Falling For My Husband (British Billionaires) (12 page)

Zara gently wiped her tears away, sniffing. “Your father blackmailed me. What was I supposed to do?”

Was she lying?
“What blackmail?” I demanded.

“My family was on the brink of bankruptcy. Your father offered a way out. My parents begged me to consider, stating that I had to put my selfishness aside for a few years and help them get out of the rotten financial ruin.” She sniffed, bracing her arms around her body. “Your father made me sign a contract that I would be married to him for three years and never contact you in any shape or form, but I swear to you, on everything that I believe in, your father didn’t touch me.”

And she expected me to just what, believe her? No. I wasn’t going to play an idiot when it came to Zara… or to any woman for that matter.

“You should’ve come to me and told me everything. I may have not had the money then, but I could’ve easily spoken to my grandfather. I was his only heir after all, but you didn’t even give me a chance. You simply threw me away without a second thought. If you’re having any regrets, then that’s all on you because I’m done with you, Zara.”

“I’m so sorry. Everyday I regret not going to you. Forgive me. In two month’s time, the contract will be null and void. I’ll be a free woman.”

Oh, she regrets it now? Good for her. I wasn’t going to lie; a big part of me wanted to explore the option that she was telling me the truth. If she hadn’t had any other man… that ought to prove something, right? Either way, she violated my trust and broke me apart. The lacerating pain I’d gone through was something I would never forget. There was no point in dwelling on the “if” side. She hadn’t given me the option before, so why should I even give her that leniency?

“I wasn’t as rich as my father then, but I am now. I’ve since tripled my inheritance in folds. Had you waited then, you’d be my wife by now.” I shook my head, impatient. “It’s all over now. Go home to your husband, Zara.”

Dark, soulful eyes looked sad, awash with fresh tears. “I still love you, Callum.”

My chest tightened. Somehow her words continued to affect me. I stilled, speechless, not knowing what to do. A part of me wanted to hold her and make her stop crying, but a huge part of me argued that she deserved to be unhappy. After all, she betrayed me. Big time. There was no going back. She did what she had to do, what she felt was right. Zara threw away our love. Pity was something I shouldn’t be even feeling right at this moment.

She came closer while I froze, heart thudding as I got to see her up close. It somehow felt as if she still knew me because she was undaunted when I felt her hands rest on my chest at the same time my eyes trained upon her, conflicted.

“Your heart still belongs to me.” She gave me a sad smile. “It doesn’t matter what you tell me because one thing I know, Callum, is that your heart knows the truth.” Zara pressed her lips to mine. “I’ll be waiting for your return.”

My eyes didn’t even follow her when she let herself out, but I knew she’d left because the energy in the room felt empty, draining.

It hurt to see her. It truly did. Now I was at a loss because I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about what she had told me.

Chapter 16

Callum

Stella had a working night and wasn’t going to be home until later. So here I was, in my study, nursing my second bottle of brandy, still feeling sober.

Frustrated, I took out my phone and pressed a button on my speed dial.

“Kosta.”

It was rather lame, but hearing a familiar friend’s voice somehow felt comforting. “You sound like something’s up your arse,” I muttered, smiling.

“And you sound like shit,” Dimitris retorted back.

As usual, I didn’t even bother to do the usual to and fro. I just went and dived into the damn problem. “Zara came to see me.”

Dimitris stayed silent awhile. “I have an hour until I pick up my wife from the airport. So go ahead, I’m all ears.”

It was great to see him happy, really. After what his ex-wife put him through, he deserved this happiness. “Unofficial wife.
Unless you’re planning to marry her again? Your family must be happy to have her back.”

“It’s Lindsey’s first time back, so she’s nervous. We’re taking one step at a time. I don’t want to scare her away the way I did the first time.” He paused. “Do you
still
love her?” he asked, referring to Zara.

I had no idea. “I don’t know. It’s been a few years. It was shocking to find her in my office, yeah, but as far as how I’m feeling right now, I can tell you, I feel a lot of hate and anger.”

“But that’s not what I asked you, Kensington. It’s either you love her or don’t,” Dimitris argued, making me even more confused.

I grunted and grabbed the side of my head, pulling my hair out. “It’s not that easy.”

Dimitris sighed. “Well, friend, I have another hour to drag this out of you, so do go on.”

This was madness.

“I’m dating Stella—” I spilled the information that was making it difficult for me to see the real problem with Zara.

“
The child?
”

All of my friends that knew about Stella, referred to her as “the child” since I had called her that from the very beginning. The woman was far from being a child, however. Truly. “Yes—no—
fuck!
She’s twenty-two! She’s no longer a child.”

“I get it. You’re in love with Stella,” he suggested, making things worse.

I groaned, getting more agitated as the clock ticked away. Fucking hell! “No. No. It’s nothing like that, but I do care for her. Very much, yeah.” I made an exasperate sigh, confronted. “Should I tell her about Zara’s visit?”

That’s another big question.

“Well, hell, that’s really up to you. If you both are forthcoming with these things in a serious committed relationship, then yes. Although, if it’s a casual buddy fuck, then I don’t see the point.” He paused. “It’s all up to you.”

Stella and I weren’t in love or anything… but we did enjoy each other, very much. “Exclusive, casual.” We were, weren’t we?

“Either way, you’re digging yourself a grave.” Dimitris sounded thoughtful. “You can’t have both. You have to choose. Trust me, it’s not fun to be with a person who doesn’t feel the same for you.”

With Zara, I had an idea… but with Stella, I had no sense where she stood with me. All I knew was that I liked having her around… and as for the
rest, it was all up in the air.

~C~

“Jesus! Are you okay?” Stella slightly shook me, trying to pull my face off the desk in my study. Apparently, I had fallen asleep on it.

