A Billionaire's Redemption

Shantal walked aimlessly with thousands of thoughts running through her mind. For the first time in her life she had no clue on what to do or who to go to.

"Your father needs a kidney transplant....... Your insurance doesn't cover that. You have to get the money as soon as possible."

The doctor's voice echoed in her head as she recalled their earlier conversation.

Shantal works as an intern at a famous fashion house. She got the internship there with the help of her boyfriend's family and even got paid like regular staff. She was at work when her sister, Camilla, called to tell her about the situation with their father. She abruptly left the building without taking permission from her boss, Miss Ty. She knows she is already in trouble at work but at that moment, she has more pressing matters at hand.

"But doctor, he is all we have. My sister is still in college and I am just an intern. We can't afford that much." That was Shantal's response to the doctor.

She stopped and looked up at the clear sky. Her hazel eyes turned teary. She inhaled deeply with her hands crossed to her chest.

The only way out for her now is her boyfriend, Kyle. She has not been honest with him though. She made him and everyone around her believe she came from wealth since college just to fit in.

"I will just look for an excuse. Let him know that my dad is going through some rough patches. He will settle him as soon as his business deals fall in place." Shantal said out loud. Encouraging herself with an assuring nod before hailing a taxi.

***

Moments later, she arrived at the apartment. She moved in with Kyle after graduating from college, a few months back.

"Kyle?" Shantal called out after walking in.

There was no answer but she could hear some noise coming from the bedroom.

"Poor thing." She said, recalling she left him home sick that day. He wasn't able to go to work as he was having a stomach upset. Even after taking medication, he was not feeling better and had to stay home.

"Arghhh...." A groan came from the bedroom.

Shantal was at the door and was about to open when she heard a female voice coming from the room.

"Ahhhh... Baby, you are so filling ." The familiar female voice came from the room.

Shantal's heart skipped a bit. 'It can't be.' she thought to herself.

"Arghhh... So f**king great. You feel so good. Arghhh." Kyle's voice followed. There was the sound of slapping flesh at the same time as the door was not closed all the way.

Shantal reached for the door with a trembling hand and was met with the sight of a nightmare. It is her boyfriend, Kyle and her boyfriend, Kyle completely na**d in bed pouncing her best friend from behind.

They were so into their exercise that they didn't realize Shantal was in the room. She took a few steps back and almost lost her balance which resulted in her making a whimper.

It got the attention of the two and they turned to her. With wide eyes, they separated from each other.

"F*ck!" Kyle exclaimed as he pulled away.

Meredith covered her na*ed body with the bed cover. Shantal could swear she saw a smirk on her best friend's face. Or so she thought of the backstabbing traitor to be her best friend.

Kyle searched for his pants on the floor and put them on. He walked to the living room space where Shantal was pacing, unsure of what to think at the moment.

Shantal contemplated between listening to the two cheaters or to leave. She was in her indecisive state when she noticed Kyle standing a few feets away. His hands crossed on his chest.

"Shanny, you are home early." Kyle said nonchalantly. There was no sign of regret in his features. The features she once found alluring now seem disgusting to her.

"W - why her, Kyle?" Shantal finally finds words to let out.

Kyle gave a sinister laugh before saying, "Really Shanny, you are asking me that? This is all your fault, you know." He pointed towards her.

Confused, Shantal pointed towards herself. "M - my fault?" She couldn't believe her ears.

"Yes." Kyle confirmed after running a hand through his brown hair. He walked closer to Shantal and added. "What kind of relationship do you expect us to have if you still don't trust me? After three years of being together?"

"I never said I didn't trust you. But It is obvious you gave me a good reason not to." Shantal barked back. Her tears kept trying to betray her and she also kept fighting it not to fall.

"Maybe in your own way you do but not enough to have s*x with me."Kyle pointed out.

Shantal sucked in her breath. For one, she really thought Kyle understood her decision and loved her enough to wait. Just as her father did for her mother. She believed that was what made their love last till the very end. Even after the passing of their mother, their father still has the same look of love when she is mentioned.

Moments later, Shantal is walking on the streets with a broken heart and a confused state again. It was dark now.

The mix of the doctor's words and Kyle kept playing in her head.

"I can't do this anymore, Shanny. I like Meredith and she understands me."

"His insurance doesn't cover that. You have to get the money as soon as possible."

"Meredith has given attention to my needs for the past seven months more than you did in three years." Kyle's voice played in her head.

"You have to get the money as soon as possible." The doctor's words echoed.

