One Night Stand with a Billionaire Read online

  How cute were they? I almost forgot about my previous statement about them.

  “We promise we will be good,” Ayden replied, standing proudly in front of Amy before she huffed and pushed him aside.

  “Yes, we will. We will play hide and seek,” she said, making me stare at them in awe.

  “Not fair. I say it first!” he protested, standing in front of her as she only pushed him again.

  “I princess. I stay in front!” she replied, and they started yelling at each other. I only sighed.

  I haven’t even left!

  “Alfred!” I called, and he suddenly came behind me, making me jump in surprise as he chuckled. I swear he’s Batman’s Alfred. The owner of this house is definitely a Batman!

  “Just call me Al. It sounds like I’m some old granddad with my full name, and trust me, I am far, far from that,” he said before trying to show me the flexing muscles on his arm he didn’t have. “You know I’m still able to do the action and feel like I’m in my teens.” He wiggled his brow with a stupid grin plastered on his face. I smiled along with him.

  Alexander, Mel’s brother’s dog, came rushing toward us and started chasing his tail. I relied on his good behavior he had shown me through the entire day to not make problems.

  I knelt down and petted him. He barked in satisfaction before lying down and rolling on his back so that I could scratch his belly.

  “Take care of them while I’m out, Alex. And don’t cause any trouble, deal?” I gave him my hand, and he high-fived me with his paw, standing back on all fours before barking again. “Good doggy.”

  With a confident smile on my face, I headed on my way to the nearest market, which was around twenty minutes away from the mansion by feet.

  Surprisingly, that night was warm, and as I was leaving the mansion, I looked up to see the stars still visible from here and gasped. They weren’t like this at my home. I smiled. I liked stars; they used to be my inspiration when drawing. I could literally put them anywhere in my painting or drawing, and they would still be able to blend in like they were supposed to be there. But I stopped with it completely. My thoughts would always drift to that night when I decided to give up my paintbrush.

  Ah, how I loved to paint back in the days when my parents were still alive. After they died and my aunts grabbed all of the money before leaving us alone, I managed to sell more than half of my paintings to an old antique shop that used to be down the road. That and other things I managed to sell before my aunts got hold of them were enough to take care of the house I lived in with Ayden at the moment. Soon, though, I would be using the man’s money to buy another, bigger and better home for my little family.

  Giving one last glance to the mansion before I was about to pass through the gates, I gulped. Nothing bad was going to happen while I was away, right? They were with Alfred and Alex; it was not like they could cause havoc in the mansion, I hoped. Chuckling for worrying too much just because it was some rich billionaire’s house that could behead me if a scratch appeared on the wall, I hit my cheeks twice before finally leaving the mansion grounds.

  Everything was going to be alright. Just peachy!

  Boy was I wrong.

  ***

  My jaw almost fell to the ground as I stood amazed by the sight before me—or should I say dumbfounded.

  Bottles of juice were scattered all around the room. Feathers of pillows were everywhere in the air. Pictures that cost more than my house were all destroyed. The carpet I could pay my college taxes with was completely soaked in milk. Alfred had grass and mud stains all over him with a barking Alexander next to his leg, who wasn’t in any better state and had managed to leave paw traces everywhere, wall included. The ceiling was entirely splashed in juice, and one window was broken. I stood with only one question on my mind:

  “How the hell did all this happen?”

  Oh my god, I was dead. Whoever the mansion’s owner was, he was most definitely going to behead me. While I was worried about a possible scratch on the wall, they destroyed the whole living room! Holding my head, I thought that it was about time I started digging my own grave. My life was over, and I had never even fallen in love. I never went to college nor to Disneyland.

  I had never even met a mermaid for cupcake’s sake!

  I looked around to be met with three faces smiling sheepishly at me as Alex barked. The two troublemakers were in the same state like the rest: mud, milk, spaghetti and grass covering them. What in the holy name of the Earth have they been doing?

