Contract marriage: My billionaire’s cure

Marcus took a step back, flabbergasted. He quickly untangled her arms and pushed her away.

“What the hell Marcus? Are you treating me like this because you’re married? You even came to me three days before you married her” Clara pointed at me and I suddenly felt my eyes watering.

I quickly turned and walked away from them. I couldn’t bear to look at him. Even though there was no connection between us back then, I thought he would have at least respected the concept of marriage.

He knew he was marrying me. Yet he had to go for someone. That’s why they were so friendly back in Florida. Who knows what they did behind my back when I was there.

I considered Marcus to be a much more mature and responsible person and not someone who seeks pleasure instead of solutions.

And even if he did I had no problem. But it’s Clara and that boiled my blood. This was not the first time she stole something mine and I’m afraid she would again.

“Hey hey Camilla” Marcus came running and grabbed me by my hand.

“Get your hands off of me” I yanked my hand back, still not meeting his eyes.

He didn’t listen and forcefully dragged me to an empty room near the lobby.

He locked the door. I scoffed and sat on a chair nearby. Marcus slowly walked towards me and knelt in front of me. He held my hands with both of his as he stared at me in guilt.

“What now? Go and play with your nice booty call” I said while looking away. I knew he saw the tears in my eyes but I still didn’t want look at him.

I liked Marcus a lot more than I’ve ever liked my previous boyfriends. They just used me but Marcus became someone special. His relationship with Clara hurt me more than I thought it would and it strangely made me feel jealous.

“I’m sorry. At first I didn’t want this marriage. I-I did it to get it out of my mind. But I promise I never did anything like that from the moment I put this ring on your finger” he said while brushing his fingers against my wedding ring.

I was someone who firmly believed in marriage. Respect and honesty were the most important factors to make the bond last. He knew I didn’t like her and he could have told me about the relationship they had today morning.

Maybe I was overreacting, maybe it was nothing but you never know until you feel it yourself. And right now my heart was aching.

Involuntarily, a single tear escaped my eyes at his words. I heard him sigh before he stood up.

He slowly leaned in and kissed the tear on my cheek. My eyes widened in surprise as I looked into his eyes.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me off the chair, making me stand up. He looked at me and different kinds of emotions flashed across his eyes.

Regret, pain and sorrow.

He kissed another tear that fell on my cheeks and this time the kiss lasted longer lingering on my cheek as my body shivered under his tender touch. He cupped my face with both of his hands and slightly lifted my head so that our eyes would meet.

“Don’t cry. I don’t like seeing you cry” he whispered in a broken voice.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him. I kept my head on his shoulder and tried to hide my tear filled eyes.

His eyes fluttered shut inhaling my scent as he stroked my hair, mumbling an apology. I was pressed to his chest tightly and I felt our wild hearts beating at a swift pace demanding to be let out.

His smile made me forget the world. His words gave me a purpose in life. His touch ignited a sensation within me. His mere presence made me feel that I wasn’t alone.

I suddenly realized what this feeling was that I had been having all this time.

I love him.

I love Marcus Anderson.

My chest heaved in relief as if I had just untangled a tight knot.

I knew why I was overreacting. I was jealous and selfish because I wanted him all to myself.

Leaning back I looked at him through my glossy eyes.

Wiping my tears with his thumb , he leaned closer and kissed my forehead. Then he took a handkerchief out of his pocket and started wiping my tear stained face.

“You seriously have a handkerchief in your pocket?” I said with a small chuckle and he nodded his head in return.

“Strawberry, Vegetarian and a handkerchief. You surprise me a lot” I said in a mocking tone as I dragged him out of the room.

“You’re not angry right?” he asked pleadingly.

“Is that your favorite question these days mister?” I joked again trying to lighten up the mood.

“Well you get angry a lot. Is it that time of the month again? ” He asked sarcastically with a small smirk playing on his lips.

“You did not just ask me that. You didn’t. You are dead” I hit him with my fist as he tried to cover himself, laughing hilariously.

“What’s going on?” Clara stood in front of us looking confused.

Marcus held my hand tightly and pulled me to his chest.

“Come to my office room. Then you can speak with us” Marcus said in a flat tone and walked past her, dragging me along with him.

…

I was sitting next to Marcus as Clara sat in front of us. Her secretary was speaking the entire time, probably because she didn’t understand anything that was going on.

The contest was to be held three weeks from now on. The events of the first week would be held in a cruise ship of the RJ’s. The rest of the month will be in Marcus’s hotel which he surprisingly agreed to give to us.

Clara was eyeing Marcus the entire time. I was very uncomfortable sitting in front of her, knowing that she had once been intimate with my husband.

“You have any good movies to watch?” Marcus asked me as Clara left with her support squad.

“I think we have a contest to prepare for” I said with a playful smile on my lips.

“We don’t have to work at night”

I laughed, enjoying this side of his personality and his lips curled into a small smile as he stared at me with amusement.

“So do you know who set fire to the building?”

“The police said that there might be a connection between the fire and the person who attacked you”

I had enemies but not to the point that they want to kill me. Most were business rivals that I pissed off, but I didn’t deem them to be killers.

I turned my head to speak to Marcus but he was staring out the window and his fists were clenched in anger. He seemed to be thinking about something and my gut told me that he knew who was responsible for this.

Before I could ask him what he was thinking, he turned and looked at me with worry filled eyes.

“Stay with me always. It’s dangerous for you to be alone. This person wants you dead and I can’t let that happen. Promise me you won’t go anywhere without me” He asked unexpectedly.

“I promise”

“Good” he tucked a piece of loose hair behind my ear and his fingers lingered on my face for a while stroking it gently.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

I wanted to scream to the world that I loved him. But I was afraid of rejection. What if all these gestures were out of good heart and not because he loved me.

Different kinds of thoughts bombarded me as I questioned his feelings for me. The closer I got to him, the more I suffered.

He raised his eyebrows in confusion, trying to figure out what I was thinking.

Like the emotional wrecking ball I am , I looked away and walked to my table.

I worked restlessly the entire day because we had to design our dresses all over again.

My staff from RJ sent me the sketches they made that needed to be given to the tailoring department. We were in a rush but I had hope that my employees would do their best as always.

I walked to Marcus’s car with him and we drove back home in silence.

I knew he was wondering why I was bipolar. His simple gestures evoked butterflies in my stomach, made me fall for him over and over again but I was afraid of this strange feeling even though it comforted me.

After dinner we both went to his room. I laid on the bed and turned my back to him. But he came closer and wrapped his arms around my waist, snuggling me closer to his body.

He buried his face in the crook of my neck and breathed in my scent. His thumb traced circles on my stomach as he draped his leg over mine.

I buried my face in the pillow and bit my lip, trying to stop them from trembling. I yearned for his touch, his warmth, his words.

But I was scared that he didn’t feel the same towards me. Scared that he would push me away just like he did before. We were always one step forwards two steps backwards.

I was afraid that just three simple words would change the relationship that we had. Madeline told me that he had never loved anyone.

What if he never wanted to love anyone ever? What if my confession takes us back to square one?

“Did I do something?” He whispered in my ear, hurt evident in his voice.

“No-Nothing. Let’s sleep”

I felt him hesitate before giving me a small peck on my cheek as I slowly closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.