Ruined by the Marquess: A Forced Marriage Historical Romance (Arranged Marriage Historical Romance Traditional Regency Romance) (Alpha Male Matchmaking Romance Historical Victorian Romance) (6 page)

“Miss Wright?” A beautiful blonde asked Rachel as she stepped on the fourteenth floor of Sunrise Developers. She nodded her head.

“This way, ma’am. Sir has been waiting for you.”

Rachel noticed the small yet impressionable changes that the new guy had made in the small time that he’d been here. As she entered the office of the CEO, she noticed that the interiors of the room had been changed. The office now had a distinctively modern feel to it, with a huge mahogany desk at the centre and an expensive artwork adorning the wall right behind the CEO’s chair. The room had been re-done in pale beige color that complemented the off white upholstery beautifully.

“Welcome, Miss Wright. You won’t believe how eager I was to meet you.”

That voice sent a chill down her spine and as the chair twirled to reveal the face of its occupant, Rachel felt her jaw drop in surprise.

“Kris…..??” Rachel whispered. She knew that he would try to meet her but she’d not expected that meeting so soon. While her heart was beating wildly, she did a good job of keeping her emotions in control. She had to, she couldn’t let him see how much he still affected her.

“Please take a seat, Miss Wright.” His voice sounded so distant, so cold. Rachel looked at him closely. He wasn’t the Kris that she loved with all her heart. In his place was a shrewd and calculative businessman who’d come back to her life to take revenge. Is that what he meant when he told her ten years ago that he would come back? Did he want to punish her and her father for not meeting his demands ten years ago?

“Mr. Ville, I wanted to talk to you about my company’s contract with Sunrise Developers that you’ve decided to terminate.” Rachel tried to sound as professional as she could.

“Ah, yes. But first things first, how have you been Rachel?” Just for a second, Rachel thought she caught a glimpse of that old Kris and then just as suddenly, he vanished.

“I’d prefer if you address me as Miss Wright.”

“Point noted, Miss Wright. So I see you have finally become as uptight and vain as your father.”

“Mr. Ville!” she shouted. “I am not here to hear you abuse me or my father. My company does profit with this association but that does not mean that I’ll tolerate you saying nasty things about my father.”

“I apologize, Miss Wright. That was uncalled for. Please go ahead with whatever you came here for.”

Rachel took a few deep breaths to calm herself and went on to explain how both their companies mutually benefit from the contract and how terminating it would prove to be detrimental for both of them.

Kris kept on a straight face during the meeting. He knew he couldn’t let her see the turmoil going on inside his head. The time had finally come to claim what was his all along. And this time he would not let anybody interfere with his plan…

He did however curse himself for losing his temper with Rachel. What was her fault in all of this? She only believed what her father told her. ‘But she could have trusted you….’ a voice at the back of his mind said. Yes, she could have trusted him but she chose to trust her father instead. But Kris couldn’t really fault her for that. After all, she’d tried to contact him to know the truth. But he’d been so ashamed and hurt that he’d avoided her and gone to Spain to start afresh. If that meeting with her father had done something right, it was to strengthen his resolve to become as successful and powerful as he could!

Kris smiled inwardly as he remembered this new avatar of Rachel. The past ten years had been quite good to her- her curves were even more pronounced now that her body had matured and her porcelain complexion was just as beautiful as he remembered. He was also mighty impressed by her sharp business acumen, the way she tried to convince him to rethink his decision. His gut had tightened at the mere sight of her and this outraged him no end. Why did she still have that effect on him? He knew that she hated him…he knew that she’d hate him even more if she got to know of his plans of ruining her father’s business. According to trade insiders, David Wright’s real estate empire was already dwindling. He was trying to get some new investors to save his company and before long, Kris Frances Ville would be the new owner of Wright Enterprises.

The thought brought a slow, wicked grin on Kris’s face. Yes, he would show the old man what a good-for-nothing lad could achieve. He would love to see his face when he’d learn that the young man whom he’d dismissed as a ‘worthless piece of trash’ a few years back had taken over his company from right under his nose.

