The Billionaire’s Burden(3)

Why was he texting her? To call her to his hotel room?

I flipped hurriedly back over onto my stomach, as though I could banish those painful thoughts from my mind. They remained, however, pricking away at my self-confidence.

It wasn’t long ago that I’d stared into my mirror, forcefully telling myself that everything was going to be alright.

At this moment, in the dark quiet of my new and huge room, with a successful business and a heavy heart, I’d never felt like that was farther from the truth.





Chapter Two





The bright morning sun was cheerful as ever the next day, despite my gloomy disposition.

More than anything, I would have appreciated some rain or clouds or something just to echo the resentment budding inside of me. Maybe I’d play some angsty music on that phone Sebastian got me, though I was afraid to turn it on and see if he’d sent more messages.

A small little red bird flocked to my window, watching me with tiny, beady black eyes of curiosity, whistling cheerfully as if to mock me.

"Go home to your family, Mr. Bird." I grunted as I all but threw myself out of bed, "Or go home to your little mistress!"

I tossed a pillow towards the bed as the alarmed cardinal took flight.

Geez.

I needed help. Accosting a bird because of my own frustration? That was a new low.

Pouting, I carefully placed the flung pillow back in the center of the bed, leaving the sheets a mess as I stormed into the bathroom.

Though I still had not quite the grasp on being served by a staff of people, the one thing that I had taken to quite quickly was not having to make my own bed anymore.

I'd never met the ninja of a person who took care of it. Sometimes I was out of my room for only five minutes the entire day, and it was always taken care of.

Maybe they lived under my bed...

I splashed water on my face, flinching at the coolness. Slowly, I straightened, eyeing myself in the mirror.

The face that stared back at me was as plain as ever, though I wondered if I'd lost weight recently. My appetite had never quite returned. Whether that was because I was so far out of my element or a deep seeded restlessness within me, I wasn't sure.

It was still surprising, given how amazing Harry Bircham's food was every night.

The man was a wizard in the kitchen, and an even biter baker. HIs banana bread was completely out of this world. He had all the talent of both of my parents put together, or at least the professional culinary schooling.

It was amazing to watch him work, his movements were all so smooth and subtle. HIs plating was exquisite. He could make scrambled eggs look like a freaking piece of art in the louvre.

Speaking of scrambled eggs, the scent of bacon wafted up the stairs towards my room. Chef Harry was hard at work.

It'd been lonely, living in this giant mansion while Sebastian was out of town. I'd almost gone back to stay at my bakery just for the familiarity, but that would mean abandoning Harry.

I got the feeling that we were the only ones who kept each other sane in this place. Harry loved cooking, but not so much working for the Davis brood. I couldn't blame him there, I wasn't crazy about having married into them.

As I brushed my hair out of my face, securing it loosely in a bun on the crown of my head, I wandered back to the closet.

It was packed with clothing of Alissa's choice, meaning that nothing fit properly and it all looked more like a nun's choice of clothing than anything else. She’d made it enormously clear that she had no intention of helping me out my transaction to this new Davis life.

I could have just bought more things, Sebastian had left me a credit card with my name printed right on it, but it still felt wrong to use his money.

He'd already done so much in turning my bakery into a stellar success, I didn't want to leech off of him anymore.

Eventually, I settled on the least ugly piece in the closet, a pair of dark slacks and a blouse of orangesicle color. I would have preferred a shirt and jeans, but those simple items were nowhere to be found in the huge walk in closet. Alissa wouldn't have wanted me to be comfortable anyway.

With a sigh, I exited the room, heading down to the dining hall. No doubt that bed making ninja was creeping out from their hiding place to fix up my room once more. I sent a curious glance over my shoulder, but the hall remained still and silent.

Fortunately for me, I'd gotten much more used to the winding halls of Sebastian's huge home since I arrived two months ago. Though I still didn't know what most of the floors or doors were used for, I knew my way from bedroom to dining room like the back of my hand.

Most days, those were the only two places I went.

I knew I had to get out more, but where was I to go? The bakery just depressed me, seeing how much it'd spun out of my control. I didn't enjoy shopping or jogging. I needed a new hobby, or a new friend.