The Billionaire's Second Chance

Chapter 3

Austin

I gripped the letter that tore my heart apart in my hands and fell to the ground on my knees. My breathing became staggered as I started to hyperventilate. My vision was crossing and I didn’t know what to do. After composing myself for a moment, I took out my phone and called my dad, while making my way to the bathroom to wrap up my bleeding knuckles.

“Austin, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.” my dad chimed in on the phone. I cringed at the sound of my father’s voice as it was the last thing I wanted or needed to hear at the moment, because it was my father that made me lose the best thing that happened in my life, the woman I planned on making mine, the woman I wanted to marry.

“Cut the crap dad. You know why I’m calling.” I snapped at him on the phone. Taking another moment to compile myself, I continued “You knew as soon as I told her everything, she would spook and leave. Well, guess what father, you were right. She’s gone and I have no idea where she went.”

“How is this my fault, Austin? You were the one that didn’t tell her the truth earlier. You were never supposed to be with her this long anyway. You were always meant to be with Amber. This is for the best and you will soon realize it.” my father snapped back at me. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. No wonder why my parent’s marriage was miserable for as long as I can remember.

“My fault? It was your stupid rule that I couldn’t tell anyone who I was for fear that they would use me for our money. She never would have done that!” I argued back. I could feel the headache coming on.

“Tell her about the money now, Austin, and see what she does. I guarantee she will come crawling back and begging for another chance. They always do.”

“If I could tell her the whole truth I would. She deserves to know that we own one of the biggest marketing companies on the west side of the United States. She deserves to know that when we get married, she would never have to work a day in her life if she didn’t want to, because the billions that I would be bringing in would be more than enough for us.”

“You’re telling me that this one girl, out of the entire planet, would never want to use you for your money? That’s funny Austin.”

“You don’t know her father. She knew we were rich and she didn’t care. She wanted to be independent and not rely on me for everything. For the past four years we have been together, she has forced me to make her pay half of everything; food, rent, bills, everything.”

“Why are you really calling Austin? You’re wasting my time at the moment. I have things that need to get done.”

“Sorry talking to your son is a waste of time.” I rolled his eyes at my father. “I called to tell you that I will be home in a few days to help with the damn company. I’m skipping graduation and I will have them mail my diploma home. But there is no way I am going to marry Amber.”

“If that’s the case, then that changes everything, for now. You start from the bottom and work your way up. However, son, we can skip all the dramatics and just get you where you need to be if you just marry her.”

“Over my dead body.” With that, I hung the phone up on my father and cursed myself. I went to the computer and booted it up and checked to see if Hannah booked a flight online. The history was deleted, so I tried to look for anything, any signs of where she could have gone. All I knew about where she grew up was a small town in Texas, but for the love of God, I couldn’t remember the name of it. I needed to find her, I needed to make sure she was okay and to tell her I love her and that everything would be alright.

I took out my phone and clicked the name Eli Sanders and called my best friend. I needed someone on my side and if anyone could be, it would be Eli.

“Austin, my man. How have you been? When are you coming home?” Eli pipped on the phone. Me and Eli have been friends since we were in diapers, raised by the same nanny. Our parents did a lot of business dealings with each other until Eli’s parents were about to lose their company, so my dad, Arthur Nicholson, bought them out and saved them from crashing. We both played baseball together and spent all our free time with each other. Even though our parents were best friends as well, our values were drastically different from our parents. Me and Eli always dreamt of settling down and actually having a loving family that didn’t center around business. I never strayed from that dream. However, Eli has been dabbling with the notion of one-night stands.

“She’s gone.” I said softly into the phone. You could hear the tremble in my throat as I looked around at the pictures hanging on the walls from our past four years together. Pictures of us on the beach, dancing in the moonlight, the paintings we did together. All were heart-breaking memories of our past.

“What do you mean she’s gone? What did you do?” Eli was surprised by this. He knew that I wanted a life with Hannah. He had the pleasure of meeting her and Bella a few times during the years we were together and he grew quite fond of her.

“I told her about the stupid contract my dad and Amber’s dad created. Dad was forcing me to come back to the company and fulfill the contract. When I told her about it she freaked out.”

“I wouldn’t expect less of her. How would you feel if she told you she was forced to be married to someone else after being in a four-year relationship with you?” I saw his point. I knew I messed up by not telling her sooner. I realized I should have been honest with her from the beginning and maybe this whole mess never would have happened. If only I could turn back time.

“I can’t get a hold of her. I don’t have Bella’s number. I don’t remember where she was from in Texas. f**k, I can’t even call her, she left her cell phone behind. She deleted the history on the laptop so I couldn’t find anything about a plane ticket and she erased her phone and reset it.”

“Dude, calm down. Let me get a hold of Bella.” Eli put me on speaker while he shot out a text to Bella. Once he hit send, the notification stayed green and said ‘sent’ but it was never delivered. “She blocked me!” My face paled with this information.

