She didn’t care if this was a good idea or not. She wanted him inside of her, now. She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him closer. He stripped her jeans off her and took off his own pants. He stood at the bed for a moment, looking at her, devouring her with his eyes. She couldn’t stop staring at his erection and when she reached for him, he slid over her. Her legs opened for him without any hesitation and she was slick with arousal as he entered her. She was so turned on then, she wanted him deeper inside of her and dug her nails into his back, urging him on.
They came together, a wonderful surge of sexual release that swept over them as their bodies locked together in passion. She heard herself moan as she had never before. Afterwards, he kissed her cheek and lay down next to her.
After a while, when he’d fallen asleep, she quickly gathered her things and snuck out. As she hit the cool breeze outside, she wondered to herself what had just happened. It had felt marvelous at the time but she was under no illusions as to the kind of woman John St. Chalfont usually went out with. She knew she wasn’t his type and briefly, she worried that he might think she was after his money. But he had been the one to kiss her, she reminded herself. It was he who had picked her up into his arms, carrying her to the bedroom. For a brief moment, she allowed herself to relish the memory that they had rocked together, their limbs locked as he pushed into her, deeper and deeper.
Then she took a deep breath and caught a cab for home and reality.
***
There was urgent knocking on Lila’s front door. As it was the weekend, she was sleeping late. Rosie went to open the door and moments later called out, “Mom! Mom!”
Lila came out of her bedroom, yawning. “What?”
Then she froze. Her entire front room was filled with roses. She had never seen so many flowers in one place.
“Mom!” Rosie exclaimed. “All of these came for you! Do you have a secret admirer?”
Lila blushed and mumbled something. John didn’t look like the type to send flowers but there was nobody else. Rosie brought her the card. It read:
“Pick you up at seven tonight. John.”
“Who is John, mom?” Rosie asked, tugging at her sleeve.
But all Lila could think of was what she would wear. She had nothing that would be suitable for a dinner date with John St Chalfont. She had Googled him by now and knew he was a billionaire bachelor, in high demand. She had no idea why he wanted to see her again. But she knew instinctively that this was a big night and that she had to look good. Unfortunately, her wardrobe was filled with jeans and T-shirts. For work she usually dressed up a bit more but there was nothing that would remotely work for a date with one of the city’s hottest billionaires.
She went through her wardrobe several times, finally going up upstairs to Desiree’s and borrowing a top from her to pair up with a pair of trousers. She spent hours with her hair and make-up, trying to look as nice as possible.
Finally, she was ready.
“Wow!” said Barb as she came over to babysit Rosie just before seven. “You look like a million bucks!”
Lila smiled but she was nervous. Would John agree?
The limousine stopped outside her apartment at seven on the dot. The driver came up to get her and took her to a restaurant down town, one of the kinds of places she had read about in the tabloids.
John was waiting for her at the table with an ice bucket of champagne. He looked nervous, thought Lila. She felt her pulse racing.
“You look gorgeous,” he said with a crooked smile.
“You don’t look bad yourself,” Lila said and wanted to kick herself. It was such a silly thing to say. But it all felt so unreal. She had never been in such a restaurant before, with sommeliers talking about the vintages of the wine.
“I didn’t expect to hear from you again,” she admitted.
“Why not?” John asked.
Lila didn’t know what to say.
He leaned forward. “Last night was…well, it was….”
Lila blushed as he tried to find the words.
“I know,” she said. “But, you know, I’m a divorced mom with a child and you are…”
“No, no,” he said quickly, interrupting her. “I’m not anything special. You on the other hand are much more than you think. That thing you did with your tongue…” His voice dropped really low and Lila blushed again.
“Come on, let’s have some more champagne,” he said and a waiter appeared, quickly filling their glasses.
He told her about his troubles with the board and she told him about Rosie and her troubles with Bjorn. She hinted at her financial troubles.
John took her hand.
“So, I have had an idea that I want to share with you.”
Lila had no clue what he was talking about but for some reason she was becoming nervous.
“This is going to sound strange,” John said. “But I need a wife. I need to marry someone to make me look good. Less of a bastard, more of a, you know, regular guy.”
“Okay,” Lila said, not really understanding.
John smiled. “And I want that person to be you.”
She could not believe her ears.
“What?”
John explained that it would be a marriage of convenience. It didn’t have to be forever, for a few years perhaps. He would give her and Rosie a life of privilege in exchange for appearing on a few magazine covers with him and acting like a happily married wife.
“What makes you think I’d have to act?” Lila asked with a big grin. As Mrs. St. Chalfont, she would have enough money to convince any court that she could look after Rosie properly. She would be able to get rid of Bjorn for good.
“I know we don’t know each other well,” John said slowly. “And it may seem sudden and very unromantic. But last night was anything to go by, it may not be too bad, don’t you think?”
Lila could only nod.
“I know you probably would like to marry for love but I think we like each other and that is a good start, don’t you?”
Lila thought of how she thought she had loved Bjorn. “I don’t think I trust love anymore,” she said to John. “Liking someone might be a whole lot better.”
