Page 44 of Grumpy Billionaire Seeking Wife (Billionaires Seeking Wives Club #1)

Chapter Twenty-Six

W es

There's something about mourning that makes me feel like the day is full of possibilities, especially now that Sabrina is here with me.

The gala went amazingly, and I felt like I was living the life of my dreams, only I wasn't really sure what was real and what wasn't. I love Sabrina, and everything I said was real, but I know she is still trying to get out of living with me.

I know she is doing her utmost to annoy me—not every day or every moment, but enough that I know she doesn't want to actually be here with me. That saddens me.

I roll over in the bed and watch her as she sleeps. Her hair is falling over her face, and I reach over and brush it to the side. Her eyes flutter open, and she gazes at me with a small smile. "Morning," she says.

"Morning." I look at her. "How are you feeling?"

"Good." She nods slowly. "I'm still a little tired. I may sleep in."

"That's fine. You don’t have to work today, right?"

"Just your calls." She grins.

"You can get a day off from the calls," I say, laughing. "I have a question for you."

"What's your question?" She rolls over onto her side.

"My question is, if you could go anywhere, where would you go?"

"Paris, of course," she says. "I've always loved Paris and have always wanted to go. It seems the most romantic city in the world."

"If you were to get engaged for real, that's where you'd want it to be?"

"I think so." She nods. "Yeah. What about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you could go anywhere, where would you go?"

"Oh." I stare at her. "I don't really know. Maybe New Zealand. I've heard that it's beautiful and a place adventure seekers like to go."

"New Zealand sounds cool," she says. "If you could eat anything you want, what would you eat?" she asks me.

"Not ramen noodles," I say quickly, and she bursts out laughing. "That was so funny when you thought I was going to make filet mignon or lobster bisque."

"Honey, I thought you might make beef Wellington." I start laughing. "Yeah, maybe I was a little na?ve."

"Just a little bit." She grins.

"But I still think it was funny."

"It was."

My phone rings, and she lifts her hand up to take it from me. But as I stare at the screen, I see Gary's name flashing. "Hold on. I'll take this." I want to get out of bed and walk into another room, but I don't want to be suspicious. "Hi, this is Wes Carrington."

"Hi, Wes. It's Gary. I've got some good news for you."

"Okay, great."

"I found Richard Fillmore. I can give you his address. I've got a folder with..."

"Okay, can you email me?" But I know it's too late.

I know Sabrina has heard because Gary's voice is loud and booming, and my speaker volume is set at high.

She suddenly stills as she stares at me.

I can see her expression change and... Fuck, this is not how I wanted her to find out. "Text me the details. Thanks, Gary."

"You're welcome," he says. "I hope it all goes according to plan."

We hang up, and I stare at Sabrina. She's sitting up now and glaring at me angrily. "Why did that guy just say that he's found my dad? Who was that? What's going on, Wes?"

"I needed to see where your father was because..."

"You didn't need to see anything. There was no reason for you to try and find him.

Why didn't you mind your own fucking business?

You've gone too far, Wes. Why do you always have to meddle?

It's one thing to meddle with my dates; it's another thing to go behind my back to find my father. It's not right."

I stare at her and nod. "I know, and I'm sorry. I just feel..."

"You don't understand. You don't know what it's like. He left me. He abandoned me. He didn't give two shits about me. I could be dead for all he knew. I could be dead. Do you understand me?" She starts crying.

I reach over and pull her into my arms. She sobs into my shoulder, and I rub her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I should have asked you before I?—"

"You don't think I've looked for him? You don't think I've tried to find him to ask?" She sobs. "To help my mom. Why did he leave me?" I don't say anything; I just let her cry. Finally, she stops and pulls away from me. "What now? What do you know about him?"

"Do you want to know?" I ask, surveying her face.

"It was none of your business to do this, but now that you have information, yeah, I want to know. Did he send the files? What's going on? I don't understand why you did this, Wes. I don't understand why you?—"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overstep the mark, but I've noticed for a number of years how his abandonment of you, of your mother, has hurt you. And I thought maybe the first step in healing would be to figure out what happened."

She nods slowly. "I see."

"Are you mad at me?"

"I'm pissed," she says.

