Love Game With The Rebel Billionaire

Pain was all Ash could feel as he watched Sapphire talking to Azrael. Azrael summoned him there and forced him to watch their conversation, although he didn't know why. Although he couldn't hear what they were talking about, Ash knew that Sapphire was angry at Azrael.

"Fuck," he muttered under his breath, wincing as a headache pounded behind his eyes.

He hadn't realized how much he had drunk last night, and now the hangover was taking its toll.

Ash had sworn to cut back on drinking, but every time he remembered how he yearned to be with Sapphire, he found himself reaching for the bottle.

He wanted to forget her, yet their memories together haunted him.

Sapphire's gaze moved at him. Her eyes widened in shock but quickly hardened into anger and disgust.

'She knows everything now,' Ash confirmed it with Sapphire's expression. 'Azrael had probably explained it.'

"Damn it," Sapphire cursed, storming past him as if they didn't know each other.

Ash felt a pang of pain onto his heart.

He desperately wanted to follow Sapphire but restrained himself, knowing Azrael was watching. Any wrong move could provoke his cousin into doing something terrible. Clenching his fists, Ash let his fear hold him back, robbing him of another chance to make things right.

"I love you, Ash."

He dreamt of her sometimes, especially after drinking..

In his dream, Sapphire sat on his lap, kissing him passionately. Her hands explored his body, her palm resting on his chest as if to feel his heartbeat. That she had kissed his forehead and confessed her love. If he could turn back time, he would have married her back then.

But now, such thoughts feel like wishful thinking.

"Do you still love her?" Azrael's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

He was now sitting across from Ash, watching him closely.

"It will always be her," Ash replied without hesitation.

Azrael sneered, resting his interlocked fingers on the table. "Too bad. She told me she doesn't love you anymore."

Crossing his arms, Ash smirked. "With that look in her eyes, I don't believe you."

He clung to the hope that she still loved him, even if it was unlikely. Realistically, he knew she probably hated him after learning he had been an accomplice to someone who had tried to kill her. And he wasn't even trying to defend himself.

Azrael grabbed the bread knife beside him and pointed it subtly at Ash. "How can you say all this right to my face?"

Ash didn't flinch; his neutral expression remained unchanged. Somehow, his fear and respect had disappeared. Memories of being manipulated as a child flooded back, making him realize how much control Azrael had exerted over him. "She's the reason I had to go into hiding, get plastic surgery, and spend years in a coma," Azrael growled, his voice dripping with anger. "She's our enemy, Ash. And don't forget-she's a Parker."

The conviction in Azrael's words no longer held weight. Ash wasn't even sure if the Parker and Greensmith mafias were the real enemies-or if it was just Azrael.

Ash's mind raced as he imagined the hell Azrael could unleash on Sapphire if given the chance. He had endured torture to protect her, pretending to hate her to buy time.

Now, Azrael was impatient, itching to escalate his revenge. But Ash couldn't let him do that.

"Why choose my face?" Ash asked, the bitterness evident in his tone.

"You're the only one I trust," Azrael replied casually.

"Trust?" Ash nearly laughed at the word.

He remembered the day he and his friends were trapped in a hotel while Sapphire ended up in Silver's hands.

***

[Prove to me you love her, no matter what you discover.]

That was the notification that caught Ash's attention.

He opened the message and saw a video of Azrael in a hospital bed, groaning in pain with tubes attached to him.

[This was my condition, Ash. You know who did this to me? Sapphire Jade Miller.]

Ash's hands trembled as he processed the words. He couldn't believe it. Sapphire couldn't have been responsible... could she?

His heart raced, torn between his love for her and his loyalty to Azrael. They had been the best of friends for a long time, but his intuition tells him that something isn't right.

"I must save her," Ash murmured, standing to leave.

But before he could take a step, a sharp blow to his head sent him reeling. Blood dripped down his face as he turned to see Azrael holding a stainless steel.

"That's not what I expected from you, cousin," Azrael sneered as Ash collapsed, darkness closing in.

***

"You're using me. Not trusting me," Ash retaliated, laughing sarcastically.

He took a sip of water before standing. "I don't know why you called me here, but I'm leaving."

In the blink of an eye, Azrael was already beside him, holding his shoulder.noveldrama

"I just wanted you to see what kind of person she really is," Azrael said in a mocking tone. "She's a bitch, Ash. She wants to have both of us. She's just using us-"

Before he could finish, Ash swiftly grabbed a knife from the table and pressed it against Azrael's neck. A single movement would slit his throat.

"Stop talking shit about my girl. You won't like it when I get mad."

Ash harshly let go of Azrael and stormed off, only to halt when Azrael spoke.

"Then... you won't care if I do it again, right?" Azrael taunted, smiling devilishly. "Because it looks like you wanted to go back to the hell I made again." Clenching his fists, Ash replied, "I dare you."

His confidence stunned Azrael, who couldn't believe how unfazed he seemed, even after Azrael brought up his past actions.

Sapphire had become an obstacle in Azrael's plans. Because of her, Ash had started standing up for himself.

"I'll kill her," Azrael said, clenching his fists. "Disobey me, and I'll lay a finger on her."

One thing Azrael despised was losing control of a situation. He couldn't stand the feeling of being defeated.

But Ash is the same.

"Try me," Ash answered in a cold tone.

Azrael shook his head, his expression laced with disbelief. "She hates you. Are you sure about the woman you're fighting for?"

He added, "She's easy to manipulate. Just a little sweet talk, and she believes anything."

Azrael planned to destroy Sapphire's image in Ash's mind. Over the years, he had worked to gain Ash's trust and sympathy.

It was why Ash had mixed behavior toward Sapphire-all thanks to his manipulation tactics.

And yet, whenever Azrael plotted against Sapphire, Ash was often the one to protect her.

Ash couldn't bear to see her hurt. What pained him the most, however, was discovering that Sapphire believed he was the one who had tried to kill her.

That revelation had changed Ash's perspective. He once thought he could trust Azrael, but learning that Azrael had shot Sapphire without telling him shattered everything.