FOREVER BELOVED (Billionaire Love Series)
Read FOREVER BELOVED (Billionaire Love Series) Online
Authors: Jessa Eden
FOREVER BELOVED
By
Jessa Eden
******
PUBLISHED BY:
Jessa Eden
Forever Beloved
Copyright
©
2015 by
Jessa Eden
Editing: Hot Tree Editing
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment
only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to
persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely
coincidental. The characters are a production of the author’s
imagination and used fictitiously.
Adult Reading Material
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Other Jessa Eden Stories:
The Whore’s Consummation
Micah, The Fierce Falls Hard For Emma, The
Brave
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABOUT THIS BOOK
A woman can stay with you forever.
No matter how far away you flee.
No matter how much time passes.
Marla Matthews stayed in my bones, day and
night, branded on my soul.
I loved her beyond anything I thought
possible.
Even after she broke my heart.
So why would you give a fuck?
Because that’s not the end of the story.
Not even close.
What you’re about to read is a gritty tale of
reclaimed love.
It isn’t pretty.
It isn’t nice.
It’s raw and messy as fate gives us one last
shot to get it right.
You up for that?
Then hold the fuck on...
~Beau Shepard
CHAPTER ONE
Beau:
Jesus H. Christ.
No fuckin’ way was I a dad.
I did not have a twenty-two year old kid
walking around the streets of Baltimore.
Reeling, I tried to shut those thoughts down
as I raced toward the exit of the salon, burst out the door and
froze for a stunned second, trying to comprehend the reality of
seeing Charlie for the first time.
How could I not know?
How could Marla do this to me?
Breathing was suddenly difficult and I put my
hands on my knees, like I had sprinted a hundred meter race. I
tried to grab onto something real as I struggled to find steady
internal ground. It wasn’t easy as I read the signs around me:
Frank’s Pet store, Leon’s bakery, Taxes done here, Buy one, get
one free.
It didn’t help.
My world had imploded and I could do nothing
to stop the destruction busting through every one of my defenses.
At this rate, only a shred of my heart would be left.
Desperate to get away from the scene of the
crime, I walked aimlessly down the row of shops, trying to wrap my
mind around the fact I had a living, breathing kid running around
with my DNA.
Charlie Matthews.
It was like coming face to face with a
mirror. Our features were almost identical, except he had Marla’s
thick, dark, beautiful hair and doe eyes. Everything else was
me.
She had named him after my grandfather.
Why would she do that?
It didn’t make sense.
The tightness in my chest suddenly expanded,
growing so unbearable, I bolted down the corridor of shops in a
full sprint, not caring where I ended up. I just wanted to forget
everything pressing down on me.
I came to a park at the end of the block, my
breathing labored as I sat down on a metal bench, burying my face
in my hands.
What the hell was happening?
My kid.
My fucking kid.
I didn’t know what to feel.
Destroyed.
Betrayed.
Grief stricken.
All for the life I was supposed to have with
Charlie and his mother.
I couldn’t believe Marla was now the mother
of my child.
A child I didn’t know.
A child who had grown up without his
father.
I instantly hated that fact.
What was worse was I couldn’t do anything
about it.
It was all too much.
I didn’t want to think about what it
meant.
So, I did what I did best.
I checked out.
I was on my phone before I could even
contemplate what I was doing. “Hey, it’s me. I’m having a party.
Let everybody know. Bring the good stuff,” I told a concierge of
sorts, who could hook up a party in the blink of an eye.
I knew in thirty minutes my penthouse would
be full of beautiful people, who would only care about the booze
and entertainment I offered and wouldn’t give a shit about my
emotional issues. Just what I needed.
The chance to forget.
CHAPTER TWO
Marla:
Had I really chased away my son and the love
of my life?
Was this worst-case scenario really
happening?
What a
freakin’
nightmare.
I stayed rooted to the spot where Beau had
left me, in the middle of the hallway of Casa Oschun. I wiped away
the tears as memories came at me so fast, it was as if they had
happened yesterday.
Two weeks after I sent Beau packing, I found
out I was pregnant.
I had been feeling a little queasy, but I
chalked it up to the heartbreak I was enduring. I was barely
functioning, just enough to take care of Emma.
I ignored everything else. The apartment was
a mess and I had a hard time remembering what day it was. I was
afraid I would never come out of the fog surrounding me.
However, everything changed when Stacy
showed up one day unannounced in mid-August.
“
Where have you been, girl? I’ve been
worried about you,” she said, waltzing in past all the clutter,
which had accumulated in the last week.
I shrugged half-heartedly, not really
caring. “Sorry. I haven’t been myself lately.”
She shoved the newspapers off the couch and
took a seat. “I know. I heard about you and Beau. Wanna to tell me
about it?” Her blue-green gaze was kind and open.
