Charmed by the Billionaire CEO

Gwen stood at one corner inside the elevator and was busy thinking about Tristan’s words.

Flashback

Inside the car, Tristan was busy discussing the schedule when he suddenly bought Luke’s topic.

"Do you remember Mr. Ford?" Tristan asked.

"Yes," she said casually.

" He seems to be interested in you" his words struck like thunder, and she coughed.

"Hey..." reaching his hand on her back, he patted it lightly." Are you okay?" he asked.

Gwen shook her head when she felt better and looked at Tristan’s worried face," H-How can you say that, brother" she asked.

Gwen had been working with Luke for some time now, and she knew he had a friendly personality, but that didn’t mean he liked her. He had been talking the same with Karl too. Then how can Tristan say something like this?

"He happened to talk with me about it and even asked me if he could help him to impress you" Tristan was speaking so calmly that she doubted if it was the identical brother who never let any boy linger around her.

Why did you think she was single all these years? All thanks to her brothers, who kept their gawk-like eyes on her, shoving every boy who came to talk to her.

Watching Tristan in disbelief, Gwen felt like crying." And what did you say to him" she asked, holding on her breath, hoping just like the other time he would reject it.

"What would I say? Of course, I agreed. I have known him for a long time, and he seems to be a good person, and I am sure he will keep you well."

Gwen’s mouth dropped listening to his words, and she yelled," How can you say something like that, brother? You should’ve asked me before answering him. What if I don’t want to get into a relationship? What if I already have someone in my life-" she stopped and watched him arch his brow.

"What did you say?" Tristan looked at her intently and heard her clear her throat.

"I-I mean, I don’t want to get into a relationship yet. I have a long way to go, and right now, I am focusing on my work" she rejected him and looked to the other side, unaware of the smile Tristan was hiding behind that stern face.

Tristan knew the reason behind her rejection, but still, he kept playing." I am not asking you to get into a relationship just like that. Spend some time with him and get to know each other and then come to a conclusion," his words made her looked at him in awe.

"I know I never allowed any boy to approach you, but in Luke’s case, it’s different. He is a good man, and I can bet he would be a good boyfriend, too" Tristan could see the horrifying look on her face, and he smiled internally.

’I’m sorry, Gwen, but I have to do it.’

Soon the car stopped, and Gwen turned to step out when Tristan stopped her," There isn’t any rush, but still, I want you to think about it," he said, and she stepped out without turning back.

End of Flashback

Karl, who was looking at her, patted her shoulder and broke her thoughts." Huh!! You said something" she asked absentmindedly.

Karl noticed Gwen wasn’t mentally present as her mind was drifting somewhere else and before he would ask her what she was thinking, Karl, slammed into the wall with Gwen caging him between her arms.

"G-Gwen, what are you doing?" he asked, looking at the door, praying no one saw them.

"Karl tells me one thing," she asked, confusing him.

Gwen could no longer wait until Karl brought himself to speak openly about their relationship. If this thing is delayed for a long then what will happen to them?

Will he ever be courageous to tell everyone that she was his girl, or would he sacrifice her because he respected his family very much and couldn’t hurt them?

Karl saw the seriousness in her eyes and heard her say," Will you ever build up the courage to speak about our relationship?" her question made him stiff.

They had been seeing each other for some time, but even after knowing his feelings for her, Karl was torn between his relations with the Knights and Gwen.

He couldn’t thank them enough for whatever they did for him. If not for Trevor’s kindness, he wouldn’t have been here at all.

After his parent’s death, he felt lonely with no one to guide him, and then Trevor came and took me by his side. He trained Tristan and him and made them the people they are now. Then how can he break his trust in him?

What would he feel when he finds that he loves his daughter, or what would Tristan think of him if he learned he is dating his sister?

Karl felt terrible for not being brave enough to be with Gwen without carrying the baggage of the favor Knights had done for him.

Gwen’s heart sank when she didn’t see him answer back and she felt hurt. She was expecting him to assure her that he was trying and would do anything to be with her, but what she got in return was his silence, which was enough of an answer for her.

"Fine... I got it. If you aren’t sure enough about us, then why are we even seeing each other" dropping her hand from his said, Gwen stepped back.

She didn’t look at his face, and she turned to face her back at him. She couldn’t let him see her cry. She couldn’t let him see how badly his silence at hurting her. No! she won’t let him hurt her again.

The lift reached the last floor, and as soon as the door opened, Gwen rushed out from there, leaving the shocked Karl behind.

Her words crumbled Karl’s entire world, and he stood there like a statue trying to grasp everything he heard.

"Does it mean she doesn’t want this relation" he muttered when the realization hit him and suddenly he a pang in his heart.

*****

Alice didn’t come out of her room and stayed sitting on the floor for hours. She knew everything had ended when Noah walked out of her house.

’Why would he want a girl like her who wasn’t even brave enough to fight her past.’

Letting out a disgusting chuckle, Alice said," Your life wasn’t the same the day he threw you among those predators. He wasn’t the man you imagined him to be. He wasn’t the man who would sell his girl in exchange for a deal" a lone tear roll down her cheeks as she recalled the day when Dylan used her.

She felt ants crawling all over her body when she recalled how disgusting their eyes were, and the next moment, she started rubbing her skin.

Alice couldn’t rub the touch on her body. She could forget the disgust she felt when one man among them tried to force himself on her. She wanted to clean herself and forget how terrible she felt when they touched her without her consent.

"Why can’t I erase it" she mumbled and rubbed her skin until it turned red.

Her thoughts had landed on that incident, and she felt miserable. She wanted to clean herself, but even after rubbing her so much, she still felt the same.

"No... I have to do something," she said and quickly dashed into the bathroom.

Standing under the shower, she turns on the tap and lets the cold water fall on her. "I will clean everything. Nothing would be left behind," she said and started rubbing herself roughly.

Alice was losing her mind as she kept talking to herself and hurting her. She even dug her nails into her flesh, scratching herself so severely that blood started to ooze.

*****

After talking with Ashley, Noah came to find the truth behind Alice’s behavior and how badly her past had taken a toll on her mind. He couldn’t imagine what she had gone through, but not anymore.

Dylan had already caused enough trouble for her, but now, he won’t let him play with her mind. Back then, she had no one to listen to her and stand for her, but now she had him, and he would make sure he would stick to her in every good and bad time.

With this hope walked back to her apartment and entered in. His eyes flew to the bedroom door, and he dashed in to embrace her and tell her that he didn’t care about her past and loved her with all his heart.

His heart sank when he found the room empty, and that’s when he heard the water splashing sound. At first, Noah thought he shouldn’t just barge in, but something inside his heart said something was wrong.

How she stormed into her room, a while back made him think about her panic attack. His eyes widened at the possibility, and without thinking anything, he slammed open the door and saw Alice on the floor.