The Billionaire From Cleveland: A BWWM Billionaire Romance (United States Of Billionaires Book 14)

by Simply BWWM

  She scanned the crowd, seeing people who looked familiar but no one she knew for sure. She didn’t see any sign of Peter. Part of her was upset, not because she wanted to see him. She just wanted him to see how good she was doing. Sasha didn’t need Peter, and she just wanted to make sure he knew that. She at least wanted that part of herself back.

  Chapter13

  Despite the fact that Sasha just wanted to go home and go to sleep after the charity dinner, Ian’s parents had insisted on coming back to the house afterwards for one final drink. She had spent the night listening to his mother talk about his father and listening to his father try and smooth talk everyone in the ballroom. It was nice to dress up and get a tasty meal, but still, Sasha couldn’t help but feel just a little out of place with everyone at the charity dinner. She wasn’t a millionaire and didn’t have much of her own money, anyway.

  Ian had been introducing her as his fiancé all night, which was nice to hear. The negative side that came along with that, however, was that everyone kept asking for detailed wedding plans, where and when it was going to be, who the caterer was, and where she had gotten a dress. Ian handled most of the explaining, but Sasha couldn’t help but admit she didn’t know anything when it came to planning their wedding together. She was feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, and now she had to deal with his parents for a bit longer after the event.

  “What is this?” Samantha asked, pointing to the tiny onesie Giselle had given her on the coffee table. Sasha had completely forgotten to put it away, realizing her big mistake once Samantha pointed the baby outfit out. She still wasn’t in the safe zone to start telling people that she was pregnant, even if they were ready to tell Ian’s parents. She had to think of something quick.

  “Oh, that? That’s actually for a project I was working on. I was going to try and design some baby clothes,” Sasha said, coming up with an excuse as best as she could.

  “She’s pregnant, Mom,” Ian told her bluntly. He clearly didn’t want to pretend any more. He’d had his fair share of drinks at the charity dinner, standing up for himself and Sasha against his parents more and more with every drink. He was clearly drunk at this point, a state that Sasha hadn’t seen before. She couldn’t help but admit she was pretty jealous of his level of intoxication. It was tempting being around so many free beverages during a challenging time.

  “What do you mean?” Samuel asked, looking stunned.

  “Sasha?” Samantha asked, looking right at Sasha. They hadn’t even poured their nightcaps just yet and there was already a fight starting.

  “Yeah, a couple months along,” she told him.

  “Well this is a mess,” Samuel said.

  “So that’s why you got engaged so quickly,” Samantha said, realizing the reality of the situation all at once, the evidence of her enlightenment pretty clear by the mix of emotions working their way across her face.

  “You know what, while we’re at it, Mom, Sasha and I aren’t even engaged for real,” Ian revealed. “I just wanted to make you guys happy and keep you looking good, dad, but that still wasn’t enough was it. You just have to pick and pick and pick at every little thing!”

  “Who?” Samuel asked angrily.

  “Both of you!” Ian said, slurring just a bit, sipping more of a cocktail he already poured himself.

  “How did this happen? I don’t understand what’s going on. Samuel, are they pranking us?” Samantha asked.

  “Ian, this is so unlike you,” Samuel told his son, trying his best to make sense of the situation as well.

  “Is it, Dad? How would you even know? You know what’s really unlike me? Getting a call girl. That’s exactly what Sasha is,” Ian said, those words cutting Sasha deep. She wasn’t a call girl any more. Sure, that’s how they met, but Sasha didn’t want to hear Ian refer to her as that. She had hoped by this point he saw her as more than just a call girl.

  “Ian, what’s gotten into you?” Samuel asked.

  “Nothing, Dad, I’m almost forty-years-old, and you both still treat me like a teenager. I played basketball, I acted, and all of that still isn’t enough,” Ian explained. Sasha quickly realized this family had some pretty heavy unresolved issues that they needed to work through.

  Sasha liked seeing Ian so bold and blunt, not afraid to make anyone mad. At the same time, she was feeling pretty uncomfortable standing there watching all the drama unfold. She thought that she and her sister fought a lot, but this family was so much different.

  “Ian, we’ve always been so proud of you. But paying someone to sleep with you? That’s just disappointing sweetie,” Samantha told him. Sasha was feeling pretty terrible about herself. They were talking about her like she wasn’t standing there, carrying his child.

  “Yeah, that’s right, Mom, I’m engaged to a call girl,” Ian said. “I got my call girl pregnant!”

  She was starting to feel really uncomfortable with the way he kept repeating “call girl,” over and over again. She was carrying his child at this point. Was that still all he saw in her?

  “I knew there was something off here. I didn’t want to be the one to say it, but it’s clear that I was right,” Samantha said, giving Sasha a horribly dirty look.

  “Right about what?” Sasha asked, ready to pop off on this stuffy old lady.

  “You’re just after his money, aren’t you? What, did you poke a hole in the condom too?” Samantha said devilishly. She wasn’t afraid to let her horns show at this point.

