"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.
“You need a bride, I need a groom. Why don’t we get married?” Both abandoned at the altar, Elyse decided to tie the knot with the disabled stranger from the venue next door. Pitying his state, she vowed to spoil him once they were married. Little did she know that he was actually a powerful tycoon. Jayden thought Elyse only married him for his money, and planned to divorce her when she was no longer of use to him. But after becoming her husband, he was faced with a new dilemma. “She keeps asking for a divorce, but I don’t want that! What should I do?”
COALESCENCE OF THE FIVE SERIES BOOK ONE: THE 5-TIME REJECTED GAMMA & THE LYCAN KING BOOK TWO: THE ROGUES WHO WENT ROGUE BOOK THREE: THE INDOMITABLE HUNTRESS & THE HARDENED DUKE *** BOOK ONE: After being rejected by 5 mates, Gamma Lucianne pleaded with the Moon Goddess to spare her from any further mate-bonds. To her dismay, she is being bonded for the sixth time. What’s worse is that her sixth-chance mate is the most powerful creature ruling over all werewolves and Lycans - the Lycan King himself. She is certain, dead certain, that a rejection would come sooner or later, though she hopes for it to be sooner. King Alexandar was ecstatic to meet his bonded mate, and couldn’t thank their Goddess enough for gifting him someone so perfect. However, he soon realizes that this gift is reluctant to accept him, and more than willing to sever their bond. He tries to connect with her but she seems so far away. He is desperate to get intimate with her but she seems reluctant to open up to him. He tries to tell her that he is willing to commit to her for the rest of his life but she doesn’t seem to believe him. He is pleading for a chance: a chance to get to know her; a chance to show her that he’s different; and a chance to love her. But when not-so-subtle crushes, jealous suitors, self-entitled Queen-wannabes, an old flame, a silent protector and a past wedding engagement threaten to jeopardize their relationship, will Lucianne and Xandar still choose to be together? Is their love strong enough to overcome everything and everyone? Or will Lucianne resort to enduring a sixth rejection from the one person she thought she could entrust her heart with?
After two years of marriage, Sadie was finally pregnant. Filled with hope and joy, she was blindsided when Noah asked for a divorce. During a failed attempt on her life, Sadie found herself lying in a pool of blood, desperately calling Noah to ask him to save her and the baby. But her calls went unanswered. Shattered by his betrayal, she left the country. Time passed, and Sadie was about to be wed for a second time. Noah appeared in a frenzy and fell to his knees. "How dare you marry someone else after bearing my child?"
Blinded in a crash, Cary was rejected by every socialite—except Evelina, who married him without hesitation. Three years later, he regained his sight and ended their marriage. "We’ve already lost so many years. I won’t let her waste another one on me." Evelina signed the divorce papers without a word. Everyone mocked her fall—until they discovered that the miracle doctor, jewelry mogul, stock genius, top hacker, and the President's true daughter… were all her. When Cary came crawling back, a ruthless tycoon had him kicked out. "She's my wife now. Get lost."
Joelle thought she could change Adrian's heart after three years of marriage, but she realized too late that it already belonged to another woman. "Give me a baby, and I'll set you free." The day Joelle went into labor, Adrian was traveling with his mistress on his private jet. "I don't care whom you love. My debt is paid. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other." Not long after Joelle left, Adrian found himself begging on his knees. "Please come back to me."
"Never let anyone treat you like shit!" I learned that the hard way. For three years, I lived with my in-laws. They didn't treat me as their son-in-law but as a slave. I put up with everything because of my wife, Yolanda Lambert. She was the light of my life. Unfortunately, my whole world came crashing down the day I caught my wife cheating on me. I have never been so heartbroken. To have my revenge, I revealed my true identity. I was none other than Liam Hoffman—the heir of a family with trillions of dollars in assets! The Lamberts were utterly shocked after the big reveal. They realized what fools they had been for treating me like trash. My wife even knelt down and begged for my forgiveness. What do you think I did? Did I take her back or made her suffer? Find out!