Thea’s life took a drastic turn when her father lost his company to the town’s most successful oil mogul, Tyler Blackwood. Determined to salvage her father's empire from crumbling, she took Tyler’s offer to sleep with him in exchange for her father’s company. The next morning, Thea awoke to a world of uncertainty, clutching a letter that Tyler left for her— a new identity and half a million dollars, a fortune to secure her future. News also blared about Tyler Blackwood's dominance in the oil industry, intensifying her heartbreak. She left town, determined to build a new life, only to discover that she carried within her a precious secret— she was pregnant. Five years later, it was time to return to her city to confront the man she despised with every fiber of her being for shattering her family's dreams. Yet, in the midst of her anger and resentment, she couldn't ignore the undeniable connection between Tyler and their child. Could this unlikely circumstance give birth to a bond between them, or would Thea forever harbor her deep-seated disdain for the man who had torn her world apart?
Lihat lebih banyakThea’s POV
If there was anything I absolutely loathed, it was asking for help.It was something I was never particularly excellent at. I was always the 'I can handle it all by myself girl.' and I usually could. I wouldn't call myself a perfectionist as everyone seemed to think I was. I just preferred to do things a certain way. Okay, maybe I was a perfectionist but it wasn't a bad thing. It got things done most of the time, even though it meant living exclusively on caffeine and oxygen.I was at the Capa Decal Hotel, a seven star hotel in Manhattan. I was here to do the one thing I hated the most, to ask for help. Normally I wouldn't be so bothered by it if the person I was to seek help from wasn't a renowned douchebag and asshole.My eyes wandered around the restaurant when I reached the door and within seconds, I spotted the man I had come to see. Tyler Blackwood, the CEO of Blackwood Oil. He was sitting beside the glass wall of the restaurant. Tyler was our biggest competitor in the oil market, at least he used to be until he stole all of my father’s investors, monopolizing the oil market. Exxon Oil, my father’s company, was on the verge of bankruptcy with debts that would probably liquidate the entire company if we don’t start paying up.I took a deep and calming breath and shoved my pride down my throat before walking up to him, remembering who I was doing this for. I cleared my throat as soon as I got to his table and he dragged his eyes away from his phone like a lazy cat to glare at who it was that had just interrupted him. His green eyes gave me a once over that made me a little uncomfortable."Miss Thea. Lovely to finally have you here. I've only been waiting for twenty minutes." He said, sarcastically.He dusted an invisible lint off of his Armani charcoal black suit. His hair was artistically combed to the side."Apologies. I was held up in traffic." I said. It was only half a lie. I was held up in traffic, but the traffic was my inability to find anything to wear after I spilled coffee all over the clothes I had chosen to wear for the meeting."Maybe this meeting doesn't mean much to you."I let out a forced laugh, "What? Of course it does. I apologize for my tardiness."He stared at me for the longest time before he dropped his gaze."Sit." He said to me and that was when I realized I was still standing all this time. I took my seat across from him and forced a smile on my lips."Are you hungry, Thea?" He asked, looking at me through his impossibly long, thick lashes."No, I'm fine " I shook my head, wanting to get this over with already. Somehow, sitting here with Tyler made me feel the most uncomfortable I have felt in a while."Are you sure?" He asked again."I am, thank you." I replied."Alright then." He waved a hand at the waiter away, and she stalked away."So," I began, when the waiter was out of ear shot. “We should go straight to the point. You already know why I'm here. It is in regards to the email I sent you earlier this week. I know how much you've wanted your hands on Exxon Oil, and I am willing to sell you some of my shares for this." I showed him the amount in the paperwork I drafted.He barely glanced at the piece of paper before nodding, "Sure.""Wait really?" I wasn't expecting him to outright say no, but I wasn't expecting it to be this easy either."Of course," he shrugged. He was looking at me in a way that felt too personal, like he could see right through my clothes. It intensified my discomfort."But?" I asked, knowing there was always a ‘but’. There had to be. I wasn't naive enough to think a man like Tyler Blackwood would easily agree to a proposal without so much as a negotiation.His lips curved into a smirk, "Smart, but there's no but.""Okay then." I dragged out the words, watching him for any sign that gave away his sarcasm, but there was none. Maybe he wasn’t as douchey as people believed him to be."However, I have a condition." He spoke up after a moment, making me roll my eyes.