The Billionaire’s Desires Vol.12-13 (6 page)

I finally decided to put my little American Retro dress back on – it's perfect for this brunch, and I can keep my outfit for tomorrow secret. This 'little get together', sprinkled with champagne and multi-coloured cocktails, not to mention the most sumptuous dishes, is just an appetizer. Tomorrow's the big day, the apotheosis of the weekend, the moment when the Diamonds brothers turn 36, surrounded by their loved ones and all of the high society in Los Angeles. Gabriel wants to introduce me to all the smart set. And I'll slink off like a thief, saying I have a migraine.

Lack of inspiration.

For a second, I think about hiding away in my room, but Celeste cuts me off. As ever, she's drop-dead gorgeous in her long, electric pink dress, which perfectly contrasts with the smooth colour of her skin. Without giving me a choice, she grabs me by the wrist and takes me to the side of all the festivities. No matter how tall and slender she is, she's incredibly strong!

Damned Diamonds and their supernatural powers.

The wispy dark-skinned woman leads me to an inner garden, where a gorgeous outdoor furniture set is arranged. Most likely intended for guests looking for a moment of tranquility...

Well, we can forget about that.

They're all here. Almost all here: Silas, Camille, Marion, Tristan, Barthelemy. I let out a sigh of relief when I see that Prudence wasn't invited to this secret meeting. But my illusions are immediately shattered once the twin starts talking.

“Amandine, we need to talk.” he says in a solemn tone of voice, which sends a shiver down my spine.

“Silas, you're scaring her!” Camille cries, giving me an encouraging smile.

“What do you intend to do about Eleanor?” Celeste asks.

“Pardon?” I ask, taken completely by surprise.

“You're not going to let her manipulate him, are you?” adds the Diamonds sister.

“Gabriel seems big enough to be able to handle his life how he wants to, I don't see any point in...” Tristan tries.

“You know very well that some women are Machiavellian enough to flip your brain inside out!” Marion retorts.

“What exactly do you want from me?” I ask everyone.

“That you put her in her place once and for all! She decided to leave, to abandon her man and her child. She can't go around thinking that she can come back after all of that! I don't know what Gabriel has in mind, but you need to fight for him, Amandine. Don't let anything get past you,” Celeste yells.

“I love Gabriel more than anything and I don't intend on letting her get him. But it's up to him to choose. It's up to him to definitively cross her out of his life. I can't make that decision for him!”

“Virgile needs a mother. She'll never completely disappear from his life, Amandine. Nor from ours,” Silas murmurs, observing Camille's reaction.

“She better not try anything,” my sister threatens.

“Don't you see? Whatever I do, she'll get what she wants! She'll never stop haunting us, she'll never stop jeopardising what's most important to me!” I rage, overcome by anger.

“You're not alone, Amandine. We won't let her do it,” Celeste concludes, before ending this secret meeting.

Everyone leaves the room, and I find myself alone with Barthelemy. The tall, brown-haired man hasn't attempted once to say anything during the entire conversation. But his tongue seems to have finally been released.

“I'm not judging you, Amandine, I know what you're going through right now. Celeste loves another woman. I finally came to understand that. But I don't regret anything. I love her so much that I was able to find the strength to bear her infidelity. I don't want to lose her and I know that if I give her an ultimatum, I'm not the one she'll end up choosing. So I've learned to accept the fact I need to share her.”

“I don't think I would be capable of that. Sharing him, I mean. I don't see how I could imagine a future for the... three of us.”

“Start with living in the present moment. The future is a whole other story.”

Barthelemy, one point. Amandine, zero.

I'm not sure if this really opened my eyes, but I am sure my silence isn't going to do any good. Confronting Gabriel in front of his guests is not an option. But it's only a question of time. Meanwhile, I wander through this little corner of paradise, jumping from conversation to conversation, forcing myself to smile and hide my pain. My billionaire tries several times to establish contact with me, but I avoid him as much as I can. I don't want to risk losing my calm. At the end of the afternoon, when he sends me a text, I figure he finally wants to put his cards on the table.

[Stop running away from me, bitter Amande. Meet me in the pool house, assuming you don't have anything better to do.]

