Cheating With The Billionaire (Complete)

18 | Good News (Kaden)

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Kaden's POV

Being in a secret relationship was fun and daring to a degree, but there had been several times when I found it to be insanely stressful as fuck.

I'm relieved that Bella and I no longer have to hide in the shadows anymore, only seeing each other at night, because Evangeline finally knows the truth about us. I promised myself that when all this drama with Jason blows over, I'm going to take Bella on a vacation somewhere sunny and warm. Lord knows we've earned it.

I had plans to take Bella out for dinner and a movie today. Yeah, a proper date. But that got put on hold after I received a call from my mother asking me to meet her at the office. She wouldn't say what it was about over the phone, only insisted that we spoke in person. I left the house in a hurry, not having the patience to argue with her.

The drive to Fortran was quiet and nerve-racking. I've had so much on my mind lately that it's become difficult to stay focused on one thing for too long. My thoughts bounce around nonstop. I'm constantly worrying about Jason's next move. I'm constantly stressing over how to keep my image clean in the instance Jason pulls a sneak attack and finally leaks some of the dirt that he has on Evangeline. The amount of money that I've sent to these gossip sites to keep them from publishing anything about me and my family gives me an immediate migraine.

And I'm also frustrated at how long this thing has dragged on between me and Jason.

I feel pathetic because I have the money and power to make him permanently disappear, but... I just can't bring myself to place that call. I've tried and failed so many times. It's ridiculous because I know Jason won't stop coming after me until I've lost everything. He made that very clear at our last meeting. My damn conscious is holding me back and I don't know if I have it in me to ignore it for the rest of my life after I place the call for someone else to take Jason's away.

This is precisely why I need to come up with another plan. But what else is there for me to do when I've already tried having someone follow his every move, when I've already tried tapping into his phone... and each time that I go to look at my results, I end up with nothing useful because the fucker knows that I'm onto him. Ever since we met at that café, he's been on high alert and has yet to slip up.

Meanwhile, I'm falling apart at the seams. 

"If it isn't one thing, it's another," I mutter after pulling into the parking lot of Fortran. I've barely had the chance to shut off the car before I'm suddenly bombarded with text after text.

I guess my ringer had been on silent because as I check my notifications, I have ten missed calls from Bella and five from Evangeline. Assuming the worst, I read through all the texts before calling Bella back, my pulse racing and anger rising as I start up another debate with myself about making that call to Martin to finish Jason off. 

"Kaden!"

"Why do you think someone broke into the house?" I immediately throw out the question after Bella answers on the second ring. "Start from the beginning and tell me everything."

"I-I just got back from grocery shopping with Mom. We were in the kitchen putting things away when she noticed something odd on the counter..." Bella's voice is unsteady and it kills me that I'm a half-hour away, unable to console her. "It was red writing that said, 'Let's end this.'"

Jason must be back on his bullshit again, and if I don't hit him back even harder after he had the nerve to fucking break into my house... it'll make me look weak. I can't ignore this.

"I don't know how this person got in here because none of the alarms went off. We all would have received an alert on our phones if that happened." Evangeline takes over the call after Bella starts crying. "It's Jason again, isn't it? Goddamn it, Kaden. We really need to do something about this crazy bastard. He's taken it too far this time. We lay our heads here!"

She has a point, and I don't dare to dismiss it.

Jason has gotten bold enough to come for me on my fucking turf, and that says a lot about how gone he is mentally. I want to kick my own ass for having continued to underestimate him, and while I'm at it, I need to upgrade my security system because it's obviously a piece of shit for not having gone off during the break-in. Jason couldn't have disarmed it. Shit. Maybe he could've. I don't really know what to expect from that crazy fucker anymore.

"You and Bella have to calm down and gather yourselves, okay? I'm going to call up a friend of mine, his name is Martin, and I'm going to get him to send over a few guys to keep watch over the house. Until then, you and Bella stay inside and hang tight. I'll be back soon."

After Evangeline promises to stay put with Bella, we end the call.

I'm about to pull out of the parking lot until I remember why I drove all this way. Thinking fast, I call my mother and apologize after coming up with an excuse for why I can't meet with her. She surprisingly doesn't make a big deal about it.

"I called you over because I wanted to deliver the good news to you in person, but since there has been a change of plans, I'll just tell you over the phone." She pauses, and I can almost picture her smiling based on the tone of her voice. "Me, your father, and the rest of the board members decided you should be the one to lead this company after your father steps down. Your hard work hasn't gone unnoticed, Kaden. And you practically saved the company from tanking when you exposed that traitor, Jason. If anyone deserved this promotion, it's you. Congratulations, son."

"Wow. I don't even know what to say right now..."

Damn. How twisted is it that after receiving some of the worst news of my life, I'm immediately hit with the best news of my life? Curse that son of a bitch, Jason. He's not even here, and yet he still finds a way to knock me down. I oughta kill him. I should do it, fucking get it over with, and then spend the rest of my days asking the Lord for forgiveness.

"Honestly, I'm in shock. Wow! Thank you all so much for this opportunity, and for believing in me. I promise I won't let you guys down."

"We know you won't."

"Hey, Mom... I hate to cut this short, but I really need to get going. I'll try to stop by tomorrow so that we can get all the paperwork out of the way because I'm sure there'll be a lot."

Unable to fully enjoy the news, I end the call and speed out of the parking lot. Something in my gut tells me that if I don't do something about Jason, sooner rather than later, this feud that we're having may very well end in bloodshed whether or not I want it to.

. . .