Coralie

By Willow Moon

Coralie Dubois is a woman so effortlessly cool and intimidatingly intelligent that her mere presence can send grown men scurrying for cover. Unfortunately, one such man happens to be her fiancé, Kai Lennox—a guy blessed with everything money can buy (and then some): devastating good looks, a body sculpted by the gods (or his personal trainer), a last name that screams old-money prestige, and a brain… well, let's just say that part was left on backorder.

Kai's grand life philosophy boils down to one thing: pleasure, pleasure, and more pleasure. He's already counting down the days until his engagement to Coralie—a woman he views as a fire-breathing, high-maintenance overlord—is over.

But before he can enjoy his freedom, his life takes a nosedive into chaos when a girl with a martyr complex insists on paying off her "debt" to him. Her idea of repayment? Climbing into his bed (uninvited) or—if that fails—becoming his maid.

Cue the dramatic entrance of Alessandro Visconti, a billionaire so alpha it's a wonder his name doesn't come with a trademark symbol. Alessandro believes the girl belongs to him, and anyone who so much as sneezes in her direction—including Kai—is an enemy that must be eliminated.

Despite Kai's increasingly desperate attempts to explain that he doesn't know this girl and has zero interest in her, Alessandro is hell-bent on destroying him. Coralie steps in to save her hapless fiancé's hide.

To everyone's surprise—especially Kai's—Coralie isn't the controlling, fire-breathing dragon he thought she was. She's brilliant, resourceful, and might just be the one thing Kai never knew he needed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: FM
• Release date: Jan 20, 2025
• ISBN: 9798230876106

Book preview

Coralie

Willow Moon

Published by FM, 2025.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Chapter 1 Billionaire Alpha

Chapter 2 Plummeting IQ

Chapter 3 Engaged

Chapter 4 Lunch

Chapter 5 Suspicion

Chapter 6 Tragic Heroine

Chapter 7 Proud Heroine

Chapter 8 Possessive Hero

Chapter 9 Indulgence

Chapter 10 Parental Pressure

Chapter 11 Warning

Chapter 12 Possession

Chapter 13 A Taken Man

Chapter 14 Claim of Ownership

Chapter 15 Gala

Chapter 16 Business

Chapter 17 Wine

Chapter 18 PDA

Chapter 19 Drunk

Chapter 20 Morning After

Chapter 21 Rejection

Chapter 22 Last Night

Chapter 23 Feelings

Chapter 24 Surprise Party

Chapter 25 Friends

Chapter 26 Another Man

Chapter 27 Rivals

Chapter 28 Blaire

Chapter 29 Insecure

Chapter 30 Promise

Chapter 31 Proposal

More from Willow Moon

Chapter 1 Billionaire Alpha

The icy wind in the seventy-story Visconti Industries headquarters seemed deliberately designed to chill the soul—and the overpriced coffee.

Alessandro Alex Visconti’s hand gripped Amara Reed’s chin with the precision of a billionaire closing a hostile takeover. His piercing blue eyes, as cold and sharp as a glacier’s edge, bore into hers. His custom-tailored black suit, rumoured to cost more than a small country’s GDP, clung to him like an overly attached ex. Amara’s chest quivered beneath it, like a timid bunny caught in the headlights of a gold-plated Rolls-Royce.

Tell me, Alex drawled, his velvety baritone laced with venom, how much did he give you last night?

Amara’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears, the kind that belonged in a Hallmark movie marathon. Her lips, glossy and trembling, remained defiantly sealed. She shook her head.

Alessandro’s lips curled into a devastatingly toxic smile, so toxic it could wilt a bouquet of roses—or a legal team. He brushed a single finger down her cheek, which was soft and petal-like, as though imported directly from an ad for luxury skincare.

Don’t make me repeat myself, Amara, he whispered, his breath warm against her ear. If you don’t talk, I’ll have no choice but to take what I want... right here.

Her eyes widened to cartoonish proportions, a single crystalline tear descending melodramatically down her cheek. It landed with an audible plop on his hand, which twitched as though burned. N-no... Alex, please.

For a brief, fleeting second, pain flickered in his eyes, like a soap opera villain debating redemption. But just as quickly, the mocking smile returned, deeper and more poisonous than ever. His hand moved to the hem of her impossibly white dress, his long fingers curling with menacing deliberation. Don’t play the innocent little bunny with me. You know I don’t have an ounce of mercy left. You should know exactly what I’m about to do.

His voice dropped to a husky growl as he added, And in one minute, the assistant of Lennox Group’s CEO will walk through that door. Let’s see how pure you look then.

L-Lennox Group? Amara stammered. She twisted in his grasp, horror etched into every inch of her expression. Alex, no! Please, I’m begging you—

Outside the slightly ajar door, a secretary wearing heels sharp enough to commit crimes paused. Miss Dubois, why are you just standing here? Aren’t you going in?

Coralie Dubois, Chief Assistant Extraordinaire to the CEO of Lennox Group, offered a tight smile, the kind of practised expression that came from years of corporate diplomacy. Mr. Visconti seems... preoccupied. I’ll wait.

The secretary nodded and disappeared down the hall, leaving Coralie to silently curse her superhuman hearing. Every syllable of Alessandro Visconti’s absurd threats filtered through the not-at-all soundproof door like a soap opera dialled to full volume.

