Chapter Twenty-Three
Cade
December 24, Sunday Evening
I felt guilty as I got back home. One, because I’d left Alissa alone when I really should’ve stayed with her when I wanted to stay with her. Two, because she was getting dangerously close to discovering the truth about me. She wanted to come and see my home, but I couldn’t let her yet. The second she stepped through the doors and into this place, she would know. There was no way anyone who didn’t have access to lots of money could afford a home like this.
I didn’t like to think how she’d react. I couldn’t imagine it being anything but negative. She would look at me through different eyes and hate me for lying to her. Alissa was the sort of person who didn’t trust easy, and hiding this from her was huge. Possibly unforgivable.
I didn’t even want to think about what would happen if she learned that the reason I started hanging out with her in the first place was that of the money. That would never go down well, and there wasn’t even any way to explain it properly. “Oh, well it started out that way, but then I began to fall for you...” Urgh, how cliché was that.
I shook my head rapidly, trying to rid my brain of Alissa’s disappointed face before I lost myself in a world of worry, and I grabbed my cell phone out of my pocket. It had been bleeping for ages now, and I needed to see what was going on. I dreaded the thought that everything was going to fall apart and I’d end up with nothing.
“Mr. Stone, I have been trying to get hold of you to discuss the string quartet with you for tomorrow. As I’m sure you can imagine, it is not easy to arrange...”
I rolled my eyes; that didn’t matter, it wasn’t as drastic as I feared. That meant they wanted more money. I knew they were going to be a pain in the ass when I first tried to book them, but since they were the only orchestra that would give me the time of day when it came to Christmas, I didn’t have much choice. I had to stick with them, even if it meant jumping through crazy hoops to make it happen.
I didn’t even bother to read the rest of the message before I fired off my reply. I knew what they wanted to hear.
“I will pay whatever it costs, just get some musicians there.”
It was the perfect plan, an experience she wouldn’t forget. I had considered taking her out of the country, but I wanted to do something more special, more personalized, just for Alissa. The rooftop dinner and music would be the perfect event for her. I just knew that she would love it. If it all went to plan.
While I waited for a reply, I wandered around the apartment in a haze, trying to work out if everything else was in place. Definitely, it was the most effort that I’d ever put into any relationship, which spoke volumes.
I was falling. Not even slowly tumbling, I was falling head over heels. I knew it was out of control, but I couldn’t seem to stop. Even if I wanted to pull back from Alissa, now I didn’t think I could...which only made my betrayal a hundred times worse. The longer it went on, the harder it got for me to tell her everything, and I was honestly afraid that I’d never speak the truth. I feared we’d end up in a serious, long term relationship, and I still wouldn’t be able to say anything.
I was a coward, and I wasn’t sure how to pull myself out of it.
I leaped on my phone when it rang, expecting it to be the guy from the orchestra, but surprisingly, it was my father calling me again. One conversation in a few weeks was one thing, but two in the same day was something else entirely!
I frowned as I stared at the screen for a few moments, trying to work out what it could be about. Only one way to find out, I suppose...
“Hello?” I answered curiously. “Everything okay, Dad?”
“It isn’t your father,” a slow drawling voice replied. “It’s Helen. I assume you remember me? The very beautiful woman that your father married a while back?”
Urgh, she sounded more snake like than I remembered. Maybe that was because I hadn’t spoken much to her before, or maybe it was because I knew much more about her now.
“Helen, what’s wrong with Dad? Is everything alright?” There was literally no other reason she would call me, so I had to suspect something was wrong. “Do I need to come out there?”
“Oh no, this isn’t anything to do with your father. This is more about...me and you.” She said that in a seductive tone of voice as if there was something going on between us. I felt like something was crawling underneath my skin. What was with this woman? “I think we have a lot to discuss, don’t you?”
“Erm, we do?” I took a seat and waited for her to continue. This had to be the most insane phone conversation that I’d ever had, which made me wonder if it was a mind game or something. Apparently, she was great at those.
“Oh yes, I want to talk to you about your sister.” With so much emphasis placed on that word, it had to be bad news. “I hear that you have been spending a lot of time with her.”
I couldn’t confirm that, but I couldn’t deny it, either. I needed to find a middle ground that put an end to this conversation sooner rather than later. “I have seen her a couple of times, yes.”
