The Billionaire Who Saved Me

“W-what did you say, Ariel? Elice is your lover?”

Daphne felt as if her body would collapse at any moment. But before that unfortunate event happened, Norah immediately approached her mother-in-law. She reached out and made sure the older woman didn’t actually fall. Ariel’s words had successfully caused both of her knees to wobble.

Ariel chuckled. His face mocked Garrett as he looked at Daphne.

“Ah, turns out you didn’t know, Nana?” Ariel asked with a teasing grin aimed at Garrett. “Elice is my girlfriend. We’ve been together a long time.”

Shock was immediately visible in Daphne’s eyes as they turned to Garrett. The same was true for Norah. Both older women couldn’t believe what Ariel was saying. But with such confidence on his face, who could doubt him?

A small laugh escaped Ariel’s lips. Then, ignoring any form of etiquette, he sighed once.

“So desperate, Garrett? To get all that wealth, you didn’t even think twice about stealing my girlfriend? Wow! I never thought of you like that. You really are beyond anyone’s expectations.”

Veins popped out of Garrett’s forehead. His face hardened even more as his ears heard similar accusations for the umpteenth time.

“Girlfriend? Hah! Are you sure you’re not speaking out of turn? You call yourself Elice’s lover when you’re the one who just tossed her aside?”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Unexpectedly, Garrett immediately replied to Ariel’s words, catching everyone’s attention. All eyes were on him as he approached Ariel.

“Don’t joke around here, Ariel. Because this is not funny at all!” Garrett asserted. “And you should be ashamed!”

Garrett’s measured footsteps didn’t stop; he continued walking until he was directly in front of Ariel.

“You call yourself Elice’s lover, Ariel? When you and your parents actually humiliated her? Left her alone in her grief? And you claim to be her lover when she almost took her own life because of your actions?”

No, it wasn’t just Garrett’s raised voice that startled Ariel. Not because of that. Instead, Ariel was taken aback by all the questions Garrett was throwing at him. He couldn’t hide the shock on his face. His eyes widened as he stared at Garrett in disbelief.

How could he know all this? A-and how much does he know about my relationship with Elice?

Garrett growled right in front of Ariel’s face, clearly seeing how shocked Ariel was by what he said.

“And you know what? There’s something that makes me wonder. Because I’m not sure that Aunt Farrah considers Elice to be her son’s lover, Ariel,” Garrett continued. “What do you think?”

The question successfully made Ariel clench his jaw. This time he didn’t resist, and Garrett was sure of that.

“You scoundrel, Garrett.”

“I’m not the villain here, Ariel. And you know damn well who is.”

Two pairs of eyes stared at each other, both filled with the same anger, but in different emotional forms.

“So let me remind you, Ariel. Forget about Elice. Stay away from her and don’t even think about going near her again,” Garrett threatened, pointing his finger directly at his cousin. “You have no idea how hard she fought to come back to life.”

Anger truly overwhelmed Ariel. Unfortunately, Garrett’s warning left him powerless to retaliate.

Damn it! But everything Garrett said was true. Garrett really silenced him with facts he couldn’t avoid.

Garrett turned to the guards holding Ariel and took the opportunity to give his order.

“Take him out.”

Ariel seethed, trying to free herself, but to no avail. “Let me go!”

In the end, Ariel was helpless as he was dragged away like a criminal, leaving the place in an even more uncontrollable atmosphere. Garrett knew things were about to get more complicated.

“G-Garrett, say that everything that came out of Ariel’s mouth was a lie.”

Ignoring the wounds on his face that should have been treated immediately, Garrett decided to face the consequences that night. Even though his body felt tired, he knew that avoiding that night would only prolong the problem, not solve it.

“What Ariel said is indeed a lie,” Garrett confirmed.

Daphne fell silent and stared at Garrett without blinking.

“Ariel hasn’t been Elice’s boyfriend for over a year,” Garrett concluded. “And when I met Elice, they were no longer in a relationship.”

The fact wasn’t all that different from Daphne’s perspective. Ironically, it was indeed a disadvantageous situation for a woman to be involved with two men in the same family.

Daphne’s eyes suddenly closed. Her hand went up to her head and Norah quickly signaled the servants to be ready to call the doctor if needed.

“Oh God. How could this happen? Of all the women in the world… how could this happen?” Daphne asked.

Garrett wondered the same. From the first night he met Elice and Ariel’s name came up in their conversation, Garrett had been asking himself the same question. Of all the women he could meet at the club, why did it have to be Elice? Why not another woman?

“I-I…” Daphne groaned. She could no longer stand in this situation. In a world that seemed to spin and brought inevitable dizziness. “I should-”

Daphne’s words stopped there. Her old body collapsed, losing its strength and surrendering to Norah’s embrace. Norah, who immediately panicked.

“Mom!”

Garrett rose from his seat, just as panicked as Norah when he realized that the old woman had fainted.

“Call the doctor!” Garrett ordered. “Quickly.”

While waiting for the doctor to arrive, Garrett immediately reached for Daphne’s body, lifting her and carrying her to her room. With Norah and several servants following him, Garrett cursed vehemently in his heart.

Garrett knew. This was not a good sign. Ariel’s arrival had complicated an already chaotic situation. And while Daphne had insisted that her and Elice’s wedding take place as soon as possible, Garrett was now hesitating. Would Daphne still demand the same? Or would it be the other way around?

He did not want to give up, but Garrett’s logic could sense where this situation was heading. Elice didn’t want to be associated with him anymore. Ariel reappeared openly. Then there was Daphne, shocked by the reality between Elice and Ariel.

It seemed clear enough to Garrett. Maybe fate didn’t allow him to be with Elice.

*