Share

5. ~ R I V E R ~

Author: Shisha N
last update Last Updated: 2024-12-07 01:26:19

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

I was exhausted.

Xander did not come back to the office. That irresponsible brat!

What did he do instead? He paraded his latest relationship in front of all the patrons of one of King's most prominent and busy restaurant - the woman who happened to be the sister of his last relationship!

The media was having a field day with it. And the PR team and I had to work overtime to try to put out a raging fire. And we had gotten nowhere yet.

It was ten now.

I had to cancel on our date plans.

Dave had sounded disappointed but he was as supportive as ever, saying we would pick it up tomorrow night. What did I ever do to deserve him?

But his understanding and consideration did not stop the angry tears that trickled down my face.

I knew he was going to propose today.

I just knew it.

I knew he might have planned some grand gesture.

And all of it had gone to waste.

It was all my fault.

I sat at my desk, my eyes aching and my mind racing. I did nothing but stare at the closed door to the stupid CEO's office. Stupid asshole!

I jumped when my phone rang and I was sure it would be Xander.

The devil tended to answer when you thought of them.

I was ready to blow his head off for the fuckery he had committed and left for me to deal with and I looked down at my gadget.

My eyebrows shot up at the caller ID.

Sky.

Skylar Sterling, my younger brother.

I picked up the phone. "Sky? What's up?"

He was a prodigy. A freaking genius. And he had gone to an Ivy-League science college at the age of sixteen with a full scholarship.

I was so proud of my baby.

But it was also terrifying.

He was just a kid amongst all those adults. He didn't have any friends. He never did because he was gifted. Among his age group, he was a know-it-all. And among his college peers, he was a reminder of their own failures. 

I had always asked him if he wanted to choose differently but he had always said that he did not care what others thought and he justed needed me in his life. I hoped he meant it, even though I wished he had someone else in his life too. Like I had Dave. 

"Why are you calling at this hour?" I asked him before I got any reply. I had a really uneasy feeling about this. He was not one to call so later, especially tonight because he was told I would be with Dave. 

"Riv, I promise it's not my fault!" My heart dropped to my stomach at the sound of the pure terror in his voice. 

"What are you talking about?" I asked him. 

"You believe me, right? You know I will never do anything wrong, right?." He sounded like he was trying to hold back his tears. "No one is believing me here, Riv. You are the only one I know will actually trust me. Please please please, big sis, trust me!"

I was on my feet, my stomach churning as the worst of the scenarios started to make their rounds in my brain. "Baby, just tell me what's wrong? What happened? Give me details, Sky. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on!"

"They found... drugs in my room, Riv!" He started to wail. "I swear, I had nothing to do with it. I have never used drugs in my life. I am clean. But there were so much of it that they think I am a drug dealer or a mule or something! They are not believing what I am saying!"

My mind went into overdrive.

Drugs?

In Sky's room?

That was impossible!

My baby brother was a nerd.

He was only sixteen!

He hadn't even had alcohol before. I knew because he told me everything. After our mother succumbed to her alcoholism, it was a clear lesson for the both of us not to touch it. There was no way my baby would stray from that decision!

"Sky, calm down," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I believe you. Now, tell me where you are."

"They called the police, Riv," he sobbed. "They're taking me to the station. I don't know what to do!"

"Okay, okay, listen to me," I spoke calmly, trying to keep the panic at bay. "I'll get you a lawyer, the best one I can find. You stay there and don't say anything else, okay? Don't answer any questions without a lawyer present."

Sky sniffled on the other end of the line. "But, Riv, they're saying they're going to call child services if you don't come."

Shit.

This was not happening.

Not now.

Not when I had just started to get a handle on the shit storm that was our life.

"I'll be right there," I assured him, my heart hammering in my chest. "Stay strong, baby. Your big sis is not going to let anything happen to you!"

I could not hang up immediately. It took a lot of reassurance that I believed him and that I would protect him and we were never going to be separated before I could finally convince him to hang up.

