All Chapters of The Saintess Chose The Wrong Man: Chapter 1
- Chapter 10
14 chapters
Chapter 1
The biggest fools on earth had to be high school kids.Lombard had watched them for years—kids who spoke like they had life mapped out, who argued with teachers like they were seasoned scholars, quoting half-baked “research” they barely understood. They talked down on grown men who had lived twice their lives, survived things those kids wouldn’t last a week in.He had already sorted them into categories.The first set would get lucky—secure some government job, settle into routine, and stay there until life quietly buried their dreams. The other half would end up like him. Twenty-eight. A girlfriend. No grand ambitions anymore. Just the desperate desire for stability. A home. A family. Peace.“God!”Lombard slammed the brakes.The car screeched to a halt inches away from a child who had darted into the road. The boy’s mother yanked him back so hard he nearly fell, clutching him to her chest as if Lombard had aimed the car at him on purpose.She shot Lombard a look—sharp, judgmental, f
Chapter 2
Mireya rushed after Lombard, calling his name. The sound of the engine alone should have swallowed her voice whole—the car was already halfway to hell—but by some miracle, the engine coughed and died.The silence felt personal.She reached his window just as Lombard shoved the door open.“If you leave like this,” she said gently, breathless, “you’re going to regret it. You just have to be patient. You don’t deserve me, and we both know that.”Lombard laughed. It came out sharp and broken.“You know what else we both fucking know?” he snapped. “You made me wait two years. Two years. And in the end, you tell me I was never even an option.”Mireya made the sign of the cross.“You knew my religion before we started dating.”“That was because I thought you had sense!” Lombard barked. “Instead, all you’ve done is drain the life out of me. You told me to quit my job. You told me to become a teacher in that useless private school where kids think they’re gods because their parents have money.
Chapter 3
Everything in Lombard’s brain shut down. Every cells. One hundred million.“I—I…”God. He was stuttering now? Really? “I just… I just have to stay with him?” Lombard asked, like the words themselves might explode.“Yeah, man. I’m really sorry for breaking into your schedule like this,” the voice said quickly. “But don’t worry—I got you someone. A woman. She’s twenty-seven. I already gave her your number.”Lombard frowned.He almost asked what a woman was supposed to do when all he needed was to stay with a kid for one night—but hey. Pride. Composure. Whatever scraps of dignity he still had left.“Okay,” he said, forcing his voice into something flippant. “Thank you so much, Lomb. My son’s gonna be really happy to have you. I told you about him already.”“Alright.”Lombard hung up first.Then he checked again.Credit Alert: $100,000,000For one night.That was insane.Four years ago, he wouldn’t have accepted this kind of interruption even if the money had been doubled. Back then, hi
Chapter 4
“Lomb has been my friend for years,” his father replied, confused. “What are you talking about? We just lost contact for a while. You would’ve seen us at dinners together. Vacations. Everything.”“Dad, please tell me this is a joke. Stop it. He doesn’t know anything about Ivy League schools. I swear he doesn’t.”A pause.“Finn, can you call me back later?” his father said distractedly. “Something needs my attention right now.”The call ended.Finn stared at his phone.His chest tightened.Tonight was already spiraling out of control. Goodbye to the University of Pennsylvania. Maybe goodbye to every school he’d ever planned on impressing. He might have to start looking elsewhere.He glanced toward the sitting room.Lombard was still there.And somehow, that made Finn feel like crying.Forty minutes later, they arrived at the venue.Finn had already given strict instructions to the driver: park at the back. Far from the main entrance. No one was supposed to see Lombard before they made
Chapter 5
“Finn said you have a lot of connections in the Ivy League? All of them?” the girl asked Lombard, eyes wide.Girls were… still easy to deal with at this age. That’s why he tolerated her question with a lazy smile.“Not really,” Lombard said simply.“What? Finn said that!” she protested, like he was hiding some enormous secret.“Yeah. I graduated from one of them, got my master’s at another, then my PhD at a third. So… been to three of them,” Lombard explained casually, like he was talking about a grocery list.Her jaw practically hit the floor.“How did you do it? Did you have connections? Your parents are rich, right?”“Huh. Not really. Went on scholarship,” Lombard dropped, like it was nothing. Boom. Mind blown.“Oh. My. God!” she cried. “Did you… also know people there?”“Go to any of their offices and you’ll see my name on the lists of professors they’d recruit if given the chance. Plus, I’ve held businesses and academic seminars at all of them. They were all making a fuss.”Her e
