Page 6 of My Forbidden Billionaire
I can’t help but smile at her maturity and kindness.
She truly is an amazing little girl.
It’s been a long time since I’ve even thought about dating, let alone getting married again. But if I’m honest with myself, there are days when this ginormous house feels much too large for just the two of us. Days where I long for a companion—someone to confide in, and share in life’s precious moments. And now, after seeing the loneliness in my daughter’s eyes, I can’t help but feel that maybe it’s time to start considering it.
“I’ll tell you what, if I ever meet someone who makes me as happy as Mommy did, and who loves you as much as I do, then I’ll consider it,” I say, tucking her in tighter and kissing her forehead. “But until then, you’re stuck with me.”
She nods, her eyes shining with a mix of hope and contentment.
We finish the story, and I kiss her forehead once more. “Goodnight, sweetie. Sleep tight.”
“Goodnight, Daddy. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I say, walking out of her room and closing the door softly behind me.
As I make my way down the hall to my own room, I can’t help but replay the conversation I just had with Clementine. Maybe it is time to actually start putting myself out there again, to start looking for someone to share my life with.
But for now, I’m content with the love I have from my daughter. She’s the reason I keep going every day, the light that guides me through the darkness.
And for that, I am eternally grateful.
Chapter Three
Josephine
“This place is—”
“Be nice, Larisa!” Emmy interjects, giving her a very clear warning glance as they struggle to arrange my couch into place.
“What? I wasn’t going to say anything bad. It’s just so much smaller than your old apartment, Jo, that’s all.” Larisa shrugs.
“Well, I shared my old apartment with Tom—we split the bills. Right now, this is all I can afford.” I turn my attention to the kitchen cupboards.
After couch surfing for three months, I’m so grateful to be in my own space. My back aches and my arms are sore from stacking boxes, but now that my best friends are here, I’ve got a second wind.
“In my opinion, it’s really cute. And cozy, and romantic.” Emmy smiles and plops down noisily on the couch. A layer of dust rises all around her and she starts to fan it away with her hand. “This thing needs a good dusting.”
“What’re you waiting for?” Larisa replies, pointing at the vacuum cleaner.
“I suppose you’re right.” She grabs the vacuum and begins unraveling the power cord to plug it in. “Anyway, have you heard from him?”
“Who? Tom?” I reply, continuing to stack my mismatched coffee mugs and glasses.
It’s moments like these where I regret my obsession with buying a cute souvenir coffee mug from every new place I visit. Packing and unpacking them is the absolute worst. But at least it’s giving me something to do with my hands.
“Of course, not. He’s … happy, I presume, with his side piece,” I say, swallowing the hurt I’ve so desperately been trying to forget.
“Is it true that he and his ‘side piece’ are in an exclusive relationship now?” Larisa asks as she begins to break down and fold the now-empty cardboard moving boxes—which I’m incredibly grateful for, because if it were up to me, I’d end up with a massive collection of boxes inside of boxes that permanently lives in the closet.
“Yep.” I sigh. “My mom was the first to let me know they became Facebook official last week.” I roll my eyes.
“What the heck is your mom’s deal? Why is she so obsessed with Tom?” Emmy asks.
“She always liked him more than I did. Mainly because he has a trust fund—she saw him as her ticket to a higher social status,” I say, wincing.
I’ll never forget how excited both my parents were when Tom and I started dating—mainly because I’ve never seen them that happy about anything I’ve done in my life before or since. They fawned over him, thinking he was perfect for me—a trust fund baby with a social status that made them giddy with excitement.
“Pffft, a trust fund he squandered away every month on meaningless crap.” Larisa scoffs.