Discovered (5 page)

EMILY

When I woke up and found that I was in Julien’s bed alone, I thought the worst. Maybe he had changed his mind and instead of asking me to leave, he left. But, when the sweet aroma of hazelnut coffee teased my nose, I was relieved.

I didn’t mean to torture him honestly
, but I couldn’t help wanting to see how he would react to seeing me naked in his kitchen as he cooked. I couldn’t help but laugh when I walked back into the bedroom.

I went
over to his dresser and pulled out an oversized plain white V-neck t-shirt, putting it on and inhaling his scent as I did. I searched for my purse, which was on the floor and retrieved my emergency toothbrush, thankful that I hadn’t tossed it out after I broke up with Adam.

As I made my way to the bathroom, I heard something vibrate. Darting my eyes around the room, I realized that
Julien had left his phone on the night stand. A part of me wanted to let him know but the other part, my being a woman I guess, wanted to take a little peek. I instinctively looked behind me, making sure the Julien was still in the kitchen and bee-lined my way to the phone. I didn’t pick it up but just slightly tapped on the screen. A text message…

“
Darling, sorry I haven’t had a chance to talk to you, well I’ve been away but I had some business meetings that were just dreadful, you know how it is but I’m back now. See you in a bit. – hugs and kisses.”

Hands shaking, breath caught in my throat, I scrolled back up
frantically to see the name of the sender and when I did I felt the stab of a million sharp knives gut me.

Wife.

He was married. How the heck could he be married and make love to me last night, and this morning, begging me to stay with him, to be with him!
How could I be so stupid?

I backed away from the phone, clenching my stomach, falling to the ground while attempting to breathe. It was happening again. I had allowed myself to get played by yet another smooth talking sex symbol. I went against all
of the warnings in my head and just followed along, hoping that I was making the right choice. I could feel the impending tears burning the rims of my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I had just met this man, he didn’t deserve one ounce of my tears.
That rat bastard!
He was no different than Adam… No he was far more deceptive than Adam… Adam hadn’t been able to make my body surrender to him; hadn’t made it so that the mere thought of his touch disarmed me with little effort. No… Adam was an amateur compared to Julien.

I heard Julien’s footsteps
growing near the bedroom as I lifted myself off the floor, wiping the tears that had fallen freely onto my face. I couldn’t let him see me this way, he wasn’t worth it. This was just a one night stand, nothing more. I got what I agreed to and now it was time to move on.
Big girl panties Emily!

“Are you alright? When you didn’t come back I thought…” he
voice trailed out when he noticed my face, red eyes attempting to avoid his stare.

“What’s the matter
Mon amour?” he asked, stepping closer than I would have liked, a seemingly concerned look plastered on his face.

I couldn’t stand being in the same room as him, breathing in the same air… while he pretended to care about me, pretended to want to be with
me all the while knowing he was married. I needed to get away.

“Nothing! Everything is just perfect! Ab-so
-freaking-perfect!” I blurted out without thinking. I had wanted to stay calm and not give him the satisfaction of knowing he had hurt me but his look of concern, look of care, angered me to no end.

“Ha
ve I done something to upset you?” he asked as he reached for my hand, completely taken aback while searching my face for answers.

“Why don’t you just call up your
wife
and ask her!” I smirked, snatching my hand from him and grabbing his robe which lay across the plush love seat nearest the window and then darting to the other side of the room.

He froze.
His eyes were wide, mouth open and yet he didn’t say anything. Not a single word. I felt my heart break in half. I knew there wasn’t anything that he could say to make things better but the fact that he didn’t even try to say anything hurt me to the core. Flashes of what I had initially saw in his eyes at the bar the night before flooded my mind. This was my fault, I let him fool me.
How could you be so stupid Emily?!

“And to think, just a few hours
ago you were begging me to be with you!” I wrapped myself in the robe, hating the fact that it smelled like him. I grabbed my panties and bra as I began to walk towards the door.

“Have a nice life, Mr. Julien Belmont, a happy freaking life!” I muttered
before storming off, slamming the bedroom door behind me.

When I reached the top of the stairs, he yelled behind me, “Please let me explain Emily. It’s really not what it looks like,” he said now standing just a few feet away from me.

I stop and turned my head to face him, “I have heard this before… ‘Let me explain’, ‘it’s not what it looks like or sounds like’, no more… No More!”

“Just please give me a chance,” he pleaded, looking at me with what appeared to be pain in his eyes, the same eyes
that I had ignored before, the same eyes that had thirsted for my body just a few hours ago.

The tears I had
tried so hard to hold at bay were now falling down, “Goodbye Julien,” I said as I hurried down the stairs and out of the door, cursing myself for letting him see me cry.

JULIEN

It had been at least five minutes since Emily had stormed out of the house and I was stuck standing there, starring at the stairs where she’d stood. I couldn’t understand what had happened. Once minute I was setting up the table for breakfast and the next she was out the door.

When I realized she had found out about Charlette, I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to explain to her that my marriage to Charlette was one of mere convenience but instead I looked a fool, standing th
ere as she grabbed her things. I knew that I had really messed up by not telling her about the marriage arrangement I had with Charlette but I didn’t think there was much to tell.

