Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation

The front doors flung open like a tax audit with a grudge.

Click. Click. Click.

Red heels. Sharpened nails. Hair pinned to high-fashion hell.

Fiera Ninevyn had arrived.

The air pressure dropped. The scent of cherry wood, frostbitten orchids, and barely-contained wrath preceded her like a margin call in silk. Her tailored coat flared behind her like a cape, stormcloud-gray and cut to slice.

Her lips? Blood-red.

Expression? Murder.

Aelitha barely turned in time to see the hand coming.

-CRACK!

The slap echoed like a stock crash.

Mira didn't even flinch. She just went, "Oof," and reached for a dumpling.

Lux, meanwhile, swirled his wine and smiled with the satisfaction of a man watching market karma hit a fraud influencer's crypto portfolio.

No—he didn't like drama. Not usually.

But this?

This was a correction.

Fiera didn't yell. She didn't throw her purse. She didn't hiss like a woman scorned.

She just stood there, tall and lethal, eyes locked on Aelitha's fake-shocked face.

"You hijacked my phone," Fiera said, voice low, lethal, and composed. "Used my name. My authority. To sneak into his party."

Aelitha staggered back, clutching her cheek like a mispriced designer bag. "I—I just wanted to see him! You've been flaunting your connections—how am I supposed to compete?"

"Compete?" Fiera laughed coldly. "You think this is a game? That you can just show up here, hijack my reputation, and pitch yourself like some bargain-bin dress rack?"

"I—" Aelitha's eyes shimmered, perfectly glistened like she practiced. "I didn't mean harm. I just… I wanted to meet Lux. I admire him. Everyone does. He's incredible. Brilliant. Kind. And you—you hoard him like a brand deal. It's not fair!"

'Kind?' It almost made him laugh.

Lux didn't speak. Didn't move. Just watched. Calm. Detached. The eye of the storm, sipping infernal wine while the female sector of his emotional portfolio self-regulated.

Rava leaned into Mira. "Should we intervene?"

Mira popped a shrimp in her mouth. "Nah. Let the market correct itself."

Elyndra, tense beside her, whispered, "Should we at least stop the slap-fest?"

Mira tilted her head. "Only if it affects inflation."

Fiera took a slow, perfectly balanced breath.

"You're not a victim, Aelitha. You're a thief. You tried to steal my time, my name, and my access—then pretended like you're some wide-eyed innocent."

"I didn't try to steal anything!" Aelitha wailed, and yes, there were tears now. Big, performative, press-conference tears. "I just wanted a chance. Just one chance. Is that so wrong?"

She turned to Lux.

"Lux… please."

The room stilled.

And Lux?

He met her gaze. Smiled gently.

"You're asking the wrong person," he said, voice warm, polite, lethal. "I don't handle emotional reimbursements."

She blinked. "W-What?"

He gestured to Fiera. "That would be the shareholder you need to file a complaint with."

Sira choked back a laugh behind her wine.

Mira didn't bother. She snorted, full volume. "I like this man."

"Lux," Aelitha tried again, stepping forward. "Please. I didn't mean harm. I didn't even know she'd be upset. I thought you'd appreciate the gesture. I—"

"You impersonated authority," Lux said gently. "And tried to manipulate a situation for personal gain. That's not a gesture. That's hostile acquisition. Very… unethical."

Aelitha faltered. "But I love you!"

Silence.

Thicker than velvet. Sharper than Sira's heels.

Lux tilted his head. "You love me," he repeated. Not a question. A ledger item.

"Yes!" she whispered. "I love you. I have. I just didn't have a chance to say it."

"Then why use deception instead of honesty?"

She opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. "I—I didn't think I'd get past your guards."

Lux nodded, almost impressed. "And you were right. Because normally, liars don't get invites."

He looked at Lyra, who had silently reappeared like a bankruptcy clause.

"Escort Miss Aelitha to the west atrium," he said calmly. "Make sure she's comfortable until Fiera decides how she wants to press charges."

Aelitha froze. "Wait. Charges? No, no, Lux—you can't be serious."

"I'm not," he replied. "She is."

Fiera's smile returned, diamond-hard and polished. "Don't worry. I'm just going to sue for brand defamation. Maybe fraud. Oh, and harassment of a contracted public figure."

Aelitha turned pale. "You wouldn't…"

"I'm a Ninevyn," Fiera said sweetly. "I invented PR war crimes."

"But he likes me!" Aelitha screeched, pointing at Lux like he was a coupon she was owed.

Sira hummed. "Does he?"

Mira raised her glass. "Prove it."

Naomi, who'd been sipping tea in elegant silence, finally spoke. "If Lux liked you, he'd have let you stay."

Elyndra quietly slid her plate away. "I… think I'm going to go powder my nose."

Lux sighed. "You don't need to leave, Ely."

Ely smiled weakly and nodded, clearly unsure what the hell she'd walked into tonight.

Aelitha tried again. "I'm sorry. I'll leave. Just please—don't ruin me. I didn't think it'd go this far."

Lux smiled faintly. "That's the problem with people like you."

"Like me?"

"You think the world owes you exposure. You treat people like platforms. Like numbers. Like clout tokens waiting to be spent. But me?"

He stepped forward. Calm. Elegant. Dangerous.

"I'm not an opportunity. I'm the goddamn market. And you just tried to trade insider."

Aelitha backed up into Lyra, who politely but firmly placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's go, Miss," Lyra said, tone pleasant.

Aelitha was too stunned to argue. Tears still in her eyes. Mouth open like someone unplugged her.

She was led away.

Fiera exhaled. Relaxed. Then turned to Lux.

"You okay?" she asked, voice lower now. "I came as fast as I could."

Lux offered his hand. She took it.

"Thanks for the… hostile takeover," he murmured.

"You deserved better," she said.

He squeezed her fingers once. "I already have better."

Around them, the girls had gone back to nibbling food like nothing had happened.

Mira, deadpanned. "Ten outta ten drama. Good arc. Weak ending."

Sira grinned. "I wanted a hair-pulling scene."

Naomi added, "You'll scare off every guest at this rate."

Lux chuckled. "Let's hope so. I'd hate to think this party is scalable."