Page 332 of Billionaire Temptations

“After my mother gave birth to me, she went into a deep postpartum depression. She couldn’t even bring herself to hold me, and we never bonded. Even as I grew, she wanted nothing to do with me. I have memories of me at three years old begging her to hold me, and she wouldn’t. I remember walking into her room, and all she’d be doing was sitting in her rocking chair facing the window and smoking a cigarette. My father hated it, and they’d always fight. When I was five years old, he finally filed for divorce. He obtained sole custody of me, and my mother was granted supervised visitations one day a week. At first, she didn’t even bother to show, but then she sought treatment and little by little, she tried to bond with me, but it still felt forced.”

“I don’t understand why she didn’t seek treatment after you were born. Why the hell would she wait five years?”

“I don’t know, Wes. I just don’t. As I grew, she tried to keep in touch a little here and there, but I was so defiant at that point,and I wanted nothing to do with her. I hated her for making me feel the way I did.”

“And what about your father? How could he just stand there and let this happen?”

“My father.” I laughed. “He resented me as well for my mother’s depression. He blamed me. He didn’t even want children, but she pressured him into having a baby. I grew up alone, except for the nanny that took care of me. I remember him sitting me down one day and telling me all of his expectations of me. I was a Young and expected to behave in a certain manner. He sent me to a private school from kindergarten on. He married my step-monster, Nina, when I was eight. She wasn’t a fan of children, so we never got along. When I became a teenager, my defiance grew. I got caught smoking weed, shoplifting, and drinking. I’d do anything and everything I could to get my father’s attention. Do you know that he never once told me that he loved me?” Tears formed in my eyes.

“Anna,” Wes whispered, putting his arm around me and pulling me into him.

“I have never heard those words come from his mouth. He finally got fed up and sent me away to Choate Rosemary Hall, the boarding school in Connecticut, which is clear across the country, so he didn’t have to deal with me anymore. I was now their problem. I wasn’t even allowed to come home for visits. That’s where I met Franco; we’ve been best friends ever since. For Christmas, I would beg my father to let me come home, but he always said that he and Nina weren’t going to be there because they were spending the holidays skiing in Aspen. He’d send me a Christmas card with a check in it for a thousand dollars, and he wouldn’t even sign it ‘Love, Dad’; it was always just ‘Dad & Nina.’ So I went home with Franco for the holidays and spent it with his family.”

“What about the summers?” he asked.

“Sometimes Franco and I stayed in Connecticut, or I went home with him. Then, we graduated and went off to Harvard. I was an independent woman who was looking out for her future, and I made a plan. I got back into my father's good graces and proved that I was good enough to run his company. After I graduated, I moved back to California, where my father made me the COO of Young Vine Enterprises. But I never underestimated him again and was always one step ahead.”

“When was the last time you spoke to your mother?”

“I haven’t spoken to her in years. She would try to call or come visit, but as far as I was concerned, she lost that right. Want to hear something funny? She’s remarried with two children. They’re the perfect happy family.”

“Anna, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be, Wes. They made me who I am today; believe it or not, I’m grateful for that. I’m a hard-working, independent woman who doesn’t need anybody.”

“Everybody needs someone,” he said as he kissed my head.

“Maybe some do, but I don’t.”

“I’m sorry for making assumptions,” he said. “I should know better.”

“You should.” I lifted my head and gave him a smile. “But you have trust issues and rightfully so.”

“Still, I never should have said what I did. I’m truly sorry.” He placed his finger under my chin. “I hope you can forgive me.”

“I think I can.”

“I admire you, Anna Young. I admire your strength and everything you’ve endured. I can’t even imagine growing up like that.”

“Thank you, Wes. I have a question for you.”

“What is it?”

“Are you going to kiss me? Because I really feel the need to have your lips on mine.” I grinned.

“I’m definitely going to kiss you.” He leaned down and brought his mouth to mine. “And if you don’t mind, I’m going to do more than that to you.”

“I don’t mind at all.”

Chapter Twenty

Wes

I carried her up the stairs and to my bedroom, where I made love to her multiple times during the night. After everything she told me, I now understood why she did the things she did. She was so strong yet broken inside. Things in my mind became much clearer now that I knew more about her. She wasn’t after me for my money. She had her own. She liked me for who I was as a person and not just the material things I could offer her.

She lay her head on my chest as she soundly slept, and I softly stroked her hair. Was this the girl I’d been waiting for my whole life? I asked that same question that night in Paris because I felt something I’d never felt before when I was with her. But I’d never see her again, yet she was here, in my bed in New York City.

“It’s time to get up,”I quietly spoke as I pressed my lips against her shoulder.

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