The Billionaire's Possession is his wife

TIARA

"Out of the way!" I yelled frantically at the man who was heading in my direction since I knew I wouldn't be able to dodge him in time.

I missed my opportunity to break when I finally saw him. Instead, my bike went into an unavoidable swing and I could hardly keep it under control. I didn't manage it . As I got closer, I realized I was going to hit him.?

To my great astonishment, the bastard suddenly noticed me and backed away. Enough for me to lose my balance and smack him in the arm with the handlebars. The fall I took had my thoughts and my insides all mixed up. "Watch where you're going, you moron"! I snapped at him and was quite justified in my rage. I became even angrier when I noticed he was silent.

"God, my canvas!"

My best paintings got scattered and covered in the asshole's coffee as they lay on the sidewalk. I could only watch them helplessly.

I struggled to get to my feet and lifted the paintings while my eyes were on the verge of tears. He slashed them to pieces.

"Me, a moron? Wow, I didn't know they still made people like you," I overheard him exclaim as he casually wiped the coffee off his pricey freaking shirt. The idiot had left a store that was so extravagant that I couldn't even afford a shoelace.

I stood squarely in front of him, using the last of my remaining strength. And I froze. The bastard was scorching hot.

He glared at me with dark eyes that seemed to enslave me in some kind of strong but fictitious anguish. Suddenly, I stumbled over my words, and much worse, my posture. My legs betrayed me, and countless emotions overcame me.

Never before had I seen a man who was both gorgeous and annoying.

My attention was drawn to the noticeable brown stain on his shirt and the way his muscles moved through the thin fabric. He was also examining me, perhaps even boldly. The audacity of him!

I fought to break free of the daze this dickhead had put me in and continued to defend my rights. This man just humiliated me, and I realized how kind nature had been to him.

"What did you just say?"??

I could hardly contain myself from hitting him in his perfectly carved jaw. He was furious. His chocolate-brown eyes had a black veil over them, and I could tell by how intently he was looking at me. But who cared? He just ruined my life's work.

"Look what you did to my shirt!"?

"Your shirt? Who the hell cares about your stupid shirt? See these? Do you know what they are?" I yelled as I threw them at him.?

He shrugged with utter insensitivity, which pissed me off even more. But I didn't have the time to sit around and argue with a brute. "You know what? I don't fucking care. I'm going to make you pay one way or another. Now take them! They're no good anymore, and I hope you're happy with your performance!"

Unexpected things happen in life, they always come at once...

"I'm coming now! Don't break down my door!" I shouted, putting the brush and colors down next to the canvas. It was barely past 12 PM and whoever was knocking on the door didn't stop until I arrived. "Oh my God, stop!" I repeated behind the door, opening it. "What?" I snapped in a raised tone.?

Steven Glare, founder of the London Belle Beauty Spa chain---my biological father, sat motionless in front of me, large dark circles under his eyes.??

"Tiara..."

I just slammed the door without hearing another word.?

My first mistake was opening the door. I should have knocked him out with the first punch. I paced nervously up and down the narrow hallway of my apartment. What was he doing here after all these years? I'd barely escaped his shadow. With trembling hands, I reached for my phone to call my therapist. The one guy who helped me through this troubled time. This while I could hear him hammering on and on.

"Tiara! Tiara, open the door!"?

Then he started pounding on the door louder and louder.?

"Shut up! Go away! I don't want to see you!" I shouted at him, finding my hands shaking so hard I dropped the phone on the floor. "Shit!" I hissed, and just knowing the value of the phone and the poverty I was living in kept me from picking it up and throwing it against the wall.

"Tiara, please open up! We need to talk..."?

I heard his voice again, this time softer, more pleading. He wasn't fooling me so easily.?

"Fuck off! I don't want to talk to you! You never cared about me"?

"Tiara, it's not about me, it's your mother..."

My face tightened. Mom. Was it a trick to get me to open the door? I didn't think he had the nerve to use my mother to get to me. Besides, he hadn't seen me in years.?

I talked to her yesterday, and she was fine. Must have been another one of his scams. His whole life with us had been a sham.?

"You're bluffing! I talked to her yesterday; she was fine" During this time I inadvertently opened the door.?

Relief flashed across his face when he saw my eyes.?

"We really need to talk," he repeated.

"We can talk right here," I replied. "And be quick about it. I have other things to do"?

It was a ruthless command that once would have made him proud. Now it made me furious.?

But standing there waiting for an answer that didn't come, he suddenly burst into tears.?

I was shocked. I've never seen him cry. I would even say that his eyes did not know how to shed tears, his heart did not know what compassion meant. He was incapable of feeling anything but the power of money.?