“Give me her number.” Eli gave me Bella’s number and I tried to text and call her as well and I got the same thing. I punched the door of the room, letting his anger out, wincing at the pain that was already radiating from my knuckles. “What am I supposed to do Eli?”

“Look up her name in Texas. There has to be some sort of record or trace of her there. How many Hannah Bence’s could there be?” I placed my phone down next to the computer and took to google and did just that. While searching, I couldn’t believe my eyes. There were over seven hundred Hannah Bence’s in the whole state of Texas. “What kind of boyfriend were you? You don’t remember the town she lived in? Also, who doesn’t have her best friend's phone number? I even had it. That would have saved you a whole lot of aggravation.”

“Shut the hell up Eli. I know I messed up. It’s not my fault we never went to her hometown. Bella always came up here to visit.”

“I’m sorry man. I wish there was more I could help you with.” There was a brief pause between us. “So, what are you going to do now? Are you going to go through with the whole marriage s**t to get your father’s company?”

“f**k that.” I stated through gritted teeth. “There will never be a day I marry Amber. I already told father that I’ll come home, but because I refuse to marry her, I will need to work my way up the company ladder for me to get anywhere.”

“Is it worth it? You’re giving up instant success and the money,” Eli questioned. I thought about it. Was starting at nothing worth the aggravation that I will have to endure?

“For my freedom to live the life I always wanted, and the possibility to get her back? Absolutely.”

“I guess that’s that then. What are you going to do about Hannah?” What was I going to do about her? She left me with nothing to go by. No trace of her whereabouts.

“I’m going to pack up my stuff, sublet the apartment and move back into town and start working for my dad. I want to find her, Eli, I really do and I will keep looking for her and I won't stop, but if I never find her, then all I can do is hope that one day, she will be happy and be with someone that is deserving of her because she deserves the best there is.”

“That’s big of you man.”

I let out a huff of air as I ran my fingers through his hair, “Yeah, but if we ever cross paths, I am never letting her go again.”

Eli chuckled on the phone, “Well, for her sake, I hope she never does, because I can only imagine what you would do to ensure she stays with you. I know how much you love her, so a part of me really hopes that you do meet again. I just want you to be happy.”

After the conversation with Eli, I did what I said I would do. I met with the landlord and explained the situation and I put the place up for a sublet, for some other college couple trying to make it in this city. I packed up what I wanted, grabbed a couple of pictures and put the rest either in storage or donated it. As I was putting the final pieces of our life in my suitcase, I came across the deep blue velvet box that he bought 2 months ago and gripped it in my hand. Feeling the emotion start to overwhelm me, I stupidly opened the box and peered at the beautiful fourteen-karat white gold princess-cut diamond ring with a rose gold rose under the stone. I let one single tear run down my cheek before I swiped it away. I placed the ring in my suitcase and left the home we had made for the past few years, not knowing when then next time I would see Hannah again.

I soon landed in Southern California, where Eli was waiting for me by the baggage claim. Eli handed me a coffee that he was holding and helped me get my things and proceeded to Eli’s car.

“So, what’s next?” Eli asked, turning on his truck and heading to his townhouse. Eli worked for his dad’s company as an advertising executive and had slowly built a name for himself. Our plan was to always work together, but with everything going on, who knows when that would be.

“First things first, I need to see my mom. Then I need to get my car if my dad didn’t get rid of it and find a place to live.”

“Well, don’t worry about a place. The townhouse next to mine is for sale and I’ll call my realtor and tell her you will put in a cash offer for it. Is that okay? I don’t want to overstep.”

“Money isn’t the issue if that’s what you’re trying to get at.” I raised his eyebrow at him.

“I'm just making sure, I didn’t know if your father cut you off completely when you started dating Hannah. I know he talked to my dad about it.” We pulled into my parent’s driveway and parked the car. “Do you want me to go with you?”

“Nah, thanks though. I need to do this on my own. I’ll text you later, just get me that townhouse and let your realtor know I can have the cash to her today as long as I get it by tonight.”

“Done. Good luck bro. Call me if you need me.”

Eli drove off, leaving me in front of the mansion I grew up in, the mansion I learned to hate because it was never a home to me, the home that I craved. I proceeded up the steps and walked through the door, being greeted by numerous staff members as I made my way to the art room where my mother spent most of her time.

I got to the door and knocked. Hearing her say ‘come in’, I slowly entered the room and went right to my mother who was waiting for me with open arms.

“Austin.” She said softly as she hugged me and rubbed my back. “Your father told me what happened. Are you sure this is what you want? Amber really is a beautiful and nice young lady.”

“Mother, if this gets me the freedom that I crave from father, then so be it. As long as he promised not to touch the trust fund I got when I turned 21, then I will be okay. Starting from the bottom is nothing to me. Plus, I don’t want Amber. I never wanted her. We are just friends. Marriage for us was never in my cards.”

My mother nodded her head and took me to the couch to sit down, handing me a cup of tea. “So, tell me about this girl. She must be something special for you to be willing to do all of this, to risk being in charge of your father’s company.”

“You have no idea how special she is...”