Pampered by the Billionaire

Hannah's POV

I stared at my beautiful face in the mirror. My colleagues always praise my beauty. They admired my almond-shaped amber eyes with especially long and thick eyelashes, while Emily, my best friend, liked my tall, delicate nose matched with my natural pinkish lips. However, there was an explicit sorrow in my eyes as I looked at the white gown I was wearing.

Right at this moment, I was trying on the bridal gown that I would wear for my wedding next week. I would marry Robert Shaw, my long-time suitor, even though it was against my will. He's the son of the gambling lord in the city and known as an asshole. I was not able to pay my father's debt to his father, so I was forced to marry him. 

"You look beautiful, Ma'am. The fit was perfect for your slim figure." I heard the bridal shop assistant say. She's smiling at me, but I couldn't manage to smile back.

I noticed that she felt how depressed I was as her smile faded. Then, she looked around before she handed me a small piece of paper. I was confused, especially when she gestured to me to stay quiet and read the note written on the paper.

My eyes gazed at her with a questioning look after I read the note. I couldn't believe what it said.

'Run to the 3/L Parking Area. Black car.'

She nodded at me, and we quickly changed my dress. Then, she secretly led me to the other exit of the bridal shop.

"Thank you," I uttered softly before I swiftly ran to the elevator. I wanted to ask her a lot of questions as I didn't understand what's happening, but I knew that she was trying to help me.

When I arrived at the 3rd level of the building, I immediately ran to the parking area as stated on the note. As I was about to reach the exit towards the parking area, I heard a man shout.

"She's there!"

My heart raced as I looked back and saw Robert's men. They already found out that I escaped. So, I continued to run.

"Black car, black car," I whispered as I gasped for air, searching for the black car in the parking area. However, there's a lot of black cars parked. I didn't know which car, so I hid behind a black SUV before they were able to catch me.

Then, I heard running footsteps. I was catching my breath. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest as I crouched behind the SUV. The footsteps suddenly halted.

"Search everywhere! She has not gone far yet." I heard the leader ordered his men.

"Yes, Sir!" The four men answered as they searched the parking area. 

I crawled to the other side as I peeked to see where the men chasing me were. Unexpectedly, the door of the black BMW opened as a hand quickly covered my mouth and pulled me inside the car.

My eyes widened in shock when I recognized who the man was.

--------

One month ago.

It was Friday evening. I left the office at exactly nine o’clock. It was my daily routine. Going to work in the morning and going home at night.

Sigh. It's very tiring, but do I have a choice? I need to earn money for my family, so I have to work hard. My salary as a Secretary in this small firm was just right for our daily expenses. I was doing the job of others so that I could spend overtime as I needed to earn extra. Sadly, still not enough. 

I felt so exhausted with my life. They said hard work pays off, but why am I still broke?

I took a walk as I didn't want to go home yet. I continued walking until my feet led me in front of a pub. I made a turn. I went inside to drink. At least, I could say that I treated myself even once in my entire life.

I sat down in the corner, far from the crowd. I called the waiter and asked for a bottle of vodka. I started to drink alone. My face turned sour as I took the first shot, but nothing could beat how bitter my life was. Then, I took another gulp until it reached ten.

My tears slowly dribbled down my face. They said that drinking alcohol would make you forget all your problems and wash all the pain. But why do I still feel as though my heart was being stabbed?

My tears continued to flow. Thinking that I only have a month to pay all the debts of my father. I was feeling hopeless and helpless. Because if I failed, I should marry the son of the gambling lord in the city. Should I give up and accept that it's my destiny?

No, you shall continue to fight. Do not lose hope. Do not give up. My competitive self said. I asked, is it worth fighting for? Of course!

I looked around. I saw a couple cuddling on the other table. I felt jealous. At the age of twenty-five, I never entered into a relationship, even though I had a lot of suitors. I never had time as I was busy struggling to become successful. Funny, as no matter what I do, I'm still broke.

Moreover, I'm waiting for my first love, Lance. He'd been my pen pal when I was twelve. He became my crying shoulders for almost two years. We promised that if we met someday, we would marry each other. However, we stopped writing when he went abroad. Since then, I had never heard anything from him.

