Saved by a Cruel Billionaire

PROLOGUE

“Jeremy, do you really have to go?” Zabelle asked in agitation. He was the best thing that had happened to her and the only reason she hadn’t lost her mind after all that had taken place. She didn’t know if she would be able to survive without him.

“I have to, Zabelle. My dad has made up his mind to send me abroad,” Jeremy sighed in resignation as he tucked her hair behind her ear, an action which made her close her eyes so she could bask in the feeling as she didn't know when next she would see him.

“For how long, Jeremy?” She inquired as tears welled up in her eyes. She would have suggested running away but she wasn't that selfish to tear Jeremy away from his family.

“I can’t say, but I’ll contact you once I get there. Will you wait for me?” 

“You know you don’t have to ask me that. Of course, I’ll wait,” Zabelle promised Jeremy. No matter how long it took, she would wait for the only man she had ever loved to come back.

The question was, would he wait for her too?

Chapter 1: The strange man.

“Zabelle, get your lazy ass off, I need you to go give this to the secretary to Mr Garcia. It’s the contract for the merger,” she heard her supervisor say as he walked to her cubicle and dropped a document on her table. 

The man’s words broke her out of her thoughts as she remembered her last conversation with Jeremy. It had been two years and she hadn’t heard anything from him, not even so much as a text telling her he was doing okay. 

“Zabelle, I didn’t know we paid you to daydream,” she heard her supervisor say to her.

She raised her head to look at the man who was hell-bent on making her life a living hell for no other reason than her refusing to sleep with him.

“I’m busy with the report you asked me to submit in the next twenty minutes,” she pointed out. A report that was clearly going more than twenty minutes, she thought to herself.

Apart from the fact that she was busy, she had heard stories from her colleagues about how difficult the man in question was and so, she didn’t want to go anywhere within that man’s space even if it was meeting his secretary. 

The last thing she needed was to get into trouble with another powerful man, seeing that she already had two powerful families out for her blood, and one of those families was her family.

Her name was Zabelle Pierce, and she was the eldest child of the Pierce family, one of the richest and influential families.

Many would pray for the kind of family she had, but she hated everything that came with it. 

Her entire life had been nothing but torture, as her parents hated her for being the reason they had been forced to get married when they didn't want to have anything to do with each other anymore.

How was she at fault when they were the ones who chose to engage in intimacy when they were supposedly going through a breakup? This was the question she asked herself whenever the circumstance surrounding her birth was brought up especially by her parents.

Her parents didn't however see things from that point of view, as they didn't miss any chance to remind her that she was an unwanted child who had made their lives a living hell to which they were getting revenge by making her life a living hell

Due to this, even though she was born into wealth, she didn't live like she was. The press hardly knew her, and her parents didn't bother to change the notion that she never existed.

After being tired of how they constantly treated her, she decided to move out of her parent's house when she was nineteen and at first, she thought they would realize their mistakes but after years of not reaching out, she came to accept the fact that they really hated her.

The only time her father reached out was when he wanted to hire her as a receptionist in his company and while he told her that it was her way to work her way up, she knew it was a lie as her siblings didn’t have to go through the same test. It was just another way for him to torture her, and so she refused his offer. 

“Then you’ll have to find a way to get back and finish your report within the twenty minutes,” the man stated with a smile on his lips, breaking her out of her thoughts once again. What was up with her and zoning out today?

Zabelle wished she could stab his throat so she wouldn’t see that annoying smile but sadly, she couldn't. Well she could, but she wasn't ready to go to prison.

“By the way, this document is supposed to arrive at the Garcia office in fifteen minutes and if you fail, we lose the deal which means you’ll get fired,” her boss informed her and that was what Zabelle needed to hear to get her up on her feet.

Grabbing the document, she rushed out of there without giving the asshole the benefit of a reply. The two offices were on opposite ends, and it would take at least twenty minutes to get there. 

She was already at a time deficit, and this made her curse in anger as she flagged a taxi down.