“There it was, the but,” I murmured under my breath, but I was sure he heard me. "And what would this condition be?" I asked cautiously.He smirked and leaned forward, giving me a sweeping look."Tell me Thea, when was the last time you were fucked on your hands and knees." He asked, his eyes settling on my chest for far too long."Excuse me?" I asked in an incredulous tone. I wasn't sure I had heard him right, but even as I glared up at him, I knew I had heard the exact thing he had said. If my face was any redder, I'd be mistaken for a lobster. Even as I glared fire and brimstones at him, he looked unfazed and waited for an answer."When was the last time you were…""I don't mean for you to repeat yourself,” I cut him off. “What the hell is wrong with you? Do you not hear how inappropriate that sounds?" I whisper-yelled, trying to keep myself from not losing my absolute goddamn mind."My bad, did I make you wet by my question, is that it?” He raised a brow, taking another inappropriate sweep over my body. I clenched my thighs together irritated by the sudden throb that ran through my inner thighs because of his question."No, you asshole.""You still haven't answered my question Thea. I'm a busy man, you know." He looked down at this watch, then back at me as though he was waiting for an answer to the most basic question he has ever asked."Fuck you. I'm not answering that you fucking asshole. This was clearly a big fucking mistake." I started to gather my things to leave. I wasn't going to let myself be disrespected by Tyler, but his voice cut through my thoughts."Are you sure you can afford to leave this meeting?" His deep baritone voice had a little gruff to it as he spoke.I paused in my tracks and looked at him. He was staring at me through hooded eyes like he knew something I didn't, something that could ruin me, and I didn't like it."Yes." I gritted out, unwilling to give him any satisfaction. Whatever he thought he knew, I didn't care. I was not about to sit here and be sexualized by Tyler fucking Blackwood."Now we both know that is a lie, Thea,” He said my name in a seductive but patronizing tone. "Your father’s company is on the verge of bankruptcy, maybe even liquidation and to top it all off, your father is dying. The little company is the only thing holding him back before he dies of a heart attack or something. So, I am asking you this again, are you sure you can afford to walk away from this meeting?"The stupid bastard. I hated his smile. It looked predatory and sick like I was his prey and I had already been caught. I felt my stomach turn at the reminder of all the troubles I was in and I sat back down on the chair knowing he was my last hope. He was right. I couldn’t afford to leave the meeting."How do you know any of these?” I asked, glaring at him."I'm a businessman, doll. It is my business to know these things. Now answer my question. When was the last time you were fucked on all fours?" He smirked.I looked away, trying to stop myself from crying. It has been a rough couple of months, first starting with Blackwood Oil getting all of our investors and then my boyfriend breaking up with me, and leaving me for his highschool sweetheart. I have been able to go through all of that without breaking but none of those things could have prepared me for Tyler Blackwood."What does this have to do with this meeting?" I turned my face back to him, keeping strong eye contact."Well, Thea. I was sure that I didn’t have to explain where I'm going with this but if you still don't understand, I'm only going to sign off on those documents if you allow me to have you coming hard under me tonight."My mouth nearly hit the floor, “What the hell? Why?”"Because I find you attractive. I have for a while now." He answered. If this were a regular man, I would have stood up and punched his stupid face, but this was the man that owned the entire town."I'm not sleeping with you to get investors." I said firmly but even as I said I knew I didn't have any choice."Oh, but you will, doll. It is the only way to save your company and your father." He said in a nonchalant tone before he brought out a card from his pocket and placed it