Fated to the Ruthless CEO

The next day, Amber woke up early. She tried to stretch her body several times before she finally stood up to get ready for the day.

Suddenly, she gasped out loud. She almost forgot about Devlin. He came last night too drunk to even know where he is.

She immediately went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. She quickly picked up her phone on the bedside table. It is quarter to 7. She hurriedly went to the living room to check on him. She would make breakfast for him.

However, the living room is empty. There is no trace of Devlin except the pillow he used last night and the folded blanket on top of it.

She went to check the kitchen. He must have gotten hungry. She felt bad that she didn’t wake up earlier. But when she reached the kitchen, everything was the same the way she left it last night. Where did he go? He must have decided to leave without informing her.

Well, she will just call him before she leaves. She wanted to properly extend her gratitude to him but things happened. She hopes that he will resolve whatever issues he has at the moment. Looks like his main issue is with Raven.

Not that she is being nosy but the two of them really look great together. Whatever happened between them must be heartbreaking for Devlin who had to resort to getting drunk. She actually felt bad for him.

Instead of thinking further about Devlin, she decided to do her morning exercise before she eats her breakfast. However, there was no time to do that as suddenly she heard the door open from the living room. It was none other than Devlin who just had his shower. His hair is still damp and he changed into clean clothes.

Amber greeted him but he did not say anything. It is evident on his face that he is not in a good mood. He sat down on the sofa without saying anything to her.

“I want us to talk.” He said with a stony face after a few minutes. Amber doesn’t have any clue about his mood right now. He has this distant look on his face.

“Uhmm… do you want a cup of coffee?” She politely offered. This cold Devlin is way different than the Devlin she used to know the past few days.

Devlin only shook his head. He drank into a stupor last night. That was his temporary escape to forget about his problems. Women! He smirked when he thought of that.

“Didn’t you hear me? I want us to talk. I didn’t come here to waste my time only on silly chitchats over a damn cup of coffee.” His loud, angry voice made Amber shocked.

“What’s happening? Yesterday, we just had a casual conversation over the phone.” She should be disappointed in him. He was the one who came barging in, all wasted. She didn’t even mention that she cooked a lot of food for their dinner. That she waited for hours for him to come.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Will you stop nagging me? Oh wait, it only goes to show your true colors.” He said while smirking.

“I don’t understand why you are talking like this. What’s going on?” Amber could not take this kind of treatment from him especially that she didn’t do anything wrong towards him. If there is anything, she should be upset at him for not making it for dinner.

“Why don’t you ask yourself? Huh?!” His booming voice echoed the whole place.

“Will you please calm down? I have no idea what you are talking about.” Replied Amber whose voice is shaking. She tried to appear calm. She wanted to get to the bottom of his issue with her without him yelling at her.

“Calm down?! That’s all you are going to say! You planned everything well.” Devlin paused for a couple of minutes since he could not control his anger right now. He could not even dare look at Amber.

“Could you please tell me your issue with me without yelling?” Amber pleaded. She wanted to find out what she did that made him this angry.

“Don’t act like you are innocent. You planned everything the moment you met my grandmother. Poor grandma, she must have trusted you a lot since you acted like a naive and timid woman. I almost even believed you.” He said with an angry tone.

“Can you just say it to me straightforwardly? What do you mean about me planning everything? What did I do? In fact, I invited you to dinner last night to express my gratitude for your kindness. And to inform you that I am leaving.” Her voice came out like trembling.

“Leaving? What kind of games are you playing this time, huh?!” Devlin got closer to her and pulled her right arm tightly. Amber flinched from the pain of his tight grip.

“Please, let me go. I didn’t do anything to you. I just want to go home and forget all of these things.” She said, almost teary-eyed from despair.

“Woman, I can’t let you go. You need to finish the problem you started.” Amber felt his grip slightly loosened so she took that chance to move away from him. She went to sit down on the single sofa. She needed to do that since her legs were trembling.

“You are talking in riddles. What problem are you talking about?” She asked innocently. Devlin looked at her for a while before he put his hands on his face out of frustration.

“Alright, if this is what you want, I will play with your games.” He paused before he continued speaking, this time with a rough voice.

“You can’t leave yet until I say so. We have our wedding to attend before Friday.” Amber had her mouth literally open out of shock from what he just said.

“Could you say that again? Did you just mention a wedding or our wedding? What is this all about? If you are talking about that promise I made to your grandma, please forget about that. You knew my stand on that.” She said with a clear, calmed voice. She did not know how she was able to control her overwhelming emotions.

