BOUND BY THE BILLIONAIRE’S HIDDEN LOVE

CHAPTER 3 - Seeing Her Again

Dariel’s POV

Before I could get inside my car, I felt like someone was watching me. I looked on my right side and gotcha, indeed there were two pretty eyes looking at me in a bewildered state.

My heart beat drastically as I recognized her face. I could not be wrong! I was looking at the woman who I was waiting for five years to come back!

How could I not remember her? I even paid someone to guard her without her knowledge, while she was studying abroad. I anonymously sent gifts to her during her past five birthdays. She was my wife, the only woman, I swear I would marry and be married with.

Suddenly, scenes from the past clouded my head…

…

I was dranked that night and inadvertently entered a restaurant and did not know what happened thereafter.

When I opened my eyes, I felt my head aching a bit. “Arghh, son of a gun, where am I?” I thought. I was shocked however to see a pretty, young face, staring at me, smilingly.

I furrowed while looking at her innocent and pretty face. My eyes traveled down to her body clad in a waitress uniform, which I was so familiar with. She was wearing the restaurant uniform, which supposedly would be the reception venue after my church wedding ceremony two days from now.

I stood up slowly, not wishing to frighten her. Something seemed to be pulling my eyes to look at her intensely. She was indeed pretty…no, the right word was beautiful. She was young, innocent and beautiful.

While watching her, I remembered my predicament. An idea just bumped into my head. I stretched my right hand and told her, ““Come with me and marry me.”

I saw the shocked in her expression. She stared at me as if I was a man who just lost his sanity. I cleared my throat but before I could speak again, she said.

“Our you out of your mind? Get out from here, Sir, or I will our guard to throw you away,” she said. This time she was looking like an angry lioness.

I help up my two hands. “Alright, alright. I will go. But we will meet again, Crystal,” I retorted, while looking at her name plate.

I got out of the room and passed through the restaurant. I gave the shocked guard a hundred bucks to keep his mouth shut and drove fast to my latest Porsche car parked at the restaurant’s parking space. I headed to my mansion.

“Prepare an iced coffee for me and put it on the poolside,” I ordered, which three of my maids followed.

A few seconds passed and I already drunk all the iced coffee and swam back and forth in my lap pool. I have to ease the panic I am feeling right now. Since yesterday, I could not contact my fiancee and she has not responded to my text messages. She even blocked me from her f*******: messenger. I could not remember anything wrong that I did for her to run away from our wedding.

“Goddamit! How will I face the guests and my parents on my wedding day without my bride!” I cursed, punching the water. I could not lose face; I am a respected CEO of a billion-dollar real estate company and I could not let anyone pity me, just because my bride changed her mind and turned her back on me two days before our wedding!

I swam back and forth once again, trying to release my tension into the water. “The wedding should push through. ”I spat on the water with much hatred now to my fiancee.

I climbed up from the swimming pool, took my shower and after making myself ready, I headed to my office to sign some documents.

My staff was all eyes on me, especially the ladies when I entered the building premises of my company. Some even ogled me but I was already so used to it. I know how they envied my fiancee whenever she was with me, walking hand-in-hand and going inside my office. So, I could not understand what the hell happened, and that crazy woman turned her back at me. If she found another man, darn her, I will kill them both for putting me in this mess!

I went directly to my office without even giving a glance to anybody. My icy aura that the whole staff used to stare at became icier today. I signed some business contracts and read some important documents.

Thereafter, I found myself wondering about the woman who helped me in the restaurant. Assessing her, I could sense that she might be in dire need of money, for who would try to do an overtime job in that crazy hour of the night? She was young and pretty, maybe gullible too, hmm, let me see what I can do with her to solve my present problem.

…

Parked at the parking area of the restaurant where the woman was working and my chosen wedding reception venue, I, waited inside my Porsche car, for her to come out from the restaurant. My McLaren car was just beside my Porsche, where my driver and my bodyguard were seated waiting for my order. It was eight o’clock in the evening already. I was wondering what time she would be out.

After a while I saw her together with a man, getting out of the restaurant. They were both wearing the restaurant’s uniform, so I guess the man also worked in the restaurant.

While looking at them talking, I suddenly furrowed when I saw the man holding her fist tightly and looking at her like she was his prey to devour. I gritted my teeth and dialed my bodyguard’s mobile number.

“The subject woman was in front of the restaurant about to be harassed by a man wearing also the uniform of the restaurant. Punch the man and tell her your boss would like to speak with her in his mansion.” I said to my bodyguard and then hung up on my phone, looking again at the man and the woman beside the restaurant. This time, the man was trying to hug the woman and I wanted to jump out of my car to punch the man.

