THE BILLIONAIRE'S HIDDEN SIN

Chapter 1 — Kneel Down Regina's POV "Get out here, Regina! Now!" Mr. Halden's voice cracked through the kitchen walls, and the tray in my hands wobbled as I set it down, wiping my sweaty palms on my apron before heading for the floor, every head in the dining room already fixed on me. A boy in his fifteen, stood beside his mother with his arms crossed like he was weighing the size of my sin against the best punishment for it, and his mother was worse, her lip curling in disgust, her gaze telling me I was nothing more than a rag she needed to polish her shoes in public. "This is her." Her son pointed at me. "She was rude and talked down to me like I'm twelve. She called me naughty, and all sorts of names." My mouth went sour immediately, but I forced it open. "Sir, you were throwing food at the—" "Don't you dare talk back to my son, you filthy rag!" her mother's voice hit the whole room at once. She stepped closer to me and gave a wild gaze. "You have no idea of who I am, do you?" I dropped my gaze to the floor, too afraid to meet her eyes, all I could do is whisper prayers under my breath. "Twenty percent of this restaurant's parent company is mine, and you think you can humiliate my son in public?" Her voice echoed in my ears, and my stomach clenched so tight that my throat became bitter at once. "We are going to handle this, Mrs. Kensington, I promise you that," Mr. Halden said, then whipped around on me. "What's wrong with you? Apologize to the young man right now." I raised my head in shock, because I'd done nothing that I should apologize for. "He was flicking food at another table and instructed me to clean it up," I said, my voice was shaking. "He went on and called the waitress at table five a name I won't repeat, and I asked him politely to stop, that's all I did." "That's a lie, she is lying against me," the boy grinned, like he already knew nobody would believe me over him. "Mr. Halden, I’d had enough of his mess," the mother's voice tightened. "Get this filthy waitress to apologize now or I contact the owner of this restaurant and have her lose her job in a second. And I will make sure no restaurant in this city hires her again." Mr. Halden leaned in close so only I could hear. "It doesn't matter whose lie it is, just apologize, or it gets worse than you expect." I swallowed hard, trying to push down the lump in my throat, because worse, I hadn't done anything wrong, and my eyes welled with tears, but I refuse to let a single tear fall in front of them. If anything worse happened, I'd lose my job, and with it a month's rent, my mother's medication, and the look on her face when I came home with nothing. "I'm sorry," it came out cracked, "I didn't mean—" "Sorry isn't good enough," Mrs. Kensington's eyes raked over me, "I want you on both knees in front of everyone." A ripple went through the room, and almost everyone nearby already had their phones out filming. Of course they did, because humiliation was currency now and I was about to become someone's free content. "Ma'am, please—" "Kneel," softer the second time, but worse somehow. Mr. Halden's hand landed on my shoulder, pushing down, not hard but just enough to remind me this was never actually my choice, and my knees started to bend. "Don't!!" A voice thundered through the dining room like a blade dragged across glass, and I froze halfway to the ground, every head, including mine, turned toward the sound. I hadn't noticed him before, but he was standing now, one hand still on the table like he'd only just decided to bother, and I didn't know his face but I knew the way the room reacted to him. Mr. Halden's hand vanishing off my shoulder like it had been burned as he straightened instantly, like a soldier catching sight of a general. "Excuse me. Who are you to stop me?" Mrs. Kensington's voice went flat. A man in a charcoal suit stepped forward, dark hair, broad shoulders, eyes that seemed to see right through everyone. He moved like the whole room was just waiting on him. "Tell me the whole scene was true," his voice was dangerous and kind at the same time, and my clenched throat parted, because finally someone who knew the truth was willing to speak, maybe it would help, maybe it wouldn't. The boy’s face went red. "What did—" His mother grabbed his jaw before he could finish. The man tapped his phone and held the screen up just long enough for her to see it was real. "I've got everything on video, recording since your son threw the first piece of bread on a nearby table. You want a copy, or should I send it somewhere more public instead?" Silence settled over the room like blanket, and Mrs. Kensington's mouth opened and closed as I watched her go from fury to calculation in about two seconds. "Drew," she said finally, something almost pleading in her voice, "this is a misunderstanding—" "Really?" he