  “Nope, he didn’t even want to use one on me actually, or maybe it was just because it was in the back of his car, and he just wasn’t prepared enough,” Sasha said, wanting to be graphic and vulgar to offend Samantha but figuring giving a few of the details of their baby’s conception would be enough to make her mad.

  “You know what, I’m not going to try and pretend like I don’t know that Ian is a wealthy man. I’m not after his money, though. I don’t need that. I thought I was after him, this family, and all the joy that it brought along. There’s clearly nothing here for me like that though,” Sasha said, walking up the stairs. She was over their conversation and just wanted to leave as fast as possible.

  “Oh Ian, what are we going to do about her?” Samantha asked.

  “Can she have it taken care of still? Or is it too late?” Samuel tried to ask quietly but not discreetly enough. Sasha started crying instantly thinking about how the baby’s only living grandparents didn’t want it to be born.

  “Sasha, wait. God you two, why do you have to be like this?” Ian said. Sasha hoped he didn’t chase her up the stairs, and he didn’t. Instead she heard more yelling, not really interested anymore in what they might be arguing about.

  She stripped her dress off, not caring what storm was brewing downstairs. Sasha regretted ever moving in with Ian. She certainly didn’t regret deciding to keep her baby—but as she had thought in the beginning, she wished she could have just done it all on her own. Ian brought a lot of benefits, but none of that was worth it if she didn’t feel totally loved by him. She felt like a piece of dirty meat that the family tossed around, no one wanting to actually have to deal with her.

  “You know what, Mom. I love her,” he told his parents. “I really do. But I might have just ruined everything.”

  “Son, she’s just a call girl, you can’t get mixed up in things like that. Of course, we can help take care of the grandchild, but it’s best if we have her sign something, you know, to keep this quiet?” Samuel suggested.

  “You want me to what, make her sign a non-disclosure or something? Make it so she can’t tell anyone that it’s my baby? Get real dad,” Ian said angrily. He was offended his father would even suggest such a thing.

  “Oh Ian, we just don’t want to see you get hurt,” his mother told him.

  “Too late,” Ian said, walking up the stairs, leaving his parents to let themselves out.

  Ian didn’t come in the bedroom at all that night, Sasha assuming he went to sleep in a different room. Part of her wanted to
see him again and hear that his parents were gone and that he was never going to speak to them again. The other parts of her wanted to never see his face again. Sasha was more confused now than she ever was.

  They were happy for the first week they were together, but things managed to turn sour so quickly. What was going to happen after a month of living together? A year? Would they ever be able to make it work with his family? Sasha didn’t want to put herself or her baby through any more horrible experiences with his family.

  She decided to pack her things and head back to Giselle’s house. She knew the door would always be open, and honestly, that seemed like the greatest place to be. She hadn’t been gone long, and in the week she’d been away, she realized she didn’t want to depend on anyone but herself.

  She looked at the nursery as she left. She hadn’t had time to fill it with anything, but it was probably best to just leave that fantasy behind with the room. They would never be the happy couple that Sasha had envisioned. How could they be? She came from nothing, a call girl who just wanted to be something more. He came from a wealthy political family that would get offended if you held your pinky too low while drinking tea.

  This life had been nice so far, but it was burning bright and Sasha could feel it ending fast. They had a great time, but what two people wouldn’t if they were in the same situation as Ian and Sasha? They didn’t have to do anything or face the real problems of everyday life. When they did have to confront an issue, it wasn’t pretty. Sasha saw her life flashing before her eyes, her mother-in-law judging what the baby wore, ate, and did. She wasn’t about to participate in that kind of life at all.

  She didn’t want to be with someone who had a family so hateful like that, always being critical and making everyone feel uncomfortable. She had to be realistic. Giselle had made some points earlier too that were showing their ugly faces now. She needed to stop playing house and do what was best for her child, which was to get out of that house. Her baby wasn’t even born yet and all it knew was tears.

  She took the engagement ring off and set it on the table by the front door, hoping this was enough of a sign for him that she was gone and not coming back. There wasn’t a reason to stay any more.

  The Final Chapter

  It had been four months since Sasha had seen Ian. It was past the election and beyond the time that they were supposed to have kept their relationship up. She hadn’t seen him in person since or even heard his voice on the phone. She would drive past his house every once in a while, when she had somewhere to go that his house was on the route. She missed him, but at the same time, she was relieved she didn’t have to deal with his family.

  It was one of the hardest things she’d ever done, but ultimately, she felt like it was what was best. She was certainly sad, but the stress that his life brought on was gone, and that’s what mattered to her the most. She didn’t want any anxiety or panic to jeopardize the health of her baby, so removing herself from a stress-inducing position seemed like the greatest option.

  Part of her thought the original decision might have been made a little bit more based on emotion than anything, something Sasha was good at doing. She should have slept on it, maybe considered her options again before walking out. Still, she was glad that she did, because she felt it was the right thing to do. She could have been too easily convinced to stay there, something that might not have been best for her mental health and the overall health of her unborn child.

  She had only communicated with Ian through text, although he had certainly tried to call her and come to her apartment to try and make amends. He showed up several times in the first week, begging to see Sasha and apologize. Her mind was made up, however. She didn’t want his green eyes and smooth skin to sway her either way.

