Noah's POV
A Few Hours Ago He was gone again. How could he leave without any of my men noticing? He was a 70-year-old man, for crying out loud! “Find him, goddammit!” I cursed, grinding my teeth. Where could he have gone this time? The two men beside me nodded and left the bar to search for my grandfather once more. That demented old man had been a thorn in my side for months. Now he’d taken to vanishing, leaving me frantic and worried. “Boss, Old Master Reynolds can take care of himself. He’ll be fine,” Joshua, my personal bodyguard, said calmly. I snorted, shaking my head. A few years ago, I might have believed him. But not now. Not with my grandfather’s dementia worsening. He did foolish things and said nonsensical things. He might be the death of me one day. And it was all because of that one person that left a permanent scare in his life few years ago. “I swear I’ll find the bastard who did this to him and make them pay,” I vowed menacingly, a fierce glint in my eyes. It wasn’t a threat...it was a promise. I blinked before looking at Joshua. “Let’s go,” I said, heading towards my car. He opened the back door for me and slid into the driver’s seat. “Where to, Boss?” he asked as the car began to move. I sighed, shutting my eyes. I needed to unwind. The thought of my grandfather causing trouble again, had me on edge. The last time he disappeared like this, he was found naked on one of the tallest building in the state. He also managed to acquire over ten different lawsuits after only being gone for less than two days. I was incredibly worried of what he might do this time and needed to clear my head before I would go crazy just thinking about it. “To Diamonds,” I ordered, taking deep breaths to calm myself. I’d tried everything to restore my grandfather’s mental health. Renowned doctors had all said the same thing: it was age-related dementia. But I knew better. I was certain it was the result of that unfortunate incident from three years ago. He wouldn’t get better until the perpetrator was found. But that sly bastard was very good at hiding because even after three years, he is still yet to be found. “Boss, we’re here,” Joshua said, pulling me from my thoughts. I opened my eyes lazily and stepped out of the car, which Joshua had already opened for me. “Tag along with the others and find my old man,” I instructed, walking into the bar. The usual scene greeted me: wealthy men from around the country, many of them married, mingling over drinks and entertainment. The stage featured strippers performing their routines. I rolled my eyes and made my way to a quiet corner, taking a seat. I wasn’t in the mood for socializing, and thankfully, everyone seemed to understand, leaving me alone. “Seems they all had some sense today,” I thought with a smirk, ringing the bell on the table. The bartender appeared, his eyes widening in shock before he masked it with a forced smile. “W... What would you like to have?” he stammered, handing me a small menu. A menu? In a bar? I arched an eyebrow at the menu but didn’t bother opening it. I expected the reaction; seeing Noah Reynolds in a place like this was rare. I understood the bartender’s surprise. Although Diamonds was one of the top bars in the country, I wasn't a popular member. I was always busy with work so didn't have time for stuffs like this, and it would have remained that way if it wasn't for my old man who was stressing me out greatly this days. “Get me a glass of whiskey,” I ordered. The bartender nodded absentmindedly, still standing there. “Are you deaf?,” I asked coldly, narrowing my eyes at the stunned bartender who shook his head, still absentminded " So, get going then!” “Er... Yes. Coming,” he scrambled away, bumping into a few tables along the way. “Typical,” I muttered under my breath. Why couldn’t ordinary people just acknowledge handsome and rich people without gawking? And what made it worse was that he was a man, not like my reaction would have been any different if it was a lady. A few minutes later, the bartender returned, head bowed, with a glass in hand. “H... Here,” he said, handing it to me before retreating quickly. I took a sip of the whiskey, savoring the burning sensation as it slid down my throat. Just what I needed. But then I noticed someone...a woman staring at me intently, piquing my curiosity. She was walking towards me with a small smile, not appearing to be one of the strippers. I couldn’t see her face clearly since I was trying not to let her know I’d noticed her. Just then, my pocket vibrated. My phone rang. It was my grandfather! What the hell... Standing up, I rushed to a quieter spot to answer the call. “Where the hell are you?!” I thundered as soon as the call connected. Grandpa