MY HOT RUTHLESS BOSS (SPG/R18+)

Chapter 4 The Past

Three years ago…

I can still remember how Leon Brylle Wright stood in the dimly lit park, the crisp autumn air biting at our skin. The moon cast a silvery glow over the landscape, illuminating the delicate leaves that fell around us.

He was looking nervously at me, and I was puzzled by this. He was a bit fidgeting while looking at me, trying to confess something. I was actually nervous because Leon kept saying these days that I am the woman who had captured his heart from the moment we met.

“Leon, it’s good to see you,” I said, breaking the awkward silence.

“Felixia,” Leon began, his voice steady, but I could really feel that he was fighting a turmoil inside. “There’s something I need to tell you. I’ve been holding back for a long time, but I can’t keep it to myself any longer.”

I tilted my head, curiosity flickering in my eyes. “What is it?”

Leon took a deep breath. He was obviously gathering his courage. “I’ve fallen in love with you, Felixia. I’ve loved you for so long, and I want to be with you.”

I was stunned for a moment. I was already expecting these words from him. But hearing it for real put me in a different level of confusion. My smile faltered a little. “Leon, I… I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you feel the same,” he urged, stepping closer to me. “Say you’ll give us a chance.”

I bit my lip, my gaze dropping to the ground. Actually, Leon is a perfect boyfriend. Very kind, caring, sweet, and I am sure that he was true to his word when he said he loved me.

But I have my own issue. I was just tired of living in poverty. I was just fed up with our life's routines where my parents always lack of everything. Both my parents were working really hard, but still, their income combined wasn’t enough to pay for all the bills. Aside from that, our family is facing a huge crisis now.

This is why I dreamt of marrying a rich guy when I finished college. Leon is a perfect boyfriend, except that he was poorer than us. I always believe that love isn’t enough in a relationship. Money should be there, too… a lot of it!

“Leon, I care about you, but… I can’t. I need to think about my future, and I don’t think you can provide what I’m looking for.”

I will never forget the shock on his face after hearing my blunt reply. His loving gaze instantly turned sour. “You think I’m too poor to take care of you?”

I stared at him and hesitated, then nodded. “Yes, Leon. I’m sorry, but I need stability. I need security. I can’t risk my future on a dream.”

I didn’t know where I got the gut to say those words in front of him. I saw how pain flashed in his beautiful green eyes. I know I shattered Leon’s heart with my rejection, cutting deeper than anyone could have ever imagined.

“Felixia, you don’t understand. I–”

“No, Leon,” I interrupted, my voice was firm and determined. “I’m sorry, but my decision is final. I wish you all the best.”

With that, I turned and walked away, leaving Leon standing alone in the park, the weight of my words crashing down on me. I was hurting deeply and walking without sure direction at the time. My eyes were pooling with tears, as my heart constricted in so much pain.

“Where were you, Felixia? Do you have any idea what it is now?” Mom yelled at me. I actually stood at a small bridge and cried my heart out. I lost count of the hours that I was there.

“Mom…” my voice trembled as I spoke,” I… I already broke up with him. I-I purposely hurt him, so couldn’t insist on his feelings for me anymore.”

I broke down in tears, my palm on my chest. I felt like multiple daggers were being stabbed there and even my breathing wasn’t normal.

“He will recover soon. He will find another woman to love, but for us, this is a one-time opportunity. We can’t let this one slide, Felixia. You can do this for us, for our family, right?” my Mom, asked. She was looking at me with sympathy, but I only felt worse.

The next morning, Gregor Heldran visited our house. He is a businessman and a rich bachelor. His family owned an electronics business, and my father was one of their employees.

I was still confused as to why my father accumulated a huge sum of debt to that family. Now, they compromised me to marry the heir of the Heldran family. I can still remember that time when my parents talked to me about it.

“Sit down. We need to talk,” my Mom quietly asked me. I got confused, but

still, I did as she said.

What is it, Mom? What’s going on?” I nervously asked. She looked at my Dad before they both looked my way.

“It’s about Gregor,” it was my father, who gravely answered. My confusion worsened.

“Gregor, who? What about him?” I asked, looking at them in turn.

They were exchanging glances before looking back at me sadly. “We’ve made a decision. You’re going to marry Gregor.”

I gasped, and my eyes grew as I was stunned. “Marry Gregor? But... I don’t love him. I don’t even know him!” I exclaimed.

My father looked straight into my eyes, sighing heavily. “This isn’t about love, Felixia. This is about necessity. Our family is in a very difficult situation right now, and only you can help us,” he explained. My forehead creased.

“What kind of situation?” I quietly asked, feeling a sense of dread.

“Your father has incurred a substantial debt. More than we can repay. Gregor’s family has agreed to settle it on one condition, and that is for you to marry him,” my Mom replied.

“You’re selling me off to pay a debt? How can you do this to me, Dad? I don’t want to do this!” I retaliated. Tears were beginning to blur my vision. My heart was pounding in my chest.

