CEO's Runaway Lover: My Cold Ex Begs For My Love Again
Four years ago, Madelynn accepted money from Caiden's family and vanished. She thought it was for the best-he would remain the untouchable heir while she faced her tough life alone.
When they met again, Caiden humiliated her in public, yet appeared when she was cornered by a difficult client, pulling her back into his life.
He forced her to stay as his lover, using her mother's medical bills as leverage, whispering, "What you owe me... you'll repay the same way."
Madelynn believed he despised her. Only after the accident, when he ran toward her before the explosion, did she understand-he never let go.
Chapters
Share
Chapter 2
Madelynn's mother, Ellie Douglas, had been hospitalized for nearly three weeks this time.
By the time Madelynn pushed open the door that night, it was already close to ten. Ellie was still awake, leaning comfortably against the headboard, eyes glued to some dating show. A pile of pistachio shells littered the blanket around her.
"Why are you here this late?" Ellie glanced at the clock before turning to Madelynn. "Don't you have work in the morning?"
Madelynn didn't answer right away. She set a thermos down on the table and began cleaning up the mess on the bed. "You shouldn't be eating so many of these," she said. "They're not good for your throat."
Ellie shrugged, unconcerned. "Then bring me some lemon honey water tomorrow. That'll fix it."
Her eyes remained on Madelynn, her gaze sharpening as she took in her daughter's tired face. "You look worn out. Rough day at work?"
"No."
Ellie tilted her head. "Trouble with someone at the office?"
Madelynn replied, "Nothing like that."
A knowing look crept into Ellie's eyes. "Then you must have crossed paths with someone you didn't want to."
Madelynn's hands stilled at that.
Ellie lowered the TV volume with a quiet sigh. "Four years has passed," she murmured. "And every time you make that face, I know exactly why."
She knew the whole story of what had happened between Madelynn and Caiden four years ago.
"Mom, don't read into things," Madelynn said, though her tone lacked conviction.
Ellie arched an eyebrow. "Read into things? Just look at yourself. Your expression has given you away."
She paused for a second. Then, her voice softened. "Maybe I've been burdening you all these years."
Madelynn tossed the last of the shells into the bin, her tone turning flat. "If you keep saying things like that, I won't come tomorrow."
"Alright, I'll stop," Ellie said quickly, patting the space beside her. "Come sit for a while."
After a brief hesitation, Madelynn sat down. Ellie reached out and took her hands.
Ellie's fingers were thin and slightly misshapen from age, yet the warmth in her palms hadn't faded.
After a moment, she spoke again, more carefully this time. "How is he now?"
Madelynn's gaze dropped. "He's doing well," she said. Then, after a pause, added quietly, "Wealthier than before."
Ellie studied her in silence, her expression unreadable. She said after a long while, "Yet you are still wearing the same coat from years ago."
Madelynn had no answer.
"It hurts to see you like this," Ellie continued gently. "When you were with him, at least you didn't have to worry about money. But after the two of you separated... you've been living like this ever since."
"I'm really fine," Madelynn replied.
"Fine?" Ellie's tone sharpened slightly. "I saw your medical report. Stomach ulcer, low blood pressure, anemia... Joyce told me everything. She even said you're the one who should be in a hospital bed."
Madelynn fell silent.
Ellie squeezed her hands lightly, as if steadying herself before speaking again. "Actually... back then, someone from the Dawson family came to see me."
Madelynn's head lifted abruptly, her eyes widening in surprise.
"It happened during your third year at university," Ellie began slowly. "Your grandmother was in critical condition. You stayed at the hospital for a full week; your phone was turned off the entire time. During that period, a woman came to see me. She introduced herself as Caiden's mother. She said she would cover all the medical expenses on one condition. That you leave him."
Madelynn felt her chest tighten, her voice barely steady. "Why didn't you tell me back then?"
Ellie gave a bitter smile. "And what would that have changed? So you could confront the Dawson family? At the time, your grandmother needed surgery immediately, and we had no way to afford it. Your father was gone, and I... I couldn't carry everything on my own."
Her eyes turned red with tears. "If there's anyone I've wronged the most in this life, it's you."
Madelynn tightened her hold on Ellie's hands.
Memories surfaced unbidden—Caiden's expression from that year. The coldness, resentment, and disappointment on his face.
She hadn't tried to explain.
