2025-01-22 17:58:22Roman didn’t have anything to wear to the event, but Annabel told him not to worry about anything. With his permission, she first booked the most expensive suite in the most expensive hotel in the city, so he could go and relax.
Then she called in an expert to take his measurement and immediately ordered ten different designer brands of suits, each with its own shoes and accessories that he could pick from.
He took a shower, ordered room service, and he was served his meal like a king. A stylist came in to work on his hair, then he chose what to wear among all the clothes ordered. Annabel showed him a list of expensive cars for him to choose from, and within thirty minutes, the car was delivered after being purchased.
“I would like to accompany you to the event, Mr Roman.” She said to him with a hopeful smile.
“Are you trying to babysit me? I’ll be fine on my own.”
‘Of course, sir. You’re a capable man, I don’t doubt it at all. But I have more experience with events like these. I also know more people in attendance. I can introduce you to anyone you want, and assist you with whatever purchase you want to make from the auction. I can be your assistant till you decide to get one for yourself.” She replied.
“Fine then. You can come with me. Let me know what you decide to wear before it’s time to leave so I can get you a gift.”
They arrived at the venue just in time, but Annabel had a phone call to make, so Roman had to leave the car on his own.
As soon as he stepped into the event centre, he saw his ex-wife and her new lover, Hamilton. He wanted to avoid them, but Haylee approached him first, and he had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.
“Are you following me?” She asked incredulously.
“How did you even get an invite to this event? Did you also commit fraud for that too? I heard you stole a black card, and tried to scam money from the bank. I’m surprised you’re not behind bars yet.” Hamilton chuckled after speaking.
He loved having the opportunity to humiliate Roman, but to his surprise, Roman wasn’t embarrassed at all. In fact, he seemed bored of their presence.
“Don’t flatter yourself, Haylee. I have better things to do than following you around like a lap dog.” Roman ignored Hamilton, and spoke directly to her.
“Just return the black card to the rightful owner to avoid a disaster. If this news spreads, and people find out we used to be married, it may impact my reputation and ruin my business. How could you be so selfish? Or are you deliberately trying to sabotage me just because I divorced you?” She asked, and Roman actually rolled his eyes this time before responding to her.
“My world no longer revolves around you, Haylee.”
His nonchalant behaviour pissed her off, but there was nothing she could do about it while they were in public. She was trying to avoid causing a scene.
“Haylee, stop caring about this man. He’s not worth even a second of your time. It’s better to pretend you don’t know him, so you won’t be implicated when they finally disgrace him like the criminal he is.” Hamilton said with a sneer/
“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long, darling.” Annabel held Roman’s hand and smiled at him as she joined them.
Hamilton stared at Annabel with lust, even though Haylee was right beside him. He wondered how a man like Roman could have gotten together with such a beautiful woman so soon after his divorce.
Before getting into the banking sector, she used to be a pageant queen, and she still hadn’t lost her beauty and elegance from those days.
Heads turned as she walked calmly towards Roman wearing a dazzling pink dress, and a jewellery set that cost forty million dollars. Roman had given it to her as a gift for being so helpful to him.
Roman immediately guessed what she was trying to do, and decided to play along. But at the same time, his heart beat a little faster because she was so close to him. He smiled back at her and shook his head.
“No, you didn’t take long.”
Haylee immediately frowned as she saw such a beautiful woman holding Roman’s hand so intimately. He couldn’t even wait for a whole day to pass before getting himself a new lover. Did he even love her like he claimed to, all the years they were married?
She couldn’t stop the jealousy in her heart, because this woman looked like she was above Haylee’s league. But what right did she have to feel jealous when she was the one who demanded for a divorce?
“Miss Maxim. What a surprise to see you here. I thought you weren’t coming.” One of the organisers of the event approached their group.
Annabel turned to greet the elderly woman with a hug and a smile. “I changed my mind last minute.”
Hamilton and Haylee immediately tried to greet the woman, whose name was Rachael Dhera, but she just dismissed them. This woman was the chairlady of the charity board.
Almost every high level event like this was funded and operated by her family, so she was a big shot. The woman called her son over to make introductions.
