by Simply BWWM
Was she just his dirty secret? That was another reason why she moved out, as she feared that she was just a naughty detail that Ian needed to keep tucked away. The last thing she wanted to feel was that she and her baby were anything less than a blessing.
Ian had offered to pay for her to live in a different apartment, but she didn’t want to be alone. She had ordered a small crib that she could set up in her room, Giselle not really caring that she would be raising a baby in their apartment. It was a nice place and already paid for through the next year, so Sasha wouldn’t have to worry about not having enough money. Ian was always going to be able to financially support her, and Sasha knew that. It gave her the freedom to judge their relationship without putting any weight on the financial benefits.
She had also gotten an internship with a fashion magazine based out of New York. She got the freedom to work from home, though she wasn’t getting paid for the position. Ian was helping with the bills, so besides food, she didn’t have much of a cost of living that she needed to keep up with.
Everything seemed to be looking up, except for the one thing she had wanted all along. She just wanted a friend—someone who she could trust and rely on, more than just Giselle. She wanted someone who knew her deepest, darkest secrets and could figure out what she needed before she was able to do so herself—and she wanted to be that for them, too.
She wanted someone who she was she was excited to see every day. Ian had been that, but he had also brought her pain. She was put into a horrible situation, his mother unleashing wrath on the entire family and her catching some of that burn. Maybe they didn’t have enough time together, but the middle of Sasha’s pregnancy wasn’t the time to try and explore that.
After one long and stressful day, Sasha decided to get some ice cream, really needing a treat’. It was starting to look like Christmas at the stores already And she wondered how she would spend her holiday. She normally went to her grandmother’s, making dinner for her and her sister. Her sister was probably going to head to her partner’s hometown for the season, leaving Sasha without any real plans. It’d be her last Christmas without a baby and no reason to buy presents yet. She wondered if she would teach her child to believe in Santa or not. She had a long time before she had a talking child, but still, Sasha needed to start thinking of these things.
It was still hard for her to believe she was pregnant. Sometimes she would wake up and forget until she touched her stomach or looked in the mirror. She could always feel her baby there, of course, but it had become second nature, an adjustment to her body that would be strange to go back to after she had given birth. She had never really thought about how different it would be to let someone grow inside her body.
She had been excited about maternity wear, though, ever since she started really getting into fashion. She had a few cute outfits she loved to wear, but at the same time, she also hardly left the house. She didn’t feel like she was allowed to show off her baby bump, and she was certainly showing now. There was no denying that she was pregnant. That was one of the issues that she had with Ian. She hated keeping the thing that was bringing so much joy into her life a secret. Sasha did her best to not think about Ian constantly, but his life was inside of her, moving around every time she ate spicy food or had too much sugar.
She saw a tall red-haired boy in the store and figured it was the same teen that she had seen last time. Sasha walked right into the store and to the back cooler to grab some ice cream. She knew exactly where she needed to go to get her favorite flavor; it had become a night time routine. She walked right past the red-haired teen, only realizing when she did a double take that it wasn’t him at all. Instead, Ian O’Shea stood right in front of her in the chip aisle.
“Sasha,” Ian said, shocked at the sight of her. He hadn’t seen her look quite so pregnant. She glowed as her stomach popped out, tucked underneath a baggy t-shirt, scarf, and jean jacket she was wearing. She didn’t have any make up on, another rare sight for Ian. When they’d been together, Sasha had woken up early to put a full face on, wanting to make sure she looked her best when she saw him. “Wow, look at you.”
Ian had a huge smile across his face, but Sasha instantly felt dread. She touched her stomach, overwhelmed with emotion. She felt guilty for shutting Ian out, and seeing him made her confront the regrets and mistakes of the past couple of weeks.
Sasha ran out of the store, too terrified to look him in the face. He was so cute—so insanely handsome and kind. Warmth filled his earth green eyes. She just wanted to go back in time and start a regular relationship with him, not one that was all based on money and employment. She wanted to just be his girlfriend, not having to worry about what his parents had to say.
“Sasha, please don’t go!” Ian said, running out of the store. He was holding a bag of chips, causing one of the employees to chase him out.
“Sir you have to pay for those,” she said, as Ian ignored her, focused on Sasha instead.
“Ian, please don’t follow me,” Sasha said, starting to cry.
