The Billionaire’s Secret

by Jenifer Regan

  It took everything I had in me not to break down in tears. I was hormonal and pregnant with this asshole’s baby. “You’re breaking up with me? After you’re the one who pursued me? Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

  His jaw clenched and I knew he was hiding something. What he was hiding, I had no idea, but I wasn’t going to let this slide. “Tell me what’s going on with you. I want the truth, Trent,” I growled. “You are not leaving here until you tell me what the fuck changed between this morning when you made love to me before you left for work until now.”

  He avoided my gaze which was a for sure sign he was hiding something huge. “Trent, if you don’t talk to me, we can’t get through this.”

  “I slept with someone else,” was not what I expected him to say. The bottom of my stomach fell out and I took a stumbling step back. Trent’s eyes widened and he took a step towards me.

  “Don’t touch me. Don’t you even think about touching me,” I said through gritted teeth. Having your heart shattered was painful and it took a lot of time and patience to put all of those tiny little pieces together. But having it crumble a second time, crumbled all of those once-shattered pieces to dust. I felt destroyed. I wanted to curl into a ball and disappear but then I remembered the little soul growing inside of me, and I couldn’t break. I wouldn’t.

  “Pack your shit and get the fuck out of my house. Leave your key at the door.” My voice was cold and when his face turned worried, I felt nothing. I watched his face change and he sighed before he pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “Fuck, I can’t do this,” he said before he tossed the suitcase onto the floor. I stared at him in confusion before he placed his hands on his hips and looked me right in the eyes. “I love you more than I love anyone on this entire planet. I would do anything in my power to keep you happy. Including lie to you.”

  I had no idea what he was talking about. I just wanted him gone but he continued talking.

  “There was no one else. I said it to hurt you, but I can’t fucking do this.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about Trent?” I was getting frustrated. I was heartbroken and confused and just wanted it to be over. I wanted him to leave so I could allow myself a long moment to grieve before I picked myself up again.

  “Baby,” he said before he was in my space. I tried to step away, but he gripped my face in his hands. “There was no one else. I’ll explain everything, just don’t shut down on me. Seeing your eyes die like that just broke my fucking heart to pieces. I thought I could do this, I thought it would be best for you until I could figure something out, but I just can’t,” he growled.

  I said nothing as he pressed his forehead to mine. He let out another heavy sigh and said, “Ridge came by my office today.” That snapped me out of everything.

  “He what?” I growled and Trent sighed as if in relief. He grabbed my hand and brought me over to the bed where he sat me down. He laced his fingers with mine and proceeded to tell me about Ridge’s trip and all that was said. By the time he was done, I was piping mad and not just at Ridge.

  “So, instead of talking to me, like an adult, you decided to break my heart and give that dick bag what he wanted?”

  “I thought it was for the best. You hate him, Candy. I just didn’t want him in your hair.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “Men are idiots. All of you!” I shouted as I paced the room. “If you’d have come home and talked to me in the first place instead of trying to sneak in and pack your shit while you were away, I could have told you that we bought Ridge out after he got married because his wife hated he was technically still in business with me. I’m not an idiot! I would have given him the fucking store and found a different property before I’d let him control me that way.”

  Trent’s face paled and he tried to come near me, but I held up my hands. “No,” I said. “No, you don’t get to touch me. You just willingly destroyed my heart after facing one little hurdle. What’s going to happen when a bigger hurdle comes? Are you going to make decisions for me then too? My goodness Trent! You’re one of the richest men in the country. If you wanted, you could buy me three fucking shops if you wanted to. I wouldn’t accept three, but one would have been fine if Ridge’s threat had any clout.”

  Trent sighed and ran his fingers though his hair. “I panicked and I’m sorry Candy.”

  “If this is how you panic then I don’t want to see you during a real crisis.”

  I was suddenly exhausted and just wanted to sleep. “You should go home,” I said.

  “Candy,” he said, and I shook my head.

  “You just stood in front of me and tried to destroy any feelings I had for you and you partially succeeded. I can’t get over that as quickly as you probably want. So, I need for you to leave. Now I’m the one who needs some space.”

