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The Billionaire's Secret Baby chapter 36
“Anything,” I said.“If we’re going to do this, then it can’t get…complicated. I couldn’t do that to Macy.”“I understand.”“We need to be friends from now on. Nothing more.”“Okay,” I said, and felt a hopeless, rising tide of misery. I was getting what I wanted from Lola. But I also understood that, in some sense, I was losing her.I was gaining a wife, but losing my lover.“Okay,” she said. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to go pick up Macy.”“I’ll call for the car,” I said.And that was how I got engaged to Lola Ryder.***“There’s a lot to do,” said Lola. We were in the car, by the bus terminal. “If you want to make this convincing, that is.”“I know,” I said. “To be honest, I’m wondering how I’ll even pull it off.”“Well, don’t shut me out this time,” said Lola to me, and I felt a curious resentment. How much more could she have shut me out than she already had?I nodded. I hugged her, gently, the way you might hug a friend. And she got out of the car, and I saw her walk to the b
The Billionaire's Secret Baby chapter 37
Lola“Dearly beloved,”said the priest. “We are gathered here today…”For a crock of lies, I thought to myself.The last three weeks had been a grueling escapade of planning. Hundreds and hundreds of decisions, which had to be made, decisions that people spent years making.The first and most important decision of all. Who should we tell? Zeke was the only person who knew. He looked at me the next day, with a guilty expression.“Hey,” he said, while I glared at him, a wide smile bursting onto my lips. “It’s a good excuse for a party?”“Where are we going to have it?” I said.“Why, here of course.”“What? AtThe Blue Orchid? What good’s a wedding party if you can’t drink?”“Private event,” said Zeke, with a wink. “And I hear they’ve got an excellent cellar here.”When I saw the wine menu, I was flabbergasted. I ran up to the office to talk to Alex.“You’ve ordered fifty bottles of champagne!”“Well, it is my wedding,” said Alex. “Besides, we’ll need them for the fountain!”“The fountain?
The Billionaire's Secret Baby chapter 38
“Did you really need to chat forthatlong?” said Alex. “We’ve been in there for like, two hours.”“It’s just like you said,” I replied, innocently shrugging. “We want it to look right, right?”I flashed my eyes at him and, not for the first time that week, enjoyed watching Alex seethe. He might be the one with the cash, but I was the one who understood the secret operation we’d embarked upon. In the end, I was the one who knew how to make things convincing.So I led Alex around town, visiting caterers, party planners, the priest, and all of it was just a big lie: a lie designed to present an impression to the world of two people who’d decided to join their hearts and minds for the rest of their lives. But the truth was that Alex and I were increasingly growing apart. It hurt me to have to bring an end to the affair we’d been carrying on. But I knew that things would be too complicated if I didn’t stop now. If my name ended up on the marriage license next to a man I was sleeping with, I
The Billionaire's Secret Baby chapter 39
“Where are you going on honeymoon?” one of Alex’s business colleagues asked me.“Oh, we haven’t decided yet,” I said. “After all, we’re so busy with everything at the moment.”“You could always go to the farm if you like. I’d be happy to sell the thing, actually. You and your husband ought to go and look at it.”I mentioned this odd exchange to Alex later, and he gave me the first smile I’d seen from him in weeks.“That farm…” he said, “…is on Martha’s Vineyard. He’s been trying to sell the thing to me for months, but I keep telling him 100 million dollars is too much money.”“Ahundred—” I said in disbelief, but Alex had already been swept away by more admirers and guests. I sighed. Was this how it was supposed to be on your wedding day? I’d barely seen him. Not that I was thinking about him, of course. Only I kept longing for the way he’d had his hand around my back in the photos, the graceful way he stood by me. It felt nice to pretend, I guess.As the afternoon wore on, I had anoth
The Billionaire's Secret Baby chapter 40
AlexI hindsight,itwasprobably a good thing that the police arrested me. If I hadn’t been then I would probably have dived into the burning building, to try and put out the fire.Luckily, everyone was safe. The only people there had been Gabriel and another cook, who were preparing to serve the wedding banquet, and a couple of servers. They’d gotten out in time.I found myself in another interrogation room in the local precinct, only this time, my wrists really were cuffed to the table. Opposite me, two detectives were sitting. I had at least ten years on both of them, and they were trying to play hardball with me. Only it wasn’t working one bit. They’d been at it since the afternoon and now it must be getting dark outside.“You know where your fusebox is, Alex?”“Of course I do,” I replied. I could smell the smoke in my clothes. “It’s in an alcove on the ground floor.”“Right,” said the detective. “That’s where the fire started. I spoke to the Marshall half an hour ago. He told me th
The Billionaire's Secret Baby chapter 41
“Do you have somewhere you can go?”“My lake house. It’s upstate, on the Finger Lakes.”“Go there. Lie low for two, maybe three days. Don’t talk to anyone, don’t go anywhere. I’ll come and get you when I can.”“This is crazy,” I said. “I have work. My restaurant just burned to the ground. I can’t run away now.”“You’ve made enough money this year. I’m trying to make sure you’re still alive tomorrow.”“Okay,” I said, frustratedly.“And, Alex?”“Yes?”“I’m sure you’re aware that you’ve technically not committed marriage fraud. But you’re going to take Mrs. Lowe with you. As the legal heir to your fortune, she’s at just as much risk as you are.”**************Lola....“No,”I said.Alex looked at me. Or rather, looked down on me. Standing next to me on the doorstep of my building, he looked enormous.“You have to,” he said. “I need to keep you safe.”“I’m not goinganywhere,” I told him.“Lola, the cops are on the verge of ending this whole thing. But you’re not safe here.”“And what abou