“Sasha, please, just listen to me,” he exclaimed. “Just a few minutes, please.”
Sasha finally stopped walking, now about a block from the store.
“Sir, you have to come back to the store while I call the police or pay for those now!” The woman said, angry that she had chased him all the way down the street. He didn’t even realize she was there until they had stopped walking.
“Here!” he shouted, handing her the bag of chips as well as some cash he had in his pocket. It was definitely more than the cost of the chips, so the cashier just looked at the cash and walked away, not saying anything else.
“Sasha, please, I don’t understand what I did that was so bad that you had to shut me out like this,” Ian said, desperately wanting answers. “I know it’s messy, and I know my family is awful, but I thought we had a good time.”
“We did. But it was just that—a good time. Temporary. It had to end sometime, right?” she asked.
“No Sasha, it didn’t. I miss you. I want you to come home,” he told her.
“Home? That’s not my home. I don’t have any of my stuff there and only moved there in the first place to trick your parents. That’s not building a home, Ian,” she yelled at him, starting to cry a bit.
“I know things aren’t perfect, but Sasha, I’m willing to work with you,” he told her.
“I just don’t see how things could work,” she said, looking down, tears slowly streaming down her face.
“Sasha, you can’t just run away at the first sign of things getting tough. It was a messed-up week, and I am so sorry. But why throw everything away? Why just toss us out on the street too?” he asked finally, not shouting, just desperate to hear an explanation for Sasha’s silent treatment.
“I just have so many doubts. I mean, the night of the charity event, do you even know how many times you called me a call girl? I felt cheap, dirty, and humiliated.”
“I know. I was drunk. I was stupid. I regret everything. It’s been very emotional in my family, but we’re not always like that, Sasha, I promise you. I know I scared you away, but I’m willing to do anything to get you back into my life. What did I do that made you throw it all away? What did I do that was so bad?”
“You made me love you. Okay? I got scared because I’m so incredibly in love with you, Ian, that I can’t even think straight. You’re constantly on my mind, the way you feel, smell, taste, sound—everything about you drives me crazy. And I can’t handle it. I’m not good at having all that emotion, okay? I don’t know what it means to be that happy, so of course, I freaked out and left,” Sasha explained, finally admitting the truth to herself.
She was just looking for reasons to distance herself from Ian, afraid of the very good emotions she was feeling. She didn’t want to risk losing them to something like another fight or Ian finding another girl. If she just ended it before they got in too deep, the fall wouldn’t hurt as hard.
“I love you too,
Sasha. More than I love anything in this world. I have been alone for so long looking for someone like you. All that loneliness seems worth it now if it means that I was just waiting for you,” he told her, his voice cracking a bit. She was full on crying at that point, her pregnancy hormones making everything she felt so much deeper.
“Sasha, my life hasn’t been the same without you,” he explained. “I’ll do anything to get you back—anything in this world. My dad won the election, meaning they’ll be busy in Columbus. Sasha, I will never let anyone talk to you again the way my mother and father did to you. I am willing to spend the rest of my life showing you that you are so much more than just a call girl to me. I know how we got here was messy and full of drama, but I would do it over and over again for eternity if it meant at the end I get you.”
He pulled out a small box, getting down on one knee despite the fact that the ground was wet from rain and they were in the middle of the sidewalk at some random cross street. He opened the black velvet box, the same ring he had purchased for her in the first place tucked neatly inside. Sasha was stunned. He had just picked out the ring quickly, doing what he needed to give her something that would convince everyone they were actually engaged.
While she wore it, Sasha actually started to fall in love with the shape and design of the ring, wishing she could actually keep it for herself. Sasha looked around, trying to focus because she felt like she had walked right into a dream. The kind of dream that’s so good, the one that usually happens right when you’re waking up, and the situation you’re in is so great that you keep going back to sleep, snoozing your alarm so you can live the dream over and over again. Sasha looked down at Ian, his smile and eyes reminding her that this was very real.
“I’ve been carrying this on me every day, hoping I would get the chance to see you and ask you to do this for real with me this time,” he explained. “Sasha, I want to marry you. I want to be with you all the time and don’t want to lose you. This is real. I want you to really be my wife, to love me and be loved by me, for as long as we live.”
“Ian, we hardly know each other,” she said, unable to hold back her tears. She started laughing, thinking about how crazy the situation was.