“Kaleb, this is Annabel Maxim. Annabel, meet my son, Kaleb.”
The two of them shook hands. “Annabel is the senior director at the Prime Royale bank. She has helped me organise so many successful events.”
Hamilton nearly choked on his wine as he heard that. His jealousy became worse as he realised Annabel’s high rank in the biggest bank in the country.
He had a platinum card, and a deposit of eighty million at the bank. Still, it wasn’t enough for him to be able to socialise with the bank’s high level staff. Yet Roman, a nobody, was connected to her? It was infuriating.
Now he understood why Roman hadn’t been arrested yet. Annabel must have helped him out because they were lovers. How pathetic. Roman must have seduced her, else, why would someone on Annabel’s level date someone as low class as Roman?
Or maybe Roman blackmailed her with something personal, and got himself an invite to the charity event using Annabel’s connections. Hamilton was determined to find out, not so he could help Annabel, but so he could use her for his own gain, and toss Roman out.
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THE TRILLIONAIRE'S UNDERSTATED DOMINANCE Jealous Ex-wife
Haylee's eyes widened when she heard that Annabel was a senior director at the Prime Royale Bank. She quickly tried to compose herself, but her cheeks were flushed, and her palms were beginning to get sweaty. Being ignored by Rachael made her even more jealous because the woman was so comfortable speaking with Annabel. She stared at Roman with narrowed eyes, waiting for him to look at her so she could give him a signal that they needed to talk. Roman didn’t look at her though. His attention was focused on his conversation with Rachael after Annabel introduced him to her. Haylee’s grip on her wine glass tightened, but she had to force her grip to relax in order not to ruin her manicure.She was having a weird achy feeling in her heart, and her chest seemed tighter, making it a bit hard to breathe. She couldn’t believe that she just divorced Roman, and he already found another woman better than her.They moved into the main hall, and people immediately moved towards Hamilton and Hayle
THE TRILLIONAIRE'S UNDERSTATED DOMINANCE The Auction
Hamilton glared at Roman as he walked away. Did he think this was a joke? How dare he say he would bid for the ring? “Don’t listen to him, Hamilton. He’s just bluffing. He has no money to bid with. He’ll just embarrass himself.” One of his female admirers said to him.He smiled at her, realising she was right. There was no need to worry. They mingled for a little while before it was time to begin the auction.The first item on the list was a vase that was crafted by an artist who was late. It was among his final works before he passed away, and that made it valuable. About ten people bid on it before it was finally sold for eight hundred thousand dollars.Next was a pearl earring set that belonged to a matriarch of a foreign country, and had been recently acquired after being displayed in a museum for two years. Hamilton immediately saw a chance to flaunt his wealth, and bid for the earring.“The starting bid for the earrings is three hundred thousand dollars.” The auctioneer announ
THE TRILLIONAIRE'S UNDERSTATED DOMINANCE Highest Bid
Hamilton was pissed off because Roman dared to bid for the ring.“You’re being so confident because you have Miss Annabel seated beside you. Trying to take advantage of her will not work at this auction. You seem to be unaware of the rules, and that could get you in trouble.” He said to Roman.“Don’t act like you’re concerned for my well being.” Roman scoffed at Hamilton.“And he’s well aware of the rule that no one can pay on behalf of another person once they bid on an item. The person who pays must be the same person who bids. I gave him the list of rules before we came.” Annabel said with a smirk as she looked in Hamilton’s direction.“And does he know what will happen to him when he fails to pay for the item with such a high bid?” Hamilton asked.He didn’t get a response to his question because the auctioneer began to speak again.“Two hundred million, going once. Going twice,”“Two hundred and ten million.” Hamilton said as he raised his bidding pad.He immediately put his hand
THE TRILLIONAIRE'S UNDERSTATED DOMINANCE Blacklisted
This time, the reaction to Roman’s high bid was not silence. The whole room erupted in an uproar of voices, all trying to speak at the same time. Everyone wanted to find out what gave Roman the audacity to announce such a high bid. Hamilton sat back and gave up.“Five hundred million, going once. Going twice!” The auctioneer paused for a few seconds, then said, “Sold to Mr Roman. Congratulations, the ring is yours.”Suddenly, Hamilton smirked. He realised that he hadn’t lost. Roman fell for his trick. He almost let his pride make him forget his initial reason for raising the bid. He wanted to trap Roman into bidding more than he could handle, so Roman could get in trouble with the owner of the auction house. This was a win-win situation for him. He just had to stand back, and watch Roman face the consequences.“I can’t believe he made such a high bid.” Haylee said to herself with a frustrated sigh.But Hamilton heard her because they were seated so close together. He responded to her