You'll see, Diamonds.

Gabriel has his back to me when I enter the little cottage, isolated from the rest of the world. He doesn't immediately notice my presence, since he's too busy studying a rather childish painting hanging on the wall. I remember looking at that same canvas and feeling something indescribable. A mixture of contradictory emotions, both marvellous and disturbing.

“I was waiting for you,” my lover murmurs, without turning around.

“You asked me to come. I'm here.”

My words are benign, but not my tone of voice. Diamonds picks up on my anger and deigns to turn around. His frank and benevolent eyes question me, but I can't bring myself to lighten up.

“What do you want?”

“To spend a little time with the woman I love. Is that too much to ask?”

“No, but I thought you'd have something
better to do
,” I say, referring to his last text.

“This high society stuff bores me. I'm tired of this whole... situation. I want everything to stop. I wish none of this existed. That it was just you and me.”

“You're the only person who has that power. I can't fight your battles for you.”

“But do you fight for us?”

“That's all I've been doing, Gabriel, for what seems like an eternity. Since the first day you set your eyes upon me. When you decided to bring me into your world, into your clan.”

“It's not my clan anymore. It's our clan.”

“Are you sure of that?”

Diamonds stops for a moment. He doesn't answer my question, but I sense that everything is moving around in his head. That he's on the brink of giving in, of capitulating.

“Eleanor came to Monceau last weekend.”

“Yes?”

“She wanted to surprise me and see Virgile.”

“And?”

“He wasn't there.”

“So, that's just great!” I cry, sarcastically.

“She told me that she'd... wait for me.”

“And what did you tell her then?”

“Nothing. She ran away like a thief after letting it all out.”
I have nothing to say.

“I love you, Amande. More than her. More than anything. You're the love of my life, I have no doubt about that. But you have to understand. Put yourself in my shoes. Eleanor is the mother of my son. She can't disappear from my life for as long as he needs her.”

“You love me more than you love her? So... you love her, too?”

“Yes, but in a completely different way. There's no need to get jealous. I know who my heart belongs to. To you, Amande. You're my future. She's my past, but a small part of me will never stop loving her.”

“Why? After all she's done to you!”

“I'll never forgive her, especially now I realise how much she's hurt our son. But she's not entirely responsible for everything, either.”

“You've bought her story! You believe everything she tells you! She's managed to manipulate you!” I shout, beside myself.

“No. I finally managed to take a step back. Dr Adler...”

“I don't care about your couple's therapy! All that I know is that she's flipped your brain around! Marion was right, they were all right. And here I was believing that you wouldn't let yourself be conned.”

“But you're not even listening to what I'm trying to tell you! You're the love of my life, you make me a better person! You've made me the man I wanted to be! I could never have done it without you! I won't give you up for anything in the world! Eleanor is a part of my life, whether or not you like it, but she's not in first place! You are the one I want! You are the one I would do anything for!”

“Prove it.”

“How?”

“Choose. It's her or me. Choose now.”

“I've already chosen, Amandine! Since the first day I saw you, when my instinct told me to possess you and never let you escape again. Eleanor disappeared from my thoughts on that very day. I suffered for thirteen years. I thought I would never get over it. The only thing I wanted was for her to rise from the dead, to reappear. But since you've been in my life, there was no longer any question about it. You're here and that's all that matters to me!”

An invisible force comes over us. Suddenly our bodies are pressed against one another. Our mouths and our tongues collide, coming together suddenly, desperately.

What a night! The guests left the gorgeous property a few hours after admiring the sunset, with the exception of a few die-hards who partied until dawn: Marion, Tristan, Silas, Camille, Gabriel, his cousin Oliver, Barthelemy and... me, to my great surprise. I think my last conversation with Diamonds gave me wings and the energy to stay awake. We danced under the grandiose décor, we sang, we jumped fully-clothed into the pool, we put the world to rights while gazing at the stars, we played like kids and we drank way too much.