  “What…Wha…happened?” I asked again, but before Alfred could answer, I heard the front door open which led me to, without any second thoughts, hide in the wardrobe nearby the hall on the other side from the living room. I silently pleaded the others not to tell him my location.

  “What the hell!” I heard footsteps and a man’s voice I was positive that I heard before. I immediately shook those thoughts away; knowing or not knowing him, I was going to end up being dead anyway since he saw the mess.

  “Sir, welcome back. As you may see, we had a great fun tonight,” Alfred said, and I heard a loud thud, making me conclude that the guy fell on the ground, presumably on his knees, from the shock of seeing his home trashed the way it was. I mean, I did the same, and it wasn’t even my house.

  “What the hell happened?” he asked, sounding like he was on the verge of cracking, and Al responded.

  “Ah this, we were just replaying Ayden’s heroic act when he had beaten a monster in the hospital, and we might have gotten a bit too much into the act.” He was happy. His boss could fire him, and he sounded happy? Damn it, Ayden. I told you to tell the story to Amy, not to replay it! Once I get a hold on him…

  “And the girl that was supposed to take care of them? Where was she when you were destroying my house?” he asked again, his voice laced with anger, and I gulped. That was it. I was done for good.

  I was dead.

  “Oh, she just came from the market. She left an hour ago. I assure you it was our entire fault. She wasn’t here when it all happened.” Woohoo, thanks, Al. You saved me.

  “And where is she now?” No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Don’t, please don’t tell him.

  “She’s hiding somewhere in the mansion, sir,” he replied, and I almost face-palmed myself if I weren’t trying to not give away my whereabouts. Oh my God, this couldn’t get any worse, could it?

  “Why?”

  “I believe because of you, sir.”

  Really, Alfred, really?

  “Where is she hiding?” No, no, no, no, no, please don’t tell, Al.

  “I’m afraid I can’t tell you, sir. She’s begged me not to say where she is.” What? I didn’t beg. I pleaded. That’s not the same.

  “It’s already late for them to head back home now. Take those two to bed. I will go looking for her. Put the kid in the room where Amy is going to sleep. I’ve bought the two-story bed the last week she wanted.”

  To that, Alfred replied with simple “Yes, sir.”

  Before they left, he spoke again.

  “Wait, kids, do you want to sleep?” he asked, and they both protested since it was just nine. Of course, they didn’t want to sleep, “Alright then, go play more, but after that, I’m running a bath. No excuses.” They groaned and complained as they left. I bit my lips to prevent myself from smiling. I heard their fast footsteps as they went who knows where, and then there was nothing but the guy’s footsteps.

  I was screwed. Officially done for.

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he said in a sing-song voice, and I gulped. No way in hell. I was so not coming out of here! I swear I knew that voice.

  “Fuck, why this vase of all…Mother’s going to kill me and throw me to dogs.” I heard him complain, making me feel sorry for the guy, and soon, the sounds of footsteps became softer. That left me guessing that he had left the room, and I started scheming my escape plan. I could wait until I was sure that he was no longer on this floor level, then grab Ayden and run f
or my life far from here.

  The question was: how was I going to know when he went up?

  Since I began to feel tired, I yawned, but before I could stop myself, my head hit the wall, and I let out a loud ouch, which made me immediately put my hands across my mouth. For the next few seconds, there was nothing, and I almost sighed in relief until I heard footsteps getting louder and closer.

  It was the end.

  I’m sorry, mermaids and Disneyland I will never meet. And all those sweets I’ll never try! And all those college plans I’ll never get to finish.

  Suddenly, the doors of the wardrobe opened, and I came in face to smirking face with someone I knew all too well. The face I could, even after all this time, never forget.

  Blake.

  Well, I was definitely done for good after all.

  The signs were all there, but I ignored them, believing that everything was going to go in my favor. No, I didn’t believe but hoped so because I didn’t know how to deal with the problem once I faced it. Because I didn’t want to face it.

