THE BILLIONAIRE'S CRYBABY
Chapter 168: PATTERN OF INTEREST

Chapter 168: PATTERN OF INTEREST

Fay spent the entirety of the night dazed by the encounter.

It was becoming a worrisome pattern.

The first time she met someone who thought she looked like someone they knew, it had turned out to be a fluke.

After getting her hopes up of meeting someone that could potentially know her dead parents, since her aunt withheld details about them, everything came to nothing.

However, a pattern became established.

She would go into a crowded place the few times she did, and her hair would draw a question or two.

This time around, it was the song she had sung.

As she laid on the big bed that would never fit into the room she grew up in, she let her thoughts wander.

After that encounter, she had been unable to put in the finishing touches of the perfume she was making.

Although the garden lights were switched on for her, she decided she had done enough for the day.

The reality was that she had really been shaken. She couldn’t bear to stand in that garden any longer.

Laid on her bed, she stared at the ceiling.

In the past three days, she had received exactly three calls in the same daily pattern.

A wake up call and text from Xylon Bass, one from Leighton or Alexander, and one from the matriarch.

She didn’t count the calls she didn’t respond to. Mostly because she just couldn’t bear to hear from either Marilyn or Alice, knowing she wouldn’t stop crying if she did.

As her thoughts went from Chapters to Chapters, she thought about Ace.

Her thoughts always recycled back to Ace.

There was nothing she could do to stop it. She wondered how he was doing. If he was still very mad at her.

She had continuously checked her phone in hopes she’d see his call or text. Many times, she had also been tempted to call him first. But everytime she did, the matriarch’s face would appear in her head.

She had forbidden her from calling first. That was one of her lessons. She called it the art of being selfish.

Fay had wondered why she would want to be selfish. Selfishness wasn’t exactly a good thing. It wasn’t right to be promoting it.

However, the matriarch insisted it was the only way to survive in a world like theirs. She explained that there was time to do the right thing, and be selfless for the sake of everyone else. Otherwise, it was wise to put oneself first.

She was learning a lot of things. The more she learnt, the more scared she became.

It seemed like in order to survive in their world, one must be devoid of a soul. And without her soul, she was nothing.

She was still in her head when her phone began to buzz.

She frowned. It wasn’t Xylon Bass because he had called an hour ago like he usually did. She had made sure not to answer the call like she usually did.

Her plan was to ignore it until the thought of Ace crossed her mind again.

She jumped up, and stretched her hand to the bedside table to pick up the phone.

Without even looking at the screen, she answered and brought the phone to her ears.

"Hello, is this Mrs Fay Atticus?"

Her face contorted slightly. The voice was awfully familiar. In fact, it was so familiar she could also smell the spot she had been when she first heard that voice speak.

But their name eluded her.

"Yes, this is her." Her voice lowered in disappointment.

She had hoped it was Ace calling. As it stood, he probably was in bed with Reign. After all, she had moved into his house, and she was carrying his child.

Envy racked her chest, tightening a knot around it.

The more she pictured the two of them together, loving themselves in the way he could never love her, the more she wanted to throw herself to the ground and cry to sleep.

"Mrs Fay, are you still there?"

Her face shuddered, as she was pulled out of the weird trance she was just drenched in.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked if you remember me from my voice."

"Oh. I do recall your voice. I’m just trying to— oh my God, it’s you!" she burst out with excitement as if she had just won the lottery.

"You do remember me. Yay!"!

She laughed at how cute the old man, Seth, was. He sounded even more vibrant than she remembered. Perhaps, he had a will to live again.

"I’m so happy to hear from you. But how did you get my number?" She paused, and frowned.

In her excitement to be reconnected with someone who had made a difficult day a lot easier for her, she forgot that safety was paramount.

First, it was Xylon Bass easily getting her number. Now, it was Seth. She was beginning to get scared because anyone could just get her number.

"I couldn’t get you out of my mind, so I went in search of you. I’m so sorry for crossing your personal boundaries. Talking to you really made me feel like life was worth living again. I decided to host a charity event for orphaned kids. I was hoping you would come give them a little talk."

Tears welled up in Fay’s eyes at the opportunity he was willing to give her. She forgot about her paranoia of being easily accessed.

It was one of her dreams to talk to children like her. Not to give them advice, because she didn’t think she was in that position, but to just feel at home.

They all had something in common. It would make her feel less out of place in the world.

"I’m glad my meeting with you impacted you positively. I’m also really happy you thought of me for this project. Do you mind waiting for feedback from me? I’m kind of in a terrible place right now, and I don’t know if I’m allowed to do certain things."

"Do you want to talk about it? We could meet up at the beach like the other day. What do you say?"

She could hear the excitement in his voice, and it pained her that she had to burst the bubble.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t say anything to encourage even a little bit of hope.

"I don’t think I can come out to the beach, so we could talk. Instead, why don’t I find a way to see the children? Maybe after, we can talk. Deal?"

"Deal," he replied.

"Thank you for understanding me."

"You understood me first. It’s all thanks to you, Fay."

She didn’t know what he meant with that line. Before she could ask, he had ended the call.

She sighed, and placed the phone in the position she had picked it up.

Everyone had called her. Even the man she met a while ago at a beach, had found a way to call her. Everyone except Ace.

She hated how she had just had a pleasant call, yet all she could do was think of him.

Picking up a pillow, she covered her face, and very gently, screamed into it.

It was in that position that she drifted into sleep.

The next morning, she was half up when someone stormed into her room.

Both eyes opened wildly when she saw the matriarch.

"Get dressed, we’re checking out dresses you’d wear for the event, today."

She didn’t have time to ask any questions, make any suggestions. She was up almost instantly, and running to the bathroom.

At first, she thought they would be going into a store, but when she walked into the large living room of the house she was staying, she discovered it had been turned into a mini fashion house.

Her eyes almost bulged out if it’s socket as she looked around.

The man from the other day the matriarch took her to see Glam, sashayed forward, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hello to the prettiest girl in the world. It’s just morning, and you already look so gorgeous," he said, as he leaned into her, and brushed a kiss across her cheeks.

She giggled at the compliment, especially coming from him. For a man his age, he was simply beautiful.

"Good morning to you too, Giovanni. It’s nice to see you again."

"Alright!" He flipped his fan from behind. "That’s enough talking!" He screamed, catching everyone’s attention.

The matriarch sighed and shook her head. She knew no one knew more than Giovanni did when it came to fashion, and that was why she brought him to help her today. She just forgot how loud he could be in the process.

"Someone bring the princess to the center of the room, and take the covers off the big mirror," he said, and snapped his finger to signal haste.

Feets began to move around in a hurry. Keeping up with everything at a time made Fay feel dizzy.

When Giovanni stood in front of her, accessing her from head to toe, she knew it was time to get to work.