Chapter 2

"The reason behind your mystery is that you have a soulmate, and you're already bonded to that person."

The billionaire sighed and shook his head. He wasn't surprised at the seer's choice of the world, judging from her appearance and the state of the shop. He had never believed in things like soulmates and bonds. 

He looked at Tyler and chuckled. "You heard that right? She just said the impossible." Grayson sighed again before looking at the woman.

"I thought you could help me out, but I must say that I expected too much. How on earth can I have a soulmate and even bond with this person?" Grayson asked in a disappointed tone but the lady smirked in confidence.

"It's up to you to believe it. Mark my words, you will keep feeling everything that's happening to you until you save your soulmate. She's suffering, her life is slowly coming to an end, and if she dies, you will also suffer the same fate. Remember, you're already bonded to her, save her now before it's too late-"

"Nonsense!" Grayson cut off her words before she could finish her statement. He looked pissed and Tyler quickly held him by the hand to calm him down, but it was too late.

"This is absolute nonsense. I thought you were joking at first, but now I can see that you're insane." He looked at his best friend for a while before looking at the lady.

"The truth is that I don't blame you. I brought myself into this mess by coming here in the first place. You can keep your solution or whatever to yourself, I don't want it." Grayson swiftly walked out of the shop, but Tyler decided to stay back.

He saw some sense in what the seer said and he wanted to know more about it.

"Please, pardon my friend's rudeness. He doesn't believe in things like this, but I somehow believe you. Is there a way to meet my friend's soulmate? I don't want him to die and I also feel bad for his soulmate."

"He will meet her very soon. That's all I can disclose to you, the rest is at the hands of fate to decide." 

Tyler sighed. He wanted to inquire more about everything, but the woman had already ended the conversation.

"Thank you very much. I shall take my leave now." Tyler bowed before walking out of the shop to join Grayson in the car.

"Why were you so rude to her? She might be telling the truth you know." Tyler tried to reason with his best friend, but the billionaire got angry and glared at him.

"The truth you say? She just said I have a soulmate whom I'm already bonded to, and she said if that soulmate dies, I will as well. Do you think I'm in a joking mood? Do you expect me to believe her nonsense?" The billionaire's tone was high, but he slowly calmed himself down. 

"Let's forget about everything, and please don't ever bring up this issue again. You're my best friend, I can't get angry at you, but don't make me regret ever disclosing my problems to you. Let's just go back and get ready for our flight back home tomorrow." Grayson looked away from his friend and Tyler also focused his attention on the road.

"I'm sorry for upsetting you. I was only worried about you, that's why I did all this." Tyler drove off feeling hurt and scared about everything. His behavior didn't go unnoticed by the billionaire, but he decided to just let everything rest.

                              ***

Anna stared at the food she was about to eat and uncontrollable tears trailed down her heavy eyes. She has been awake for over a day decorating the house to welcome her stepsister back home. She had prepared the food for the guest and all, yet she was given a plate of dried old bread and water.

She remembered her father signing a huge sum of money into her name, but after his death, her stepmother took everything for herself and her daughter, leaving Anna with nothing. 

"When will all this be over? Will I ever be able to live a good and normal life?" Anna muttered to herself as she took a slice of the dry bread and started eating it.

She was extremely tired and weak, but she did not dare sleep. She ate the two slices of bread and rested her head against the wall beside her. She was about to have a little rest when she heard the sound of her sister's voice and she quickly jerked up and rushed over to the living room.

She was aware of her stepsister's hatred for her, yet she still chose to welcome her home with love.

Getting to the living room, she saw her sister talking to her mother and she quickly rushed over to her and bowed in respect since she can't hug her due to her phobia.

"Welcome back home sister Tina." She looked up at her sister with a smiling face, but what she got as a response was a painful slap on her left cheek and she fell to the floor. She looked at her stepmother and sister with sad eyes. She didn't know what wrong she had committed to receiving such a slap, but then she remembered that she doesn't have to commit any offense to be treated like trash.

"What did I do wrong, Tina?"