"We figured why you never let us meet your parents. You are such a lowlife, Shanny. Are you perhaps ashamed of your background? Is that why you kept pretending to be someone you are not?" This revelation of Kyle struck her like lightning.

Of course that was the truth. Due to her performance, she was able to secure a scholarship into the best college in the city. To fit in, she had to put on a face of being from a wealthy background. Having a best friend from a wealthy family helped her a lot in maintaining her made up family status. That also helped her in getting the attention of the most sought after boy in school, Kyle. They have been together since their second year in college.

Shantal wondered how he figured that out. With everything happening, there was no need to hide anything anymore. She went ahead to tell him about her father's condition and why she came home at that time to ask for his help. Only to find him in a compromising position.

Shantal walked for twenty minutes with no specific destination. The honk of a car startled her. Before she realized what was going on, she felt her body coming in contact with an object. It lifted her from the ground for a moment and then she was back on the ground, hitting her head on a streetlight pole.

"Oh my God! Miss - miss, are you okay?" She heard a man's voice rushing to her in panic.

"Jared, what is going on?" Another male's voice followed.

Shantal couldn't make out much of what was going on around her. All she felt was pain from every angle of her body before complete darkness took over.

Inside the Moore's corporations, Everyone was running up and down. Fixing their dressing and arranging their desk as it is supposed to be.

"Attention everyone," A Man said in a loud voice as he stood by a far end where they could all see him. "Mr Moore will be here in a minute, I just saw his car pulling over. Please be mindful. No eye contact, especially if he is not talking to you. Don't stand in his way and please make sure you are well dressed. Your table must be kept organized and intact." He continued and headed to the exit of the building.

"Good luck, everyone."he added before finally exiting.

The workers went back to talking amongst themselves.

"I wished the boss stayed longer on his vacation."

"I recently started enjoying working here."

"If not for the pay, I would have been long gone."

"The boss Is so heartless. Did you hear he fired Mary, because she stood in his way when he came into the building the other day?"

"Yeah I heard. She was even backing him at that time. She didn't know he was standing behind her."

"Poor Mary."

The employees of Moore's company were talking in a hushed tone among themselves. Their boss had been gone for a while now. His assistant was the man that had been in charge. The employees couldn't be more happy about that. But now, the monster is back.

"Shhhh. He is here." One of them called their attention from gossiping about the arrogant boss.

He walked into the building, his brow knitted together as he walked majestically. His assistant followed after him. The boss kept receiving greetings as he passed the people working for him. They tried to put on a smile as they did.

"Welcome back Sir."

"Good morning, Mr Moore."

"Good to have you back, Sir."

"Welcome back Mr Moore."

Mr Donald Moore, CEO of Moore's corporations walked past his employees. They were sending greetings his way but he did not acknowledge any of them.

As the men looked towards him with envy, the girls gawked at the handsomeness of the man. Although they know they do not have any chance with the CEO. He is a successful business man in the city, but never was he seen with a woman. Rumors were that he scared them off. He might be the perfect man every girl dreams of, but this one was impossible to date. No one had ever seen him smile, ever.

Donald got to his office and went around and sat on his office leather seat. He then turned to his assistant that had been following him and said, " James, I want to see the history from the past year."

"Yes, Don." James said. He also sat down on the chair on the other side of the table and said, "So?"

Donald gave him a puzzled look with a raised eyebrow. "So... You go get them." He stated the obvious.

"Oh come on, Don, tell me. We are alone now." James probed. "How are you feeling?" He asked with a concerned expression.

"Fine." Donald said and continued to tap away on his phone.

"Really man?" James said. He realized his friend was trying to avoid the discussion. After all it was the reason he left everything he built and went into hiding.

"Can you go and do what I pay you for?" Donald demanded.

James scoffed. "Oh please. You are all cut up and we both know that." He waved off. "Now, Did your little escape help you?"

Donald sighed, he put his phone down and looked at his friend before saying, "Yes, it did. Now go do your job." He lied just to end the conversation. He is the only person that can make his friend say more than three words at a time.

James is a childhood friend to Donald. They grew up together and attended the same college. Donald was lucky enough to build his empire with the help of his godfather. He left half of his wealth in Donald's name. That made Donald promise himself to make his godfather proud. So far, he is doing a great job and making his godfather proud from the heavens.

"We will talk later. I will give you the same advice as always, stop denying your feelings and let the girl know. At least then you can have closure." James advised for uncountable times.

"It's either she accepts you or rejects you. Which we believe the latter is unlikely." James sought with a smirk. He got up and left the office.

Few moments later, James was back with the requested files. He exited the office, leaving his friend to his own thoughts.