After only three hours of sleep, Gabriel is already up and about. To celebrate their joint birthday, He and Silas have decided to go sky-diving. As he gets ready to go flying through the air, I hit rock bottom. My head is hidden under the pillow, my stomach is upset, I do everything I can to stop my billionaire seeing me in this state. But it's no use. When it's time for him to go, he leans over the king-size bed, grabs the precious pillow from my hands, laughing, and kisses me tenderly. Then my Apollo leaves, leaving me alone in this immense and silent room. I close my eyes. My head is spinning. I look at the time: 10.25am. In seven hours, the mansion will again be invaded by a horde of fortunate and VIP guests, who I'll be introduced to. I grab the little silver mirror on my bedside table and inspect the damage.

I look like a cadaver.

Lesson learned: never let Silas pour your drinks!

Even under pressure.

After an interminable and refreshing shower, I pull on my yellow and white striped swimsuit and head towards the garden. In the grand hall of the family residence, I run into Celeste and Barthelemy, who are wearing golfing outfits.

“From what I see, Bart wasn't the only one to abuse the good things in life last night,” Ms Perfect says sarcastically, looking at my face, marked by fatigue.

“You missed out on a real wild time, Celeste. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go for a dip!” I add.

“Don't forget to put on your water wings!” Barthelemy jokes.

This foolish advice makes all three of us laugh. I realise I've finally been accepted. By those two, at least. Celeste isn't easy on me, but she treats me as an equal, without contempt or malice. If only Prudence could take a hint.

It's not yet noon but the heat is already stifling. I walk quickly to the pool, in a hurry to dive into the cool, crystal-clear water. I'm surprised to find Marion in a black bikini, lying out on a deckchair, a book placed over her face.

Lying out? More like washed up on shore.

I'm such a gossip!

She doesn't hear me arrive. She's probably still half-asleep. I jump as noisily as possible into the water, curious to see her reaction.

“Amandine, I'm soaking wet!” she shouts, getting back up.

Now I understand why she was hiding under her Mary Higgins Clark: she looks a fright!

“Come on and take a dip, Marionette. It won't hurt!”

“If I wanted to go for a swim, I'd already be in the water. Anyway, no need now,” she grumbles as she dries off.

“What a joy to find you here, my bosom friend! Care to tell me why you're in such a great mood?”

“Save me your sarcasm, I'm exhausted.”

“And?”

“I did something stupid.”

“Uh-oh. Tell me!”

“I slept with Oliver.”

“So far, no big deal. He's gorgeous! Just your type.”

“We had an issue with the condom.”

“An issue?”

“It broke. We realised it a little too late.”

“Are you still taking the pill?”

“Yes. I mean, when I remember.”

“Marion!”

“He swore he was clean! And he offered to take me to the pharmacy to buy the morning-after pill.”

“What are you waiting for?”

“I don't know. Probably a lecture from Amandine Baumann.”

“So go! If you don't want to go with him, I can...”

“Hey girls! How about a little game of water polo?”

My best friend and I turn around at the same time. Tristan and Oliver are coming towards us. I exchange a furtive glance with Marion, who's already standing up, ready to tackle the challenge.

“Okay, girls against boys. We're going to crush you!”

I haven't finished with you, Aubrac.

Neither has Oliver, apparently. I catch him observing Marion out of the corner of his eye. It's hard to say if he's fallen for her charms or if he's wondering what he's gotten himself in to. This cousin doesn't really have the distinguished elegance of the Diamonds. He's more of a 'normal' guy – rather tall but not as tall as the twins, muscular but not too muscular. He seems sporty in his red swim shorts and his handsome Californian face shows he's healthy in body and mind. He doesn't seem to have inherited the jet-setter aspect of the family. Oliver doesn't talk much. He's happy to play with the ball, to burst into laughter from time to time, to shake his wet, chestnut hair under Marion's greedy eyes. She almost melts when he opens his mouth to say three words in French, with his charming American accent.

Well, maybe he's a little more sexy than average.

The young 'couple' gauge one another, dancing along the line between seduction and honest camaraderie, both hiding the fact they spent the night together. As well as their little 'accident'. They seem like teenagers at a vacation resort enjoying the moment, knowing far too well that their flirtation is going to end soon.