Forcing The Billionaire

Chapter 13

Hyko’s POV

“Where is she?” Clyver asked.

I only shrug my shoulders at him and take a sip of my drink. My gazes are all darted in front of the busy and wild night bar, but in the sides of my eyes, I did not let go of my vision of her.

At their table, she’s busy drinking with her friend who's making out with a guy. My heart is at ease seeing her casually enjoying her drink at their table. Her fleek brows are on a straight line, annoyed at what I did.

“What did you two talk about?” Clyver asked.

A woman beside him snakes her arms around him. She gave him neck kisses which caught his attention. He rests his hand on the woman’s waist and rakes her hair as she let her suck on her neck.

I shake my head. Clyver is a married man yet here he is, making out with a random girl he met in the bar.

“None of your business,” I answered and avoided my gaze at him.

I already talked to him about this. I do not actually remember how many times I told him to do things right for his marriage. However, he won’t listen. He’s living in his own bubble and avoiding his responsibility as a husband.

I get that he was not ready and it was only an arranged marriage for their business. But knowing that you agreed, regardless if you were forced or not, it is your choice to be a decent man for your wife. I wonder how his wife can tolerate this sh*t.

“Hey…” I called the attention of the two. Clyver looked annoyed when I interrupted them. This time, I was the one who smirked. I look at the girl who looks drunk yet fully conscious. She’s sitting on Clyver’s lap while his hands are on the lower back of her waist. “He’s a married man," I smirked.

The woman’s jaw dropped. Under the dim lights of the bar, I saw how her face turned pale. My smirk grew wider. If she looks like someone who was drained in blood, Clyver, on the other hand, turned red.

The woman looked at Clyver for about a second. “I-It was j-just—” A soft chuckle escaped my lips when I hear my friend stutter.

“What the f*ck?!” The woman curses. She hit his chest and stands from his lap. I almost burst into laughter when the loud sound of a woman’s slap echoed at our table. “F*cking cheater,” she murmured before she left Clyver, dumbfounded.

“Dude, what the hell?!” he angrily said and turn to face me. A part of his left cheek turned red after the woman gave her a good slap. Serves him right.

“What?” I asked. The faded laugh from earlier is still evident on my face. “I thought she knew,” I smirked.

It’s partly true tho. Just like my family, Clyver’s family is also always in the spotlight. I thought women who flocked to his feet knew he was already married.

“F*ck you, bastard,” he curses and shook his head.

The smirk is still plastered on my face to continuously tease him. If I were in his position, even if it is only an arranged marriage, I will play my role as a good husband.

But then, I have no plans of entering an arranged marriage. if I will get married, I want it to be a genuine one.

This is why I keep on rejecting her. She already tried several times and I also do not know how many times I stopped myself from giving in. If she wants a marriage with me, I want her to truly love me.

I emptied my shot glass and poured another one onto it.

One of his guards went to Clyver and whispered something. Slowly, the side of his lips rose. His eyes darted at me and a playful look on his face appeared.

I shoot a brow at him. I raised my shot glass and motioned it to him, asking for a toss. He motioned his glass to me and bump the glass into mine.

I was about to take my shot when he told me about what his bodyguard reported.

“Ben told me he saw your girl at Athan Macneil’s table.”

My lips are already on the mouth of my glass when I froze. I look at him to clarify if what he said was true. My f*cking friend only smirked.

F*ck!

I harshly put down my glass and immediately stand on my sit.

What the hell was she thinking? Don’t tell me she asked Macneil to… F*ck!

She was drunk when she left our table. The last time I saw her, she was casually drinking with her friend. Why the hell I did not notice her leaving their table? D*mn!

I notice Athan on their table, drinking with his friend, Tyron Velez.

“Macneil,” I greeted. I tried to sound as friendly as possible but I am certain that the harshness and irritation in my voice were heard.

“Frantz,” he greeted back.

“Where is she?” I do not think I have to explain to him why I am here.

“Ari was taken by my bodyguard. I told him to book her a hotel nearby.” My irritation doubled from what I heard. I am not sure if it is because he called her by her nickname or because he let my girl be with a random man. “They just took off,” he added.

“Thanks.” Even though I am annoyed by him, I still found the courage to practice common courtesy.

I did not wait for his response and walked towards the exit where he pointed to me.

It was not hard for me to see her in a pool of crowd. In the middle of the crowded dance floor, I saw her being carried by a man who I assumed was one of Athan’s guards.

Her copper-colored hair is swaying while she is being carried in a bridal style. I quickly closed our gap and even bump to several people in the crowd just so I can catch them.

“Put her down,” I commanded to the guard and blocked their way. Ari is unconscious and she looks very comfortable on the man’s arm.

He looked at me coldly, as if he did not hear what I said.

I already expected it. I, myself, have bodyguards. I certainly know how they act. If Athan told him to take care of Ari, he won’t listen to me.

Ari moved a bit. She’s wearing a dress and the arms of a man are enveloping the back of his legs. D*mn! I want to snatch her away from him.

The man is indeed professional, but watching him having skin-to-skin contact with my girl infuriates me!

“Put her down.”

Ari slowly opened her eyes. She looked confusingly at the man carrying her and at me. When she realized her situation, her eyes widened in disbelief. She then bites her lower lip.

“She’s awake. Release her.”

“P-Put me down…”

The guard did what she said. I fought the urge to pull her to me the moment her feet touched the floor.

“Sir Ace asked me to book you a hotel nearby.”

Just when I thought I can handle the distance between us two, I found myself reaching for her wrist and pulling her closer to me.

“Let’s go.”

Irritation rose inside of me when the guard stopped me from doing so by holding Ari’s free hand.

“My boss told me to escort her to the nearby hotel.”

I understand that this is his job, and I should be grateful that he doesn’t let Ari be taken by a man. But I do not have my long patience with me right now.

“Tell him I will be the one to take her home. We know each other. I’m Frantz.”

He looks at Ari as if asking for her opinion. I also darted my eyes at her. She’s avoiding my gaze and playing with her nails.

“U-Uhm… I’ll g-go with h-him.” Embarrassed by her own actions, she chews her lower lip and I notice how she shut her eyes tightly for a second.

She should be. What if Athan Macneil took advantage of her? Not that I do not trust that guy. I know him through business meetings and social gatherings. I know he already has a girlfriend. I just don’t find myself trusting other men for her.

If there’s someone I would be comfortable for Ari, it’s no other than me. At least I know I will never hurt her.

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Forcing The Billionaire

by: Joanne Cristel

©2022

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Note: Unedited. English is not the author's first language so expect grammatical errors. Thank you!