Page 48 of Fake Marriage with the Billionaire

“That’s bullshit,” Richard responded. “It’s just something poor people tell themselves so they don’t feel like shit about being poor.”

“No,” said Stoney. “It’s what real people say when they realize there’s more out there than what’s in your bank account. Let me ask you something. All the things that made you fall for my sister. Did they have anything to do with how much money either of you had?”

Richard shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, she looked incredible in the dress I got her.”

“You’re missing the point.” Stoney laughed. “Look, if Stella had shown up in a potato sack, you still would have thought she was beautiful. Love isn’t a thing that you can buy or sell. It’s a connection that you feel. That gives you a reason to get up in the morning and maybe one to get you back to bed at night. It’s the one thing that really is priceless.”

Richard had no response to that. Stoney took a long swig from the beer, then set it down next to him on the table. “You’re a fool, Rich.”

“A fool. I’m a fool?’

“Yup. You fucked around and fell in love. For real this time. And instead of chasing after that, you chased after the money instead. You had a clear choice to make. Stella or your fortune and you chose your fortune.”

“What are you talking about?” Richard scoffed. “I’m about to lose my fortune.”

“You haven’t yet,” said Stoney, “and if it’s still there when you come out of this, there’s a chance you can get it back somehow. You know that. You’re a smart guy. Way smarter than Rebecca about this kind of thing. In terms of your dad’s money, you haven’t really lost anything. But you had Stella. She poured her heart out to you and you pushed her away all because you were afraid of losing the money you have.” He shook his head, taking another swig from his bottle. “Saddest shit I’ve ever heard.”

Richard sat there, thinking about it. “If I let it all go,” he said, “Just…walked away from the business and let Rebecca have it all…do you think she’d take me back?”

Stoney shrugged. “Seems to me you should have done that in the first place.”

Richard rolled his eyes. “Punch me again, why don’t you?”

“Look, if you want to be with her, you need to go and tell her how you feel.”

Richard scoffed. “You make it all sound so easy.”

Stoney finished his beer and dropped it into the empty paper bag. “You’re sitting in your own filth watching reality shows. What could you possibly have to lose?”

Stoney pat him on the shoulder, then stood up. “I’ll be back to check up on you later. You know…make sure you haven’t passed out in your own vomit.”

Richard listened as Stoney left, sitting there and absorbing everything that he said.

He didn’t have anything to lose, did he? Nothing that he wasn’t already losing in the first place. Maybe the money really wasn’t everything.

He got up on wobbly legs. Both the beers and Stoney’s punch made the room tilt. He took a moment to get his bearings, then yelled out for his maid. When she came running, he told her, “Make me a pot of coffee. I’m going out in a couple of hours.”

Stella

ThefirstpersonStellacalled after everything happened was her brother. In retrospect, she probably shouldn’t have been so quick to call him. She knew how bad his temper could get, especially if he felt like she was being threatened. Stella had to talk to someone, though and Stoney had always been her rock.

He came over and listened to her as she wept and recalled to him how Richard had treated her when they were in his office. He didn’t get angry. He didn’t even rage or threaten to do anything. He just made her some tea and he sat with her on the couch and listened.

Over the course of the next few days, he stayed by her side almost constantly. He cooked for her and made sure she got up and dressed every morning instead of wallowing in bed. Stoney took care of her the way he always had when she was hurting. He was the same way after she’d left Curtis. Stoney was and always would be in her corner.

And he went on that way for the past few days, sleeping on her couch and taking care of his needs while she mourned the relationship. On the third day, she woke up and to her surprise, he wasn’t there. She got up and walked to her living room, only to find her blankets folded neatly on one side of the couch and a note sitting on the coffee table:

Have to run some errands. Will be back later.

Stoney had been so good about it all. She was impressed that his first instinct hadn’t been to go out and punch Richard’s lights out. That is, at least not in her presence. She hadn’t seen or talked to Richard for three days. For all she knew, Stoney waited until she was asleep and went over to his house with the sole purpose of pummeling him to death.

Stella was a lot of things, but she wasn’t a fool. She would be surprised if one of Stoney’s “errands” was going over to Richard’s house. She couldn’t imagine Stoney completely letting it go. Words would certainly have been said to Richard.

Since he was gone, she decided not to bother with showering or even getting dressed. She walked around her house in her nightshirt, looking for the pack of donuts that Stoney had brought by the previous morning. Once found, she sat on her couch and ate them, diving into reality shows in an effort to forget.

It wasn’t meant to be, she’d started telling herself. She should have known from the first day how incompatible they were. Whatever was blooming between them was never real and she needed to get her head around that once and for all. She only needed to forget all the good that happened between them. She only needed to forget that they connected on a level that neither of them ever expected to.

It got to be around noon when she heard a knock at her door. She frowned, thinking that it must be one of her neighbors. She grabbed a robe and walked to the door, peeking out the peephole first.

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