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Chapter Seventy-Six—Hard Decisions
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2023-08-16 23:22:48Related chapters
The Billionaire's Alternate Plan Chapter Seventy-Seven—Stubbornly Staying On The Path
Michael couldn’t believe she’d asked that question. Julie didn’t turn things back onto him. She didn’t give as good as she got. No, he saw Julie as a doormat for him and his asshole attitude toward women. A bloody doormat for his muddy feet. A perfect doormat, clean of everything, but the sins he reaped on her. He couldn’t admit this to anyone, let alone Julie. He wanted her to stay. Admitting to this would have her leaving as soon as she could. “Michael, I know your true identity, and this isn’t it. You’re the pot who calls the silver tea kettle black. Instead of addressing your pain, you lash out, and you go to great lengths to achieve success, just to receive a small amount of praise and recognition. But you don’t look for personal connection or search for love. You don’t let anyone care and if they do, you beat them down. The Michael I know doesn’t let love enter the conversation because he’s afraid there won’t be any for him. That’s the Michael I know.”
Last Updated : 2023-08-18The Billionaire's Alternate Plan Chapter Seventy-Eight—Calling Beckett
Michael could see she was fine physically, but she only stared at her food and didn’t respond to him. “I’m texting Beckett now. You must be able to hear me. That’s not the problem, is it? You can hear me, I know you can, but you’re having problems processing everything. Damn it. All I want to do is scream at you until you respond.” Michael pulled his phone out and messaged Beckett. He needed to know what went wrong and how to fix it. [Beckett, I’m out with Julie. I’m not sure what triggered it. But she’s sitting here staring at her food and she won’t talk. She’s not even moving, just sitting there. I might have shocked her or something.] Beckett didn’t take long to respond. [Try touching her arm, get her attention. You might have sent her into her thoughts. Sometimes she does that when she feels overwhelmed. This is one of the worse types of ADHD paralysis. Normally, she’ll do something but what she’s avoiding. It sounds like she feel
Last Updated : 2023-08-19The Billionaire's Alternate Plan Chapter Seventy-Nine—Honest, No Lies
Julie felt exhausted from their evening out. Michael’s words were shocking to her. She didn’t miss what he said. Julie struggled with all the directions his words could go. Now she could see he truly meant what he said. It wasn’t a trick; he wanted this. Michael wanted to stay married to her. This blew away Julie, leaving her feeling unsure about how she felt, and it’s the only way she could describe how she felt. She knew she couldn’t leave like she wanted to and forgive him for everything. So, how did she go about it? In stages? In increments over time? How long did she withhold her full forgiveness? She thought on it and paused. What had she withheld? It didn’t feel right punishing him because it made her no better than him. Is it possible for her to follow his desires without taking action of any sort or uttering a word? She did it out of fear. Julie wanted to avoid making things worse. He threatened to ruin her, to punish her, and he did that
Last Updated : 2023-08-20The Billionaire's Alternate Plan Chapter Eighty—Talking In The Dark
“You didn’t? Really? I saved the evidence, and my lawyer taught me how to record its origin. If we went to court, my lawyer would send it to yours during the examination or discovery of evidence.” Julie couldn’t understand why he’d deny sending it. But it had come from his phone, she’d checked it out.” “When did this happen?” Michael’s voice took on a cold, hurtful tone, but Julie knew she wasn’t its target. “Several times when you were messing around at parties. The next morning, I’d discover a video with a message encouraging me to leave. Or another message mentioned you’d live your life how you liked.” “I sent nothing. I want to see them, Julie. Someone pretended to be me and clearly stolen my phone. Did you ever respond to these messages?” Julie knew if he’d sent them, he’d have known she hadn’t. Without wanting to, Julie’s hope rose that he hadn’t cheated as much as they’d led her to believe. But he’d cheated before, and she knew it. Could
Last Updated : 2023-08-22The Billionaire's Alternate Plan Chapter Eighty-One—Michael’s Self Discoveries
“I don’t believe I’ll be doing that anymore. Because I’ve realized something I failed to consider. You aren’t like the others. I’ve seen people accuse you of doing things that angered me in the past. I took their word without verifying their evidence. Now you’re telling me you have evidence of things I sent you, that I didn’t send you, and you’re willing to use it against me in a divorce that will not happen.” Michael pondered how the evening had transformed from a first date to discuss divorce proceedings. He desperately wanted to fix this. Now he had someone impersonating him to his wife. “Fine. I will show you one video and you could figure out if it happened. I received this the morning of January first this year.” Julie came back onto the balcony with her photo and handed him the evidence. When the video played, he saw himself in a bathroom with his pants around his ankles, driving into a woman. Initially unsure of her identity, the person who recorded th
Last Updated : 2023-08-23The Billionaire's Alternate Plan Chapter Eighty-Two—The Campaign Against Juliette
Julie snatched her phone from Michael’s hand, and he pulled out his phone. “Crap, it’s Leon. I wonder what his problem is. He’s probably having more problems with Aria.” Michael said. His words came out in a grumbled before he answered the call. “Can it wait until the morning?” Michael asked. He wanted to keep talking to Julie and finally come to an agreement. “Nope, we need damage control, Mike. I’m sending you a link. Look at it now. You will not like it. I’m trying to find out who’s feeding this information to the journalist. But we can now get them on not verifying their facts.” Leon didn’t sound thrilled at making this call. “What are you talking about? I’m putting you on speakerphone. Julie is with me.” Michael said. He glared irritably at his phone and spoke to his friend. “You’ll want to take this call somewhere else. She will not hear this because it’s going to upset her.” Leon warned Michael before he even opened the link to the gos