I was just thinking of punching the man when suddenly I saw my bodyguard and my driver approached the two. My bodyguard stopped the man with what he was doing to the woman but the man seemed to get agitated and barked at my bodyguard and my driver. After a millisecond, I saw my bodyguard’s fists landed on the man’s face and then he gently spoke to the woman. When the woman followed my driver and my bodyguard, I started my car’s ignition and headed to my mansion. I waited in the living room until they arrived.

When I noticed their arrival, I changed my position. I sat on the single couch with my back on the main door.

“Boss, good evening. Here we are now together with Ms. Crystal.” It was the voice of my bodyguard.

I stood up and slowly turned my back to face them.

I saw the shock on the woman’s face. Her eyes grew wide as she put one of her hands on her mouth.

“You,” she said, still in her astonished expression.

“Yes, I am. ” I replied while looking at her grinning.

I noticed the sudden frown in her lovely face.

“Sorry for doing this. I made a way to bring you here so that I could thank you enough face to face, again,” I said giving her a beaming smile. I wanted to enamour her so that she would easily give in when I lay down my proposal to her.

“Ohh, that’s nothing. By the way, sorry for shoving you away last night,” she said sheepishly, her face burning red. She was actually blushing and I like how she looked so innocent.

Getting a nearer view of her in broad light, I know it would not be a shame to have her at my side as my bride two days from now.

I watched as her face grew red like a budding tomato. She was so natural; that kind of woman without any pretensions.

“Crystal, I am Dariel Graybell. I was happy that you trusted our big buddy here and came along to see me. I just wanted to say thank you for taking care of me last night. I did not actually know that I was able to enter your restaurant last night. Care to have a seat Crystal as I have something important to discuss with you,” I said with my gentleist voice and charming aura.

I saw her furrowed when she heard me stating my name. “You are Dariel Graybell? The same Dariel who made us all crazy now to make our restaurant to be the best wedding reception venue ever? You are getting married two days from now Sir, right?” she asked with eyes as wide as a full moon already.

“Yes, I am and my bride-to-be is in front of me now,” I said with a naughty smile. I would like to see her reaction to what I uttered. Then I saw it, the squinting of her eyes that turned to confusion then suddenly annoyance.

“Are you kidding me again? No other woman is in front of you now but me. So, are you trying to have fun at my expense Mr. Dariel Graybell?” she was irritated and her face was flustered.

I wanted to laugh. I was indeed amused by her bravery in showing her anger and irritation towards me. None of my staff could do that to me and my bodyguard looked at me with a sign of worry and apology on his face at the same time. I motioned to him to go, and he followed and left us.

“Have a seat first, Crystal. I want to discuss something with you.” I calmly asked her again. I noticed she had a bit of hesitation when she sat on the couch beside me.

“What is it Mr. Graybell?” she asked arching her brows.

“You know that two days from now is my wedding right?”

“Yes, I know so well.”

“I really felt ashamed to say this but let me tell you anyway; my fiancee deserted me. She ran away and I did not know where she is now,” I made it a point to make my voice and my facial expression so sad, as in very sad to touch the heart of a woman, whom I knew the way he treated me last night has a soft and kind heart.

“What? Was she insane? I mean, who in her right mind would run away from her wedding especially if the man is like you?” Then suddenly I saw her eyes grow wide again, maybe realizing the meaning of those words that she just said.

A naughty smile slowly crept from my eyes as I looked at her blushing face, “So tell me, Crystal, am I not loveable at all?” I asked her as I looked down. I know my acting was not a pro, so I needed to put my head down to hide my secret laugh from her. I could feel my skin hair rising with those corny things I said, but I needed to say it anyway to gain the sympathy of this innocent, kind woman.

“Of course you are Mr. Dariel. Do not pity yourself nor even think that you are less of a real man because a woman turned her back on you,” she said to appease me and I was truly glad. I was getting the response I wanted and I was quite surprised that at her young age, she seemed to think so mature; something that I did not notice in my former fiancee.

“But I cannot accept this Crystal; I cannot just tell the world that my wedding is off because my bride ran away from me. I cannot face the humiliation I would be into especially in the business world, where I am well respected and admired. I don’t want to ruin my name or look stupid in the eyes of everybody.” I looked at her still with my saddest expression. If I hear the answer I wanted from her, I will then lay down my proposal.

“Mr. Dariel, what if your fiancee will not really return; I pity you for this but I guess you have no other recourse but to face whatever effect it will have on you,” she then said.

That was the cue, I was waiting for. “I have a solution Crystal and I need your help again. Let us help each other.”

She gave me that wondering look with a furrowed forehead.

“Be my bride Crystal and I will give you everything that you need. Money, house, car, anything. Just stay beside me during the wedding and reception. After that, you can decide if you want to leave me. At least I already saved my face from humiliation.” I then explained to her my plan.

I saw how her expression changed to a complete shock.