One Night Stand with a Billionaire

by Ayla D. Viktoreva

  “Better now?” he asked, and I weakly nodded, trying to shake my thoughts off the memories that seemed so vivid, focusing on hunger instead or anything. Once again, he lifted me up, and I curled in his arms, fearing him for some reason. Whenever I closed my eyes, that night was playing in my head, making me afraid to even blink. So I sobbed against his chest, trying my best not to burst into tears once again, but it was useless.

  You can run, but you cannot escape.

  “I’m sorry, please forgive me. I didn’t think…I swear I didn’t want to…I’m so sorry.” He kissed my head, but my eyes drifted to his hand. The same right arm that hit me back then, the same arm that pulled my hair, the same hand that was pinning me down while he had his way with me. I knew, I accepted it all, I agreed to it all, but I still couldn’t shake the damn feeling of what happened. I tried to ignore it for so long, but that was not enough to change the past.

  “I’m so sorry.” His voice was filled with pain, despair, and regret, and I immediately knew that he meant what he said, but I couldn’t help and flinch a bit whenever his arm touched me.

  I was not right. I was so wrong, so…broken. He didn’t deserve me. No one deserved to put up with me.

  “It…it’s okay.” I hiccupped, wiping my tears, but they kept falling, and he simply kept repeating his apologies all over again. I didn’t want to cry, but I couldn’t stop myself. Everything that made my life a mess from my parents’ death to Ayden to Blake hit me like a train, and tears just continued to assault me.

  He so didn’t deserve to deal with me.

  Always will I be just a burden.

  Around half an hour later, I finally managed to calm down. Blake brought me a glass of water, never asking, never yelling, just apologizing as I gladly took it to ease my sore throat. I glanced at him, and he looked like a mess with his shirt stained with my tears.

  My subconscious returned to bite me again, told me that I didn’t deserve him. It made me want to apologize, but he was faster.

  “I’m sorry.”

  I shook my head. He shouldn’t apologize. I should. I didn’t know.

  “You already said that, and I told you that it’s alright,” I mumbled, looking at my hands. I know that it was because of his instincts he reacted that way when we kissed. I was not really blaming him. I was just afraid of being hurt again. My fault. It was my fault. Everything was my fault. If I had told him right then what the money was for, he wouldn’t have ended up having a burden of the baby and me.

  “I know, but not for that.” He gulped. I looked up at him. Something told me that what would follow was only going to make me cry again, and I waited patiently, knowingly.

  This time, prepared.

  “I realized that I never apologized for what I’ve done, and trust me when I say that I regret hurting you and that I would have wanted us to start differently. And I also apologize for making you do all those…things for me. I’m so sorry,” he said, lowering his head in shame. I just nodded, and since he couldn’t see, I made my first move and hugged him.

  He didn’t deserve to put up with me, I repeated. With my mind too broken to encourage me, I could only blame myself.

  This time, I couldn’t say that it was alright because it wasn’t. It could never be. The past is never-ending. Always will it come back to bite us, to trample our future. I looked at us, at what we had become.

  I was too broken, and he was also damaged in his own way. The happy times we spent were just that: happy times. Not the reality nor the life we were going to have. He had his demons, and I had my fears. The two of us were just about to go through the hell, and we maybe we wouldn’t be able to get back alive.

  He was my savior, but my destroyer just as much.

  He was my protector, but I was supposed to be protected from him as well.

  And he was the one to fix me but was also the one who broke me down.

  I, however, did know one thing, and that was that I cared for him, that I didn’t want to lose him, which was precisely the reason why I didn’t want him to suffer with me by his side.

  I tried to run, but he didn’t want to let me go.

  And there was nothing I feared more than the fact that I was going to get burnt by my own feelings.

  For I knew. I knew that it was all just the beginning.

  Chapter 19

  Troublesome Ex…What?

  The future is everlasting, but the past is never-ending.