  Because I was simply afraid and couldn’t admit it to myself.

  Chapter 9

  I Must Be Damned

  Thinking about a person after some time doesn’t always mean that we miss them. That’s sometimes called “moving on.”

  I knew it. I knew whom that voice belonged to. I just didn’t want to believe it. All this time I hoped that I would be away from him and enjoy my life until the very end. So why did we have to meet again? Moreover, why was he, out of all people, Melissa’s brother?

  Looking into his eyes, I saw mischief, so I instantly backed up against the wall, not knowing what he could to do. The memories I had of him weren’t the prettiest, and I hadn’t even done anything back then to invoke them. Now, after all the mess that happened, I doubted that he was going to become any kinder.

  For a second, I thought I saw regret in his eyes, but I must’ve been wrong. He hadn’t shown a bit of remorse that night at all, so what could have possibly been changed now?

  “Will you step out of my wardrobe, or at least, what is left out of it?” he asked, and I weakly nodded, waiting for him to step aside. He moved to the right to allow me to get out, and I hesitantly made a move to get away while watching him carefully, waiting for any sudden movement.

  He rubbed his hands and bit his lip nervously as I waited. I had to get Ayden out of here as soon as possible. I couldn’t stay here with him, not after everything that had happened between us.

  “So, are you hungry?” he asked, and I mumbled a weak no, not looking at his eyes.

  I always thought that I would be able to stand my ground the next time I saw him, if I ever did, but now I see that truth was far from that, at that moment at least. My statement was suddenly betrayed by the loud growl that came from my tummy, and Blake only shook his head with a sigh.

  “Someone disagrees with you.” I blushed but kept my head low, not wanting him to see me like that. I still needed to get away from…

  “Come.” He motioned for me to follow him, and I looked at him in confusion. “Please, don’t fight me on this one. I can’t leave a starving person before my eyes,” he said with a pleading look in his eyes. Something inside made me nod and follow after him without even noticing it.

  So much for trying to stand my ground, I see.

  I couldn’t understand why I acted like that. I couldn’t understand what was making me do it when I most certainly shouldn’t have listened to him. I should’ve yelled, fought, done anything! I should have taken Ayden the moment I saw this guy and got away from this house, not follow him like a lost child. What if he takes me again?

  No, I couldn’t. I had to get away.

  “I won’t bite. You can trust me,” he suddenly said as I bit my lip. Yeah, right, keep telling me that as much as you want, I won’t trust you with an ounce of my being.

  You never gave me a reason to.

  But I could not voice out my thoughts.

  “I’m telling the truth. I’m…” He wanted to say something but shut himself silent. What? What was he? “Nevermind. Let’s go,” he said instead before turning around and heading to the kitchen.

  Just then, a barking Alexander stormed in our way before jumping on Blake who started playing with him.

  “Look at you, boy. I have to bathe you now,” he exclaimed as Alex barked in protest before running to hide behind my legs, making me chuckle and get down. For that moment, I forgot about Blake being in the same room with me.

  “It’s okay, doggy. You have to. You’re all dirty.” I chuckled as he whined before crawling toward me, and I shook my head. Nope, that won’t work on me.

  “Alex, come,” Blake suddenly said, making me snap out of that daze and realize that he was there. He patted him before leading him toward the room where Alfred was with the kids.

  “Kids, wanna bathe this guy?” he asked, and they both jumped and hugged him with squeals. He gave the dog to them before coming back to me and pointing to the kitchen as I followed. I couldn’t take Ayden when he sounded so happy with Amy after all he’s been through.

  Once we came to the kitchen, the sight in front of me amazed me once again. It was way different during the night compared to the look it had during the day. It’s like it was…alive.

  “I love cooking, so I’ve gotten myself a nice place to experiment,” he proudly stated as I nodded, not knowing what else to do. It became awkward after that, so he cleared his throat, breaking the silence between the two of us.

