Alex was a twenty five year old orphan. Although his parents were probably still alive and well somewhere, he chose to call himself an orphan because those same parents had abandoned him and his little brother to fend for themselves the day after his fifteenth birthday.He still remembered that day like it was yesterday. He still remembered coming home from high school to meet an empty house and a letter addressed to him where his parents explained that they were too young to spend the rest of their lives taking care of two useless children. Worse still, Jayden, his brother who was just seven years old then, was diagnosed with brain cancer a year later. With no parents in sight, Alex had to grow up pretty quickly and take multiple jobs so he could pay his brother’s expensive hospital bills.But sometimes, no matter how hard he tried, things got so tough that he could barely afford to feed. It was during one of those dark times that he met his girlfriend turned wife, Melissa Baron

“Alex! Alex, are you okay?”Alex finally snapped out of his daze when his brother tapped him on the arm. Jayden’s brows were furrowed as he stared at his brother worriedly.“Are you okay?”Alex nodded, trying to force a smile.“Yes, sure. I’m absolutely fine.” He lied through his teeth. “I got you something.” He stretched the doughnut towards Jayden whose eyes lit up at the sight of it.“Woah! A doughnut?” The pure happiness in Jayden’s eyes was worth the hunger that was currently biting through Alex’s stomach. He smiled warmly.“Yup. It’s a doughnut. Take it.”Jayden took the doughnut but just as he was about to bite into it, his brother’s stomach growled loudly, immediately dampening the happy moment.Jayden’s face fell and Alex lowered his head in embarrassment.“Alex, have you had something to eat today?”“Yes, of course.” He lied. “Please don’t mind my stomach. I’m probably reacting to something I ate earlier.”“What did you eat?” Jayden deadpanned and Alex was momentarily thr

The entire hall was silent and tense as Alex stared at the papers in Melissa’s hands.“Melissa, let’s go somewhere and talk about this. You cannot be serious.”Before she could answer, Hunter walked forward, grabbed the paper from her hands and threw them on Alex, the ultimate humiliation. Gasps of surprise swept through the crowd.“Didn’t you hear her the first time?” He growled angrily. “A good-for-nothing bastard like you does not deserve to be married to a princess like Melissa. She deserves someone who can provide for all her needs. She deserves a man she can confidently show her off in public and you obviously do not fit into that description. It would be better for everyone if you just scram and never show your pathetic face here again.”Alex tried hard to control his anger. He swore that he tried. But it didn’t work.Two seconds later, he swung his fist in blind rage, connecting with Derek’s cheek and sending him crashing to the floor.The hall erupted into a flurry of screa

The room went eerily silent as Matthew got ready to speak.“The Conglomerate of Billionaires was founded by a man named Alexander Stephan.” He paused and Alex held his breath, his stomach strangely tightening with anticipation.“Alexander Stephan is your late grandfather, Alex. You’re his first grandson and only heir.”For the next five seconds, Alex froze, not sure he’d heard right.“What did you say?” Matthew nodded.“You heard me, sir. Master Alexander specifically wrote in his will that you should be named after him. You’re his direct descendant.”“How is this even possible? My parents are Mr. and Mrs. Easton. They never talked about my grandfather but I just assumed he was dead.”Matthew slowly got to his feet and paced towards the floor-to-ceiling windows.“I’m sorry, young master, but Mr. and Mrs. Easton are not your parents. Your real parents were kidnapped more than twenty years ago by members of the Italian mafia. They’ve not been found ever since. Ten years ago, the case

The room was thick with silence and regret as it slowly dawned on Shantel, Caleb and Johnson that they’d just disrespected their boss.Johnson was the first to react. He fell at Alex’s feet rather dramatically and tried to hold on to his legs. “I’m so sorry, sir. Please forgive me. I didn’t know you were the boss. Forgive me, sir.”Realising that begging might be the only way out, Shantel joined him. Despite her too-tight skirt, she also managed to land on the floor right beside Johnson.“Yes, sir. We’re sorry. Extremely so. Please don’t fire us. I need this job. Please, sir.”Alex’s lips curved in a smug smile as he looked straight into Caleb’s eyes. Caleb was beginning to grow uncomfortable. His collar suddenly felt too tight and he was visibly squirming.“What are you waiting for, Caleb?” Alex asked, his voice exuding calm authority. “Last I checked, you disrespected me as well. Won’t you join them?”Caleb’s eyes widened with horror.“Surely, you do not expect me to fall at your f