THE TRILLIONAIRE'S UNDERSTATED DOMINANCE Young Master
Hamilton’s face turned ghastly pale as all the blood drained from his face. If his family was kicked out of the business association, it would be a big blow to their finances. And everyone would blame him for it.“Sir, forgive my offence. Whatever I did to offend you, please have mercy, sir.” Hamilton immediately dropped to his knees to beg.“You don’t even have an idea what you’re apologising for.” Kade said with a disgusted expression on his face as he stared down at Hamilton like he was an insignificant bug.“I must have spoken out of turn. Or maybe it’s something else. Whatever I did, sir, please forgive me. Spare my family. Please.”Kade just scoffed, and turned away to give the guards new orders.“Take him out of here. If he resists, then drag him out. I don’t care, as long as you get him out of my sight.”Hamilton moved forward on his knees and tried to grab Kade’s legs, but he was forcefully dragged away by the guards, while still screaming for mercy.They dumped him in the al
THE TRILLIONAIRE'S UNDERSTATED DOMINANCE Merged Rings
Roman was a bit sceptical as he heard Kade call him young master. He had no idea what was going on, just like when that blonde woman came to give him the black card and the ring. He didn’t even know the blonde woman’s name because he had never bothered to ask, mainly due to the fact that he didn’t believe her back then. Now that her words have been proven to be true, he had no way of contacting her. Was this situation similar to that?Annabel on the other hand was shocked. She stared at Kade with wide eyes as she wondered why a man as powerful as him would be calling Kade young master, and even bowing. That was a deep sign of respect, and Kade wasn’t the kind of man to do something like that without a good reason. It seemed that Roman was more powerful than even she had estimated. “You seem shocked to hear me call you young master.” Kade said as he came closer.“Yes. Everyone seems to be afraid or intimidated by you. It’s normal for me to be a bit perplexed by your reaction and words
THE TRILLIONAIRE'S UNDERSTATED DOMINANCE One Herb
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The ride to the hospital where Annabel’s grandfather was hospitalised was silent. Roman was behind the steering wheel, because Annabel was in no state to drive, and he needed the action to keep him occupied. He had been confident enough to tell Annabel that he would be able to cure her grandfather, he was beginning to wonder if maybe he spoke too soon. He was new to the power and knowledge given to him by the ring. Wouldn’t it have been better for him to first test it out on a smaller level before attempting something of this magnitude?He had no idea what ailment her grandfather had, and according to her, several world renowned doctors had tried to diagnose him to no avail. No one would believe he could do it, especially since he didn’t have a medical degree.But as he stared at Annabel’s face, he realised that it didn’t matter if anyone else doubted him. She believed in him, and after all her help so far, he owed it to her to at least try. And he had no plans to fail, even though h
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The evening's orange sun spilled through the sheer curtains of Vivienne’s lavish apartment the next day. It cast a beautiful golden glow across the pristine white furniture. Vivienne was draped in a silky black robe. She poured herself a glass of red wine, despite having too much to drink already. She was never one to follow conventional rules. She leaned against the marble counter of her open kitchen, glancing at the clock.Kristan should be here any moment.And, as if on cue, there was a knock on her door. A slow smirk curled across Vivienne’s lips as she walked gracefully to the door. She opened it, and saw the man she had been expecting.He stood there, tall and ridiculously good-looking. His muscular frame filled the doorway with ease. He had dark, piercing eyes and a smirk that could get a woman into trouble. And Vivienne had already been in trouble with him many times before.Kristan didn’t say anything at first. Instead, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her wais
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Roman fists were clenched at his sides, the anger boiling in his veins was barely contained.Soren’s offer to buy him off had been laughable. Insulting, even. Now, the entire room was quiet.Until Alistair decided to open his mouth.“Roman,” Alistair said, adjusting his cufflinks like he wasn’t about to say something ridiculous. “Have you thought about what people will say?”Roman exhaled sharply, already tired of whatever speech was coming. “About what, exactly?”Alistair leaned forward, placing his hands on the table. “About the company.”Roman’s eyebrow twitched. “Be specific.”Alistair’s expression was calm, collected, but Roman could hear the thin layer of frustration in his voice. “What do you want the world to say about Averne Corporation when they find out we’re having an internal crisis about who the heir is? A long-lost heir suddenly returning and demanding power? What do you think that will do to our stock value?”Roman laughed.Alistair blinked in confusion. “What’s funny?