Last Updated : 2023-08-24The Billionaire's Alternate Plan Chapter Eighty-Three—Juliette’s Email Complication
Michael finally ended the call with Leon, promising that they’d meet in the morning and come up with a game plan. He expected to turn around and find Julie listening to the information. Or eager to ask questions. What he found was Julie staring at her phone, and she’d clearly stopped listening to his conversation. “Julie? You’ll need to contact your agent and have him talk to your publisher about this.” “Why? Stephen’s already contacted me. He’s trying to get the contracts cleared up so I can get my copyrights back from my publisher.” “What? Michael was clueless about the situation, but sensed something was wrong. They informed her publisher they’d dealt with the matter and the articles held no validity. “They want no connection to someone the media has destroyed the reputation of, and they’re claiming I broke a morality clause. Michael, I don’t remember if there’s a morality clause in any of my contracts with them.” “Wel
Last Updated : 2023-08-26The Billionaire's Alternate Plan Chapter Eighty-Four—Making Juliette See Reason
“You’re really looking after this? Of course, you’re looking after this. It affects your reputation and image as much as mine. Your friend’s reputations and images are involved as well.” “Don’t let Leon hear you say that, Julie. He sees himself as your friend and never cannot tell me when I’m screwing up with you.” “Really? I guess you didn’t listen to him very much about that.” “After we married, we talked little because of the mess Aria pulled. Just because I told him he could take Aria, that didn’t mean I liked it. He thought he was saving everyone by taking her away. Leon wasn’t expecting Aria to latch on to him like she did. He confessed his interest in her, which sparked chaos in his life. When I realized what he went through about six months later, I was glad it was him and not me.” “Why did you allow her to return? If you were glad to have avoided that situation, why bring her back and string her along? “Two reaso
Last Updated : 2023-08-26
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The Billionaire's Alternate Plan Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Six–Epilogue Two: How I Met Your Mother (Five Years Later)
Julie removed her earbuds as she sat at her desk. She’d just listened to the ready-to-print version of her fifteenth novel. It was survivable, at least. She felt Stephen and her publisher would love it. She could hear everyone out at the pool having fun. Michael entertained the early bird parents and kids as they slowly arrived for Johnathan’s birthday pool party. Their children’s parties seemed to be an event where people wanted invitations and their presence recognized by their peers. Julie couldn’t believe the changes that had happened over the last few years. Johnathan’s birth shone in her brain as the mark when Julie knew Michael was hers. He’d not settled, but he’d found a different direction for his life that made him happier. Michael had help from the parents, nannies, and several staff members minding the chaos of children everywhere. They’d long ago child proofed the house, and currently Michael hid his genuine prized items in a series of locked rooms away from t
The Billionaire's Alternate Plan Chapter One Hundred-Thirty-Five–Epilogue One: Aria: A New Life
Aria’s honeymoon was so much more than she had expected, and she used her social media accounts to poke the bear that was her father. She posted teasing photos of the place where she got married. Sold a few of her wedding photos to a couple of magazines with an interview hinting at why her father really wasn’t at her wedding and how disappointed she was at his betrayal of family ties. At the end of the interview, Aria made it good and clear that she’d broken off all ties with her father and she wasn’t interested in ever reconciling at any time in the future. He and his staff burned those bridges. As she went around Europe and saw the unique way of life there, some of it initially felt confusing and complicated. But she investigated other differences in how they treated people. It was something she’d not given much thought about until her life spiralled out of control and she finally understood why she was the way she’d become. It wasn’t pretty, and she had the photos and v
The Billionaire's Alternate Plan Chapter One Hundred-Thirty-Four–Julie Gives Birth (Six-Months Later)
“Edward has everything in the car, Julie. We’re ready to head for the hospital. Now, you’re sure you’re okay with going through with a c-section? I mean, if you change your mind, you can still back out.” Michael could see how large Julie grew and wondered how his son hadn’t torn his way out. Michael worried Julie could no longer stand and walk safely. Life kept changing and he couldn’t believe he’d once thought this part of his life could go on without him. Over the last eight and a half months, he’d learned so much about a woman’s body he had to wonder if they were the same species. Women were so complicated, and Julie had some unique complications. A common comorbidity Julie had called EDS would complicate even the epidural she would need. Her joints had more range, and it caused her shoulders, back, and hips to be uneven. It could complicate administering the epidural. If she couldn’t get it, then she’d have to give birth naturally without it. This terrified Julie, alon
The Billionaire's Alternate Plan Chapter One Hundred-Thirty-Three–Aria Gets Married