“Take me to the Garcia office and drive as fast as you can,” she told the taxi driver when she got into the car. 

She tapped her feet nervously, and she stared at her watch continuously. A lot depended on her current job, and she couldn’t afford to lose it, as she had found it after a lot of stress and searching. 

For some reason, she felt like she had been blacklisted from a lot of jobs. Maybe it was a valid feeling considering the kind of family she belonged to and how they reacted when she told her father that she had no interest in working for her family’s company.

Zabelle shook her head as that wasn’t what was important. Getting the document to the secretary was. ‘Oh come on!’ she exasperated inwardly when they were met with traffic.

Checking her watch, she saw that ten minutes had passed, meaning that she had five minutes to get there. However, she knew there was no way she would be able to make it, and so she sighed in resignation.

After what seemed like forever, she finally arrived at the Garcia company. When she checked her watch, Zabelle saw that she was fifteen minutes late.

After inquiring what floor the secretary was on, she headed to the elevator where she saw two elevators opposite each other. 

Walking to one, she saw that the elevator was going up and this made her curse as she headed to the other one, which was fortunately available. 

Zabelle quickly got in, and she tapped her feet nervously as she silently prayed. The doors had barely closed when it opened again, and she was met with the sight of a man. 

He was wearing a blue suit and Zabelle observed that he had beautiful features; blue eyes as deep as the ocean, jet black hair and sharp jawline, as well as full lips and high cheekbones. Why did he look like he was a Greek god? Zabelle asked herself as she watched him walk into the elevator. 

He looked strangely familiar, and she wondered where she had seen him before.

“May I ask what you’re doing in this elevator?” She heard him probe her, and that broke her out of whatever spell his good looks had put her in. 

This made her notice that the man didn't look pleased to see her making her clench the document in her hand.

Chapter 2: How long are you going to pretend?

“Sir, the contract for the merger has been sent, you have to go through it,” he heard his secretary say to him as the car sped along the highway to the office.

“Anything else?” He asked without raising his head from his tablet. 

“You have a meeting with your father tonight,” his secretary continued and this finally made Antonio look up as he turned to glare at the man who was speaking to him.

“How many times have I told you not to fix in any meeting with my father, Daniel?” He hissed in irritation. 

The incompetent fool was no stranger to the bad blood between him and his father and he had made it explicitly clear that whenever the old man called to fix a meeting, it should be met with an immediate refusal.

“I tried to tell him no, but he persisted and threatened me, sir,” Daniel explained, and he gulped in fear. Working for his boss was like walking on eggshells as every day, he feared for his life. 

“Cancel it, or I’ll have to remind you that I’m much more dangerous than my father,” Antonio threatened. 

There were a lot of things he hated and his father arguably topped the list. If his secretary had a hard time in obeying his orders, then he had no use for the fool.

There was a reason why he was named the Devil in human flesh by everyone, and that was because he had lived up to the name. If his darn Secretary had forgotten just how wicked he was, then he would have no problem in reminding him.

He was the heir to the most powerful family in the country, the Garcias, and that title didn't come by being nice. 

Forgiveness didn't exist in his world, and he liked to take down people who so much as stepped a toe out of line around him.

“Sir,” he heard Daniel call out to him just as they reached the company. 

“Unless you're calling to tell me that the meeting with my father has been cancelled, I suggest you swallow whatever you are about to say,” Antonio warned as he got out of the car and headed into the company.

He checked his watch and saw he was almost time for another meeting. As soon as he stepped foot into the company, silence ensued, and the employees who were on the ground floor stopped whatever conversation they were having and pretended to be working.

Ignoring their bows and their greetings, he headed straight to his private elevator which was exclusively for a select few. When the doors opened, he was shocked to see a woman he had never seen standing in the elevator. 

He squinted his eyes as he got in wondering who the hell she was and why she was in there. He hated dealing with people which was why he had made the elevator off-limits. 