  “Sit,” he said, pulling out a chair, and I sat down, not having another choice. I once again cursed at my lack of backbone. I wasn’t supposed to be afraid or to obey him.

  “What would you like to eat?” he asked, and I only shrugged. He started humming a melody as he prepared the ingredients for my meal. I warily looked at him, wondering if he really knew how to cook? I wouldn’t take him for that kind of person after all. I mean, he? The same guy from that night…

  Forget.

  Don’t recall that night, I repeated that mantra. Forget it. It became my defense mechanism to just stop thinking whenever my mind would drift out to that night. I’d completely shut down and stopped thinking for a while until I was finally able to breathe with ease.

  After a few minutes of silence, he finally spoke as he stopped chopping the food.

  “Why didn’t you tell me what the money was for?”

  Silence.

  I was shocked at his question. What did he mean by that? He knew?

  “You said that you overheard our conversation. You should have heard that part,” I replied, and I heard him loudly inhale the air.

  “No, I didn’t hear that part.” He gripped the counter, making me gulp. If he comes my way, I run, I then realized.

  “How did you find out then?” I asked, and he shook his head.

  “Imagine my surprise when my sister arrived at the party and suddenly told me that there is a friend of hers who is going to babysit her daughter in my house. Then she proceeded to tell me that your brother was ill, and some friend of yours lent you money, not to forget the fact that you miraculously had the same name as the girl I paid for one night stand. Putting two and two together wasn’t that hard after that much information.”

  Melissa.

  That explained everything. I kept looking at him who only chuckled before shaking his head, his back still turned toward me and his hands still gripping the kitchen counter.

  “You could’ve at least mentioned what you needed it instead of keeping your mouth shut?” he asked, and my eyes widened. He was so not going there and blaming everything on me! After all he did? It’s none of his business what I decided to do with that money.

  “You never asked. You’re equally the one to blame for what happened,” I said through gritted teeth. The nerve of this guy! He took another sharp breath before putting the knife down and suddenly caught me by my shoulders, catching me off guard as my eyes widened.

  “And the baby? When did
you plan to tell me about the baby, Kaley? Once it was born, started school, or gotten married? Or did you plan to go and get rid of it?” His grip was far from what I’d call gentle, but the reason why I was afraid was not because of it. It was either because he knew that I was pregnant or because I never noticed him walking to my side. With my eyes beginning to tear up, I spoke before I completely broke down.

  “Please stop. You’re hurting me.”

  When he heard me mumbling that, he seemed to snap out of it and took a step or two away from me. Another silence followed after. During the little time I spent with him, we would always go back to those silent moments. I didn’t like them; they were unpleasant. Almost as if they were bringing forth trouble.

  “Sorry,” he said, ashamed of his action, and he returned to chopping food. He hadn’t said a word after that, so I decided to be the one to speak.

  “I…I didn’t have any way to contact you.” I don’t know why I was explaining myself to him. “And I haven’t picked abortion as an option…” He made me feel so guilty in front of him. It wasn’t meant to be like this. “Besides, I wasn’t sure of your reaction…You know, if I were to tell you about it.”

  “You think I would force you to kill my own child?” he said in disbelief, as he couldn’t grasp it. My eyes widened. Was he fucking kidding me? “Damn it, I am not that heartless! An asshole, I am, but a murderer like…” He suddenly paused, choosing his words. Like what? “I’d never make you do it.” His voice was so low, but something inside of me snapped, making me continue with where I left out.

  “Well, considering how you were the last time I was with you, I can’t really take you for a saint…” I left that sentence hang in the air as he lowered his head in shame. I almost followed after him.

  Messenger of doom—that’s what those silent pauses were.

  He couldn’t have changed overnight. If all people could change that way, then things like war, famine, and misunderstandings would no longer exist in this world. But who was I kidding? We were humans. We never change.