Villain: The Play of Destiny

"Hey!" Keith opened the door of the office and brightly smiled at the lady who was sitting at the table with her face buried in her hands.

Qingyue panicked when she heard his voice and immediately tried to school her expressions, shoving away all the distressing thoughts. But her eyes turned misty against her will when she saw the gentleness in his eyes.

Amelia calmly sat next to Keith and then smiled at Qingyue, who was on the verge of tears.

"So, what troubles my dear Yue?" He asked looking right into her eyes.

"You already know, don't you?" She lowered her head and faintly asked.

Keith stayed silent at her words. Of course, he knew what had happened on her trip to Paris. And he knew the crisis that surrounded the business that she had acquired in her inheritance. But he wanted to hear it from her mouth now. It had already been a few days since she had returned with Ayesha from their business trip.

The grey-eyed girl finally spoke after a while.

"Lin Houtian is playing his dirty games and putting pressure on the brands that I acquired. The finances are tight, and I need to arrange for funds amounting to nearly a billion neris." She informed them. "I went to Paris to buy the formulae for a new beauty product line that I want to introduce in the market, but those rights are going to cost nearly 125 million, and they are asking for 40% Shares in the brand..."

Keith and Amelia calmly listened to the situation Qingyue was pressed into, and when she finished telling them all her problems, his wife handed her a file.

"What's this?" Qingyue frowned as she accepted it, her heart a little restless that Keith must have helped her in a way she did not want him to.

She wanted to stand on he own feet and wanted to prove herself to him.

His success in the business world was weighing down on her, who had always believed that she was not any less talented than him. And she wanted to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him in every phase of her life.

If he kept helping her, she would never be able to grow...

However, she was shocked when she read through the documents.

"Black Forest Group will invest in your Celine's Dream. We will provide you with 2 Billion Neris as well as a beauty formula, which we assure you that no one else in the world will be able to compete against. And in return, we will take 30% Shares in your Beauty, Fashion, and Lifestyle company." Amelia calmly said.

"This..." Qingyue stared at the paper that had the formula in question on it, and she recognized that it was Keith's handwriting.

"Did you forget that I am the best doctor there is in this world?" He chuckled. "There are several variations of a single formula on this paper with varying concentrations and effects. You can have your R&D team assess it, and then you can decide to sign the deal or not."

"Keith..."

"It's not for free, Miss Qingyue. You have no idea how big your business will become because of this beauty formula. You can use it in five different product lines, and since no one else in this world will be able to compete with your Celine's Dream on it, our Investment will earn us way more than what we are offering you right now." He seriously said to her. "Oh, and if you haven't seen the last document, it's about an agreement that your Celine's Dream will become part of our Black Forest Group after four years if your company hits the market valuation of 70 Billion Neris, and you are not allowed to go Public."

His words shocked her and she immediately looked at the final document.

"Your company will only operate under the banner of Black Forest Group, you will stay in charge of it, and the Black Forest Group would continue to own only a 30% share of your company. We will also provide you with any assistance that you need, related to anything with Celine's Dream."

Amelia and Keith silently waited for an answer as the grey-eyed girl went through all the documents once more and finally looked at the formula again.

"You could use it to create your own company..." She said and looked him in the eyes.

"Yes." He nodded to her. "But where else would I find someone so capable as you to make me the profits that I have in mind." He smiled at her. "It's not your company that I want to take under my Group's banner. It's you, who I want in my Group, my dear Yue."

Qingyue narrowed her eyes at him, but then lowered her head as she felt a little too warm in her heart.

No matter what excuse he makes. He was doing it to help her. And she knew that even without her in charge of a beauty company, he could still use his skills and this formula to earn as much profit as he had in his mind.

She did not even doubt the authenticity of this formula as she knew that Keith would never lie to her about it.

But even though this was a heaven-sent opportunity, her heart was still conflicted.

She was not bothered by her company falling under the banner of Black Forest Group in the future. It was something that did not disturb her in the least, after all, she belonged to him, and whatever she owned would belong to him in the future. It was just her pride that was in the way.

Keith smiled when Qingyue finally put aside her pride and picked up the pen to sign the documents right away.

"You know, you could have waited for the results of your R&D Team."

"No." She shook her head. "I trust you." She smiled at him, and seeing the affection in his eyes for her, she felt more confident and relieved about her decision.

He was the man she loved and belong to. She did not need to keep her pride before him.

"It's good to see you smile again." Amelia sincerely said as she collected the file and stood up. "I will process these documents. You two can stay and chat." She excused herself from the office.

As soon as Amelia left the room, Qingyue stood up and walked into Keith's lap, hugging him tightly and burying her face in his neck.

"I love you." She heartfeltly said. "And thank you for helping me."

Keith smiled at her words and planted a kiss on her head.

"You are welcome, but you must also thank and apologise to your mother." He said to her, which made her frown. "Aunt Celine has been quite worried about you since you came back from Paris. And she approached me last night to help you out, even if you try to refuse it." He chuckled and said.

His words made her feel ashamed for keeping her worries to herself. Despite all her efforts, she had failed to hide her distress and had ended up making her most cherished people worry about her.

I am sorry..."

"Shhh!" He cut her off. "You have nothing to apologise for." He seriously said and then made her look him in the eyes. "But you must apologise to Aunty."

Qingyue obediently nodded her head and then her heart suddenly gripped when a thought crossed her mind.

Her sudden change of expression made him frown.

"What are you thinking about?" He curiously asked.

"You know what happened in Paris?"The grey-eyed girl looked him in the eyes and seriously asked.

Keith knew what she was talking about.

There was an unfortunate man who had shown interest in his dear Yue and had attempted to coerce her rather assertively.

"I do." He honestly nodded to her. "And that man will be paying for holding ill intentions towards you."

"Keith..."

"Let's go out for lunch. I am hungry." He cut her off and stood up, leading her out of the office by her hand.

There were certain questions that she had been keeping in her heart for a while now.

She had learned last month that the son of the Governor who had tried to hit her in the bar back in February, when she had gone out with Keith to celebrate his acquisition of the Sameran Football Club from the Falken Family, had unexpectedly died in an accident in early March.

Though there was nothing that linked Keith or the Demiliore Family to the incident, she had this hunch that it was Keith who had done it. She still remembered the cold look in his eyes, and it made her body tremble in fear as she recalled it. And then there were his words about ending her father's life when she had told him what he had done to her mother.

She did not tell anyone that her despicable father had raised his hand on her too, and she had a hunch that he was only alive right now because she had kept it in her heart.

Qingyue still hoped and prayed that it was all her silliness. She did not want Keith to do anything wrong, even if it was for her sake. She did not want to entertain the thought that he was a killer who would take someone's life without any hesitation.

"Keith, there's no need to pursue the matter. I am fine.." She tried to persuade him when they entered the lift, but he cut her off her by sealing her mouth with his.

"I love you." He whispered to her, and all the thoughts fleeted away from her mind as only the purest happiness engulfed her in its embrace.

She was dying to hear those words from his mouth, and a tear slipped out of her eyes as she aggressively kissed him back, not caring in the least that everything was being recorded on the surveillance camera.