"Tina?" The older sister got pissed and delivered a hard kick to Anna's ribs and the younger cried out in pain and drifted away from her.

"Are you insane? How many times have I warned you not to address me by my name? I've told you to call me Ma'am Tina, yet you choose to disobey me. Do you wish to die?" Tina asked and Anna shook her head quickly and began to apologize.

"I'm so sorry ma'am Tina. I will never make such mistakes again, please forgive me." She pleaded but Tina pushed her aside before looking at her mother and they both smiled before hugging each other.

"My fiancé is coming over for my welcome back party this evening and you won't believe who my darling fiancé is." Tina sounded excited and it made her mother glad to see the look of happiness in her eyes.

"You seem so happy, my precious baby. Now tell me who the man is and is he very rich?" Bianca asked. All she was after is how wealthy the man is and that was the same interest of Tina.

"Rich, you say? My man is extremely wealthy. He's more wealthy than the governor of New York. He's a billionaire with lots of properties and he looks insanely handsome. Mom, I can't wait to introduce him to you tonight." 

"Oh mine, I also can't wait to meet him. You've brought me the best news ever. Now quickly freshen up and relax a little bit before your makeup artist arrives. You have to look more beautiful to make him fall deeper for you." Bianca suggested. She was so excited about the news of having a billionaire as a son-in-law.

"Of course mom." Tina giggled. They left the living room, leaving Anna gasping for air on the floor. After a few minutes of crying, Anna regained herself and got up from the floor. She made her way into her small store room and lay on her mattress which was on the floor. She stared at the blue sky, and like a hurricane, her memories rushed back and Anna found herself crying all over again.

She recalled her first encounter with Tina and her mother. She could still remember the day Bianca had visited her school for the enrollment of her daughter. Tina was two classes ahead of her back then, and she was the proud type.

After the death of her mother, Bianca always came around to the house to visit and spend some time consoling her father and that was how they both became friends before they eventually got married.

Anna sobbed as she recalled her past. She curved into the shape of a ball and cried her heart out.

"I don't want to live anymore. Mom and dad, I want to be with you wherever you are. The pain is too much for me to bear, I can no longer endure it all. Please come take me with you, please." Anna sobbed harder as she muttered those words. She couldn't bear the pain anymore. All she wished for at the moment was death to put an end to her pain and suffering, and slowly she drifted into a deep slumber.

                               ***

Grayson had just finished styling his black shining hair to complete his dressing. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and he was pleased with the man he had become so far.

He could still remember how his father always told him that someday he was going to be a great reputable man if he chooses to follow the right path in life, and now he has finally arrived. Although he wishes his parents could live with him in New York, under the same roof, that was impossible as they have their own lives to live. Besides, they're happy living in California and running their business.

He wore his gold wristwatch to match his silver suit, and he smirked at his reflection once again. However, his smile faded when his best friend walked into his room.

"Sorry for coming late. I was in a meeting with my board members when I got your text." Tyler said without looking at the billionaire and Grayson felt bad. He knew he was wrong for lashing out at his best friend who was doing all he could to help him back in the UK.

Grayson sighed and walked closer to his best friend. He held his hand, but Tyler didn't bother to look at him.

"I shouldn't have lashed out at you. You were only worried about me and trying to help me. It's not your fault that we ended up at the shop of some liar. I was wrong, Tyler, and for that I'm sorry. Please forgive me." Grayson apologized and Tyler sighed before looking at his best friend.

"It's alright Grayson, I'm not angry at you." Tyler smiled and Grayson was taken aback by his words.

"You're not?"

"Yes, I'm not. I'm only worried about you. I've witnessed all those strange things happen to you and believe me, it's scary. I don't want to lose you. I don't see you as a friend, but I see you as my elder brother. My love for you is such that I can give my life to protect you. It hurts me to watch you sucking in so much pain when that strange thing starts happening to you. I feel so helpless knowing that there's nothing I can do to help you out. I was only sad, but trust me, I wasn't angry at you." Tyler moved closer to the billionaire and hugged him.