chuckled, which only fueled my irritation. “Relax, my darling grandson. Grandpa is just right…” Just right?! “You better get your ass back to the mansion immediately, or else...” I seethed through gritted teeth, gripping my phone tightly. My grandfather laughed again. “That’s the thing...I don’t know where it is.” Another round of laughter followed. “See you later.” “Why you...” I was cut off by the beep of the disconnected call. “Fuck!” I swore, almost throwing my phone down to the floor in frustration. That man really knew how to get under my skin. I took a deep breath and dialed Joshua. “Trace my old man’s location using the last call he made just now which is to my phone.” I said curtly before ending the call. ‘He better not be in serious trouble again,’ I thought, heading back into the bar. There, I saw the woman from before being dragged by Bevel Fisher, the notorious son of the Fisher family. Bevel had a grip on her shoulders and was pulling her away. Without thinking, I strode over, glaring coldly at Bevel. “Let her go!” It was then I took a closer look at the woman. She was stunning...small oval face, plush lips slightly parted, and big green eyes filled with a mix of amusement and surprise. She wasn’t a stripper, and she seemed intrigued by me, which was normal. “I said, let her go,” I repeated narrowing my eyes at him, noticing that Bevel hadn’t complied the first time. The man immediately came back to senses and dropped to his knees. "I'm sorry, I had no idea she was your woman". He apologized. I was taken aback by his statement. " She's not my woman ". I denied, my brows coming together. How could he even assume that? “She’s not your woman?” Bevel repeated, confused. Before I could answer, the woman suddenly wrapped her arm around mine. “No… Of course, I’m his woman.” What the actual fuck?! I was stunned that a woman, a stranger, not only touched me but embraced my arm. What confused me the most was that I didn’t hate it. I had severe OCD and disliked being touched by anyone, especially women, yet I didn’t mind this stranger’s touch. How crazy was that? I watched her mouth move, realizing she was speaking, but I was too distracted to focus on her words. “Boss...” Joshua’s voice cut through the confusion.Noah's POV Joshua and one of the men I’d hired to find my grandfather approached me, and I quickly withdrew my hands from the bold lady, untangling them. ‘Please don’t let them see that,’ I prayed inwardly. I had a reputation to uphold, after all. I felt a twinge of pride stinging me. “Boss, we’ve found him,” Joshua said, his face a mix of delight and confusion as his eyes darted towards the bold lady. “Found who?” she asked daringly. I frowned, throwing her a sharp glare. How could a woman be so bold? It was no wonder she was able to get into trouble with Bevel Fisher so quickly. Whatever. This was my fault, anyway. If I’d kept to myself and not interfered, none of this would have happened. But I couldn’t just stand by and watch Bevel drag her away. Why was that? I pulled out a handkerchief from my inner pocket and wiped my hands. It would have been impossible for Joshua and the other guy not to notice her touch, so I had to do something to clear their suspici
Elena's POV Mr. Mysterious eyes trailed around my body, going from top to bottom. He didn't really seem please... But I couldn't blame him. He thought he was going on a blind date with some rich heiress and then he got me. I wasn't saying that I lacked self-esteem and all those shit... But well, just look at him. Raising my head slowly, I looked up at Mr. Reynolds. He had his deep black eyes fixed on me, his gaze unmoving as if he was looking deep into my soul or something. Too bad for him, if he wanted to look deep into my soul, he was going to see nothing... Nothing but a black, dark empty space, a space just like those eyes of his. Pressing my lips together, I nodded. "Yeah, I know. I don't look like the rich heiress you expected do I?" I asked with a small smile. What I've known from all my years being a con... Being human in general was that, before someone would get a chance to hurt you with your insecurities, you deal with the insecurity first. I nodded again after I wa
Elena's POV Layla sat on the other chair opposite me, staring at my face as if I was an alien of some sort. She had been doing it for a while now and it was getting creepy. "Okay now Lay, stop it." I said putting my leg down from the sofa and sitting up. "I'm here, like I am here...in a real freaking body." "Yeah, that's the surprising part." Layla said with a small nod as if she didn't hear the first part and I chuckled. Her reaction was too much...she was clearly overreacting. Yeah, to be sincere, her surprise wasn't that surprising. I wasn't supposed to be back here, not now and not here. I pressed my lips together rolling my eyes. "Lay..." "I'm sorry okay." She raised her hands up, surrending. "It's just shocking. I haven't seen you in years...like three freaking years, but here you are... sitting in my new apartment." She said pointing at me and I rolled my eyes again. Yeah, speaking of that. "This place is amazing." Getting up from the sofa, I strolled around the sitti
