THE BILLIONAIRE'S CRYBABY
Chapter 55: TWISTED

Chapter 55: TWISTED

She laughed nervously, shifting uncomfortably on the bed. "Wait, where’s Sophie?" She suddenly asked. She hated that she had to use the little girl to get out of a situation she was completely the architect of, but she had to do what she had to do.

"Sophie? But that’s not even what we’re—"

"She’s with sir Ace’s mum," Marilyn interrupted before Alice could get to the point she was reaching for.

She could see how uncomfortable Fay looked. That topic was obviously something she didn’t want to discuss. After what they’d just seen the girl go through, there wasn’t any point pushing her to respond to things she was not ready to respond to.

Alice’s gaze swept across hers, but she withheld her eyes from returning it. They’d discuss later. When the mistress wasn’t as upset as she was.

"Did she complain? Cry? Please tell me she’s going to be fine."

"She is. Although, she did ask for you,and Sir Ace. Madam Gabrielle promised that you’d both visit soon."

Fay smiled. "Her life is about to change for good. I think Mrs Gabrielle will take care of her. She’s not the one I’m afraid of." At the end of her words, her voice held a bitter note.

"Are you talking about Mrs Celine?" Alice asked.

Fay sighed. "I don’t want to mention names. But I guess it is what it is. Considering what she did to me, and how she tried to get Ace to turn against me, and me against him, I really fear for Sophie." Her face contorted with worry, as her glance darted between both women, hoping to draw some comfort from them.

"Sophie will be fine. Ma’am Gabrielle will protect her fiercely, just like she protected the twins," Marilyn assured her.

"Besides, she has never been bothered about the children she considers truly illegitimate. Just the one that threatens the inheritance she longs for," Alice blurted out.

Fay’s interest was sparked. She leaned forward, a gleam of curiosity in her eyes. Twisting her fingers so they interlocked before her, she asked, "I’ve been meaning to ask. Why does Mrs Celine hate Ace so much?"

"He didn’t tell you about his relationship with his family?" The suspicion in Alice’s voice returned, as her eyes hovered around Fay.

"When has sir Ace been known to talk about himself? With anyone at all? It’s not her fault that he prefers to keep his family matters to himself," Marilyn defended again.

Alice’s eyes squinted. She was beginning to notice a worrying pattern. Marilyn was being overly defensive, as if she knew something that was supposed to be hidden.

But she understood the need to remain silent, until they were alone. The message was well received, even without any communication issued.

Making a mental note to zip her mouth, she nodded in agreement. "You’re right. Sir Ace really doesn’t open up. I guess I just thought he’d naturally open up to you. You’re pretty easy to talk to, and you never judge anyone."

"I’d be a hypocrite to judge, that’s why I don’t do it. But yes, back to Ace. Why does she hate him?"

Marilyn sighed. Alice huffed. Both women turned to each other, and this time, there was communication.

"Should I tell her, or would you do the honors?" Alice asked.

"Yeah, you tell her. I’d try to water down things if I do. You say it as it is."

"Thanks for that wonderful acknowledgement."

They both smiled, but their smile held no warmth. Fay observed their faces, a thousand questions in her mind.

From the very first time Ace dropped his rules, she had accepted the fact that she would never truly know who he was.

Their relationship was simply transactional. Her only issue had been, she knew what she stood to gain. A filthy amount of money she wouldn’t be able to make in a lifetime of normalcy. But what did he stand to gain?

He never told her, and she never asked. Maybe it was time for the truth. If she found out, she probably would understand him better.

Alice cleared her throat, and its throaty sound dragged her attention back to the present. The two women on her bed. Ready to tell her about the man she was bound to by a contract.

"As you may already know, Mrs Celine is Ace’s Aunt from his father’s side. They’re the Atticus dynasty. There are other kids, but the rivalry began with Celine and Ace’s dad. You see, they were twins."