"Please take good care of yourself, don't die because I will also die along with you." Tyler had tears in his eyes as he told his best friend the truth.

Grayson was short of words. He thought he was the only one that loves Tyler like a brother, but hearing his friend say that made him so happy.

"Then I must do all in my power to stay alive so that you won't die. I've always seen you as a younger brother and not as a friend as well." Grayson pulled away from the hug with a smiling face. 

"Thank you for caring for me all these years. We shall have dinner together when I return from Tina's welcome back party." Grayson said, but Tyler shook his head in disagreement.

"There shall be no need for that because I will accompany you to her welcome-back party. How about that." Tyler asked with a wide grin and Grayson smiled.

"That's great. I love it." 

"I know you will. By the way, you look so handsome and smart in this outfit." 

"Thank you, brother. You don't look bad yourself." Grayson said with a smiling face and they both made their way out of the room.

                             ***

The party had already begun when the billionaire and his wealthy friend made an appearance at the gathering and immediately all attention was divided on them.

The thirty-year-old billionaire is for sure a well-known reputable young man who made so much wealth and a name for himself at such a young age due to hard work and effort.

He owns over twenty companies in America with six in New York and some outside the country. He deals mainly in gold, diamonds, and bitcoin. He also has companies that deal in electronics, fashion, and furniture. He has over five 7 stars hotels in New York with over nine in other cities in America. He has three huge malls in New York and over twenty in other cities within America. 

The truth is that Grayson is every woman's dream. Women are ready to do anything to be his woman, but unfortunately, he already has a woman in his life.

Tina was so quick to throw herself over Grayson's body before they both shared a passionate kiss.

She wasted no time introducing Grayson to her mother while the party was going on. Tyler had to excuse himself and settled down on one of the sofas. He doesn't want to get involved with Grayson's love life, so he gave him space.

He wasn't in the mood to dance, so he just quietly enjoyed his drink while people watching. He wasn't having a good time due to his occupied mind, so he decided to walk around, however, that wasn't a solution as he suddenly bumped into someone.

"I'm so sorry." He quickly apologized, but he was surprised to see Anna looking at him with a worried expression. He looked at her for a while, trying to recall where he knew her from, but he couldn't recall a thing. Besides, she already left in a hurry.

Tyler watched her running away and he sighed. She looked familiar, but he just couldn't recall where he had seen her before. He decided to go back to his seat and wait for his friend's return.

Bianca was so pleased to meet Grayson. She never thought that her daughter could bring her such good fortune in life. She talked to him for some time in the dining room, but when she noticed that he was constantly glancing at his wristwatch, she understood that she had taken too much of his time.

"I appreciate your kind gestures, but I have to join my friend in the living room now." Grayson cut through the conversation before she could finish up her statement.

"Very well, my son-in-law. I shall book an appointment with you for a proper discussion after the party." She had a desperate look on her face and Grayson simply smiled at her words.

"That would be great. Excuse me." Grayson picked up his phone from the table and walked away. They just met, obviously, she barely knows a thing about him yet she has already addressed him as her son-in-law.

Grayson felt disappointed, but he decided to overlook it because she would be his mother-in-law someday. That's the only way he could repay the good deed Tina did for him by saving his mother's life.

Grayson had so much on his mind that he didn't notice a lady was standing in front of him with a tray he bumped into her and his phone fell from his hand and so did the lady's tray.

"Hey, watch it?" Grayson's tone was low but filled with anger. He bent over to pick up his phone and the lady did the same causing them to bump their heads together.

The billionaire became so pissed that he quickly lifted his head, unknown to him that she would also do the same, and they unknowingly locked lips together.

Grayson quickly pulled away from the kiss and he looked so pissed. He looked around to see if anyone noticed, but luckily no one saw what happened.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Grayson asked before looking at the lady, but his countenance suddenly became dark, his facial expression turned scary and he folded his fist in anger when he saw who he had just kissed for the second time.

"Anna?"

Let me know what you think about this chapter.