Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 1121

Mercedes didn’t bother hiding anymore. With a graceful flick, she pulled off the scarf from her hair, letting everyone see that stunning, almost unreal face of hers. She turned in her seat, shooting a quick, friendly smile at Abriella in the back and lifted a hand in greeting.

“Hey, Abriella, cousin.”

Abriella sat back, arms crossed, and let out a cold snort. She didn’t even try to be polite. “Cousin? Please. Don’t call me that. I’m not interested in your little family act.”

Mercedes paused, caught off guard for a moment. The last few years had been all green lights for her in the entertainment world. People were always trying to get close, always wanting to claim some connection to her. No one ever shot her down this directly. Still, she didn’t lose her cool. She just smiled, a little helpless, her voice soft, almost like she was talking to a stubborn kid.

“Aren’t you Nico’s cousin? I’m Nico’s sister, and I’m older than you. Doesn’t that make me your cousin, too?”

Abriella rolled her eyes. “Sister? Right.”

She didn’t bother with Mercedes after that, just pulled out her phone and started recording a video of the two in the front seats. When she was done, she sent it to Emmy with a quick message: Emmy, you better watch out. Someone’s after your man.

But the way Abriella spit out the word “sister” left a sour taste in Mercedes’s mouth. She glanced at James, her face a little hurt.

“Nico, what do you think? Technically, shouldn’t Abriella call me cousin?”

James thought Abriella was being a bit much too, so he just gave a quiet, “Yeah,” then told her, “Abriella, be respectful.”

Abriella’s eyes went wide, like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. If this was a few years back, before Mercedes had done all those things, maybe she would’ve said it. Back then, Mercedes was everyone’s darling, the girl everyone wanted to be. Abriella might’ve even bragged about having a celebrity cousin. But now? Not a chance.

She remembered everything. How Mercedes betrayed James, how she dumped him for fame and money. Now everyone acted like the past was all cleared up and forgotten, but Abriella couldn’t let it go. It still bothered her.

She always thought, if she could just make something of herself, she’d finally be worthy of the Nelson family. She never expected that, by the time she’d made it, the man she loved wouldn’t be waiting.

She blamed James for not protecting Jamie. She held onto that resentment, never reaching out, not even once. Not until now.

This time, she tried to let the past go, to finally talk things through. So when James asked her to come back and film a commercial for Janus Sphere Technologies, she said yes without even thinking. She even insisted on doing it for free, as a way to give back.

She wanted to make up for everything she owed James. She wanted to prove, to the whole Nelson family, that she, Mercedes, was finally good enough to stand by his side, to help him.

If she just did enough, if she stayed by him long enough, maybe he’d see her the way he once did. Maybe he’d remember how, for so many years, they’d been everything to each other. No one else could touch that history. Not even his so-called wife.