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Roman pushed the hospital doors open and stepped out into the cool evening air, letting out a slow breath. He should have felt relieved. The DNA test had confirmed everything—he was Roman Averne. The heir.And yet, something in his gut told him that this wasn’t over.Kade walked beside him, hands in his pockets, looking way too relaxed for someone who had just helped shake up an entire empire. He shot Roman a glance. “So, how does it feel? Finally having proof?”Roman rolled his shoulders. “Like I won round one. But I’m guessing the fight isn’t over.”Kade smirked. “Now you’re thinking like an Averne.”Roman scoffed. “That’s not exactly comforting.”Kade chuckled, unlocking his car with a tap. “Get in. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”Roman slid into the passenger seat, closing the door behind him.Something told him this conversation wasn’t gonna be a fun one.The drive was quiet, but not awkward.Kade didn’t feel the need to fill silences with small talk, and Roman was grateful for t
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Roman sat in the backseat of the sleek black car, staring out the window as the city passed by in a blur. Kade was driving. He was heading to a hospital. Not for a check-up or for an injury, but to find out if he even was who Kade thought he was.That was a whole new level of messed up, because what if he failed? How would the others take it? The ring was an indication of his heritage, but science still had it’s place. Kade sat at the driver's seat, completely relaxed, like they were on their way to grab coffee instead of taking a test that could shake Roman’s entire life. He just needed to recover his memory, and he would feel whole again. These petty doubts were getting tiring.The car pulled up to the private hospital entrance. Kade didn’t even have to announce their arrival—a small group of hospital staff and security were already waiting because Kade had called ahead.Roman took a deep breath and stepped out.Time to face the truth.When they got to the hospital, Lucian Averne,
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The room was dead silent.Roman stood beside the long, polished boardroom table, with his hands pressed flat against the wood. His gaze was sweeping over the stunned faces in front of him.Some of them looked furious. Others looked wary. A few were still trying to process the fact that he was even standing there.Good. Let them sit with it.He straightened up, adjusting the cuff of his jacket, and spoke calmly. “Let’s make this simple. I’m back. And I’m taking my place.”Another wave of murmurs rippled through the room, but Roman didn’t let it grow. He lifted a hand slightly, his expression completely unbothered.“Which means,” he continued, “whoever’s sitting in my chair right now needs to get up.”The room froze again.Then, just as he expected, chaos erupted.“This is absurd!” Alistair snapped, slamming a fist on the table. “You can’t just walk in here and make demands!”“You expect us to hand over everything just because you say so?” Evander added, his lips curling in disbelief.S
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Roman wasn’t sure what he had expected when Kade said they were heading to his family’s company, but sneaking in like spies hadn’t been at the top of the list.Yet here they were.The Averne Corporation headquarters was a very tall, glass-covered beast in the heart of the city. It was intimidating and powerful-looking, and exactly what you’d expect from a company that controlled various industries across the world. It was the kind of place where billionaires made billion-dollar decisions before heading off to sip wine on a private island.And right now, Roman was standing in the shadows of its underground parking lot, staring up at the place like a stranger.Because that’s what he was at that time.“Alright,” he muttered, adjusting the collar of his black jacket. “So what’s the plan? We just walk in and say, ‘Hey, I’m back from the dead, give me my company’?”Kade, who was leaning casually against a concrete pillar like he had all the time in the world, smirked. “Not quite. That would