Elena's POV Layla suddenly coughed shaking her head. "No I don't...but I've heard that name a couple of times." I wanted to think about what she said... but it could true, so I dismissed it. Leaning closer towards her I asked. "So..." It took a second before she understood and she shook her head. Standing up she said. "Give me a second." Then she turned around and began walking up the stairs. "Aish...she didn't even offer me a drink." I thought out loud after I looked at the table beside me to see nothing there. Standing up I walked towards the kitchen...or where I thought was the kitchen. "Yes! It's the kitchen." I exclaimed in excitement. I took a cup and opened the fridge picking a bottle of water before returning back to the sitting room to find Layla already sitting there with a laptop in her hand. "Really? You couldn't even offer me a drink." "Yeah because you are not a stranger in this house." She said, calming clicking away on her laptop. Not a stranger???"This is
Elena's POV "If you were to ask me, there are many ways, many reasons I think this wouldn't work. But..." Layla stopped to shrug. "How bad can the consequences be? Worse come to worse, you'll ditch the guy and leave the country again this for a few years for him to calm down." I smiled, nodding my head. "Or better, I could make him fall in love with me, and he would just forgive me."Layla raised one of her brows at me and I giggled. "Okay, making him fall in love with me is too big of a deal...but trust me when I say this, after I leave it would be hard for Noah Reynolds to forget me."This was going to be one of my biggest jobs yet, and I was going to pull it off like I always did. Nothing was going to stop me. Layla and I chatted for a few more hours, catching up with each other on things we missed in each other's lives and before I knew it, it was past 9.I needed to go back to the hotel I was lodged at. "Why common? You can just stay here, this house is big enough for both
Elena's POV My mouth hung opened as I stepped into the main room, passing through the door which was opened so widely. "And I thought Layla's house was huge." Being a con artist had its perks. I could see different beautiful mansions, houses that cost millions of dollars and maybe, if I played my cards well enough, stay for the night. But never had I seen a house as big as this one. Like hell! This house was huge!!! Actually, I saw the house when I was like 20 miles away from the place, but my eyes didn't linger. I had no idea it was the place I was heading to. But then again, what was I expecting? From everything Layla told me about this Reynolds family, this was practically nothing. I had just finished dressing when Noah called me. He said he was having someone pick me up to his house and asked for my address. And yes, as expected I panicked.I couldn't just tell him the address of an hotel, that was degrading!His real fiancee would definitely not be staying at a hotel. F
Elena's POV We sat across from each other in the fancy restaurant, he just arrived there so the waiter had yet to attend to us, only the customary wine...which looked really expensive by the way, was on the table, but I felt uncomfortable. Seriously, something in me told me not to dress like this. It was too...well, too opened. But no, my pride refused to let me be. Noah had diminished my looks not just once, but twice! The first time in Diamonds when he even went as far as using a handkerchief to clean his hands after I held on to them, while the second was at the club. I just had to change the impression I made on the guy to something much, much different, and I was sure with this dressing that I did, but it turns out I didn't only change his impression of me. As soon as we walked into the restaurant, the lady's eyes went to Noah while the men, well, me. Normally I would bask in the attention they were giving me, but not today. Instead, I felt nervous... Like me, Elena... Nerv
