Rich Radiant and Over Him novel (Alicia and Vincent)

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By: Laura

Publish: Beenovel

Read online: Chapter 1-> 350  (Ongoing)

Rich Radiant and Over Him novel Chapter 1: 

A thirty-year-old man's desires are raw and unfiltered.

Alicia Shelton had long since lost track of how much time had passed. Her body felt as though it had come apart at the seams, overwhelmed by an intensity she could neither fight nor escape.

Vincent Lawson knew her body too well—every sensitive spot, every secret weakness. Not a single touch was wasted. He was precise, practiced, devastatingly effective.

Finally, when it was over, Vincent stood by the bed, taking his time as he dressed. "Clear my schedule starting tomorrow," he said, buttoning his shirt. "I'm taking a week off. Book two tickets to the Maldives."

Alicia shifted, trying to ease the ache in her back, a flicker of hope lighting her tired eyes. "Vincent, are you taking me on vacation?"

He paused, frowning slightly as he looked at her. "I'm going with Mina Holloway."

The smile froze on Alicia's face. She lowered her gaze, her voice small. "Of course, Mr. Lawson…"

Noticing the change in her expression, Vincent spoke again, his tone flat. "Alicia, you're an orphan. You're young. I could never marry you."

A bitter smile curled on Alicia's lips as she looked up at him. "I never expected you to marry me. But now that Miss Mina Holloway is back from her divorce… I suppose this is where we part ways."

Vincent's face darkened. He ruffled her hair, almost gently, and placed a credit card on the nightstand. "Be good. Go buy yourself something nice."

"I'm not going to be your mistress, Mr. Lawson." Alicia met his eyes, stubborn. She knew Vincent and Mina's marriage was only a matter of time.

"It's too soon to talk about that," Vincent replied, impatience flaring in his voice. "If the time comes and I get married, then we'll talk. But until then, don't get dramatic. It's not your call to make." He shot her a final look, then strode out.

The front door closed with a hollow click, and for a long moment, Alicia heard nothing but a ringing in her ears.

She was an orphan. During her freshman year at college, her looks had caught the attention of Mira Lawson—Vincent's younger sister, a spoiled heiress with a cruel streak. Mira's bullying had left Alicia half-deaf in one ear, her little finger broken, and nearly blinded by a lit cigarette.

Someone had filmed the attack. The video went viral, igniting a public outcry.

The school was forced to call in the parents. Vincent came to represent the Lawsons.

Vincent—the golden boy of the Lawson family.

Maybe it was for the family name, or maybe it was pity, but Vincent had reached out to Alicia, battered and bruised as she was. The first words he ever spoke to her: "Don't be afraid. I won't let anyone hurt you again."

It was pathetic of her, really. But Alicia fell for Vincent—hard. At the loneliest, hungriest time of her life, he became everything she dreamed a man could be. He was safety and affection, all wrapped up in one.

She used to think Vincent was her salvation. But now she saw it clearly. He didn't love her. He just couldn't let her go.

…

Lawson & Co.

Vincent had meetings to attend and work to hand over. Mina waited for him in his office.

Soon, they would be flying off to the Maldives together—seven days of bliss.

Alicia placed a cup of coffee before Mina, her heart twisting painfully. "Miss Holloway, your coffee."

Mina looked up, her smile soft, almost kind.

She was everything Alicia wasn't. Born into a powerful family, Mina was Vincent's childhood friend, his perfect match in every way. She had poise, intelligence, that untouchable air of someone who had never known true want. Just sitting there, Mina radiated confidence so bright it hurt Alicia to look at her.

Alicia knew she'd lost, that she had never stood a chance.

The prince never truly loves Cinderella. He just keeps her around to pass the time.

Setting down the coffee, Alicia all but fled the office, barely holding herself together.

How could she be confident? Orphaned, poor, her body marred by old injuries—every part of her screamed of inadequacy.

"Mr. Lawson and Miss Holloway are going on their honeymoon, did you hear?" whispered a coworker by the water cooler. "Looks like it's official. The families have agreed, and the engagement announcement is coming when they get back."

Alicia poured boiling water into her mug, so distracted she scalded the back of her hand.

The cup slipped and shattered on the floor. It took her a moment to realize what happened, and she hurried to run her hand under cold water.

Vincent and Mina were getting married.

That meant her time with Vincent was over. So was her internship at Lawson & Co.—an ending before she was ready.

"Alicia, Mr. Lawson wants you to drive him and Miss Holloway to the airport at eleven," a colleague called out.

Alicia managed a bitter smile. Vincent could be cruel.

She knew he was doing it on purpose. There was a company driver, but he wanted her—just to remind her exactly where she stood. To make sure she didn't get any foolish ideas.

In the end, Vincent and Mira were cut from the same cloth. Both bullies, just in different ways.

One broke her body. The other broke the pieces left of her heart.

Taking out her phone, Alicia hesitated for a long time before dialing a number she'd once blocked.

"Hello, Mr. Lynch? You said… if I agreed to marry you, you'd sponsor me to study in Italy. Does that offer still stand?" Her voice trembled.