  We composed ourselves by the time Blake’s mother, Grace, came to call us for dinner. She also brought me some spare clothes to wear, as well as a bag for my dress, which I was really grateful for. To my surprise, Ayden had become best friends with George, or so others told me, as they even went to venture those labyrinths together.

  Almost everyone left the party except for the two of us and Ayden. Max and Melissa were already long gone, we were left with Blake’s family, Lucas excluded. He wasn’t around, and I was honestly glad for it. I was not sure how would my second meeting with him go. Blake, on the other hand, seemed overjoyed by the fact that man wasn’t with us and gladly ate with his family wearing a smile almost all the time. I, however, thought that he was creepy; anyone would if they saw Blake, who was usually frowning all the time, smiling for almost half an hour. That simply didn’t go well with me.

  My mind, on the other hand, did what it knew the best: forget everything or push it aside until it came back at me ten times worse. Shaking my head, I focused on the conversation going on in front of the mansion as Blake’s mother tried to make us stay.

  “Is it truly necessary to leave? You could’ve stayed for a few more days?” she spoke, and I understood that it was because she missed her son so much. Apparently, he rarely visited them and stayed the night. I studied his mother. She didn’t look older than thirty, yet I knew she was in her fifties. Her hair was black like Blake’s, but he didn’t get his looks from her but his father. I wondered if he didn’t like that. Why did he hate his father? Would he ever tell me?

  “I know, but Kaley’s been feeling rather ill in the last few days, so we have to go home and make sure she’s taking her medicines,” Blake replied, throwing her an apologetic look, and she sighed. I almost elbowed him for putting the blame on me.

  “Jesus, Blake. You can’t forget something so important. You should know better than anything how serious even an ordinary fly can get if unattended,” she scolded him. He frowned before shifting his gaze to me, avoiding his mother’s. My ears perked in interest. I could feel that her words had some deeper meaning, but I didn’t dare to ask.

  “I know, mother. I know, but she’s okay. We already went to check on her, and it’s nothing too serious, just some stomach ache,” he mumbled, and she gasped.

  “Blake!” He closed his eyes, knowing that he made a mistake. I regarded them with interest. Ayden became impatient from waiting and sad that George had to leave earlier to return Amy to Melissa who stayed to keep Ayden company. I was really happy that she cared for him and that Blake’s grandfather so easily accepted my little brother and me.

  “I know, I know, mother. Which reminds me, we might need your help. The wedding is going to be in one month, and we…might not be able to pull it out ourselves.” He gave her a boyish grin. Her lips parted in surprise, and I wasn’t sure if it was because he said that the wedding was going to take place in a month or because he asked for help. I didn’t mind. I had no idea how to plan a wedding myself, and his mother seemed like a real lady and like she knew everything I didn’t—planning a wedding included.

  “Isn’t that too soon?” she asked, and I could understand where that came from. Up until the previous day, they hadn’t even known about my relationship with Blake, and even I wasn’t sure of where we stood. And the first time they saw us together, they were suddenly faced with our plans for marriage—Blake’s actually—and were then asked to assist.

  Even I wondered if we’re going too fast and still couldn’t get a proper answer. If my child were about to go thro
ugh that, I would have been just as terrified and surprised. Guilt consumed me. What would she think if she found out that I was pregnant? I knew the first thought that would probably come up her mind is that I was using the baby as an excuse to make him marry me.

  “Not really. I’ve known her for quite some time now.” Yeah, right. “And have already decided that she’s the one I’ll ever want to spend the rest of my life with.” He shrugged and glanced at me with admiration but with a hint of sadness as well.

  I gulped. I knew that look I used to look Ayden with. He was still blaming himself for what happened. I was not Ayden. Ayden almost never saw me look like that, and when he did, he comforted me instead of blaming me. And I was not sure if I could handle to meet his look of pity whenever he took a glance at me. It would kill me all over again.

  Ignore.

  Listening to my inner self, I simply smiled at him as confusion passed through his eyes for an instant before it changed to relief. I could try to copy Ayden. He might’ve stopped if he came to believe that I didn’t blame him.

