Chapter 2 Troubled heart.

Owen sat looking at Ashley as she stepped out of the cafe. The intensity of the gaze caused a shiver to run down her spine.

He had seen her communicate with the kids in Spanish.

***

"Mr. Owen, I know it would be nice working with you," one of the associates said as he extended his hand.

"You won't regret working with us." Owen's lips twitched into a forced smile as he shook hands with them, and his P. A. led the associates out.

All his board members shook hands and congratulated each other. Noticing Owen's silent demeanor, they filed out one by one.

Owen had just closed a billion-dollar deal with one of the nation's top finance companies, yet he didn't feel any excitement. He arched his brows into a frown.

"Sir, your schedule is cleared for the rest of the day. Do you want me to put a call through to Mr. Adams?" his PA inquired.

"No, I'll just relax a bit and go home afterward," He replied, his eyes strained with tiredness. The library and the coffee did little to calm his apprehension.

"Okay, do you need anything, sir?" She asked.

"No, and I don't want anybody disturbing me. Close the door after you," he declared firmly, causing his PA to jump a little before nodding and closing the door gently behind her.

With a heavy sigh, he pushed himself away from the desk, the leather chair creaked in protest as he turned to gaze out of the window.

His office was situated on the upper floor of a skyscraper.

All his board members were happy that they got the deal they'd been dreaming of, but Owen wasn't. He couldn't seem to break the void in his heart, and his mind wandered away.

"I'm merely after your money, the plan was not to get pregnant for you, I don't love you, but I'm considerate enough to give you the children, but on a condition..."

His eyes snapped wide open, jolting him from his thoughts. He rubbed his temple.

It had been long since he last thought about that incident, and he instantly regretted having stopped therapy six years ago.

The past haunted him, and nothing brought joy anymore. Taylor, his ex girlfriend, left him shattered and in agony, leaving remnants of herself with him in the form of their twins– Ava and Aiden.

She had completely made him fall in love with her yet broke him into pieces. Since then, he had stopped believing in love and saw all women the same; opportunists and gold diggers.

Ava and Aiden, his seven-year-old children, were the innocent victims of their fallout, and he always avoided them because they reminded him of Taylor, their mother.

He couldn't let her take them away or do what she said she would do with them. He had always loved children and dreamt of having his own one day.

When Taylor told him she was pregnant, he was the happiest, until she became the nightmare he never knew he would have.

She started behaving strangely and without affection until she confirmed to him that the plan was to get his money and not get pregnant for him.

The details of the words she spat out years ago were etched in his mind like scars. "I'm merely after your money... I don't love you."

His hands clenched into a fist as he remembered her hurtful words and betrayal, she had blackmailed him to get money using the unborn kids.

Owen's life had been a rollercoaster. His father died suddenly when he was 15, and his mother was diagnosed with cancer and had to fly out of the country and had not returned home.

He worked harder and brought up 'Dalton Empire' to where he stood. When he saw Taylor, he fell for her and thought the storms in his life were finally going to clear up until she revealed that she was after his wealth.

His therapist had urged him to confront these emotions, but the wounds were still raw. It wasn't easy.

It had been seven years since the incident and it felt like yesterday, he gritted his teeth at the thought.

He avoided the therapist and kept to himself, never allowing any woman to come closer to him except for flings.

Instead of healing, he distanced himself from his seven-year-old kids who reminded him of their mother's betrayal.

He provided for their material needs but had nothing to do with them on other terms. He knew the kids desperately craved the emotional connection.

He remembered earlier in his study when the kids had walked in, pleading with him not to hire another nanny.

He had told them bluntly that they would have another nanny and left them in the study, the hurt in their eyes lingering as he closed the door.

Their tearful expressions haunted him as he left them in the study. He knew he had failed as a father and wished he would be able to treat them well before it became too late.

For over three years, they hadn't had a stable nanny, and he knew he needed to be careful when choosing the next one.

He longed to give the kids the love they deserved but was always reminded and haunted by the memories and betrayal of Taylor.

Pitching his forehead, he tried forgetting the past but the voice kept ringing in his head. "I'm merely after your money... I don't love you."

Feeling suffocated even by the cold atmosphere of the room, he tore off his suit jacket and stumbled to the bathroom in his office suite.

He stepped into the shower, letting the water drown his thoughts.

He closed his eyes, banishing all memories until an image of hazel eyes flashed before him, disrupting his privacy.

The hazel eyes, which almost cut into his eyeballs as if seeing all he had been through all these years in just a minute.

It was as if she was looking into his soul, which seemed so transparent at the time, and he didn't like that.