“That’s not true. I know you, Sasha. You’re strong-willed and scared of being hurt. I told you once I’m not going to hurt you. I want you, Sasha, only you and our baby,” he said.
“Our daughter,” she told him, not caring whether or not he wanted to know the sex of the baby.
“It’s a girl?” Ian asked, looking ecstatic at the thought of having a daughter. Sasha nodded her head.
“Ian, I’m so sorry for what I’ve put you through. I might not be easy to love, but you showing me that you want to try makes me willing to throw my entire heart in,” she told him.
Sasha started crying harder than she had her entire pregnancy and held out her hand for him to slide the ring on. She had only gone to the store for ice cream, but now, she was leaving with a giant engagement ring and a legitimate fiancé. Ian stood up and kissed Sasha, filling her body with tingles that left her numb and buzzing. He lifted her up gently, scared to squeeze too hard. They held each other and kissed on the street for what felt like forever. Sasha forgot she wasn’t floating through the sky when she opened her eyes and saw that several people had gathered around them, recognizing Ian and taking pictures of the couple.
“I’m sorry that we had to do it like this,” he told her, laughing as some of the people clapped.
“I’m not,” she smiled, waving to some of the people that had gathered. She grabbed his hand and led him back to her apartment since it was closer than his house.
“I don’t care if you want to elope to Vegas or have a wedding bigger than any wedding in history,” he told her. “I’ll take care of everything you need, Sasha. You won’t have to worry anymore.”
Sasha had never felt better. There had never been anyone in her life who told her that she didn’t have to worry, no one who had actually made her believe it. She felt so safe with Ian, but not the comfortable kind of safe that many people get from settling down. She still felt excited to get to know each other more and start the exciting journey they were about to embark on as parents. Still, knowing she had him by her side made her feel warm, safe, and whole.
She was willing to give all of herself to him and believed from the bottom of her heart that this was right. In the back of her mind, she’d known all along she wanted to end up with Ian. She couldn’t let herself fully get into that idea, however. She didn’t want to put her heart too far out there only to end up getting crushed in the end.
For Sasha, it was easier to have never loved at all than to have loved and lost. She was just scared of what could happen, but Ian made her feel good knowing that he would always be there. She also realized that though she didn’t need him, she wanted him, allowing her to really get a full read on her legitimate emotions for him.
It’s what she’d wanted all along, but she had been so scared that it wouldn’t be what he desired, that he would leave her broken-hearted and crying. Knowing that they were on the same page—two people in love—was the greatest feeling Sasha ever had. It was scary, and Sasha would likely feel sick about it all again later, but with Ian’s hand in hers, she knew that they would at least always have each other.
“Hey,” she said, stopping and turning toward Ian.
“What?” he asked, turning back to her.
“I love you,” she said simply, realizing she hadn’t said it in full on its own yet. Nothing about letting those words slip from her mouth scared her anymore.
“I love you too,” he told her, wrapping his arms around her and reaching down for a kiss. Just as their lips met, Sasha started to feel snowflakes hit her face. They both looked up at the fluffy white flakes falling delicately from the sky and then back at each other for another kiss.
They held each other in the cold, knowing that that was the only place either of them wanted to be.
THANKS FOR READING!
Thanks so much for reading “Billionaire From Cleveland”. It was a real pleasure to write a book for such a big series!
So I would really love if you could take a quick 30 seconds to leave an honest review on the store. It would really mean the world to me, link is below :)
YES, I WILL RATE YOU CJ!
Many thanks in advance.
Below is information about the other books in this series :)
**
This book is part of a bestselling series called “United States Of Billionaires”. Every book features a different billionaire in a different city and very soon we could be coming to your home town!
Below are all the books currently available, is a city you love in there? Download now and check it out. (Be warned, all these books are extra STEAMY!)
Book 1 – The Billionaire From San Diego
Book 2 – The Billionaire From Atlanta
Book 3 – The Billionaire From Dallas
Book 4 – The Billionaire From New York City
Book 5 – The Billionaire From San Francisco
Book 6 – The Billionaire From Chicago
Book 7 – The Billionaire From Miami
Book 8 – The Billionaire From Hawaii
Collect the whole series!
Peace, love and high heels!
Lena & The Simply BWWM Team
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