She couldn't.
What was she supposed to say? That his family had paid her off to walk away from him?
The sum had gone straight into the hospital, buying her grandmother two more years to live.
Even now, she couldn't decide whether that decision had been right.
All she knew was that she never wanted to see that look in Caiden's eyes again.
The next morning, Madelynn went to work. She stepped into the elevator and found Abby already inside.
Abby stood there in towering heels, dressed to impress, her presence announced by the overpowering scent of perfume. A brand-new designer tote hung from her arm, one Madelynn had noticed in a boutique before. It cost more than half a year's rent for someone like Madelynn.
Without even looking at Madelynn, Abby spoke while checking her reflection in the mirrored doors. "I heard you got rejected by the Dawson Group on the spot yesterday. That must've been embarrassing."
Madelynn remained silent.
Abby smirked faintly. "Honestly, I'm not surprised. People like you rely on appearances to get ahead. Once that doesn't work, there's nothing left but humiliation."
The elevator doors slid open.
Madelynn stepped out, her tone calm but cutting. "Instead of worrying about me, maybe focus on your own work. Your team has ranked last for three months straight, hasn't it?"
Abby's expression stiffened instantly, her face turning dark.
Later that morning, Madelynn was called into Danny's office.
The moment the door closed behind her, Danny sighed heavily. "Madelynn, how long have you been working under me now?"
"Four years," Madelynn replied.
"Four years," Danny repeated, shaking his head. "You've always been reliable—capable, steady, and good with clients. I've considered promoting you more than once. But what happened yesterday—"
"Mr. Willis, I'll take full responsibility for that," Madelynn interjected before he could continue.
Danny waved a hand, dismissing the idea. "No need for that. I know exactly what kind of person Louis is."
He paused, then added more seriously, "The real issue is that the Dawson Group still expects an explanation."
Madelynn didn't respond.
Danny opened a drawer, took out an envelope, and slid it across the desk toward her.
You may also like
9.3
On her wedding night at The Plaza Hotel, Clara went looking for her husband.
Instead, she found him in the dimly lit parking garage, passionately pinning down her bridesmaid.
She couldn't even scream or expose them. Just hours before the ceremony, Julian had tricked her into signing away her twenty percent shares of their co-founded company, leaving her completely penniless and unable to pay her grandmother's life-saving medical bills.
Fleeing in absolute despair, a sudden hotel blackout plunged her into a second nightmare. She was dragged into a pitch-black room and brutally violated by a heavily drugged stranger.
When a shattered Clara returned to the office to audit the books and reclaim her power, Julian demoted her to a dusty desk by the trash cans.
He flaunted his mistress in the executive suite and deliberately sent Clara into a horrifying trap. He arranged for vicious clients to drug and assault her, demanding high-definition blackmail photos so he could divorce her with absolutely nothing.
"Since you want to play rough, you can service Mr. Petrocelli tonight," the thug sneered, locking the VIP room door.
Clara was pushed to the brink of hell. Why was the man she devoted three years of her life to trying to destroy her so completely? And why did the freezing cedarwood scent of the stranger who ruined her in the dark perfectly match Conrad Vance, the ruthless CEO and Julian's untouchable uncle?
Rather than let Julian win, Clara smashed a glass bottle, held the jagged edge to her own throat to force the men back, and threw herself off the second-floor balcony into the freezing night.
But the bone-crushing impact never came. A massive figure shot out from the shadows and caught her, and her brutal counterattack finally began.
7.6
Johana walked half a mile through a brutal blizzard just to secure a tutoring job with the elite Black family.
But the very night she was hired, she received a terrifying call from the ER—her quiet roommate, Hazelle, had been drugged and severely traumatized at a Hamptons party.
When Johana rushed to the hospital, she didn't find the police. Instead, she found a team of ruthless billionaires erasing the crime.
Leading them was Dalton Black, the cold, arrogant older brother of her new student.
Within minutes, Dalton's fixers wiped the hospital's security footage, deleted all digital evidence, and forcefully transferred Hazelle to a locked private psychiatric facility.
"We are ensuring her privacy."
Dalton's voice was devoid of emotion, treating the horrific assault like a minor PR glitch.
His friends mocked Johana's powerlessness, while Dalton authorized a blank check to pay for the private ward, effectively burying the scandal and buying their silence.
