The billionaire’s true love

Part 23

“No,” I said, my eyes wide as I gazed at the diamond which winked at me mischeviously as it sat, cushioned inside the velet box.

“You don’t even know what I am going to demand,” Trent argued, chuckling.

“I don’t care. It’s a still a no,” I replied. A diamond ring nestled in a box had only one explanation; well only one explanation I could think of. And I would not agree to it. Marrying Trent right now was not an option. Well I wasn’t sure if if would ever be an option, but right now was definitely not it. I had to stand on my own two feet. I did not want to be dependent on my husband, in any sense of the word…except for sexual needs.

“Shady, stop jumping to conclusions,” Trent admonished, an amused smile on his face.

“I’m not jumping to conclusions! And what you’re proposing does not have a thousand interpretations, it has one explanation only.” I told him.Content rights belong to NôvelDrama.Org.

“Oh really? Then tell me, what is it?” He enquired, the ring still in front of me, causing goosebumps to pebble my skin.

I crossed my arms in a show of defence. “You know what you’re demanding. And the answer is no,” I stated.

“And I asked you to tell me what I am demanding,” he responded.

“You know it, stop playing coy.” I told him.

“I’m not playing coy, you are. Tell me what I want from you,” he ordered. Trent was clearly enjoying this, if the gleam in his dark eyes was any indication, although I had no idea why.

“Well you want what any other guy wants when he is about to give a diamond ring to a woman,” I answered.

At this Trent burst out laughing. He held his stomach with one hand as he laughed and laughed. I just looked at him like he was a strange specie from another planet, because throughout the time I had worked for him, he had never laughed like this, and I mean ever.

“I’m sorry. I-I’m so-sorry,” Trent said as he tried to control his laughter. “I’m sorry, but this was hilarious.” He had finally gotten back to his normal self.

“Why were you laughing?” I asked.

“Because your answer made me laugh,” he stated.

Now I was offended. “Excuse me?! What did I say that had you laughing likd a hyena?”

“I’m not asking you to marry me, Amanda,” Trent said.

Those words were like a physical punch to the gut. He was not proposing? But he had a ring, and he held it out in front of me; he was not proposing? He didn’t want me to marry him?

And why did that thought hurt so much? Why did I feel like such an idiot? His words were like a slap to my soul, my self respect. Trent didn’t want to marry me. He laughed because I jumped to conclusions and thought his next demand was to force me to marry him. Oh no, I just made a fool out of myself. Fuck my life.

I scoffed. “Yeah, well…I know that. I wasn’t referring to that. I knew you have some other demand which involves a diamond ring.” That was a lie, Trent and I both knew that, but I had to save myself somehow; even if it was a lousy attempt.

“Right. Sure you weren’t.” Trent raised his eyebrows, clearly telling me that he did not believe a single word that I just said.

“Yeah. And what is your demand anyway. Tell me quickly, and for fuck sake’s get me out of these bloody handcuffs,” I complained.

“I’ll get you out of the handcuffs when you agree to my next demand,” Trent responded, reverting back to his usual asshole self. An asshole self I was cursing myself for liking. Why did I always had to get attracted to assholes? What was wrong with me? I think I needed counselling.

“Fine. Tell me your second demand.” I sighed in frustration.

“I want you to wear this ring, and never take it off,” he stated.

Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrows. “Uh, why?” I queried.

“You don’t question me,” he said, clearly irritated.

“I will if you put demands like this forward,” I countered.

“Why can’t you just do what I ask without question for once in your life?” Now he was definitely aggravated.

“Because your orders are ridiculous.” I threw my hands up in a show of hopelessness.

“They are not. And do you agree or not? Wear this ring forever, never take it off. Yes or no?” Man, he was impatient.

“What if I don’t?” It was a stupid question, but I couldn’t help myself.

Trent looked at me then eyed the handcuffs glinting from my ankles. I followed his line of sight and I got my answer. He would not let me go if I didn’t agree. Man, now I knew why I hated him.

No, you don’t. The guy’s a jerk but you’re just as smitten. You are an embarrassment to the female population.

“You like the cuffs?” He asked, rhetorically.

How could I ever think that being bound against your will was romantic? Theodore cuffed Hailey and I told her it was romantic. If Trent wasn’t here right now I would’ve slapped myself. I was clearly an idiot and needed a serious session with a therapist. Because being bound against your will was not romantic at all.

You still like him.

Alright, I liked Trent. But I did not love him. At least I didn’t think I did. Trent hadn’t done anything that would have me dreaming about having his babies and wearing a wedding band. He was an asshole. A drool worthy asshole but an asshole nonetheless.

“Get them off, Trent,” I whined.

Trent moved forward before he placed a strong hand behind my head and pulled my face to his. When his lips met mine it felt like my whole world exploded in fireworks. Sparks rained down behind my eyelids as his lips glided over mine, telling me how right this was, even if he was the cause of my rage half the time.

“Say yes,” he whispered before slipping his tongue in my mouth, skillfully exploring every corner. I moaned as pleasure shot down from my lips down to my sex. I held on to his arm which had somehow landed on my waist, enjoying the kiss as much as my mind was hating it.

“Say yes,” he whispered again.

I opened my mouth to reply but he captured my lips again. Only now, his kiss was more demanding more aggressive. Arousal exploded anew, liquid heat dripped from my core as Trent kissed me like there was no tomorrow. He bit my lip, he teased me, causing me to moan out loud. Trent Benson knew how to kiss, and he knew how to use his skills to his advantage.

“Say yes.” The demand was more aggressive this time.

My mind now losing all it’s functions, had me saying what he wanted to hear. “Yes.” I breathed, my lungs demanding oxygen after the kiss.

“Good girl,” Trent replied in approval before giving me a tender kiss.