Donald acted to ignore James. Although this time around, he was listening. Running away was not a very good solution. He still wants to get close to the girl even though she is too young for him and has a boyfriend who happens to be his nephew. Donald is a bold, fearless and courageous man. But when it comes to this particular girl, he turns into a marshmallow.

Everything looked in place. James was doing a fine Job while Donald was absent. Nonetheless, he stayed in the office till late in the evening. He is trying to kick start a new project to keep him busy and not have time to think about his forbidden love.

"I am on my way now, mother and no I am not driving. That is why I answered your call -" Donald spoke into his phone to his mother. His driver is taking him to his mother's house. She insisted on him coming home because she hadn't seen him since he left the city.

The car came to a sudden stop, after the sound of something coming in hard contact with the car.

The driver got out of the car in a hurry. He rushed to the figure that is now laying on the side of the road. There is wetness around her which you can easily make out to be blood streaming down from the back of her head.

"Oh my God! Miss - miss, are you okay?" The driver rushed to her with a trembling voice. When he noticed she wasn't moving, his heart kept beating rapidly.

"Mom, I have to go now. I will call you when I get home." Donald said as he also stepped out of the car. He did not wait for his mother's free response before ending the call.

"Jared, what is going on?" Donald asked, walking to the scene.

Few people were also watching as they passed by. Others were coming out of their residence to see what was going on.

"Where are we?" Donald directed the question more to himself as he looked around.

"Oh my lord... Please be ok. Miss? Miss?" Jared said to the laying figure, who is not still moving. "Someone should please call an ambulance."

Donald's attention turned to them and he went closer. With the audience they are starting to have, he decided to save them the unwanted attention.

"We should take her to hospital. Ambulance might take a while." Donald suggested.

"I am so sorry sir. I wanted to use the shortcut because we came out in a rush hour. I didn't want you to realize what I did after you ended your call. So I sped up. I am so sorry." Jared said apologetically. He was in the back with the lady while Donald took the wheels.

"She - she just came out of nowhere. I swear." Jared continued. "I am really sorry -"

"Enough." Donald said.

That made Jared hush and only gave directions to Donald until they were out of the unfamiliar place.

Heartbeats later, they arrived at the hospital and the lady was placed on a stretcher. With the illuminating light at the entrance of the hospital, Donald was able to make out the face of the lady.

"It can't be." Donald said in disbelief. He quickly went closer to the stretcher and pushed away the man standing there.

Brushing the lady's brunette hair away from her face, his heart skipped a bit. "Sh- Shan -" Donald stuttered. He gulped down his own spew. "Shantal!"

"We need to attend to her now, sir." The man that Donald pushed to the side spoke before coming between Donald and the stretcher. They took her away, leaving Donald frozen in his spot and everything turned mute.

Jarred has been trying to call the attention of his boss. Donald has been standing in the same spot for like ten minutes now. "Sir? Sir? Please let me take you home then I will come back to the hospital -"

"You are fired." Those were the three words Donald spat before he walked into the hospital. Leaving a confused Jared at the entrance.

'How can I leave!? When the only girl I have ever loved is fighting for her life right now and it is all because of me.' Donald thought to himself.

"You have nothing to worry about sir. Your girlfriend will wake up any moment. It's a good thing she doesn't have any internal injury. The hit she took to the head is what made her unconscious and also shook from the accident." A doctor explained to Donald.

When the doctor concluded, he left Donald there with Shantal in the hospital room. He did not bother correcting the doctor about their relationship, which was none.

Donald wondered what she must be doing at that hour of the night in such streets. From what he saw back there, the street didn't look like a safe one to be by herself and worse, at night.

Donald sat on a chair and awaited Shantal to wake up.

Shantal was discharged two days after her incident. At first, she was surprised to see Kyle's uncle in her hospital room. She then thought he was there because of his nephew. To apologize for being a jerk, especially after seeing her room filled with flowers and some get well soon cards.

However, she learnt Donald's driver was the one who hit her, it made a little sense. But still, the driver should be the one at the hospital not Donald.

"Thank you for your help, Mr Moore." Shantal said. They were on their way to the hospital, where her father was admitted. Donald offered to drive.

"I am sorry you had to go through this because of me, Miss Stanley." Donald responded. Stealing glances her way.

'She is still darn pretty even after getting hit by a car' he thought.

The rest of the ride was in silence. Shantal thanked him before stepping out of the car. She went into the hospital.

Donald fixed his gaze on her as she limped into the hospital. She still had a bandage around her head. 'This was all my fault.' He thought, shaking his head before driving away from the entrance. He found a spot and parked where he could easily see her when she came out.