in front of me."Here, this is my hotel card. Meet me there by 8pm and we can save your father. Dress slutty, I want to see those curves in a red dress before I undress you." With that he stood up, gently tucked my hair behind my ears before he stalked off.THEAI excused myself and went outside. I didn't want to imagine that Tyler left without telling me. He was all smiles when we were planning the surprise birthday party, he couldn't leave without a word. As I stepped outside, lashed by the cold fingers of the wind, I was taken aback by the sight of someone sitting on the staircase. For a moment I stood still, then remembered that the person's clothes looked familiar. It didn't take long for me to figure out it was Tyler and when I cleared my throat, he turned back, his eyes fixed on me with a mix of awe and longing. My heart skipped a beat as I made my way towards him, my senses heightened by the tension between us."Hey," I said softly, sitting down next to him on the step. "What's going on? I thought you left."He chuckled and turned to the moon, his eyes still filled with wonder. "that," he replied, his voice barely above a whisper as he pointed to the cloudless sky. He continued to stare at the moon for what seemed like minutes un
THEAI saw him first before Lily and I immediately went to stand in the doorway. Lily was by my side, holding a welcome home banner she designed herself and I was holding one too. I couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.Excitement to see Tyler again after a whole lot of time and then the thought about how he would react to the party. As I thought of that, a hint of sadness washed over me and I immediately deleted it from my mind. Although our time together had been cut short by his accident then I was glad he was fine.He would be receiving the rest of his treatments and recovering at home. The doctors said he was healing well, but I knew I would still see the faint scar on his chest, which would be a reminder of the traumatic event that had brought us together - Lily's kidnapping. I took a deep breath and stepped forward when I saw him enter the house, holding out the banner. "Welcome home, Tyler!" I exclaimed, trying to sound cheerful but deep down I was bursting with excitement
THEA"Why do you care about Tyler after all he's put this family through?" This question rang in my head. How would I explain it? Yes, Tyler had helped us, but it wasn't enough for the amount of care I felt entitled to show him.I looked up and met father's gaze, he stared at me expectant of a reply. "When you left, I and Cora moved to Manhattan." I watched his eyelids flutter at the mention of Cora, no doubt he was starting to get emotional."Things were pretty rough, I struggled to build an enterprise from the start before deciding to come back here in quest of revenge against Tyler, but as life would have it; things changed. A lot of things changed.""What changed?""I found out Tyler had a pretty good reason for leaving us, I couldn't really blame him. All he did was try to save us, everybody including you. Also..." I trailed off, unsure of how to break the news of Lily to him."Go on, I won't judge you." I didn't really care about his judgement, I just wasn't sure it was right to
THEAMy eyes were closed and I felt like I was in a different world as the remaining drops of tears escaped from my eyes. I wasn't sure how long my head was bent or if I had drifted off into thought, but the next thing I felt was a tap on the shoulder softly.I paused for a minute to wipe off the corners of my eyes before almost jumping off my chair eager to hear anything from the nurse, maybe then I would calm down. "How is..?" I rose my face from the edge of the chair, but couldn't complete my statement as I stared at the face which stared right back at me. Was this real?The walls of the reception began to revolve around me and for a second my head went blank. Was I dreaming? Someone wake me up, I found it hard to believe. Hard to believe that after so many years of neglect, my father would show up to the hospital in search of me because this was definitely not a coincidence.It wasn't a coincidence that he chose to walk into this particular hospital, pass through the outer lobby a