The Billionaire's Secret Baby chapter 42
But I hated him so much right now, I couldn’t bear to respond. I didn’t want to get drawn into an argument. Because I knew that if I lifted the lid on my emotions, I’d find a lot more than hate there. And I didn’t want to know how far down it went, the pit of fear, desire and want that was making me feel empty inside.After a while, we turned off onto a dusty road. It curved up a hill through the trees, past a small lake whose surface was rippling in the moonlight. I couldn’t see a light for miles around us. The world would have been pitch black if it weren’t for the car’s headlights. But eventually, we pulled into a wide driveway under a dark gabled roof.“This is it,” said Alex.I got out sulkily, and followed Alex to the front door with my bag. He opened the door.I was looking into a wide, spacious living room through the corridor at the front. I could see a stone fireplace in the gloom, with long sofas and chairs scattered around. There were lampshades. On the walls, I could see
The Billionaire's Secret Baby chapter 43
AlexIn the morning,I awoke in the soft sheets of the four-poster bed. I turned and watched the smooth curve of Lola’s shoulder down to her slim waist. I listened to her soft breathing, and for the first time in weeks, I realized I’d woken up calm and relaxed. Sleep had been impossible for the past few weeks, a restless rolling schedule of nightmares and anxiety. But here, in the lake-house, I felt peaceful, and for a while, I listened to Lola’s breathing while the sun rose and the room turned from blue to burnished orange.I got up and got dressed in a rough, cable-knit sweater and a pair of ripped jeans I found in the chest of drawers. I went downstairs and got into the car.The town of Gemini was ten minutes’ drive from the house, and though O’Rourke had told me not to see anyone or do anything, I already knew I wasn’t going to listen to his advice. It was impossible. How could I hole up in the lake-house for days, without doing something, without moving? I might be feeling lighter
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The Billionaire's Secret Baby chapter 55
I held the door for her to get into the car. My dad picked up Makayla so she could give Deira one last hug while I walked around to get into the driver's side. We waved at everyone, and I drove away. As we wove through the grounds of the estate, I kept looking over, stealing glances at Deira as the dappled sunlight flitted over her, turning her hair gold and making her skin glow. I could feel heat pooling in my groin and a desperate need coursing through my veins. I thought again at how long it would be until we got to the hotel that night, and decided it was simply too long.Instead of turning toward the main road, I looped us around toward the back of the estate. I remembered a particularly secluded spot that was perfect for what I had in mind. A few minutes later, I pulled the car to a stop."Is something wrong?" Deira asked, looking over at me curiously."Nothing's wrong," I replied with a wicked grin. "I just don't want to wait until we get to Hawaii." When she realized what I me
The Billionaire's Secret Baby chapter 54
CASSIUSThree Months LaterDeira made a beautiful bride.Watching her walk down the aisle toward me, with all our family and friends present, I knew that I had made the right choice in asking her to marry me. In fact, I knew that every choice I had made since that moment I decided to step into that steam room, despite it unexpectedly being occupied, had been the right choice.It was a simple ceremony, because once I'd proposed and she'd accepted, we both wanted things to move quickly. Neither of us saw a reason to wait. So, our whole wedding party was just three people. Scott was my one groomsman, and Dani was her one bridesmaid, and Makayla was the flower girl. In fact, Makayla was something of a flower empress, having demanded to be put in charge of all the floral decisions for the wedding. When that happened, Deira just laughed and looked at me."She gets this from you, you know," she had said, smirking.For my part, I thought she had made great decisions. The flowers looked beauti
The Billionaire's Secret Baby chapter 53
A few days later,I was standing outside a hospital room, fidgeting with my dress. Cassius took my hand, pulling it away from the floral garment."You look great," he whispered. "Don't worry." We were about to go into his mother's hospital room, where his parents were waiting to meet Makayla and I for the first time. Makayla was bopping excitedly beside me. She had been on cloud nine ever since Cassius and I had explained that she had grandparents, and they were waiting to meet her. I, on the other hand, was very nervous."Ready?" Cassius asked. I took a deep breath, and nodded.It turned out that I didn't have anything to be nervous about. Cassius's father immediately stood up and gave me a warm hug, and his mother insisted I come sit by her so she could hold my hand and talk to me. They both were very kind to me and, more importantly, to Makayla. Just as she'd been with Cassius, Makayla seemed instantly at ease with them. It didn't take long before she was chatting away to them, talk
The Billionaire's Secret Baby chapter 52