“May I ask what you’re doing in this elevator?” He voiced out after the doors closed. 

“I-I’m sorry. I’m taking this document to Mr Garcia’s secretary,” he heard the woman answer.

“Mr. Garcia’s secretary,” he repeated sarcastically as he started to have his suspicions about what the woman’s motive was. “What document is that?” He further probed as he reached out and stopped the elevator. 

“It’s a merger contract. Why did you stop the elevator?” the woman inquired, and a smile appeared on his face, but it wasn’t a friendly smile, it was one that meant doom for the person whom he gave it to. 

The supposed merger contract the woman was talking about was the same one his secretary had asked him to sign moments ago in the car which meant the fool standing in front of him was using that as a decoy to try and get close to him. The fact that she was in his private elevator further proved him right.

Due to his status and power, he had his fair share of women who tried to get his attention so he would fall for them. From freak accidents to stalking him, to running into him, he had been through it all. 

One would have thought with the way he dealt with those women and their families, others would have learned that he wasn’t interested in getting into a relationship and that he wouldn’t hold back in destroying them, but that wasn’t the case. 

There were always going to be fools who wouldn’t stop if he didn’t teach them a lesson personally and the woman in front of him was one of such fools. 

“Hand it over,” he stretched out his hand wanting to see what was in the supposed contract.

Zabelle frowned a bit at the man as she was supposed to deliver the contract to Mr Garcia’s secretary and she wasn’t going to give it to anyone else even if it was the Greek God standing in front of her.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t give it to anyone else but the intended receiver,” she stated, and he saw her clutch onto the document she was holding. 

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Antonio tilted his head as he could feel his patience running out with every passing second. 

“You’re Mr Garcia’s Secretary?” He heard the woman ask him, and he squinted his eyes at her, wondering just how long she would continue to pretend like she didn’t know him. 

“Hmm,” he hummed, deciding to play along with her. 

“I’m so sorry this is coming in late,” Zabelle immediately apologized while heaving a sigh of relief at the fact that she had met the person she was there to see without having run into Antonio Garcia. 

“Document,” the man said to her, ignoring her apology, and she took it as a sign that he was still mad, and so she handed it over to him. 

Antonio took it from Zabelle, and he immediately opened it as he was curious to see what was in it, especially as the real document had already been delivered to his secretary. 

Upon opening it, he was met with a blank page and when he opened the subsequent pages, he saw pictures of himself and this made him sigh in annoyance. 

Zabelle’s eyes widened in horror when she noticed this and her blood went cold when she saw that the pictures in the file were of the man that was standing in front of her. 

That bastard had set her up! She yelled in her head. How was she so dumb not to check the document he had asked her to deliver?

“I-I’m so sorry, sir. I didn’t know,” she stuttered, and her heart started to pound in her chest as the situation looked bad, very bad. 

“How much longer are you going to pretend like you don’t know I’m Antonio Garcia?” Antonio asked, finally reaching his limit with the woman standing in front of him. 

Chapter 3: Antonio Garcia

“How much longer are you going to pretend like you don’t know I’m Antonio Garcia?” Antonio asked, finally reaching his limit with the woman standing in front of him. 

She was a good actress, he had to give her that but that was where his niceness ended. He had a meeting to get to, and the woman standing in front of him was delaying him. 

Zabelle gulped in fear and her eyes further widened in horror. The one person she had been avoiding was the one person she had crossed paths with. No wonder he looked familiar. She must have seen him on a media platform. 

“Sir, I promise, I didn’t know you were the one. I was asked to deliver…” she tried to explain, but Antonio scoffed, cutting her off. 

The fact that she was still lying irritated him, and so he threw the document away, and he moved closer to her. “You must be a fool to think that I would believe that you didn’t know especially when the supposed merger documents you are delivering have already been delivered to me,” he stated and Zabelle frowned over this fact.

“I promise, I didn’t know,” Zabelle responded as she backed away from Antonio. However, she ran out of space when her back touched the elevator and Antonio came to stand in front of her.

