003

I Ruined His Life.

Nadia's POV

The rest of the day was a blur, because everywhere I looked, the chaos kept ensuing. Every radio station was talking about Raxon's PR disaster. Every time a customer checked their phone, I just knew they were reading about it.

And I couldn't help but blame myself. If I hadn't been so reckless, if I hadn't attended that stupid party with a fake ID, none of this would be happening.

By the time I finally dragged my aching body back home, I was hoping for just five minutes of peace. Instead, the moment I pushed the front door open, Tricia’s irritating voice pierced through the hallway.

“Scrub harder! You missed a spot right there!”

I walked into the kitchen to find my little brother on his hands and knees, tears welling in his eyes as he scrubbed the floor.

“Hey, stand up,” I snapped, my voice dropping all its usual cheer and grabbed his arm, pulling him to his feet. “What happened?”

Tricia crossed her arms, rolling her eyes, “He stole my makeup so he needs to learn his lesson.”

I glared at her, unable to pour my anger and frustration, “Tricia, he would only steal what you actually have, not what you don't. Go back to your room,” I told my brother gently, patting his shoulder as he quickly darted out of the room.

I turned around to open the freezer. I was starving, exhausted, and desperately needed a distraction. But the moment the door swung open, a wave of empty, stinky air hit my face.

My eyes widened looking at the empty shelves. “Where... where did all the groceries go?” I screamed, “I literally emptied my entire savings to buy those yesterday!”

Tricia just shrugged, checking her nails. “Maybe you need to work a little harder and earn more, Nadia.” She let out a nasty little laugh and sauntered out of the kitchen.

I stood there, staring into the empty freezer, biting the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood.. I worked myself to the bone, and they just ate.

They did absolutely nothing but finish every single thing I slaved away for. I wanted to cry so bad but I forced them back.

I didn't have the luxury to cry, why? Because tears don't pay the bills.

And speaking of bills.

As I walked into the living room, a stack of red envelopes on the coffee table caught my eye.

Final notice stamps on all of them. Medical bills for my dad, piled up.

I stared at them, and suddenly, the frantic ticking in my brain stopped.

Joan's offer flashed in my mind.

What would be in it for me though? I mean they were rich so of course that could liberate me from poverty.

So maybe this was it, a chance to save my little brother, to pay for my father’s treatment, and to drag myself out of this suffocating poverty.

I looked up at the ceiling, a tiny smile forcing its way back onto my face. Plus... Raxon was my dream.

I'd just have to take the risk. And who knows? Maybe once he actually got to know me... he'd grow to like me too.

I grabbed my phone, pulled up the private number, and hit dial.

Joan answered almost immediately and she didn't sound surprised at all; in fact? She seemed completely delighted that I was calling back.

We arranged to meet the very next morning at the same luxury penthouse. I expected a mountain of rules, but instead, Joan just tapped a few buttons on her phone and a second later, my own phone buzzed.

I pulled it out seeing a banking alert.

My eyes nearly popped out as I stared at the screen, counting the zeroes over and over again. Five fucking million dollars.

The numbers blurred as my eyes instantly filled with tears. I broke down right there, clutching my phone and thanking Joan so profusely I probably sounded insane.

“That's enough now,” she said with a pat on my back, “tomorrow, a driver will pick you up to meet Raxon officially and sign the paperwork, sounds good?”

I nodded frantically.

I went straight away to the hospital and cleared every single one of my dad's medical bills, paid off our lingering debts, fully covered my little brother's school fees for the foreseeable future, and went on a massive shopping spree that filled our empty kitchen to the brim. And the craziest part? There was still an astronomical amount of money left over just for myself.

By evening, I was over at Anne’s apartment breaking the news.

“You are literally a millionaire!” Anne was practically screaming.

“Anne, I’m panicking!” I complained, throwing my hands in the air. “I don't even know how to act around someone like him! What am I supposed to say? And most importantly, what the heck am I supposed to wear? I need to look at least a speck of descent.”

Anne laughed, immediately dragging me over to her closet. “I'll borrow you my clothes then.”

She hands me one of her best casual-chic outfits and a few of her makeup so I could look presentable. As I gathered the clothes and prepared to leave Anne stopped me, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug.

“You’ll do just great,” she whispered, pulling back to look me in the eyes.

I let out a laugh, hugging her back. “I love you so much, Anne. Seriously, what would I ever do without you?”

×××

The next day I was up before the sun even had a chance to think about rising. I got fully dressed in Anne’s clothes, carefully applied the makeup, and slipped out of the front door before anyone could wake up.

I hailed a cab straight to the meeting place and after much waiting, eventually, the doors slid open and Joan walked in. The second her eyes landed on me, they completely lit up.

“Oh! Look at you,” she gasped, clapping her hands together. “You look absolutely stunning. Raxon is going to love it.”

Internally, I was already a melted puddle.

We sat down, and we waited…and waited. Minutes slowly stretched into long hours. Just as I was about to ask if we’d been stood up, the doors swung open and he walked in.

My brain completely short-circuited as I quickly rose to my feet, but my knees did that stupid jelly thing again and I literally almost fell over right there.

I couldn't form a single, coherent word. My mouth was just open, and I was staring at him like a big dummy. He stopped, staring down at me and clearly did not look happy.

If looks could kill, I’d be six feet under. But honestly, what could I even say? ‘Hey, sorry I accidentally ruined your life, nice to meet you?’

Before I could even try to squeak out a greeting, he brushed right past me and took a seat at the furthest corner of the table, as far away from me as humanly possible.

Awkwardly, I sank back into my chair, suddenly finding the dirt under my fingernails fascinating.

Joan, completely ignoring the tension, slid a thick stack of documents onto the center of the table. “Alright, let's get down to the details.”

As Joan started explaining the clauses, Raxon seemed completely detached so much that Joan had to call his attention several times.

Suddenly, he snapped. “Why do we even need to go over this? You're forcing me into this anyway,” he blurted.

Joan immediately let out this incredibly awkward laugh, waving her hand off dismissively. “Oh, Nadia, sweetie, don't mind him. He’s just... probably had a really bad game practice this morning. Stress, you know?”

Right, stress. Definitely not because he hates me.

We both took the pen and signed our names. Joan cheered happily, causing a genuine smile on my lips before I could even stop it.

This was actually happening. But the moment I raised my head, my eyes met Raxon's. He was glaring actual bullets straight at me, my smile instantly dropped.

“Well!” Joan said, suddenly rising to her feet, “I am going to give you two some space to talk. I know everything was incredibly sudden, but you two really should discuss the details of moving forward.”

And before I could even beg her with my eyes to stay, she turned and left the room.

It was just me. And a very angry, very silent Raxon

As I contemplated in my head, he finally broke the silence.

“What do you really want? Huh?”

“Well, I—”

“Save it,” he snapped, cutting me off before I could even gather my thoughts. He stood up, his eyes flashing with raw bitterness. “I didn't want any of this. I love my girlfriend. I was supposed to marry HER, not you.”

Oh.

And suddenly, the reality of what I had walked into crashed down on me…

“She is ten times better than you will ever be,” he continued, pointing at me now, “And you completely ruined my life.”

“I'm sorry—” I started but my voice broke before I could continue. “I never meant for any of this to happen—”

“I said save it!”

He pushed his chair back and walked straight toward me, towering over me where I sat. And up close? Yeah he looked terrifying.

“Let's get one thing straight,” he said, leaning down so his eyes were level with mine. “I will never love you, no matter what anyone says or does, you will remain nothing to me.”