“This is not a decision we made lightly. We’re doing this to protect our family. To save our home, our name, everything we’ve built,” Dad insisted, firmly. “You must be thankful, because after you marry Gregor, you will be living in luxury. That has been your dream since you were a child, right? I am helping you live a better life,” he added.

“What about my life? My dreams? Yes, I wanted to marry a rich guy, but I want a man that I want!” I retorted, my voice was shaking with anger and hurt.

“We’re not asking, Felixia. We’re begging you. We have no other option. Please, child!” my Mom pleaded, she’s in tears now as well.

“This is insane. There must be another way. Have you even tried talking to the bank? Or selling some of our assets?” I desperately suggested.

“It’s too late for that. Besides, you know we do not have any other assets aside from house and my junk car. We’ve exhausted all our options. Gregor’s family is our last hope,” my Dad responded in frustration.

“But why me? Why can’t Gregor find someone who actually wants to marry him?” I still tried to reason it out.

“Gregor saw you already, and he wanted you as his wife. Please, understand that this is our only chance to survive,” my Mom begged me desperately.

“No. I refuse to marry someone I don’t love. I won’t be a pawn in your financial games,” I shook my head and stood up.

“You will do as we say,” my Dad angrily roared with his hardening voice. “This is not up for discussion. You owe this to us, to your family!”

“Owe you? I’ve never asked for any of this! You can’t control my life like this! Please, Mom, Dad! Don’t do this to me,” I continued pleading.

Felixia, please. We know it’s unfair, but sometimes life demands sacrifices. We need you to be strong. If you keep on disagreeing with this, they will kill your father,” Mom said.

My eyes grew wider in shock. “What?”

“Your mother was right. They will kill me if we don’t obey them,” my father agreed, frowning.

I stepped back, shaking my head. “No. I can’t do this. I won’t do this.”

My Dad looked at me in despair. “Felixia, you will. Or we will lose everything, and I will lose my life. Do you understand that?”

“There must be another way,” I whispered, crying.

“Think of your father’s health. This stress is killing him, and his life is truly in danger,” my mother wept.

I was clenching my fists, trying to hold back other tears from falling. “You’re using emotional blackmail to force me into this. How can you do this to your own child?” I blurted.

“We don’t want to hurt you. But sometimes, we must make difficult choices for the greater good. I don’t want to die just yet, Felixia. So, please help me…” my father came to me and even held my hands, his eyes were pleading.

“What about my happiness? Doesn’t that matter, Dad?” I asked quietly.

“It does, darling. More than anything. But right now, we’re out of time and out of options,” mom replied.

“This is so unfair! “I mumbled agonizingly.

“We know, darling. We know.”

I did not answer and ran to my room, shutting the door behind me. I sat on the edge of my bed, staring out the window at the starless night. Thoughts race through my mind, anger, betrayal, sadness, and a deep sense of helplessness. How could my parents do this? How could they ask for such a sacrifice?

Continuation of Chapter 4

I called my friend Mira. I need someone to talk to, someone who can understand me and my pain.

“They want you to marry Gregor? As in Gregor Heldran? Are they serious? That man is a monster!” my friend exclaimed immediately after hearing everything.

“Dead serious. They say it’s the only way to save the family. Since when should a daughter pay for her father’s debt this way? I mean, hello? We are no longer living in ancient times!” I blurted out.

“Exactly! That’s insane! They can’t force you to marry someone. This isn’t the Middle Ages, for crying out loud!” she agreed with me.

Now I smiled bitterly and miserably. “I know, but they’re desperate. They’re using every guilt trip in the book to make me agree.

“You can’t let them do this to you, Felixia. You have to stand up for yourself. How about, Leon? You love him, right? Did you even confess to him?” she asked.

I sighed heavily. “No. I couldn’t confess. Besides, Leon is even poorer than us. There will be no better future for both of us if we end up together.”

“Damn! You have a man you love so much, but he is poor. And you also have a rich man willing to marry you, but you do not like him, and he is ruthless. Gregor is an asshole. And his money isn’t enough to cover that,” she replied. I breathed a sad sigh again.

“But what can I do? They’re right about the debt. If I don’t marry Gregor, we will lose everything and my Dad’s life will be in danger,” I reasoned out.

“There must be another way. Have you talked to Gregor about this?” she queried.

I shook my head, although she wouldn’t see it. “No. I haven’t seen him since this whole thing started. I don’t even know how he really feels about it. But my Mom said, he wanted this marriage to happen,” I answered, feeling more desperate now.

“Maybe you should. If he’s a decent guy, he won’t want to force you into this either. Let’s say, you will be able to put sense in his head, then you might have a better chance to escape this wedding,” she suggested, thoughtfully.

“I was in silence for a few seconds, trying to think of her advice. “I don’t know. Why is he all for it? But what might be the reason why he wants to marry me?” I responded, sighing.

“You will only know the answer if you talk to him. Then you tell him how you feel. You need to be honest with him and with your parents. This is your life, Felixia. You deserve to be happy,” she said firmly.

My eyes lit a little. I still want to hold on to a little hope I have. “You’re right. I need to talk to Gregor. I need to know where he stands on this.”