Johana stood in the sterile hallway, trembling with a mix of despair and absolute rage.
How could they destroy an innocent girl's life and simply pay to make it disappear? Why was the truth so easily erased by money?
She had no wealth, no connections, and no proof, but she refused to be a victim of their cover-up.
Staring directly into Dalton's intimidating, icy blue eyes, Johana made a vow.
"I don't want your money. I will find out what you monsters did to her."
She thought the billionaire heir would crush her on the spot, but instead, he watched her walk away and quietly ordered his assistant: "Find out everything about Johana Neal."
8.2
I went to a private clinic for a routine physical, only to find out I was pregnant.
It was impossible. I took my birth control every single day. But when the doctor tested my pills, they turned out to be high-purity vitamin placebos. My billionaire husband, Denton, had been systematically replacing my medication.
Yet, on our anniversary, he brought my sister Beverly home, demanding a divorce so he could marry her. When I refused to sign a settlement that left me with nothing, he froze my accounts and blacklisted me across New York.
My own father disowned me. When an old friend offered me a job just so I could afford prenatal care, Denton launched a ruthless financial attack to bankrupt his firm.
Then, Beverly got into a car crash. Denton's bodyguards dragged me off the street and forced me into a hospital trauma room. Beverly was hemorrhaging, and I was the only blood match.
I cried and begged Denton to stop, desperately trying to protect my fragile pregnancy without exposing my baby to the monster who controlled my life.
"Please, my body can't handle this. Don't do this to me!"
But he just looked at me with pure disgust and ordered his men to strap me to the chair, forcing the needle into my vein while threatening to kill me if his mistress died.
As I dragged my bleeding, cramping body out of the hospital into the freezing snow, my last shred of hope died.
I touched my stomach and made a vow: I would disappear, and I would make them all pay.
7.4
Avery thought she'd found her happily ever after with Ethan, the charming billionaire who swept her off her feet in Willow Creek. But after one night of passion, he vanished, leaving her heartbroken and alone. She returned home to find her grandmother, her only family, had passed away.
Devastated, Avery discovered a shocking truth: she was the daughter of a millionaire who'd left her a vast fortune. Relocated to New York, she met Ethan again, but this time, he was determined to win her back. Unbeknownst to him, Avery had been hiding a life-changing secret: she's the mother of his twin babies.
As Avery navigates her complicated past and the wicked family members who despise her, Ethan's pursuit becomes relentless. He'll stop at nothing to reclaim the love they shared, but Avery's secrets threaten to tear them apart. Can she trust him with her heart and the truth about their children, or will it drive them further apart?
Ethan's words echoed in her mind: "I've been searching for you for six years, Avery. I won't let you go again." But Avery's secrets were only the beginning. Little did Ethan know, their love story was only just beginning...
9.0
Once a pampered princess, Alaina now clutched a deactivated American Express card, staring out at Central Park. Her family’s fortune was gone, her life, over.
Her family's Hamptons estate, a four-generation legacy, was seized by Dyer Capital. The name hit her: Hardin Dyer, the poor boy she’d once scorned, had returned.
Hardin marched in, serving a divorce agreement. He'd orchestrated her family's downfall for revenge, giving her 24 hours to vacate his property. Penniless, her father faced prison, needing $50 million. Her mother forced her to beg Hardin, who sneered, offering the money for her body. Alaina ripped up the contract.
Hours later, her father had a heart attack. Desperate, she became "Lexi," a club girl enduring humiliation. In the Viper Room, Hardin's lackeys demanded she lick whiskey off his shoe for $10,000. Hardin watched. Outside, her brother Ashton's hand was threatened for a $3 million debt. Spirit shattered, Alaina returned, knelt on broken glass, offering to sign. But Hardin declared her family "dead," offering $10 million for her body, commanding her to use her mouth.
In a furious act of defiance, Alaina threw whiskey in his face, snatched the check, and fled. Yet, when he finally took her, a searing, foreign pain and blood on the sheets revealed a shocking truth: he had never touched her three years ago. Why had he let her believe such a monstrous lie?
9.2
Nica caught her boyfriend, Chris, and her best friend, Ella, in a shocking betrayal. Chris was kissing Ella while caressing her close, and Ella only smirked at Nica as if she had won. Nica got pissed off and swore she would not let their betrayal go unpunished. What happens next? Read the story and find out for yourself.