idiot.”

I pushed my wet hair back, droplets streaming down my face like a sad fountain. “I was just testing the temperature,” I said with a straight face, dignity long gone.

“Sure you were.”

I wiped the moisture from my eyes and aimed a mock glare at her.

“Oh, you think this is funny?”

“It’s hilarious,” she said, doubled over with giggles.

“Oh yeah?” I crouched and scooped up a palmful of river water.

“Kai—don’t you da⁠—”

Too late.

I sent a splash straight at her.

She shrieked, jerking back as the splash hit her legs and the front of her jeans.

“Kai!”

She glanced down at the wet patches spreading across the denim, outrage and laughter fighting for dominance on her face.

“This is cold!”

“That’s payback,” I said, trying to keep a straight face.