I Married My Ex's Billionaire Uncle by Mistake

Calista had a face like a thundercloud the whole way, glaring at Lancelot like she was about to laser beam him with her eyes.

Lancelot raised a brow, "Do I have something on my face?"

"Nope," she mumbled, instantly looking away, avoiding eye contact like the plague.

"I don't want your kid or anyone from the Bennetts to know about the marriage for now. So don't go spreading it around. Got it?"

Calista stayed quiet for a beat before speaking again.

If everyone found out she went from being Lucas's ex to his stepmom - all because she married his dad - it'd ruin the whole plan.

No, what she wanted was to hit both Lucas and Felicity where it hurt. The bomb had to drop at their wedding. That's when the real shockwave would land.

"Alright," Lancelot replied, surprisingly agreeable, as usual.

They didn't speak again until they pulled into the driveway of his villa.

The villa... honestly? It was kinda shabby.

Lucas' dad lived here? Was he trying to focus on health or something?

But last night... didn't quite feel like a sick old man struggling to stay alive.

Didn't the media say he was bedridden and practically a ghost?

"Uh... your health's alright, right?" Calista asked, a bit too late to the party, finally showing a speck of concern.

"Hmm?" Lancelot shot her a glance, as if wondering why she suddenly cared.

"It's just... I've read all those headlines about you being super sick, never appearing in public, you even skipped Lucas and Felicity's engagement party..."

"You didn't feel it last night?" he chuckled low, leaning in close, his warm breath brushing her cheek.

Calista always thought she was pretty thick-skinned.

But in that moment, with Lancelot leaning in like that, her nerves went haywire.

"I'm... tired. Gonna shower and crash."

She awkwardly coughed, pushed him away, and bolted inside like her life depended on it.

The second she was out of sight, she groaned in frustration.

Seriously? Letting some old guy get under her skin like that? And then running off? What kind of defeat was that?

No way. She had to strike back.

*****

About an hour later, while Lancelot was in his study, weird noises started floating in from the living room. Moaning noises. He couldn't take it anymore.

Frowning, he got up and headed out.

From the top of the stairs, he saw a few workers tearing down the custom wallpaper he'd picked out. His antique paintings? Dumped in the trash like leftovers.

His jaw clenched, blue veins popping on his forehead as rage started bubbling up.

He stomped down the stairs, voice low and dangerous, "What are you doing?"

Those pieces had cost him a fortune, lovingly collected one by one - and now they were being trashed?

"Babe, I didn't like the decor, so I called a new crew to switch things up. You're cool with that... right?"

Babe?

Lancelot's face darkened slightly, eyes locking on the woman strutting toward him in a spaghetti strap dress, hips swaying with every step.

"Who told you to walk around dressed like that?"

He glared, pulled off his jacket, and threw it over her shoulders. "Cover up."

This woman-did she even realize how ridiculously tempting she looked right now?

Calista saw the fire in his eyes and nearly burst out laughing.

Lumi's move worked like a charm.

After getting totally flustered by Lancelot earlier, she'd gone straight to Lumi for advice. The woman had dated her fair share and knew every trick in the book. Straight up taught her how to flip the script.

Turns out, older guys? Total suckers for a little teasing.