snapped, "Maybe you are right, you misunderstood who works for who in this building, maybe you understand better now." His eyes shifted to Mr. Halden, whose head had buried itself in the floor tiles like he was examining their neatness. "You put your hand on her shoulder to force her down, and I saw that too, if I were the owner of this restaurant, and I will be, by the end of the week if this continues, you wouldn't have a job by morning." Mr. Halden's face drained of color entirely, and no words dropped from his mouth. Drew turned to the boy next, and his voice didn't rise because it didn't need to. "Apologize to her now, or your mother can explain to the board why her son's behavior cost this restaurant a lawsuit." The boy's jaw clenched, and for a second I thought he would refuse, then quietly and miserably, "Sorry, I'm so sorry." My head spun and I couldn't explain what was happening. My whole body was still shaking, and I hated that it took a man like this to make a room full of people remember I was a person. Drew turned to the crowd. "I don't care how long you all held your cameras up, but I promise anyone who dares make this public will answer to me personally." The room erupted in murmurs, heads bending over phones, doing nothing less than deleting what was meant to be their free content. "Come on," he finally turned to me with his palm extended, "you're not staying for the rest of your shift. I will take you home." I turned to Mr Halden’s, whose head was already nodding in agreement, countless times before I could voice out, and honestly, part of me wanted to snap that I hadn't asked him to step in and I could handle it myself, but my knees were still shaking from almost hitting the floor, and half the restaurant was still stealing glances at me. Then it happened, my legs left the floor and I was nowhere but curled tightly against his chest, feeling like I was being carried by a wall carved from rock, because he lifted me like I was wasting his time trying to reply. I couldn't explain what I felt in that moment. Behind us, Mrs. Kensington was already stammering something, an apology maybe, to nobody. I didn't get a chance to watch. We got outside, and he set me down on my feet beside the passenger door of a car—A black limousine, and a model I hadn't seen such before. "Get in." He opened the door without bothering to look at my eyes. I hesitated. "You don't really need to bother, I can—" “Regina!” Someone screamed my name from behind us. I turned to look and there sat Kelvin on his bike. “Kelvin—” My heart skipped immediately. “I've come to pick you up. Let's go now.” I turned to Drew who face had went blank completely. “I need to go with him. Thank you for your help.” I stepped forward to walk past him, then a grip held me down, his hand held me tighter like he just bought me and I had decided to escape. Before I could protest, he pulled me to his side, then turned to face Kelvin properly, with one hand in his pocket. “I will take her home tonight. You should save your gas,” he said in a cold voice. Kelvin paused for a while, and I couldn't wrapped my head around what it meant. Then a dangerous smile bursted that didn't even reach his eyes. “Drew. Is that you again?” Kelvin laughed, an incredulous sound, I had never heard from him since the past three years we had been dating. “You really meant your word right? I mean mine as well.” “Do you both knew before?” My eyes moved from Kelvin to Drew. None of them gave a reply and that made it worse. Kelvin stared at me for a while, and I could felt the ground shifting beneath me. “Regina, is that what it is. You are leaving me behind for this blood sucking demon in suit?” He paused and smile again like the scene was actually funny. “I know you would, and I promise you will regret this.” “Noo kelvin,” I shouted and shook my head terribly. “Please, this isn't what you are thinking.” I pulled myself to break free from Drew and run towards kelivin, but I could felt his grip tightened on me. “Leave him,” Drew's voice echoed in the background like none of this was worth his worry. “You have nothing to worry about.” “What did you mean! Let me go right now,” I yelled and struggled to get away, but the more I tried, the more he pulled me closer to himself. Kelvin watched a while, then kicked his bike and I watched him disappeared into the dark with an expression I couldn't explain. And I hated seeing him leave in such a way. I turned to Drew and gripped his shirt. “What's wrong with you. Do you understand what you just did?” “I understand.” He didn't pull me away, didn't yell either. He just loosen my trembling hands from his shirt gently. “I will take care of him.” “What—” my throat hooked. And I knew at the instance that this isn't over soon. But whatever it is, I must resolve it before it worsening, but I don't know how yet.