Once His Nightmare, Now His Employee

Once His Nightmare, Now His Employee

Baby~Precious

5.0
Comment(s)
427
View
10
Chapters

He thought he had his life figured out until the boy he buried in the past walked back in. Dorian Keene was once the golden boy of high school-famous, feared, and cruel. And Caspian Vale? Just the quiet nerd with a birthmark... and a target on his back. But beneath Dorian's bullying lay a truth he couldn't face: he was terrified of how much he wanted the boy he was supposed to hate. Years later, Dorian's world is in shambles. Penniless, grieving, and sick, he lands a miracle job working under a Tech Mogul who turns out to be none other than Caspian. Only this Caspian is powerful, untouchable... and very much engaged to a woman. Dorian tries to keep his distance. Caspian, for all appearances, is straight. But fate has a twisted sense of humor, and buried sparks are reignited-this time under the harsh light of adulthood, secrets, and slow-blooming desire neither man can afford. As Dorian's hidden illness grows deadlier, and Caspian's mask begins to crack, a single kiss will force them to ask: Can a man who thought he was straight handle the truth of who he's always been... before it's too late?

Once His Nightmare, Now His Employee Chapter 1 A Typical Dorian

DORIAN's POV

Beep... beep... beep...

'What the hell is that sound?'

Something was wrong with my body-it felt too still, too heavy, like I had been poured full of concrete.

The light bleeding through my eyelids felt like someone had shoved the sun into the room.

I cracked one eye open, my vision blurred around the edges. White ceiling. Blinking lights. A rhythmic beep that drilled into my skull.

'Hospital?'

My throat was sandpaper. I tried to lift my arm, but something tugged at me-an IV line. It was cold against my skin.

'Why was I here?'

My thoughts flickered like a radio stuck between static and music, tuning in only to cut out again. There was a shadow in the corner of my eye, but I couldn't turn my head fast enough to see who it was.

A dull ache bloomed behind my eyes. My heart lurched.

'What happened to me?'

Then I heard it-someone breathing beside me. Quiet and waiting. A response, maybe.

And that's when the dread settled low in my chest.

I wasn't alone. But I wasn't sure who was watching me either.

"Who are you?" I managed to ask, my voice shaking terribly, betraying the amount of courage I had managed to gather.

The figure moved from his seated position on the chair and came into my view.

Brown hair. Piercing eyes. Lips-full, flushed, dangerously magnetic. My brain stalled.

He waved at me, bringing me out of my imagination. "Hi, it's me. Ronan."

His voice sank deep into my heart. That voice... It was soothing as hell. Beautiful. Magnetic. Soft.

"Do you care to eat something?" He asked, moving his hands towards me.

But, my stomach clenched. An invisible weight pressed on my chest. I tried to shift back, to pull away from him, but my limbs refused to obey.

"Who are you?" I asked again.

His eyes dropped, almost as if he was disappointed. It felt as though he had expected something much better from me and I had failed to give that in return.

'Wait... Who am I?'

Names flashed through my mind like a broken slideshow-Michael? Arnold? Francesco? Alex? None of them felt right. None of them felt mine.

"You need rest." He said, as he stood. My heart quickened but the sudden fear was unexpectedly replaced by his soft touch as he gently helped me tuck my hands inside the blanket.

"Is he awake?" A voice came from behind.

The guy swirled around and I was able to see the doctor walk in, accompanied by a nurse who was all smiles.

"He needs some more time to regroup. As I said earlier, that is part of his sickness' symptoms." The doctor explained, locking eyes with the nice guy with the brown eyes.

'Sick?'

The word echoed. My heart thudded faster. I searched my memory like a man clawing at fog.

The doctor turned to me and placed the back of his right hand on my forehead. "Pretty normal. How are you feeling now, Dorian?"

'Dorian? So that's my name? Beautiful!'

"I'm... I'm..."

My throat went dry all of a sudden. My mind went blank. What had the doctor asked?

'Oh Lord!'

"You need some more time to rest, Dorian. Close your eyes." The doctor said softly as his right hand swept my eyes shut. They remained there too.

'Wait... What's that?'

A cold sting kissed my arm, sharp and sudden. My eyelids, though heavy, fluttered. My muscles tensed instinctively. No... wait... My breath hitched.

"What... are you doing?" My voice was a ragged whisper, barely escaping my cracked lips.