The pain and hurt I saw in her eyes broke me to pieces
; but why couldn’t she just give me a chance to explain? Surely if she had, she would understand that Charlette and I were only married on paper, just a formality so that our families would allow us to live the lives we wanted. Father was always shoving one wealthy woman after another toward me, telling me that it was in my best interest that I marry, and ensuring him that I would have an heir, a legacy to pass on. At the time, marriage and love was the furthest thing from my mind, and still is. So, when he introduced me to Charlette, I made her an offer which she gladly accepted.

C
harlette Delacroix inherited billions from her late father Armand, founder of Delacroix Vineyards. Her mother, Ella, wanted desperately for her daughter to marry someone that she deemed worthy of her, which was why she went to my father, asking if I would take her daughters hand.

At first I detested the thought of being tied down to one woman,
much less a woman that I hardly knew; but when I considered the benefits of not having my father worry himself sick about my lack of marital prospects, I decided that I would marry Charlette, but under my own terms.

“I am sure that your mother has informed you of my father’s wishes,”
I stated as I took my seat in my office chair after Charlette sat down across from my desk.

“Yes she has, although I must admit that I was quite taken aback when she informed me that you had agreed. I know all too well about your reputation Mr. Belmont and marriage doesn’t suit you,”
she said before gracefully standing to her feet and walking over to the bar.

She was blunt and harsh but still
managed to remain elegant, a quality I’m sure she had learned very well after taking on her father’s business. She was gorgeous in every way with long legs that seemed endless, her blond hair which danced as she moved and breasts that sat up at attention. I could have easily seen myself being with her, sexually of course, but nothing more.

“Well, I may say that your ball busting reputation doesn’t quite scream marriage material as well,”
I retorted, watching as she poured herself some brandy and made her way back to my desk.

“So why agree Mr. Belmont?”
she asked, eyeing me carefully.

“I have a
proposition for you,”
I said as I rose to my feet, rounding the desk, and now standing in front of her.

“Do tell…”
she said as she sat back in her chair, starring up at me, clearly amused.

She was cute
, to say the least, but I was here for an important task. I cleared my throat and continued,
“I can’t imagine that you would be in favor of getting married right now seeing as you’re just starting to run your father’s business and that takes nothing but complete dedication. I myself am also not looking to get married but my father and your mother won’t let up until we are hitched. So I propose that we marry, for their sakes, on paper but live our lives as we see fit thereafter,”
I walked back over to my desk and sat down, waiting for any reaction she might have. When she didn’t say anything, I continued,
“We’ll of course keep up appearances, going to social events together from time to time but aside from necessary gatherings, you would be free to do whatever you wish, as would I.”

She swirled her drink in her hand, contemplating on all I had said.
When she frowned, I thought for sure she would decline my proposal.

“And if I meet someone I do wish to marry
, what then?”
she inquired, before taking a long, sensual pull on her drink.

“If either one of us should want to marry, then we would simply get a divorc
e and move on,”
I informed her.

“Agreed.”

It was a brilliant plan at the time and it had worked out perfectly for me since our parents were none the wiser. We would attend social events together and make a good show of flirting with each other and afterwards, we would retreat to our own lives. The only thing Charlette required of me was to keep my female companions discreet, which I have.

It was
n’t, of course, without its flaws, as both Charlette and I had to make certain adjustments in our lives;
mainly her
. Charlette had been the ideal bride for the first few months, never bothersome, quite respectful of my privacy and stayed out of sight until six months into the marriage when I started dating Laura.

Laura and I were far from serious. We met casually whenever I had free time
and needed companionship. She was a sexy aspiring actress who I’d met through a mutual friend. She was submissive and followed the rules I had set for the arrangement without complaint, understanding that our relationship was strictly a physical one.

Charlette, who had just returned from an extensive trip to New York had learned about Laura through a mutual friend and subsequently hired a private investigator t
o dig up information on Laura. Needless to say, I was furious when she barged into my home one night, demanding that I end my affair, handing me a file filled with information on Laura’s past relationships, all wealthy, powerful men.
A gold-digging whore
, I believe was the term Charlette used in describing Laura.

She was taken aback when I ordered her to leave my home, threatening to not only divorce her but inform her mother of the affairs she herself had been in since our
marriage
. The threat was an empty one but Charlette backed down, apologized and made sure to stay out of my affairs from then on, which I had been thankful for until today!

My phone started to vibrate and I practically sprinted to it, hoping that it was Emily. I needed for her to hear me out. Why did s
he have to be so damn stubborn!

I grabbed the phone and answered without even looking at the name of the caller
. The sound of the woman on the other line was the very last person I wanted to speak to.

“Darling, did you get my text?” she
asked and her voice was joyous and light, which only grated on my nerves.
She had just cost me Emily and she had the nerve to sound carefree!

“What is it
that you want Charlette, this isn’t really a good time,” I muttered, trying my best to stay calm.

“Well excuse me Mr. Grumpy, someone surely woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” I could imagine her holding her dainty little hand against her heart as she spoke.

“No, I woke up in a wonderful mood, until you ruined it!” I blurted out without thinking.

I knew it really wasn’t
completely
Charlette’s fault but I was just so hurt that Emily walked away from me, away from us… not thinking I was worthy enough to hear out. The fact that this was now the second time Charlette had interfered with my love affairs, didn’t help at all.

“Well put that sour puss mood of yours aside
Mon mari
, my husband, because I am just pulling up into the driveway,” she said right before she hung up. Great, that’s just what I need right now!