***

"Don, maybe I don't believe in all this faith thing but I think this might be your redemption." James' voice echoed from the other end of the phone. "Take your chance. There is no fragile heart like a broken one."

Donald told his friend what happened. How Shantal has ended things with his cheating nephew. Although she left the nephew part of. She didn't mention Kyle's name and Donald doesn't know why.

"Hmm. You know that because?" Donald asked. His brow raised.

"Hahaha. Because I go for the broken ones. They are easier to get away with after one night." Said James proudly.

"Perv." Donald said. "That is not what I want with her. That means I will give her time to heal before I shoot my shot."

"You mean from the accident?" James asked.

"No. From the breakup." Donald said. All the will, his eyes were fixed on the hospital entrance. He didn't want to miss her coming out.

An hour later, Donald did not see Shantal leaving. He thought maybe she left through another exit but he had to confirm. He stepped out of the car and went into the hospital. He was directed where Shantal's father is. He was about to take the last turn to the room when he heard someone sobbing. Shantal's trembling voice followed, trying to console the one sobbing. He stopped in his tracks.

"Don't worry Camilla. I promise to get the money very soon. I won't let our father die. I will find a way." Shantal said.

"I - I don't want to lose him too, Shanny. He is all we have left." The crying voice said.

Donald knew that must be Shantal's sister. He continued with his steps.

"We won't lose him. I will go to Kyle now and ask for a loan from him or my boss, Miss Ty. You see, I even have two options - " Shantal's words stuck in her throat when she saw Donald. She couldn't hide her surprised expression.

"M - Mr Moore? You - came back!?" Shantal exclaimed, limping towards him, hoping he did not hear their conversation.

Camilla only walked back to the room without turning back. Not wanting to be seen by a third party in her broken state, which will make questions arise.

"I never left." Donald said with a shrug. His hands find their way to his pocket.

"You need to freshen up and get changed. Aren't you hungry?" Donald asked.

Shantal was mouth agape. She wondered if he was not the same man Kyle always talked about how scary and unapproachable he was? He never gave her that impression. He has been gentle and caring towards her since the two days that they spent around each other.

'He just feels guilty for what happened. Plus, he is Kyle's uncle.' Shantal concluded in her thoughts.

"It's fine. I will just take a taxi -'' Shantal began but she was cut off by Donald's words.

"Lunch is on me. Consider it as my way of apology."

Shantal looked at the man squarely. 'Now she is starting to doubt if the man standing before her is really Kyle's uncle.

"You already settled my hospital bill. That was a really good way of apologizing." Shantal probed.

Donald shook his head and said, "I will be waiting in the car." He turned and left before Shantal could protest again.

Ten minutes later, Shantal came out of the hospital. She was able to talk to her father for a while after she arrived. Although he seemed weaker than the last time she saw him. He later dozed off to sleep. That was when she and her sister left the room to talk outside.

They were on the road again. Driving in silence until Donald took a wrong turn.

"That is not the way to my house." Shantal probed. She was going to freshen up before they had lunch.

"I know." Donald said.

"Where are we going then?" Shantal said looking at her outfit. It was a brand new dress out of the five Donald got for her while she was in the hospital. But a home bath is what she needs first.

"Your place is an hour drive. Mine is twenty minutes from here." Donald pointed out. "As I said, I am hungry too."

Shantal kept silent. 'He has a point.' she thought. She is famished as well.

They got to the hotel which is a property under Moore's corporations. It was initially built as a way of showing clients the kind of services they deliver. It later turned out to be the best in the city.

Sitting for twenty minutes did not do good to Shantal's condition. Although she was given some pain reliever in the hospital. Her legs were sore once again. When she got out of the car, she almost fell to the ground but Donald and his fast reflex came to her rescue.

"You need to be careful." Donald said with his forehead creased before trying to pick her up.

"I - I can manage." Shantal said, pushing his hand away.

"Alright." Donald said. He removed his other hand that was supporting her to stand and she almost went to the ground again. He quickly supported her again. A smirk formed on his face knowing she will let him have his way now.

Shantal held on to his strong arm. The little action was quick to send a certain feeling down his zone. He tried to compose himself by clearing his throat.

"I feel you did that on purpose." Shantal spoke, looking into his brown eyes with her hazel ones. 'God! This man might be older than me but he is breathtakingly handsome. I wouldn't mind having him for myself. wait! What!?' Shantal mentally smacked her stupid and silly thoughts.

Donald shrugged before reaching for her small back once again. The other hand went to her thighs