THE BILLIONAIRE'S CRYBABY
Chapter 78: SAVED BY A BUZZ

Chapter 78: SAVED BY A BUZZ

"Fay?" The door creaked.

The further she slipped into unconsciousness, the more distant the tiny voice sounded.

"Fay?!" Sophie called, this time in alarm.

She dashed forward, and hugged Fay’s legs. Her touch made Fay jerk. Her eyes snapped open, and she looked down to see a little thing hugging her legs.

It took her a couple of seconds to fully regain awareness. When she did, her eyes widened. "Sophie?"

"Are you okay, Fay? Your eyes were closed, and you looked like you were about to fall to the ground," she said, sounding like she was about to burst into tears.

"Of course I’m fine, Sophie. I was just a little distracted."

She picked her up from the ground, and carried her in her arms.

"Am I not too heavy?" She asked shyly, burying her face in Fay’s gown.

Fay chuckled. "A little," she said. In truth, she wasn’t all that heavy. But she definitely did notice some weight gain on her cheeks.

"Where’s grandma?" She asked, as Fay started walking out of the room.

"She said she’s going to relax in her room. How did you know I was here?" She closed the door, and continued walking along the path of the corridor.

"I asked ma’am Gabrielle. She said you went to talk to grandma. I wanted to show grandma that I’ve pulled out a tooth. Look at it, Fay," she opened her mouth, and Fay found the empty pocket. "Can you see it?"

"Of course I can," she giggled. "Soon, you’ll grow out all your permanent teeth."

"Really?!" Her eyes sparkled. "How soon?"

"Uhmmm, let’s say in the next two or three years."

"Do you want to see my room?" She asked, noticing they were going round in circles.

Fay paused, and looked around. She could swear she had just come out of this spot. Why then was she back in it?

She almost stomped her head to punish herself for not paying attention to the routes, when the matriarch was taking her to her office.

Sophie was also beginning to weigh heavily on her.

The little girl sensed this, and began trying to come down.

"Could you drop me, Fay? I can’t feel my legs anymore."

"Oh," she said, and instantly dropped her on her feet. "Sorry for that."

"It’s alright. Also, if you’re lost, I can just show you the way. But do you want to see my room?" She asked a second time.

"Sure!" She exclaimed, hoping she sounded as interested as she wanted to project.

"Follow me then," the little girl said, like she had known the house all her life.

A smile formed on her face as she indeed followed Sophie.

It didn’t matter that her heart was in turmoil. Three days to make a decision that could very well define her future was no easy position to be in.

Her biggest fear was accepting the offer, and actually getting the job done, then Ace ended up finding out.

"Jokes on you for actually thinking you could possibly make Ace fall in love with you," one of her innermost voices sprung up.

The other was about to defend her, but Sophie spoke first.

"The house is really big, isn’t it?"

"Yeah, really big. You could fit ten of the houses I grew up in here," Fay replied.

"Really? Did you grow up poor?" She asked innocently.

Fay couldn’t help but laugh. "Yeah,I did my princess. We were really poor."

"Were? Does that mean you’re rich now?"

She scratched the back of her ready, wondering how she was supposed to answer such an unexpected and complicated question.

"That’s Ace’s room!" The little girl suddenly pointed out, as a wave of relief washed through Fay.

Her eyes went to the door. The rest of the doors were painted an alluring shade of brown. His was the only door painted with black.

She wished she was surprised about that. His room was always dark. Dark blinds, dark covers, everything dark.

"How do you know?" She asked.

"Ma’am Gabrielle told me. Do you want to take a peek?" She smirked mischievously, turning her head behind to look at Fay..

Fay smiled. "I don’t think that’s the right thing to do," she said, trying to reason with the child who was way more smarter than her age dictated.

"But he’s your husband," she pouted. "I think he’d want you to see the room of his youth."

Fay threw her head back, and burst into a feat of laughter. She grabbed her stomach as she laughed.

Sophie watched her, wondering what she had said to crack her up so much.

