Fool By My Ruthless Billionaire

ce grew rigid and his jaw tight. We have to carry on. Whoever is behind this will not stop until they ruin what we have constructed. I nodded, knowing the gravity of what

I never meant to harm you, he murmured softly. Sometimes, though, you have no option. I didn't want you engaged in this. My feelings spinning, I shook my head. The instant I accepted to work with you, I was already engaged. The moment I believed in you. Kendrick's gaze met mine. Their sensitivity was so raw that it nearly took my breath away. Sofia, I never meant to harm you. But I have been working to correct all. Hoping to correct it. I want you now more than ever. His words lingered in the air like a promise I wasn't sure I could believe. Kendrick, how much of this is genuine? I said, my voice low yet cutting with the burden of all that separated us. He murmured, "I made errors." Everything I have done, however, was for the right cause. I don't want you to pardon me; rather, I need you to see the larger picture. We can remedy this. The reality was I didn't know whether I could trust him once more. But standing there gazing into those pleading eyes, I could feel the pull of all we had shared. The betrayals that had tainted it all, the love, the trust. I said softly, "I don't know whether I can still trust you." Then let me show it to you. I gulped. This was not finished. It had only started. Kendrick's stare, intense and full of unresolved tension, made me feel weighted. Sitting opposite from one another in the conference room, papers strewn between us all pointing to the same unavoidable conclusion, Mason had let us down. Not really, more like. He had been deceiving us all along, his lies knotted deeper than I could have ever thought. Still with me? Low and unpolished, Kendrick's voice cut through my musings. I gulped. I wished to trust him. Wanted to think that what we had was genuine. But the last few days, heck, the last several weeks, had destroyed that confidence bit by bit. I didn't know who I was any more or what I was doing here. "I'm here," I whispered softly. Kendrick, just because I'm here doesn't mean I'm not afraid. You know what this implies, right? Mason, he has been playing both of us. And it's larger than each of us. His jaw tight, hands shaking a little, he glared at me. "I understand." But I won't let him triumph. Not at this time. Not following all. Leaning in, he spoke softly yet urgently. You must believe me, Sofia. Should I say, from all of this, I have discovered I cannot lose you as well. I will not. I didn't know what to say back. There was a part of me, the one that still wanted to believe in him, that wanted to forgive him for all the falsehoods. Still, I couldn't ignore the reality of it all. He had been concealing information from me. The issue was how much I would allow to slide. "Sofia, you've never been good at this," Kendrick said, his eyes fixed on mine. "But now I'll do anything to guard you. You are all I have remaining. Breath