protected By The Ruthless CEO

Chapter 1 The birthday surprise

Emily's POV

I woke up to the sound of people in my room. I didn't want to open my eyes, but my sister kept shouting and shaking me to wake up. I had no choice. I opened my eyes and saw my parents, my sister Ana, and my best friend Abigail standing around my bed.

I rolled my eyes at them as they shouted "Happy Birthday!" and I groaned, pulling the blanket over my head. Why does everyone have to be so loud on my birthday? But Abigail wasn't giving up. She dragged me right out of bed.

"Come on, Emily! Just stand up already. There's still a surprise waiting for you," Abigail said, grinning.

"What surprise?" I asked, still half asleep.

"Trust me, this surprise is worth waking up for... Especially _him_," Abigail winked at me.

I stood up from the bed and thanked my parents and my sister for the surprise that ruined my sleep. I gave them a quick hug, then hurried to the bathroom for a shower. When I came out, everyone was gone.

I opened my wardrobe and started looking for an outfit to wear. I won't lie, I was very confused. I had no idea what to wear. I screamed Abigail's name and she came running upstairs.

"Girl, why are you screaming my name like that?" she asked, hands on her hips.

I opened my wardrobe for her and she looked at me with a smirk. "Ohhh, the birthday girl doesn't know what to wear," she teased.

I rolled my eyes as she started picking clothes from my wardrobe. Finally, she pulled one out and held it up.

I rolled my eyes at her. "No way am I wearing that," I said.

"You will have to wear it and that's final," she said firmly. "Now, I give you 5 minutes to come downstairs. And remember to wear some makeup," she added before making her way downstairs.

After what felt like eternity, I finished dressing and was ready to go downstairs. I grabbed my phone and made my way down. I made sure not to trip because everywhere was dark.

I finally reached downstairs and everyone screamed "Surprise!" The lights came on. I looked around and saw some of my friends and my boyfriend, Liam. I smiled at him.

But then I saw someone I wasn't familiar with. He was tall, wearing a black suit, and staring straight at me.

He gave me a cold look and said, "Took you so long."

I looked at him, then at my best friend. Abigail was making eye contact with me and she smirked.

Who is he?