A warmth spread through my veins-unnatural, and slow. My heartbeat thudded in my ears, louder now. I tried to lift my arm. It felt... disconnected. My thoughts blurred, slippery things I couldn't hold on to.

"Don't..." The word melted on my tongue.

Everything slipped sideways.

Darkness reached up... And, I couldn't stop it.

*****

While I stirred, my eyes peeled open, greeted by the soft glow of stars blinking outside the window.

'Where am I?'

White ceiling and blinking lights. The environment was no stranger at all. I jerked up immediately. I was in a hospital gown, lying in a bed I had come to despise.

The air reeked of antiseptic. The sheets clung to my skin. Every breath felt borrowed, like even the hospital didn't want me here long.

This has become my life. But once-back when we still had money-things were different.

Once, our fridge hummed with leftovers and laughter.

But, everything had spiraled out of control and I had been left alone to look out for myself which I am obviously incapable of.

My best friend walked as cautiously as ever into the ward with a basket in his hand. As soon as he laid his eyes on me, a smile spread on his face but he didn't say anything. Then, I called his name.

"Ronan."

His intoxicating brown eyes lit up as if he had expected me to call him first. He finally reached where I sat and dropped the basket on the cupboard.

I peeled his hands off me, trying to shake off the electric unease his touch left behind. He wouldn't believe what happens to me anytime he touches me.

"I want to leave here. I don't want to stay here."

"You can't leave, Dorian. The doctor said you would be spending the night." Replying with his soft manly voice, he tried to stop me from removing the IV line.

I gently pulled his hands off me, getting rid of the abnormal feeling. "Stop your little jokes. This is not the time for it."

"I'm not." He replied, blinking.

"You must be joking," I said again, my voice low and sharp, like the edge of something ready to break.

"I understand health is wealth. But you can't possibly take care of her if you are not in a good condition." He said, rather quickly.

"You know I can't stay here, man," I said, my voice tight with emotion. "My mom's at home alone... and she's sick. It's cancer, Ronan. You know what that means."

I paused, swallowing the lump in my throat, fighting the helplessness that was rising fast.

"I can barely afford two decent meals a day. Some days, I skip just so she can eat. If I stay here overnight, I will be burning the last bit of money I've been saving for her medication tomorrow."

My voice cracked. "What kind of son would I be then?"

I looked at him-really looked-and hoped he would understand what I couldn't say out loud: That every second I spent lying in this bed felt like I was failing her. That I was running out of time, money... and strength.

"If you had the Migraines with Aura I have... if you had Temporal Lobe Seizures, lost your father, had no job, no one willing to help... and your mother was diagnosed with cancer... would you let her stay alone? For twenty-four hours?"

My voice shook, overflowing with everything I had buried for too long.

Ronan blinked, his jaw slightly parted. His hands stayed frozen by his sides, as if unsure whether to comfort me or let me burn.

I slipped out of the hospital clothes and pulled on my casual clothes in silence. My phone was in my hand as I made my way towards the door.

But one question still clawed at my chest.

'What would I even find when I get home?'

Continue Reading

You'll also like

The Ghost Wife's Billion Dollar Tech Comeback

The Ghost Wife's Billion Dollar Tech Comeback

Huo Wuer
4.6

Today is October 14th, my birthday. I returned to New York after months away, dragging my suitcase through the biting wind, but the VIP pickup zone where my husband’s Maybach usually idled was empty. When I finally let myself into our Upper East Side penthouse, I didn’t find a cake or a "welcome home" banner. Instead, I found my husband, Caden, kneeling on the floor, helping our five-year-old daughter wrap a massive gift for my half-sister, Adalynn. Caden didn’t even look up when I walked in; he was too busy laughing with the girl who had already stolen my father’s legacy and was now moving in on my family. "Auntie Addie is a million times better than Mommy," my daughter Elara chirped, clutching a plush toy Caden had once forbidden me from buying for her. "Mommy is mean," she whispered loudly, while Caden just smirked, calling me a "drill sergeant" before whisking her off to Adalynn’s party without a second glance. Later that night, I saw a video Adalynn posted online where my husband and child laughed while mocking my "sensitive" nature, treating me like an inconvenient ghost in my own home. I had spent five years researching nutrition for Elara’s health and managing every detail of Caden’s empire, only to be discarded the moment I wasn't in the room. How could the man who set his safe combination to my birthday completely forget I even existed? The realization didn't break me; it turned me into ice. I didn't scream or beg for an explanation. I simply walked into the study, pulled out the divorce papers I’d drafted months ago, and took a black marker to the terms. I crossed out the alimony, the mansion, and even the custody clause—if they wanted a life without me, I would give them exactly what they asked for. I left my four-carat diamond ring on the console table and walked out into the rain with nothing but a heavily encrypted hard drive. The submissive Mrs. Holloway was gone, and "Ghost," the most lethal architect in the tech world, was finally back online to take back everything they thought I’d forgotten.