“I’m glad you’re doing this, Julie. Honestly, I don’t know what her father is thinking. But if he thinks she could embarrass him normally, to not come to his daughter’s wedding. Campaigning or not, he’s going to look bad. He recognized her as his daughter when it was convenient for him. Now he pulls this because it’s not convenient. His poll numbers will go down and he’ll lose the public confidence. If it gets out and it will that we showed up after that entire mess that started all of this. He’s sunk.” “You don’t think this is a mistake? She will not pull something fast. Like become caught in someone else’s bed?” “Julie, Aria’s been through a lot in the last six months. Leon didn’t just send her to rehab to just get off the medication. He sent her to a location that deals with complex abuse cases. She doesn’t realize it, but they did. He had to wait for over two years to get her a place there. It’s why I took her in like I did. I admit there were other stupid
The Billionaire's Alternate Plan Chapter One Hundred-Thirty-Two–Julie and Michael Arrive
The small plane landed at the secluded island airport, and Julie sighed in relief. There was something about travelling she disliked. To come all this way for a wedding for someone she didn’t like seemed crazy. But Leon was Michael’s best friend and Julie would muddle through it for five days there. What she still couldn’t get over was Aria’s request to come and bury the hatchet somewhere other than Julie’s back. She’d apologized. The hadron collider must have tested something again, and the world altered in reaction to the outcome of that test. That’s how Julie thought of why things changed in ways she didn’t see coming. Not that she believed the conspiracies; it was just a humorous way to look at her problem because Julie didn’t believe she’d ever find out the true reason these things changed. But jumping off into another timeline felt as sane as any other reason, and perhaps sometimes more logical. They stepped off the plane with the other guests, and a protracted line
The Billionaire's Alternate Plan Chapter One Hundred-Thirty-One-Julie Meets Michael’s Father
Michael had said that he didn’t want to celebrate something that didn’t change. He didn’t want to admit he’d changed, and that changed their relationship. His explanation for this was he’d not been aware that he could be any other way until he’d seen how she lived in perpetual difference. Her effort to give him an easier existence while ignoring her own struggles had him questioning and rejecting much of his father’s teachings. It’d crossed over into his work life to and several people mentioned it over the months. So much so it became part of the water cooler gossip. Julie only found out about this after they’d gone back to the gym, and she heard the gossip at the juice bar. Michael hadn’t gone with her today as he now often did. Julie still struggled to become used to his constant presence around her. But she knew why this time around she struggled with it. Julie had to fight putting up a mask for the world and in that moment with Michael at the gym, she couldn’t figure
The Billionaire's Alternate Plan Chapter One Hundred-Thirty–Aria Learns More About Who Leon Is
Christiana brought Aria upstairs, showed her the room, and helped her to unpack her things. Aria had to wait an hour before Leon came upstairs to her. But once Christiana ended with that, she gave Aria an odd warning before she left Aria to her own devices. “My dear, you’re not as sweet as you pretend to be, but that’s not a mark against you with me. The problem you will have been with the men of this family. They run this family with an iron fist, and we are not part of the conversation or the family business. So, if you think you will control anything or anyone within this family, then you’ll be walking a thin line between surviving or disappearing within an unfortunate accident. Please be careful what you say and do. This is something we say to all women who enter this family. Think carefully and long. If you stay, learn to keep your head down and your mouth shut. You can do and say anything outside of the family but don’t allow the bad to reflect on the family.”
The Billionaire's Alternate Plan Chapter One Hundred-Twenty-Nine - The Birthing Plan
“Julie love, you fell asleep. We’re here now. Let’s go in for our appointment.” Julie woke up to Michael’s voice. During their trip to her doctor’s appointment, she’d fallen asleep. Today she would talk to the doctor about her pregnancy and what to expect, including her birthing plan. Something she’d been avoiding because it absolutely terrified her. With pain, she had an odd relationship with it. There was no normal response to it for her. It either didn’t register or she was in a world of hurt that no one understood. Medications didn’t seem to work correctly either when dealing with pain. She’d believed that she was imagining this issue for most of her life, but Julie learned not too long ago that wasn’t the case. Her body resisted many pain medications, and she did in fact register pain differently to other people. “Great, let’s get this over with because there’re things I need to get done today.” She’d been grumpy for most of the day. Between
The Billionaire's Alternate Plan Chapter One Hundred-Twenty-Eight–Decision Day
Julie sat there in the conference room with her lawyer. They’d been hashing out exactly how things would go from here on out. Michael had given her a file of documents which gave her terms he was willing to work with and he’d changed all the wording. Her lawyer had to review it all over the last few days and he had admitted to Julie that the generosity in the new offer was off the charts compared to the first time they sat down to get through this. But to stay was more beneficial for both parties. However, he warned her not to do anything if it wasn’t in her heart, or best for her safety. She should do what she believed was best for her and her child. “I will, I promise you that. But I will have to say that things have changed greatly in the last six months. I’m still unsure what changed things. If it was a single event or multiple events, but he’s not the same man. No, before you say it’s temporary, understand he’s happier now with the changes he’s made. It’s
