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Chapter 102
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2024-11-26 14:07:10Related chapters
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 103
AIDEN'S POVThe day that followed weighed like a heavy stone upon my chest. The vision of Tessa not being at her desk at work, the one-sided calls, and growing anxiety for which no source could be ascertained, just would not leave my mind. It was as if my phone became the weight of a time bomb wherein every single moment was getting heavier and ready to explode any moment-yet nothing came through.Nothing from her, at least, or anybody else. I wanted, needed, answers about what was happening to her. But before I could devote a microbe of attention to that, there was Chloe—and the paternity test."Let's go, Chloe," I said curtly, standing by the front door of her apartment. "We're going to go to the hospital now. No more delays."She stood in the doorway, her arms wrapped across her chest, her face a mask of reluctance and resistance. "Aiden, do you really think this is necessary?" The near pleading quality to her tone today didn't faze me."Yes, Chloe," I returned; the edge of frustra
Last Updated : 2024-11-27Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 104
Damien's POVRain pattered against the tinted glass of my office, filling the air as my gaze fell upon the sleek cityscape before me. Power was a fragile thing. It required constant vigilance, precision in control, and utter eradication of loose ends.And Chloe? She was a loose end-the hazardous kind.The phone on the desk buzzed, vibrating through tense silence. Chloe. I debated letting it go to voicemail, but that little something told me this couldn't wait.I answered, speaking gruffly. "What do you want?"She was shaking, her voice near frantic. "Damien, I need to see you. It's.it's important."I exhaled a sigh and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Spit it out, Chloe. I don't have time for your theatrics.""No," she ordered, her voice dialed down to a whisper. "Not over the phone. Please, Damien. Meet me at the usual spot."I gritted my teeth as irritation nibbled at me. Chloe had this way of making it all sound like the coming of the end of the world, yet I agreed all the same. She
Last Updated : 2024-11-27Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 105
AIDEN'S POVThat was it, and I couldn't take it anymore. It had been two days since Tessa disappeared-no texts, no calls, no emails. She was that kind, most reliable, who would never disappear without so much as a word.All the time she had been away, it really nagged at me off and on. The moment I tried putting that thought aside, it roared back louder and heavier. Something was amiss.I slumped over in the car, grasping the steering wheel so tightly now my knuckles were white. Her house was just a couple of houses down the street, and from where I parked the car, I could tell the curtains were drawn tight-even the house seemed to want me shut out.I had called a dozen times, voicemail, messaged, messages unread. Besides frustration mixed, there was this growing panic that couldn't be willed away."I'm probably overreacting," I muttered, though even to myself, I knew it wasn't true.---The driveway was empty as I walked up the path to her door. I knocked twice, then again louder. "T
Last Updated : 2024-11-27Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 106
Aiden's POVHonestly, I couldn't remember ever feeling this helpless. Thicker with worry, everything around me went out of focus; I sat at the dining table in Tessa's parents' house. My only outlet for the anxiety coursing through my body was in my endless knee bouncing."It's only right that we call the police," Mr. Mills finally said with a matter-of-fact finality to cut through the weighted silence. "She has been gone too long."Mrs. Mills nodded, her face pale, features lined with concern. "She would not just disappear like that. That is just not her."I gulped, feeling it expand in my throat with each second that passed. "I'll call someone." My voice came out hoarse, like I had swallowed gravel or something.I fumbled for my phone. My shaking hands dialed the number. It took what felt like an eternity before a cool, professional voice answered."This is Officer Caldwell. How may I help you?"M-my friend is missing," I finally manage to get out, my voice all over the place, shakin
Last Updated : 2024-11-27Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 107
AIDEN'S POVBlinding flashes of camera lights intertwined with the roar of reporters' voices in one crazed symphony outside Gray Enterprises. My car inched its way forward, cutting through the mob of journalists and cameramen, but I barely noticed. My mind was already turning inward-to the storm brewing inside the company, and inside me.My knuckles were white as I clutched the armrest in a death grip, staring for what must have been the hundredth time at the glowing screen of my phone. No calls, no texts.Tessa's number was in pole position in my call log, with an empty record beside it. Two days, not a single sign. "Darn it, Tessa," I growled low, "where are you?“Mr. Gray," my driver ventured, twisting halfway in his seat to peer at me in the rearview mirror, "should I take you in through the side entrance? It might get you around the press.""No," I said shortly. "Take me straight up to the front. I'm not hiding.With every word, the weight of every question gone unanswered seemed
Last Updated : 2024-11-28Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 108
