“Oh Lucian, don’t be so dramatic,” Martine shrilled.
“Don’t waste my time,” Lucian growled into the phone. His face was turning bright red in anger. Nadiyya realized that he was probably talking to Martine. She wondered what poison that woman was spitting this time.
“Careful dear,” Martine replied.
“Martine…” Lucian said exasperated.
“Fine. Well if you must know without all the pleasantries… I have pictures of you and your negress together in… let’s just say in a compromising position together. If a certain lawyer or lawyers should happen to come across these photographs for whatever reason you could lose everything! Every last cent would belong to me! Of course, this will only happen if you divorce me…” Martine said taunting Lucian to react.
Lucian hung up. He was sick of letting Martine control his life. She could have his money. She could have everything she wanted as long as she loosened her grip on his life. Nadiyya looked at Lucian as he hung up for a sign that he’d calmed down. He ran his hands through his hair, pushing the thick strands out of his face.
“That was Martine,” Lucian said as he turned to Nadiyya.
“I know. You’re red like a beet, who else could it be,” Nadiyya chuckled.
“She had pictures… pictures of us together… This is bad. We’re fucked Nadiyya. We’re fucking fucked.” Lucian said defeated. He was tired of this fight, tired of these complications that never seemed to stop.
“What do you mean ‘pictures of us together’?” Nadiyya asked.
“Dirty pictures Nadiyya,” Lucian said as he started to pace the room anxiously.
“Shit,” Nadiyya buried her head in her hands. The idea that someone who hated her guts had photographs of her having sex terrified her. She didn’t want to gain a reputation as being that kind of girl especially since she was just starting to build her brand and make a name for herself. Her career and everything she’d worked for could be easily ruined by something like this.
“Shit is right. She’s found a way to fuck me good. I’ll lose everything… Well everything in my continental bank accounts… And that’s enough of a setback to ruin me,” Lucian said. Nadiyya couldn’t believe this. Because of their affair, Lucian might lose every cent of his money. He was right, this was really bad. Lucian believed that all hope was lost. There was nothing he could do to stop Martine. She was right. He’d violated the terms of their prenup and now he would pay the price.
A billionaire without his billions, without his life’s work would be completely lost. For a while they would probably be happy but both Nadiyya and Lucian knew they would be much happier wealthy. “Money doesn’t buy happiness” was only a lie told to make poor people feel better. Poverty wasn’t something that either of them wanted. Nadiyya couldn’t believe that Martine would come up with something like this on her own. For her to think of something so devious and to have executed it so perfectly she must have had some help.
Slade. The moment Nadiyya began to consider it she realized that Martine must have had Slade’s help. That was the only person who Martine knew in Vermont and the only person who had a cruel vendetta against both Nadiyya and Lucian. Plus, Slade was the only one who had even known they were together. Lucian had never mentioned it to Martine to avoid this very occurrence.
“I think Slade had something to do with this. He was the only person who knew about us, unless you told someone,”
“I didn’t tell anyone,”
“We need to do something about this,”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. I feel like there’s something more going on here. I don’t want to do this but I’m going to call Slade. I have an idea. Give me your phone, his number is blocked on mine. Record this call using my phone,”
Nadiyya picked up Lucian’s phone and called Slade. Within a few rings Slade answered a call from an unknown number. Was it Martine trying to a bit of roleplay?
“Hello Ma Cherie,” Slade said, expecting to hear the charming lilt of his lover on the other end of the line. He was sorely disappointed to hear another familiar but unwelcome voice.
Nadiyya put her phone on speaker once she heard Slade’s greeting. She motioned to Lucian for silence. Lucian started his recording.
“Slade, it’s Nadiyya, I’m in bad shape… I think you should come see me… Maybe you could stay the night?” Nadiyya said flirtily. She had come to know the dark side of Slade well enough to guess exactly how he would react.
