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2024-01-17 18:55:59
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The Rich and the Loved Too Many Secrets
DARREN“Have you gone completely insane?!” Lucien slammed the table with his fist. “Why the fuck did you go there?!” He leaped to his feet and refilled his whiskey glass, deciding that he hadn't drunk enough to handle what I had just told him. Looking at him, I thought that maybe I could use another drink as well.“I wanted to see her. I needed to know that she's getting better.” I told him the truth—a part of it. “Besides, you wanted me to get close to her. I DID get close to her.”“Close to fucking her,” Lucien corrected, his fists opening and closing as he returned to the sofa. “Do me a favor and fuck her after we get any reasonable information. You remember what the plan was about, don't you?”I pinched the bridge of my nose. “She was a mess, Lucien. I'm not sure if she mended herself completely even now. I won't tell her to dig out something that can break her even further.”His brows rose. “So what now? Do you want to give up on our only chance to get some real evidence?”I glar
Last Updated : 2024-01-18The Rich and the Loved More Questions
Holloway met my gaze and smirked. Chuckling under his breath, he smoothed the lapels of his navy suit jacket and sauntered over to me. “Why am I not surprised to see you here?" He gave me a measured look.I gave him a cold smile. “Isn't it normal for a clever businessman to seize a good opportunity? That is, of course, if you know what to do with a clinic like Lambert's.”Callan huffed out a laugh. “Oh, I'm going to turn this place into a fine facility. I will send you an invitation for the reopening.”“How generous of you.” I held his stare. “Perhaps I'll ask Lilly to come as my partner.”Callan's lips peeled back, teeth flashing in a snarl. “Stay away from her, or I will make you.”My brows rose. “Was that supposed to sound like a threat?”He stepped closer. “You have no idea what I am capable of.”“I don't know and do not exactly care.” I watched the rage heating his skin and tensing his jaw while I kept my emotions behind a stone-cold wall.“You should,” he bit out.A cold smirk t
Last Updated : 2024-01-19The Rich and the Loved Cheers!
LILLY I hadn't talked to Callan for more than a week. He called me twice, but I pretended to be busy. Certainly, I had a lot of work to do, but I could have found an hour or two for lunch if I wanted to. This wasn't stalling for time. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that, for now, I didn't want him anywhere near me. This wasn't what I needed. Nonetheless, this was yet another issue I could add to the pile of complicated things around me. It took me a few more days before I decided that I needed someone to talk to about my messed-up life. Raven took me to a pub run by her friend, Joffrey. The pub was full when we got there, but as a friend of the owner, she got us a table on the balcony, far from the crowd and nosy people. I started talking as soon as our drinks arrived, and I seriously needed alcohol. That night, I told her everything. I finished describing my screwed-up situation with my father's involvement in Darren's father's death, including what I had found in my
Last Updated : 2024-01-19The Rich and the Loved The Wrong Choice
DARRENTwenty Minutes EarlierThe phone's buzzing sound dragged my attention away from the laptop screen. I wondered who had the guts to call me at two in the morning. Every second of that buzzing signal triggered more and more annoyance. When I finally reached for the phone, I was already planning the caller's slow and painful death, but then I saw the caller ID…“Lilly?” I rasped, answering.There was a pause. “Are you Darren?” It was a female voice, one I did not recognize.My brows knitted. “You are not Lilly. Who are you, and why do you have her phone?”She giggled. “I'm Lilly's friend, Raven.”“And where is she?”“She's here… but she can't talk right now.”I drew a slow breath. “And you are calling me because?”“Lilly's… um… She's asleep, and I cannot carry her to the cab,” she said.I muttered a curse. “Then maybe you should wake her up?”“You should come here and help. We're in Little Joffrey's Pub. You live nearby, right?”Maybe I was too surprised by her straightforwardness
Last Updated : 2024-01-20The Rich and the Loved Honesty
LILLYSomeone installed a hammer inside my head. It kept hitting the same spot over and over again. Waves of nausea rose and fell, threatening to erupt. I tried to kill the dryness in my throat, gulping down the glass I suddenly found within my reach, but it could hardly satiate the thirst I felt. I groaned, rolling over on the bed—I froze. This was NOT my bed. This definitely was NOT my bedroom. And the scent I kept inhaling...“Shit,” I breathed out and heard a soft chuckle in response. I pushed through the brutal headache and looked around the room. Dread chilled my bones as my eyes zeroed in on the bedroom's owner.“Good morning,” came Darren's cheerful reply. He stood a few feet away from the bed… shirtless.A reflex forced my eyes to the sheets as if to check my clothing. Thankfully—or not—underneath the sheets, I was still dressed in my yesterday's clothes, a black button-up shirt, and a pair of jeans.“You may not remember, but you were drunk yesterday,” he explained, slowly
Last Updated : 2024-01-21The Rich and the Loved His Dark Side
I had shut down my emotions, most of them. I had never thought it could be possible, but I had done it somehow. I had been waking up and going to work as if nothing had happened, but I had begun to resemble a shadow of myself. I stopped smiling. I stopped reacting to things that were supposed to be funny. I just… was.I spent my days swimming in the sea of data, making analyses, and preparing new contracts and then returned home only to take a shower and get some sleep. The logical part of me kept pointing out that my behavior was ridiculous. I wasn't some stupid teenager who suffered from an unfortunate crash. I was supposed to act like a mature woman who could face her problems and deal with them. Well, my “mature woman” mode clearly malfunctioned.Darren had called me three times last week. Callan had called six times. I'd blocked them both out of my life. Maybe I just couldn't stand more drama. My heart couldn't handle more, not now. Kenneth's first trial—the one concerning assaul
