Fated to the Ruthless CEO

Amber was lounging by the pool when she felt a tender kiss on her forehead. It was, of course, none other than her husband, Devlin. He had left early in the morning, promising to return for lunch, and true to his word, he had.

“Hey babe, what are you doing here all alone? Where’s marmee?” Devlin’s gaze swept the area, noting that only a few bodyguards were roaming around. He had purged their security detail after the recent incident. He found out some of them were connected to Mr. Harrison.

“Oh marmee? She went out for grocery shopping. She insisted on preparing dinner tonight,” Amber replied. She had urged her grandmother earlier to leave the grocery shopping to the maids, but it seemed marmee was too restless to do nothing. She had grown accustomed to life on the farm.

“That’s fine, babe. They will help marmee in cooking.” Devlin was referring to the head cook and the maids. “Besides, we have visitors coming tonight.” Amber looked at Devlin with curiosity.

“It’s Agent Smith and Abby. I know you’ve been eager to hear about what happened. While I delegated most of the work to them, I still coordinated closely with them.”

“So, how are you feeling now?” Devlin said while Amber was in deep thoughts. “I am sorry I had to leave you earlier. It was urgent.” He went to sit with Amber to look at her closely. It had been three days since Amber left the hospital. She only knew that Attorney Harrison had been rushed to the hospital that day. During those three days, Devlin had been busy even though he stayed in the mansion with her. The only time he left her was this morning.

“I’m feeling much better now. I understand that you’re very busy chasing after everyone involved with Attorney Harrison,” she said, noticing that Devlin looked different. He seemed sad.

“What’s wrong? You don’t seem like your usual self. Mind sharing with me what’s happening?” Amber touched his cheeks with both hands. He really looked exhausted. They had planned that after Devlin fixed everything with the company, they were going to have a long vacation together.

Devlin heaved a deep sigh before replying to her. “Right now, they’re investigating both my dad and brother. Attorney Harrison had evidence that could incriminate them.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that,” recalling what Attorney Harrison had told her that day. He had used the evidence to blackmail Devlin’s dad and brother, but she hadn’t shared this with Devlin yet since they hadn’t really discussed it.

“How is Raven and your mom?” She thought of Dalton’s wife, who is going to give birth soon.

“Raven is fine. She’s with her parents. Mom is also fine. She already knew dad’s illegal transactions before. She tried to stop him when she found out, but it was too late since Attorney Harrison had already gathered evidence against him.”

“Where is she now? Please tell her to come stay here with us,” Amber suggested.

“Mom is staying with her sister at the moment, but she’ll come to stay with us soon.” Amber simply nodded. She couldn’t bring herself to ask more about the situation with Devlin’s dad and brother.

“Don’t worry too much, okay? I want you to focus more on your recovery. And whatever questions you have, save them for tonight. Agent Smith and Abby will tell you everything.” Amber nodded and placed her head on Devlin’s chest. She couldn’t believe that everything had led to this. She is still grateful, though, that she survived that incident. She is glad that she is fine mentally and emotionally. She has some appointments with her psychologist to ensure her continued mental well-being.

“Do you ever wonder how it all came to this?” she asked softly, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Devlin tightened his grip around her. “I do,” he admitted. There’s a touch of regret in his voice. “Sometimes, I wish I had paid more attention to what was happening around me, to my family. Maybe I could have stopped this from happening.”

Amber lifted her head slightly to meet his gaze. “Don’t blame yourself,” she said earnestly. “You’re not responsible for their choices. We’ll get through this together.”

He managed a weak smile, touched by her support despite what she went through. “I don’t know what I would do without you, wife. You’ve been my rock through all of this.”

She smiled back at him, her eyes filled with affection. “And you’ve been mine,” she replied, tracing a finger lightly along his jawline.

Their moment of intimacy was interrupted by marmee’s arrival at the mansion. She had just returned from her grocery shopping and was eager to prepare dinner tonight. Her voice could be heard from where Devlin and Amber were sitting.

“Amber, my child, would you help me in preparing your favorite dish?” Marmee asked as she approached her granddaughter.

“Oh, hello there young man! Do you have any particular meal in mind that you’d like us to cook for you?” Marmee asked enthusiastically.

Devlin smiled warmly at marmee, who always reminded him of his own grandmother. If she were here, the house would be filled with joy and laughter.