With a satisfied expression on his face, Kris got back to work. There was a lot to be done before he finally got what he’d been waiting for.

David Wright and his daughter Rachel knew that their company was in trouble but still this hostile takeover totally blindsided them. Kris stole away their company from right under their noses and they could do nothing but watch him helplessly. Some bad alliances and decisions had left their stocks dirt cheap and their company had been in a vulnerable position since quite some time. But they were looking for new investors and hoping to straighten things out. None of the two had expected things to spiral out of control so suddenly.

“Kris Frances Ville has ruined me! Who the hell does he think he is! I would strangle him with my bare hands if I happen to see him.” David was shaking with rage.

“I still can’t believe it! The Kris I knew could never do such a thing,” Rachel was still in shock.

“I am ruined my child! The business that I inherited from my ancestors, the business that I nurtured all my life…..it’s all gone!” Rachel had never seen her father look so frail and disheartened.

“Please calm down daddy, everything will be okay, I promise.” Rachel knew that she was making a false promise but it pained her to see her father like that. After her mom’s death five years ago, David’s health had started deteriorating. He’d even suffered a massive heart attack just last year. Rachel had already lost too much in life and she didn’t want to lose her father now.

After giving him his medicines and putting him to sleep, Rachel decided to pay a visit to Kris’s office. She wanted to tell him in clear words what she thought of him and his recent behavior.

                    *****************************************

Kris had finally got the revenge that he’d longed for. He should be ecstatic…… but he was far from it. In fact, there was a niggling sense of guilt that was troubling him no end.

‘There’s nothing to be guilty about. That man turned your life upside down, mercilessly snatched away from you the only person you loved, he
deserved
every bit of it’—his brain tried to tell his heart, but his heart wasn’t completely convinced. ‘You ruined David Wright…but with him, you ruined Rachel too!’ it shouted back.

Just as he was busy in these conflicting thoughts, he heard some commotion outside his office.

“Ma’am, you don’t have a prior appointment and Mr. Ville is busy at the moment. He doesn’t wish to be disturbed.” That was his secretary’s panicked voice.

“I need to see Kris right now!”

Rachel……!! Kris jumped out of his chair and rushed towards the door of his office.

“It’s okay, Emily, I can handle this. Please come in Miss Wright.”

Rachel followed him inside with a stormy expression on her face. As soon as the door closed, Kris turned towards her and was rewarded with a tight slap across his face.

“Who the hell do you think you are?  And why are you playing this sick game? Is this why you have come back to my life after all these years? To take revenge? I can’t believe that the man I loved so much can stoop to such levels,” Rachel shouted with all her might with tears falling uncontrollably from her eyes. She was furious with herself for being so weak but she just couldn’t help it. She was still in love with the man, damn it! That day when she saw him after all those years, she’d hoped that Kris had come back for her, for the love that they shared. But she was so wrong! He’d come back for some sort of sick revenge and now that he’d got it, he’d leave her and go back to his life again.

“Please calm down Rachel. Here, have some water,” Kris offered her a glass that was lying on his table. Rachel didn’t move one inch. He sighed and put the glass back.

“I am sorry Rachel,” Kris said after a long pause. “I didn’t mean to hurt
you
. I just wanted to show your father what a good-for-nothing douchebag can achieve in life.”

“I don’t believe a word of what you are saying, Mr. Ville,” Rachel reacted sharply. She had never felt so angry in her entire life. And how could he look at her so coldly? As if she was over reacting?

“I don’t know what I can do to make you believe me.”

“Believe you?” Rachel laughed a dry laugh. “After what you made me go through, you still want me to believe you?”

This made Kris angry. It wasn’t like Rachel was the only one who had been heartbroken all those years ago, his heart had also been cut into a million pieces. Her father had ruined two lives and she didn’t have the slightest clue about it.

“I think then it is better if you go and ask that father of yours what the truth is. If he hadn’t been so heartless and manipulative ten years ago….”

