Popular Designer, Lara Zhang, and Well-Known Businessman, Ryan Davidson, set to announce their engagement.Lara stared at the huge tv screen in her living room, smiling in satisfaction as she sipped from the glass of juice in her hold, while reading the entertainment news headline over and over again. Her plans had worked out as expected. The news was all over the place that her engagement with Ryan was going to be announced in a few weeks. Some Media houses had even added a better spin to it, claiming they’d been secretly dating and hiding their relationship from the public because they weren’t sure it’d last long. But now that her business was flourishing and Ryan was about to clock his thirties, they thought it was the right time to let everyone know of their relationship and to finally settle down as a couple.Lara had read all of the articles that spun from the story she’d told the journalists to spread and she was delighted to see they were taking effect as expected. The public
Ryan stared at his phone screen, reading all of the many texts he’d sent to Amelia since she left. It’s been two days and she hadn’t responded to a single one of them. She hadn’t returned any of his calls and he still had no clues as to her whereabouts. He’d even contacted the landlord of her Texas apartment, just to make sure she hadn’t gone there but he was informed that the place had been rented out to a couple a week after Amelia moved out and she hadn’t showed up ever since.He stared at the numerous texts he’d sent to her, that comprised of him begging her to return, and the angry ones he’d sent when she wouldn’t respond, the threatening ones and the last ones of him pleading with her and apologizing for all of the times he’d hurt her but none of them got a response. His heart was heavy and her absence was terribly weighing on him. He couldn’t stop regretting his decision to attend Lara’s party when he could have just stayed home.If only he hadn’t attended that party, he wouldn
Selena was the first to spot Ryan wasted at the bar the moment they stepped into the house. Her eyebrows drew together in a frown, watching him closely with interest.“Is he… is he alright?” she asked, her words dripping with concern.Gretchen released a distressful sigh, her eyes still on her boss.“He’s a bit drunk,”Selena’s gaze left him for a moment, locking with the other woman. This time, the look of surprise she wore on her face wasn’t feigned but it was real. She’d lived with Ryan for five years and in all of that time, never had he been drunk. Not even when he discovered that Julia wasn’t his child or when they’d been working through their divorce. He didn’t have to ask the housekeeper to know Amelia was somehow responsible for his drunken state and it disgusted and annoyed her so much that the bitch had so much hold on him that he’d allowed himself to get wasted on alcohol all because of her. She blinked, swallowing down her annoyance before returning her gaze to the man
“What is she doing here, Ryan?” Sylvia popped the question that had been hovering in her head, regarding Selena’s presence.His ex-wife was the last person she’d expected to see in Ryan’s home and dressed scantily when he was having such relationship crises with Amelia and with all of the rumors flying around regarding his engagement with another woman. She didn’t believe Ryan would be daft enough to still be having an affair with his ex-wife in the midst of all these.“I…” Ryan tried speaking, searching for an explanation for the situation in his home, with Sylvia glaring hard at him. But the more he wracked his brain for a response, the more empty it felt. He couldn’t recall anything that had gone down the previous night.“You suddenly can’t speak?” Sylvia spat out, trying her best to control her voice and her temper because of the child in his arms.Ryan drew in a breath, closing his eyes just to be able to recall anything but nothing came to mind. Unknown to Sylvia, he was battlin
Ryan pulled to a stop at a distance away from the beach house watching the house, with the serenity of the environment washing over him, although his heart was slamming hard against his chest. As soon as Selena had told him of where Amelia had been, he quickly got on his way, not wanting to spend another second without having her in his arms and his home. The two hours drive to the beach house had been hell, as his thoughts kept spiraling out of control, and more than once, he’d gotten cursed at by other drivers due to his reckless driving but he didn’t care. All he wanted was to be reconciled with the love of his life again.Now that he was at his destination, his heart was pounding hard against his chest for fear of how things could go down. He knew he had to thread carefully because he was tired of fighting with Amelia. If she decided she didn’t want to be with him anymore because of the news and wasn’t ready to face his family, he didn’t know what he was going to do. All he wanted
