The Greeks Contract Marriage

CHAPTER FIVE: A CHANGE

Bailey was done with waiting on Demetrius to come home; she had left the mansion and decided to take a walk around Hollywood. This side of Hollywood Bailey had never seen before; this was the rich side of things.

Everyone around her drove expensive cars, if they were not doing that they looked better than her and the looks they were giving her was far from kind. Bailey was used to it, working as a Pole dance, which was the treatment she received. She had accepted that people would judge her without even knowing who she really was as a person.

Bailey was tired and there was not a single store that Bailey could purchase from, everything was too expensive and clearly, the store managers thought of her as nothing but a thief. She walked out of every store feeling worse than she did at the previous store.

Bailey stood at the red light, she dug her hands into her pocket and she pulled out a twenty dollar from her pocket. Bailey smiled at herself.  Twenty dollars, back where she lived would have been more than enough but here it meant nothing.

Bailey hailed a cab; she was not ready to head back home or rather to Demetrius’ home. The drive back to Beverly Hills was not that long and as soon as she exited the cab, she paid the driver and he was gone.  It was days as these that she wished she had a car, because it was a long walk from the gate to the entrance of the main door.

As soon as Bailey entered the house, she breathes out a sigh of relief. She was never one to like shopping other than when she really needed to but sitting in this house was one thing that she really did not enjoy doing.

“Madam, you’re back” Bailey almost jumped from the spot that she stood at, Mrs. Foster scared her and looking at the old woman’s face, she clearly realized her mistake.

“I’m so sorry madam, I didn’t mean to scare you like that” She apologized to Bailey, who simply rose up her hand and waved the matter away.

Bailey tried walking away from Mrs. Foster; only the old woman stopped her.

“Sorry madam but there’s been a delivery for you” Mrs. Foster told Bailey. Bailey was shocked for all she knew no one from her past knew that she had moved all the way to Beverly Hills.

Bailey turned around, not facing Mrs. Foster, her eyes full of questions and now none of them answered.

Mrs. Foster simply smiled at Bailey, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her all the way to the kitchen. On the kitchen counter, laid a big bouquet of red roses and a note attached to it. Bailey turned her attention away from the roses on the counter and she focused her attention on Mrs. Foster.

“I’m so sorry but I don’t understand what this is all about?” Bailey questioned Mrs. Foster. The old women looked at Bailey and she smiled. She walked over to the counter and picked up the card attached to the roses and handed it to Bailey.

“Read it” Mrs. Foster told Bailey, clearly more excited about this card than Bailey was. Bailey gently took the card from Mrs. Foster and read the contents of the letter.

To my beloved fiancé Bailey

 I choose these roses because they were the best I could find, just like you are the best there is. Hope you enjoy them, for my heartbeat is only for you.

From your loving fiancé

D. E

Bailey placed the card down onto the counter, although the words of the card was sweet and caring Bailey knew better than to believe a single word that had been written in there. She mentally rolled her eyes, she had no idea that Demetrius could even be romantic or sentimental type but she knew that this was a game and Demetrius was merely playing it and it was best that she did the same.

“Is it not sweet?” Mrs. Foster asked Bailey and instinct kicked in immediately and Bailey smiled.

“Yes it is sweet, I had no idea that my fiancé was so romantic” Bailey exclaimed, pretending to beam with happiness. Without any warning, Mrs. Foster pulled Bailey into her embrace, a surprising gesture. Bailey had not remembered the last time that someone had held her, she had grown up in a home where she had to grow thick skin and hugs were not very common around the Madison household.

“You have no idea how happy I am that a woman like yourself is marrying Demetrius. I might not be his biological mother but I have always feared that he would someday end up alone. Thank you for changing him” Mrs. Foster whispered into Bailey’s ear, her words sent pain through Bailey’s heart.

 She hated crushing this poor woman’s dream, if only Mrs. Foster knew that all this was a hoax, this entire show would only last a month and then Bailey would leave this home, fifty thousand dollars richer than she was currently. Mrs. Foster let go of Bailey and to her surprise, tears were forming in the old woman’s eyes, as she quickly grabbed some tissues from the counter and wiped her tears away.

“You really care about him”

“About who?” Bailey asked Mrs. Foster.

“About Demetrius”

“Yes I do, I took care of him when his mother was sick, poor child he was much attached to his mother” Mrs. Foster kept quiet for a while and Bailey could not help but wonder what it was that she was thinking.

 She knew it was best that she knew nothing about Demetrius, after all, she was only here for one month and then she would be gone. There would be no Demetrius in her world and he would surely move on with his life and forget that a Bailey Madison had ever entered his life.

Bailey was aware of the phrase “curiosity killed the cat” but she had to know more about Demetrius and his past, what if she was asked about him and what he likes and then what would she do?