Then, I glanced at the woman on the other side. She looked rich. I smirked. I was envious of her. If only I were born into a wealthy family, I would not feel this kind of agony.

Suddenly, my eyes caught the man on the other table. He was so handsome in his white sweatshirt. However, he was like some kind of a happy-go-lucky guy who was wandering around, enjoying his nonsense life. I chuckled. Was there anything worse than my life?

I imagined what my first love looked like. Funny as I fell in love with him even though I hadn't seen him even once. Nevertheless, I was not here to hunt for a lover. I was here to forget and have some fun. I didn't realize that I was staring at the man already. I just saw him staring back at me, and his cold eyes gave me chills.

I averted my gaze as I picked up the bottle on the table and poured my glass. I noticed that it was almost empty.

"O-one more b-bottle, please," I asked the waiter in a slurred speech. I was feeling dizzy already, but still, I didn't want to stop drinking. I wanted to drink until I got numb.

Five minutes had passed. Then, it became ten, but the waiter was yet to serve my drink. The bottle on my table was already empty. "W-waiter!" I shouted as I tapped my hand irritably on the table.

Then, two men who were like gangsters approached me with a bottle of vodka.

"Hey, beautiful. Can we join you? It's sad to drink alone." The man in a silver jacket asked. 

"No, I wanted to be alone," I groaned as I threw them a fierce look.

"Why? We only want to be friends with you. We're worried when we saw you crying. Tell us your problem. Maybe we can be of help." The other man smiled maliciously as he held my hand.

"Leave me alone!" I retorted furiously as I pulled my hand and slapped the man on his face.

The man was about to fight back when four men in black suddenly came out of nowhere. They pulled the two nasty men on their collars and escorted them outside.

I heard the man complain. "Hey, what did we do? We're just making friends with her."

Then, I noticed another man standing in front of me. I looked up with my twinkling eyes and caught his cold eyes staring deeply at me. "Hey, a-are you the w-waiter? Where's my drink?" I asked impatiently. Too late when I realized that he was the man I was staring at the other table earlier.

"It's enough. You're already drunk." The man said in a deep cold voice as he took the opposite seat. I couldn't understand, but I felt like I was being absorbed by an unknown force with his stare. I was lost for a moment. 

"I k-know, but I want to d-drink more. W-who are you to t-tell me what s-should I do?" I stuttered, not sure if he understood what I said. 

"It seems that you're carrying heaven and earth on your shoulders." He mumbled.

"Huh! A-are you a p-psychic or what? D-do you also know that I'm the unluckiest p-person in the world? Tell me, w-what will happen to me after a month? W-will I end up m-marrying that as*hole?" I laughed bitterly. Then, I burst into tears. I'd rather die than marry him.

The man didn't respond. He was silently looking at me while I was crying. Pitiful me. Crying in front of a stranger.

After a while, I calmed down. I called the waiter again and asked for a drink. Then, I heard the man speak again.

"If you drink another shot, I'll take you home." A deep frown creased his brows.

I sneered at him. "Much b-better than going to my h-home. Huh, s-should I call it home?" My lips curled as I asked sarcastically.

Afterward, I took money out of my purse and laid it on the table. Then, I stood up and left dejectedly. I staggered to my feet, swaying a little. I didn’t know how I managed to go to the rooftop of the old five-story building.

"Ahhhhhh!" I screamed to release all the heaviness in my heart.

"I can't take it anymore. I want to die now." I mumbled as tears trickled down on my face. Too tired of my life, I wanted to give up.

Then, heavy rain poured. I smirked. It seemed that heaven was crying with me. I got wet, but I stayed standing in the cold rain even though it made me shiver. 

With my blurry vision, I looked down at the cars passing by. However, I felt like everything was spinning, so I leaned on the cold metal railing. Suddenly, my heart raced as the railing got broken. 

“Ahhhh!” I screamed. I was losing my balance. The deck was slippery. My hands searched for something to cling to. Unfortunately, there was none other than the broken railing. Slowly, I was going to fall to the ground.

"Is this the answer to my prayer?” I asked. I shut my eyes as I accepted my fate willingly.  Then, everything turned black.