Bought By The Arrogant Billionaire

009

Dominique Ravenzy's Point of view

I rested both of my elbows on the mahogany desk, rubbing my temples aggressively.

I stared at the amber liquid swirling inside my crystal glass. I was furious. My entire system was still burning with rage, but as the alcohol smoothly burned down my throat, a sickeningly familiar emotion started creeping into my chest.

Guilt.

I let out a sharp, frustrated breath as Courtney's face flashed in my mind. The way she looked earlier in the kitchen-her usual teasing, sarcastic smirk completely vanished, replaced by sheer shock. And her eyes... I saw how the rims of her eyes turned instantly red before I turned my back on her.

Damn it. I didn't mean to be that harsh, but I lost control. The moment I opened the penthouse door after that suffocating board meeting, a specific scent immediately hit me.

Chicken Pochero.

It was my favorite dish when I was a kid. Back when my world wasn't this cold and detached, there was a woman who used to cook that for me on my birthdays or whenever I felt down-my mother. The woman who promised she would never leave, but then packed her bags one night and vanished into thin air, leaving me behind to face the brutal reality of the Ravenzy family. She never showed up again.

That's why I snapped. When I caught that scent while walking up to the penthouse, a stupid, naive part of me actually thought she was back. I expected my mother to greet me. But instead, it was Courtney.

The rage I unleashed earlier wasn't even about Courtney-it was directed at myself. I was furious because after all these years, the broken kid inside me is still pathetic enough to hope that my mother would come back. That bitter disappointment pushed me to throw the food away and lash out at her with words that were way too harsh for a mere business arrangement.

I stared at the half-empty bottle of scotch on my desk. I don't even know how to face her tomorrow.

Should I walk out there and apologize?

No. I'd rather stay here. For the first time in my life, I feel like I don't have the face to look a woman in the eye.

I poured myself another drink, desperately trying to numb my racing mind. I kept drinking, barely noticing that I was already downing way more than my usual limit.

By the time I glanced at the luxury wall clock in my study, it was already two in the morning. I stood up from my chair. I felt a slight buzz in my head, the room tilting just a fraction, but my mind was still perfectly lucid.

I quietly turned the knob of the master bedroom and stepped into the dark, silent room. The only illumination was the moonlight filtering through the floor-to-ceiling glass wall. I walked toward the bed and heavily sat on the edge of my side.

On the other end, Courtney was fast asleep. A few buttons of her sleepwear were undone, and her shoulder-length, straight black hair was messy against the pillow.

I couldn't help but stare at her face under the faint moonlight. And there, in the middle of the silence, I noticed her damp eyelashes. There were faint traces of dried tears on the corners of her eyes.

A sudden, sharp hit my chest-an unexplainable ache that made my breathing heavy. She cried. The arrogant, sassy asset of Illumina Luxury Lounge actually cried because of me.

I leaned in closer, studying every angle of her face properly now that she wasn't wearing that heavy makeup from the club. And then, right beneath her left eye, a small, distinct mole caught my attention.

A memory struck my brain like lightning.

An old, dark memory that I had been trying to bury for five long years.

Midori Hotel. Five years ago.

It wasn't intentional, and it was never something I wanted to happen. That night, someone betrayed me at a business gala and spiked my drink. My mind was completely warped, a dangerous, raging heat consuming my entire body as I stumbled into my suite.

And there she was-a woman, a room attendant of Midori Hotel. I wasn't in my right mind. I just dragged her inside the dark room and used her body just to quench the burning fire within me.

I could vividly remember her muffled cries, but the drug completely blinded me.

When I woke up the next morning, I was alone in that massive bed. Naked, with a fresh stain of blood left on the crisp white sheets. A brutal proof that I took her innocence in the worst way possible.

After I regained my senses, I chose not to investigate. I didn't question the staff or the management of Midori Hotel because I was terrified of what it would do to my reputation and the Ravenzy Group if a scandal broke out.

But despite how dark the room was that night, there was only one thing I clearly remembered about the face of the woman crying beneath me. A small mole right under her eye.

I blinked, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I stared at Courtney's mole. I let out a low, breathless, cynical chuckle.

You're losing your mind, Dominique.

The alcohol is clearly messing with my head. Out of all the damn possibilities, bakit ko naman iisipin na si Courtney ang babaeng 'yun? It's impossible. Millions of women have a mole under their eye, and most of them are even in the exact same spot. It's just a ridiculous coincidence.

I shook my head, forcing the ghosts of my past to fade away. Dahan-dahan akong humiga sa pwesto ko, turning my back against Courtney, and closed my eyes to let the alcohol finally pull me into a deep sleep.

But before I could even drift off, my breath completely hitched. My heart stopped.

From behind me, Courtney shifted slightly. And before I could even process what was happening, I felt her slender arms gently but firmly wrap around my waist-pulling me into a warm, desperate hug from behind.

I froze completely. Hindi ako makagalaw as her body pressed flush against my back. And in the middle of her deep, restless slumber, I heard her whisper-soft, broken, and trembling against my shoulder.

"...Caleb..."

That name echoed through the silent room, leaving a massive question that instantly shattered any warmth left in my chest.

Who the f**k is Caleb?