I was still waiting for an explanation, but his tears were flowing. My mind went back to my mother. I reached for the collar of his ragged shirt. "Speak up! What happened to her? Don't just stand there, silent!" I shook him a few times until I got tired.

Standing in the doorway, I was staggering, my heart pounding. He was a bastard, for sure, but he was my bastard father. And he didn't look so good, especially now that I had time to examine him. His hair, usually so thoroughly styled, was a mess, and his ridiculously overpriced suit was tousled as if he'd been sleeping in it. It shocked me that the suit looked big on him to make me realize he had lost some weight.?

Steven Glare had always been a sturdy man. Now he was just a shadow of his former self, or the one I remembered him to be.?

Wanting to break eye contact with him, I looked over my shoulder at my still unfinished painting.He used to treat his business partners more than any member of our family. His urgent need of me seems like a knife to cut my heart.

"what has happened?" I am confused.

"Your mother is very sick," he said with no consideration, just as I turned to face him.?

"What?" I swallowed my grief and words, hardly breathing. A tremendous weight seemed to sit on my chest and my legs were stiff.?

"Your mother has stage one lung cancer and I don't know what to do," he said, still motionless outside the door.?

I didn't even know if I was breathing or if I simply died with what he said. I softened for her, for my mother. How many slaps was I supposed to take?

"Where is she?" I asked in a hurry, looking for my purse and keys. "Take me to her"?

I was desperate, trying to gather myself, but it was damn hard. I was the only one agitated. He wasn't. "Why tell me now? For how long did you know?"?

I knew I was asking too many questions, but they never seemed to stop forming in my head. I suddenly placed the blame on my father. "You're responsible for all this! You with your indifference, with your money! All that mattered to you was having enough money to even take a damn bath in them if you could. You're an asshole!" I shouted, hurt so deeply that I had no tears left. I cursed myself that because of him I had become like a piece of stone, feeling nothing.?

"Tiara, I need your help!" he continued, as if my outburst didn't exist. His audacity.?

"You need my help only when my mum is dying? Are we family or not? You don't even care about her! Listen here, mister!" I roared with a hatred I could hardly contain. "I suggest you stay away from her and from me. I appreciate you coming here to tell me. Just give me the address of the hospital and get the hell out of our lives!" My words didn't hurt him, but that he still stood in my doorway without moving an inch seemed odd. Why didn't he just leave? He bothered to come all the way over here to tell me about my mother. Was he remorseful? He certainly was. Still...

"Tiara, your mother is dying. We found out a week ago..." All the words stopped in his throat. It was the first time my father, the one sure of himself and his millions of dollars, could no longer articulate two words. This was ridiculous.?

"A damn week? And why are you coming to my door now? I spoke to her yesterday. Why didn't she tell me?" I asked again, refusing to believe this was actually happening to me and to her. I didn't care about him.

"We didn't start chemo... yet..."?

"Why not?" I screamed, knowing how important taking action really was and he was doing damn nothing to save her life.

"I am broke, Tiara! I am not your father."?

TIARA

I froze, speechless, and took a step back so he could finally pass the threshold.?

"What do you mean?"?

He shook his head, incapable of speaking, and took several deep breaths.?

"There's no more money," he finally spoke. "It's all... gone."?

All gone. My mouth went dry. My father was richer than the fucking Rockefeller himself, and now he was telling me he was broke? What made him think I believed him? Suddenly, I burst out laughing frantically and threw myself on the couch. My father followed me with a puzzled look on his face at my reaction. "Tiara, I'm not joking. I sold everything out. Everything. I'm in debt up to my ears."

The shock numbed me.?

"You... is it the company or you?"

"Both..."

"You overdid it? How was that even possible? The corporation should have had enough assets to fund any endeavor, no matter how foolish. Isn't it?"?

"On paper it should be so, in reality it is not so at all"?

"What the hell did you do? How did you jeopardize all that money? What happened to the houses, the cars?" I could barely suppress the nerves I had for this man who called himself my father.?

"Everything is gone, Tiara..."?

The harder I tried to comprehend, the more I got immersed into explanations I didn't understand. I was never interested in his money, but I was glad he was doing well. That way, my mother didn't go through any hardships. Now he had lost everything and my mother was so sick that her days were numbered. And he didn't even have money to buy her a damn prescription.?

I sat there in silence on the couch with my face buried in my palms.?

"What the hell did you do?" I finally asked, trying to at least figure out where this madness started.

"I was already having some problems with the business and thought of setting up another shadow company to take this one over, to shield it, but I failed,"

?Again, I got swept up in that uncontrollable laughter, only this time a little more nervous.?

