Love, Lies and Billionaires

“Russia” the name rang in her ears and she gazed at Mr Harding on the stage. Her suspicions were beginning to rise.

‘Who exactly is he?’

Mr Harding, still staring in her direction, beckoned to her to come up onto the stage with a slight furrow on his brow.

She quickly snapped out of her thoughts, took a deep breath, and mounted the stage. She flashed her brightest smile and the clapping and flashing of cameras increased.

“It’s all yours,” he whispered and stepped away from the cockpit. Maren’s gut sank, as she hadn’t been informed that she was going to give a speech. I mean, was it necessary?

She finally fixed her face after watching him move away from the area and through one door at the side. ‘This was just a way he could get away from all this and go do some other shit,’ she realised.

The entire hall fell silent, and the only sound that could be heard was the clicking of the cameras’ flashes.

Maren stared at the mic in front of her and then at the expectant faces of the crowd. She finally cleared her through and adjusted the mic to be right in front of her mouth.

She flashed a smile as she looked up. “Well, it really is an honour to have you all here tonight, so I must say I’m really grateful.” She paused. “Like Mr Harding said, this partnership was very unexpected, but I can’t say undeserved.”

“The last time I was on a stage like this was for a clarification about my union with your very own Alexander Blackwood. Today I’m on this stage for a better reason, which is the growth of my company.”

The crowd cheered and clapped, giving Maren the courage to go on. “As you all know, and as Mr Harding earlier referenced, I’ve never been in the best of unions, but that didn’t stop me. In fact, that was my strength…”

Maren put her chest forward and raised her voice, suddenly feeling like an inspirational speaker as the audience listened in silence and murmured whenever they agreed or disputed with what she said.

“Is it all set?” Mr Harding asked the wide-eyed man who stood at the door as he got in front of it.

“Yes, but er-sir-”

“That’s all I need to hear. Get the fuck out of my way,” he said and shoved the man to the side. He closed the door behind him and switched on the light.

“You haven’t changed at all”

Mr Harding stopped in his tracks and slowly turned toward the voice. “Oh, my god you scared me!”

“Oh shut it, you pretending bastard”

Mr Harding smirked and made his way to the shelf in the room, ignoring his visitor. “That’s no way to welcome me, Alexander.”Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

Alexander shifted his weight from one foot to the other before grabbing a chair and settling himself on it.

“Well, seeing that you decided to stroll back into the city just to screw my ex-wife, I think you’ve welcomed yourself well enough.” He folded his arms and watched the other man ransack the shelf. His brows furrowed with disdain.

“Key word, Alexander. “Ex”. You weren’t drunk when you dragged her ass to court to get a divorce. So why don’t you just let her be and maybe you can take a breath of your own”

Alexander was quiet for a moment with the only sound heard was the sound of heavy journals and Maren’s voice through the speakers.

“Still doesn’t give you the right to stick your dick into every hole you see. Either way, you and I know this so-called partnership is not in her favour. Nothing has ever been in anyone’s favour apart from yours”

“Guess we’re not so different from each other after all”

“You’re just doing this to get to me. Which is very much expected, Kendrick.” He stood up and walked closer to where he was, now opening the comprehensive books gotten from the shelves.

His voice was low and grave. “Listen up, you can intimidate anyone into being at your mercy. But you’ll never do that to me, not anymore. Maren is mine regardless of if we’re apart, and some false partnership can’t make you a threat to what we’ve shared”

As soon as he was done speaking, Kendrick uncovered a book from which he pulled out a matte black pistol and screwed to the barrel a small cylindrical attachment of the same colour.

He fastened it, cocked the gun, and positioned the muzzle a few inches from Alexander’s face.

Alexander was unmoved. He just stood there, staring straight at Kendrick, his lips pressed into a thin line.

“You’ve always been a little whining baby, scared to admit it when he’s lost. I guess that’s the way they train men these days. Either way, those balls of yours shouldn’t have a breath beside me, Blackwood” his voice was menacing.

“Call it whatever you want. You never valued that young woman and you know it. Then, someone else decides to show you the ropes, it’s an issue”

“I really don’t want to speak for miss Sharppe, but with what I’ve seen, that woman is very much fine without you so you can go fuck yourself and stop making everyone your enemy at the slightest chance”

Veins began building on Alexander’s forehead the more he stared at him.

“I wish I could say that I’m surprised you’re still much of a cunt, but then, I remembered that you were raised by one.” He tightened his grip on the trigger.

“This will be the last time you’ll stand before me and spew such nonsense, Alex”

The air in the room became thick with tension as the two men stared into each other’s eyes. Each one planning the other’s death in their minds.

In a swift movement, Kendrick’s finger squeezed the trigger further. The thin, silent, sharp sound of the gun tore the silence.

Alexander blinked a couple of times, waiting for the pain to kick in as he stared back at Kendrick and the smoking gun.

Kendrick smirked, “Nice to see you’ve still got some balls” he put down the gun and stuck it into his back belt, which was covered by his suit jacket. Then walked towards the door.

Alexander suddenly realised what happened. He took a step back and turned around to see a bullet sized hole in the wall.

He scoffed, (partly in relief) “Pussy”

Kendrick opened the door, then turned to him. His eyes glinted in the dim light. ” (You’re only lucky once)”m