"Oh Sophie," she said in between her laughter. "How do you know these phrases you use? Besides, Ace is not that old for you to be referring to his youth," she said, and continued laughing.

Her laughter intrigued Sophie. It sounded delicate, and scratched a sweet spot in her ears.

"I’m glad I could make you laugh, Fay. Even if I didn’t really mean to do it," she said, when her laughter finally subsided.

"Come here, you sweet little thing," she pinched her cheeks, lovingly. "I like that you’re so smart. No, I love it. Don’t ever dim your light for anyone, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded.

"Now, go show me to your room. We don’t want to trespass into anyone else’s room—"

"Who said anything about trespassing?"

Copper blonde hair, and fiery red hair both turned at the same time to see Ace, and Gabrielle.

"You little peacock! I’ve been looking all over for you. Didn’t I tell you to come take a bath," Gabrielle said.

Sophie opened her entire teeth, cheesing hard.

"Look at her smiling."

"But I went to go show Fay my broken tooth. See?" She opened it again, as if she hadn’t already showed it to them one too many times.

"And I told you we have to go flush the tooth down the drain, so that the water princesses can fortify it, and give you a better tooth."

"True!" She spinned her head to Fay, as Ace watched the women in amusement.

"Is it true that water princesses fortify broken teeth?"

Fay had never heard about that folklore before, but one look at Gabrielle turned her into a believer. She crouched, and cupped her cheeks.

"It’s true, my love. Now go with ma’am Gabrielle, and be a good girl, okay?"

"Fine. But I want to have ice cream with you. When can I have ice cream with you?" She moaned, bouncing from toe to toe.

"Soon, alright? I’ll make sure to let you know as soon as possible. Call me," she mouthed.

"I will," Sophie mouthed back, and placed a kiss on her cheeks. "Bye Fay!" She twirled, and dashed towards the waiting arms of Gabrielle.

"You naughty girl!" The older woman tickled her, as she carried her away.

"They’re so cute," Fay muttered, watching them laugh away.

Ace leaned into a wall, and crossed his hand as he observed her.

She looked like a real life doll. An unreal piece of art. He had this sudden urge to take her into his room.

"And do what?" A mocking voice in his head asked.

Fay, suddenly feeling self aware, raised her head to find Ace watching her. She swiftly averted her gaze, and bit her lips.

Her heart began to pound. She wondered if he could see into her mind. Perhaps he could tell what his grandmother discussed with her.

"What did grandma discuss with you?"

She thought the question had popped up in her head, until she caught his lips moving through her lashes.

Her breath caught against her chest, and she bit her lips harder.

"Any harder, and you’ll draw blood. Stop doing that," he admonished her.

It took her a couple of seconds to realize he was talking about her lip biting habit. She couldn’t help it when she was nervous. It was something she had done for as long as she could remember.

For her, it was reflexive, for Ace, it spurred the animal in him. Made him want to kiss her lips until they were swollen, and bloodshot.

"You’re nervous," he observed out loud, causing her to shudder at his excellent perception. "Why?"

"I’m," she cleared her throat that felt like mucor was stuck in it. "I’m not," she lied.

"Look at me, and say that again," he demanded.

She was in the middle of biting her lips, when she paused, and decided to play with her fingers instead.

He saw that, and smiled. She was indeed nervous. It had to be something his grandmother said to her.

"Was grandma mean?" He pursued when she wouldn’t look at him.

"Mean?" She shook her head vigorously. "She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. She’s actually very nice."

"Are you sure?" He pulled out of the wall, and took a step forward.

Her eyes widened, and instinctively, she took a step backward. "I— I’m sure," she stuttered.

"So tell me why you’re so nervous." He took another step forward.

"Who said I’m—" she took one step forward, and her back landed against the door.

With no room for escape, and Ace closing down on her, she breathed out in surrender.

"You’re not a good liar, beautiful Fay." He closed the gap between them, and was about to kiss her when his phone rang.

"Shit," he cursed.