The Billionaire's Bargain (27 page)
Read The Billionaire's Bargain Online
Authors: Sam Crescent
I couldn’t live without the woman I
loved, and I searched until I found her.
I found Miranda broken in a
was the only one on her, so I claimed her and helped her to survive. I wanted
her so badly, but I had hurt her so much she would not speak or allow me to
come near her. I divorced your mother because I knew we’d never be happy. She
left the villa in
I’m not a proud man. I’ve been
diagnosed with terminal cancer, and I know I’m not going to make it past this
year. Miranda will be all alone. I wanted you to know that I love you, Duncan.
Out of everything I’ve done that I regret
,
you’re not
part of it. I’m proud of you, son, and hope that you can find it in your heart
to forgive an old man in love.
Love
Your father
P.S Do not
blame
Miranda for my faults. She is the innocent one in all of this.
pouring from his eyes. There had been so much wasted. The time he’d spent
hating his father should have been time spent getting to know the man.
Tess walked into the office ten minutes later. He was still crying.
“
What’s wrong?” she asked. He opened his arms waiting for her to come to him.
He handed her the letter his father had written.
to his office sofa. He sat with her in his lap as she read the letter. For the
rest of the afternoon he spent the time telling her about his father and
Miranda.
Tess listened as he spoke. Her fingers ran through his hair. Sex was the
last thing on his mind.
“What has your mother said about all of this?” she asked.
“My mother won’t talk to me until I divorce you,” he said to her.
“Me?”
“When she found out I’d married a woman with no money of her own, she
refused to talk to me. The only news I can give her is my divorce. She thinks
I’ve been stupid.” He wiped the tears from his eyes.
“What do you think?”
“You’re carrying my child, Tess. I’m not letting you go.” He kissed her
lips then held her close. “I’m not going to lie to you. I’m not a saint. I
never have been. I hope you can forgive me for the way I treated you when we
first met.”
She chuckled. “So, we didn’t have the most conventional of starts.
Regardless of how we got here,
we’re here.” She grabbed his hand to rest on her stomach. “And we have a
family. A small family but a family we can be proud of.”
“How did I get so lucky?”
“You took a chance?” She smiled then settled down in his lap. “Do you
want to go home? This must have taken you by surprise.”
“I need to talk to my mother. Is it okay if I drop you off at home?” he
asked.
“Sure. I’ll be waiting for you when you get back.”
got in safely before making his way to where his mother lived. It was a two
hour drive, but it gave him enough time to clear his head.
The housekeeper opened the door looking put out. He knew his mother
wasn’t the nicest person to work for.
“Mr. James, I don’t think your mother expected you to visit.”
“I imagine she’s cursing my name,
Tilly
. I’m
not leaving until I speak with her.”
“Then go on through. I want no part in this.”
He found his mother seated by the fire reading a book. The moment he
walked in she sent him a glare but remained in her book.
“Hello, mother.”
Staring at her now he understood the
attraction with Miranda.
“I hope you’ve come to tell me you’ve divorced that woman. What an awful
situation. I’ve had Yvonne ringing me constantly. That woman is at least a
little better than that tramp you’ve married. At least she is already part of
your crowd.”
“You know Yvonne?” he asked.
“Of course.
She’s the woman you should have married.”
“That woman is no lady. She sleeps around and is in no way worth the
spot as my wife. Tess is worth a million of her.”
His mother snorted. “You’re as pathetic as your father. He couldn’t get
past his affection for that whore of a woman. I showed him though. You didn’t
speak another word to him. I promised him if he chose that bitch over me I’d
make him pay.”
hearing. “You planned this?”
“Of course, you stupid boy.
I was not going to be passed over
for that slut. I had money, and I’d given him a son. He could have kept her on
as his little plaything. I didn’t care. The moment he wanted more, I took care
of it.”
“You ruined any chance of a relationship I might have had.”
“Stop your whining, boy. Yvonne
should be arriving at your home to take the trash out.”
“What?”
“I told Yvonne she needed to go and
fight for you. Tess doesn’t stand a chance against her beauty.”
place.
The callousness of his mother.
The truth hidden behind his father.
All the pain and loss
caused by this woman and her determination to destroy any relationship he could
have with his father.
“When did she leave?” he demanded.
“Ten minutes
before you arrived.
Be a gem and do this for your mother. You’re worth so much more. Tess
can be your plaything.”
“Tess is pregnant with my child. I
love her, and I’ve been a fool when it comes to you. You ruined my relationship
with my father, but you won’t ruin any more of my life. I’m done with you. You
can find your own way. As far as I’m concerned I have no mother.”
looking back.