My head pounded like mad, throbbing as though it had been
jack-hammered or something. After two bottles of brandy, I shouldn’t expect any less. She gently situated my back and body against the leather chair.

“I come home late and you’re a big mess.” Stella brushed the hair off my forehead before kissing it gently. “What am I going to do with you and your drunken self?”

Her scent filled my nostrils and I buried my face in the crook of her neck, wanting to drown in her softness. “Pain killers, a hot shower and some good sleep then I will be good as new tomorrow.”

“All right, let me get you some pain killers.” Stella tried to move, but my hands were wrapped around her waist. “You need to take your hands off me, you know.”

I moaned against her skin, softly kissing it. “Need another minute of you.” I held her tighter. “Your smell calms me down.”

“Let me give you a massage or something…”

A ‘hmm’ came from me as I nuzzled on her before then murmuring against her ear, “I’ll take the ‘or something’, darling.”

God, how was it possible to feel this sense of calmness when she was around?

Stella lightly tapped the back of my head, groaning. “I’m being utterly serious here.”

“So am I, love. I’m so bloody, fucking hard for you.” My hand skimmed over her bottom, all the way to the side of her thigh before circling it in between her hot crevice where my middle finger rubbed against her pussy. Moisture seeped through the thin fabric and coated my finger. “Shower with me.”

She sighed. “I will as long as you promise to take some pain killers for your headache first.”

My bossy nurse
, I mused through the throbbing ache in my head. “Okay. Whatever makes you happy.”

“That’s my good boy.” She giggled, playfully patting the top of my head before she stood up and fetched the medication. She was back in a few minutes, taking charge in popping the pills into my mouth. “See; it’s not that hard, is it?”

“You’re adorable, Stella.” I stood up and circled my arms around her waist, pulling her close to me. Looking down on her blissful face, it seemed surreal that she and I had barely started getting to know each other because, right now, she felt like she’d been around for far too long. “Can I keep you?”

Her eyes twinkled and then her left hand reached out to the side of my head, caressing my hair. It was a subtle move—intimate—a lover’s touch. “For as long as you want me, Cal.”

Will I be the one to mar her brightness? For some reason, I didn’t want to be the man to cause her any pain or hurt. I knew our arrangement was all sexual… but it seemed like we’d crossed the line towards emotional intimacy.

I felt torn about Zara’s visit earlier. Should I dare mention it? It was a subject that needed to be addressed.

It was a situation that needed to be handled with care. One thing I vowed, too, that I would have to be honest. This wouldn’t be such a big deal if she didn’t feel anything for me. After all, didn’t she tell me that she wasn’t going to fall for a man like myself? Then, I suppose, I was safe.

We were safe from each other.

Chapter 17

Stella

“Callum.” His large frame ensconced my body as I regulated my breathing back to normal. We showered, but we hadn’t had sex whilst in there. In fact, I had never been so erotically charged as I’d watched him soap my body, avid with curiosity.

“Stella.”

Call it a gut-inkling or what of it, but the moment I came into his home and found him passed out on his desk, I knew something was wrong. A person wouldn’t intentionally get that inebriated unless something had happened
; a critical matter. Especially having an idea of what kind of man Callum was, something was going on behind those guarded, dark eyes.

When he took me this time, he was the same. His usual hunger was apparent, but it somehow felt less passionate, more like he was being haunted by something. I felt like he truly was
fucking
me then. The shift was monumental. Don’t get me wrong, he was still dynamite in bed, but it lacked meaning.

The thing was, I didn’t know how to approach the subject without sounding like a nosy person. Whatever was bothering him, I wanted him to know that I was here, too. Apart from sex, I could be here for him to lean on. Like a person he could use as a crutch if he needed a friend to be there for him or simply because he needed to vent it out.

“Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?” I took a deep breath before I pulled away a bit, needing to watch his reaction. “You can talk to me, you know. Whatever it is.”

Callum instantly looked guarded. He took a quick glance at me before he blew out a deep breath. He looked discomfited before his gaze concentrated on the wall across the room, deep in thought.

I was now on my side with my knuckle against my head, holding it up as I waited for him to speak.

“I loved a woman once. Zara. She was everything I wanted, needed. If she had just given me time, I could have given her everything she’d ever hoped for.”

Shit. I was almost sure it was work stress. My father used to be this way when things at work became too heavy for him. So for Callum to speak about someone he loved once was a massive throat punch for me. I didn’t know the woman, and yet, I was already jealous. She’d had Callum in a way I never could, but sometimes I had let myself wander off towards that route and imagine what life would be like if he did love me. However, hearing how he was talking, this woman had been a significant part of him… and still was, presently.

In the calmest voice I could muster, I tried to speak without sounding like I was demanding more information because, let’s face
it, I was dying to know what the hell was going on. For him to drown in two bottles of brandy, it must’ve been of epic proportion. “What happened to her?”

His throat bobbed a few times, as though it was difficult for him to speak. When he finally did, I was gob smacked. “She married my father.” His arm flung across to cover his eyes, conflicted. “She came to see me earlier.”

Damn.

Fucking damn. Was this the end of us? We’d barely just started and I really enjoyed being with him, but if he loved her still—which I was almost one hundred percent sure that he did—then I was just a tiny blip in his history of women.

“What did she want?”

“She came to tell me that she was going to be a free woman soon. That my father offered her family a way out of bankruptcy as long as she married him and never contacted me for three years and, after that time frame, they’d divorce.” He took a moment, thinking. “She heard about our engagement. Knowing that she’d be a free woman soon, she thought it was time to warn me off, so that I didn’t marry anyone because she wants me to wait for her.” He sounded quite torn, like he was having a hard time what to believe anymore… but there was a part of him that wanted to believe Zara.