Chapter 6
I woke up to that sharp hospital smell hitting me in the face.
My whole body was wrapped up like a mummy, and even moving a little bit was exhausting
“Sweetieheart, you’re finally awake. Thank God you’re okay. At least daddy came here…”
A warm, rough hand touched my forehead.
I looked at my dad sitting there looking completely destroyed, and I just lost it.
After crying for what felt like forever, I slowly moved my hand down to my stomach.
The flatness I felt there just broke me completely…
“Dad. my baby…”
Dad’s tears hit my pillow. He couldn’t speak for the longest time.
“We couldn’t save him, sweetheart. God knows I tried everything…..”
This crushing despair just hit me. I was about to say something when the door flew open.
Auren stumbled in looking like he’d been hit by a truck.
The second he saw me, he dropped to his knees next to my bed.
Dad smacked him across the face.
He was about to have security drag him out, but I stopped him.
“Mr.Vale…”
After eight years of this bullshit, we needed to finish it.
Dad got what I meant.
He let out this long sigh and headed for the door.
Before he left, he looked back at me.
“My girl,don’t let him off the hook this time.”
Once Dad was gone, Auren seemed to breathe a little easier.
He grabbed my hand, his eyes all bloodshot, and started with the apologies.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Nerissa. I never thought this. Before I put you in there, I asked the doctor. He said since you were so close to your due date, as long as we kept an eye on you, there wouldn’t be any serious problems. I never thought it would hurt our baby…”
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No More Rings. Only Crowns-Mafia Princess Took the Throne Herself
Chapter 6
“Nerissa, I know you hate Orielle. If you just forgive me, I’ll never contact her again. Please?”
Looking at Auren’s guilty face, eight years of memories started playing in my head like some fucked-up movie.
I first met Auren in Dad’s office.
Dad was looking to hire a new assistant.
Auren was just some college grad that a shitty headhunter had sent over.
Dad already had someone else picked out and was about to bail on the rest of the interviews.
As he was leaving, he saw Auren by the door, bleeding from his head where this chandelier had nailed him.
And underneath him was me.
This massive chandelier had just crashed down out of nowhere.
If Auren hadn’t been there, I’d probably be dead.
That’s how he got the job with Dad.
He wasn’t some genius, hadn’t grown up with money.
His social skills, work ethic-everything was pretty mediocre.
But Dad always kindness.
Since Auren saved my life, Dad started teaching him everything-how to do business.
I’d grown up with everything handed to me. All the guys I knew were the same-just following daddy’s way.
I’d never seen someone with that kind of hunger.
He was like this weed trying to grow in a garden full of roses.
Dad was the first one to notice I was falling for Auren.
On my birthday, he pulled me into his study for this all-night.
“Sweetheart, Auren’s not right for you. I get why you’re into him, but that kind of ambition will destroy you. You need someone from our world…”
I cut him off before he could finish.
And I made sure he never got another chance to talk me out of it.
Right after that birthday, I packed my shit and moved out of the family house.
I even quit my position at the family company.
I wanted to show him how serious I was about Auren.
Dad finally backed off.
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No More Rings. Only Crowns-Mafia Princess Took the Throne Herself
8.7%
Chapter 6
So we started dating, got married, the whole thing,
Those first few years, we were like the perfect fairy tale everyone talked about.
Auren was making his mark at Vale Corp, and my little startup was actually doing well.
No matter how late Auren worked, he’d always show up at my office with roses and wait to take me home.
Everyone knew Auren’s business dinners couldn’t go past nine.
Hell, by eight-thirty, he was already on his way to pick me up.
Auren’s love made me feel like I could take on Dad.
Eight years later, on my birthday, in that same study, I was sipping wine and grinning at Dad.
“So? Pretty good judge of character, right? Now that we’re having a baby, you can finally be happy for us, can’t you daddy?”
Dad had been drinking at dinner.
He looked up at me, and for the first time in eight years, he actually said something about me and Auren.
“Sweetheart, let’s make a deal. If Auren can pass this test, I’ll give him the whole damn company…”
That’s how our bet started.
The next day, Dad’s business rivals threw him off a boat.
In just three days, Vale Corp went down…
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No More Rings. Only Crowns Mafia Princess Took the Throne Herself