I stood there, my palms planted on my desk, my head hanging low and I heaving in breaths as if I had run a marathon. My chest tightened around my lungs, making the feat an almost impossible task, but I somehow managed to get the much needed air into my system.

"Sterling, what's wrong?"

My left eye twitched when I heard the voice of the last person I wanted to hear right now.

Xander Asshole King. 

"What are you doing here?" I asked him as I looked up at him, not caring to ask why he looked like a puppy kicked out into the street.

"It's my office." He replied dryly. "And I was told you were looking for me."

I tried. I really did try to stop myself from laughing hysterically like a fucking maniac. But I just could not stop myself.

Xander's expression was priceless. His eyes wide, his brows raised. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." I shook my head, wiping away a lone tear. "Nothing at all. Just that my boss is a piece of shit, my boyfriend might have proposed tonight if it wasn't for YOUR scandal and my brother is going to jail and probably gonna be separated from me."

Xander's face hardened. I didn't know if he was more upset about the fact that I  had called him a piece of shit, or that my boyfriend was about to propose to me. The latter just could not be it, unless he thought I was going to prioritize his self-conceited ass less if I got married. 

But he surprised me when he chose to ignore both those matters and asked, "Your brother?"

And the dam behind my eyes exploded. 

I was not one to cry in front of anyone. But here I was, in my boss's office, sobbing like a baby in front of him, the man I loathed with a passion.

"Sterling, what exactly happened to your brother? His name is Skylar, right? What happened to him?" Xander's voice was surprisingly gentle. And I was surprised by the fact that he knew my brother's name. I didn't even remember telling him.

"They found drugs in his room." I choked out. "They're saying he's a dealer. But it's not true. It can't be!"

Xander's expression grew more serious than I had ever seen it. "Okay, okay," he said calmly, approaching my desk. "Take a deep breath. Let's sort this out."

It was weird. Xander, my asshole boss who had no emotion except anger, was actually trying to comfort me. But in that moment, I didn't have the strength to resist. I needed help, and if the devil himself offered it, I'd take it.

"Where is he now?" Xander asked.

"He said he will be taken to the station." I gulped, trying to hold back the sobs. "He said they'll call child services if I don't get there soon. I don't know what to do. I need to get a lawyer. But where do I get one at this hour?"

Xander's expression remained neutral but I thought I saw fire in his eyes. "We will ask our attorney to come. He can't decline if I call."

"What?" I looked up at him in surprise, my tears not even bothering to stop.

"Let's go. We need to get to the station before he says anything stupid." Xander said, his voice firm.

And I could do nothing but nod. 

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App

Latest chapter

  • The Billionaire Playboy's Contract Wife    50. ~ R I V E R ~

    ||||"Can you please stop working?" I looked over at Xander, who was staring at me with all things dirty in his mind. I ignored him. I planned to ignore him the whole flight. And when we get back—sure, when we are back in the office, I won't be able to do that since I'm his PA at work. But at home, he was getting the silent treatment from me."Baby, you're being a little overdramatic right now," he said in his most saccharine voice ever.It was sweet enough that the air hostess, who frequently worked with his jet during his business trips, looked over at him as if he had grown two heads. I could not blame her. This new Xander was like a museum exhibit. Everyone was curious what was going on with him. Well, most people thought that I was what was going on with him. It was only I who knew what was actually happening.Xander looked over at the hostess and shrugged."Do you think asking your wife to... put on a dress of your choice is such a bad thing?""You don't need to answer that," I

  • The Billionaire Playboy's Contract Wife    49. ~ R I V E R ~

    |||||I knew something was absolutely amiss.I could feel it. But I could not point out just what. Until the day before our flight back, I spotted it. "Xandy..." I called out to him as discreetly as I could. We were at the beach, sunbathing. I had been reading work emails before Xander confiscated my phone and laid down on top of it. So I had nothing else to do than people-watch. "Yes, baby?" He looked up from the book he had picked up from a souvenir store. I never knew he was into reading. Honestly, I found that so hot! Obviously, I was never going to say that out loud because then the great Xander King would be insufferable. "Someone is photographing us." I muttered, trying to not make it more obvious as I told him where to look. "Let them." He murmured nonchalantly as he turned a page. "It's not like we are doing something illegal. All we are doing is enjoying the evening sun of Seychelles one last time. And that too, like any other couple on their honeymoon." I sighed. H