  Did I? I was not sure if I actually blamed him or not. My mind was a chaos of conflicts whenever I was with Blake. Run or stay, everlasting ebb and flow I could not catch up to. Not until I managed to realize what were my true feelings and what I needed to adapt.

  Shaking my head of those thoughts, I took his hand in mine, got on my tiptoes, then kissed his cheek, which made him blush a bit, stunned to say a word. My eyes widened.

  Holy fucking cake, he just blushed! The tug on my lips soon turned to a giggle I couldn’t help, which made him do his usual smacking my head.

  “Sorry, I just couldn’t resist. It was so cute,” I managed to blurt out, and not knowing what else to do, he stuck out his tongue at me, making his mother gasp. We both turned to her, his eyes looking already defeated for the scolding he was about to face.

  “How dare you, Blake! That’s so barbaric,” she said, and he glared at me. What did I do? It was his fault, not mine. “I did not teach you to act like that toward this poor girl. Immediately apologize to Kaley,” she ordered, and he obeyed with a scowl on his face.

  “Sorry for smacking your head…again.” He grinned, and I nodded in acceptance of his apology. A quiet sigh left my lips. Leave it to Blake not to apologize properly.

  “Now, if you don’t mind, we shall get going,” he said, hugging his mother as she awkwardly patted his back, eyes wide. I could already say that he never acted this way toward her. Poor Grace looked like she hadn’t hugged her son in years.

  “Have you also caught that fly?” she asked and frowned before she touched his forehead. He heartwarmingly laughed. He still wore the tuxedo from yesterday, making the sight of a full-grown businessman laughing without a care in the world seem even odder. I never knew when was the playful Blake going to pop out.

  “From love, maybe,” he replied and then started hugging me out of nowhere. Talk about crazy hormones. I was the one that should’ve been an emotional wreck, not like I wasn’t at the moment. I couldn’t even sort out my own feelings.

  “Kaley,” Grace called me, moving Blake aside who only lifted Ayden before going to the car. She hugged me. I didn’t know what else to do, so I allowed my arms to wrap around her as well. “Take care of my son.”

  Care. She truly cared for Blake. I appreciated this woman. I didn’t know much of Blake’s relationship with his father, but his mother was something he should really be glad for having by his side.

  “I will,” I replied in return, meaning it. As long as I was by his side, I’ll take care of him.

  “Thank you…It’s been a while since I saw him smiling like this. You have a good influence on him,” she confessed as I glanced at smiling Blake who was bidding his goodbyes to everyone with Ayden on his shoulders. That was not true. If someone was leaving a good influence on someone, then it’s definitely Blake, not me. He changed me. I did nothing.

  By the time I was about to enter the car, night had already fallen. Blake waited inside. Ayden tried his best to stay awake in the back seat but failed miserably as his eyes closed and opened all over again, and I smiled. Were we going to be like that with our own kid?

  He glared at me. I frowned, wanting to torture him. Wait, where have those thoughts came from?

  “It’s all your fault!” I said once I entered the car and put the safety belt on. Better safe than sorry. I bit my lip. My brain really had a way of toying with me.

  “What?”

  “You’re an evil creature. Now, I started thinking of all those evil and mean things like torturing you and…” I started rambling before he interrupted me, igniting the car.

  “How is that my fault?”

  “You’re taking out my evil alter ego!” I threw back. He raised his eyebrow questioningly for a second before he looked forward.

  “How? Wait, what?” he asked in confusion as the car took off, his eyes never leaving the road. He automatically locked the doors, and I frowned. His driving paranoia…

  “I was a good kid thinking about rainbows and same cra…cake, and now all I think about is how to kill you!” I exclaimed. He smiled and tried not to avert his eyes from the road. He seemed somewhat bothered, and it was then that I started assuming that something involving a car accident happened to him in the past.

  Same. We were so different yet so similar.