He got in his car and drove towards
home. He dialled his home number. Two hours felt like a lifetime.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Tess worked on her story.
her, and she felt everything was going to fall into place. She phoned her
father in the hope he’d finally answer her questions.
“Hello,” he said on the third ring.
“Hi, dad, it’s me.”
“Hi, Tess.
How are you?” he asked.
They made small talk for several moments, her heart racing. Whenever she
approached the subject of her mother he always cut her off and refused to talk
about it.
“I want to ask you about my mother,” she said, nibbling on her lip.
“Tess!”
“What do you have to lose? I’m going to be a mother. The least you can
do is tell me about her. Please.”
She heard him sigh over the line. “The truth is I don’t know much about
her, Tess. I know her family were gone. She told me that. She was a woman I met
while travelling. I fell in love with her. She got pregnant, and then she gave
birth to you. After some fight with the courts and proving I was your father,
they gave you to me rather than letting you become a ward of the state.”
“Where is she? Didn’t she want me?” she asked.
“Bessie wanted you. We were both going to make a life together. We got
married in a cheap reception abroad, and when we moved back here we were going
to have the big ceremony. She got pregnant while we were touring around
months soon passed, and we were travelling back home when her waters broke. You
were born in the back of a car. I didn’t know what to do. I hadn’t witnessed
any births or anything. I saved you, but your mother didn’t make it to the
hospital.”
Tess heard his tears over the line. “She’s dead?”
“She died the night you were born. Bessie had no other family, which is
why I got you so easily. I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. Everything about
her hurts to remember. That’s what I was spending the money on, Tess. I wanted
to forget. I didn’t care how. When I was using that money and gambling it away,
I got a short time of forgetting. There is no one to remember her. I’m the only
one who did.”
“You must hate me,” she said.
“I never hated you, Tess. I’ve not been the best father to you. It hurt
too much to look at you. I hope you find happiness, and I know you’ll make a
wonderful mother.”
“Where?” she asked.
“What?”
“Where is she buried?”
She took down all the details then hung up the phone. Sadness consumed
her but also peace. Her mother did want her. She felt better for knowing what
her father had kept to himself for so long.
The doorbell chimed. She closed her down her computer to go and answer
the door. A beautiful slender woman with large breasts and a tiny waist stood
on the other side. Tess saw the nastiness on the woman’s face.
“You’re Tess.
Tess nodded. “Who are you?”
“What? Didn’t he mention the woman he’d been fucking prior to you? Can I
come in?” Before she got chance to argue the woman brushed past her and walked
into the sitting room. Tess followed her feeling like a stranger in her own
home.
“I don’t know who you are?”
“I’m Yvonne. I helped
more physical than work.”
“You’re the interior designer he slept with?”
“So
Tess knew she could handle this woman two ways. She could allow her to
make demands that left her feeling small, or she could fight for
better than this woman.
“No, he hasn’t mentioned you at all. I knew he wasn’t a saint when I
married him. You’re proof he wasn’t. I take it you’re here to smear his name?”
Tess asked.
Yvonne looked surprised.
“Maybe I should save you your voice.
baby together, and there is nothing you can say to change that,” Tess said.
“You really think that?”
“I know who
stood up. She felt the fight rise inside her.
“You mean nothing to
He’s a businessman, and all you are is the person he needed to put the pieces
together.”
“I have no idea what you mean. He loves me,” Tess said.
“Does he? I’ve not heard him say those words ever since I’ve known him.”
“Tess!”
She jumped at the sound of the front door crashing open and
name. He came into the sitting room glaring at Yvonne. “What the fuck are you
doing here?” he asked.
“I’ve come to meet the woman you chose over me.”
He turned to Tess cupping her cheeks with both of his hands. “Are you
all right?” he asked. Tess nodded.
“I take it you haven’t told her of the need to marry in your father’s
will?” Yvonne asked.
“What?” Tess kept her gaze on
but the other woman’s words penetrated her mind.
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll tell you everything. Don’t listen to her.”
“You’re pregnant, right? Stage two of the master plan.”
“What?”
“
he’s been trying to ruin Miranda.
The evil stepmother who
ruined his parents’ marriage.
His father passed leaving him a fortune
which he could only collect by,
A
, being married and
B, having a child. He doesn’t love you, Tess. He’s used you to get what he
wants.” Yvonne came closer, her spite following her.
“Is this true?” Tess asked him.
He’d not taken his hands off her. “I’ve got so much to tell you. I told
you I wasn’t a saint. Please, Tess. Trust me.”