-Leia-I get up early, put on some sweats and a t-shirt, tie my hair up in a bun, and join Lucille and her team with the clean-up downstairs. At first, they didn’t really want me to help, but after I insisted and showed them I’m not scared to work, they let me pitch in.Besides, it’s better than the alternative: being alone with my thoughts. I couldn’t really get to sleep last night, all my thoughts were scattered and I couldn’t make sense of anything. Christian drank himself stupid last night and I can only pin it down to him being upset because Amber is pregnant. I wonder if he’s always acted this way when angry.Turning to Lucille, I decide to fish a little bit and walk over to her. She turns to me with a smile. “Yes, Ma’am?”“Say, Lucille…have you ever cleaned up a mess for Mr. Moore like this before?” I ask, hoping she bites. She’s worked for Christian the longest and I know she’s seen some shit while working for him.She looks at her feet and bites her bottom lip before slowly
-Leia-True to his word, Christian has stayed home from work but it made no difference because his phone was permanently glued to his ear and hand anyway. We didn’t really spend any time together; why would we? He had his own little life to lead and so did I.But when I’m alone at night, I can’t help but think about him. The last kiss we shared was different…it felt like it meant something. I won’t be the first one to bring it up, though, because even if I do possibly, maybe …like Christian, it can never progress from there.“It can’t!” I say out loud, scaring Klaus who was sitting on my lap. “Ah, sorry Klausy Wowsy.” He gives me a dirty look then promptly jumps from my lap and saunters over to the bed while huffing.I shrug one shoulder and breathe out a sigh; at the moment I feel completely snowed in. Delilah and Lucas are both out of town for the holidays and my mother is as drowsy as anything when I go to visit her. So I have no one at my side right now, just Klaus and this enormo
-Leia-I don’t want to admit it, but I am enjoying myself shooting the shit with Christian. He’s been an absolute gentleman tonight and if I am being honest, he’s actually quite funny. I haven’t laughed this much in ages!“Wait, so she barged into your conference meeting wearing a fur coat while buck-naked underneath?” I ask incredulously as he’s recounting one failed conquest after another. “What the hell did she think was gonna happen?”Christian runs a hand over his red face, the smile on his lips contagious. “That I’d drop an important meeting with my Tokyo investors for her? Socialites seldom think further than their cell phones,” he says, shaking his head.I have no idea how our conversation got here, but it seems easy. We’re not expecting anything from each other and the alcohol seems to be loosening us up even more. “Christ, she would not have gotten past me if I were your PA. I can spot the fake ones a mile away,” I say as I sip on my red wine even though I’m already buzzed.
-Leia-My heart sinks when I see the empty space next to me, and when I reach over to feel his spot, it’s ice cold. How long has he been gone for? Did he even sleep next to me? I don’t hear the shower running, so he must be gone.He’s left already; I thought last night would mean something different for us, but I’m just a fuck toy, aren’t I?I pull my legs up to my chest and rest my chin on my knees, noticing that I’m still naked and smelling Christian all around his room. Why did he leave without waking me up? Is he that embarrassed about what we did last night, or did he want to get away from me as soon as possible?Sighing, I close my eyes but the sound of the bedroom door opening has my heart racing. My eyes widen when I see Christian walking in with a tray of delicious-smelling food and two cups of coffee. He’s wearing no shirt and only those sinfully delicious sweatpants that hang just right at his waist. Lucille closes the door behind him with a grin on her face and he walks t
-Leia- I watch Christian from across the table at brunch time, talking away on his cell phone. He’s not raising his voice to his employees, but he’s speaking in a low, commanding tone that makes my lady bits tingle. And to think, I used to say he’s not CEO material. He places his cell phone face down on the table and looks at me with a smirk tugging at his lips. “Is there a reason you’re staring at me like that, Red?” “No reason,” I say as I lift my mimosa to my lips. “Just admiring the way you boss people around.” Chuckling, he leans back in his chair. “Oh, now you’re admiring it? I used to think you hated that about me.” I shrug. “Guess I find it sexy now; you should totally use that voice in bed with me.” He raises his eyebrow at this. “I never would have taken you for the type to enjoy being bossed around.” “Out here, no; underneath you, definitely,” I say without shame and loving the way the thrum of his chuckle gives me tingles. It’s been about three days since the clin
-Leia-The first day back at work after the winter break and Moore Industries is a madhouse. The stockpile of emails, the missed calls, voicemails, planning meetings, and arranging trips overseas. This always happens, and I always say that I’ll never leave for winter breaks again.It’s 4 PM when I eventually touch base again, and only because my stomach started growling. I order myself some lunch, lean my head on the table and breathe out a long-ass sigh; I am so going to enjoy that bath tonight.“So this is what you’re doing while I’m worrying about you?” My head whips up at the sound of Christian’s voice; so I jump to my feet, run towards him and throw my arms around his neck.“What are you doing back here?!” I exclaim. “I thought you had back-to-back meetings?”The thrum of his chuckle makes my heart soar, and he kisses the top of my head before breaking off the embrace. “Yeah, but I forgot to mention that I have a meeting right next door in twenty minutes, so I just wanted to co