Last Updated : 2024-01-21The Rich and the Loved Fix What's Broken
DARRENMore than two weeks had passed since I brought Lilly to my apartment. More than two weeks since I heard her confession and decided to ignore it. And almost two weeks of feeling like the world's greatest asshole.Of course, there was a moment—a brief one—when I thought I was doing the right thing by pushing her away. That belief died quickly… right by the time I walked to my bedroom and realized I could still feel her scent. I didn't want it to fade away. I wanted to keep it there—keep her by my side.Idiot. I should have said something. I should have stopped her. She had taken me by surprise, and I decided to ignore what had happened, creating all kinds of excuses for it. I told myself that she had been too drunk to remember or that she hadn't been aware of what she had confessed to me. It made everything easier—easier for me. That way, I didn't have to analyze what was going on between us or wonder how I should describe what I felt in her presence.“I've got news for you, but
Last Updated : 2024-01-22The Rich and the Loved The Debt
I cautiously looked around the corner and cursed. Holloway and Nassar were gone. They must have headed somewhere they could talk in private. Trying to spy on anyone wasn't my style, but this was different. Or at least that was what I told myself to justify doing something I would have normally found worthy of disdain.Certainly, my sudden need to prove that Callan Holloway was no angel had nothing to do with being noble and everything to do with increasing my chances with Lilly. I had to find out who I was dealing with, and my gut feeling told me that Holloway was hiding more than a few dark secrets.I strode forward, paying attention to every sound and hoping to hear that fucker's voice. The hallway I was currently passing had several doors, each leading to a small conference room, and those two could have been inside any of them. I walked to the end of the hall but still heard nothing. Fuck.I was about to give up and turn around when I noticed glass doors leading to a terrace. I gl
Last Updated : 2024-01-23
Latest chapter
The Rich and the Loved The Wealth of Love
LILLY Four Months Later “One more signature at the bottom, Ms. Hayes.” The smiling lawyer pointed at the empty dotted line on the last page. “Of course.” I drew a deep breath and signed my name where he wanted me to. Then I rose to my feet, and so did the man sitting in front of me—Doctor John Pearson. “Congratulations,” he said, not without a hint of sadness in his voice, before extending his hand toward me. “The clinic is officially yours.” “Thank you, Doctor Pearson. I promise I will take good care of this facility,” I told him. A soft smile appeared on his lips. “I do not doubt that you will.” I still couldn't believe it happened. John Pearson Clinic—soon Lillian Hayes Clinic—finally belonged to me. Of course, it was going to take a while before I would implement my plan and make the necessary changes, but I was already madly excited… and so was Raven. “I've never been friends with my boss before.” She chuckled, catching me as soon as I walked out of the meeting room where
The Rich and the Loved For Her
DARRENI didn't want to believe what that son of a bitch had told me. I had to trust that Lilly was alive. Nonetheless, after Almarri's confession, I told Chris to leave the room. I gave Almarri a moment to recollect himself until I beat the shit out of him, breaking at least five of six of his bones in the process. He was still breathing until I left the room. Chris had friends in the CIA, and we promised to try delivering Almarri to them in exchange for covering whatever was going to happen at his casino. It took most of my willpower to stop myself before I delivered the final blow. It had nothing to do with being merciful; Chris assured me that the CIA had no intention of granting him anything but torment.Once I wiped Almarri's blood off my knuckles, I stormed through the long corridors. I swore that I would find Lilly, and only seeing her lifeless body would have stopped me from burning everything in my way to get to her.Chris caught me at the end of one of the corridors. “We ch
The Rich and the Loved Run
LILLYI couldn't move. My body's exhaustion turned opening my eyes into an almost unbearable struggle. It took me a while before I lifted my eyelids and instantly winced at the light filling the room. I blinked several times before I established what I was looking at… Ceiling. A bright, well-lit ceiling.I needed an additional minute or two to acknowledge that this wasn't a dream. I was lying on a bed with an IV drip connected to my arm. The bed had multiple pillows and fluffy sheets, as if someone cruelly decided to give me a moment of questionable luxury before turning me into a slave.Another white cotton dress replaced the old, stained one. My body had been cleaned from all the sweat and dirt. I didn't have the strength to wonder who bathed me and dressed me. I felt violated enough without acknowledging how many hands touched my body.I could have died. Perhaps it would have been a blessing if that had happened. Now I was lying numbly on a bed, waiting for more torment to come. Sl
The Rich and the Loved Rage