Tessa's POVPainful pulsations at the base of my skull yanked me out of my sleep. I felt groggy and wooly-headed, like I'd been fogged into some damp tunnel and every breath I took tasted musty and mold. I hurt everywhere as I lay in an awkward position, my arms pinned behind my back-the coarse fibers of rope chafing at my wrists.That was when panic kicked in. Inwardly I sprang awake, trying to stir. The binding was tight, clinging fast to the cold, hard chair. This rhythmic pulse hammered against my ribs-my heart gone crazy, my gaze flying around the half-dark room.A small, stuffy room; one bulb hung from the ceiling shone dimly and cast eerie shadows on cracked concrete walls. From somewhere very, very far away, a small tinkle sounded and raised the oppression of overwhelming silence.Where am I?I couldn't get my breathing to shut down completely, my mind racing on how this was all my reality at this moment. It was just bits and pieces, indistinct and fuzzy. I remembered sitting
Last Updated : 2024-11-28Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 109
Aiden's POVI had clutched in my hand the result of a paternity test, some bomb just waiting to go off in my face. The whole world blurred before my eyes as I read and reread that one condemning sentence, some mantra it seemed: "99.9% probability of paternity."A cold rage brewed, barely contained beneath the surface, tugging my chest tight and curling my fingers in. I clenched my jaw on the storm brewing inside. It wasn't real. It couldn't be.Across from me in my office, Chloe brimmed her eyes with sham vulnerability. "I told you the truth, Aiden," she whispered, shaking. "I didn't want it to come to this, but you deserved to know."I slammed the papers down onto the desk and she jumped. "This is bullshit," I growled. "I know you, Chloe. You've lied before, and I wouldn't put it past you to lie about this too."She scrunched up her face in some hurt and indignation. "I'm not lying! How could you even think that? Do you think I'd make this up? That I'd risk humiliating myself like th
Last Updated : 2024-11-28Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 110
Aiden's POVThe boardroom felt thick with air. My father, as composed a man he was, definitely was breaking down while pacing across the room as he addressed the senior executives."Ladies and gentlemen," he furthered in an extremely low strained tone of voice. "We're officially out of time. Unless we pull a miracle, or better said, an investor, Gray Enterprises will go to its knees within weeks.”Their murmurs sounded to my skull like fingernails on a chalkboard. I sat at the head of the table, knuckles white in my fists as I clung to the armrests of my chair."We have options," I said, doing my best to sound confident at a moment when I was feeling just about everything but. "I'll personally reach out to potential investors. I'll find a way."My father stopped his pacing and whirled back to me. Angry grey eyes skewered me. "And when, Aiden? While you're running around looking for answers, the wolves are at the door, ready to pick our company apart. We can't afford missteps.”Whoever
Last Updated : 2024-11-28
Latest chapter
Falling for my cocky Boss Epilogue
TESSA'S POVSunlight streamed through the huge window panes of our house onto the invitations laid across the dining table. I sat with a pen in hand, writing down final guest names, while Aiden leaned against the counter sipping his coffee."We could just elope, you know," he joked, the corner of one lip tugging upwards with a mischievous smirk.I turned a mock glare his way. "After all this planning? Not in your life, Aiden GRAY. We're doing this properly."He laughed, setting his mug down as he ambled over to me. "Properly, huh? That's why you've been vetoing half my suggestions?""You wanted a firework display during the vows!" I reminded him, laughing.“And what’s wrong with that? It would’ve been epic.” He leaned down, pressing a kiss to my temple. “But fine, no fireworks. As long as you’re there, it’ll be perfect.”It was what he said that always made my heart flutter, and the words this time were not an exception. It was one of those weddings that put me into anticipation and j
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 130
AIDEN'S POVMonths melted away.Weirdly, life went on since it all came crashing down. It had been months since Damien's death, Chloe leaving the city, Tessa and me over his grave saying our goodbyes. Time didn't heal everything; that it never could. But the space it gave. to breathe, rebuild, and put pieces of our lives back into place-was something all of us had desperately needed.That, with me and Tessa, gradually slipped into rhythm, and whatever in our daily life had disappeared with time turned into the time worth living. The daily morning coffee on the balcony, the late evening lying on the couch curled up, making small talks about the future-this had become a routine thing with us. Indeed, chaos seemed to bypass us somehow, yet the shadows took one corner of my mind with the coming night.But as I watched Tessa, humming to herself and arranging flowers in the sitting room, it suddenly hit me-the ton of bricks they say are always used in such situations. I loved her; I had alw
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 129
AIDEN'S POVI did not want to come here. I had told myself that I wouldn't-that some things quite simply were not worth a second chance. But here we were. Tessa stood beside me, her hand in mine, as we walked through the cemetery toward Damien's grave. The wind was cold, a bite into my skin, but nothing compared to the chill now setting into my chest.There it lay, the newly turned soil, the headstone, and the blunt inscription stating his name: "Damien Gray." Seemed so … normal. No great sentences of poetically flowing verbiages, no flowery platitudes of an exaggerated regard. A plain, uneventful name to denote an end of the life so full of promise to me and torn by just so many things… in particular by myself.I had stopped in front of the grave, said nothing. All these emotions warred in my brain, jumbling anger, guilt, sorrow. And it wasn't just because of what happened to him. It was for everything, things that could have gone differently, which I should have done."Do you think
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 128
