Alpha Billionaire Series

WILLOW

The water temperature was perfect, the wine sweet. I sat relaxing after a particularly stressful day handling clients. With the tax deadline only days away, I was busy filing taxes and extensions all day long every day, I almost forgot to eat. In the off season, I worked eight to five, but from January to May I worked seven a.m. to eight p.m. Still even when I got home, Charles wasn't here, so I took advantage of his giant clawfoot tub.

This arranged marriage had its perks. Charles's place was nicer, had more space to move about, a better view of the city, and was more modern. But it was also pretty far from work. After struggling on the subway for a few weeks, I'd complained over dinner one night and Charles had arranged for one of Peter's drivers to take me to work and bring me home daily so if I was sitting for an hour commute at least it was in privacy and not on public transport. He said that was better for the public image anyway.

It had hit Mel hard though. Not only was she picking up slack for me every time I left work early to handle a dinner o rally, but our weekends used to be spent together—girl talk and movies. Now I only had time for the busy schedule o a politician's wife. And unlike tax season, which would technically end on April I5th, political season ran until election day in November.

I sipped the wine I carried in with me and pushed the bubbles around on the top of the hot water. If only he had a jacuzzi tub; that would help relax my tight muscles. As it was, I had taken a towel, folded it, and draped it over the rim of the tub to act as a pillow. So, I laid my head back and closed my eyes, wine glass in hand, arm stretched along the side rim.

When the door popped open, I shrieked, sitting up abruptly. The wine glass fell into the tub and stained the water, and I pulled a heap of bubbles over my body, but not before Charles got an eye full.

“Do you mind?” I snapped, angry for being interrupted. I didn't realize that I'd have to lock the door. What sort of barbarian didn't knock on a closed bathroom door when he lived with someone else?Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Charles ignored me, rifling through his medicine cabinet. A pill bottle fell out because of his clumsy movements, along with a thermometer. I looked down at the bath water, now slightly pink after the wine had diluted it, and fishe out the glass, setting it on the floor next to the bath. Charles continued doing whatever it was he was doing, ignoring me.

When he turned with a bandaged finger, blood still staining his palm, I understood the rush. Still, it was quite rude. “Sorry. Cut myself making dinner.”

“I didn’t realize you were home.” I sank back into the bath, ensuring the bubbles covered my body in the appropriate places, though my pillow-towel had fallen onto the floor.

“Got home a few minutes ago and started cooking. Didn't mean to barge in on you like that” He stood blushing like schoolboy who walked into the girl's locker room. I was still irritated with him after that dinner and running into Irene, but we hadn't even talked about it. That was weeks ago. We passed like ships in the night most days, barely a cordial conversation.

“Seems like you're good at that” I laid my head back on the hard ceramic rim and closed my eyes again, hoping he went away.

“What is that supposed to mean?” He had one hand on the doorknob, ready to back out, and the other fisted at his side. I looked up at him, as if he had no clue what I was talking about.

“I mean, you had no problem barging into my life after leaving me high and dry for seven years. You had no problem barging into my relationship with Irene, stealing her away from me, and you—"

“What the hell? We're still on this?” He shook his head, fuming already. “Can't I just live a little? What made you so fucking perfect that you get off throwing my mistakes in my face.”

I didn’t even care if I was naked. I wasn't going to sit here in this tub and listen to him play the victim. He ruined my heart, stole my ability to trust in love, then I find out he stole my best friend. “I always wondered why she never answered my call. Because she was busy fucking you, you bastard.”

I stood so fast I lost my balance. With one foot hovering over the rim of the tub I fell—hard. Water splashed everywhere making a giant mess on the floor, and I winced, landing on my elbow and hip. I smacked my head on the edge of the tub and took a mouthful of soapy wine-water. I whimpered, struggling to sit up, but the pain in my entire left side was excruciating.

Charles stood there for a moment scowling, but after a moment he grabbed a towel and came to my aid. “Goddammit, Willow.” He offered a hand which I took, but even that wasn’t enough to help me out of the slippery situation. I had to pull the plug and wait for the water to drain a bit. Charles sat by my side as I cried, holding my hand.

He didn’t say another word and I was in too much pain to think about why I was angry with him. And when the water was low enough that he could get his arm around my torso, he lifted me up and right out of the bath. My body pressed against his, drenching him and leaving an imprint of my silhouette against his chest.

“God, are you okay?” He wrapped the towel around me and steadied me as I wiped at my face. I nodded, but it was hard to walk, so he helped me to bed. I was so embarrassed. My own anger had made me careless. “Here, let me hel; you." He started to take the towel off of me, but I swatted his hands away.

I didn’t want him looking at me naked. The only problem was that my hip and shoulder hurt so bad that I couldnt bend or reach to dry my skin. So after struggling with him watching me for a few minutes, standing next to the bed not wanting to make the sheets wet, I let him have the towel. Not once did I notice a hint of **t in his eyes as he meticulously dried my curves. And when he helped me settle in bed, it was so chaste you'd have thought he was tucking his grandmother in.

He perched on the bed beside me and sighed. “Look, Willow, neither one of us was prepared for Peter to search for you and force us together like this. I don't think it's the worst thing that could have happened to us, but we clearly have unresolved issues. What happened in college is over, and all we have is today.”

He folded and unfolded his hands as he talked, looking down at his wedding band then up at my face. I felt the weight of his words like a ton of bricks in my gut. I wanted his hands to stop fidgeting.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you again after all this time. Irene meant nothing to me; she was my rebound because I missec you and honestly, I just used her.” He frowned and looked up at my face. “This is just a business arrangement, nothing more. I just don't want to argue constantly until November. Is that too much to ask? Can we just put the past in the past and realize that we aren't really married, and in seven or eight more months we will be able to cut a check and move on?”

I bit the inside of my cheek, willing myself not to cry, but I nodded curtly. I knew it was just a business arrangement, but being so close to him for so long... I thought maybe he'd start changing his mind. But he hadn't—not even a little He was really done with me.

Charles stood but before he reached the door, I called to him. “Can you bring me some pain killers? And would it be okay if I ate dinner in here?”

He looked back at me and nodded; his countenance fallen. I watched him walk out before the tears started again, this time because I had no idea what was happening. There was so much hurt in my heart over this man who couldn’ see that I still loved him with every fiber of my being. Why did I still love him? When would I get over that?