The Billionaire's Obsessed Concubine

Chapter 9 - Ask me again

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Lia

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It’s 5:30 pm, Thursday, and I’m getting ready to go on my lunch date with Chris. It’s a bit chilly, so I wear black leggings, knee-length black suede boots, and a white shirt that stops mid-thigh. I grab my black leather jacket, and just then, the doorbell rings. I place the jacket on the bed and quickly go to the front to get to the door.

"Hi, please come in." I invite Chris inside, stepping aside and he enters and hands me flowers.

"Thank you," I thank him and lead him to the sitting area, where I tell him to make himself at home before asking if he would like something to drink. "I have gin and vodka," I add with a small voice, realizing the question was too open. What if he doesn't even drink the stuff I have?

"I’ll have the vodka, thank you," he replies with a smile, and I think he's just choosing one so I don't feel bad.

"Coming right up," I reply, returning his smile, and head to the kitchen to get the liquor. I pour him a glass and return with it to the sitting area.

"Thank you," he says, as I place it in front of him, and I tell him he's welcome before adding I'm going to grab my jacket, and we can go. I head to my bedroom with a spring in my step for some reason, and I grab the jacket and my purse and head down.

He gets up when he sees me, and we head out to his car, and I'm surprised he's driving. He strikes me as the kind of guy that would have brought along a driver, but I'm glad. I don't care about that stuff. He opens the door for me and helps me inside. After closing it, he walks around to his, and soon the car is moving.

We chat for a bit and then fall into a comfortable silence for the rest of the drive. Before I know it, we are stopping in front of one of the high-class restaurants in Cape Town, and I look at myself, suddenly feeling underdressed. I thought we were just having a normal lunch at a regular restaurant. I would have put more effort if I knew.

"What's wrong?" Chris asks after opening my door, my face probably giving away my inner thoughts, and I tell him it's nothing, taking his hand.

"We could go to another place if you don't like this one," he says, making me feel bad, and I quickly explain that that's not the case.

"I've always wanted to come try this place. It's silly, really, it's nothing," I add, and he says okay, still with a slight frown on his face, his tone laced with confusion, obviously to how weird I'm acting right now.

"Shall we?" he asks after closing my door, and I whisper a yes. We had inside, and we find a waiter waiting for us.

"Good evening, Mr. Muller, Miss. Please follow me this way," he says, gesturing for us to follow him before Chris even tells him who he is. I guess he's a regular here. After sitting down, he hands us the menus and takes our drinks order. I order some juice, and Chris orders bourbon. I knew he wasn't a vodka person.

"So, how long have you been working at St. Luke’s?" he asks, and I tell him for about a year, adding I was fortunate to secure employment before coming to the country. So when I got here, I started work immediately. He asks where I lived before here, and I tell him I was born and raised in London.

"Oh, okay, that makes sense," he says, probably referring to my accent, which always gives me away. "What about your parents and siblings? Are they also here?" he asks, and I tell him I don't have siblings. I'm an only child. I tell him my parents are back in the UK before adding that his company represented my father in a lawsuit about a flag matter three years ago, and he won the case."

He nods and stays quiet for a moment before asking if my father is David Logan, and I gape, surprised. I was just mentioning it. I didn't think he would remember.

"Yes, actually, he is. I didn’t think you’d remember. I mean, you've probably represented many people over the years," I tell him, amazed, and he says my father is a renowned journalist.

"I could never forget him, plus it was a pretty big case," he adds, and just then, the waiter comes to take our orders, and again I notice how he and Chris are conversing like they know each other. I also don't miss how he orders a vegetarian dish.

I look at him while he’s looking at the waiter, and God, he's hot. He’s wearing a navy chino, gray boots, a white shirt, and a black coat that he's now hung on his chair. The shirt perfectly hugs his biceps, while the chino emphasizes his well-defined legs. You can tell by his athletic build he works out.

God, Natalia, snap out of it. You’re not ready for any of this.

I quickly look away when he brings his attention back to me again, blushing from my thoughts, and I hope he didn't see me drooling at him.

"Sorry about that," he says with an apologetic smile, and I tell him it's okay before asking if he's a regular here since he and the waiter seem to know each other, but I quickly realize I overstepped. It's none of my business how he knows the waiter, so I quickly tell him he doesn't have to answer that. But he chuckles, saying it's okay. He doesn't mind.

"You could say I'm a regular here, " he adds, and I nod, also realizing I asked the obvious. This is probably where he brings all his women.

"So you were still telling me about yourself," he says, and I tell him I was actually done and that he was about to tell me about himself, causing him to smile.