It was evening by the time Amelia and Ryan returned home. Hand in hand, they approached the door to his penthouse and he opened it with a bright smile on his face, with Amelia following behind him.“Pumpkin, mommy is home!” Ryan announced, grinning widely while pulling Amelia’s suitcase behind him.As soon as the words had left his mouth, Dora came running, grinning toothily.“Mommy!” she screamed, running to Amelia who caught her in her arms, lifting her from the ground and hugging her tightly to her chest. “I’ve missed you,” “I missed you more, baby, but I’m back now,” Amelia responded, a sad smile ghosting over her face as she recalled how she’d left Ryan’s home without considering her daughter’s welfare. She pressed her lips to her temple, closing her eyes and drawing in a deep breath. “I’ll never leave you again, honey,” she murmured.Gretchen stepped out of the kitchen at that moment. She’d been preparing dinner while keeping Dora company when they heard Ryan’s call. Without wa
Ryan’s chauffeur rolled through the gates, pulling to a stop at the garage of the Davidson’s mansion. As soon as the roaring engine died, Ryan let out a deep breath, squeezing Amelia’s fingers that were laced with his. Throughout the drive from his penthouse to his parents home, his stomach had been in knots because he knew tonight was a big night and his plans could either go very well or down the drain and give way to more chaos. Now that they’d arrived at their destination, his anxiety only grew more, his chest tightening but one look at Amelia and he knew he’d do it for her. No matter how messy things get, he’d stick with her.“Is it really necessary for me to be here?” Amelia asked, glancing at the house and forcefully swallowing the ball of anxiety in her throat.“Hey…” Ryan gently tugged on her arm and her eyes locked with his. “I need to show them I’m serious about you, and there’s no other option for me, okay?”She nodded her head, gliding her tongue across her glossy pink li
Ryan felt Amelia stiffen beside him and he squeezed her hand softly, tightening his hold on her. Amelia glanced around before quickly fixing her gaze on the floor, wishing the ground could open up and swallow her. She wasn’t prepared for such an elaborate party with a house filled with people and from the look on Ryan’s face, it was obvious he hadn’t also been prepared.Ryan gulped, his gaze darting around the room to see the people with smiles on their faces, clearly happy with their surprise. At first, his gaze met Emmalin, who shook her head, silently communicating to him that she hadn’t been aware of this surprise party but when his eyes landed on his mom who was walking across the room to meet him, he winced. He didn’t need a prophet to know it was all her handwork.Amelia, who had been staring at the ground suddenly heard the click of heels heading towards them and she raised her head only to see Mrs Davidson standing before them, a radiant smile etched on her face.“Happy Birth
OCTOBER 26TH, 2022 Hello lovelies, Thank you so much for coming this far and for giving my book a chance. I'm glad to announce that this is the end of Amelia and Ryan's story, but their journey will still commence a bit in the next book that'll solely be Cookie and James' story. Also, if you'd like to know Sylvia's secret, it'll be in the next book, titled PLEASING THE BILLIONAIRE, set to release on NOVEMBER 26, 2022. Insight into the series: TITTLE: The Ruthless Billionaires Book One: A Contract with the Billionaire (exclusively available on Goodnovel and completed) Book Two: Pleasing the Billionaire (upcoming) Book Three: (still a work in progress) Also, don’t forget to vote with gems and leave your comments and reviews on the book’s page. They help me grow as an author.
Epilogue: A new beginning?Amelia stood at the entrance of the magnificent church building, dressed in her flowing wedding dress, with the transparent lacy material of her veil covering her face, and Liu holding onto her arm.Two months after her visit to his home, he got well and the preparations for her second wedding ceremony began. She’d asked him to walk her down the aisle and Liu had been honored.“Ready?” he asked, flashing her a loving smile and Amelia grinned in response.“Always,” Surprising her, he leaned in and gently brushed his lips to her temple.“I’m glad I made it to this day, and that you asked me to do this,”Tears welled up in her eyes, amidst her smile but she blinked them away. Deep down, she wished her mom was there too but it was all in the past now and she had a bright future ahead of her and intended to fully enjoy it without her past holding her back.“I’m glad too,” she breathed out in a barely audible voice but Liu headed in and he gently patted her back.
