The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

On the other side of town, Richard stormed into the bakery with his entourage and bought away every last cake on the shelves. Then, after snatching up a dozen blowguns, he charged towards the nursing home with fury in his eyes.

At that very moment, Baron Brooks was lounging comfortably in a deckchair, soaking up the sun and listening to an opera recording. Life without that pesky Richard was bliss!

Just as he reached for the glass of water on the side table, the door to his room burst open with a violent kick. Startled, he spilled water all over himself and was instantly enraged.

Whirling around, he saw Richard leading a posse with an air of vengeance, each one armed with cakes of all things.

Baron’ brow furrowed in anger, “What’s gotten into you, you old jerk? Why busting into my place with all those cakes?

Did Richard finally find his conscience and decide to throw him a birthday bash? He thought.

But that couldn’t be right; his birthday was months away, deep in December.

Baron braced himself as suspicious picked his nerves. What kind of nasty trick was Richard planning this time?

Richard merely glanced at him dismissively. Without bothering with a single word, he turned to his bodyguards with an order, “Let ’em have it!”

Before Baron could even grasp what was happening, the guns were loaded with cakes and, with a loud “BANG!”, and the pastries smashed precisely onto his bed.

Baron was furious as he bellowed, “Richard! Do you want to get yourself killed?!”

Ignoring his outburst, Richard stood in the center of the room, leaning on his cane with an air of unshakable calm.

The bodyguards fired the cakes one after another, and in moments, the walls, the ceiling, and the furniture in the room were all plastered with creamy shrapnel.

was apoplectic, so much so that he nearly passed

cannons were fired after a few

in approval on seeing the disastrous

nerve. Ignoring the fact that

himself just to teach Baron a

the cake assault seemed like an excellent alternative, and the result was

for breath, was covered in

your head for this!” he shouted and lunged forward, but his foot slipped on

for him, his regular workouts saved him from a more serious

for you, old man. If you dare to mess with my granddaughter-in-law again, not only your room will be blasted the next time, but

defiantly, “Don’t believe me? Just try it and see if I dare to blow your place into the

twisted in pain and anger, retorted immediately, “Nonsense! Nobody bullied your baby granddaughter-in-law. You’re just stirring up

menacing. “Your family people had kicked my door to annul the wedding and you are still feigning innocence here. Do you need me to help recount how your father bonded

aback,

and your wife tried to call off Vivienne and Percival’s engagement and wedding and push for Percival to marry Calista instead! And they were claiming some nonsense about your father and mine arranging a marriage between the best of the Brooks and the Ellington heir. Are you daydreaming?” Richard’s gaze was icy, “Back in the day, your dad saw my dad as an easy mark. He conned my old man into that engagement because the Ellingtons were thriving under my leadership. I told you that time that I’d never

his memories were flooding

to align the Brooks’ with that family. It didn’t matter which Brooks granddaughter married into the Ellingtons; securing a match with the

no say in the Brooks family, which was built

situation but Richard paid them a visit just to tell them he rejected

disagreement had simmered down and

to why

then; I drafted a dissolution agreement, which you signed

tricked me into signing that when I was drunk! You don’t agree with it,

him out for drinks, got him sloshed, and made