Secret Triplets: The Billionaire's Second Chance

Secret Triplets: The Billionaire's Second Chance

Roderic Penn
4.5

I stood at my mother’s open grave in the freezing rain, my heels sinking into the mud. The space beside me was empty. My husband, Hilliard Holloway, had promised to cherish me in bad times, but apparently, burying my mother didn't fit into his busy schedule. While the priest’s voice droned on, a news alert lit up my phone. It was a livestream of the Metropolitan Charity Gala. There was Hilliard, looking impeccable in a custom tuxedo, with his ex-girlfriend Charla English draped over his arm. The headline read: "Holloway & English: A Power Couple Reunited?" When he finally returned to our penthouse at 2 AM, he didn't come alone—he brought Charla with him. He claimed she’d had a "medical emergency" at the gala and couldn't be left alone. I found a Tiffany diamond necklace on our coffee table meant for her birthday, and a smudge of her signature red lipstick on his collar. When I confronted him, he simply told me to stop being "hysterical" and "acting like a child." He had no idea I was seven months pregnant with his child. He thought so little of my grief that he didn't even bother to craft a convincing lie, laughing with his mistress in our home while I sat in the dark with a shattered heart and a secret life growing inside me. "He doesn't deserve us," I whispered to the darkness. I didn't scream or beg. I simply left a folder on his desk containing signed divorce papers and a forged medical report for a terminated pregnancy. I disappeared into the night, letting him believe he had successfully killed his own legacy through his neglect. Five years later, Hilliard walked into "The Vault," the city's most exclusive underground auction, looking for a broker to manage his estate. He didn't recognize me behind my Venetian mask, but he couldn't ignore the neon pink graffiti on his armored Maybach that read "DEADBEAT." He had no clue that the three brilliant triplets currently hacking his security system were the very children he thought had been erased years ago. This time, I wasn't just a wife in the way; I was the one holding all the cards.

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book
Once His Nightmare, Now His Employee Once His Nightmare, Now His Employee Baby~Precious LGBT+
“He thought he had his life figured out until the boy he buried in the past walked back in. Dorian Keene was once the golden boy of high school-famous, feared, and cruel. And Caspian Vale? Just the quiet nerd with a birthmark... and a target on his back. But beneath Dorian's bullying lay a truth he couldn't face: he was terrified of how much he wanted the boy he was supposed to hate. Years later, Dorian's world is in shambles. Penniless, grieving, and sick, he lands a miracle job working under a Tech Mogul who turns out to be none other than Caspian. Only this Caspian is powerful, untouchable... and very much engaged to a woman. Dorian tries to keep his distance. Caspian, for all appearances, is straight. But fate has a twisted sense of humor, and buried sparks are reignited-this time under the harsh light of adulthood, secrets, and slow-blooming desire neither man can afford. As Dorian's hidden illness grows deadlier, and Caspian's mask begins to crack, a single kiss will force them to ask: Can a man who thought he was straight handle the truth of who he's always been... before it's too late?”
1

Chapter 1 A Typical Dorian

04/11/2025

2

Chapter 2 Grief Tastes Like Sin

04/11/2025

3

Chapter 3 Wrong Hall, Right Distraction

04/11/2025

4

Chapter 4 Meeting My Ghost

04/11/2025

5

Chapter 5 Hiring My Bully To Destroy Him

04/11/2025

6

Chapter 6 Not Afraid of Him

04/11/2025

7

Chapter 7 Guess Someone Needs A Shower

04/11/2025

8

Chapter 8 Paying For His Sins

04/11/2025

9

Chapter 9 An Ounce of Jealousy

04/11/2025

10

Chapter 10 Possession is a Lovely Thing

04/11/2025