DARREN I paced around the hotel room in Doha, waiting for Naila to arrive and deliver what she promised. The adrenaline kept pumping in my veins, increasing the restlessness that kept me awake the entire night. Unlike me, Lucien was napping on the sofa whenever he found a moment of silence. I couldn't even close my eyes without seeing Lilly locked up somewhere, tormented, scared… “God…” I dragged my hands down my face before glancing at the time. It was seven in the morning, which meant that we had fourteen hours before the auction started. I kept telling myself that they needed her alive and unharmed to sell her, but what if I was wrong? Those what-ifs were driving me insane, and I couldn't shake off the feeling that, even at that moment, she was greatly suffering. The soft knocking on the door snapped my head toward it. Lucien's opened his eyes and instantly leaped to his feet. He nodded my way and cautiously opened the door. Naila silently sneaked inside, and he closed it behind
The Rich and the Loved Agony
I lost count of how many times I had been stabbed with a needle, and I wasn't sure my veins could withstand another injection. I quickly realized how pathetic my relief was after Callan told me I wouldn't be beaten, cut, or burned. The torture he had designed for me went far beyond the physical pain…Every inch of my body burned from within. My blood turned into a living flame, scorching my veins. My skin covered with an itching rash I couldn't scratch. It lasted for hours. I didn't want to give Callan satisfaction, so I remained silent, biting my lips until they bled. But the third or fourth dose of the drug broke the final restraint… A scream tore through my throat, and I kept screaming until my vocal cords gave up. I quietly begged Callan to stop. I thought he would if I told him I was ready to give him what he wanted. I thought that if I pretended I wanted to cooperate, he would give my tormented body a break… He didn't. He just walked closer and served me another drug dose.I los
The Rich and the Loved On His Mercy
LILLY“Wake up, sleepyhead.” The voice I heard filled me with nausea, and the soft laughter that followed sent chills down my spine.Slowly, I opened my eyes, blinking until the sight adjusted to the dim light. Every inch of my body felt sore, and I quickly realized why. I was sitting on a chair with my legs tied with a rope to its wooden ones and my hands restrained at the back. Another rope was tied around my waist, keeping me in a still position most likely through the long hours I had been unconscious.I was cold. The freezing concrete hurt my bare feet with the slightest touch and the simple cotton dress resembling a cheap nightgown formed no barrier against the low temperature and humidity of the room I was in. I didn't even want to think who dressed me and if I was naked underneath…Drawing a shaky breath, I looked to the sides. This place must have been some kind of a basement. The room seemed to be nearly empty, or at least I couldn't see any furniture from my limited perspec
The Rich and the Loved Running Out of Time
DARRENMy lungs filled with a greedy push of air. My eyes opened wide and roamed around, hectically trying to process my situation. The car, I was inside the car… My car was upside down, and I…Everything hurt, including my weak attempts to breathe, but I knew I had to ignore the pain. I had to live. I had to get out of there.My consciousness gathered the pieces of memory together. Someone had rammed me, pushing me off the road while I had been driving to the residence. The fuckers had chosen a part of a perfectly secluded road to do it. Perhaps it was fortunate that they hadn't been as thorough as to check whether I had been dead or not.My limbs weren't broken, although at least one of my ribs was. I clenched my teeth and crawled out through the broken side window. My car lay in a ditch on the side of the road, with not a single building around.How long had I been out cold? The returning memories painted an ominous picture that slowly filled me with dread. Lilly had been waiting f
The Rich and the Loved Trapped
LILLYIt had been three days since Uncle Norton's funeral and the fight with my father. My heart still ached whenever I thought about it, but I finally felt that my chest had loosened, allowing me to breathe.Darren's presence had become my remedy. His touch and warmth soothed me, healed me, and filled the hollowness that appeared after Uncle Norton's death. I didn't even want to think about what I would have become without having him close.Since the danger had become more palpable than ever, each member of my team was assigned their own security team. Of course, Darren organized two new bodyguards for me as well. I hadn't protested, even if I hated buying groceries accompanied by two men in black suits.My mood significantly improved after Kenneth's and Doctor Rogers's trials finally ended. Kenneth had been sentenced to fifteen years in prison for assault and attempting murder, and another five years for terminating the pregnancy against my will. For all his deeds, Rogers received t
The Rich and the Loved Her Anchor
DARRENI found Lilly sitting in the precinct's corridor, staring down at her hands that limply rested on her lap. Dried blood covered the sides of her palms and fingertips. My chest tightened as I saw her in her numb state. I rushed forward, pushing through the policemen standing in the way, until I pulled her up from her seat and wrapped her in my arms. Only then did she start crying, and her tears kept falling long after I brought her back to the penthouse.Rage filled every inch of me. I wanted to kill everyone responsible for Lilly's state. If only I could get to New York sooner. If only I could somehow prevent this, protect her better, spare her from the pain and anguish...I left Lucien in Qatar to deal with our end of the bargain with Naila. He wasn't happy about it, but I gathered enough people and resources for him to plan a flawless rescue mission. Getting Naila's brother out of Almarri's residence wasn't going to be easy, but I knew that Lucien would figure out how to do it
