Jian’s POVThe continuous beeping of my cell phone pulled me out of my sleepy haze. I stared at the fancy electric clock sitting on the nightstand to see it was 2 am. I had a very busy day and I was very tired. A wave of annoyance crashed into me when the phone kept beeping and I grabbed it off the nightstand to see an unknown number. Part of me wanted to ignore the call and go back to sleep but I decided to take it.“Hi, Ji-Jian…” her angelic voice was the first thing that sailed into my ears, calming my nerves. It was Rosie, and I’d be damned before ignoring her. Quickly, I sat up in bed and rested against the headboard with my phone pressed to my ears, and my heart palpitating for reasons best known to it.“Jian…” her voice came again, in an unsteady tone with a fearful quiver to it.“I’m here, baby,” my words came out in a gruff tone, but I cleared my throat. “Missing me already?” I tried cracking a joke but was greeted with silence. “Rosie…” “I… I’m sorry if I’m bothering you b
Rose’s POV“It’s okay, love. I’m here now,” he patted my back, and tears brimmed in my eyes, threatening to spill.After our phone conversation the previous night, I couldn’t wait to get to him. It felt like I was holding the weight of the entire world but the moment I saw him, I felt a bit of relief. I’d told my dad about my nightmare but played it off as something unserious after I woke up to meet him in my room the previous night. Thereafter, I borrowed his phone to call Jian, after lying to him that my phone was stolen. As soon as the first light of dawn streamed into my bedroom, I told him I had to meet up with my best friend, Sam, and I may stay over at her place for the rest of the weekend. He didn’t question me or find it suspicious since such sleepovers were a regular thing for Sam and I. Hence, I took one of the cars in the garage, scribbled down Jian’s home address on a piece of paper, and left him in search of the only man that could bring me peace, the one place where I
Rose’s POVI stayed in bed even after he left, still trying to figure out what had just happened and if I’d done anything wrong but I couldn’t recall doing something to offend him. After a few more minutes, I rose to a sitting position. It was then it dawned on me that it was getting late. The skies outside were getting dark. I didn’t know I’d slept for that long but I also didn’t regret it. It was the first good sleep I was having in a while and I felt refreshed. I climbed out of bed, stretched my limbs, and decided to go in search of him, hoping to get an explanation of what had just happened. I stepped out of the room and was able to find my way into the kitchen to see him cooking, an apron tied to his waist with a napkin in hand.The sight was quite funny because I never picked him as a kitchen guy. To me, he was more of a strict no-nonsense businessman but here he was, making dinner and dressed in just his pajama pants and an apron. I couldn’t stop the giggle that bubbled out
Rose’s POVI got home that evening, and immediately hurried off to my bedroom, not even sparing Dally a glance as she walked into me on her way to the kitchen. I felt her concerned eyes on me as I climbed up the stairs that led to my room but thankfully, she didn’t utter a word or tried to stop me. The moment I was in my safe space, I dropped to the bed and the tears I’d been holding streamed down my face in endless torrents, a sob breaking out of my lips.I buried my head in the sheets to keep the sounds muffled as I couldn’t hold them in. Inside me, it felt as though something was broken, and was gradually slipping away from me. I felt helpless and caged all at once. At one point, it felt as though I couldn’t breathe properly, both from pain and from my clogged nostrils but I didn’t care. I kept reliving the moment with Jian when he’d made it clear that he couldn’t be there for me anymore.I finally did it. The one person that was my safe space, I finally chased him away with the we
Rose’s POVIt’s been two weeks since I returned to my parents home, and they hadn’t bothered to inquire about my absence from school, nor why I hadn’t returned. But thankfully, it was the holidays so it was the perfect excuse for me to remain at home without questions and suspicions. I’d also not heard from Jian and although it hurt badly, I let him be and didn’t try to contact him for any reason.I couldn’t count the number of times I’d had nightmares, and my dad had walked in to calm me. Each time I saw the way his brows drew together in worry and concern and whenever he asked if I was fine, I told him the same lie, that it was only a bad dream from the horror movies I’d been binge-watching in the daytime. I had no idea how long I could continue with that lie but I knew my time was gradually running out. Soon, he’d demand the truth but until then, I had to come up with something else or be ready to tell the truth.I’ve also tried contacting Sam but I’ve never gotten a response from
Rose’s POVWe drove for a while with the gun pointed to my head until he directed me into a dirt-covered forest road. The road was lonely with no houses or signs of human life. My heart was palpitating wildly, the longer we drove and my shaky fingers clutched onto the steering wheel, as though it could magically save me from the doom that was awaiting me. I didn’t need to think twice to know he was working for the Don. They must have been aware of my release from Jian’s home and must have been following me. Today was their lucky day. My eyes watered at the thoughts of my stupidity. Once again, I’ve made another silly decision that would finally lead me to my untimely death.My teary eyes met with the man’s in the rearview mirror, but his dark unblinking gaze had me gulping. He pressed the gun harder to my head until I began to feel an ache at the spot, and I wordlessly heed his command, focussing my tears-blurred eyes on the road but even then, my thoughts were not on the road. They