From inside the office came Amara Reed’s dramatic cries, laced with desperation so palpable it could have been bottled and sold as a luxury fragrance: Tears by Amara.

Please, Alex! Don’t make me face the Lennox Group! Amara wailed, her voice teetering between sobbing and hysteria. They’re monsters, every one of them! Just let me go!

Coralie’s smile froze, the corners of her mouth twitching as she internally debated if she could write off therapy sessions as a work expense. Monsters? Really?

Inside, Alessandro’s baritone dropped to an ominous growl. What did they do to you, Amara? Tell me. What. Did. They. Do?

No...

Say it!

No! Don’t take off my dress, Alex! Fine—I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!

Coralie rolled her eyes and leaned her forehead against the cool marble wall. The exaggerated gasps and rustling fabric that followed sounded like an amateur theatre production of The Perils of Pauline.

Finally, Amara’s voice returned, now trembling with a blend of heartbreak and questionable logic. "I can never belong to you, Alex. My freedom, my body, my everything belongs to the CEO of Lennox Group."

Coralie blinked. Does Lennox Group even want that kind of liability?

From inside, Alessandro’s laugh sliced through the air like a blade dipped in sarcasm and polished to a high sheen. He’ll never measure up to me. Never!

Amara’s voice cracked like a porcelain vase dropped on purpose. My family owes Lennox Group so much money. I’ve made my decision. I’ll sell myself to pay off the debt.

Coralie, who had been leaning heavily against her last shred of patience, straightened up and pinched the bridge of her nose. The migraine forming behind her eyes seemed to pulse in time with the muffled sobs inside the office.

Lennox Group can choose not to accept payment in the form of your melodramatic soul, you know, she thought.

She replayed her conversation from earlier that morning with her own boss. His exact words still echoed in her mind.

Kai Lennox had paced his penthouse office, his custom Italian loafers clicking against imported crystal flooring. His voice boomed, dripping with exasperation as he ranted about the night before.

"That woman is insane! Do you know what she did? She flagged down my gold-plated Rolls-Royce Phantom at midnight—MIDNIGHT—demanding I let her spend the night with me to settle her family’s debt. Wearing a white dress, no less! I thought she was a ghost. A ghost, Coco!"

And then? Coralie had prompted. Did you... agree to her demand?

Kai scoffed, his sculpted jawline clenching dramatically. "As if I’d touch her. She thinks she’s some universal heartthrob, but I’d rather hug a stack of cash to sleep. Hell, I’d rather hug you, Coco, and we both know I’d never do that!"

Coralie ignored the dig. So, what did you do?

Kai smirked. "I put the car in reverse. Then I drove off. She stood there like a complete fool! I mean, really—what an idiot."

Now, as Coralie stood outside Alessandro Visconti’s ostentatiously opulent office (complete with a door inlaid with mother-of-pearl and guilt), her lips pressed into a thin line. Inside, she could hear Amara Reed spinning yet another tale. The whole idea of selling herself to pay off her debt was just Amara’s wildly misguided fantasy.

But the moment she bravely (or, depending on how you look at it, completely suicidal) blurted those words to Alessandro Visconti, it was like she’d set off a nuclear bomb of obsession in his chest.

Chapter 2 Plummeting IQ

In most cases, the devilish billionaire has no brains—because why would he, when his abs alone can solve the world’s energy crisis? But Alessandro Visconti was something else entirely. Not only did he lack basic intelligence, but he was also equipped with a special power: he had the rare ability to lower the IQ of everyone around him, just by standing in the same room.

Alessandro Visconti’s greatest hits:

He once decided that Amara Reed was extraordinary because she slapped him across the face, which no one else had dared to do, which made her special.

He fired his secretary for no reason other than she looked at Amara the wrong way.

He opened the largest dessert chain in the country because Amara liked eating ice cream.

When Amara gave a fleeting glance to a company intern, he had that intern blacklisted from every job in the world, including shovelling snow in Antarctica.

In the world of storybook billionaire romances, Alessandro Visconti was not merely a man—he was the sky, the earth, the cosmos itself. He was a god, omnipotent and utterly oblivious to logic.

Predictably, Alessandro’s eyes blazed with the fiery possessiveness of a man who had everything except self-control. His voice vibrated through the room. How much do you owe him?

Amara’s declaration had only stoked the flames of his near-pathological need for dominance. Coralie could practically feel the IQ of the entire building plummeting by association.

Tell me, Amara. How much do you owe him?

Amara hesitated, her voice trembling with melodrama. O-one million...

Alessandro’s lips curled into a smirk so devastating it could have caused power outages across the city. I’ll pay it off.

Amara shook her head, the motion sending her perfectly curled hair cascading like a shampoo commercial. No! I’ll repay it myself—with my own abilities!

Your abilities? Coralie thought. You mean throwing yourself at people who don’t want you? Because I’m pretty sure that’s not a marketable skill.

Inside, Alessandro laughed, a dark and ominous sound. You’re mine, Amara. No one touches what belongs to me. Lennox? He’s not even in my league. Get over here.

Amara gasped, clutching her heart. Alex, no! Kai Lennox is powerful! I don’t want you to make a mistake because of me. Don’t hurt him, please.

Outside, Coralie’s expression twisted into something between disbelief and existential despair. Kai is just trying to collect the money you