The Birthday Deadline (Billionaire Brides) (7 page)

The three of us sat in silence at the large wooden dining room table in Sebastian's home.

Though courses of eggs, bacon, and fruit sat before us, no one touched the delicious smelling food. Even my stomach was no disinterested in the fine meal.

I stared downwards, hands clasped in my lap. I could feel Cornelius's anger beating down on my shoulders like a harsh sun.

"Father, what is this about?" Sebastian asked, now fully clothed.

I had changed as well into something much more appropriate for his father's company, a simple blue sundress and sandals.

"Last night, after you two left. I went looking for Sherry." Mr. Fox began, trying to keep his voice under control though it shook with pure, unfiltered anger, "I found her with some catering boy, naked in the back room of the chapel."

I flinched, Sebastian clearing his throat. He reached over as though to take my hand, but retracted his touch.

"And what does this have to do with us, Father?" He asked quietly.

"It made me start thinking." Cornelius said rapidly, taking a deep, flustered breath, "What are Delilah's intentions, is she just out for your money as well?"

"She isn't Father, I can assure you-" Sebastian began, before his father held up a stern hand.

"I had Juliet look into her." The elder Fox said bitterly, casting a glare in my direction, "To find out what sort of life she led."

Juliet.

Of course this would all come down to the personal assistant in love with her boss. She wasn't even here right now, probably too ashamed from throwing me under the bus. I glanced up, tentatively taking in Sebastian's expression. It wouldn't have surprised me a bit if Sebastian was an expert poker player, his eyes was completely unreadable. His mouth was a taut, trained line. His eyes remained narrowed on Cornelius.

"And?" Sebastian said impatiently, "I can assure you that Delilah is perfectly trustworthy. I have spent enough time with her to know that."

We’d barely spent any time together. My lips parted as I struggled to come up with some dense of myself, yet my voice would not work. Try as I might, I could find no words to quell the situation.

"She's a failing business owner." Cornelius said as he flew his hands in the air, "and she just happens to be marrying the richest man in this city? I'm warning you now, boy, that she wants her hands deep in your pockets, and that's all."

I was so pathetic, sitting here in silence as the Fox billionaires talked about me as though I weren’t even in the room.

"I know about her business." The dark haired billionaire replied, "She came into ownership when she was only twenty years old, Father, that was part of what attracted me to her in the first place."

"You don't know anything." Cornelius hissed, turning his wrath unto me, "Tell him how much you want his money, you greedy little girl."

"Father!" Sebastian said, standing and slamming his hands on the table, "I will not have you speak to my wife in such a way."

"Sebastian, you're blind." Cornelius retaliated, "You're too much of a romantic, you're too focused on the deadline I gave you. If I had realized it would throw you to wolves in such a way, I would never have made it. My intentions were to help you, not force you to marry the first girl who tried to get in your bank account."

"She is my wife, and you will respect her." Sebastian said calmly, eyes narrowed on his father.

"I've annulled the marriage on your behalf." Cornelius said simply.

My eyes widened, shocked gaze turning to the elder Fox, "What?" I gasped. I wanted to ask how he had managed to do that, but the answer was crystal clear. Money, lots and lots of money. It could get you anything.

He chuckled bitterly, glaring at me, "Ah, now we have a reaction." He smirked, "You'll get nothing, little wench."

Sebastian's hands curled into fists, "How dare you do this?" He said.

"I'm changing the terms of our deal." Cornelius said, crossing his arms, "Because of this mess, you will still get to keep your ownership of the company after your thirtieth birthday." He said, "As long as this wretched woman is out of your life."

Mr. Fox’s finger flew towards me, pointing in my face accusingly. His haughty grin remained focused on his son.

Sebastian fell silent, gaze shifting between his father and his bride.

Cornelius smirked, standing up as he pulled me to my feet, "Get out of here." he hissed, "I've already called you a cab. Get out before I decide to press charges."

I stumbled backwards, turning to look at Sebastian. For a moment, our gazes met, before his green eyed stare fell down the ground in defeat.

Head reeling, I swallowed the huge, painful lump in my throat, looking up at Cornelius.

"Didn't you hear what I said, you stupid girl?" He growled, taking a step towards me.