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Slade had never felt more satisfied in his life. Nadiyya had finally realized what she was missing out by leaving him and now she was here to grovel. But Slade didn’t want her anymore. He’d found someone much more compatible with his desires. Slade still couldn’t wait to rub his new lover in Nadiyya’s face. What was she thinking calling him after all she’d done to hurt him?
“Nadiyya, I’ve found someone else,” Slade said. He just wished Nadiyya could see his smirk and know exactly her place in his life. She was nothing to him.
“You mean you’re sleeping with someone else?” Nadiyya said weakly. Lucian clapped a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. Damn, the woman was good.
“Yes, Nadiyya. What else would it mean?” Slade huffed.
“Well who the hell are you sleeping with?! Slade… I thought you wanted me,” Nadiyya said trembling her voice with intent.
“I’m sleeping with Martine Wynter. Not like it’s any of your business. She’s the woman of my dreams and we have made love innumerable times. Picture that. I just don’t see why I was caught up with a tramp like you. Honestly, don’t call me again. Why don’t you go hang out with your miserable boyfriend? We’ll see how much you like him in a few weeks I suppose. Don’t forget, you ended this,” Slade said, hanging up in a huff.
Lucian and Nadiyya smiled at each other. Their plan had worked and Nadiyya had found out the information she suspected was true and more than she could have hoped. If Slade confessed to sleeping with Martine, she had violated the terms of the prenup as well. That meant she was equally vulnerable to losing everything. Martine had nothing on Lucian after all.
“They need to pay Nadiyya. This time you can’t stop me,” Lucian said.
“Trust me, I have no interest in stopping you,” Nadiyya said. She smiled at her lover, appreciating their agreement on this point. They’d had enough.
All of a sudden, Nadiyya felt sick to her stomach. She got up and sprinted to the office bathroom. Nadiyya bent over the toilet and emptied the contents of her stomach. She retched into the toilet. Her eyes were filled with tears. Nadiyya leaned over the toilet for a few more minutes trying to figure out if she’d eaten something that she was allergic to.
Lucian tried to ignore the sound of Nadiyya’s retching. When she finally emerged from the bathroom, she looked like hell. “Is everything alright?” Lucian asked her. “I dunno, probably something I ate. I’ve never felt nauseous that way. It was pretty much uncontrollable,” Nadiyya said. Lucian looked at her and began to wonder if this was more than food poisoning.
“Nadiyya… Do you think you could be pregnant?” Lucian asked. He wasn’t unfamiliar with women’s pregnancy symptoms. Lucian was the eldest of five children and all of his mother’s pregnancies happened during his conscious memory. It was definite possibility here too. He and Nadiyya had neglected protection for most of their time together.
“I don’t know,” Nadiyya said. But deep down she knew something was up. Her period had been nearly a week late but she had attributed that to stress.
“Well, you should take a test,” Lucian replied. Nadiyya didn’t want to take a test. If she was pregnant, that would change everything. Hadn’t she and Lucian been through enough drama together? When would it end? Nadiyya knew that Lucian would find it suspicious if she refused to take a test so she reluctantly agreed to let him drive to the drugstore and get her one. He seemed so calm about the whole thing.
Lucian may have appeared calm
to Nadiyya but he was anything but calm. He understood what it would mean if he were to have a child with her. Within a matter of months, he would have to be responsible for two more lives. Lucian had never lived with that kind of responsibility. He’d never had so much as a family dog. Lucian wasn’t concerned with the financial cost of it all but he was concerned about the emotional cost. “What if I fuck it all up?” he thought.
He left the office and made his way to the closest drug store. As he checked out the pregnancy tests he was certain that the fat cashier with her coke bottle glasses had thrown him a dirty look. Lucian was starting to feel his world closing in on him. This was all happening so fast.