The next day, I asked Gregor to meet me in a café. He was surprised to get a call from me, but I told him I needed to talk to him. Luckily, he agreed.

Hey, beautiful Felixia. I heard we’re getting married,” he announced with a smirk. I gasped, and even the other customers turned their attention to us. I wanted so much to glare at him, but I controlled myself. I want this meeting to be favorable on my part.

I nodded at him and tried to smile back. “Hi, Gregor. Thanks for meeting me,” I said in a formal tone.

“You sounded pretty upset on the phone. What's the big deal?” he asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

I took a deep breath and looked straight to his eyes. “I need to know how you feel about this... about us getting married.”

He frowned slightly before answering. “What do you mean? It's a done deal. Our families have decided on this.”

I raised my left brow and was still trying to suppress my annoyance. “But don’t you care that I don’t want to marry you? That I don’t love you?”

He laughed at me and gave me a cold gaze. “Love? This isn’t about love, sweetheart. This is about power and money. And I’m more than happy to marry you if it means getting what I want. Besides, you are very pretty and hot. You can always make my bed warm and thrilling.”

I was shocked and even got goosebumps with his answer. “Bastard! How can you say that? Don’t you care about my feelings at all? And I am not some w***e who will spread her legs to you for your money!” I almost yelled at him. Who gave him the audacity to insult me at daylight? My family might owe them some hefty amount of money, but that didn’t give him the right to talk to me like that.

He only shrugged nonchalantly and still looked at me like he was trying to undress me with his gaze. “Why should I? Your family is in debt to us. Consider this your way of paying it off. Besides, even if you work all your asses for all your life, you will never pay us.”

I am feeling sick and wanted to throw up. “This is wrong. You can’t force me into this,” I said with full determination.

He leaned closer, his voice menacing. “Watch me. You think you have a choice? Your parents will make sure you go through with it. I could even kill your father in front of you, you know!” he threatened. My eyes grew wider, and I was truly astonished.

“There has to be another way. I won’t sell myself to a devil like you!” I shot back at him, angrily and desperately.

He was laughing cruelly and more loudly now. “There isn’t. So, you’d better get used to the idea, sweetheart. And besides, I hate a disobedient woman, Felixia. You will be punished severely if you continue to give me such an attitude!”

He suddenly stood up and left me without looking back. I was stunned by what he said and the extreme rudeness of his behavior.

I returned to our house, the conversation with Gregor keeps replaying in my mind. I need to talk to my parents again, to find some way out of this nightmare. The living room feels even more oppressive now, the weight of the ancestors' portraits adding to the sense of dread as I looked at them one by one.

My father inherited this old house, and he forbade us to touch or even relocate those pictures. He said his family’s legacy is the most important, but I didn’t see any great legacy to follow from our ancestors.

“Did you talk to Gregor?” my father asked sternly. I almost jumped off my feet because I was a bit shocked when he suddenly spoke. My Mom also joined him on the couch.

I turned to look at him, trying to keep calm. “Yes. And he was clear that he didn’t care about my feelings. He’s only interested in money and power. Dad, you can’t let me marry an asshole like that! He will only treat me as his w***e!”

“Felixia,” my Mom uttered my name, nervously. “We know Gregor can be... difficult. But this is our only option,” she insisted. That only made me feel worse.

“You’re selling me to him! He’s so cruel and manipulative. How can you do this to me? Of all the people in this entire world, why would you want me to suffer and live in hell? We are not yet married, but he was already showing me his true color!” I argued, frantically.

“Enough of this! You don’t want to marry him? Go and continue to refuse, Felixia. But I am telling you now, without this marriage, my days are numbered!” he replied firmly. I was left stunned again.

“How exactly did you get such a huge debt? We’re not even living a lavish life for you to accumulate such debt!” I decided to ask.

My Dad did not speak and looked away, his face was reeking with guilt. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” he quietly answered.

“What? You are selling me to Gregor and–”

“Stop it, Felixia!” my Mom yelled at me. But that wasn’t the one that caught my attention but my Dad. He was holding his chest and seemed to be having difficulty breathing.

I immediately panicked because his face was turning red. With my trembling hand, I lifted my phone and started dialing 911.

“W-We have an emergency. We need an ambulance. My Dad… he is having a hard time breathing and–”

I couldn’t finish my sentence because my Dad collapsed on the floor. I rushed to him and helped my Mom to take care of Dad. I can still hear the agent on the other line asking for our address.

In just a few minutes, an ambulance arrived at our house and took my Dad to the hospital. My whole body was still shaking, and I couldn’t utter a single word. When I saw my Dad earlier, I felt like it was all my fault.

That night, I went to see Leon and ended everything with him. After what happened, I decided to just follow what my parents wanted and marry Gregor. I thought I could manage to turn my back on my parents just to avoid this marriage. But, after seeing my Dad in that condition, I already knew I was lost. I couldn’t ignore my parents.

***

Hello guys, I am sorry for being MIA for two days. I am still sick, so even my update is very short. I will update the continuation tomorrow. You just need to clear the cache to read it. Thanks for your understanding guys. I hope you like this story. Happy reading!