Rose’s POVThe blurry shadow of a tall figure towering above me was the first thing my eyes noticed and I began to arouse from the throes of unconsciousness. I tried to hasten the process by widening my eyes just to make out the figure above me but it was as if I had no control of my body. I felt utterly weak and powerless, just laying down, helpless to whoever was standing over me.It didn't help that my head was pounding and aching so much, and my heart was racing just from the thoughts and fear of the man watching me. I had no idea where I was nor could I recall how I got there but I was very much aware of who he could be.It was no other than Don Torelli. The only thing I could recall was that I was captured again by his men, and they were going to transport me to him. My heart rate spiked up and goosebumps broke out on my skin, sudden cold traveling down my spine as I began to settle into the reality that my days were numbered. Who knew? There could only be a few more hours left
Jian’s POVI stood by my office window, a glass of bourbon in hand as I stared past the tall buildings I could see, but my mind wasn’t on them, nor on their magnificence. It was all on the woman in my bedroom, who I’d somehow tied myself to, believing that I was somehow her savior yet every chance she got, she threw all of it away without a second thought and accused me of different crimes without even batting an eye.Every darn time, her accusations tear at my heart but then I find myself making excuses for her as soon as she lands herself into another hot pit of trouble. Is this a curse? I asked myself this question as I stared past the buildings but I couldn’t find an answer. I could easily contact her parents and ask them to come take their brat but I fear there was more to whatever she was hiding than meets the eyes, and it couldn’t be a coincidence for her to have been targeted by sex traffickers two different times. Or maybe, just maybe, it could be attributed to her carelessn
SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2023 Hello, lovelies, thank you for giving my book a chance and for sticking with me all through the months I couldn’t update due to personal reasons. Rosie and Jian’s story has finally come to an end and so has the series, The Ruthless Billionaires. While I’m excited for this end, I’ll miss the characters greatly but I have the thoughts of writing a sequel that’ll be named after the series, THE RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRES. This sequel will tell the love story of Romeo Torelli and Samantha Davis and also Sylvia Lancaster and Clifford Davidson and how it all started. If you’d be interested in reading this, please leave a comment below as your responses will spur me on, but if I get no response or a low outcome, I will end the series with this book and there will be no sequel. For the readers that haven’t read the previous books in the series, here’s a list of the books and where it all began: TITLE: The Ruthless Billionaires Book One: A Contract with the Billionaire (ex
_Six months later_Rosie stared at her reflection in the mirror and did a little twirl, with a bright smile on her face. She was dressed in a bright red sleeveless midi-dress that hugged her figure, accentuating her hips and petite curves. Her dark hair was styled into waves, flowing down her shoulder and her makeup was done to the minimal in soft pastel shades that made her soft brown eyes pop. Black Saint Laurent sandal heels adorned her feet, with a black clutch and the sparkling diamond necklace and teardrop earrings she had on put the finishing touches to her elegant look.She was dressed to go on her first formal romantic date with Jian and she was excited. He was coming to pick her up from her campus apartment. She’s been dreaming of this date for the past three months, from the moment she returned to school to finish her last semester and get her degree. And the day was finally here. She’d written her last exam that day and had immediately rushed home to begin preparations for
Rosie’s POVI stretched my limbs across the bed, and they landed on the cold spot where Jian’s body was supposed to be. Immediately, my eyes shot open and I stared at his spot to see it was empty and I was all alone in bed. At first, my heart skipped a beat but I tried to calm my nerves as I gathered the strength to rise to a sitting position. The sun was up, casting its rays into the room from the opened window. My gaze strayed to the bedside clock to see it was past 10 a.m., yet I made no move to get out of bed. Instead, I glanced around for any indication that Jian was at home.I couldn’t control how I felt when I woke up and thought he’d left me. It was the first thing that registered in my head but I told myself he wouldn’t leave me, and he may just be in his office getting some work done. I remained seated in bed, and a yawn slipped from my lips at the same time as my stomach rumbled from hunger. The last time I had anything to eat was at the hospital. The previous night had be