THEAThe slap that led to all of these replayed in my head. Maybe I did blame myself earlier for Lily's abduction, afterall it was me Sarah was mad at. But now that I think about it, if she had just been sensible and didn't raise her hand to hit me, maybe we wouldn't be here right now.If anything, I hated Sarah more than ever now for whatsoever she put Lily through. Lily looked like a shadow of herself and it scared me so much. Judging from the little I had seen of Sarah, I could imagine she starved my baby of food and most likely put her through pain. She looked frail and she didn't deserve to go through all of these at such a young age.I didn't know when the tears began to fall from my face neither did I try to stop them, I let them flow freely while hugging Lily tightly. "I missed you so much and I'm sorry baby. I'm sorry I let you out of my sight," I whispered into her ears."I'm sorry Lily," Tyler apologized. I resented him a lot because I trusted him to keep watch over Lily as
TYLERI gripped Thea's hand as we sat in the car ready to go to the location. Inputting the coordinates into the GPS, I stared at her and nodded my head "let's do this.""Hell yeah, let's get our daughter back."Inwardly, I knew I was scared, but I couldn't show it. The maniac like laughter of the kidnapper over the phone scared me, what if she was mentally unstable? What if she doesn't release Lily after everything? There were so many what ifs in my head, it was hard to concentrate."Are you okay?" Thea asked as I drove."Sure I'm fine, I just want to get Lily back," I lied."Take a left turn ahead."As directed by the GPS, I turned into the pathway which looked like it led into the woods. Thea's breath hitched audibly as we kept on going and lost track of humans and normal surroundings."You'll arrive at your destination in a minute," the GPS informed.There was a cabin out front and I wondered if that was it.My phone screen lit up with a text message from the kidnapper, we were be
THEAI heard the woman's sinister laughter as she said, "Anything? Are you willing to sacrifice your own life for your daughter? You would do that?"As I saw the tears welled up in Tyler's eyes, I saw he choked back his emotions, probably because he did not want me to break down into tears. He couldn't lose Lily as much as I couldn't, I saw in his eyes that he loved that girl more than gold and silver and when he said, "Yes! I'll give anything if it means Lily's safety. Just tell me what I need to do and where you want to get it from." I knew this was true love from a father to his daughter.I was shocked that Tyler was ready to give everything for the sake of Lily and I knew how much he had suffered to take his company to great heights. I had always known that he was a driven and ambitious person, but I had never realized just how much he had sacrificed for the sake of his business. He had sacrificed a lot, he built up my father's crumbling company. As I thought about it, I could ima
THEA"I just want my daughter..." I said that in my mind after calming my nerves. I sat on the warm sofa, but to me, with my heavy heart, it felt like I was on a cold, vinyl chair in the hospital or the police station, my heart was heavy with worry and my mind racing with thoughts of my missing daughter, Lily. And Tyler, sat across from me, his eyes filled with a mixture of guilt and determination, the policeman was still around and he worked a great deal before I calmed down.From where I sat, I knew Tyler wanted to reach out to me, he did reach out, apologising but I pulled away from him, my anger and resentment still raw. "What good are your apologies now, Tyler? Where is Lily? I trusted you with her."Tyler didn't look at me, he faced the policeman directly. His jaw clenched in determination. "We need to find her. I can't just sit here and do nothing, waiting for your men to find herThe man nodded, his heart heavy with grief. "Yes, we need to find her. And trust me with this, I
THEAIt'd been three days without my baby. Although she wasn't so much of a baby anymore, her absence hit me hard. It gave me time to reflect on many things but I was so used to her presence, it left me longing to see her. Tyler couldn't even call me in the midst of his enjoyment with my daughter. She's his daughter too but she was mine for now, I did raise her on my own. The way things had taken a turn still surprised me. I wasn't so sure if my decisions, but they seemed the best fit for the situations at hand.I bought a new bow and a new game pad on my way to his house. It was going to be a surprise visit, I wanted to catch them in the act. I wondered which games they could have been playing. Sometimes, seeing them together brought tears to my eyes. I had a lot of regrets, but I couldn't count giving birth to my daughter as one. She'd been my greatest blessing. My own father abandoned me, and I know it was unfair to keep the secret of her father away from her. They bonded anyways,
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