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.

much so

cake cannons were fired after a

seeing the disastrous room, “Perfect! Just what I

blowing up the nursing home, but despite his rashness, he couldn’t muster the nerve. Ignoring the fact that he couldn’t get his hands on a real

teach Baron a

after much thought, the cake assault seemed like an excellent alternative, and the result was indeed satisfying. The room would

covered in cake splatter; his

this!” he shouted and lunged forward, but his foot slipped on a piece of cake, sending him crashing to the

regular workouts saved

you dare to mess with my granddaughter-in-law again, not only your room will be blasted

believe me? Just try it and see if

and anger, retorted immediately, “Nonsense! Nobody bullied your baby

to annul the wedding and you

aback, “Annulling the

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

faltered; his memories were flooding

been such a deal. His father valued the capability and fortune of the Ellingtons so he was aiming to align the Brooks’ with that family.

built and ruled, he had no say in the Brooks family, which

Richard paid them a visit just to tell

disagreement had simmered down and was

to why

“I didn’t just disagree back then; I drafted a dissolution agreement, which you signed personally. Have you

of the agreement reignited Baron’ fury, “You tricked me into signing that

for drinks, got him sloshed,