"One fifty." I heard someone shout. "One sixty." Another said immediately. "Two hundred." "Five hundred thousand dollars." It was Drego. He'd finally placed his bid. "Five hundred thousand dollars, going once, going twice, sold." Cesar announced and everybody clapped. "What was that?" Drego barked. "What?" I blinked, my smile slowly dissipating. "Why did you agree to stand up there? And looking like this for that matter." I frowned. "Like what?" "Did you enjoy the fact that men were bidding on you like some prost-" My palms flew and landed on Drego's face before I could understand what I was doing. "You don't get to judge how I decide to look. Who the hell do you think you are to judge me? I did what I did for charity. You're my boss, don't cross any lines." I turned around to leave. "Wait. Nichole I'm sorry." He said more calmly. I looked at him again. "Because I told you that I was in love with you doesn't make it okay for you to get involved in my personal life and decisions." "It's not like-" "Don't worry. The day I quit was the first day getting over you. You don't have to worry about that crazy talk. I'm over you. And I'll leave your company the second you find my replacement and you won't have to see me anymore." "Nichole please listen-" "Drego, you're up." Reid came outside. His expression changed. It was no surprise. The tension between Drego and I was palpable. "Is everything okay?" Reid asked. "Yeah." I replied. "We are done here."
Drego's hands stilled at once after shaking the entire time Avril was speaking in her derogatory and disparaging tone. For the first time since their conversation, he wasn't scared of the consequences of the thoughts that had been cooking in his head. As his hands stilled, the aim of his gun became clear.
Her heart.
There was no better place the gun should face while he pulls the trigger.
"You don't have the balls to shoot me." Avril laughed hysterically.
In her white nightwear dress and her hair pouring down to her back, long lashes and red lips, her demeanor was a contrast to her looks. While Avril looked beautiful and angelic, the very reason Drego had loved her, still loved her like his life depended on it, the words that left her mouth were pure evil. Every alphabet had hatred etched in them. Every sound echoed with loathing...
Drego knew that if she'd been in possession of the gun instead of him, she'd have pulled the trigger a long time ago.
So why couldn't he? Someone had to die today. It was either him, or her. They both couldn't leave the house alive. The choice was pretty clear. But he hesitated.
"Did you ever love me?" Drego sounded pathetic. Even he knew how stupid he must sound asking a question like that in their current situation.
Avril's devilish demeanor changed at once. Like a transfiguration, she became the girl Drego had fallen in love with. Calm and cool. So beautiful she looked like kindness itself. But now he knew better than to trust this side of her. Behind the calm and cool was a calculative bitch who simply wanted everything he owned. Everything except the one thing he wished she wanted.
"I did." Avril answered. She took a few steps towards Drego but he shook the gun, reminding her that he still had the upper hand.
Drego believed he'd concealed his emotions perfectly. That his mask had no crack whatsoever. But Avril knew him. She'd studied him for months before she approached him. Just like she couldn't deceive him now, he couldn't deceive her at all.
Avril burst out laughing. Once again, her expression had changed.
"You believed that?" He did. Not because she had convinced him with her acting, that held nothing on him now. He wanted to believe she loved him because he was the fool who still loved her. Who still wanted her. Who, even at this juncture, was attracted to her still.
"Why didn't you just ask me for the money? I would have given it to you."
Avril squeezed. Her sigh was loud, and there was no mistaking the anger in there too.
She looked to the side, ignoring the gun Drego had been pointing at her for the last ten twenty minutes as he stood in front of her. Raising her hand to her head, she ruffled her perfectly combed hair, leaving it in a state of disorder. Avril bit her lips so hard she almost drew blood.
"Ask? You?" She almost barked. "The great Drego Ricardo, son of the powerful Glen and Eloisa Ricardo, the man who is known for being ruthless and untrusting, the billionaire that no one could contend with..." Avril released a scorned laughter. "How was I supposed to ask you? Oh mighty Drego, please give me your wealth." She said in a sweet angelic voice, "Like that?"
"The first time I met you, you didn't even look twice at me. The first time you looked at me, you paid me zero attention. I was supposed to ask? Don't be ridiculous."
"Did you not know that I loved you?"
"I did. I felt the love. I knew how sincere it was. I just didn't want it. Don't you get it. I never loved you even though I could see the sincerity of your heart."
"Do you really not love me? Did you really not feel anything for me for the two years we've been married?"
"You're a pathetic man who is nothing without the mirage he's created out there in the world that he is a deadly beast that is not to be trifled with." Avril said viciously, "Excuse my mistake, you're no man. Just a small boy who still cries in his sleep when he dreams of his mommy and daddy's accident. You're so weak that you can't even give your parents the justice they-"
Bang! Avril smiled, her body weakening as she felt life draining out of her. She touched her stomach, and then presented the evidence of her pain in front of her eyes. Blood. The sound of the gun shot should have told her exactly what had happened, but for some reason, she needed extra evidence.
Avril looked at Drego who's eyes had started to leak with tears. Just seconds after he shot her he was already regretting doing it.
Drego rushed to her as she fell to the ground, her blood pooling very quickly around her. Some part of her white dress was now the color red and somehow, with her skin pale and her body lying on the ground weak and almost lifeless, she looked as enchanting as the first day Drego had set his eyes on her.
Avril didn't know this, but he'd given her many looks that night. She was the prettiest woman at the party and it had been love at first sight.