Nadiyya was sitting on her chair resting when Lucian returned with the pregnancy tests. “How do we even use these things?” Lucian asked as he handed them to her. “I was a virgin when you met me Lucian, I don’t really know. I’m sure there are instructions,” Nadiyya said, turning over the box to find the small print instructions. It seemed pretty simple. Run some urine over the tip for a few seconds, put the cap on and wait three minutes.
“I’ll be out in a sec,” Nadiyya said and she took the test into the bathroom with her. She inhaled anxiously as she tried to squat over the toilet seat without spraying her pee everywhere. Nadiyya maneuvered the stick under her stream and held it out a safe distance from her body as she capped it. She flipped the stick over so she wouldn’t be tempted to look at the results before the three minutes were up. Then Nadiyya washed her hands with more vigor than she’d washed them in a while.
She opened the bathroom door and set the pregnancy test on the table in front of Lucian. “Don’t worry, it’s capped,” Nadiyya said. She sat next to him and waited the longest three minutes of her life to find out whether or not she was really pregnant. After the time had passed, Lucian flipped over the stick in a quick motion. They both wanted to find out at once. They’d only known each other for a short time but it felt right for them to find out this news together.
Two pink lines appeared on the screen. Nadiyya was definitely pregnant. “Holy shit,” Lucian said. That seemed to be his stock response to finding out that he was about to be a father these days. Nadiyya didn’t know what to think or what to say. She was going to have a baby. But would Lucian stick around for it? He loved her, but he already had another child on the way. What would make him still want to take on Nadiyya and her child as another responsibility.
Lucian wasn’t sure what was going on in Nadiyya’s head. Was she happy about this? Upset? Scared? Lucian wanted to be there for her but he just didn’t know what he could possibly say that would actually be of any help. “Nadiyya, is this what you want?” Lucian asked. Nadiyya nodded. She couldn’t terminate the pregnancy even if she wanted to. She knew it would go against God in a way that she could never allow. But she still wasn’t certain that she was ready to be a mother.
“I just don’t know if I’m ready to be a mother. I still have so much to do with my business too,” Nadiyya said.
“Listen, You don’t have to do this alone Nadiyya. I’ll take care of you,” Lucian replied, holding her hands to comfort her.
“Lucian, you don’t have to stay with me because I’m pregnant. I wouldn’t want that,” Nadiyya urged.
“Nadiyya. I love you,” Lucian assured her.
“I know… Are you sure this doesn’t change things?” Nadiyya replied, looking to Lucian for security. He was the only person who could make her feel safe right now. Her entire world was about to change forever.
“I’ve never been more sure. I know things are moving fast between us but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Some people know each other for years before even going out and they still end up hating each other’s guts,” Lucian said. He kissed Nadiyya’s hand.
“You’re right,” Nadiyya replied, nodding as if she were still in the process of convincing herself.
Lucian stood up and walked over to Nadiyya, planting a kiss on her lips. She pulled him in closer and ran her hands through his hair as he kissed her. Lucian was a good guy. Nadiyya was glad she’d waited so long for her first time, for her first love. He was really “the one” that she’d been waiting for. He was perfect.
“We still have the issue of Martine and Slade.”
“Don’t you have some way of working that out,” Nadiyya said, returning his smile.
“I most certainly do.”
**********
Chapter 15
“I need a favor,” Lucian said into the phone. C.J. was used to performing these “favors” for Lucian that either bordered on criminal or were downright illegal. This favor, he knew he would have some fun with. It wasn’t like he was a sadist or anything. He’d just known Lucian for years. He was a good guy. If he were going after a guy this aggressively, the little punk must deserve it.
He spat out a wad of tobacco into a Diet Coke and prepared to fly out to Vermont to perform one last East Coast job for his boss. C.J. was eager for this one.
Slade was sleeping alone at home on the night C.J. landed in Vermont. He had five hours in the state before Lucian was flying him on a much needed vacation to the Maldives. C.J. arrived at the house where he’d beat Slade to a pulp not too long ago. “Stupid cocksucker doesn’t learn,” C.J. thought to himself. He shook his head in disdain as he easily picked the lock on Slade’s front door. The man was a pig, C.J. thought to himself.