"I have an address," I say, holding up the phone. "The private detective knows where he lives. We can pay him a visit. Do you want to do that?"

She stares at me silently, just thinking. I don't say anything. We must sit there for what seems like thirty minutes before she finally nods. "I'll go."

"Okay."

"But on one condition," she says.

"What's that?" I ask her.

"I want you to let me out of here. I want you to let me move out."

"But where are you going to go? What are you going to do? Sabrina, I..."

"You'll need to look after Bruno, of course, until I can find a place where he can move in with me. I'll go to my mom's, but I can't stay here anymore, Wes. You just..." She starts to cry again. "I just can't do this anymore."

"I'm sorry. I only wanted the best for you."

"Yeah, sure," she says. "You wanted to control me. You wanted to sleep with me. Well, you've done both. You had your wicked way with me, but now I want to move on with my life, please."

"Okay. I can be ready in ten minutes if you want to go and see your dad then."

"May as well get it over with," she says.

"Let's see the sperm donor who left me and my mom and didn't give a fuck about us.

Do you know what that's like, Wes? You're there in your castle, feeling high and mighty, with your picture-perfect family and your money and your good looks, and you think it's just that simple and easy. You think now that you’ve found him, I'm going to be healed.

You think he's going to tell me why he left, and I'm going to be like, 'Oh, okay.

Thanks for telling me, Dad.' That makes up for all the years you weren't in my life.

That makes up for me feeling like shit about myself for my mom crying herself to sleep every night.

' Yeah. Do you think I'm just going to run into your arms and be like, 'Fuck me senseless, Wes.

Thank you for healing me like that.'" She presses her lips together.

"You don't get it. You don't get the pain.

You don't get the struggle. You don't get the emptiness.

When I was a little kid, do you know something that I remember? "

I shake my head.

"I remember being four and going to the toy store, holding my dad's hand.

We were looking at teddy bears. And he said, 'You can get whichever teddy bear you want.

' And I said, 'I want that one, Dad.' And it was this huge pig.

And it must have cost over $100. And he was like, 'Are you sure, Sabrina?

' And I was like, 'I want that one, Dad.

' And then my mom came, and she was like, 'You can't buy that for her.

She's too young, and it's too expensive.

' My dad looked at me and touched me on the nose, and he hugged me and swung me around and said, 'You're my best girl, Sabrina.

I will get you whatever you want.' And I walked home with that pig.

He didn't even have much money, but he spent it because he loved me; at least that's what I thought.

I thought, This is a man who loves me. This is my dad.

This is someone I can depend on for anything.

"And three years later, he was gone from my life, like it meant nothing.

I meant nothing. He never called. He never wanted to see me.

He never sent a penny. How could he do that to me, Wes?

How could he come into my mom's life, woo her off her feet, get her pregnant, tell her she's the best thing that's ever happened to him, have me, treat me like a little princess, and then just leave?

I don't understand. And I don't think that there's anything he can say that will make me understand. "

My heart breaks for her because she's right. I've never experienced that sort of pain. I've never experienced rejection or abandonment. “There’s nothing I can say that can make it better,” I say softly, “but I hope that some answers, some truths can help you at least start the process of figuring it out. And I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped. I never wanted to hurt you, Sabrina. I care deeply for you, and I thought it would be helpful.”

My voice is low, and she just shakes her head. "I'm going to get changed. I'll be ready in twenty minutes. And then I'll be gone this evening."

"Okay," I say, because there's no point in stopping her or begging her to stay.

There's no point in making her answer the calls anymore because she doesn't want to be here.

She doesn't want to be with me. Maybe I remind her of her father.

Maybe she thinks I've come into her life and swept her off her feet, and I'll just leave, as well.

But I'm not even as good as her father because I haven't even swept her off her feet.

I haven't been half the man I've wanted to be because I've been trying to be patient, and in my patience, I've ruined it all.

I've ruined the one relationship that means the most to me in my life.

Sabrina was right when she started that ad. I was a grump and a billionaire, and I also wanted a wife. But what she was wrong about was that I wasn't seeking another woman. I already knew who I wanted, and it was her.

She wrote the ad for someone else, but she is the one I want. She is the one I need.