I backed off, turning and darting for the door.

As I climbed into the cab, somehow managing to remember the address for my apartment, I stared out the window of the cab towards the fine manor.

Sebastian did not run out after me. There was no sign of my husband at all. He’d abandoned me. When it came down to the wire, the money was more important.

I sank against the back of the cab, gaze boring a hole in the roof.

What had just happened?

I'd woken up in a dream world only to be thrust out of it in the middle. I'd known all along that I wasn't good enough for Sebastian Fox, yet I'd somehow allowed myself to believe that I'd have a place in his world. My fingers brushed my lips, where his mouth had lingered only hours before.

Had he not felt what I had? Had his veins not blazed the same way mine did? Had his heart not pounded with desire and sheer emotion?

There had not been love. Love doesn't bloom in mere days of knowing each other, but there had been something growing within my heart, growing steadier by the minute. Something real and powerful and true. Yet, I'd been the only one to feel it. Sebastian wanted no part in that.

Strange that I was the one accused of only wanting money, when it turned out to be my husband. My ex-husband now, I suppose.

Anger swelled inside of me, violent as a raging storm.

I wanted to be angry at Juliet, I wanted to find her and scream at her for ruining everything. This wasn't her fault though. I wanted to be angry at Sebastian for not standing up for me, for not choosing me. But was he truly supposed to throw away everything he'd worked so hard at for a girl he barely knew?

So instead, I became angry at myself. Angry for allowing me to be hopeful in a future with Sebastian, angry for me at losing myself in his kiss, angry for being so happy and content with something so incredibly unreal.

Tears began prickling my eyes, though I wouldn't let any fall.

"We're here, miss." The cab driver said politely, eyeing my pained expression, “Have a good day."

Though I parted my lips, I could say nothing in response, again sentenced to mute suffering.

Somehow I lugged myself from the sticky seats of the yellow taxi as I stumbled up the stairs towards my apartment. I sank down on the floor outside of my door, face buried in my hands as the tears finally escaped my tightly squinted eyes.

I wanted to fade away, to disappear. Though I barely knew the billionaire, I'd cared for him more deeply than I’d ever cared for anyone.

I wondered if my heart would ever feel the same.

From within the apartment, I could hear shuffling and creaking steps. Trisha was home.

Sniffling, I climbed clumsily to my feet, rubbing my hands harshly over my face. I wasn’t in the mood to explain the situation that brought me back home so quickly, I just wanted to go to my room and collapse in the bed and sleep at least for a few hours - though I would have preferred the rest of my life.

Grabbing the doorknob, I twisted it, only to find that it didn't move. Strange, she never locked the door. I dug the keys from my small purse, but they no longer fit in the doorknob no longer how hard I tried to force them in.

Confused, I banged on the door, trying to peer through the peephole.

"Who is it?" A voice called, no doubt the shrill one of my roommate.

"Delilah." I said, glaring through the dusty peephole, "Let me in."

The locks clicked apart, door swinging open. Trisha stood in the doorway, eyeing me carefully.

"What are you doing back here?" She asked, frowning.

"Listen, I'm exhausted." I said, "I’m going to sleep now and then we can discuss all of this later on."

"They told me you weren’t coming back." Trisha said as she followed after me, "I started changing your room..."

As I walked into what was once my bedroom, I found that my bed had been replaced by a crib. Green paint had been applied to half the walls, along with small colorful pictures.

"Are you pregnant?" I gasped, turning to face her.

Trisha blushed, shaking her head, "No, but Carl's moving in since we've got the space now...your rent for the rest of the year was given to me in full. We were going to start trying and I thought this would make a good surprise."

"Wow." I murmured, turning in a circle as I took in the boxes of baby toys and gear, "I won't stay long." I promised as I left the room, collapsing on the couch. There wasn’t room for me here anymore, Trisha had already started planning her life without me taking up her space.

"It's okay." She shrugged, "Carl won't be here for a week or two. You can help me decorate the nursery. It’s hard by yourself."

"Thanks Trish." I sighed as she headed back into her bedroom, leaving me to wallow in the living room.