-Christian-“Oh, come on, mate! Just an hour or so then you can go again!”I’m on the way to the airport when Jasper calls me asking me to join him and his cousin for a few drinks at his newly opened club. After finishing my long-ass meeting, I was tempted to go back to see Leia, but it was after six, so she would have left already.“I am literally on the way to the airport, asshole; some of us have work to do, you know,” I say while rolling my eyes.“Aw, but I promised Marc you’d be there!” Marc is the cousin Leia’s friend works for, the one who doesn’t swing the way most men do. “Please! You’re my bestest mate and it wouldn’t feel right without you!”Sighing, I pinch the bridge of my nose and try to calm down. “Sorry, Jas. I gotta be in Spain to meet with an investor and I literally just drove onto the tarmac. See you when I get back,” I say while listening to him groaning.“Wanker. Fine, I’ll let you go this time, but we’re definitely getting sloshed when you get back,” he grumbles
-Leia-After the other night’s disaster, I’ve decided not to jump to any kind of conclusion when it comes to Christian. I burnt my goddamn fingers and was left to suffer without talking things through with a man I know is good for me.He might have a history, but that’s just it, right? Everyone says he’s changed, my mom likes him, he’s hard-working and doesn’t lie to me. I know it’s just my insecurities speaking, but what does Christian even see in me?The tabloids always have him with skinnier women than me, tall blondes, or brunettes who have legs for days. Women who wake up looking like they’ve stepped out of a magazine. Not someone with red hair, a little pouch on her belly, and boobs that gives her backaches. What’s so special about me? “Stop it, Leia,” I chastised myself for the third day already. “He wants you; he’s shown how much he wants you, not them!”And his texts…gosh his texts warm my heart, while his selfies warm my lady bits. I knew Christian could be naughty, but ho
-Christian- I watch his face light up as I pin the boutonnière to the lapel of his fitted little tux. “You got me one too!” he exclaims when he sees that we’ll be wearing matching sets. “Of course; we’re two of the most important men in Mommy’s life. We need to match, don’t you think?” I say, before placing my hands on his shoulders. “Now, remember what I said?” He nods sternly and a serious look crosses his tiny face. “Even if I drop your rings, it’s not a bad thing because accidents happen.” I reach up to tousle his hair and shoot him a grin. “Good boy, Mason. Why don’t you go show Mommy and Aunty Del your boutonnière?” He giggles and wraps his arms around my neck before sprinting out of the bedroom. The smile doesn’t leave my face as I’m looking at myself in the mirror. The few grays and smile lines grow by the day and it doesn’t bother me because I want to look my thirty-three years. It’s been five years since Leia agreed to marry me, and we’ve decided that now would be the
-Leia-“A boy? We’re having a boy?” I ask with a choked-up voice as I look at the screen in front of me. “Are you sure?”The doctor nods with a smile on his face and points towards the screen, circling a spot. “Yip, that’s a boy alright. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Moore.”I don’t bother to correct her and glance up at Christian, noticing his blue eyes are wide and glistening with unshed tears. He takes my hand and kisses the back of it and when he blinks, those tears now slip down his cheeks. “We’re having a little boy, Red,” he murmurs, his voice tight with emotion. “You’re giving me a son.”He says this as if it’s the most wonderful thing in the world and by now I can’t stop my own tears from rolling down my cheeks. And man, do I ugly cry. The rest of the check-up goes by smoothly, and the doctor gives me a revised due date for mid-December. The only issue was that I won’t be able to give birth naturally, so we opted for a c-section.Christian leads me over to his Phantom and we
-Christian- “Oh, my God; Alexander must hate me!” Leia exclaims while we’re driving to my father’s villa. “And Olivia! Did I tell you how awkward she looked when she saw me in the pharmacy? She kept staring at me!”“Yes, love,” I answer, my gaze going to her, then back to the road. “And no, my father absolutely loves you. I think even more than he loves me.”Leia shoots me a look that lets me know she’s going to strangle me and I can’t help but chuckle. It’s been about a month since we’ve made up; a month of nothing but absolute happiness and getting to know each other again.She was right about us not needing to jump right into getting married or living together because then we would simply be love-bombing each other without really working through our problems. Just because we cleared up our misunderstanding, doesn’t mean everything will go back to normal.Besides, there’s no normal now; Leia is pregnant with my child. This is the reason for us meeting with my father and Olivia - we