"Are you on drugs?" I snapped at him. "What on earth possessed you to do these things? God..."?

I couldn't stand being in the same room with him. This man was not the one I knew. Calculated type of man who wouldn't jump into a deal without researching everything ten times beforehand if he had to. He'd thrown himself headfirst into it and now he sat broke on my couch asking for help.?

If it wasn't for my mother, I'd have sent him back the way he came.?

"Can you help me or not?" His recklessness was disturbing.?

"What can I do?How much money are we talking about here?"?

The number he said was so huge that even if I filled ten trains with money, I wouldn't even get close to a quarter of what he had to reimburse to save the company. "Is this for real?" I asked, dumbfounded, still praying that this would be a stupid joke. "What the hell is wrong with you? He dropped his head, and I realized he would not talk about it anymore. "Ok, can't you and your skilled men declare bankruptcy? It is the only way..." I touched something there with my comment. He raised his eyes and looked at me in a way he hadn't in years. I realized I had missed that gaze.?

"Because this company is my life, Tiara." I winced at the sound of my name, so pleading. "I can still fix it; I know I can. But I just need enough cash to do it. And I could do some business and get it, but..." He drifted off a little. "Your mom was supposed to start chemo last week as soon as we found out. Time is precious. But I can't afford it. It's due time for all my bills, and I dropped my insurance a few months ago to get some more cash out..."

"Time is precious after treating your money as the most precious treat from heaven? This is why you are punished by the money you have." I would fight for myself when I was begging for a little family bonding time. I knew it wasn't the time for scolding, but I couldn't help myself.?

"You are so wrong here, Tiara"?

"Am I? Then prove me wrong! More than that, bring my mother here and I promise to disappear from your life. You can do what you want with your money and your business. Just bring mom and I'll take care of the rest."?

Even though I was blunt in my speech, there was no other solution. I was not about to leave her in the hands of an uncaring man for whom what mattered was how to get his empire out of the hole it had fallen into.?

"No, Tiara, you misunderstood everything," my father said, getting up off the couch. He started pacing the living room like he was in his house. A bit of his self-confidence returned, but under the circumstances, it infuriated me to the core.?

"Did I? Oh please, be serious! You don't even have money to support yourself. I don't want my mother to suffer."?

?"She won't. She will have the best care in the best London Oncology Hospital. I can promise you that. All I need is your help, that's it!" he insisted again with this help thing, and it was really getting on my nerves. I was questioning his ability to save the company. He had no way of doing it.

He insisted"I have a plan. One that will work. I am sure of that. I have a sponsor, one that believes in my vision. But I need his help and his money"?

Now dad was talking nonsense. Who am I trying to fool? I didn't have the money to buy a loaf of bread, let alone pay for my mother's treatment. But that's not what mattered. What matters is a matter of life and death.

"Who exactly are you talking about?" I asked curiously.

"Vincent Baker."?

His name sent shivers of panic throughout my body.

"You can't be serious..." I said half-heartedly.

"I'm dead serious. But there is a catch"?

"A catch? Why am I not surprised? What is it? What does he want?"

"You have to marry him!"?

Vincent

"This is Vincent Baker. Put me through to Ryan," I ordered to the female voice on the other side of the line.?

My mind wandered to the bike-riding girl from this morning as I awaited Ryan's response. Her presence drew me in and piqued my curiosity at the same time.

I took a chance and got her paintings, though. They were here under my eyes. As a reminder of her clumsiness. I found myself grinning slightly in the corner of my mouth.?

"Vince, my man! What the hell are you doing these days?" Ryan greeted me, sensing his mocking smile on his face. "Forgot about me and the foundation?"?

"Cut the crap! We need to talk. I did it!" I told him shortly and then hung up the phone. He would not resist and would come here. This business was profitable for him, too.?

I knew Steven Glare from my teenage years and I knew what a loser he always was. My father was always pleading with him and watching everything he did. The bastard refused to give him the money, despite his dire need. Every single one of Steven's workers, including my father, received terrible treatment. That left my life with a far too terrible mark. Despite my father's passing, I was still here. He'd be proud of me, I was sure.

It didn't take ten minutes, and the phone rang again.

"Mr. Baker, Mr. Lee is here to see you," my secretary said in a formal tone.

"Let him in!" I ordered.

Ryan stormed in just as a tempest on a summer day.?

"I am here. Give me the good news!"?

I took a brief break and laughed as I watched him. I then requested two coffees from the secretary. "Wow, what a good woman you have here, man, and you, nothing, "he remarked as his eager eyes followed my assistant.