  • The Billionaire Playboy's Contract Wife    48. ~ X A N D E R ~

    |||||I could get used to this. Incredible sex. Wonderful and stimulating conversation. And a fucking splendid view when I wake up. I had to give it to myself - I could not have chosen a better person to be my wife. Contract wife, yes. But if everything goes well, then I was willing to maybe extend the duration of the contract. As I watched her beautiful chest rise and fall, her features relaxed, sleeping a dreamless sleep, a little voice in me suggested that maybe I should tell her about the hidden clause in our contract - the hidden clause for my inheritance. A child. But I could not do that. I was at war with myself. Because if I revealed it to her and then she disagreed with having a baby with me, then everything would go downhill.I knew what I was doing was not right. And that I was more or less trapping her if I went and switched her birth control.But what she won't know wouldn't hurt her. Besides, I would give her the kind of life that no one else could ever give h

  • The Billionaire Playboy's Contract Wife    47. ~ R I V E R ~

    ||||“Dave?” My stupid contract husband hissed as if i was in contact with one of his rivals or something. Xander was breathing down my neck as I stared at the ringing phone. “Why the fuck is he facetiming you?” He asked, his voice sounding so strained that I started getting flashbacks of his anger issues. “Well, I would not know unless I picked the call, now would I?” I rolled my eyes, muting the call and placing it back on the table with its face down. I turned to face him, narrowing my eyes at the over-possessive Alpha male with his taut facial muscles and flared nostrils. “Would you have preferred if I had picked the call?” “I would have preferred it if you took the call in front of me.” He said.All signs of the playful, flirty Xander were gone in the snap of a finger. It was almost frightening. “I don't plan to ever pick his calls.” I said with finality, squaring my shoulders as I stared forward at the silhouette of the waves lapping at the shore, trying to focus on its me

  • The Billionaire Playboy's Contract Wife    46. ~ X A N D E R ~

    |||||“I am starving! Let's get going!” I exclaimed as I stepped out into the poolside, stretching myself. River was on one of the loungers, typing away on her phone. She wore a simple teal sun dress with floral patterns and the frown on her face did not match with her look at all. “Are you working on our honeymoon?” I asked as I sauntered over to her, sitting right next to her, our knees bumping. “I am surprised workaholic Xander King has not checked his mails once since we got on that plane.” She murmured. I peered at what she was doing. I raised a brow. “Why are you cramming meetings into the week after we get back? Do you want to undo all the de-stressing that I did here?" I asked as I frowned at the endless back-to-back meetings that she filled my next two weeks with. "My job as your PA is to make sure that your work does not get affected in any way due to your personal engagements." She said mechanically, swiping to the mail app to go through whatever updates the departm

  • The Billionaire Playboy's Contract Wife    45. ~ X A N D E R ~

    |||||You know what's hotter than fucking your wife?Wanting to fuck her in the middle of a hiking trail because of that sexy ass of hers. The plan was to fuck her at the top but this woman was making it - me - harder by the minute."I'm tired." I complained, leaning against a tree and watching as she took the lead.She was dressed in those shorts that hugged her ass so perfectly that my mouth watered and I had to fight the urge to grab her and fuck her right there.I knew for a fact that River would probably knee me in the balls if I tried that right now. I was pretty sure she would do the same when I would try to do it at the top, but that was not going to stop me from trying.I didn't know whether she knew what I was planning when I proposed ditching the guide and was just playing along or if she was just used to facilitating every single whim of mine as my personal assistant.Whatever be the reason, I was going to make sure that her decision would be worth our while."Oh come on,

More Chapters
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status