Page 9 of Marrying Hope

I was with her when she applied to International Fashion Academy in Paris. I celebrated with her when she got in, as her parents were out of town. We stole her dad’s whiskey and passed out until their housekeeper found us. I was at the airport to see her when she left for Paris.

And she was there for me. Always.

She is the only person apart from my family who really knows about my issues. She has seen me struggle with them.

But when she returned from Paris, she had changed.

She was no longer my sweet friend Vanessa but this upscale woman, fighting to set up the biggest fashion house in the state. One evening at a charity benefit party where I was representing Elixir Inc., my company with my brothers, I saw her again. She was representing her father’s firm and making contacts for her own business. We ended up in my hotel room, drinking and catching up.

One thing led to another, and I made the biggest mistake of all time.

I had sex with Vanessa.

In the beginning, it didn’t seem bad. She was good in bed, and she also knew about me and my four-times-a-week rule.

She knew that having sex with her didn’t mean that I wasn’t sleeping with other women, and it sure as hell didn’t mean I was dating her.

But gradually she became erratic. She started demanding I spend more nights with her even on myoff days. I often caught her flirting with Zander.

I wasn’t fucking jealous, that’s not who I am, but I was worried. Vanessa never liked Zander that way. Since we were kids, she always commented that Zander was too uptight.

I asked her on numerous occasions if something was wrong, but she brushed it off and we ended up in bed.

But everything changed at our company’s annual party before Zander and Rose had officially started dating and my brother was still trying to impress his girl. Vanessa insulted Rose and humiliated Zander in front of our staff.

After that, I kept my distance from her until last week when she came to my office. To avoid making a scene at my workplace, I took her to the nearby café. I guess that’s when Rose and Zander saw us.

I told her I couldn’t do this with her, whateverthisis. Of course, she voiced it as casual sex. She apologized for her behavior toward Rose, blaming it on too much alcohol, and agreed with me that we should stop seeing each other. Or so I thought.

My reverie is broken by her mumbling. “What happened?” Her hands furiously rub my limp dick.

“Come on.” I try to fix my clothes with my free hand and Vanessa attempts to take a step toward the main door of my suite.

“Not there.” There’s no way in hell I’m taking her inside my suite. No woman except Rose has been inside my place, and I have no desire to bring anyone else, especially the ones I fuck.

We take the elevator and Vanessa is already asleep by the time I place her on the bed in the fifth-floor hotel room.

I remove her heels and throw the blanket over her before settling on the couch.

This nonsense needs to end.

I’ma boy again as I limp down the steps of the dark, old home. The wood squeaks under my small feet. I stop and listen for any noise, but all is silent except for the hum of the refrigerator. I take another light step, trying to make as little noise as possible.

My clothes are dirty and torn and I am hungry. I’m always hungry, or so the bad man says.

I reach the kitchen. I know there’s bread. Zander said we’d eat sandwiches for breakfast. I just want a small bite so that I can sleep. My stomach hurts when I’m hungry. Before I can reach the wooden counter, someone lifts me from behind and I’m in air.

“No!” I scream.

Suddenly, I’m no longer in the kitchen, but in the open field. The bad man is after Ray and his dog. He throws Ray up and catches him at the last minute. Ray is crying and looking at me, but I can’t help. I’m scared of the bad man too.

“Your Highness, save me,” he begs, tears running down his cheeks, but I can’t do anything.

Then there’s Vanessa. She pulls me away and I turn my back to Ray. Vanessa kisses my lips, and I am no longer in the fields. I’m at Zander’s house. Rose’s eyes fill with tears as she sees me with Vanessa.

And once more, I am alone as a boy standing in the kitchen, hungry, with tears in my eyes.

I wakeup and my eyes are wet. I quickly rub my palms over my face. My back hurts from fitting my six-foot frame on the small couch. There’s no way I was getting in the same bed with Vanessa, but I also can’t risk her taking off before I explain once again whatwe can’t do this anymorereally means.

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