Maybe marriage was her only way out—her only escape from Seaview City and from Vincent.

"Are you sure about this?" The man's voice on the other end was low, steady. "Be at Riverside Mansion at seven on the thirteenth. We'll discuss the details."

The thirteenth. Eight days left.

>>> Click Here read Rich Radiant and Over Him Chapter 2 <<<

"Hey, assistant." Mina's gentle voice called out just as Alicia ended her phone call.

Alicia spun around, nerves coiling in her stomach as she found Mina waiting in the staff kitchenette.

There was something almost intimidating about Mina, despite her gentle smile and poise. Just standing there, she radiated an effortless grace that made Alicia feel small and awkward.

"Yes, Miss Holloway? Is there something you need?" Alicia managed, voice barely steady.

"I just remembered—I forgot to pick up a few things for the trip. Would you mind going out and getting them for me?" Mina handed her a handwritten list.

Her handwriting, neat and delicate, reminded Alicia of Mina herself: elegant, soft, and impossibly refined.

Alicia's eyes skimmed the list and froze on one word—condoms. For one breathless moment, it was like an ice pick to the sternum, that sharp, that sudden.

"Please keep it between us, okay?" Mina whispered, flashing her a conspiratorial wink.

Alicia nodded, flustered, and all but fled the kitchenette.

The first time she'd ever been with Vincent, she'd just turned nineteen. It was her birthday—he'd come by with a bouquet and a tiny cake.

Alicia had grown up in foster care, and no one had ever gotten her a birthday cake before. That single, small cake and a bunch of flowers had been enough to sweep her completely off her feet. She'd given him everything, heart and soul.

A bitter smile flickered across her lips. She really was a joke.

Maybe that's why people say girls should grow up with a bit of luxury—otherwise, the first guy to show them a cake can steal their hearts.

In all four years with Vincent, Alicia had never once bought condoms herself. Vincent didn't like them—he always made her take the pill.

But for Mina, he wouldn't dream of that. He'd never ask Mina to mess up her body; he'd make sure she was taken care of.

. . .

On the way to the airport, Alicia sat silent behind the wheel, barely blinking.

"Time's tight. Can you speed up?" Vincent's voice cut in, sharper than usual, as if he'd noticed her mood.

"Yes, Mr. Lawson." Alicia turned left at the green light, barely glancing at the traffic.

The car in front had just cleared the intersection when, out of nowhere, a little boy darted across the road. Alicia jerked the steering wheel to avoid him, swerving hard—and crashed straight into the median planter.

"Mina!" In the split second after impact, Vincent reached over and pulled Mina into his arms, shielding her.

Luckily, they hadn't been going fast; only the driver's side was badly crushed.

The airbag exploded into Alicia's chest, pinning her in the twisted seat. Her left leg was wedged under the dashboard, the pain so sharp she could barely breathe.

"Vincent…" Terror made her voice tremble. "Help me…"

She hated the feeling of being trapped, unable to move, boxed in.

Back in freshman year, Mira and her friends had stuffed her into a wooden equipment crate—no matter how much she screamed and pounded, no one had come. That horrible, suffocating pressure had nearly driven her mad.

If the janitor hadn't found the puddle on the floor the next day while cleaning, she might have died in there.

"Vincent!" Seeing him about to get out, Alicia panicked. She didn't care that Mina was right there. "Don't leave me—please…"

"Let the rescue crew and the police handle it," Vincent said coolly, helping Mina out of the car while already dialing for assistance.

"The assistant's still in there," Mina remarked, her tone skeptical—no professional assistant would call her boss by his first name.

Vincent pulled Mina close, glancing dispassionately at Alicia, then at his watch. "We're out of time. The crash wasn't that bad. We'll take a cab to the airport. The rescue team will handle her."

Mina nodded, giving Alicia a long, unreadable look before slipping away with Vincent, leaving the wrecked car behind.

Alicia thrashed against the seatbelt, pounding the window, but Vincent never looked back.

She knew why—Vincent didn't want Mina to get the wrong idea.

As she watched him leave, Alicia finally broke down, sobs wracking her body. "Vincent! Please, help me… You promised you'd never leave me!"

"Liar! Vincent, you're a liar! You told me you'd protect me!"

Her emotions spiraled out of control; depression and mania crashing together until all she could do was struggle and scream in the cramped, broken space.

Her injuries weren't even that serious, but she couldn't stop herself from clawing at her own skin, thrashing against the seat.

"Let me out… Please, let me out!" Alicia's voice was hoarse as she hammered the glass.

The old trauma from college came roaring back, robbing her of reason as the acrid smell of smoke drifted in from the engine.

"That car's on fire!"

"Is anyone still inside? I saw the people get out."

Someone shouted from the street.

Alicia, trapped and hopeless, started counting under her breath.

"One, two, three, four…"

The night Mira locked her in the crate, Alicia had counted all the way to 6,788.

She wondered now—at what number would she die this time?

>>> Click Here read Rich Radiant and Over Him Chapter 3 <<<