Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

Raven sat in his office leaning into the chair at his back, it felt like the weight of the world pressing down on his shoulders.

Exhaustion was an understatement for what he felt, he had been working for days in order not to go home, he hadn’t seen Fiona in days, and the thought of her being neglected like he had been doing to her gnawed at him. Their relationship had always been a secret, a secret pleasure for him and it was one he had want to protect fiercely , but now it seemed that their secret couldn't last forever.

He was not a man to hedge on emotions, they were not something he had ever needed in his life to feel.tendrild of them now at a time when he would rather not feel anything. When he'd rather be emotionless was hard and confusing.

With his father’s ultimatum hung over him like a dark cloud—with the choice being to marry Mirabelle or lose the company, his choice was supposed to be simple, his first choice was to be the company he had spent all his life building and yet the choice was tearing him apart.

Raven's phone buzzed on his desk, the screen lighting up with Mirabelle’s name. He let out a frustrated sigh and answered.
“Mirabelle,” he said keeping his voice calm and distant,

“Raven, I’m getting tired of waiting for your answer,” she replied, her tone sharp with frustration.
“You need to decide, and you need to decide now.”

He paused not ready to say anything, but then he stilled and he offered
“I’ll give you an answer by tomorrow.”


He could feel her frustration bubble over.
“You’ve been saying that for days. You know what’s at stake.” she hissed and he sighed

“I understand,” he replied,

" if you're thinking of betraying me of not giving me the answer I want, I’ll make sure your father knows everything.”
“Tomorrow, Mirabelle. I promise.” he said a note of finality in his voice.

Before she could argue further, he hung up and threw his phone onto the desk, he didn't have much time, in fact he had little to no time at all.
He rose from his desk and walked to the window looking over his world. This was not a world he was willing to leave behind, maybe he had been selfish trying to bring her to his side, maybe he hadn't thought it through.

As he was about to leave the office, the door burst open, and Zane, his assistant, rushed in.

“Boss , we have a problem,” Zane said, his expression tense.
“One of our major investors just pulled out. No reason given.”

This was the last thing he needed right now.
“Who was it?”

“Westfield Holdings,” Zane replied.
“They’ve been solid supporters for years. This came out of nowhere.” Zane was right the Westfield's had been supporters for years but this was definitely not coming out of nowhere. Raven knew exactly who was responsible for this and he knew exactly how to get it resolved.

He swallowed, his fists clenched , trying to control his frustration and his rage
“Get me a meeting with them for tomorrow. I need to find out what’s going on and see how I can resolve this.” he mumbled and Zane nodded

“I’ll see what I can do,” Zane said, just as he moved to hurry out of the office, Raven called to him
" The document I asked you for " he said , he looked away from Zane before he could see the shock or pity that lined his features.

Left alone, Raven sank into his chair, feeling the crushing weight of his responsibilities making themselves known.
The investor’s withdrawal was a blow, and he knew that without their support, the company could be in serious trouble. His father knew that as well, this was his warning and he would have to listen.

He took a deep breath, his decision made. He grabbed the file off the table and left the office.

Throughout his drive home, his mind racing with a thousand thought of what he would say to her of how he would tell her.
The familiar route for some reason seemed longer than ever,

When he finally arrived, Fiona was not home, he walked to the table dropped the files and poured himself a glass of whiskey, he drained that and poured himself another before strolling to the living room where he sat down sipping at the drink.

Fiona walked into the room
“Hey,” she said softly hanging her coat
“Hey,” he replied, his voice lacking its usual warmth. She looked happy even though it was muted. He wished he could see her that way forever but he was going to be the one to destroy her happiness

Fiona sat down beside him, reaching out to touch his arm but he pulled away. He watched as she tried not to let the hurt show, she had almost succeeded.

He rose to his feet taking a final gulp from his whiskey, then he walked to the counter and poured himself another glass of scotch taking a sip before he looked to her eyes, he could see the apprehension and the fear that she felt but he said the words instead.
" We need to talk "

She rose from the chair walking to him with her back ramrod straight, her eyes filled with concern.
“What’s going on, Raven?” she mumbled fisting her fingers together

" I'm tired " he said and she swallowed
“What are you saying?”she asked her face pale.

He couldn’t finish the sentence, the words too painful to speak. Fiona pulled her hands away, from the table shaking her head in disbelief.

" Are you really doing this" she asked her voice hitching with pain
" We both knew this would be temporary, how many secret marriages have you seen that you thought we could ever be more " he asked and she paled even more if that were possible
" But I still loved you" she cried

He had no answer for that. All he could do was watch as her and the tears that tracked down her cheeks
" Is that why, your doing this. Why you pulled away from me, "

" I pulled away because I got what I wanted. You were a naive virgin in a world that was full of women I had already been with. You were a novelty " he said scathingly and she sobbed something broken.

" That's all I was. An experiment," she asked, he said nothing to that, instead he looked her dead in the eye as he said with a note of finality
" I want a divorce"