How was I going to find another place in just a week? How was I going to afford another place? I could sleep in my shop, I supposed, unless it had already been closed down. I hadn't been in two days, a lot could change in just a few days when you haven't fully paid the rent on a place in forever.

I groaned, curling up into a little ball and squeezing my eyes shut. Misery filled me, thoughts of losing my shop, losing my husband, losing my apartment played on a repeat loop of pain over and over and over.

Was there something I could have said to Cornelius that would have changed the outcome of that situation? Was there something that I could have done to make him see how much I cared for his son?

Probably not.

Sebastian didn't truly want me anyway, that was why I was here right now, laying on the rough fabric of my old roommate's couch. I was lucky she took pity on my tearstained face

I should go back to the flower shop and say goodbye, if I still had the chance. It was only the right thing to do. Maybe I would leave town completely, and find work somewhere far, far away from the Fox franchises.

Sluggishly, I lazed off the couch despite my wishes to remain, shaking my head as I tried not to think about the pain in my heart. I was being dramatic. A man wasn't the end of the world, though right now it felt like it.

I walked to the front door of the apartment, slinging the purse over my shoulder. I took a deep breath, trying to ready myself to face the world.

When I opened the door, I faced Juliet instead.

Just as I started slamming the door back shut, her hand shot out, stopping the door.

She didn't look like her usual perfectly poised self. Her hair was thrown into a ponytail, flip flops on her feet instead of pointed heels, and her usual tidy, tight frock was slightly mussed.

"I need to talk to you." Juliet said, pushing slightly at the door, "Please?"

I ran my fingers through my hair, closing my eyes for a second before stepping forward, shutting the door behind me so that Juliet and I stood alone together in the hallway. It wasn’t like her to ask politely.

"What is it?" I asked, adding in a resentful, "Make it snappy."

She sighed, leaning against the wall across from me, "I heard what happened. I rushed out here as soon as Sebastian told me."

"You didn't know before?" I asked doubtfully, "Cornelius said he asked you to look into me and report it back to him."

"I did." She shrugged, "But I swear to you, I just told him facts. He asked what you did for a living, and I told him. He asked about the history of your business, and I told him. He already thought he had the answers, no matter what I would have told him he would have jumped to the same conclusion. He seemed pleased when the conversation ended, so I thought he was happy with the answers...I didn't know..."

"It was humiliating." I responded, crossing my arms stiffly over my chest, "Completely humiliating and Sebastian just stood there and let me take it all."

"He was confused and surprised." Juliet urged, her hands grasped my shoulders. Was she really trying to convince me not to blame him?

"What's going on?" I said, pulling away from her, "Why are you even here?"

"I wanted to tell you my side of what happened." She said slowly, digging out a small card from her purse, "...and Sebastian wants you to call him. He needs to talk to you too."

"If he wanted to talk, he should have come here." I snapped, "He could have talked plenty when Cornelius was forcing me to leave."

"I understand that you're angry." Juliet responded with a placidness that set me on edge, "I would be angry too. I would hate myself, I would hate Sebastian, I would hate everyone."

She hesitated for a moment, shifting her feet, "But you're not me. You're Delilah, you're a better person than all of us."

I shook my head, looking away from her. My head spun wildly, trying to pin down exactly what was happening here. Was Juliet really trying to get me back together with Sebastian? After all that she had put me through, after how hard she tried to make me uncertain of my future with him? Was this really happening or had I dozed off on the couch and dreamt up this crazy scenario.

"Take your time." Juliet offered as she stepped back towards the stairwell, "Just remember what I said, okay?"

I nodded, leaning against the door as I watched Juliet turn away, her bright red hair disappearing down the shadows of the stairs.

What the hell just happened?

Lowering myself down onto the top step, I listened as the personal assistant's flip flops slapped all the way down, door to the apartment complex swinging shut.

I stared down at the card, reading the numbers over and over again. I could call this and speak to Sebastian. What good would that do now? He'd made it clear that he didn't want me, he'd made it clear that this was just about his company and his money.

With a resolute glare, I gripped the card between my fingers, ripping it into little pieces in the palm of my hand. I lifted it to my lips, blowing out a deep gust of air and watching the shards of paper flutter away.

Though I had more answers now, I was more confused than ever.