Rosie’s POV“Where is Greta?” I asked again, when he remained quiet. This time, he exhaled and stepped back from me. A frown marred my face as I stared at him in confusion, waiting for a response. He was acting strange and it was worrisome. Initially, he’d said she didn’t work in his home anymore but why couldn’t he just tell me where she now works? “Why did she leave and where has she gone to?” I took a step towards him and touched his arm. This time, he moved closer and held my shoulders. His eyes met mine and I saw an expression I didn’t recognize etched on his face. It was like a mix of anger and remorse.“Come, sit,” he gently pushed me back until I sat on the sofa behind me and he took his seat next to me.“Jian…” I was getting agitated from the way he was acting and he could see it.“I’ll tell you everything, I promise but I don’t think you’re ready to hear it, Rosie. I don’t want to spoil your mood,”“I can’t deal with the anxiety. Please tell me, what happened?” Again, he dr
Rosie’s POVThe silence that surrounded me as I slowly began to regain consciousness was serene. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d experienced such a feeling. Slowly, my eyes snapped open and they were met with the pristine white ceilings. For a minute, I kept staring at the ceiling but then from my peripheral vision, my eyes caught the silhouette of a body. Without hesitation, I turned to see it was Jian. He was seated on the only available chair in the room, and his head was buried in his palms. I couldn’t see his face on the expression on it but his pose screamed of worry.At that moment, I tried to sit up but then I felt a pull from the needle of the IV that was attached to my arm and it suddenly dawned on me that I was in a hospital room. All thoughts to call Jian’s attention suddenly fled from me as I tried to recall how I’d ended up here but it didn’t take long for all of the memories to start flooding me.I remembered it all. Ling lying on the bare concrete floor with a bull
Rosie’s POVI wiggled against the cold floor just to try to get comfortable. I had no idea how long it had been since I was brought here. All I knew was that their plans were in motion and my execution was getting nearer with each passing minute. I knew no one was coming for me. My only hope that Jian would come had died after seeing those pictures of him and Ling. I did not doubt that she’d managed to manipulate him into feeling pity for her. Since the last time she was here to reveal everything to me, she’s not been back. She mentioned going on a vacation and I didn’t doubt that Jian was with her. After all, I meant nothing to him. I was a liar and a deceiver who he’d tried to be nice to out of sympathy and in the end, I didn’t care enough to tell him the truth. I knew he detested me, and hence, it’d have been very easy for him to get over me the moment I was out of his home.He was the last person I had on my side. Now, I was all alone. My mom was busy paying for her sins in a nurs
Jian’s POVI arrived in Beijing the next evening, following the Don’s words. After Lina’s death, the news of Rosie’s disappearance was suddenly everywhere, and it was linked to Lina’s arrest. How it got released to the media, I had no idea. It was as if everything was a grand plan and we were playing into the hands of whoever this mastermind was.How Lina had died was yet to be explained. All the police had was a sniper had been hired to take her out, but they had no identity of the one responsible or who even hired the said sniper to kill her. At this point, everyone was a suspect in my head. I couldn’t stop wondering if it was Sylvia at work. From what I’d come to know of the woman, she was a very dangerous woman and had connections in high places. I wouldn’t be surprised to know that she killed Lina for coming after her daughter, but why would she do that, when Rosie was yet to be found?It didn’t make sense to me, and I was still trying to understand what the Don meant by there’s
Jian’s POV“Since when has this been going on?” Lara’s voice sailed into my ears from the phone and I sighed deeply. The news of Lina’s arrest made it to the media and it was now everywhere. There were lots of speculations about it as the major reason for her arrest wasn’t publicly disclosed but it was only known that she was arrested in the process of her final divorce hearing. Only our immediate family members were aware of what was going on. My dad had called to confirm the news, and now it was my younger sister, Lara on the phone.“It's been on for the past three months,”“Oh wow, that’s such a long time. I never expected such from Lina. She was always so nice and cheerful, and I know the news of Clifford’s affair with his assistant must have been very difficult for her but it’s not enough for her to change. I mean, I’m not a saint myself but, she went too far,”She was right to say that. Lara had done her fair share of evil in the past but it was swept under the carpet as it was
Jian’s POV“Check your mail. You’ve got all the evidence you need there, and as for a witness, there’ll be one in court tomorrow. Make sure you’re there by 9. It’s the final divorce hearing and your last chance.” the Don’s voice sailed into my ears before the call ended. I dropped my phone and drew in a deep breath that I exhaled almost immediately before rising to my feet to head out to the mailbox. It was almost 10 pm and it was my third day in New York. After Don Torelli contacted me on the night of the day I met with Williams, I told him all I knew about the case and Rosie’s abduction. He assured me to stay calm and that he’d take it from there, as the video evidence I’d handed over to him had helped trace the genesis of this issue and now, he’d called to inform me that he’d been able to gather the evidence I needed to nail Lina Davidson, and according to him, the final divorce hearing between her and her husband, Clifford, was the next morning.I did not doubt that Lina would be