TESSA'S POVChloe sat up against the mountain of pillows that propped her back. Her skin was a dull white; those alert features dulled by exhaustion and pain. When her gaze locked with mine, something flickered over her face-shame, perhaps? Regret?"Tessa," she husked out, her voice husky, yet steady. "I didn't expect you to be here.”"I did," I said, stepping inside. The door clicked shut behind me, and the soft hum of machinery in the room served to fill the brief moment of silence.A minute swept by with neither of us speaking. I had absolutely no idea where to begin, while Chloe seemed to fish for the right words. Then she spoke.“I'm so sorry," Chloe said, her voice breaking. She looked down at her hands, which were twisting the hospital blanket over and over in a nervous fashion. "For everything. For what I did to you. For what I let Damien do.”Her words were like a wave, and all the anger and hurt I'd been trying to bury surfaced. I crossed my arms, my voice sharper than I mea
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 127
AIDEN'S POVIt all boiled down to me standing against cold brick outside of a hospital. The sharp night air almost nipped my skin but couldn't take away what had been brewing inside of me since the night Damien was finally gone.Dead.The word reverberated in my mind, hollow yet heavy. He had not reached the hospital. Just a few minutes later, when the ambulance had speedily gone away from the warehouse, the police confirmed that my brother was no longer alive. In the pit of my chest, a tussle between relief and guilt twisted itself into this sensation, which has made me so ill.I stared upwards, trying to make sense of the darkened sky. It was a path he'd chosen, wasn't it? He'd refused every olive branch, clung to his rage, and let it consume him. Still, a part of me couldn't help but ask: What if?The sound of footsteps pulled me from my reverie. Tessa came forward, her face ashen, eyes red-rimmed from crying. She wrapped her arms around her middle, as if holding herself to protect
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 126
AIDEN'S POVThe ropes chafing my wrists were heaved into the painfully darkened room by two of Damien's men. My rib cage was racing, pounding within me like a war drum, as my eyes coursed over every inch, scanning the space for her. The echoes of my footsteps rattled through this large, high-ceilinged area, joined by the smothering tension in the air.Then I see her.“Tessa!” screams my hoarse voice in desperation while seeing her tied around the chair, white faced, and tear streaks covering it, her arms bound behind her back, a gag over her mouth, muffling her cries while her big terrified eyes remained fixed on mine, imploring for help.It came finally with the breaking of the silence from Damien's cruel laughter. "Well, well, your Prince Charming is finally here.""Let her go, Damien," I said, shaking all over with anger mixed with fear.Damienne cocked his head to one side, his face a mockery. "And miss this little family reunion? I don't think so.”Damien started to circle me wit
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 125
TESSA'S POVThe stench of that dark room shredded through my senses. My wrists throbbed, sore where the coarse ropes had lacerated into the skin, and with each weak inhalation, it was like the final one that could break this tenuous will hanging by a thread.I was not going to back away from him, not from Damien after what he pulled on Aiden, on me, and our lives.Standing in the doorway was a mountain of a man, with a great scar running down his cheek, scraping his boots on the floor and yawning and weighing his weight on one side. He had been left to watch me; now or never was the time to try anything that came into my head.I pulled carefully, testing the looseness of the rope binding my hands, my heart racing in my chest. Hours of subtly working at this knot had finally paid off; it gave way just enough for me to slide my wrists free.I glanced over to the guard, who now had his head leaned back against the wall, his eyes shutting.Go, Tessa. Now.Summoning every last shred of cou
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 124
AIDEN'S POVThe house was creepily silent when I went in-the kind of silence that twisted my gut. Something was off because it was too still, too empty."Tessa?" I called out, dropping keys on the counter. Nobody answered.My eyes scanned around the living room, the kitchen-nothing. My chest had already tightened as I tried again, louder this time. "Tessa? Marcus? Garret?"No response.And then I saw it-her phone. It lay on the counter, cracked at the screen, looking like she had dropped it there in haste. Tessa would never leave her phone lying anywhere.Now dread set in as my heart began racing, strode toward the security room for some answers, though my gut already told me otherwise.I burst through the door into the room to find Marcus and two other guards huddled around the monitors."Where the hell is Tessa?" I growled low, an edge to my voice that could cut through glass.Marcus slowly turned to me, white as marble, and seemed to fish for his answer. "Sir… we were reviewing the
Falling for my cocky Boss Chapter 123
TESSA'S POVIt wasn't until we stopped before Aiden's building that the car came to rest; it was my safe refuge now turned into a sanctuary in which the fears inside my head seemed to nestle. Those were instances from two weeks ago, haunting in my mind like some unsavable storm-accusations which memory just didn't seem willing or able to rid itself of."You're home," Aiden whispered, and immediately his voice was an anchor of solace amidst my rioting thoughts.Turning back to him, I pushed a small smile. "Home," I echoed, though the word felt wrong. Was I ever again safe?Aiden climbed out first, coming around and pulling my door open. His firm hand reached inside toward me, steady and reassuringly strong. "Come on; got you.I hesitated, staring at his hand. For a moment, the hospital was safer. Out here, the world was too big, too dangerous. But I chased the fear away, telling myself Aiden would never let anything happen to me.I took his hand and he led me out of the car."Take it e