Rachel raised her hand once again to strike him but this time he caught her hand mid-air and pulled her roughly towards himself.

Rachel gasped as her chest collided with Kris’s firm one.  She cursed her traitorous body that was reveling in the closeness of their bodies. His smell was invading her senses, making her want to lean up against him. How could she feel so strongly for him despite what he’d done to her?

Kris, on the other hand, was stunned at the bolt of lightning that shot through him as soon as his body came into contact with Rachel’s. As her soft curves pressed against the harder planes of his chest, he fought the urge to haul her in his arms and take her there and then. Memories of the beautiful nights that he shared with her came back in a sudden rush. Her naked body pressed against his, the taste of those delectable lips, the way she closed her eyelids when she came apart in his arms…..

Before he could stop himself, his mouth bent down and crushed her lips in a rough demanding kiss. Rachel tried to push him away but instead ended up gripping his shirt and pulling him even closer. Her body seemed to be on fire. Liquid heat pooled in her core as Kris deepened the kiss and she gave out a low moan. The erotic sound pushed him off the edge and just as he was about to whisk that lacy blouse off her silky body, his phone buzzed.

This brought both of them out of their dreamland into the harsh reality. Kris noticed the quick change in Rachel’s expressions- from one of supreme satisfaction to guilt and perhaps horror at what she’d just done. Without looking at his phone, Kris disconnected the call. He had more pressing matters on hand.

“I…I am sorry Rachel,” he seemed to be apologizing a lot today.

“It’s okay, Kris…..it’s not like I stopped you,” she replied in a small voice. Kris hated to see her like that, so low and defeated. “Why did you do that to me Kris? I loved you so much and you….. Was my love not enough for you? If you wanted money, you could’ve asked me Kris…..”

What was she saying? None of it made sense to him.

“Money? Who told you that I wanted your money?” And then realization dawned on him. David Wright had apparently told his daughter that the man she loved was wooing her for her money. Of course, that was
exactly
what the old man had done!

“Now I get it! What did your father tell you after I left his office that day ten years ago?”

“What does it matter? The reality is that you came to my life again to seek revenge and you should be happy now that you’ve managed to ruin me completely. Ten years ago, you stole my innocence and today, you’ve stolen my company too! Congratulations Mr. Ville, you can now go back to wherever you came from a happy and contented man.” There was no mistaking the hurt and anger in Rachel’s eyes. As she turned around to leave, Kris realized that he had to do something quickly or he’d lose her forever.

“Please listen to me Rachel. I don’t want your company. In fact, I am willing to give it back to your father.” That made her stop in her tracks and she turned around slowly with a skeptical look in her eyes.

“Rachel, it is true that I came here with the intention of destroying your father’s business. I wanted to show him that the man whom he thought worthy of nothing had now turned into a real estate mogul without anyone’s help or charity.” Kris sighed and gestured her to take a seat. “I still remember that day vividly Rachel. I was quite nervous about meeting your father. I idolized him, I wanted to earn a name for myself in the real estate market just like him. But after meeting the old man, all my dreams and hopes were shattered. He right away accused me of using you for money. He even offered me a huge sum to start my life afresh somewhere out of Britain.”

Rachel listened to all of this stunned.

“When I refused and told him that I loved you, he threatened to hurt my mom. My mother was in Spain that time and he knew exactly about her whereabouts and that she’d just recently gotten married to the man she loved. I got scared Rachel….I was a nobody then and your dad was a rich and influential man. He made me feel so small and helpless that day. He convinced me that I was not worthy of being your life partner….” There was a slight catch in his voice.

“But….but daddy told me that you asked him to surrender 80% of the company shares in your favor…..”

“He lied to you Rachel,” Kris stated. “I know that you tried to reach me afterwards but I was so heartbroken and ashamed that I immediately left for Spain…..” Kris was interrupted by the sound of another phone ringing but it wasn’t his this time.

“Hello?” Whatever she heard from the other end made her face go as white as a sheet and the phone dropped to the floor from her trembling hands. “Daddy’s had a heart attack!”