Underrated Secret Billionaire

Chapter 7: The Stubborn Thread of Loyalty

Jalen frowned deeply, the muscles in his jaw tightening as he turned his face away from Carlos’s childish taunts.

He didn’t spare the young man even a second glance.

His eyes, steady and sure, fixed firmly on Tiana. 

In a voice that was calm but edged with urgency, he said, “Tiana, believe me, I didn’t know they were going to remove your company from the partner list. I swear it. And no matter what happens, I’ll help you. I won't stand by and watch you fall.” 

There was no bitterness in his voice. No sarcasm. No smugness. Only a kind of steady, stubborn determination that even he himself didn’t fully understand.

After everything, after all the wounds they had both inflicted on each other, he still couldn’t stand the thought of her losing everything she had worked for. 

Carlos scoffed loudly beside them, arms folded across his chest in that typical, arrogant way that made his very presence annoying.

His lips curled into a mocking sneer as he barked out a dry laugh. 

“Who do you think you are?” Carlos jeered, tilting his head and eyeing Jalen with pure disdain. “You? Help her? You’re just a discarded man, an ordinary tramp, holding onto scraps that don't belong to you anymore.” 

The venom in Carlos’s voice was sharp, childish. He laughed again, clearly thinking he had said something clever.

His laughter drew a few sideways glances from passersby, but Carlos, oblivious to shame, only puffed out his chest in pride. 

Tiana listened, her chest tightening painfully. 

Once, she had looked at Jalen and seen only failure; a man who relied on her strength, on her money, on her dreams.

She remembered all those late nights when he came home tired from jobs that barely paid, when she carried the burden of ambition for both of them. 

Now, hearing him speak so boldly, so full of conviction, it almost sounded like empty bragging to her. As if he was grasping for dignity he had long since thrown away.

The hurt, the betrayal, the broken trust — it all clouded her judgment. 

She crossed her arms tightly across her chest, her nails digging slightly into her skin, struggling not to betray the mix of anger and sadness swirling inside her. 

Jalen opened his mouth, about to say more; to explain. To tell her that not everything had been as she believed, that her success wasn’t entirely hers alone. That there were sacrifices, silent ones, done in the shadows where love once lived. 

But before the words could leave his lips, Carlos stepped forward, pulling out his phone with a flourish. 

“Enough of this nonsense,” Carlos boasted loudly, flashing his phone like it was some weapon. “Let me just call my father. He will fix all this rubbish in a minute.” 

Without waiting for any approval, he moved a few steps aside, dialing with exaggerated confidence, his shoulders squared like a soldier ready to receive medals. 

Tiana turned slightly, hope flickering weakly in her heart despite herself. 

Carlos held the phone tightly to his ear, already rehearsing the praise he would bask in once he "saved" the day. 

But within seconds, his face drained of all colour. His chest heaved slightly, and his expression stiffened unnaturally. 

A harsh, furious voice tore into him from the other end of the line. 

“Are you mad, Carlos?!” his father bellowed. “Do you know who you are talking about? Do you know the agreements and implications involved here? Stay out of matters you have no qualifications for! Don’t disgrace me in public, god damnit!” 

Carlos swallowed hard. Sweat beaded at the back of his neck.

He stood there, phone pressed against his ear, getting lashed by his father’s anger like a small boy caught stealing meat from the pot. 

It was a good thing he hadn’t turned the call to speaker. No one else heard his disgrace. 

Straightening stiffly, Carlos ended the call. He forced a tight, awkward smile onto his face, smoothing his jacket like nothing had happened. 

He turned back to Jalen and Tiana, his voice dripping with fake confidence. 

“All sorted,” he lied without blinking. “My father says it’s fine. No problem at all. We’re back on track.” 

Tiana blinked, unsure whether to believe him. 

Jalen, however, didn’t miss the way Carlos’s fingers twitched slightly, the way his eyes darted briefly away in shame. 

But he said nothing. He had no interest in exposing Carlos’s lies. 

Not now. 

Sonia, standing beside Jalen smiled awkwardly, her gaze fixed on Carlos.

Carlos, however, didn’t stop there. His mind was already racing ahead, scheming. He had seen enough tonight to know Tiana’s company was in trouble — serious trouble.

And Carlos James was not the type to sink with a leaking ship. 

In his mind, he quietly decided: the moment the collapse came, he would distance himself. Quickly and ruthlessly. 

Let Tiana handle her own mess. 

Before Carlos could savor his imagined triumph, Tiana’s phone buzzed in her hand. 

She glanced down at it absentmindedly, expecting nothing good. 

But as she answered and the voice on the other end spoke, her whole world tilted. 

She stiffened. Her mouth parted slightly, then her hand flew to her chest in shock. 

“What?” she gasped, her voice trembling. “I became your business partner again?!” 

There was pure disbelief in her tone. Relief rushed over her like cool water on a scorching day. 

She quickly turned to Carlos. “You did this?”