“Are you sure you’re ready to do this?” Ryan asked Amelia for the umpteenth time as they drove through the gates of Liu’s estate in Beijing.After the incident with Lara and Benjamin, and after Ryan settled with his family, Amelia thought it was finally time to hear her father out. She recalled the words Jian spoke to her when she’d run away from Ryan after Selena showed up to destroy their wedding and she decided to give Liu a chance to explain himself. But by the time she called to set up a meeting with him in Jian’s home, her stepbrother informed her that their father was very sick and couldn’t leave his home in Beijing where he was receiving intense care from one of the renowned medical practitioners in the world. Amelia felt terrible that he was ill and they still hadn’t settled their differences. Thus, she’d insisted on seeing him, if he was up for it and she also wanted to finally introduce him to Dora.“I’m ready,” she breathed out, smiling weakly at Ryan. As if he could under
It’s been two months since Ryan began the search for Alan Masters, yet no traces of him have been found. At a point, his family had given up on the search and had decided to move forward. With Benjamin in prison and Ryan out of the family, there was no one to run the family’s business and no one was ready to take over because they weren’t ready to start another feud that may end terribly. Left with no option, a meeting was held and Ryan and Amelia were invited. The sole aim of the meeting was to plead with Ryan to return to the family and take up his old position as the heir and the CEO of DCL Inc.At first, Ryan had flat out refused their offer because his new business was flourishing well and he had no intentions of still working for his family or even being the sole heir of the Davidson’s empire but after many pleas from the family and Amelia, who thought he should give them a second chance to right their wrongs, he finally made a decision.He informed them that he’d take up the af
Jian pushed Lara into the living room, where Amelia and Ryan were waiting for her. He stopped beside one of the sofas directly opposite the one Amelia and Ryan were seated on and tried carrying Lara from the wheelchair, to sit on the sofa but she waved him off, offering him a little smile.“Are you sure?” he arched a brow at her and she nodded.“It’s fine,”Jian exhaled and left her, taking the sofa closest to her.It’s been two months since Benjamin was apprehended and in all of that time, Lara was slowly slipping out of her pills-induced state. Although her injuries hadn’t properly healed, she was now aware of the happenings around her and was often awake for a few hours, during which she could speak with people. After the incident with Benjamin, no one was allowed in the home, except Amelia, Ryan, and the doctor who treated her.The first time she’d woken up, she’d been confused, but after her head was clear of the haziness, she told Jian of her last conversation with Benjamin, whe
It was already evening by the time Benjamin returned to the hospital. He walked into the waiting room and was about to head to Lara’s room when the nurse at the counter called him.“Hello, Mr. Davidson,”Benjamin glanced at her, annoyance radiating off him but he managed to keep it hidden, schooling his features into a concerned expression.“Are you here to see Miss Zhang again?” the nurse inquired and he stepped towards her. “Sure,”“Oh well, she’s been moved. She’s no longer here,”Benjamin’s brows furrowed and he stared at her as though she’d just sprouted a second head. The nurse saw the confused expression etched on his face and went on to clarify her words to him.“After you left in the morning, her sister and brother came to move her away. I suggest you ask them about her new location,”Benjamin tensed, his jaw clenching hard. He nodded curtly.“Thank you,”He stormed out of the hospital, his annoyance doubling as he inwardly cursed at Amelia for destroying his plans. If it wa
Amelia was singing cheerfully, swaying her hips and trying to dance to the song she was singing as she prepared breakfast. The rays of the bright morning sun streamed into the kitchen, lighting up the entire place, considering it was still early. She was preparing Dora’s breakfast. She’d woken up early to prepare her breakfast and lunch and to also prepare her for school. After Ryan had healed, they’d quickly moved out of his Manhattan penthouse and had moved over to Brooklyn, away from his family, to start up their lives and his new business. It’s been two months and things were going well for them. For now, she was just a stay-at-home mom, but she’d never been happier, with her fiance and their child. They were living a simple life, with no family members swamping them or even calling for unnecessary meetings. She’d also heard of Benjamin’s immediate take over of the Davidson’s empire on the news and she was glad that Ryan wasn’t concerned. His new business venture was going well,
Ryan was still shocked and trying to wrap his head around what the maid, Mia, had revealed to them. By the time they got home, Dora was already fast asleep. Amelia took her to bed while Ryan retired to their bedroom to prepare for bed, but all he did was stand beside the floor-to-ceiling window of his bedroom, overlooking the city below as he replayed Mia’s words over and over again in his head.He was so lost in his head that he didn’t hear Amelia walk into the room until she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her body hat tightly to his back.“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” she whispered, trailing one of her hands to his chest and patting him lightly. “We’re not sure if it’s true. It might just be a misunderstanding,”Ryan let out a deep breath.“What if it's true?”Amelia was quiet, not knowing what to say.“We’re no longer safe in their midst,”“What do you want to do?” her hands fell off him and he turned around, staring intently at her.“I think we need to leave this
It’s been a week since Ryan was discharged from the hospital. He’d returned to his home with Amelia and Jian had stopped by to drop Dora off and to also say hello to Ryan. Some of his family members, even Lara, Benjamin, and Adeline had also stopped by to check on them. After that week of his recovery, he decided to call a family meeting to inform them of his plans. Just like he’d told Amelia at the hospital, he’d meant it and as soon as he was discharged, they’d been secretly making plans.It was the weekend and all of the Davidson family were gathered at Clifford’s home to hear Ryan out. He’d informed them that he had some important message to pass on to them. Benjamin and Adeline were also there, and so were Amelia and his daughter. Everyone wondered what he could possibly want to tell them, even his parents but only Amelia was aware of his plans.As soon as the meeting was ready to kick start, Adeline was the first to signify that she had something to say. Li na glared at her. Le