John put a beautiful engagement ring on her finger and it fit perfectly. They went back to her apartment after dinner and they broke the news to Rosie and Barb. Lila could see that the news came as a bit of a shock to Rosie, who had never heard of John before. But she spontaneously gave him a hug and Lila later had a chat to her.
“If you don’t want me to marry John, I won’t,” she said.
“Nothing is more important to me than your happiness.”
Rosie nodded and thought about it for a while. “Will he really buy me a pony?” she asked, with shining eyes and Lila had to laugh.
People said money couldn’t buy happiness, thought Lila, but what did they know about not having money?
The next couple of weeks were a whirlwind. There was the big engagement party where Lila met John’s friends and colleagues. They did a publicity shoot for a local magazine and went to one dinner party after another where John introduced her as his fiancée. They did not move in together yet as Lila wanted John and Rosie to get to know each other first. This happened easily enough as John took Rosie house hunting for a new family home. Lila said anything that was fine with Rosie would be okay with her too.
But when John and Rosie took her to see the house, she had to take few moments to catch her breath. It was huge! There were so many rooms and an enormous garden. Her new bathroom would be bigger than her entire previous apartment!
“What do you think?” John asked her as Rosie ran ahead into the house.
“It’s very, very…I don’t know.” Things were happening so fast, all of a sudden.
Rosie came running towards them. “Can we get a dog, please? When we move in?”
She looked so happy, so excited, how could Lila say no?
“Of course, sweetie,” she said as Rosie whooped with joy.
John took her hand and waited for Rosie to move away.
“Are you sure, though?”
Lila couldn’t believe how sweet John was being to her. He really seemed to care about her feelings and making her happy.
So, Lila said yes to pretty much everything. To the designer wedding, the wedding planner and the hairdresser from hell who wanted to plait exotic orchids into her hair.
And somewhere along the line, her gratitude towards John turned into something more. She wouldn’t admit it to herself at first, but she was beginning to have feelings for him. They didn’t sleep together again until after the wedding, by which time Lila was aching for him to touch her again as he did that night.
But she didn’t want to rush him either. There was a lot John had to get used to now as well. He went from being a bachelor to being a father, all in the span of a few weeks. Instead of appearing to be overwhelmed, though, he seemed to embrace his new state of affairs. Shortly before their wedding day, John told her he was more nervous than he had been with any of his previous weddings.
Lila wanted this marriage to work even though it didn’t have to.
“Of course you do!” Barb said, gesturing at the luxury all around them.
“No, no,” Lila said, trying to explain that she felt she and John had more to offer each other.
“Oh, darling,” Barb said. “Say no more. This one is a keeper. A blind person could see that. I know why you guys are getting married but there is something more between you.”
And so Lila smiled for the wedding photographer, knowing that the pictures would go to every tabloid around the world. She smiled even though John’s ex-girlfriend, the model Paulina, was staring at her with hate-filled eyes the entire time.
They went on honeymoon to Paris, which Lila had never seen before, spending most of their days in bed, exploring each other’s bodies in more detail. Occasionally, they left the hotel to grab a meal or an evening sundowner at a café. But mostly, they stayed in, getting to know each other. Upon their return, they would move into their new home and begin a life together.
“What do you think, Mrs. St. Chalfont?” John would tease her.
And Lila didn’t know what to think. She couldn’t believe that her luck had turned so completely. A part of her was still waiting for the bubble to burst. Because in her experience, nothing this good, ever lasted.
***
They had a few good months—a few absolutely fantastic months.
The house was lovely and Rosie adjusted to her new school with remarkable ease, making friends right away. For Lila, it all seemed too good to be true. Sometimes she picked up the phone to call Barb.
“I can’t believe it,” she confessed. “Only a few months ago, I could barely afford to take a taxi. Now I have my own car and a driver too!”
Every weekend there were dinner parties, soirees and cocktail events to go to. Even though John hated these things, Lila knew it was important that they went and that they looked happy as a couple. Fortunately, this was not hard to do. She was happy.
Driving back one night from one of these events, she put her hand on John’s leg and leaned against him.
“Thank you,” she whispered and kissed him on the cheek.
“No, thank you,” he said and kissed her back, on the mouth. “You are my favorite wife by far.”
Lila smiled. “Not much of a competition,” she said.
“But you beat them on every count,” he said.
It was true, John thought as they arrived at the house. He could not remember a time in his life when he felt this peaceful and unstressed. Lila had brought something into his life that he had never had before. She was like a delicious fragrance that touched every aspect of his life. She was a natural when it came to business clients and had improved his image dramatically. He had to thank Kyle for his idea, and even for pointing Lila out to him.
“Buddy, I could never have thought it would work out like this,” Kyle said. “But Lila is terrific, I must say. You’ve done well.”
John thought so too. Even Rosie was not an issue. Being a stepfather was not nearly as complicated as he thought it would be. Perhaps it was because her real father was such a complete wastrel. Prior to the wedding, he had him checked out and the feedback confirmed what Lila had told him, and more. Bjorn Deal had a reputation as a ruthless trader who had upon occasion, lost big sums of money in risky trades. He always managed to make his way back again, but his fondness for partying and drugs kept getting him into trouble.