I would have loved to confide in her, but
the truth was if I talked about what happened with Beau, I would
come undone.
So I sadly shook my head no as tears formed
in my eyes. “I can’t. It hurts too badly.”
“
Oh, Marla. I thought you were happy with
him,” she sympathized.
“
I was.”
“
So what went wrong?”
I shook my head again as my stomach suddenly
roiled, the heat of the day taking its toll. “Excuse me!” I yelled,
running for the bathroom.
I got there just in time to barf up what was
left of my meager breakfast.
“
Oh, honey. Are you pregnant?” she asked
from the doorway.
“
What? No, I can’t be,” I said, hanging my
head over the toilet.
“
I’m going to make you an appointment at
the free clinic where I get my birth control.”
“
I don’t know. I don’t think I could deal
with it.”
“
I’m not taking no for an answer. You need
to see a doctor and get checked out. At least, do it for Emma. You
look awful.”
She was right. I owed it to my sister to
make sure I was okay.
I nodded yes, as I battled my nausea,
wondering if I was going to have another go-around with the
porcelain god.
“
Okay. I’m calling the clinic now,” Stacy
said as she walked toward the phone.
She made the appointment, while I cleaned
myself up and walked back out to the living room. Without being
asked, she tidied up the apartment as I sat on the couch in a
stupor. I didn’t have the energy to stop her.
“
I don’t like seeing you like this. Are
you going to be okay?” she asked as she put a new liner in the
kitchen trash can.
“
Eventually, I’ll pull it together. I have
Emma to look out for and guardianship should be coming through
soon. I can’t afford to be a mess for too much longer.” Thankfully,
Ms. Adelaide was keeping Emma for the day.
Stacy walked over and sat next me on the
worn couch. “You’re the strongest bitch I know. You’ll get through
this,” she said, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug.
I appreciated her support. “I hope so. I
don’t like who I am right now. Heartbreak sucks.”
Her gaze flickered with wariness as we broke
apart. “That’s why I’m going to keep things light and casual in
college.”
I tilted my head sideways as I shot her a
sympathetic glance. “Oh, Stacy. I wouldn’t trade my time with Beau.
I had the best time with him. You can’t let my heartache scare you
away from a serious relationship.”
“
You’re telling me that after all this,
you still believe in love?”
“
Oh, yeah. Without a doubt. I will love
Beau the rest of my life.”
“
That’s crazy, Marla.”
“
I know. But he’s my true love.”
“
Any chance you’ll get back
together?”
The tears caught me by surprise as they fell
down my cheeks. “No, probably not.”
“
Oh, honey. I can’t stand leaving you like
this.”
I wiped at my eyes, trying to smile through
my tears. “I’ll be all right. Like you said, I’m a strong
bitch.”
She laughed as her blue-green eyes
glistened. “You’re amazing and I’m going to miss you.”
“
I’ll miss you like crazy, too, but we’ll
keep in touch.”
“
Yeah, we will,” she sighed, getting
teary-eyed over our farewell.
“
I want you to have the best time. Just
keep your heart open and see what happens,” I encouraged
softly.
Her eyes pooled with an unfamiliar
vulnerability. “I’ve never been very good at that.”
“
I know, but you are such an incredible
person and I want you to have what I had.”
“
So you want me to get my heart ripped
out?”
I just shook my head as I laughed. “No, you
silly bitch, I want you to experience love that will last a
lifetime.”
She grinned. “I’m not making any
promises.”
“
You don’t have to. I know you’re going to
have a fabulous time in college.”
“
I’m planning to.”
We talked a little longer and she filled me
in on her plans to become a hard-hitting journalist. I admired the
fact that her path seemed so clear. Mine was a big, fat question
mark with a possible baby on the way.
But I wished her well as we hugged again and
said goodbye. She left for college a couple of days later.
The silence was deafening.
I was truly on my own.
No boyfriend and no friends.
What can I say?
It was a truly shitty time in my life.
I honored the appointment Stacy made for me,
trying to be brave and face the truth. Sitting in a hot, humid room
with the paper of the exam table sticking to my bare legs at the
free clinic, I listened to the overworked doctor announce, “You are
definitely pregnant. I’d say about two months along.”
I shook my head. “No, no. I can’t be
pregnant.”
“
Have you been sexually active?”
“
Yes.”
“
Have you been practicing safe
sex?”
“
Um...sometimes.”
“
Well, there you have it. You’re
pregnant,” he answered dismissively, writing something on my
chart.
“
Oh god,” I breathed out, the reality
almost too much to bear.
“
You’ll need to make another appointment
and start taking some prenatal vitamins, unless you want to
schedule an abortion. Do you know what you want to do?” he
questioned, as if he were asking if I wanted ketchup or mustard on
a burger.