BETROTHED TO THE BILLIONAIRE

Ryan’s POV

She is one hell of a woman.

I thought she would become jealous of my question and throw a tantrum but she isn’t doing any of that and I don’t feel satisfied.

I really don’t know why I feel this way. The other day, I was so excited about the thought of having sex but here I am asking for permission from her and after getting the permission, the excitement is nonexistent.

What is wrong with me?

I watch as her eyes bulge open in surprise. I am as surprised as she is. I didn’t mean to ask her that question but there is something at the back of my mind that I can’t bring to the forefront.

Something forbidden. Uncalled for. Something that shouldn’t be heard of me.

“What?!” She exclaims again for the umpteenth time.

I shrug in genuine puzzlement. I really do not know why I said that too.

Suddenly, I let out a chuckle and watch her roll her eyes at me, then sigh. “You are kidding, right?”

I shrug again, this time in sheer ignorance of what I am exactly doing.

She let out a long hiss that gets me laughing again, purposely throwing my head backward to hide my embarrassment.

When I drop my head back to its normal position, she is watching me with those intense sexy eyes. “You are kidding, right?”

I smirk. “What do you think?”

She shuts her eyes, glares at me, looks away, and grunts. “I don’t even know whether to take you seriously or not. It seems I don’t even know you anymore.”

“Do you even know me?”

“Of course I do.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do. You are Ryan Lorenzo, the CEO of….”

My groan stops her halfway. “That is a boring topic to have here.”

“What isn’t boring then? The topic of having a sex partner?” She questions with sudden interest, her eyes twinkling with amusement. Right now, I don’t know if she really wants us to talk about this topic or not or even if she is doing this just for fun.

I brought up the topic but I don’t feel like saying anything further about it. I have lost total interest.

Glancing away, I try to think of the best topic to talk about. I remember I brought the necklace along so I pick it up again from the table and open it so she can see it.

I sneaked into her room to get this. Ever since I got her this as a gift, she hasn’t worn it and I wish she would do something like that.

I always want to read meanings into every one of her actions and speeches. Valerie isn’t one to pretend and she always says what she means.

“Why haven’t you worn this since I got it for you? Don’t you like it?”

She raises her eyes to meet mine. “You went into my room to get this?” She scoffs and folds her arms. “You are unbelievable.”

“It’s worth it, isn’t it? I got you your favorite singer…”Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

“Yes, it was worth it but don’t blackmail me with Christine Moore. He deserves better.”

She ridiculously twitches her mouth and I laugh shortly.

“You are cute”, I blurt out without knowing. She doesn’t seem surprised at my compliment. She waves it away and leans backward just in time for her stomach to rumble loudly.

She shuts her eyes as her face turns red in embarrassment. I laugh heartily.

“I thought you said you weren’t hungry a few minutes ago?”

“I really do not know what to make of this, Ryan. It feels like I am genuinely pregnant. I don’t understand my appetite these past few days”, she murmurs as she grabs the menu.

“I guess it’s the medicine. How is your shoulder now?” I ask, remembering that I haven’t been able to do that in a week even though sometimes, I peep and peek at her to know if she is wincing in pain and to see if the shoulder is healing already.

She rolls her eyes at me. “Now you are asking me that? You are a scumbag.”

“What?!” I exclaim with a chuckle.

“Yes, you are. You told my biggest crush that you are my husband yet you don’t even know how I am faring? You are unbelievable.”

Well, she got me.

“That was because we were not on speaking terms. I wanted to ask you, believe me”, I say, feeling guilty again.

This is exactly how I feel whenever she accuses me of something, even when I didn’t mean to do what she is accusing me of or I have other intentions.

“I was ignoring you on purpose. You deserved it.”

“Aren’t we done with this? I thought I already apologized?”

She remains silent and I smile and push the box further. Quickly, she picks it up and takes out the shining diamond necklace. It sparkles and I am sure it will match her dress.

Carefully, I take it from her so I can help her put it on.

“Don’t worry”, she tries to resist but I hush her up with a finger on her lips while I am leaning forward over her.

“This is the beauty of buying a woman a necklace. Besides, you are not just any woman but my wife, ok?”

I see her close her eyes briefly and suck in a breath, as though she wants to oppose me and remind me once again that this isn’t real.

I watch her beautiful face. Her plump lips calling to me. Leaning over with the necklace in my hand is allowing me to see her cleavage. It brings a sharp memory of the first time I saw her exposed skin and how smooth they look.

This will be the second time I will see a part of her and it is doing unimaginable things to me below.

For the first time since we have been married, I feel hard just watching her.

I shut my eyes, trying to calm my nerves and do what I need to do, then sit back on my chair so I can hide. Valerie doesn’t need to know the kind of effect she has on me. This is temporary. She doesn’t feel any iota of feelings for me.

Feelings? What the hell am I saying?

This is absurd.

What I feel is just lust because I haven’t had sex in a while and I am seeing her exposed skin, that’s all.

I shouldn’t read any more meaning to all of this.

Valerie will be out of my life soon. We decided to do this contract marriage shit because we couldn’t imagine how life could be so difficult for us if we had to spend the rest of our lives together.

Why then am I having such ridiculous thoughts? Should I still consider finding a partner outside my marriage?

She doesn’t have any objections to it and all I need to do is to be really careful so Mother won’t suspect a thing.

“Ryan”, her voice comes out as a whisper, reminding me of the compromising position and how I am ogling her chest. “Are you done putting it on?”

The position is making her uncomfortable and I feel a twist in my heart.

Hurriedly, I unhook the necklace and put it around her neck, admiring the region for a while before darting my gaze away, clearing my throat, and sitting down.

Silence ensues.

A heavy one that makes the atmosphere tense. I have no idea if she knows what I am feeling right now and why she isn’t saying anything.

We haven’t even ordered our meal yet. I want to clear my throat once more and ask her what she would like to order since the menu is still in her hands.

When I hoist my head up to stare at her face, she isn’t looking at me. Her gaze is fixed on someone behind me.

I actually thought she was staring at me throughout in puzzlement and shock at my reaction just now.

Slowly, I follow her gaze to see a male figure, and then a female appears too.

They both approach our table, immense in a chit chat and when they are close by, I see the lady’s face.

It is familiar.

Before I can figure out where I know her from, Valerie calls out. “Fred?”

Hastily, I shift my gaze to the guy. It is indeed Fred. The grin on his face slowly disappears and I feel a pang of anger mixed with jealousy.

After throwing him a cold glare, he looks from me to Valerie and from Valerie to me. He opens his mouth to say something when the lady beats him to it.

“Ryan Lorenzo?”

I turn to her. Valerie also averts her gaze from her ex-boyfriend to the lady who just called my name.

When I look closely at her, I realize she doesn’t just look familiar. She is someone I know. Someone I grew up with. Someone who used to mean a lot to me.

“Celina Sebastian?!” I call out in total disbelief and she nods with a huge smile on her face.