“Oh, I think it’s more than a couple of times,” she replied knowingly. I felt a little sick by the idea that she might know everything. “I might not be in New York, but I have eyes and ears everywhere. Old friends, associates, that sort of thing.”
“What exactly are you getting at, Helen?” I asked with a hardened tone of voice. “I feel like you’re accusing me of something here, and I have no idea what.”
She laughed loudly and nastily. “I see, you’re going to play it that way. Very smart. However, you aren’t clever enough to outwit me. I can see exactly what’s going on here. I know for a fact that you and my daughter are sleeping together. Of course, she wants to fuck you – she’ll screw anyone with money. But I’m not totally sure why you’d want to sleep with her. From what I’ve seen of you, you are far too good for her.”
My blood boiled, and I felt sick. I hated the way she reduced what Alissa and I shared to something seedy and disgusting. What right did this bitch judging anyone?
“I don’t know what you think you’ve heard, Helen, but you are very wrong. There is nothing going on between Alissa and me, and I cannot believe that you’d suggest otherwise.”
“You should be with someone else,” she leaped in as if she hadn’t even heard me. “You should leave Alissa and be with someone else.”
Was she suggesting what I thought she was? Did she want me to start up an affair with her? I didn’t even want to ask her because I didn’t want to know the truth. I just needed to get this vile woman off the phone as quickly as possible; then I could pray for the day when she would become just another one of my father’s ex-wives.
“Whatever I do with my life it isn’t any of your business.”
“If it involves my daughter...”
The daughter you don’t even care about! I wanted to scream. The daughter you torment and bully.
“Alissa is old enough to make her own decisions, but she has nothing to do with this.”
“I will pay you,” she stunned me by replying. “If you leave Alissa, I will pay you. You will be rewarded so handsomely that you’ll never have to worry about anything again-”
“I’m not that greedy,” I declared with pride. “I can only assume that means you don’t know my father gave me a billion dollars. Money wise, I am set for life.”
Of course, that irritated her. She thought my father’s money all belonged to her, which was exactly why he shouldn’t have married her. I could tell she was a gold digger from a million miles away, but it seemed he didn’t have his wits about him.
“You’re just lucky he doesn’t know about your sordid little affair, then,” she replied nastily. “That would kill him.”
“If it were true, it would be none of his business, just like it’s none of yours.” I was cold and calm, which wound her right up. She wanted me an emotional mess, and I decided not to give her what she wished. It was hard, I could feel my breaths coming out ragged, but I was trying my hardest.
“Okay, so money is out of the question, what about women?” Helen was growing desperate. What sort of woman was so determined to ruin her daughter’s life? It was insane. “I know plenty of beautiful women: famous actresses, supermodels, the sort of women you want on your arm. I can set you up with anyone you can imagine. Someone far more beautiful than my daughter.”
I couldn’t stand it anymore. Even if it gave me away completely, I couldn’t hold back. Even if I didn’t want to give her what she wanted, I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to listen to this vile woman for even another second longer; I felt like my head was about to explode under the pressure of her words.
“There is no one more beautiful than Alissa. No one. Especially not you. You can pin and tuck yourself any way you want, but you’ll never be as young and pretty as her. No wonder you’re so jealous... God, you make me sick.”
“Cade, I-” Helen started, but I was on a roll. I couldn’t control myself however hard I tried. I’d lost it. I’d become a slave to my emotions.
“I am a billionaire now. I have power; I have status, I have control. I have so many things that you do not, so don’t you ever call me up with this bullshit again. You have nothing, you are nothing, and I cannot wait until you’re gone. You might think you have my father where you want him, but he’ll wise up soon enough. Then you’ll be nothing but a distant, bitter memory.”
With that, I hung up the phone and threw it across the room in anger. I couldn’t believe how awful Helen was; in just a short conversation she had my shaking with rage. No wonder Alissa was so shutdown if she’d had to deal with that shit her whole life. That would drive anyone insane. That horrible cow had been putting down my beautiful Alissa forever, and now it was up to me to ensure that I dragged all that negativity out of her.
I felt more determined than ever to give Alissa the best Christmas and New Year ever. If anyone deserved happiness and peace, it was her. The damage done to her wasn’t my fault, but I felt determined to repair everything that she endured. She needed that, and so did I.