Ruin The Billionaire

Lilly.

“Johnny Knightley,” I said. Leah was watching me in silence as she ate an apple. “That’s the man who fooled me. He made me fall in love with him and ruined my life.”

“Are you surprised? He’s Jake’s best friends. Birds of the same feather blah blah blah.”

“How did I not know about him all that time I was doing my research? I get that he was away in some small town but I’m really surprised that his name did come up.”

“He has a nice name, actually, better than Ian.”

“That’s not helping.”

“I pity that beautiful girl. Imagine falling in love with such a person.”

“Well, maybe she’s as stupid as I am. I mean, I fell in love with the one who started the plot. Johnny was just helping his friend out, but Jake created the idea.”

Seeing Jake and Johnny so happy had opened the wounds that had been just about to heal. When I saw them, I felt so much pain that I couldn’t stop myself from lashing out even though I knew my boss was right outside. I had thought Athena would be mad when she found out but she had been surprisingly happy. The paper had not getting much publicity but now #thedailypaper was trending alongside #jakerylland #lilithhellman and #johnnyknightley.

I, on the other hand was not happy about being on the news. The reason I had failed to go to my apartment after work was there had been a lot of paparazzi lurking around. After seeing four people with cameras and one with a microphone, I had told the taxi driver to continue. That was why I was in Leah’s living room.

“I’m going to shower,” I told Leah while getting up.

“Okay,” she said.

I went to the guest bedroom and started undressing. I was about to step in the shower when I heard Leah screaming my name. Grabbing a towel, I wrapped it around my body and went to the living room.

“What is it?”

“It’s Jake,” she said.

I sighed and started walking back to the bedroom. I was tired of talking about Jake, thinking about Jake and hearing his stupid name.

“He has been arrested for killing his mother.”

I gasped and ran back to the living room.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

A breaking news sash was at the left corner of the screen. Jake Rylland arrested for the murder of his mother. Guilty or innocent.

“No, no, no.” I said, while sitting down. All the energy had been drained out of me. I may have said all sorts of things about Jake but a part me had tried to understand him and believed there was good in him. Now all hope was crushed.

His mother was a terrible person, but murdering her would make Jake a worse person. I didn’t know what to believe in that moment. According to the news anchors, there was no evidence pointing to Jake but he had an altercation with his mother outside his company headquarters earlier that day.

There was footage showing Jake yelling he hated his mother after that argument and it had gone viral on the internet. That was the thing that made him a suspect.

“I don’t know what to think honestly,” Leah said.

I didn’t say anything, because I was too shocked for words. I just stared at the television in a trance like state, hoping what I was seeing was not true.

I couldn’t sleep that night. I spent all night turning and tossing in bed. When morning came, I didn’t want to get out of bed. I forced myself to do so because I wanted to watch the news and see the recent developments. Not much progress had been done. Jake was still in jail and his mother’s corpse was in the mortuary. I hated the woman but hearing of her death still made me sad.

At around ten am, George Rylland was interviewed about his son. He was sure his son was innocent.

“Although Jake and his mother were having some issues, he would never have killed her. My ex-wife did not get along with very many people so there are very many enemies she has out there. Jake was the one who called his mother back into his life because he found it hard to live without her. Why would he call her back and kill her?”

“Mr. Rylland, what about the argument they had at his company,” the reporter said. “Jake was very angry after that argument.”

“Yes, he was. He even came to my house because he was very upset. Just because one is upset with a family member does not mean they will kill them. Families always have arguments. That’s normal. Jake and his mother have had a lot arguments before yesterday. She and I didn’t like each other very much after many years of marriage. I have had misunderstandings and quarrels with Jake. These things happen all the time. We don’t go around killing each other. I know my son, and he would never commit murder. Now I have to go.”

Jake’s father stood up and started walking out of the set.

“We’re not yet done.”

“I’m done,” he said.

The journalist forced a smile. I turned off the television.

“Why are you stressing yourself with this?” Leah asked me. She placed a plate of freshly baked cookies on the table.

“I can’t stop thinking about it,” I said.

“Then go and see him,” she said. “Talk to him. You won’t rest until you do.”

“You really think that’s a good idea?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Oh, thank you. I’ve been thinking about it but thought it would make things worse.”

“Go.”

I stood up and went to the bedroom. Going to the bathroom, I took a quick shower. Half an hour later, I was fully dressed and ready to go. Leah drove me to the station in her new car.

It took me a while before I could get the courage to get out of the car. When I finally did and got inside the station, I was given bad news.

“Mr. Rylland doesn’t want to see anyone, except his attorney.”

“Please, I need to see him.”

“Aren’t you that girl who ruined his lunch time yesterday?”

“Please officer, just ask him if I can come in. there’s something I need to talk to him about.”

“Okay,” he said and went to the back.

The officer returned two minutes later. “Follow me. You alone.”

“Go,” Leah encouraged me.

My heart was beating fast as I walked down the hallway. I could almost hear it. I knew I wasn’t ready to face Jake but there was no going back