"Okay. I’m an accountant. I manage the company's finances. Apart from that, I own a few establishments under my name – some here and others overseas."

"A few establishments like what? If you don't mind me asking, of course."

"No, it's okay. Uhm... I own a few malls, hotels, restaurants, and currently busy with other projects I'll be finishing soon."

"Wow! That's... impressive. You've done pretty well for yourself," I commend, suddenly intimidated. I knew he was rich, but still, I didn't expect this.

"Thank you," he says as I take a sip of my juice, but my eyes widen as realization dawns on me. "You own this restaurant, don't you?" I ask, suspiciously narrowing my eyes at him; the whole interaction with the waiter starting to make more sense, and a nervous smile makes its way to his face, and he says yes.

"Ah!!"

"You thought I was a lawyer, right?" he asks, and I confess I'm guilty, still impressed by his ability to keep a low profile with everything he’s got going for him. The man is a billionaire, but I'd never heard of him until I met him that day.

"No… My brother and father are lawyers. I wanted to do something different. You’ve met almost all my family. There are only two people you didn’t meet: my sister-in-law Keisha and my nephew, the one we were at the hospital for, Caleb," he adds, and I congratulate him.

" Thank you. "

"I still can’t believe your mother is Lynette Muller. I love her work. I'd love to have her do my place when I'm rich," I say, and he chuckles at that, saying he doesn't know, he thought my place was cute.

"Cute?" I laugh at that. "I don’t want it to be cute; I’m not five."

"I’m sorry, my bad. It’s beautiful. "I thought cute and beautiful were the same thing," he says, laughing with me.

As our laughter dies down, I find him looking at me intently with an emotion I can’t describe, and I start blushing like an i***t.

"Are you seeing anyone? If you don’t mind me asking," he suddenly asks, and I don't know why but my heart rate accelerates, and I quickly tell him I'm not before realizing I answered too fast for my liking. But that soon becomes the last thing on my mind, seeing his surprised expression.

"You’re not?" he asks, and I tell him I'm not before asking why he looks surprised. He says, I'm beautiful, and I thank him and chuckle at his weird answer before assuring him that people are not single because they are not beautiful; also getting the feeling that's not what he wanted to say.

"You’re right. I'm sorry. That came out wrong; it's not what I meant," he apologizes, but I know he didn't get to where he is by being ignorant. So I tell him to relax, I believe him, and we both laugh at ourselves.

"What about you? Are you seeing anyone?"

"No, actually, I’m not. I was seeing someone, but it was complicated, and she ended it last weekend."

"Oh, I’m sorry."

"Thank you, but I’m okay. I'm over it; it was a long time coming," he says, and just then, our food arrives, and we start eating.

We keep stealing glances at each other and smiling whenever we catch each other. After our meal, Chris insists that I order dessert, so I order a cheesecake, my favorite, and he gets himself some whiskey.

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It’s now 10:45 pm, and we are standing in front of my house. Chris walked me to my door.

"Thank you for tonight. I had a great time," I tell him, as he hands me my jacket, and he thanks me too, saying he also had a wonderful time.

"I know I promised this would be the last time, but I would like to do this again. Is that maybe a possibility? Could I be allowed to go back on my word, just this once?"

"Maybe… Ask me again, and we’ll see then. Goodnight, Chris," I say, walking away before he can respond, and I hear him reply with a smile as I close the door.

I lock it and exhale, leaning against it as I place a hand on my heart, feeling all giddy like a teenager.

I’m going to fall for this guy. I can feel it.

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.........

Tyler

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It’s Friday afternoon, and every Friday, we take Kiara out after work to see a movie or decide what we want to do. Right now, we are at Milky Lane, getting milkshakes. I try to create these family moments and ensure she doesn’t feel neglected, so I've set aside Fridays for us.

I’m trying to spend as much time with her as I can. It already breaks my heart that she doesn’t have her mother in her life, and I know it makes her sad, too, especially when she sees other little girls with their mothers. I'm fortunate to be blessed with a daughter like her. She amazes me every day, and she’s very mature for her age. She’s always understanding and puts others’ feelings first. She’s everything – my life and I want to become a better father to her every day.

I told her her mother had to go away because she was sick and had to go and try to get better first, so she could come back and be the best mother she wanted to be to her.

I loved Kim, and as her mother, I always will. There was nothing I wouldn’t have done for her. I tried everything to help her be okay again, but she kept getting worse.

I'd walk in and find Kiara crying upstairs by herself while she would be doing nothing in the kitchen or on the patio.

