BETROTHED TO THE BILLIONAIRE

Ryan’s POV

The glances I was stealing at her did not make me realize we were being followed until I turned the next corner and saw the black big van behind us trailing us from a distance.

Intentionally, I took another turn to see if the van would follow or not and they did follow us at a safe distance, to avoid arousing my suspicion.

Valerie is sitting next to me while I am driving. She is slumped in the seat looking exhausted, probably from too much crying or the information that my supposed Father tried to hurt her Dad.

She saw this coming and this was the reason why I was stealing glances at her.

It was in admiration for her intelligence. She is beautiful whether exhausted or not and it makes me think of where we are in our relationship at the moment.

I thought we would resolve everything tonight since Mother already brought the issue up but that will no longer be possible because of what happened.

What I have to be worried about now is the men trailing us.

We are going to her parents’ mansion to get the cameras she installed in her room and her parent’s room but we can’t do that with these men behind us.

I curse under my breath as I continue following the right path to her parent’s home. I was thinking of going straight to the police station so they can stop following us but I don’t want to risk it. We need to get the camera out as soon as we can. They might have figured out we have evidence or maybe heard it when Valerie said it out at the hospital reception.

My Father must have implanted lots of spies around the hospital.

I wonder why I still call him Father.

Without hesitation, I tap Valerie up from her daydream. She sits up with a sigh and I wonder what is inside that head of hers.

Thankful that these people aren’t trying to catch up with us, I continue with the normal speed. This means they just want to trail us to wherever we are going. They aren’t here to kill us yet.

“Call your mom. Tell her to call the police she said your Father is friends with.”

Valerie’s eyes widen in shock. “What happened?!” she exclaims with panic, skating her expression.

“Nothing. I just want them to be safe. I will only be rest assured if there is someone there to protect them in case something happens…”

“What will happen?” she demands urgently, her eyes still wide open while I ponder within me whether to tell her we are being followed or not.

I’m just scared that her parents aren’t safe now that they know we are coming from the hospital.

“Do as I say, woman”, I snap at her, then take an unexpected turn, increasing my speed to lose them.

She obeys me surprisingly but becomes agitated with my speeding. She looks back with her phone glued to her right ear. When she stares ahead without a word, I know she didn’t figure out we are being followed yet.

I take another turn which isn’t the usual route to her parent’s home as she speaks to her Mother on the phone and another till I am so sure we have lost them.

I heave a deep sigh of relief, then turn to meet her staring at me suspiciously.

“What was that all about?” she inquires with a deep frown on her face.

I turn away, looking straight ahead with a serious expression. “What are you talking about?”

“That strange behavior, the unusual speeding, and the snapping”, she adds, making me wonder if she is just worried or majorly bothered about my snapping.

“It’s nothing”, I say as I get close to the gate. I stop immediately we are in front of the gate and Valerie goes down to open it for me.

The guard is nowhere to be found. He has fled.

I drive in and we both close the gate before going inside. My pace is a bit faster because I want us to get it done before those fools realize we fooled them and then come here to find us.

We go upstairs in silence. When we get to the rooms, I speak up. “Get the camera in your room while I get the one from your parents’ room.”

“No. Let’s do it together. Besides, you don’t know where the camera was installed ”, she disagrees with my plan not knowing the reason behind it.

Arguing with her will be a waste of time so I nod hurriedly. “Let’s get the one in your Father’s room then.”

She nods and leads the way. She unlocks the door and we enter. I look around until my gaze falls on the big cabinet above the bed. Something is hanging below the cabinet and I am about to tell her the camera is there when she makes another turn in the opposite direction, drags a stool, and climbs on it to get the camera hidden from view.

Wow!

Before she can get it done with, I hear a loud gunshot and my heart skips a beat, knowing full well what that means.

Shit! I curse as Valerie almost loses her footing because of how she panicked and turns back in fear. I grab her and the camera is quietly laying in between her palms.

There is no time to get the other camera. This is the real evidence. We should get out of here.

Before I can help her up, the shots become louder and closer.

“What the hell is happening, Ryan?” she flinches from my touch with a deadly glare of you-knew-this-would-happen-look.

“We need to go now. There is no time…”

“No time? You knew we were being followed and you didn’t deem it fit to tell me?” she shouts at me.

“What good will telling you about it do?” I shout back.

“We shouldn’t have come here today, we should have just…”

“You think we will meet the cameras here if we had skipped coming today because of them? Do you think we will meet them intact if we come tomorrow? Don’t be ridiculous. They are obviously here for these reasons because they must have overheard our conversation from the hospital…”

“How?” She interrupts me. “How did they get us? Are you bugged or something?” she furrows her brow, making me look down at my outfit.

Am I bugged?

Another shot rings out, making me grab her hand instantly.

Whether bugged or not, we need to get out of here first.

“You need to get out of these clothes if you are bugged…”

“Is there a back door? We need to go out but not through the front door?” I cut her short, as I begin to peel off my clothes without any further argument.

Left in just my pants, I spread my arms out and shrug. She glares at me coldly, turns back and before I know it, she throws a big pair of trousers towards me and a shirt. Before I can manage to put them on, we hear a sound on the door and she grabs my hand.

With the new trousers and shirt managing to remain in my hand, we make for another door; her parent’s bathroom. When we are inside the spacious bathroom, she moves close to another door and uses a tiny nail to unscrew the door while I wait in impatience looking back occasionally in fear that we will get caught.

We won’t be spared. Same with the camera. It will be ruined never to be seen again.

Unfortunately, we didn’t tell Mrs. Adams that we were coming here for the camera. If something happens to Valerie and me, there is no way in the world that she would get to know what the evidence was about and why we came here.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

We need to make it out alive.

Out of the blue, the door is plunged open and I realize she is holding my hand again, this time more tightly. She goes out through the door and from outside, she fixes the door back to its position.

I am already breathing heavily, waiting for her to get it done so we can flee.

She spins around, her expression deadly and serious, making me realize she is trying to hide something.

I yank the black cloth hiding the object to see what it is.

A black shiny gun.

My jaws drop open and I stagger back in awe.

Before letting it sink in or even questioning how she got it or if she knows how to use it, she hits my bare chest to jerk me back to life.

I blink, still staring at her with my mouth agape.

She goes behind to push me forward toward the open wilderness and we begin to run to nowhere in particular.