Fay’s eyes widened, as a gasp escaped her throat. She covered her mouth with her hand, her heart racing.

"Yep," Alice bobbed her head at Fay’s unsurprising reaction. "They were the first to be born. Ace’s father came out first, so naturally, he was the designated heir. Mrs Celine hated that arrangement. She thought it unfair. They were just minutes apart. Why did he have to be the heir? Maybe because she was a woman. We don’t know the entire details, but from that day, she had a vendetta. It spilled from father to son, and that’s why she hates Ace."

"Wow! These are the kind of stories you watch in the movies, or read in books. There’s no way this is real. So all of this is because of an inheritance? I don’t understand. Aren’t they really rich?" She asked, still a little confused.

"Mrs Fay, when we talk about inheritance, it’s not just the wealth. It’s mostly about the spade company. It’s a generational company with History that spans across centuries. That’s where the core wealth is tied to, and that’s why the fight is centered on it," Marilyn explained.

"So the fight is for spades? It must be really huge then."

Strangely, her head catapulted into a series of strange imaginations. A giant building appeared, and at both ends stood Ace, and Mrs Celine.

They took a cartoon form, and began to prepare for battle.

A man dressed like a clown walked to the middle, and announced that the battle was about to begin.

Herself, seated at the background as one of the onlookers, watched as bets were made.

The majority stood beside Ace. But the majority were just ordinary people. The ones that truly mattered; the dignitaries, and upper echelons, placed their bets on Aunt Celine.

The challenge was simple. First to walk from their end of the building to the middle, won.

"What kind of challenge is this?" Someone mocked, beside her. She turned her head, and saw Sophie with a handful of popcorn in her hand.

On closer inspection, she had three extra fingers on both hands. Suddenly, she started to swirl. She jerked, her head turning to view her fellow spectators.

Sometimes a third eye would pop out of their forehead, while some would stand to their feet, and start moonwalking forward..

"That’s the redhead demon!" A voice from the crowd screamed.

She turned, joining everyone to look for whoever was being spoken about.

However, her eyes caught her aunt’s pointing fingers. She followed it’s direction, and it led to her chest.

Everyone saw it too. Soon, they started to close in on her like two walls.

"Fetch the demon, and burn her!"

The battle long forgotten, they focused their attention on getting her. Then things got progressively worse, as she started to hear her name.

It sounded distant at first, but slowly it increased in strength.

"No, no, no," she muttered, when everything happening around her became too overwhelming.

"Mrs Fay?"

She felt a touch on her skin, and jumped. "No!" She screamed, taking cover.

"Mrs Fay? What happened again?!" Two pairs of alarmed eyes questioned her.

She paused, and blinked. They were all gone. The strange faces trying to get rid of her had disappeared.

She was back to her room, and in the presence of—- "Marilyn? Alice?"

She pushed herself in-between them, and pulled them in for a hug. "It’s really you two. Thank God. For a moment there, I thought the monsters were going to get me."

"What—" Alice was asking, when Marilyn silenced her with her fingers.

"I’m so exhausted. I want to take a bath, but I’m scared of going into that bathroom. Is there another bathroom I can use?" She asked in a small, defeated voice.

"Oh honey, you can use as many bathrooms around the house as you’d like," Marilyn said.

"Okay. Can I go now? Cus I really need to pee."

"Sure," Alice said.

She let go, and pulled away. Meeting a smile on their faces, instead of the curiosity at her crazy outbursts she expected to see, she was compelled to throw out a question.

"Why are you both smiling?"

"It’s nothing," Marilyn chuckled.

"No, it’s not nothing. We’ve never met someone like you. Promise me something, Mrs Fay."

"Sure. What?" She said in a completely innocent voice.

"Don’t ever change. It’s going to be tough, but don’t let circumstances steal your genuinity. Can you do that?"

"I guess I can try," she replied, not knowing what they meant, but hoping she never had to disappoint either of these women that had been nothing but a solace, in her journey here.