"Avril... Avril..." Drego shook her almost lifeless body, crying. "You did good." Avril whispered. "Now I'll never be your weakness."
Realization hit him at once. The pain tripled and his heart grew heavier. His tears flowed like an unending stream, and his soul begged for release.
He'd never felt pain like this but once. The day he was told his parents were gone.
"Why did you do this? Why?" Drego cried.
Avril raised her frail hand to his face, touching his cheeks, she smiled weakly, "because I love you. And because I deserve this."
"I'm sorry." Drego cried. "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."
"Shh. I should be apologizing. Because of me, your life was ruined. You lost your parents because I was greedy and wanted your money. I am so sorry, my Drego. Please, don't blame yourself. Be happy."
Avril closed her eyes, one final breath of air, and she never took another one.
She was hurt. She was bullied and made fun of. And the only hope that kept her going was finding her mate. She has always been weak. Weak to the world. Why? Because she was a lantern. She didn't have a wolf. That's what everyone thought about her. When she found her mate, he wanted her to be his slut and not a wife. She might be an omega, but it doesn't mean she will take disloyalty and betrayal lightly. So she did something that no one in history ever did. She rejected an Alpha. "I, Alexis Clark, reject Brandon Sterling, the alpha of Black mist pack, and consider myself a free soul until I decide so."; Were her last words before she left that torturous place and became a rogue. A rogue that everyone was fearing and finding. Why? Because she was the rogue that has become one of the biggest problems of almost all the packs in the country. She was Alexis Clark. A rogue that rejected an Alpha, stealth food, kill other rogues, and more than that was living with humans and studying with them. What will happen when her case is given to the world's most dangerous alpha, Sebastian Sinclair, who has taken it upon himself to punish this rogue. The one who hated rogues and omega to a level that was beyond understanding. Why? Because his mate was an omega, who betrayed him with a rogue before dying. How will Alexis tackle this alpha, in whose College she was studying and living under hiding for almost a year? What will Sebastian do when he finds out the new girl he had been talking to is none other than the rogue omega that he had decided to kill? "To love you with all my might was my only wish, but you were the only one who gave me endless suffering. So today, I promise myself to not fall for anyone."; A simple saying that both Alexis and Sebastian had vowed upon. Will they be able to find their love amidst all these problems?
"Love is blind!" Lucinda abandoned her beautiful and comfortable life because of a man. She married him and slaved off for him for three long years. One day, the scales finally fell off her eyes. She realized that all her efforts were in vain. Her husband, Nathaniel still treated her like shit. All he cared about was his lover. "Enough is enough! I quit wasting my years with an ungrateful man!" Lucinda's heart was shattered into many pieces, but she summoned up the courage to ask for a divorce. The news caused a stir online! A filthy rich young woman recently got divorced? She was a good catch! Countless CEOs and handsome young men immediately swarmed to her like bees to honey! Nathaniel couldn't take it anymore. He held a press conference and begged with teary eyes, "I love you, Lucinda. I can't live without you. Please come back to me." Would Lucinda give him a second chance? Read to find out!
Sandra Hill, the long-lost real heiress of the Hill family, was shunned by her own kin. Instead of embracing her, they bestowed their affection upon an impostor. They even arranged her to marry a vegetative man in place of her so-called “sister”. Sandra sneered, refusing to put up with this humiliation, cut off ties with the Hill family immediately and ran into the flash marriage with Wesley Cooper, her unconscious billionaire husband. With her incredible medical skills, she defied the odds and revived him. Little did she expect that her husband spoiled her with all his love... A medical genius, a computer prodigy, a national treasure in painting, and a racing legend... Her husband revealed her various identities, leaving the Hill family regretful. Her father came pleading, "It's Dad's fault. Please come back." Her mother wept, "Mom will protect you from now on. Please come back." Even her five brothers knelt before he, begging for forgiveness. Yet, Sandra's smile held a hint of mockery as she vowed, “Never!”
Madisyn was stunned to discover that she was not her parents' biological child. Due to the real daughter's scheming, she was kicked out and became a laughingstock. Thought to be born to peasants, Madisyn was shocked to find that her real father was the richest man in the city, and her brothers were renowned figures in their respective fields. They showered her with love, only to learn that Madisyn had a thriving business of her own. "Stop pestering me!" said her ex-boyfriend. "My heart only belongs to Jenna." "How dare you think that my woman has feelings for you?" claimed a mysterious bigwig.
It was supposed to be a marriage of convenience, but Carrie made the mistake of falling in love with Kristopher. When the time came that she needed him the most, her husband was in the company of another woman. Enough was enough. Carrie chose to divorce Kristopher and move on with her life. Only when she left did Kristopher realize how important she was to him. In the face of his ex-wife’s countless admirers, Kristopher offered her 20 million dollars and proposed a new deal. “Let’s get married again.”
Melanie married Ashton out of gratitude, but she quickly found herself entangled in a web of relentless challenges. Despite these struggles, she stayed true to her commitment to the marriage. In the hospital room, Ashton indifferently attempted to draw her blood, disregarding her discomfort. This callous act was a harsh revelation for Melanie, awakening her to the grim reality of their relationship. Resolved to prioritize her own welfare, she decided to sever ties. With newfound resolve, Melanie filed for divorce. In the process, she unveiled her concealed identities, leaving everyone in shock. Throughout these turbulent times, Melanie realized that Derek, Ashton’s uncle, had been discreetly protecting her all along.