Alpha Billionaire Series

GAVIN

I had everything ready the moment Madii pulled into my driveway. I could tell as she walked up the sidewalk to the front door that she had been crying. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her cheeks tear-streaked. She sniffled and clung to my chest as soon as she saw me.

“Hey now, sweet girl. I'm so sorry. It's okay.” I smoothed my hand down the back of her head and pulled the hair out of her eyes. For a moment we stood in the threshold, and I just comforted her, but eventually she pulled away, takin; my hand as I guided her into the house.

It had been a long day. Mom had stopped by to do some cleaning and found an earring Madii had lost. It was on the ground by the coffee table, likely from an escapade we'd had on the couch at one point or another. I was just thankful she hadn't found any undergarments, and that Madison was a classy woman to not leave those things lying around. I had a lot on my mind already, but that was all pushed to the side as soon as I saw how upset Madii was. “Want to talk about it?” I sat on the couch, pulling her onto my lap. She curled up like a child, though she was a little large for me to hold properly that way. But if it made her feel comfortable, I'd do anything.

“It's my mom and sister. They think I'm rushing.” She sniffed again. Her body shuddered a bit as she breathed, a sign she had cried really hard. I'd seen her cry that hard before, but never over anything to do with her mother and sister Typically, those sorts of cries were reserved for someone else—someone I didn’t want to hear about.

I'd done enough talking about that person today. I had been forced to visit his room again, speaking with his mother for the third time in two weeks. The mediation had been upped again, and they were seeing more results. Not exactl the best news for me.

“Are you listening?” Madii sat up, giving me a hurt expression.

“Yeah, sorry, babe. Long day. I just had a lot on my mind, but you're the most important thing in the world, and I'm sorry I got distracted.”

She cupped my cheek gently, her eyes brimming with tears. “I'm so sorry you had a rough day too. Do you need to talk?”

I chuckled at her and smiled. “No. I'm a big boy. I can handle things. I just want to comfort you now.”

She slid off my lap, sitting cross-legged beside me, facing me. I saw just how bad the emotion had weighed her dowr I'd completely missed the damp spots on her shirt, her tears soaked in. Her shoulders sagged, and her nose was puffy.

“Do you think I'm just rushing?” The sincerity in her eyes was humbling. If I had to be honest, yes, we were rushing. And maybe that was partly my fault because I knew there was a timeline in place that she wasn't aware of. But I had no reservations, no doubts. Madison was the woman I wanted.

“l want to spend the rest of my life with you, Madii. So, does it matter if we start tomorrow, next month, or ten years from now? We will be together no matter what.”

She nodded, but I got the feeling she wasn't telling me something. That something else had happened. I tried to cheer her up by changing the subject.

“Okay, well if you don’t want to talk about it more, we don’t have to. Let's plan our honeymoon. That should be a really happy event for us, something to cheer you up and take your mind off things.”

Without warning, Madison burst into tears, standing up and storming off to my bedroom. I sat there shell-shocked, watching her walk away, wondering what I'd said wrong. I stood and followed her, picking up the box of tissues from the corner of my coffee table. She'd shut herself in, so I knocked, uncertain if she wanted the company.

When I cracked the door, she lay on the bed curled up and sobbing.

“Go away,” she sobbed, pulling a pillow over her head.

“What happened, babe? Are you okay?” I tiptoed to the bed, setting the tissues down and sitting on the edge of the mattress.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“Nothing happened. I am just tired.” She scooted away from me, but I didn’t take it as an invitation to join her. It was clear she was hurting.

“Please talk to me.” I laid my hand on her hip, but she pushed it away.

“I just want to be alone.”

I'd never seen her this upset. She had never refused my comfort before, and it made me want to call her mother to see what had happened.

“I love you." I sat there, my heart aching for her. I wanted to take away her pain, but she was pushing me out. Nearly I5 minutes went by with her crying beneath the pillow and me hovering, wishing I could do something. And I decidec to honor her wish to be alone. I let myself out and shut the door, giving her privacy.

After about half an hour, I returned, only to find her sleeping. So as quietly as I could, I collected my gym shorts, bag and water jug, and headed out. I scribbled a note and hung it on the door, letting her know I was out for a pick-up game with the guys, then called Nick and Jiles. I needed reinforcements.

Once on the court, I felt more in control. We played hard, working up a sweat. Jiles told me a dozen times I was being a little aggressive, but I had to work off the emotion I was feeling somehow. When I plowed into Nick, knocking him down just to get the layup, Jiles held the ball and stared at me.

“What the fuck is up with you, man? You're out of control today.” Jiles offered a hand to Nick and helped him stand. I felt like an asshole. I asked my friends to meet up so I could blow off steam, and I was taking my anger out on them. had nothing to say. I sulked over to the bench where my bag and water bottle sat, and I picked it up, taking a long drink before throwing it violently across the court.

“Dude, what's eating you?” Nick picked up his water and sipped it. Jiles and he stared at me, and I raked my hands through my hair.

“Shit is falling apart.” I wanted to scream, punch something—someone.

“What shit?” Jiles gestured for the bench, so we all sat. I was horrible at this—talking about my feelings. I was a very private person, not the sort to go venting all the time.

“Shit with Madii. I mean, she came home today after wedding shopping with her mother and friends. She won't talk to me. She just lays there and cries.”

“Is she pregnant?” Jiles asked, laughing. He high-fived Nick and turned back to see my glare. His expression sobered as he said, “I mean, could she be pregnant? My wife got super emotional when she was.” I could tell he was trying to recover his composure, but I was irritated.

“No, she’s not pregnant. She's on the pill” I gritted my teeth, then relaxed my jaw and rubbed my temples. “She said something about her sister telling her she’s moving too fast. What if she backs out? What if this whole bullshit with her ex just blows up in my fucking face?”

“What bullshit?” Nick sipped his water again.

“They have some new treatments. He's been improving. What the f**k do I do if he wakes up and Madii is feeling second thoughts?”

I scream-growled and picked up Jiles's water bottle and threw it the same direction I'd thrown mine. No one had answers. No one had help. I had gotten myself into this situation and I had no clue how to get out of it. I couldn't stop the sweater from unraveling because Fate himself was pulling the string. No matter how many times or how hard I tried to control things, nothing was within my control. And that made me furious.

“Just talk to her” Nick spoke calmly as Jiles retrieved the water bottles.

Talk to her. That's what I had to do. But how? I was in no shape for talking.