“I don’t have a specific dish in mind, marmee. Just surprise me. I trust your culinary expertise. Amber’s culinary talents clearly come from you,” Devlin remarked, wrapping his arm around Amber and stealing a kiss on her cheek.

Amber, touched by Devlin’s compliment, chimed in, “Marmee, why don’t we make that special lasagna recipe you cooked last time we were on the farm? Devlin loves it!”

Marmee’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. “Ah, the lasagna! An excellent choice, my dear. Good thing I bought the ingredients for lasagna. I was planning to cook it for tonight.”

“That’s great! We’ll have visitors tonight, marmee. Agent Smith and Abby are coming over.” Devlin said.

“That’s wonderful! We can cook more food, Amber.” Grandmother Amelia looked excitedly at her granddaughter.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“Hmm…marmee,” Devlin began gently, “I know how much you enjoy cooking, but perhaps you could let the maids assist you? We want to ensure you don’t tire yourself out with all the cooking.” Devlin suggested. He wanted to make sure that marmee is not going to stress out herself from cooking although he understood that she is bored in the mansion.

Amber and marmee planned other dishes to cook to complement with their prized lasagna when their discussion was suddenly interrupted by one of the maids announcing that lunch was ready.

Marmee could only chuckle softly. “Oh dear… I completely forgot that it’s already lunchtime. I don’t feel hungry at all.”

“That’s because your mind gets so excited about cooking,” Amber replied with a knowing smile. She understood her grandmother all too well. She doesn’t like to rest. She always wanted to do something, especially when she was at the farm.

After lunch, Devlin excused himself to go to his study room, while Amber and her grandmother enjoyed tea on the patio.

“I’m so glad to see your color returning to normal. You looked unusually pale these past few days. I hope you’ve been sleeping well at night,” Marmee commented, her concern evident as she wanted to make sure Amber is doing well.

“I’m completely fine, marmee. Thanks to you and Devlin. You’ve taken such good care of me, and I’m truly grateful,” Amber replied with a warm smile as she sipped her tea. The peaceful silence surrounding them calmed her mind and heart.

“Marmee, there’s something that I’ve been wanting to ask you. Could you please wait for me here? I just need to get something.” Amelia nodded, her curiosity piqued. She didn’t have to wait long before Amber returned, carrying what appeared to be an old photo album.

“What’s that, my child?” Amelia asked, her curiosity getting the better of her, as Amber set the album on the small table.

“I just wanted to ask you if you know, Attorney Harrison,” Amber had been eager to inquire about what her marmee knew of the lawyer. She opened some pages of the photo album and showed it to her marmee.

“Do you know them?” Amber asked, looking intently at marmee who took a deep breath. There was no reason not to talk to Amber about the past. Amber wanted answers, and she deserved to know the truth.

“Yes, those children were orphans like me. I was in the same orphanage with Olivia,” she pointed at the young Olivia in one of the pictures. “This is me.” she continued. “And the boy, right here next to the swing, is Attorney Harrison.” Amber looked closely at the picture her marmee had just shown her. She could see the resemblance between her marmee to the young girl in the picture, who was wearing pigtails.

“We grew up together in that orphanage. Later, Attorney Harrison was adopted by a wealthy family, and we lost contact with him for several years. It was Olivia who told me where she saw him. Interestingly, his name had changed from Lucas Almeida to his current name.”

“He came from an immigrant family in Brazil. Unfortunately, his parents passed away shortly after their arrival in America. He was then sent to an orphanage. That was the first time we saw him.” There was sadness in Amelia’s eyes as she recounted what she knew about her old friend.

“He was a quiet child and rarely mingled with the other kids when he first came to the orphanage. His only friends were Olivia and me. Then, the Wesleys came to the orphanage and the old man took an interest in him. I never heard from him after that. Then one day, he came back to the orphanage, asking for help. He looked so desperate. I saw how the management didn’t even make an effort to assist him. I will never forget his eyes that day. He looked so defeated, but there was a glint of anger in his eyes that sent shivers down my spine.”

“As much as I wanted to help him, I couldn’t do anything. I was also struggling. Later on, I learned that Olivia was engaged to the only son of the Wesleys. The family who adopted Lucas.” Amelia grew teary-eyed as she recalled the past.

“I didn’t know that all of this happened because of his past experiences. I regret that I was not able to help an old friend even in my own little way. His life might have taken a different path if those people at the orphanage had helped him as well.” Regret and sadness was apparent on marmee’s face…