Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 57891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
It’s a clusterfuck of mixed emotions, and I can’t process things fast enough. I’m torn up from the inside out. It’s not one million like we agreed on with no contract. All I had was his word. And now, his word has become ten million dollars.
How did I get so unlucky and lucky at the same time? I lost the love of my life, but I gained ten million dollars. The crazy thing is that I’d give up that money just to be with him.
And that’s the God’s honest truth.
There’s no reason for me to deny it to myself. All I’m left with are my thoughts. Whether they’re good or bad, they’re mine. I can’t stop the emotions as they spread over me, and the financial adviser appears quite out of place as he passes me a box of tissues.
I take one and then another, trying to control myself. I was only with him for a little over a month, yet my entire world has changed because of him.
From the moment I kissed him, everything fucking spiraled.
“I just need a minute,” I tell him, and he quickly gets up, telling me he will return in just a moment.
The second the door closes, I sob.
And I can’t make it stop.
I don’t want his money.
I want him to love me.
It’s never been more clear to me that he’s all I want.
I thought it was a crush when I was younger.
I thought it was lust that night at the bar.
If it’s not true love, then I don’t know what it is, but I don’t think I’ll survive this. I don’t know how I can live knowing I feel this deep, aching love for him, and he doesn’t feel it for me.
I’m alone.
And in the end, it’s what fate wanted for me. It’s what I deserve.
CHAPTER 26
Ronan
“Destroy them all. Every fucking one of them.”
My eyes are bloodshot, and I’m sure I must look like a madman to my legal team on the Zoom call. I stare at the screen, my thumb tapping in a menacing rhythm. “I want criminal and civil charges. Every fucking little thing we can nail them on.”
I gave them the lead based on a hunch, and what those assholes did unraveled within hours.
Four sets of eyes look back at me, and no one says a damn word. I glance down at the PI’s report, and once again, I’m shaking. It came in only twenty minutes ago, so my team has barely had time to adjust to what the fuck is happening.
“There will be a conflict of interest with my firm as we represent your father as well,” the youngest of them pipes up. His black-framed glasses and clean-cut look do him no favors at this moment.
“Yes, I imagine you need to discuss it with your partners and that you’ll drop him as a client, given the extent of this discovery.” They better fucking drop him. “Especially given the slipup that caused him to blackmail me.”
“Has any of this been verified?” Mr. Walker, the most seasoned lawyer and my longtime attorney who knows every fucking thing I’ve ever done, questions. “All the IPs. All the timestamps, all the—”
“Yes. He’s sending it all in a zip drive. All the evidence is there.”
“It’s just—” Another attorney starts, and I cut him off as well.
“Hard to believe?” I question, barely holding on to my sanity. “That my father wanted to fuck me over and that hers wanted to fuck her over even more?”
They’re silent as my spiteful words strike them. Not a single one answers, no doubt realizing just how on edge I am.
“What they did is illegal. What they did will have consequences. Do you understand me?”
“Is there anything you think we should know on your end?” Mr. Walker questions carefully, and I’m not sure what he means.
“Like what?”
“Any unclean hands?” he asks, and it dawns on me what he’s asking.
“I didn’t play a part in it at all, but I did lie to the board. We weren’t engaged. It’s not illegal, but I am well aware that taking this to court could lead to a deposition that will end with my resignation from the university.”
“Is that worth pursuing?” Mr. Walker asks, a man of logic and only logic. He adds, “Monetarily, neither of you suffered in a way that can be directly linked to their actions. Criminally, there will be depositions, and they will be public.”
“We can try to conceal them—” one attorney offers, but Mr. Walker quickly interjects.
“The likelihood of that is practically nonexistent.”
“I understand my testimony will not represent me well to the board,” I tell them.
I already know, and I don’t give a flying fuck.
“The result may be a sentencing of a couple of years—possibly but unlikely—for your father and hers. A few thousand in fines and they’ll certainly fight to keep the charges private.”