“How cheap must you be to resort to such tricks to get my attention?” He probed as he tilted his head to look at Zabelle. “Do you think if I ever wanted to settle down, it would be you with your average looks?” 

“Excuse me?” Zabelle gritted her teeth as his words reminded her of how she had been compared to her sister when she was younger. She had always felt inferior to her younger sister due to this and Antonio’s words invoked those feelings.

“Did I stutter?” Antonio squinted his eyes as he placed a hand beside her head which further made Zabelle feel suffocated.

“How narcissistic must you be to think that every lady who comes into contact with you wants to date you?” She threw the question at him and Antonio chuckled. However, it wasn’t a friendly one as always.

“Did I not see the pictures clearly?” He retorted as he looked down at the woman. She was so small that it would be easy to kill her and the thought of it seemed alluring. 

“Even after getting caught, you still retort to lying, but you know I’m feeling generous today, and so I’ll give you what you want, my attention,” he gibbed and Zabelle felt chills creep up her spine over his words.

Without thinking twice about what the consequence of her action would be, she rammed her knee in between his legs as hard as she could, hitting the one place it was certain to hurt the most.

This was effective in getting him to step away from her personal space, and she watched him groan in pain. 

Antonio’s eyes became bloodshot as he realized what had just happened. He raised his head to look at Zabelle and if looks could kill, she would have combusted into dust with how his gaze burned. 

“How dare you?!” He raged. 

He had never been hit by a woman before, and he found it insulting to be hit by one, especially one who was supposed to be falling at his feet asking for forgiveness for what she had done. 

“I bet every woman who has an interest in you does what I just did,” Zabelle mocked him. It was obvious that the man standing in front of her was an arrogant jerk who thought the whole world was at his feet to think that she was trying to gain his attention. She already had a boyfriend, and she had no interest in him.

“I swear you’re going to regret what you have just done for the rest of your life,” Antonio promised and Zabelle rolled her eyes. Even if he wanted to take it easy on her, that chance had been thrown out of the window. He would make sure he broke her over and over till death seemed like a better punishment.

“I already have a family who’s out to get me, get in line,” she retorted as she walked up to the elevator and turned the power back on. She started to push the buttons as she wanted nothing more than to get out of the elevator.

“You really don’t know who you’ve messed with. I’ll make you pay,” Antonio promised her.

“I honestly do pity the unlucky woman who will end up with you in the end,” Zabelle shook her head just as the doors thankfully opened. “But like I said before, get in line.” These were her final words to him before she stepped out of the elevator. 

Antonio couldn’t believe the audacity of the woman who had just left. He was used to women drooling over him and trying to get his attention, not assaulting him. The woman, whoever she was, had just messed with the devil and she sure as hell would get burnt. 

His eyes darkened as he dipped his hand in his pocket and brought out his phone to make a phone call. The receiver picked up the call on the second ring. “A woman was just in my private elevator. I want her details by the end of the day,” he told the receiver, after which he disconnected the call. 

He then proceeded to make another call. Antonio was ready to show the woman just how the rest of her life would be. 

Chapter 4: The tip of the iceberg

While Antonio was seething with rage, the same could also be said about Zabelle who was angrily making her way out of the company. Her colleagues weren’t wrong when they described Antonio as overbearing.

In fact, overbearing wasn’t enough to describe him. She had barely spent ten minutes with him and she already hated him.

It was her fault for not checking the documents, but there was no need for him to insult her looks. Even she wasn’t looking to settle with someone like him. He was only handsome physically. Everything else about him was ugly. 

The women who chased after him were either stupid or blinded to do so after what she had seen. “Taxi!” She flagged a cab down so she could return to the office to have a word with the asshole who had put her in the situation. 

When she got to the office, she intended to go to the asshole’s office, however, she received news that she had been called to the CEO’s office. 

Her heart dipped as she had never been called there and following the events that had happened, what were the odds that she was being called for that reason?