I wanted her to see someone because I thought she was overwhelmed, but she refused everything. My mother would come over every day while I was at work to help her with the baby; we figured she'd be better off with someone she knew, and it seemed to work for a while.

She got better, or so I thought, and even asked my mother to stop coming over. The only problem was how distant she was from Kiara. She was cold towards her, so again, I spoke to her and tried to get her to talk to someone. It was apparent she wasn't well.

She started fighting with me about it, saying I was suffocating her. She said I was constantly nagging.

She started drinking a lot, and it didn’t matter if it was during the week or what; she was just permanently drunk. I hired a nanny to look after Kiara. I couldn’t just leave her with her anymore. I would come home and find her gone, and when I would ask the nanny, she would say she left in the morning. The first couple of times, I never confronted her because I didn’t want to fight. I would relieve the nanny and take over. For two years, I tried to make it work because I loved her and didn’t want Kiara to grow up without both her parents, but it wasn't working.

One day, when Kiara was two, I decided to take her to the park because I was upset over something Kim did, and it was becoming tough to avoid a fight, and I didn't want to fight because I knew if I did, I wouldn't be able to turn back this time. It was going to be over.

We no longer shared a bed, and I slept on a blow-up mattress in Kiara’s room. So, when we came back from the park. I went passed our room, but just as I did, I heard Kim moan. I stopped, confused, and listened for a moment before proceeding to where I was going and putting Kiara down since she was sleeping. After that, I went out, unable to accept what was really happening. I couldn't accept that she would bring a man into our home and f**k him in front of me.

As I was walking back, I could clearly hear she was having s*x, and I could hear the guy’s voice as well. I kicked the door open and found her on top. The guy jumped to his feet, and we fought, but Kim tried to hold me back, and the guy ran away. She was screaming at me, saying it was my fault – saying I had been neglecting her. She said Kiara was the only thing I cared about. I rushed out of the room feeling like I was about to collapse, and she ran after me, continously screaming. I slammed the door in her face when I got to the room, hyperventilating. I was f****d up, and I couldn't calm down, no matter how I tried. It felt like I was going to lose my mind.

I took Kiara that night and went to my parents’ house. We stayed there for two months while I looked for a place.

Kim showed up at my parents' place the week after I left her, saying she wanted to talk to me, but I didn’t want to see her.

She kept showing up at the hospital, and for some stupid reason, I ended up hearing her out. She promised to start going to counseling and apologized for everything she did, and like a desperate fool, I gave her a chance again. I loved her, and she was Kiara's mother. I couldn't just give up on her.

We attended counseling together, and things got better. She was also getting close to Kiara, but we were still living separately. I bought a house for Kiara and me. I was starting to be happy again, thinking we were making progress, but one stormy morning at 4 a.m., there was a knock on my door.

Flashback

"Kim, what’s going on?"

"I’m sorry, Tyler. I won’t be long. My flight's at 7 a.m."

"What are you talking about? Where are you going? When will you be back?"

"I’m going to visit my aunt in Australia, Tyler. Look, I’m sorry, but I can’t do this anymore; I need to try and fix my life. I can’t do that here."

"Why not? What about Kiara? She needs you-"

"-No, she needs you, Tyler. I don’t want to be a mother. I thought I could do it for you, but every day it's becoming more difficult to even look at her without resenting her."

"Kim, please don’t do this. We just have to keep going to counseling. We can do this together, and we can be okay again. I love you, baby, please don't-"

"-Shhh," she said, putting her index finger on my lips. "It will never be okay. I was going to terminate the pregnancy, but you found out, and you were so happy, I couldn’t break your heart. I thought I could try, and I did, for you, because I love you, but I do not love her." she said, and I felt something shift inside me. Right there, at that moment, I finally accepted it was over.

"Fine, go," I said, removing her finger from my lips and wiping the tears that were flowing freely on my face.

End of Flashback

It breaks my heart to think Kiara's waiting for someone who might never show up.

"Earth to Tyler," Lia speaks, snapping her fingers in front of my face, and I realize she's been talking for a while now. "Where did you go?" she asks, and I tell her I'm sorry, I zoned out.

"Are you okay?"

"I’m fine, you were saying?"

"They are out of bubblegum; must we get chocolate for you?"

"Yeah, chocolate is fine, thanks," I reply, and she says sure and walks away after asking if I'm sure I'm okay.

Lia has become like family to us. Kiara loves her, and Lia feels the same. She’s very good with her, and they go shopping and do all the girls’ stuff together. I appreciate her a lot, and I’m grateful for having her in my life.

They return with our shakes and drink them on the way to the cinema.