“Mrs. Foster I know you’re probably very busy but can you tell me a bit about Demetrius. Well as you obviously know the both of us are madly in love and we’re basically rushing our relationship and dealing with the wedding and ob—“

“It’s okay Bailey, you do not have to explain yourself to me, both you and Demetrius are adults” Mrs. Foster interrupted Bailey, the manner in which she did it made Bailey feel at ease.

“Demetrius and his mother are very close, as I am sure he probably told you?” Mrs. Foster questioned her and Bailey simply smiled to cover up her lack of knowledge about Demetrius and his family.

“Yes, he’s told me a bit about his family” Bailey lied to Mrs. Foster. Bailey was no stranger to lying; she did it all the time at the strip club. She lied to her customers and she had even lied to her boss about her age when she began working at the strip club but why she felt bad about lying to Mrs. Foster, Bailey had absolutely no idea.

“Well my dear his mother was very sick and at the time I took care of Demetrius, poor boy he thought his mother was going to die. I used put him to bed every night after he would cry all day long. You should have seen how excited he was when his mother came back home, he was the happiest I’ve ever seen him” Bailey Listened to Mrs. Foster praise Demetrius for growing to a smart and talented man that he is now. She spoke as if she was his mother. She turned her attention to Bailey and placed her hand on her cheek.

“I know Demetrius seems rough around the edges but he really is a good man, it’s just that sometimes he needs someone to show him that he’s good” Those were Mrs. Fosters last words to Bailey before she left the kitchen, leaving Bailey alone with her thoughts.

Remember your place, Bailey. You have a job to do and you must do it with no emotions attached.  Bailey reminded herself, she had no attachment to Demetrius and his family and she would leave as she came.

Hours later Bailey now seated at the dining table, eating when Demetrius walked in without greeting any of the staff or even Bailey herself.  Demetrius sat at the table and his food was served, he ate in utter and complete silence.

Bailey ate her food in silence, not once looking up at Demetrius’ direction. She could hear him munching his food and at one time, Bailey could hear when he gulped down his water.

“So did you like the flowers I sent you?” Demetrius’ voice broke the silence between the both of them. Bailey looked up at Demetrius and her heart stopped, he was handsome, a trait that she had noticed the very day she met him but tonight, he had exceeded himself.

“I, I, I—“ Bailey struggled to get the words out of her mouth, Demetrius made it worse by looking right into her eyes from across the table. Demetrius clenched his jaw as he impatiently awaited Bailey’s answer.

“I believe I, I is not an answer” Demetrius told Bailey, his voice not concealing his irritation with Bailey. Bailey knew that Demetrius did not have to keep up the act, the staff was nowhere in sight, this meant that they could be themselves.

“I don’t know” Bailey answered, causing Demetrius to raise an eyebrow, he placed his fork and knife down on the table besides his plate, took his napkin and wiped his mouth.

“Was there something wrong with the flowers, I told Claire to get the best flowers that she could find” Demetrius told Bailey, now it was Bailey’s turn to raise an eyebrow.

“Who’s Claire?” Bailey asked Demetrius but just then, she regretted asking; now she risked sounding like a jealous fiancé, a real fiancé that was.

“She’s my personal assistant; she’s the one that picked the roses for you” Demetrius said, proud of his secretary.

Bailey did not know why she was hurt that another woman had picked out the flowers rather than Demetrius. She hated the fact that she felt this way and she had no idea how to deal with these conflicting emotions.

Bailey was not one to waste food but this time, she had lost her appetite, now all she could do was move her veggies around the on the plate.

“Why is your personal assistant? Why not you?” Bailey asked, hoping to gain some understanding to the way in which Demetrius thought.

“Because I do not concern myself with such trivial matters, just imagine Demetrius Evan standing at some flower shop, picking out flowers for a woman. I’d much rather do some reasonable works, like make important decisions for my company” Demetrius had told Bailey proudly, boasting about his business and what a great job he had done.

Bailey simply smiled at him, a skill she had learnt whilst working at the strip club. Whether she was upset sad or felt a certain way it was best to smile, she learnt that if she showed her true emotions people would think of her as a weak woman and weak women did not survive in the real world.

Bailey wiped her mouth with her own napkin; she then stood from her chair and excused herself.

“Wait!” Demetrius called out. The mare sound of his voice caused Bailey to freeze in the same spot; how he did that to her even Bailey could not understand it herself. She turned around and faced Demetrius, her face serious with not a hint of emotion.

“Yes, you called”

“Why haven you finished your food?” Demetrius asked Bailey, his eyes moved from her to the uneaten food on the plate and then back to Bailey.

“I did not feel like eating, I lost my appetite”

“Well I do not appreciate the wasting of food in this house” Demetrius responded.

“Well fortunately for me, you have a lot of money and wastage of food should be the last thing on your mind” Bailey boldly answered Demetrius and she walked away, leaving Demetrius to wonder what had just happened.