Elena's POVHe caught me staring.I blinked, lips stretching into a smile...too late to look away now. Besides, if I wanted him to like me, why not let him see I liked him first?Noah raised an eyebrow, his voice low with amusement. “Why are you staring at me?”My smile widened. “Because you’re really handsome.”Yup. I actually said that. Out loud. In front of him and not just in my head. I was getting pretty bold. But I wasn’t lying; he was breathtaking. Noah’s face flushed slightly with a light shade of pink, and he let out a cough, his gaze flicking back to the screen.Fuck, was he...blushing?I could have let out a high squeal in joy. Noah Reynolds was blushing! God. He looked even hotter blushing.I propped my chin on my palm, still watching him. Was he even aware of how perfect his face was? People in my line of business spend hours, or even days to make their faces like this; perfect, to attract other rich people But he just got it for free. Good genes perhaps. “Stop sta
Elena’s POVThe bright rays of the sun slipped through the curtains and stabbed me right in the eyes.I groaned.There went my sleep.After the rollercoaster of a night I had with Noah yesterday, I ended up crashing on Layla’s couch. I didn’t want to wake up; not yet. Maybe because the dream I was having was just that good.In it, I was back at the movie theater with Noah. The way his eyes lingered on me… it felt so right. We were leaning closer to each other, slowly, breathlessly...And then boom. That annoying manager popped up out of nowhere like a jump scare and ruined the moment. A blinding light followed, and just like that, I woke up… still on Layla’s couch.I blew a strand of hair away from my face with an irritated huff and sat up, stretching out my stiff limbs.“I should’ve known even my dreams couldn’t give me a win.”That stupid manager’s face was already etched into my memory. But seriously...how did Noah not see him lurking there like a creep? Or… did he? Did he let it h
Elena’s POVThe car ride was short, thankfully. But not the good kind of thankful, more like the awkward silence kind. Neither of us spoke. Not a word. Not even a fake cough to fill the space.It was even quieter than the ride to the restaurant earlier… and that was already graveyard-level silence."And this is my stop," I finally said, my voice sounding louder than expected in the stillness of the car.Noah’s sleek black car rolled to a stop in front of Layla’s massive building. He looked up at the tall house like he was analyzing its architecture before turning his gaze back to me with a small nod."At least your place is reasonable," he said.I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or a lowkey insult, so I just smiled.It wasn’t my place anyway, so…I stepped out, stretching just a bit too dramatically and scrunching my face like I had cramps. “Fucking fuck,” I groaned, then turned back to face him, placing a smile on my lips again. He had already gotten out of the car. Gentleman m
Elena’s POVNoah just arrived like a knight in shining armor…Only, he wasn’t wearing armor, and he didn’t have a sword. But the way he walked towards me; shoulders squared, eyes burning cold...he might as well have stepped out of an action movie.I’d already stopped struggling. The men holding me turned to look at him too, tension slicing through the air like a blade.“I said, let her go,” he repeated, his voice sharp and cold enough to make the temperature drop a few degrees, and it did. The men exchanged glances, then looked back at Noah. It was clear they didn’t know who he was.“…And what if we say no?” the gruff one asked, stepping forward like he ruled the damn jungle. He let go of me just to puff his chest and face Noah like a cartoon villain.They were the same height, but the guy was bulkier. Bigger.Stronger? Oh God please no.My heart wasn’t pounding for myself anymore...it was for Noah.He was rich. Polished. Elegant. What the hell did he know about fighting on the streets
Elena's POV "It's not funny, stop laughing," I said with a giggle as we walked around. Surprisingly, Noah had been an amazing company. He wasn't cold or terrifying like I thought him to be like he was supposed to be. Instead, he was, he was funny... And just fun. I had thought I dug my grave when I said walk and talk, but he was the one mostly doing the talking while I listened. For a second, just a second... I felt bad. I felt bad that I was doing this to someone like him, but... Then the feeling of guilt disappeared. I had to do this. If not for myself, but to regain my name which I lost 3 years ago. All I needed was for him to fall completely for me, and I mean completely...then I'd ask him for a terrible amount of money, lie that it's for a cause or something, and once he gives me, I'll vanish away from his life. Yeah... that's what I'll do. We decided to take a rest by the park,
