I Called Dibs on Mr. Jackpot Chapter 08
While he hammered, Ezra spoke casually. “When my fiancée wants to save money, that’s cute. But certain people…”
He paused and shot Jada a razor-sharp look. “If you’ve got that much free time, sew your mouth shut instead of polluting the air.
Jada flinched hard. Her whole body shook. Tears filed her eyes before she covered her face and ran off crying.
Even without the floating comments anymore, I could already picture them:
‘AHHHH, protective fiancé mode activated!’
‘Ezra’s basically like: Don’t ask. I just spoil her.’
‘Jada got absolutely cooked. That was brutal.’
Ezra worked fast. Before long, the rest of the frames were up.
And he was weirdly good at it. Every painting lined up perfectly, flawless in spacing and height.
“There.” He tossed the hammer aside, took a damp towel from Leo, and wiped his hands clean before looking at me. “Satisfied now?”
I looked at the wall of paintings, then at him-this guy who didn’t care about his image as long as he could help me.
Every thought about “saving money” disappeared on the spot.
“Very satisfied!” I nodded hard and threw myself at him right in front of everyone, wrapping my arms around his waist and rubbing my face against his chest. “Ezra, you’re the best.”
His whole body went stiff.
Then he let out a helpless laugh. One hand slid to the back of my head as he leaned closer, voice low near my ear. “That’s all it takes? If you think I’m that great, shouldn’t I get a reward?”
I looked up and blinked. “What reward do you want?”
He smirked, his gaze dropping to my lips. “Tonight, when we get home, wear that little bunny set I bought you.”
Boom.
My face went red instantly.
This man.
How could he think about stuff like that in public?!
To change the subject, I quickly dragged him over to my graduation piece.
It was the biggest painting there.
Title: Light.
And the subject?
Ezra.
The night of the gala, putting the ring on my finger.
The background was a blurred mess of luxury and fake smiles. Only he stayed clear-eyes steady and sincere, holding that cheap silver ring like it meant everything in the world.
Ezra stood in front of the painting for a long time.
So long I started getting nervous. “Well? Did I make you look too handsome?”
He turned to me, something unreadable swirling in his eyes.
“Mia.”
“Yeah?”
“This painting isn’t for sale.” His tone left no room for argument, like he’d already sentenced it to life in prison.
“It was never for sale anyway,” I mumbled.
The corner of his mouth lifted, obviously happy with that answer.
Then he suddenly pulled something from his pocket and slipped it into my hand
I looked down.
A black-and-gold invitation card.
“What’s this?”
“Next month. Parisia, Francia.” Ezra brushed my bangs aside like he was casually talking about grabbing groceries downstairs.” There’s an international youth art exhibition. I signed you up.”
I blinked.
That exhibition.
It was every art student’s dream.
“Th-That… you really think I can do it?” I stammered.
“If I say you can, then you can.” Ezra pinched my cheek, full spoiled-rich-guy mode, just like when we first met. “Besides, even
if you don’t get picked, I’ll just buy the gallery and give you a solo show instead. My future wife likes getting things the easy way, right?”
My eyes suddenly burned as I looked at him.
Even without that stupid rich romance quest-
As long as he was here-
I’d always be the winner of that dare game. The one spoiled, protected, and cherished above everyone else.
I sniffed, rose onto my toes, and planted a loud kiss on him.
“Thank you, honey!”
Ezra’s gaze darkened instantly.
He checked his watch, grabbed my hand, and headed for the exit.
“Wait-the exhibition’s not over yet!” I protested.
“Don’t care.” Ezra kept walking, his low voice edged with impatience. “You kissed me first, so now you’re coming home with me. Time to collect that reward.”
I was speechless.
Seriously.
My spoiled rich-girl life kept getting more ridiculous-
and I loved every second of it