“Wait. What?” I blinked at Trent in confusion, trying to remember what I said yes to.

“You agreed to wear my ring.” Trent flashed me a killer smile, that had my heart skipping.

“No.” He confused me so much.

“Yes. You agreed. You can’t take back your words,” he responded.

“You tricked me!” I accused.

“And it’s your fault, because you fell for it. You allowed yourself to get tricked, so now you have to wear this ring. And remember, you cannot take it off, no matter what.” He winked at me. He fucking winked!

“I change my mind. I don’t want to wear your ring anymore,” I stated, crossing my arms across my chest.

“You want to be tied to this bed forever then?”

Damn! He had a point. If I didn’t accept the ring, I was stuck. But if I did accept the ring then…then what? What would wearing a diamond ring mean? And he still hadn’t told me why he wanted me to wear that particular piece of jewelry.

However, accepting the ring was better than being cuffed to the bed for eternity. I did not want to grow old on this bed. I mean, it would be weird if people found my dead body after a century only to see the bones of my ankles cuffed to the bed. Yeah, anthropologists would have a field day with that.

“Fine. I accept your ring.” I sighed and finally relented. I knew. I knew it was a mistake, but I had no choice. It was either the ring or the cuffs. And I chose the ring. It was less of a restriction. And it would get me my freedom. As soon as Trent gave me the ring, I would get out of here. God knows what Jose would be doing right now.

“And you could’ve just said that ten minutes ago. But no, you just love to argue,” Trent grumbled, before plucking the ring from the box. He held out his hand for me, and I hesitated again. Taking a deep breath, I placed my right hand in his.

“Not your right hand. Give me your left,” he commanded, totally serious. There was no glint of amusement in his eyes; nothing to tell me that he was enjoying this. But there was another kind of glitter-a shimmer that made me feel as if he was waiting for me to surrender, to submit.

“Why? I want the ring on my right hand.” I told him.

Trent shook his head. “No. The ring always goes on the left hand,” he stated.

“Not necessarily. That only happens when it’s a wedding or engagement ring; and since this ring represents neither, there is no reason for it to be on my left hand,” I argued.

“What if it’s a promise ring?” Now that got my attention. Simply because no one ever gave me a promise ring; and I did not know what he was going to promise me.

“A promise ring?”

Trent nodded. “Yes. A promise ring goes on the left hand, right? So this is a promise ring,” he replied.

I chuckled. “Oh really? And what are you promising me?” I enquired.

“Let me put on the ring first, then I’ll tell you,” he responded.

“No. Tell me what the promise is, first.”

“No. Give me your left hand. The promise is told only after the ring is on the finger,” he informed me.

“That’s not true.” Where did he get this kind of information from? It wasn’t even true!

“It is. And the longer we keep arguing, the longer you’ll remain bound.” Now that shut me up.

“Fine. You’re weird!” I remarked before begrudgingly replacing my right hand with my left one.

“You argue so much,” he complained, before slipping the platinum diamond ring on my third finger, of the left hand.

“Now tell me what the promise is,” I demanded as soon as the cool band rested on my finger.

“I already promised you. And I do not reveal my promises.” He smirked, as I glowered at him.

“That is not fair, Trent Benson! You promised you’ll tell me.” Why did he have to piss me off!

“I did not promise you anything, except for the promise I just made,” he stated, rising from the bed, looking like he just conquered the world. Damn him!

“I hate you so much!” I was about to pull his ring off my finger when he captured my hands in his.

“No. You cannot remove the ring. Ever. That was the deal, so do not even think about gettting rid of the ring. If I don’t see it on your finger, then trust me, sleeping beauty, you will not like what I’ll do to you,” he threatened, before dropping my hands.

“I hate you,” I seethed.

“And that is why you thought I was going to propose to you,” he said smugly.

Ouch! That hurt.

Not wanting him to know how much his words hurt me, I focused on my anger. Because my anger protected me. It was my shield against people like Trent. Giving Trent power was a terrible thing to do, but I had done it. By jumping to conclusions, I gave him the one thing that could be used to possibly destroy me. Power.

“I did not think that. I mean, why would I marry you, you’ll be a terrible husband,” I hissed.

“We’ll see, bumblebee. We’ll see,” Trent said, a cryptic smile on his face.

“What did you mean by that?” I questioned.

“Nothing. Now do you want me to remove the cuffs?” He acted like he was asking if I wanted dinner or not.

“You are despicable. Of course I want you to remove the cuffs, what kind of a stupid question is that?! And you call yourself a businessman.” I scowled at him.

He chuckled, clearly amused at my outburst. “Alright sleeping beauty, relax now. I will remove the cuffs and you can go home, if you want.” Trent sauntered over to my bound feet. He grabbed my left ankle, and gently ran his fingers over my naked ankle, caressing it, causing my stomach to somersault, before he unlocked the cuff surrounding my ankle. He then repeated the exact same procedure with my other ankle. If he kept this up, I would be moaning his name in no time. The man knew how turn me on!

“There you go. Now you are free to go,” Trent announced.

Instantly, I brought my ankles close to me. Running my fingers over the skin, I was glad that the metal hadn’t broken skin. When Hailey came home after being cuffed by Theodore, she had bandages around her wrists. Thank God, nothing like that happened to me.

“Finally! I can go home!” It didn’t take me long to remove myself from the bed. The relief I felt when my feet were firmly on the ground, threatened to topple me over. I would never take my feet for granted ever again.

“Yes, but remember, you cannot remove the ring,” he reminded me.

“Yes, I know. Good bye now.” I made my way to the front door, but a hand on my arm stopped me.

“Don’t forget. You have to come to work on Monday. Tamara is going to be joining us, so do not be late.” Trent told me.

Tamara?! Fuck my life!