“Really? Didn’t you plan the whole thing? Your grandmother told you of their life-long wish to have their kids marry each other. Unfortunately, they both have sons. So, they decided to fulfill their wish through us. I may understand that part but for sure it’s not something that my own grandmother will force on me unless someone manipulates her.” If looks could kill right now, Amber could have died instantly. The looks that Devlin was throwing at her are full of hatred.

“Are you trying to insinuate that I manipulated your grandma? How? I met her for the first time that day when she went to the doctor. That’s it. We never met after that although she would contact my marmee from time to time. I could only count the times that I was able to talk to her on the phone. I never manipulated her in anything. I came here to visit your grandmother on behalf of my marmee. It never crossed my mind that I would go through with the marriage with you. I already told you my intentions the first time I approached you. I just wanted to hear from you that you also don’t want anything to do with the marriage. Then, I can leave with a clear conscience.” Amber explained. She wanted to make sure that they understood each other.

“Look, don’t waste your time explaining. I talked to grandma’s lawyer yesterday. He told me that our wedding was already arranged next week. It would be before Friday, the reading of grandma’s last will. And congratulations by the way, you succeeded to have yourself included in the last will. How you accomplished that, beats me. You must be an expert manipulator.” His callous words hurt her.

“How can you say all of these things to me? There will be no wedding and I am not going to take any single cent from your grandma’s money.” She said, close to getting tears. She tried to breathe deeply so she could control herself.

“Who said you are going anywhere? We need to do that wedding. Grandma’s lawyer will call you anytime for the details.” Devlin left immediately after his last statement.

He took a deep breath while in his car. He just wanted to see Amber’s reaction regarding the wedding. He had to admit that it was not the reaction he expected from her. It’s either she is a good actress or she is innocent in all of these. However, thinking of his discussion with the lawyer yesterday, he knew that Amber is playing her part well.

Before he went out last night to drink, he had another talk with the lawyer. He was exploring how he could get away from marrying her. The lawyer told him that he can freely choose not to marry Amber but he should be ready not to get any penny from his grandma.

“That’s insane! Can I contest my grandma’s last will? I mean she made that decision when she was very sick and for sure her mind and emotions were not stable.” He still could not believe what his grandmother did.

“I am sorry but her last will is watertight. She had credible witnesses including her doctors when she signed the final document.” Devlin held down his head. He had never felt this anger and betrayal before. He thought his grandmother only thought the best for him. Why did she do this? Unless of course that woman convinced her.

He went to drink last night. He remembers Jackson came to join him for a drink. He could not remember what happened after that. He only remembers the familiar smell of Amber. Then, he drifted to sleep. He woke up in the morning on the sofa. He immediately sat down when he realized he was in his condo. Of course, that deceitful woman is still in the condo. He didn’t waste time to leave the condo. He went back to his penthouse. He took a quick shower and changed into clean clothes.

While having a cup of black coffee, he was thinking of what to do next. He changed his mind regarding the wedding. He has to go through it to punish Amber. She is going to regret why she ever messed up with him and his grandma. She is cunning. She knows what she is doing. He despises her so much.

Suddenly, the thoughts of Raven came to his head. All his plans these past few days were useless to get back with her. Amber ruined everything. He thought he could use her but it backfired on him. Now, he is on the receiving end.

Meanwhile, Amber is still in shock. Every piece of information has not sunk in yet in her head. She is devoid of any emotions at the moment. She thought everything was just a bad dream and she would wake up soon. But this is reality. She heard Devlin earlier about doing the wedding. She had so many questions in her head but she could not get any reasonable answers from Devlin. He was angry. Actually, Amber saw hatred in his eyes more than anger. She felt so bad. Things could have been different and way easier. She could have gone home to her marmee. Suddenly, an idea came to her. She still can get away from everything. She still can escape Devlin’s wrath and leave him alone peacefully. She hopes her plan will work out.

On the other hand, Devlin has just had a long phone conversation with his grandma’s lawyer. It is Sunday but he needs to get straight to work.

“Attorney Harrison, when are you going to inform Ms. Adams regarding the wedding?” He asked after hearing every detail of the wedding.

“I will probably inform her tonight. So, I am guessing that you are going to do the wedding then.” Declared the lawyer with a serious tone.

“Yes, you could say that. I have no choice.” Came his short reply. He has a choice anyway but he could not bear to have Amber take half of his inheritance that easily. She needs to pay for everything that she did. For a brief moment, he wonders how his family is going to take the news that he is getting married. He plans not to invite them. He has to face his own problem as he always does.