  Sasha just didn’t want any part of that life any more. She enjoyed just having fun and relaxing with her friends. She wasn’t interested in schmoozing among the elite, pretending to be something she wasn’t, Ian might not have a problem with that, but his family certainly did, and the last thing she wanted to do was have to deal with their judgments. They would still be co-parenting, but Sasha hoped they could use a nanny to help mediate between the two.

  He agreed to still pay off her debt, since he was the one who blew their cover. She was completely debt-free, which was a relief. that left her a bit more hopeful about the future. He had the money and paying off her debt hardly put a dent in his finances. For that reason, she decided to not feel so bad about accepting the large gift.

  Giselle thought she was a complete idiot for dumping Ian. She could have bought anything she wanted for the rest of her life. She could have everything she needed from Ian, and she threw that all away. None of that mattered if he wasn’t the one for her, however.

  At first, she was afraid of getting her heart broken. That was still her fear, but more importantly than that, she needed to put herself in a situation that would most benefit the child. The baby would still be taken care of if she didn’t live with Ian, so she wasn’t as worried about leaving him. She wasn’t going to just be with Ian for the money. That wasn’t going to lead to a happy and fulfilled life.

  Sasha still struggled, wondering if she was in love with Ian or not. She felt an undeniable pull toward him, but she couldn’t pin down exactly what that was. Perhaps she saw comfort in him, wondering what the difference between love and infatuation was. Something just felt off, so she had to remove herself form the situation.

  There had been a few news stories about Ian O’Shea getting a mystery girl pregnant. No one had contacted her for an interview, so it didn’t seem like the biggest priority for certain publications. Ian didn’t ever deny or confirm the rumors, and with them never being spotted together, there wasn’t really a way to have evidence for these rumors.

  Sasha stayed pretty hidden in her apartment reading up on pregnancy, parenting, and anything else that would keep her mind busy. She was sketching again as well, attempting to try and start sewing a few pieces of her own. It was hard to stay busy, as the closest person she had to talk to was Giselle, and half the time she was at Frank’s.

  Ian had reached out to go to doctor’s appointments, but Sasha didn’t want to see him. She lied about the times, only sending ultrasound pictures so that they didn’t come face to face. She felt guilty that he wouldn’t be there to hear the heartbeat, but she didn’t want to get tricked into falling for him again during a moment of weakness at the doctor’s office. Seeing pictures of him was bad enough, so if they were to meet in person she knew she would get herself mixed up and back up in a relationship that wasn’t going to work.

  The two of them had never been very clear with their emotions, so the only basis Sasha really had of knowing that it wouldn’t work between them was the night of the big family fight. It still gave her an idea as to what it might have looked like if she stuck around. Finding a family for herself and her child was just as important as finding a lover. This baby would only have one set of grandparents, and Sasha didn’t have much more than that on her side of the family. She wanted her baby to be raised with people who loved her, not just someone who wanted to keep the entire process quiet.

  Sasha had also revealed the entire ordeal to her sister. Her sister was angry that she put herself in another risky scenario but was thrilled about becoming an aunt. Tiana only knew about Peter in the first place because she did some snooping, and she was even more upset to find out about Ian and his family. Still, their relationship had been getting better, despite their differing personalities. Sasha realized that Tiana was most of the family she had left, so it was important for her to maintain that relationship, especially now that there was another family member on the way.

  Now more than ever, Sasha just wanted her mom by her side. She wanted someone to tell her what to do and a personal experience of giving birth that they could share. Did she have morning sickness like Sasha? Did she have intense ice cream cravings throughout her pregnancies? Sasha wasn’t even sure if she breastfed or no
t and whether she suffered from postpartum depression. She would likely never know the truth of these situations, her mother taking those secrets to the grave.

  She found out that she was having a girl, something that filled her heart with love. Knowing that she was going to be the mother of a little girl soon only made her miss her mom more. She felt so lucky to be experiencing all of this. She was thrilled to see what the baby was going to look like. Whose eyes would she have? Whose hair? Would it be curly and red or straight and black? Would she have green eyes or brown eyes? Sasha knew that her features were more dominant, but there was still the chance her daughter could look nothing like her. Ian didn’t even know yet that it was a girl. She wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. She didn’t want to find out at first, but part of her wanted to be prepared if she was going to have a boy. She was just afraid that she wouldn’t feel as close to her son being a single mom as she would her daughter.

  Once the baby came, she figured co-parenting would be the best way to go. Everything that they had done in their relationship was wrong. You should never let yourself fall in love with a client, and that was Sasha’s first mistake. She had agreed to be fake being engaged, another situation that had set her up to fail. Sasha was lucky that she didn’t get her heart too smashed in the process, especially since she had been close to letting it slip that she loved him. She was relieved she hadn’t shown that vulnerability just yet.

  The way he had repeatedly called her a call girl was what hurt the most. She couldn’t help but wonder if he would always just see her like that the rest of her life. If it would be a flaw that he just had to get over, something that bugged him about her that he never shared with anyone. It didn’t make her any different as a person.