As John’s image in the press improved, so his relationship with the board also blossomed. More work was coming the way of the company and confidence was restored in John as the CEO. Life was good.
But not for long.
One evening, John came home to find Lila and Rosie huddled together closely on the couch. Something wasn’t right. He came closer and saw that they had a visitor.
Bjorn.
As soon as Lila’s ex-husband saw him, he got up and came over to John. He stretched out his hand, “John! Congratulations are in order, I believe!” John didn’t move; Bjorn did not sound sincere. He wondered if he was high. Lila sat with her arm around Rosie. It looked like she had been crying.
“Look at this house!” Bjorn gestured around. “It’s a palace! I must say that you are looking very well after my wife and daughter.”
“Ex-wife,” John said quietly, feeling his anger rising.
Bjorn shrugged as if to say that was a small detail.
“So, I was thinking, you guys have all this fortune going round. It would be only fair to share a bit of it, don’t you think?”
Aha, thought John, here it comes. He wants money.
“In a way, you owe me,” said Bjorn. “For years, I was looking after Lila and Rosie and now you can pay me back.”
“You bastard!” Lila hissed from the couch.
But Bjorn pointed a finger at her. “Don’t you be calling me names, dear. I know what is going one here. You married him for the money, didn’t you? No better than a common, little whore.”
Rosie got up and ran crying from the room.
John walked up to Bjorn and grabbed hold of his shirt. “You miserable piece of shit! Get out of my house this instant!”
But Bjorn managed to pull himself free and stepped away. He called out, “Oh, I’ll go, but only once you have paid me for my silence! Because if you don’t, I’m going to the press and I’ll tell them how you bought my wife and child for your little instant family. How do you think that is going to look?”
Something snapped in John. He lunged at John and they struggled as John punched him in the stomach. Bjorn hit back at John but he ducked. They exchanged blows, oblivious to Lila’s screams in the background. Enraged, John pushed Bjorn onto the glass coffee table, which shattered into pieces. Bjorn was stunned for a minute but then he got up, wiping glass from his body.
Lila was crying and cowering in a corner. He walked up to her and grabbed her, his hands around her throat.
“Don’t think you will ever be free of me, you little bitch. Marrying this windbag won’t change a thing!”
Then John was there, pulling him off Lila, and hitting him again. This time, he got a good hold of him and punched him several times before throwing him out the door.
“If I ever see you again, I’m calling the police!” he warned Bjorn.
Bjorn smiled at him, blood streaked across his teeth.
“You do that and it’s over for you. I expose your sham marriage and tell everyone how you treated your wife’s poor ex-husband. Those reporters just love a victim and believe me, I’ll lay it on thick!”
John was beside himself but he knew he had to stay calm. Bjorn could ruin everything that he had built here. He couldn’t let that happen.
“How much do you want?” he spat the words at Bjorn.
“A million ought to do it,” Bjorn said with an ugly grin.
John closed the door and walked back into the house. The place was a m
ess. It was very quiet.
“Lila?” He went up the stairs, looking for her.
But she was nowhere to be found.
Then he looked in Rosie’s room. It was deserted too. Then he heard the garage door open. He ran down and saw the space where Lila’s car was gone.
***
There was no time to think.
Lila took Rosie; they got into her car and drove off as quickly as possible.
They didn’t talk in the car but every now and then, Lila, would look at Rosie and touch her leg or her arm. Rosie did not move.
Stay strong, Lila told herself, think.
She couldn’t go back to her old flat and she couldn’t call Barb. That was the first place where anyone would look for her. She withdrew a large amount of cash and drove to a hotel in town.
She checked them into a luxurious room and immediately drew a big bubble bath for Rosie. She undressed her daughter and gently put her in the bath, trailing hot water over her skin.
Slowly, her daughter began to relax.
She stroked her back, like she did when Rosie was small.
They spent the night in the hotel bed, wrapped up in thick hotel gowns, watching television and ordering room service, although neither of them could eat. They didn’t talk about what had happened and Lila thought when Rosie was ready, she would let her know.
The only think Lila knew, was that she couldn’t go back.
The last year had been the best of her life but of course, it couldn’t last. Good things always came to an end, didn’t they?
The moment she had felt Bjorn’s fingers around her throat, she had known that she would never be rid of him, especially not now. He would rather destroy everything than see them with someone else.
She could see that now. Bjorn was a complete psychopath who felt nothing for them.
But he wanted to destroy John too.
Lila couldn’t let that happen.
John had been so good to her and Rosie. Yet, she couldn’t forget that the main reason why he married her was to make him look good. A crazy ex-husband airing dirty laundry in the press was not what he signed up for.
She decided that they would stay a couple of days, while she figured out what to do. She kept her mobile phone turned off. Every time she thought of John, she saw him as he threw Bjorn across the room, enraged. She had not thought him capable of such violence. Even though she knew he had to bring Bjorn under control, there was something about John that frightened her now. What if he killed Bjorn? How would she explain that to Rosie?
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