  “There’s nothing wrong with it. I think of killing you all the time when I’m with you…Except for this night, you were comfortable to sleep with. Want to join me tonight?” He shrugged it off while I only stared at him with my lips parted. Did he just…

  “You…You…Well, you’re not bad yourself. You’re the most cuddlable creature ever.” I grinned, and he raised his eyebrow.

  “Next time, I’m going to tickle you to death, and then we’ll see if I’m still the most cuddlable creature ever,” he said and frowned with mischief in his eyes. I jokingly gulped. Playful Blake knew to hit where it hurt.

  “But you won’t prove your point if you kill me,” I said. Not really sure that it was going to work, but Blake usually went along everything I said. He pretended to gasp in surprise.

  “I’ll think of something when the time comes.” He smiled as he glanced to his left before taking a turn. I only lay back in my seat with a comfortable sigh. How could he focus on driving and maintaining this crazy conversation of ours at the same time? I didn’t mind it, though. Conversation with him was pleasant and easygoing.

  “You’re mean,” I mumbled and yawned.

  “And you already said that,” I heard him say as I closed my eyes. I always thought that driving again was going to be scary, but with Blake and his ability to keep the conversation rolling, it was no longer like that. The first time I got closer to this car, I ran for miles. I was so concentrated on him that event with my parents never crossed my mind.

  “And evil…”

  “That too.” His voice was almost singing those comebacks to me. I didn’t open my eyes. Just enjoyed the moment.

  “And…”

  “Not a gentleman at all…Think of something better, sweetheart.” There’s it again: that word he put so much hatred in his voice back then when we met. Ignoring the sudden chills that crept up on me, I said the first thing that came up my mind.

  “Shut up.” He laughed. I copied.

  “Aye, aye, sir…I mean, madam.” Opening my eyes, I saw him wiggle his eyebrows, and I couldn’t help but honestly laugh at his childish behavior. Only Blake, only Blake…He did those things to me. He made me feel real. I couldn’t succumb to numbness anymore. I did things with joy because I actually wanted to do them.

  “We should visit the store. Alfred went to visit his daughter because of the wedding, so no one was home for last two days. We need to get some food. I’ll cook,” he said, and I nodded. Pulling out on the parking, he unlocked the doors before turning off the cars. “Which reminds me, we should start getting ready with preparations for the baby, room and all. I want us both to pick everyt
hing on our own,” he said and smiled as he turned back to Ayden who was snoring silently. I wasn’t able to be with him for Christmas as I planned, but I think that he had so much fun to compensate for it. I felt guilty for abandoning him like that. I needed to be more around him. It was what I wanted after all. Free time to spend with my little brother.

  “Sure, I’ll paint the room,” I said. I loved painting but stopped long ago, lacking the tools because I had no money. This was my chance to start all over again. As my attention was on those old happy days, I suddenly noticed Blake’s hand on my belly.

  “Hurry up, kiddo. We can’t wait to meet you,” he whispered, and I placed my hands on his, getting comfortable and closing my eyes. It was the first time I closed my eyes after what happened that I didn’t even bother to think about the past. Instead, I focused my mind on our little family, on our future.

  “What do you think it’s going to be? A boy or a girl?” I asked him as he leaned down to kiss my belly. There were no changes, maybe a slight bump so far, but nothing that would indicate that I was pregnant.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t care either. I’m going to love it whatever it ends up being, though having a boy wouldn’t be so bad. I’d have someone to take on my business and take care of you and the rest of them when I’m not at home. Having a girl might make her life troublesome. Business is harsh on women nowadays, too many judgemental eyes,” he mumbled, and I fought the urge to gasp. How far in the future did he set his sights on? He was ready to accept our child. He wasn’t going to mistreat it or something.

  He cared. He genuinely cared.

  “The rest of them?” I asked about his first statement. What did he mean by that?

  “Well, if you ask me, one is definitely not enough…But the choice is on you, it’s not like we’re…a normal couple,” he said and chuckled weakly. I nodded. Little by little, I came to warm up to this man. I always wanted a big family, now that I thought of it, but with Blake? Was I really ready for it to be with Blake? It’s just like he said, we were trying to start as friends.