DEIRALeave it to Cassius to make a dramatic entrance, I reflected as I stared at him from afar. Whether it was barging into my steam room or crashing into my car or running through the airport yelling my name, he never did anything subtly. I looked at him, standing there breathing heavily. Had he run through the airport looking for me?I glanced back at Dani, and she raised an eyebrow. She didn't have to say anything more for me to understand the question she was asking. That raised eyebrow said, well, what are you going to do? It might as well have said, well, Deira, what do you want? I hadn't expected to have to answer that question at the airport, right before we went through security, but apparently, that's what was happening. Now I had two choices.I could turn my back on Cassius, take Makayla's hand, and walk through the security gate toward a totally new life, or I could go over to Cassius and ask him why he was here. I could give him one last chance to be part of my life. It
The Billionaire's Secret Baby chapter 51
CASSIUSThough my mother was doing well, I still spent the next week or so in the hospital. Now that I'd reconciled with my parents, I wanted them to know that I was there for them. But also, I knew that once I returned to my real life, I would need to talk to Deira, and I wasn't ready. Not because I wasn't sure what to say—in fact, the opposite. I knew that I wanted Makayla and Deira to be part of my life now, and forever. But we'd had such a rocky path, I was a little scared of how Deira would respond to me.So, I put it off for days, until my mom finally prodded me to leave the hospital."You've been here forever," she said. "Go home, get a shower, and get a good night's sleep. And then, once you're refreshed, maybe talk to your girlfriend about us meeting our granddaughter." She winked at me."She's not my girlfriend, Mom," I protested, feeling like a teenager."But you like her, right?" my mother asked, and all I could do was grin in response. "See," she continued. "You have to g
The Billionaire's Secret Baby chapter 50
The next morning, Dani took Makayla to school on her way to work, letting me sleep in. I laid around her apartment all morning in my pajamas, then went for a quick run before getting myself some lunch. I was very consciously not thinking about work, or Cassius, or anything else. I had half-expected him to call me at some point, but he didn't, and I couldn't help but be relieved. I didn't think I could talk to him until I decided what to do about Mr. White.In the afternoon, I picked up Makayla from school and took her to the park to play. That night, the three of us made pasta and played board games. It was nice to have some time to just have fun, without thinking about all of the stress of the past few months. The next day, after dropping off Makayla at school, I found myself thinking about my blog. I hadn't thought about it in months. I went to the home page and started looking over some of my past entries. Before long, I found myself writing down ideas for new posts. It had been ye
The Billionaire's Secret Baby chapter 49
DEIRA I had hurried inside after getting out of Cassius's car, but I didn't want to go back to Dani's apartment when I was so upset. I waited until I saw Cassius drive away, and then I went back out to take a walk around the neighborhood. I had meant to calm down, but I found myself reliving our conversation and soon I was crying. Cassius not believing me about Mr. White hurt even more than I had let on. I'd let out all my anger on him, but beneath the anger was a deep pain and a sense of betrayal. Why did he think I would make something like that up? What did I have to gain from that? And did our relationship mean so little to him that the word of an employee he barely knew was better than my word? That last part stung more than I wanted to admit. For all the ups and downs of our relationship, it had never felt meaningless to me, but it seemed for Cassius this always came second to his job. He believed Mr. White over me, just like he had taken a business call instead of watching
The Billionaire's Secret Baby chapter 48
After I got my dad calmed down, I went to find the doctor. I wanted a clear understanding of the accident and my mother's injuries. The doctor confirmed that the coma appeared to be because her body had been through a trauma, and that there was nothing worrying on the scans. All her other injuries were minor, especially considering the severity of the accident, but we wouldn't know her true status until she woke up. I made sure he understood that I was the point person now, and that my mom was to want for nothing. He nodded and reiterated that there was nothing to be done but wait. The waiting was excruciating.I found myself wanting to call Deira, but remembering the look on her face as she'd slammed the car door, I didn't think that was a good idea. I called Scott instead. He offered to come to the hospital, but I asked him to take care of the business instead. That way, I could concentrate on taking care of my parents."Of course, man. Whatever you need. Anything else I can do?" he
The Billionaire's Secret Baby chapter 47
The address wasn't far, and I made it there in twenty minutes. Deira was just taking Makayla inside when I pulled up. I waited in the car and a few minutes later she emerged. I was going to get out and meet her, but she walked right to the car and got into the passenger seat."I can't talk long," she said. "But I realized storming off like that earlier wasn't helpful, so I wanted to try to explain." She fidgeted, like she was nervous."I did talk to Mr. White," I said, wondering if what he said was true, and now she was nervous because she regretted her actions. At his name, she glanced over at me sharply."Did he admit what happened?" she asked, seeming surprised."He told me his side of things. Why don't you tell me yours?" At the phrasehis side of things, her face fell. She looked down at her hands and took a deep breath. Finally, she spoke."He accused me of sleeping with you to get my job," she said quietly."What?!" I hadn't been expecting that at all, and I was so shocked I fel