"Knock it off! That's not why I called you here. Steven Glare fell into my trap"

There was a brief period of abrupt silence. Ryan hardly comprehended what I was saying as he stared at me in confusion.

"Are you serious?"?

"Of course, I am. When have I ever joked about this? You know, I've been hunting him for a long time." So great was the satisfaction that I throbbed with delight.?

"What did you do to him?" Ryan asked curiously, already leaning back in his chair.?

"I gave him a bad idea, and he took it for granted. You know I've been wanting to get my hands on those spas of his for a long time. He trusted me blindly and fell for it like a na?ve, stupid child. Now I've got his company and... his daughter, Tiara." I related with great joy I had finally finished what my father had started.?

"Why his daughter? I don't follow," Ryan asked me, narrowing his eyes.

"Because I wanted to. And because I could. You know my father's past and how Steven refused him the money that would have saved her. Now the tables have turned and Steven has lost not only his money but also what was most precious to him, his daughter."

"I admire you, man. But what are you going to do with a wife? A woman you don't even know." Ryan pushed further.?

"I only saw her once, about ten years ago. That's when she was about twelve. She stirred nothing up. Anyway, don't think that if I have a wife, I will be faithful to her and to our marriage. It will be just for business," I continued, laughing to myself, proud of how far I had come. "This is just a very well thought out and put together plan. Nothing more"

"If you say so. I presume you will meet her soon, right?"

"I left that part in the hands of that useless Steven. I hope he doesn't screw it up."

I focused on the backyard of the consortium while thinking about Steven Glare and his millions. With stupid Steven's assistance, this commercial district's already rapid growth was about to speed up.

My imagination suddenly flashed back to the face of a little girl with freckles. Eyes as big as deep wells but sparkling like polished diamonds, a broad, innocent smile. Tiara Glare's visage.

In order to inherit the wealth from my mother's long-lost aunt, I needed her as my wife. Even though I was unaware of her existence, I needed the money to carry out more study at the foundation. Getting married was the only way I could get possession of it. Piece of cake! The will didn't specify how long I had to be wed or that I had to be in love with my intended life partner.

"So, how did you make this business profitable for you and wasteful for Glare?" Ryan's voice interrupted my train of so vivid thoughts.

"He was already in big trouble with the company and I offered to help him," I said, turning to face Ryan. "He doesn't know I'm Baker's son, the same Baker that he mocked all his life while working under him. I took the opportunity and when I saw he was sinking, I came up with the idea of setting up a shell company to get him out of the shit. Only when the time came, the company set up at my suggestion didn't produce any money to help him, so Belle Beauty Spa went into total bankruptcy. He didn't even get the chance to declare it before the IRS agents came after him for setting up a fraud. The stock dropped to a few cents per share, and I took advantage and bought it all," I finished in triumph and with a mad smile in the corner of my mouth.?

"Oh wow! Does Glare know who the buyer is?" Ryan asked.

"Of course, he doesn't. What are you, nuts? All he knows is that I was the right man at his wrong time. He asked for my help and I was there to help him"?

"So, what is the deal with his daughter? I presume you will not stay married for the rest of your life"?

"Tiara Glare is another story. She is just my personal vendetta. I'll satisfy my cravings with her, but I won't be able to leave her soon, to her despair. Her father needed money and sacrificed his daughter. I need a wife, but I'll tell you the reason some other time."?

"Okay, you know what you're doing! I, on the other hand, have an important meeting that I don't have to miss for the world. It will be good for your foundation. But let me admit that you pleasantly surprised me with what you said. I expected nothing less from you," Ryan concluded, and after shaking my hand, he walked out of the office.?

I remained by myself with my thoughts. And the kinds of visions I had! I had so many things swirling around in my head for the upcoming time period that I did not know where to start.

I might start interacting with my future bride. Unlike most men, I wasn't the least bit excited about getting married.

It was just a business deal. No woman was going to force her way into my heart, with or without my permission, because love was a feeling so foreign to me. I was certain that Tiara Glare wasn't overjoyed about marrying a man she couldn't even remember. In reality, she didn't think she knew me, in her opinion.

She was part of a different agenda, one that involved me. As far as I was concerned, she was no more than a pawn on the chessboard.

I still had the image of my father in my head. That face shattered by burdens. His pleading eyes filled with fear that he had nothing to feed us in the days when things went from bad to worse.

Because we lacked the funds to continue my mother's treatment, I could only see her consumed by cancer.

All of this kept me afloat, and I made a commitment to hold Steven Glare accountable. And the person who would suffer the most would be the woman in his life. I would crush him in the same manner, and I would force his daughter to marry me against her will. One eye for the other!