  I knew my words stung but the shit he’d just pulled was so beyond me. I was pregnant and the last thing I needed was stress let alone a man who was willing to toss me to the side because he didn’t think I was capable of thinking and making decisions for myself. I couldn’t deal with it. My heart felt cold and dead, not knowing what in the hell to feel, and I needed time to decide if I could forgive him for putting me through this. No matter how short of a moment it was, it destroyed a piece of me.

  “Please don’t this,” he said. I felt my heart trying to form to pieces, but it wasn’t enough.

  “I just need time Trent,” I said as I looked him the eye. “I’ll call you when I’m ready to talk about this again.” He stared at me for a long time and I tried to ignore the pain in his eyes. It was hard because being cold to him wasn’t something I did. But I was hurt and angry. It felt justified. So I turned and walked away. I went to the bathroom and stared down at the test before I wrapped it up, grabbed the box, and took them to the kitchen trashcan. That was where I stood when Trent came down with his suitcase. He looked almost as shattered as I felt.

  “This isn’t goodbye,” he said, and I didn’t respond. I knew he was right. It couldn’t be goodbye. I was carrying his kid. I just wasn’t so sure when I’d be ready to tell him. Just as he thought he was doing what was best for me, I needed to do what was best for my child and that meant removing stressful things and situations from my life. And I didn’t need the stress of a relationship.

  “Bye Trent,” I said.

  His throat bobbed before he replied, “See you later, Candy,” then he was gone.

  Chapter 12: Trent

  Aftertaste

  3 months later.

  I was miserable and that was putting it mildly. The past three months had been three of the hardest of my life. Candy hadn’t called and I’d promised myself I would be patient and let her come to me when she was ready. I didn’t blame her for her anger. I’d been hasty and reacted like an immature kid. I’d hurt her. I’d watched the light die in her eyes and knew too late that I couldn’t go through with the sham.

  She had every right to be as upset and angry as she was which was why I agreed to give her the time she needed. But she never called. I’d text her and sometimes she’d respond, and others went ignored. It killed me not speaking to her. I missed her every fucking day and with each day, I also sought my revenge on Ridge. He’d played me and I’d let him. But he had it coming, which was why I sat in a restaurant smiling as he entered. He looked around and his eyes widened comically as he rushed over to my table.

  “Tell me this is some kind of joke,” he said, and I grinned before I gestured for him to sit. He glared at me but did as he was told. I was his new boss, after all. After what he’d done, I decided the best place to hit him was in his pockets. Ridge had been running his father’s New York location but after a long conversation and a nice exchange of cash, I was the official co-owner of The Welder Hotel franchise. I didn’t care much about owning hotels. Sure, it would make me richer than I already was, but I had no real use for it. Except for this moment.

  Ridge was vibrating with his anger and I smiled as he sat there fu
ming. “You caused me to lose someone very special to me,” I said calmly. “You allowed your fuckups to affect my relationship and I’m not okay with that. So here’s what’s going to happen. As of today, you are no longer the manager of the Welder New York.” His eyes widened as he began to sputter. “You’ll be heading to the L.A. location where you will be working under the manager there. Wherever he puts you is where you will be.”

  “You must be out of your mind if you think I’m going to listen to you,” he growled, and I shrugged.

  “That’s fine by me. You can do as I say or lose your job completely. But wait, that means you can’t steal money from the hotels anymore, can you?” All of the blood drained from his face and a sick satisfaction flowed through me. I smirked before reaching into my briefcase and pulling out a three-year-long financial pull from the hotel. I highlighted each and every odd transaction before I identified the account, leading me back to the dickhead sitting in front of me.

  “I have the proof leading to you embezzling money from the hotel for the past three years. So unless you take that job in L.A. and keep far, far away from me and Candy, I won’t turn you over to the cops.”

  He shook with his anger, but I didn’t care. He’d take the deal if he was smart enough. Which he proved to be when he nodded and stood up. “You still lost her, so don’t think you’ve won.”

