Silence! I Am the Trillionaire Boss

Chapter 2: Disappointing Reunion!

Blake beamed broadly as Rose and her mother came near. His heart raced, thumping more loudly than the soft murmur of the restaurant's soothing tunes. Blake had not seen Rose in seven years, but they had been exchanging letters. Most of the letters were sent by Blake, and she only replied when she needed something from him. Even while in jail in Thailand, Blake continued to send her and her family money—$100,000 monthly—and sponsored her and her brothers’ education. He watched, standing lovestruck, as Rose and her mother walked towards him in something that seemed like time had been compressed into fractions of seconds.

"Rose," he said gently, with arms wide open. 

However, Rose halted just before his hug, her arms firmly crossed over her chest. She examined him, her face initially inscrutable—then, a derisive laugh. 

Elizabeth Hackley, her mother, sighed audibly, shaking her head. "See! I told you, Rose…”  

Blake was confused; this wasn't the welcome he was expecting. He had thought she would be all over him by now, and he would shower her with gists of Thailand and how he wanted to take her there for their honeymoon. And probably give her hints on how rich he was now; they would never suffer again., But none of that happened.

After a moment of silence that seemed to last forever, Rose finally spoke up, "Why are you here, Blake?" Rose’s voice pierced through the air like a knife—cold, sharp, and devoid of the warmth he had imagined.  

Blake blinked, startled. "Why am I here? Rose, what kind of question is that? I came to see you. I’ve been waiting for this moment for seven years."  

Rose tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing. "You didn’t answer my question. Why now? Why did you come back now?"  

Blake frowned, confusion etched on his face. "What do you mean, ‘why now’? I just finished my sentence. I came straight to you. I couldn’t wait another day—"  

"Of course," Elizabeth Hackley interrupted, her tone dripping with disdain. She leaned forward slightly, folding her hands on the table. "You always knew how to ruin things, don’t you, Blake?"  

Blake looked between the two women, his confusion deepening. "Ruin what? What are you talking about?"  

Elizabeth sighed heavily, shaking her head. "Rose has an incredible opportunity—one she’s worked hard for. And now you show up, unexpectedly, to complicate everything."  

Blake leaned back in his chair, and he smiled faintly, finally piecing it together. "You’re talking about your contract with Chels Corp, aren’t you?"  

Rose’s expression faltered for a moment. "How do you know about that?"  

Blake shrugged casually, a small smirk playing on his lips. If only they knew he had just spoken to Chelsea London a few minutes ago and was planning on introducing them soon after. He made all of that opportunity they were talking about possible by pulling the strings from behind the walls of Bang Kwang Central Prison. 

Rose’s eyes flashed with anger. "Are you laughing? What! You think this is funny?"  

Blake shook his head. "Not at all. I’m just saying you wouldn’t have that opportunity if it weren’t for—"  

"Don’t," Rose snapped, cutting him off. "Don’t you dare take credit for my success. I got here on my own. I didn’t need your help before, and I don’t need it now. I bet you thought my life could not get better without you.” 

She said with an arrogant smile, “Just so you know, I have upgraded in life and I will never succumb to the pennies and scraps you offer."  

Blake’s smile faded, replaced by a look of hurt. "Rose, I’ve always supported you. Even when I was in prison, I—"  

"Prison," Elizabeth interjected, her tone sharp. "Exactly. Do you think you’re in any position to support anyone? You’re an ex-convict, Blake. That’s all you are now, and that's all you will ever be."  

Blake flinched, the words hitting harder than he expected. He straightened in his seat, his voice steady. "Me, an ex-convict?” He repeated, almost sad and disgusted by what Elizabeth just said.

Blake turned his attention back to Rose, his voice softening. "Rose, I came here because I love you. I want to marry you. I want us to finally have the life we dreamed of."  

Rose’s eyes flickered with something—hesitation, maybe guilt—but the steel in her voice remained. "My company has the support of the CEO of Days Corp. With the help of this mystery CEO, my company was able to secure first place in Chels Corp's investment initiative. And while on our way here, we just got a message that the mystery CEO would be attending my grand contract signing ceremony at Chels Hotel, later tonight. His attendance was in honor of me. Do you know what that means? My life is finally taking off, and I won’t let you or anyone else hold me back."  

Blake leaned forward, a small smile returning to his face. "The CEO of Days Corp, huh? Well, congratulations on the grand signing.”  

Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed. "Why are you smiling? You’re acting like you’re the CEO of Days Corp or something."  

Blake raised an eyebrow, his smile widening. He had thought the two had figured it out. "And what if I were?"  

Elizabeth snorted, laughing bitterly. "Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve just returned from prison. You’re nothing more than an ex-convict. There’s no way you could be the CEO of anything, let alone Days Corp."  

Blake’s smile faltered, his jaw tightening. This woman had dared to call him an ex-convict. He was an ex-convict only because of them. If only she knew that her entire family would have been in jail by now if he had not secretly stepped in to save them. He stared at Elizabeth for a long moment before turning back to Rose.  

Rose said, “You see, Blake, I think the mystery CEO of Days Corp is in love with me, and he may propose to marry me tonight at the ceremony.” 

Blake laughed out loud; now he understood the reason for her sudden indifferent behavior. She thinks the mysterious CEO of Days Corp wants to marry her. If only she knew how true that part was, but how wrong she was about the identity.

“I want to marry you," Blake confessed, his voice trembling a bit. "I came here to begin a life alongside you. You see, I brought you your favorite flowers.” He said as he showed her the flowers, hoping this loving gesture would touch her heart.

For a moment, Rose's anger and ego simmered down as the flowers reminded her of the good time she had with Blake. She was about to receive them, but her mother snatched them from Blake's hands and threw them to the ground, where she stepped on them till they were destroyed. 

Elizabeth said, “Rose, have you forgotten about your mystery CEO? For such a powerful man, he must have eyes everywhere. What if he sees you with this ex-convict? He might change his mind about his proposal.”

Rose reasoned her mother's words were true and decided to act them out. She moved towards Blake and then. 

SLAP!

She gave Blake a slap out of nowhere. “I am warning you, Blake, never come near me or my mother ever again. We are through.” Rose had totally changed. The brief moment of guilt she felt early was now washed with arrogance and audacity fueled by her mother. 

Elizabeth was happy; she thought to herself, “Hopefully, the mystery CEO's spies would tell him how Rose treated those who wanted to steal her from him.”

In seconds, everything had just accelerated from zero to one hundred, and Blake was shocked. Rose's slap still hurt him not because of the physical pain, but the emotional betrayal it came with. Was the love of his life really abandoning him for some mystery CEO she knew nothing about? 

As the mother and daughter duo turned to take their leave, Blake called out to Rose. 

"Rose," he said quietly, his voice steady, "do you really think the CEO of Days Corp is in love with you? That he’s going to marry you?"  

Rose crossed her arms, her chin lifting defiantly. "Why wouldn’t he? He sees my potential. He sees what I’m capable of. Unlike you."  

Blake’s expression hardened, his voice tinged with disbelief. "What qualifies you for his interest? You have no potential. What makes you think you’re the kind of woman he wants?"  

Rose’s face turned red, her hands balling into fists at her sides. "How dare you—"