When Zabelle got there, she saw the man who had been responsible for her run-in with Antonio already seated there. She clenched her fist as she could already tell where this was going. 

“Sir, you called for me,” she spoke, breaking the silence in the room.

“I received a call from Mr Garcia a few minutes ago, and he said a woman came to his company with a merger contract from our company,” her boss started, and her heart raced in her chest. 

“This is shocking, especially considering the fact that the merger contract was already delivered to his company. Care to say anything about it?”

“Sir, it was a misunderstanding. Mr Dumong asked me to deliver the document to Mr Garcia’s secretary. I had no idea that the contract had already been delivered,” she tried to explain.

“Have you no shame to lie against me?” The man who had framed her immediately fired at her. “This is what I was just talking about, sir, she always looks for someone to blame for her mistakes. Normally I would overlook it, but she crossed all the lines today.”

“I crossed the line? You crossed it ages ago when you tried to get me into your bed,” Zabelle retorted, her chest heaving heavily due to the anger she felt.

“You're fired,” she then heard the CEO say to her coldly and her heart dipped.

“Sir, I promise I really…”

“If you continue I'll be forced to file a complaint against you for trespassing. You have ten seconds to get out of my office and five minutes to get out of the building,” the CEO gave an ultimatum.

Casting one last glare at Mr Dumong, she turned and left the office. It seemed news of what had happened had already spread around the office as when she stepped out of the room, she was greeted with murmurings.

Paying no attention to them, she headed to her desk and started to clear out her things.

‘She acts like she doesn't care but who knew she was so cheap to go after Antonio Garcia,’ Zabelle heard someone say and she clenched her fists. 

She hadn't gone after him and up until when he introduced himself to her, she didn't even know who he was but no one would believe her.

‘She must have big dreams to think that someone like Antonio Garcia would fall for someone like her. Has she looked in the mirror to see how ugly she is?’

Not wanting to hear more, she quickly cleared her desk and headed to the elevator. Taking a deep breath, she took one last look at the place where she had worked for the last year.

When Zabelle got outside the building, she was met with an unpleasant surprise in the form of the same person she was accused of trying to date. 

He was leaning against his car casually and his arms were crossed. Did the asshole really come all the way over there to bask in her getting fired? She asked herself as she made her way over to where he was.

The voice in her head told her that it was a bad decision to confront him, but she didn't care. It was a matter of egos, and she wasn't going to back down.

“You did this!” She fired at him when she got closer to him. 

“YOU did this,” Antonio corrected as he smirked evilly due to him being satisfied with what he saw in front of him.

He had even cancelled his meeting just so he could see this. 

“I told you that I was framed by my boss who has been trying to get me to sleep with him!” Zabelle stated but Antonio didn't believe her. 

“You really are a great liar,” Antonio responded. “How cheap must you really…” he was unable to complete his words as Zabelle moved to attack him in the same spot as earlier. However, he was prepared for her as he easily deflected her attack.

A frown appeared on his face as he thought he would have cut her wings, but she was still as arrogant as ever and this infuriated him as this wasn't what he was expecting when he came there. 

Antonio was expecting her to beg for his forgiveness, but nothing of such was happening.

“The first one was unexpected, I'd be damned if I let you hit me again,” he growled.

Zabelle glared at him, and she wondered just how terrible her luck was to have met someone like him. “You don't know me so don't you ever dare question my character,” she warned Antonio.

“I already told you that I was framed, but you don't believe me and frankly speaking, that's a you problem,” she paused before continuing. “You've gotten your revenge by firing me from my job, congratulations. Make sure you never show your pathetic face in front of me, or I'll sue you for harassment.”

Those were her last words to him before walking out on a shocked Antonio who was surprised that she had the last word once again. 

He turned just in time to see her get into a taxi, and he watched it drive off. Did the fool really think that his revenge would stop with just getting her fired?

That was only the tip of the iceberg as a lot more was to come, he thought to himself before getting into his car.