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The Beautiful Billionaire 52
LINDEN I talked over the phone for hours with Deirdre, Estelle’s mother. From Estelle’s childhood to her failed marriage, her sacrifices, about Star LLC, to my relationship with her daughter and pregnancy. I was enlightened. Deirdre was filled with wisdom. She admitted to failing in a lot of things and her success, but she kept her feet on the ground. When I mentioned marrying her daughter, she cried. She was happy and excited to be a grandmother, too. That was days ago. I’d said something I wasn’t proud of. I’d done something I regretted. When I made mistakes, I made amends for them. Estelle, on the other hand, was strong-willed and stubborn. I didn’t visit her, and because she was stubborn, she did the same. I didn’t check on her. She stayed in her house. I chose not to call her, and she gave me the cold shoulder. Right now, she hadn’t said a word until we pulled up in front of the house. She stood on her ground. Despite our misunderstanding, I was thrilled that our baby was per
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ESTELLE Two days ago, we went to apply for our marriage license, and I still felt like he was a stranger to me. I kept reminding myself that what I was doing was for my child’s sake, for their future. That was what kept me going and stayed sane. I slept peacefully next to Linden despite the strain in our relationship was still there because I knew he would never put me in any harm’s way. And it was not about carrying his child, but one thing I was sure of, he would protect me with his life. That was his nature. That was who he was. He was awesome in many ways. I woke up late than usual since I would only be reporting to the office in the afternoon today. Linden wasn’t in bed anymore. My first guess, he was in the gym or making breakfast. It was a beautiful day. The curtain was drawn to the side. I could see the bright sun streaking from the window—beautiful fresh flowers on the vase, which was new. I still didn’t have the morning sickness, which was great. As I stretched out, s
The Beautiful Billionaire 54
LINDEN We arrived in Sardinia this morning. It was a long flight, but I knew we both wanted to get away from work and hassles for a while, even if this trip was not only for our honeymoon, but she didn’t have to know right now. She was exhausted, but the doctor permitted her to travel even long flights. We had the best villa with the best view of the ocean. The beach and ocean always reminded me of how we met. It always played a significant impact on our relationship. We went strolling to the private beach, and thanks to Moses’ connection, we had all to ourselves. I spread the blanket instead of the lounger. Without a word, she dropped her bag and lay on her tummy. “Baby—” “What?” She snapped, raised her head, and met my gaze. “Are you sure it’s okay to lie on your tummy?” “She’s protected with hundreds of milliliters of amniotic fluid inside my uterus and tummy. She’s floating, actually, so she’s well protected, husband.” She glared before she lay back. “Okay.” I blew a breat
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ESTELLE My hand slid to the tattoo on his abs. His muscles contracted against my touch. I was sure there was a meaning behind every ink in his body. “I thought ink looked cool on my skin. Most of them have no meaning except for the date. That was when we lost my brothers Wade and Gunner.” “Do you always have to read my mind? I thought you were not Jedi.” Amused, he looked down at me. We were both naked, just a sheet covering his good. “So you were thinking why I got tats?” “Does it hurt?” “It fucking hurt. Though they will give you topical anesthesia, try Irezumi or Batok.” “Why do people enjoy pain?” “Sometimes people endure physical pain to numb the pain inside. The one untreatable by pain medication.” “I wanna get a tattoo.” “Why?” He was quick to ask me. “Just a small tattoo like a script.” “No tattoo while you’re still pregnant.” “Oh, I forgot.” I hid my smile. “Come here, baby.” I crawled to him, and he wrapped me in his arms. “I won’t stop you from doing what yo
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LINDEN Watching Estelle cry the entire night tore my heart out. I’d never seen her sob and curl into a ball since I met her. She’d shown me her breaking point, her vulnerability, her weakness, but this was different. This time, I felt her— I felt everything she endured tonight. She was not only my wife but my other half, my heart— the love of my life. “Baby, you’re breaking my heart.” I was the kind of man who acted than speak, but I thought I’d said a lot tonight. And every time I went close to her, she pushed me away. I knew I was hurting her, and hurting her, I was hurting myself too. “It’s only just a day. You have to trust me on this. And no matter—” “What? What, Gabriel?” she admonished. “That I’m just as just emotionally messed up, and this is pregnancy hormones? You should not have married me before you plan on going on your suicide mission. Those people are dangerous, you are aware of them, but you never stop. You just keep going and going. Maybe you will only stop when
The Beautiful Billionaire 57
ESTELLE It had only been a day since I came back from Paris. I tried utilizing my time and go shopping with Quinn, but my mind was on Linden all the time. He left without waking me up, and I felt terrible. I knew I was being hard on him. I couldn’t allow him to go to God’s forsaken place because I was terrified for him, and I was selfish. He left thinking I was mad. The fact was, I wasn’t angry, I couldn’t, but I disapproved of his plan. It was too dangerous, but that was the man I married. Gabriel Linden never backed down and never gave up. On the same day, I told Quinn I wanted to go home, and I hadn’t heard from my husband since then. I was back home, in his house, but I felt abandoned. His side in the bed was empty the next day I woke up. The entire house wasn’t the same without him. I thought I lost half of myself. I was drowning with loneliness and regrets. I just wished I wasn’t so stubborn. I wished I had supported him because that was what every good wife should do. “Hey
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LINDEN “Any helpful advice?” “Linden, you know I always like you, but I advise you not to go there. It’s not worth it, but I know I’m just wasting my time, and you won’t listen to me or anyone. So, why bother asking for advice?” I let go of a long draggy breath. “I don’t know, Terzo. You know how this family works better than I do.” “It’s not just a family. It’s an organization. Have you heard the Absolom? Bigger than that. Think about it as The Hover without license and certification. That’s how broad and big that is. Even my father doesn’t wanna cross paths with Ilya, the son. And he’s already the bad wolf in the blizzard. That cold doesn’t bother him.” “I have to do this.” “Then did you say goodbye to your wife and your child? Congratulations, by the way. I hope you receive my gift.” “That was kind of you. Thank you, Terzo.” Terzo was a son of a bitch, but he helped us, and I didn’t thank him enough. I thought sending us a gift, a Moka pot, was thoughtful. “Then you just g
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ESTELLE I returned to work, utilizing my time, hoping to divert my attention from Linden and be productive. It worked for a while because I had to think positively. And I knew in my heart Linden was somewhere with Jasper, drinking beers, laughing together. Still, my stomach churned with dead. “Hey, honey. The finished products just arrived. I love the new packaging.” Mom sang with her smile from ear to ear as she walked into my office. I stood up from my chair as the trolley came. “Me too.” Mom and I sat next to each other as we began unboxing and testing, even if it was already tested. I chose first the organic one. We had a particularly unique type of packaging that the CEO, me, and our designer knew the secret to protect the products from counterfeit fraud. “It’s impressive.” I loved the antioxidant-tinted serum. It was thinner, lightweight, and easy to absorb on the skin. I sniffed it. “It almost doesn’t have a smell.” “You’re pregnant. Usually your olfactory is very strong.”
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