Elena's POVHe caught me staring.I blinked, lips stretching into a smile...too late to look away now. Besides, if I wanted him to like me, why not let him see I liked him first?Noah raised an eyebrow, his voice low with amusement. “Why are you staring at me?”My smile widened. “Because you’re really handsome.”Yup. I actually said that. Out loud. In front of him and not just in my head. I was getting pretty bold. But I wasn’t lying; he was breathtaking. Noah’s face flushed slightly with a light shade of pink, and he let out a cough, his gaze flicking back to the screen.Fuck, was he...blushing?I could have let out a high squeal in joy. Noah Reynolds was blushing! God. He looked even hotter blushing.I propped my chin on my palm, still watching him. Was he even aware of how perfect his face was? People in my line of business spend hours, or even days to make their faces like this; perfect, to attract other rich people But he just got it for free. Good genes perhaps. “Stop sta
Elena's POV We sat across from each other in the fancy restaurant, he just arrived there so the waiter had yet to attend to us, only the customary wine...which looked really expensive by the way, was on the table, but I felt uncomfortable. Seriously, something in me told me not to dress like this. It was too...well, too opened. But no, my pride refused to let me be. Noah had diminished my looks not just once, but twice! The first time in Diamonds when he even went as far as using a handkerchief to clean his hands after I held on to them, while the second was at the club. I just had to change the impression I made on the guy to something much, much different, and I was sure with this dressing that I did, but it turns out I didn't only change his impression of me. As soon as we walked into the restaurant, the lady's eyes went to Noah while the men, well, me. Normally I would bask in the attention they were giving me, but not today. Instead, I felt nervous... Like me, Elena... Nerv
Elena's POV My mouth hung opened as I stepped into the main room, passing through the door which was opened so widely. "And I thought Layla's house was huge." Being a con artist had its perks. I could see different beautiful mansions, houses that cost millions of dollars and maybe, if I played my cards well enough, stay for the night. But never had I seen a house as big as this one. Like hell! This house was huge!!! Actually, I saw the house when I was like 20 miles away from the place, but my eyes didn't linger. I had no idea it was the place I was heading to. But then again, what was I expecting? From everything Layla told me about this Reynolds family, this was practically nothing. I had just finished dressing when Noah called me. He said he was having someone pick me up to his house and asked for my address. And yes, as expected I panicked.I couldn't just tell him the address of an hotel, that was degrading!His real fiancee would definitely not be staying at a hotel. F
Elena's POV "If you were to ask me, there are many ways, many reasons I think this wouldn't work. But..." Layla stopped to shrug. "How bad can the consequences be? Worse come to worse, you'll ditch the guy and leave the country again this for a few years for him to calm down." I smiled, nodding my head. "Or better, I could make him fall in love with me, and he would just forgive me."Layla raised one of her brows at me and I giggled. "Okay, making him fall in love with me is too big of a deal...but trust me when I say this, after I leave it would be hard for Noah Reynolds to forget me."This was going to be one of my biggest jobs yet, and I was going to pull it off like I always did. Nothing was going to stop me. Layla and I chatted for a few more hours, catching up with each other on things we missed in each other's lives and before I knew it, it was past 9.I needed to go back to the hotel I was lodged at. "Why common? You can just stay here, this house is big enough for both
Elena's POV Layla suddenly coughed shaking her head. "No I don't...but I've heard that name a couple of times." I wanted to think about what she said... but it could true, so I dismissed it. Leaning closer towards her I asked. "So..." It took a second before she understood and she shook her head. Standing up she said. "Give me a second." Then she turned around and began walking up the stairs. "Aish...she didn't even offer me a drink." I thought out loud after I looked at the table beside me to see nothing there. Standing up I walked towards the kitchen...or where I thought was the kitchen. "Yes! It's the kitchen." I exclaimed in excitement. I took a cup and opened the fridge picking a bottle of water before returning back to the sitting room to find Layla already sitting there with a laptop in her hand. "Really? You couldn't even offer me a drink." "Yeah because you are not a stranger in this house." She said, calming clicking away on her laptop. Not a stranger???"This is