  I didn’t respond and he growled before he stormed off. I stayed behind and ate a quick dinner. I was getting ready to head home when I got a text. My heart raced as Candy’s name appeared on the screen asking me to come to the bakery. I checked the time and saw that the bakery was closed but it didn’t stop me from hopping in my car and rushing over there.

  The lights were off, and I wondered if she’d gotten tired of waiting, but then the door opened.

  “Hey,” she said. “Come on in.” I couldn’t really see her with all of the lights off and I wondered what was happening. I heard the door lock and then movement. The lights were still out and if it wasn’t for the lights from the street, it would have been pitch black inside.

  Which was enough for me to see Candy move to stand in front of me. The light shown perfectly on her face and I wanted to kiss her, but I didn’t think that would be a good idea.

  She sighed heavily and said, “I’ve spent a lot of time thinking on things and making decisions that have not been easy for me to make on my own. But at the end of the day, I realized I couldn’t allow history to repeat itself like it’s been known to do,” she said, and I frowned. Just then the light flickered on. I blinked rapidly before my eyes focused on Candy and her beautiful face, but it was the cake behind her that made me pause.

  It was a pink and blue zebra-striped cake with a center piece that read “Oh baby.” I stepped closer and my knees nearly gave out as I read on the bottom, “Baby Hunter Coming Soon to a Home Near You.” I swallowed thickly before I turned to face Candy, who was wearing a white T-shirt, but it was her belly that had me falling to my knees at her feet. A small baby bump sat in front of me and tears filled my eyes as I placed my hand on her growing belly.

  “My dad resented me because of my mom. I didn’t ever want to look at this baby with resentment just because I was too stubborn to seek closure. I don’t want our baby to not know unconditional love and even though you acted like an idiot, I know you’ll be the best father that our baby could have,” she said, and I let the tears fall. I leaned forward and kissed the place where my child rested.

  I looked up at Candy, who stared at me with tears in her eyes. “I love you but I’m still so mad at you,” she said, her voice cracking. “But I hate missing you. And as proud as I am, I can’t do this without you. I don’t want to do this without you. I love you Trent and I want this baby to have both of us.”

  I stood up quickly and gripped her face in my hands before I kissed her long and hard. She leaned into me and I deepened the kiss. It went on for a long time. When I finally pulled away, I pressed my forehead to hers and placed my hands on her belly.

  “I promise you, I’m going to do right by both of you,” I whispered. Candy cupped my cheek and I leaned into the touch.

  “Come home,” she said, and fuck me if that didn’t almost make me cry again.

  So instead I kissed her and said, “Let’s go home.”

  Epilogue: Candy

  The Sweetest Thing

  “Trinity Madison Hunter, Coco is not a pony,” I yelled as my backyard was overrun by toddlers. Our baby girl was turning two-years-old and the things people said about the terrible twos was the absolute truth. My once precious baby was a terror. No, I’m kidding. Trinity was probably the calmest kid I’d ever come across. Except when it came to our chocolate lab, Coco, whom my daughter liked to pretend was a pony.

  Trent scooped her up off the dog’s back and she squealed in delight as her daddy began blowing raspberries onto her belly. Trinity was a daddy’s girl through and through and it never ceased to warm my heart every time I watched the two of them together.

  Trent was a great father, and I shouldn’t have ever doubted he would be. He loved his daughter fiercely and would do anything to protect her. Their bond was unbreakable, and I hoped it stayed that way as she got older.

  When happy birthday was sang, Trent and I stood side by side as we celebrated the beautiful little person we’d created. I looked up at my husband and knew I’d made the right choice. Because without him, our family wouldn’t be what it was. I wouldn’t be this happy and whole and I wouldn’t be waiting to welcome our son into the world in a few short weeks.

  He placed his hand on my very swollen belly and kissed me gently on the lips. “I love you,” he whispered, and I cupped his cheek as my once broken heart felt near to bursting.

  “I love you too,” I whispered, and as we watched our daughter enjoying her special day, I knew I had the sweetest life.