-Leia-“I’ll be right out here if you need me; text me when you’re done,” Delilah says when we’re in Christian’s underground parking the following evening and I give her a quick nod and hug before getting out of her car.Tonight I’m dressed in a pair of stretchy maternity jeans that stretch around my belly and a blouse that covers my bump. I’m still telling Christian about Bean tonight, but I first need to hear what he has to say.I walk towards the elevator and it opens before I can call Christian, and out he walks wearing a shy smile that gets my heart pumping in an awful way. His baby blues are shining with excitement and when he walks towards me, he places a kiss on my cheek.“Hey,” I greeted him awkwardly again.“Hey,” he responds, still wearing that smile as I get into the elevator with him.We ride in awkward silence with Christian’s delicious cologne making me float on a happy cloud. I will always associate Tom Ford with this man - God, he wears it so well.The doors open into
-Christian-My father’s eyes widen when I walk into his study at his home and he stands up to greet me. “Oh, this is certainly unexpected,” he says as we embrace. “What brings you around?”He gestures to the bourbon and I shake my head. “Nothing for me, thank you. I’ve actually come to seek your council,” I say and he gives me another raise of his eyebrows.“Again, unexpected but most definitely welcomed. Come, let’s sit next to the fireplace,” he says and we walk over to the entertainment section of his study.He pours himself a glass of the amber liquid and sits down next to me on the plush sofa. “Is this about Leia?”I chuckle at his ability to suss me out and I nod. “What gave it away?”The corner of his mouth lifts in amusement and he leans back on the sofa. “Well, you’re no longer looking as if you have the entire world on your shoulders, for one. And that determined spark is back in your eye,” he says, then he takes a sip of his glass.I heave out a sigh and lean back on the so
-Leia-I hear Delilah sneaking into the bedroom and feel as she wraps her arms around me. I have no idea when Christian eventually left the apartment because I’ve been crying in here non-stop ever since. The last time I cried was when I found out I was pregnant and I’ve refused to shed another tear ever since. There was only me and my life with my baby. No one else will come close.Or so I thought - the second I saw how broken Christian was, all my defenses crumbled to dust. He was hurting as much as I was, I could see it in his eyes. He knows what he did was wrong, how he treated me was wrong, and thought an apology would take away weeks of pain.I love him, but I am not naïve.“Are you gonna be okay?” Delilah asks behind me. “Need me to go beat him up for you?”I laugh through my sobs and clasp her arm closer to me. “No, I’ll be okay. I needed him to hear me say that…It had to come from me. Hopefully, he moves on as I will,” I say.If anything, this will probably make Christian try
-Leia-I’m laying on Delilah’s couch with my hand over my belly, stroking it gently. Ever since I started eating better, the hectic nausea went away, and I started filling out nicely. You can just make out my bump now, almost four months later. “Aww, is he moving again? Damn it, I always seem to miss it!” Delilah says as she sits down on the floor next to me and leans her head on my stomach. “When are you going to move for me, Bean?”I can’t help but chuckle at her pout. “It’s not full-on movements, you know; it feels like tickles at times,” I say for the tenth time, but she just grumbles and crosses her arms. “So unfair-”A knock at the front door silences her and when I look at her expectantly, she shrugs and moves over to the door. I immediately see her stiffen up when she looks through the peephole, then she turns to me with wide eyes, scoops Klaus up next to her, and puts him in my arms. “I need you to go to the bedroom,” she hisses I look at her questioningly and she sighs. “
-Christian-Life is moving in slow motion, everything is still happening as if I didn’t lose my purpose for living. The morning after I kicked Leia out, it took everything in me not to call her back or answer her calls. I wanted to beg her to come back, that I’ll put everything behind us if she forgave me and still loved me.But my pride stopped that.Her scent was still all over my penthouse so I immediately had her things packed up and taken away. I wanted no sign that she lived here, I wanted every trace of her removed from my life. But I couldn’t be an asshole and have her things left outside, so I had them pack it all away. Now my penthouse is an empty shell once again; it doesn’t even smell like Leia anymore.It’s been two months since I saw Leia last, two months since I removed her from my life, and two months since I’ve touched alcohol. The smell of it reminds me of the ugly things I said to her, and I am already stewing in my guilt as it is.I’m never home anymore. I always
-Leia-Rain.The weather matches my mood perfectly as I watch my mother’s casket being lowered. I haven’t cried all day; I’m not sure if it’s because I have already cried so much already; right now that numb feeling has settled in my heart and I don’t think it’s going to move at all.I didn’t bother to let my father or siblings know our mother had passed away; what would be the point? They sucked her inheritance dry and then left without another word, so no I do not owe them this message.Another person I didn’t tell was Alexander and Christian - again, what’s the point?Walking forward, I throw a single white rose onto her casket and it lands with a gentle thud, then I walk towards my car even as my friends call for me. There will be no ‘after-tears’, no well-wishing, or anything of the sort. I didn’t want any of that, I just want to go home and curl up into a ball with my cat.Thankfully they all accept my privacy, but I know it will only be for so long. I haven’t told Delilah or Lu