The Billionaire’s Burden(2)

That wasn’t too much to ask, was it?

We were married after all, why not build something of that? Did Sebastian even wish for such a thing? Though his tan face was beautiful, his emotions were kept under strict lock and key somewhere deep inside of him. At times it felt as though I would never truly get to know the man.

With a groan, I rolled onto my side, pulling the pillow away from my damp face and flopping my head onto it.

At least after all of this mess, there was one good thing that emerged.

My parent’s bakery was sky rocketing. Sebastian had put together a small PR team, led by Alissa of course, that managed printed and digital marketing. They’d also set up a cute little social media page for it as well, with excellent reviews coming in all the time. You couldn’t watch the TV or listen to the radio without hearing the familiar jingle of its newest (and only) taped ad. My parents had previously used only word of mouth to spread the word of their bakery. Perhaps that was why it failed so quickly after their deaths.

I barely had to do anything with all of the business, which was what I wanted I supposed. I’d only taken control of the bakery to keep it from being bulldozed after my parent’s death. Did I even want to run the thing? I’d spent so much time actively disliking the bakery and my involvement in it, it was rather strange to miss those nights spent sleeping in the old office, smelling the faint hint of sugar and spices.

Now that it was taken care of, I could do whatever I wanted.

I still stopped by the bakery occasionally, and while it filled my heart to see it so full of people and to smell the sweet scents of pastries and pies, I couldn’t deny the fact that in the back of my mind, it was almost painful.

In all honesty, I felt completely unneeded now. Did my feelings even matter when the goal was still accomplished though?

I couldn’t believe how selfish I sounded. Every time I got something, all I wanted was more and more.

The phone next to me on the small mahogany end table vibrated suddenly, going still and quiet at my side. I stared at the dim screen intently, too nervous to pick it up. There was only one person who had the number, there was only one person who would bother to get in touch with me.

Sebastian.

Was time was it in London right now? I had no idea. Sebastian had given me the fancy phone, telling me to call him any time I needed.

Of course, I hadn’t called him, not in the two weeks he’d been gone. What was I supposed to say to him? That I missed him?

After a few more moments of silence, after the LED screen of the phone had turned off and total darkness resumed in the room, I abruptly snatched it into my hand, swallowing as I pressed the home key.

Sebastian’s name lit up the screen, a short message underneath.

“How are you?” It read, and though it was just simple text, I could hear his deep tenor speak those words, I could hear the soft British accent lurking beneath.

Though I had no idea what the time difference was, surely he did. Why was he texting in th meddle of the night? It was almost three AM.

I unlocked the screen, eyes flickering over the keyboard.

What was I supposed to say back?

I felt like I was back in high school, agonizing over what a boy said. It was pathetic, really. I hadn’t been good at it then and I certainly wasn’t going to be good at it now.

Slowly, I typed out my reply, working hard to sound as casual as possible because, you know, some girls just like to be up at three in the morning for no reason.

“Fine.” I sent back, watching as it appeared on the screen below his words.

We were having a conversation. I was almost pathetically giddy. It was silly, as we knew each other so little, but I’d missed having the handsome billionaire around lately.

For a brief second there was nothing, and then three tiny dots appeared. He was typing back?

“I thought I was texting Alissa.” The text illuminated in front of me, heart dropping into my stomach. Just like that, my happiness shattered in despair.

I was a fool.

Blinking in shock, I could only watch as the dots reappeared for a moment, “And what are you doing up?” He questioned.

Instead of answering, I turned off the phone, letting it fall onto the end table beside me. I stared at it, utterly betrayed by that tiny piece of technology.

Of course Sebastian wasn’t attempting to contact me, we’d had no contact since the day he left. Even then, our goodbyes were stiff and awkward, neither of us sure of what to do or how to act with one another.

That short hug had been almost as painful as Alissa’s smug grin and wave as they slid in the back seat of a taxi together.

What did they talk about? Did it bother Sebastian that she spent her nights in George’s city apartment? Did he even care about the relationship she had with his father? Did it not matter?