Ruin The Billionaire

Jake.

Johnny had been right. The sandy haired woman with wide and sharp eyes was quite the looker. The photo I had seen before did not do justice to her in a way. She was way more beautiful and warm in person, especially when wearing a casual red dress and heels. Her hair fell down the sides of her face in beautiful curls and her smile could melt the coldest heart. Had I met her first, I would have totally taken her.

But Katarina Hayes belonged to my friend Johnny Knightley. Johnny and his beautiful girlfriend had decided to come to New York for a vacation. He also wanted to show her everything the big apple had to offer. As his best friend, I was one of those things.

I was happy because they had come at a right time when I really needed a friend. Everything was driving me up the wall. Now that my best friend was back, I was starting to feel better.

“So Katarina, do you see yourself living her or do you like your town better?” I asked.

Katarina smiled. “That’s a hard one. I like my town, it’s quite and very peaceful. But, after seeing everything in this city, I’ve began to think I’ve not lived at all. It’s like I have been locked up in some big tower and I’m outside for the first time.”

“Darling, don’t let the beauty in this city corrupt you, it can get ugly.” Johnny said.

I chuckled. “Don’t worry about him. I think he’s just scared that we the handsome gentlemen of New York might steal you away.”

Johnny just shook his head. Katarina rubbed his upper arm. “He shouldn’t have to worry at all. My heart belongs to him alone.”

The sun was shining bright that afternoon and we were having lunch at an upscale outdoor restaurant in the central business district. We were conversing happily until Johnny chocked on his drink. An expression of absolute terror appeared on his face before he went into a fit coughing.

“What’s wrong, Johnny?”

He stood up but before he could go any further, a familiar voice called him.

“Ian?”Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I didn’t have to turn to know that it was Lilith Hellman. I turned to Katarina. “Hey, why don’t we get out of here? I’ll take you to Broadway.”

“And while you take her, spin one more lie, Jake Rylland.” Lilith said. I glanced at Katarina and saw that she was not about to get up.

“Who is Ian?” She asked.

Johnny sighed and sat back down, defeated.

“Is this scheming liar your boyfriend?”

“Are you Lilith Hellman?”

“Ian, or whatever your name is, thank you for ruining my life. You made everyone think I was a whore. I hope you’re happy now.”

A man in a suit came to the table. He must have been the manager of the establishment.

“Ma’am, I’m asking you to leave.” He said to Lilith.

“Thank you,” Lilith said. “I have lost my appetite anyway.”

She marched towards the door and froze after some seconds. Athena Morgan, the managing director of the paper she worked for was walking in. Lilith turned and walked back to where we were.

“I need a table for my boss,” she told the manager.

“Follow me and don’t start anymore drama or we’ll have to ban you from here.”

Lilith gave us a death glare before following the manager. Athena Morgan stopped at our table.

“Jake Rylland and Johnny Knightley. What a pleasure to see you two. Enjoy your lunch.”

“Thank you,” I said and she went away.

“What was that?” Katarina asked.

Oh sh! t. This was not going to end well.

I gave Johnny a questioning look. He nodded. That meant it was okay for me to tell the truth.

“Sorry, that was my fault. When Lilith wrote bad articles about me, I asked her to stop. Because she couldn’t stop, I had to find another way. I asked Johnny to fake an identity, and woo Lilith. He was able to do it and we messed up and it ended with her being seen as something she’s not.”

“Oh my goodness!” Katarina said, standing up. “You two are monsters.”

“She was in the wrong as well.”

“The worst thing a woman can be called is a whore. How sure can I be that you’re not playing me as well?”

“Kat, I’m not that kind of guy anymore. I have been feeling guilty ever since that happened. In fact I wanted to confess to Lilith but Jake…”

“Jake, yes, Jake Rylland, the one who decides everything for you. You did something bad. Trying to pin it on someone else is pathetic.”

She pushed her chair back loudly and stormed out of the restaurant while everyone stared. Someone even took a picture. Johnny got up and went after her. I spotted Lilith and noticed a smirk on her face. I couldn’t take it anymore. Calling for our server, I made my payment before getting out of there.

I found Johnny and Katarina having an argument outside. I decided to go and see if I could help patch things but Johnny glared at me. “Leave us alone, man.”

I nodded before getting into my car. I hoped he would be able to get her trust back. Now the two people who had been giving me some comfort were having a bad time because of me. My stress had just multiplied itself.

Since I had a tonne of work to do, I decided to go to the office. I did paperwork for about an hour before feeling tired. I turned on my iPad and decided to watch the news on a business network to see how things were going in the financial world. After a while, I started to get bored and switched to a general news outlet since it was the top of the hour. I didn’t expect my name to pop up in the headlines.

“Lilith Hellman may have caused a rift between Johnny Knightley and his new mystery girlfriend. This afternoon, Lilith Hellman verbally attacked Johnny Knightley and Jake Rylland while they were having lunch in a restaurant. After the attack, Johnny Knightley’s girlfriend was seen leaving the restaurant before he went running after her. The two lovebirds argued outside the restaurant before getting into his car. When Jake Rylland tried to intervene, Johnny did not have kind words for him. It’s unknown what exactly Lilith Hellman said but we’re trying to find out as fast as we can.

A source has also confirmed to this network that there is a wild story about Jake Rylland that’s about to come out. It is alleged that there are secrets about Jake Rylland that Lilith was unable to uncover.”

I turned off the Ipad and quickly stood up. I was angry but not at Lilith Hellman. That last part of that story about my secret had left me unsettled. That source could only be one person. My mother.

Or not. Could it be one of the other people who had been present that night? Could James Milner or the other guys really sell me out? No, if it was not my mother, it had to be one of the girls.

Before making a move, I had to find out if it was mother. She had threatened me two nights back when I refused to propose to Heather like she wanted. Was she really going to expose her own son?

I grabbed my phone and wallet and left the office. I passed by Jenny without saying a word and hurried into the elevator. I came out of the elevator still feeling angry. I stormed out while everyone looked at me like I was crazy. I had never been that mad at work. When I found my mother at the parking lot, I lost it.

“Was it you, mother?” I asked. “Are you the source that has a hot secret you want to reveal about me?”

My mother smiled, and I knew she was the one. To show how evil she was, she didn’t even bother to deny it.

“That’s not an issue. What was that with Johnny and Lilith Hellman? Not only can’t you find a suitable woman for yourself, now you have to and ruin other people’s relationships. I told you to stay far away from trashy woman. If you had listened to me, this wouldn’t be happening.”

“Mother stop it right now. You can’t talk to me like this, especially at work.” I looked around and saw that a few employees were listening to us. Some had come out of the company to see what was going on.

“What are you staring at? Get back to work.”

They all scattered back where they came from.

“You’re my son and I will admonish you from wherever I want.” She said.

“You know what.” I said, before raising my voice. “I hate you, Carrie Rylland.”

My mother gasped as I marched towards my car.

“You’re going to regret this, Jake.” She said. “Cory, don’t move that car.”

“Move it, Cory.”

Cory decided to listen to me and drove off. I knew this was the final straw.

Carrie Rylland was going to do her worst. Tired of all the blackmail, I was no longer scared. I was ready for whatever her twisted mind was cooking up.