Chapter 6
Lombard found himself standing in front of a woman who looked like sunlight had taken human form. Natural beauty radiated from her face, yet somehow it still outshone half the women he’d seen, including Mireya. Even in a short gown, clutching a simple purse, with barely any jewelry or makeup, she looked perfect—the kind of woman a man would dream of having as a wife.“What are you talking about?” she whispered to Finn. “You can’t do that. Don’t be a naughty boy.”“Please… just for tonight,” Finn begged desperately.Before he could say anything more, a group of boys stopped by their table.“Your parents aren’t here again today? Are you even sure you have parents?” one sneered, clearly hunting for a reaction.“You’re wrong,” Finn said, voice shaking. “These are my parents. Meet Lombard and Abigail. They’re… like LA—the city,” he added, trying a joke. It fell flat immediately.“I bet you rented them,” another boy sneered. “No way your parents would be here.”“Watch your tongue, kids,” Lo
Chapter 7
Cassian rose from his seat.“A joke seems to be happening tonight,” he said lightly, already walking toward Abigail’s table. His eyes never left the man beside her. “Lombard August?”Lombard lifted his head mid-drink and looked at him.That look.It irritated Cassian more than Lombard’s presence itself. The audacity of him being here was one thing—but the calm? The familiarity in his eyes, like they were… equals?“You’re going to tell me what you’re doing here,” Cassian said, carefully schooling his face into something pleasant. Abigail was watching.“Your sister’s pregnant,” Lombard replied. “Three months.”Cassian blinked. “Yeah. So?”Lombard let out a short, humorless scoff. “So I was the only fucking idiot who didn’t know?”Cassian’s lips curved. “So you agree—you’re a fucking idiot?”Their eyes locked.Abigail shifted in her seat. She had no idea what history sat between these two men, but the air between them was tight, volatile—like one wrong word would shatter the room.“I fou
Chapter 8
Finn’s phone buzzed.His chest tightened the moment he saw the sender.School General Group — Principal.That alone was enough to make his palms go cold. The man barely touched his phone. Half the time, he forgot it even existed.It was a voice note.“Hey, chaps,” the principal’s voice crackled through the speaker. “I’ve done my best for those of you aiming for the Ivy League. I already mentioned my old friend to you. Last minute, he was able to make it here tonight.”Finn’s fingers curled around the phone.“This is the only—and last—favour I can do for you all,” the principal continued. “The ball is in your court. He’ll only be selecting two students.”Finn’s hand started shaking.Badly.The presentations began almost immediately after. Two out of the ten selected students from his school had already gone up.They were good.Too good.Polished slides. Perfect diction. Buzzwords stacked on buzzwords.And the man seated at the high table?Bored.Painfully bored.He didn’t even try to h
Chapter 9
Now, Cassian walked out of the hall, straight toward the car waiting outside.He spotted the man’s PA and lifted a hand casually. “Longest time, man.”They hugged like old friends.“It’s been crazy,” the PA said. “But I’m surviving. You? And Mireya—man, I wish I could see her again. I still can’t thank her enough. My father would’ve been dead ten years ago if she hadn’t noticed he was sick and forced him to get checked. Even now, he still says he doesn't know what made her know he was sick. He was perfectly fine.”Cassian smiled faintly. “My kid sister’s always been good at what she does.”But the smile froze halfway. He saw Lombard walking toward the same car.Cassian’s eyes narrowed. “That man,” he asked quietly, “does your boss know him?”The PA followed his gaze, then waved it off easily. “Nah. Don’t worry about it. Probably someone from the team I sent to get him water. He wants to be alone before the next round.”Cassian scoffed.Oh, Lombard.The biggest disgrace a man could ev
Chapter 10
Every step faltered the moment Cassian stepped forward. The escorts slowed. Then stopped. The man stopped too. He wore a faint, polite smile—the kind reserved for faces you might recognize but can’t quite place. He waited, curious enough… but not impressed. “Hello,” Cassian said smoothly. “I’m Cassian. I understand you have something important to attend to in a few minutes. A lot of kids’ lives are about to be shaped forever by your decision tonight.” He smiled, generous, measured. “That’s why I won’t insist on the coffee I suggested earlier.” “Oh,” the man nodded. Coffee? He had no recollection of that. “I came with a friend’s kid,” Cassian continued, stepping slightly closer. “To show support. He has the most intelligent idea in this room. Truly brilliant. Not choosing him would be a waste of your time—and frankly, a discouragement to his very real dream of studying at Yale.” The man regarded him for a brief second. “I shall see,” he said calmly—and resumed walking. Cassi