He set down his jug of gasoline with spray hose attached to the nozzle and surveyed the room. It was covered in clothing, pieces of paper and more. C.J.’s hands felt itchy in his gloves but he knew he wouldn’t be able to take them off until he finished. He snuck down to Slade’s basement first and began to spray the room with gasoline. He used a black bandana for a mask but even that wasn’t enough to keep the smell out of his face. Arson jobs were some of the messiest ones.
After he coated every inch of Slade’s basement in gasoline, he began to work the ground floor. He felt like an artist working in silence, painting every inch of the room in his stinking paint. It would be all the more beautiful when the house crumbled into a pile of embers and coals just like he knew it would. C.J. then made his way upstairs. He was so surefooted the usually creaking stairs didn’t make a sound as he ascended them.
C.J. knew exactly which room Slade would be sleeping in. That was the one he would visit last. His jug of gasoline was nearly empty. C.J. coated the walls of all the rooms with gas and then opened the door to Slade’s room gently. The grown man looked like a baby as he lay there fast asleep. C.J. nearly chuckled at the sight. His peaceful night would be incredibly short lived.
“Wake up cocksucker!” C.J. roared. Slade woke with a start. He would recognize that accent anywhere. He’d had nightmare after nightmare about hearing that voice again and he’d prayed that he never would. His heart was beating fast. He sat up straight but he felt completely paralyzed, nailed to the bed.
“Hehe. Not so brave now that we can’t make threats?” C.J. asked. He smiled, revealing two golden canines. Slade couldn’t find it within himself to respond to the man. “Get out of bed cocksucker,” C.J. commanded. Slade was wearing just his boxers and didn’t like the idea of getting out of bed dressed so vulnerably. But he understood what C.J. was capable of and he didn’t want to be told twice. Shaking like a leaf, Slade got out of bed.
C.J. dragged Slade to the center of his bedroom and kicked him to his knees. Slade groaned as his knees made contact with the hardwood. He was still trembling.
“Do you know why I’m here?” C.J. asked. His tone was unpredictable and kept Slade confused, right where C.J. wanted him.
“I have some idea,” Slade replied.
“Good. Why haven’t you learned your lesson Slade? This is very inconvenient for Mr. Wynter,” C.J. taunted.
“I… I…” Slade began.
“Don’t answer, you cockroach, or I’ll snuff you out right now!” C.J. roared. When Slade averted his eyes, a smile cracked across his face.
He enjoyed playing mind gam
es with Slade. The man was so goddamn weak it was embarrassing. How could someone like that have even done anything to upset Mr. Wynter quite so much? C.J. didn’t care too much. He knew Lucian hated unnecessary questions like that.
“Here’s what’s going to happen Slade. I’m going to beat you to shit, toss you out your bedroom window and then this house is going to go up in flames. If you’re lucky, you’ll get up in time and be able to escape having survived a two story drop. If you’re very lucky, the impact will kill you. Mr. Wynter sends his regards,” C.J. said.
Slade started sobbing and pleading with him to stop. But what good did a man’s tears do? In a few hours, C.J. would be jetting across the globe and he would be practically untraceable. Not even Lucian knew his real name. Tears couldn’t sway C.J. at all.
He landed a kick right in Slade’s face. The man cried out in pain. C.J. continued to land strong kicks all over his body until he was weeping, bleeding and pleading for mercy all at once. “Shut up you little shit,” C.J. hissed before spitting on Slade’s body. He carried the man to his large bedroom window and then threw him on the ground next to it. The window wasn’t difficult to open; when C.J. looked out he saw a large green bush beneath it. Well, Slade might not die but he would certainly have an unpleasant night. C.J. hoisted Slade’s body onto the window sill.
The Devoted Winter: BWWM Billionaire Romance Novel (Her Winter Love Series Book 1) Page 10
