The Billionaire's Fake Fiance

Chapter Forty Four

God, this woman was so stubborn. Richard gulped down his saliva, fear and frustration creeping down his spine. Jean was standing in front of him, her eyes quaintly fixed on his face and she was breathing heavily. She had overheard his conversation with Alex. Damn it!

"What is this? Rich, please, tell me!" She came closer to him, holding his shoulders tightly.

His resolve was melting away slowly. She was so fucking beautiful, and today, she looked no less than an angel in a light blue maxi dress, that had glitter borders and a deep v-cut neck, her ears and neck was adorned with heavy, silver jewelry, and her hair, god, it was his weakness for sure. No way in hell could he ever resist that red, flaming hair that made her look like a goddess.

"Jean, listen, everything you've heard--"

"Rich, if you say that I was hallucinating the entire two-minute conversation between you and Alex, I swear I'm gonna kill you!" She said passively, glaring at him.

He wrapped his arms around her waist. "Okay, okay, you weren't hallucinating, but--"

"Don't lie to me, please, please, tell me."

He couldn't take it anymore. Her eyes were watering, and it pierced his heart to see her like that. He rested his forehead on hers. "Fine, I know the truth."

She stepped away from him, going several steps away, shocked and baffled. "Oh, god....you know about Grace and Alan's plan?"

"Yes."

"You were lying to me all this time?"

"Yup."

"You are pretending to like her just so you can access her things?"

"That's true."

"So, you don't hate me?"

"Not a chance in hell."

She took a deep breath. "You wanna be with me?" She asked.

His heart leaped and jumped. "Hmm," he merely hummed, trying to source out all his emotions in one word. God, his feelings for her were all over the place.

After that answer had sunk in, she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tighter than ever. "Oh, Rich, I was so scared! I thought you don't like me, after everything! And---I was so scared..."

He felt alive, again. The past three days, since his meeting with Neil, he had forced himself to die. He had promised himself he would investigate, and he had done that, and then he had talked to Alex, who confirmed his questions with Riley's investigation. After that, he had went to meet Elizabeth separately, and that woman had been still soaked in alcohol and drugs. Nonetheless, she had told him that Alan had blackmailed her to reverse the story in front of him, and hence, she had also told him what things had happened in Jean's childhood.

He buried his face into the crook of her neck. "I'm so...so sorry. I just---I couldn't tell you. Alan is planning sometime big," he pulled away from the hug and looked into her eyes. "and he has already kidnapped you once, and then you got that letter through Grace! He desperately wants you to stay away from me!"

"That's why you were acting to despise me?" She asked, incredulous.

Even acting to hate her was taking his life. "Mmm, I'm sorry....I had to protect you....and I---I failed. You got to know, in the end."

She cried, cupping his face. "Well, I'm sorry for eavesdropping but you can't imagine how much it killed me to see you hate me, to see you with Grace...."

It had killed him to do all these things, too. She sighed. "I can never undo what my mom did to you, but--"

He touched her lips, shushing her midway. "Jean....you're not the one who should be embarrassed. I can't believe how strong you are! I went to meet Elizabeth and she told me everything truthfully and Alan had blackmailed her with some pictures."