Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
But because she was weak, she only made herself smile again. “Of course.” Her tone was light and teasing, and it was an even bigger lie. “How many times do I have to tell you? My world doesn’t revolve around you, mijnheer.” And while this used to be the truth, it was now the biggest lie of all.
“I just need to get some work done.”
“Of course.”
Silence.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m okay.” But her voice caught, and she heard the billionaire inhale sharply.
She felt him crouching in front of her. “Ilse—-”
She turned her face towards his voice. “I’m okay.” But she was not. “We’re okay.” But they were not. “R-right?”
The billionaire gripped her hands. “Absolutely.” But they both knew they were lying, had been lying from the start.
The only thing they didn’t know was when the lies would end.
The billionaire’s hands slowly loosened its hold on her, and she had the craziest urge to snatch them back. Don’t leave me.
“I’m going now, alright?”
“Alright.” Please don’t leave me.
But he still did.
The hours passed, and when Jan asked her if the billionaire would join them for dinner, Ilse made herself shrug, saying lightly, “He’s very busy with work, I’m afraid.”
“But I want to talk to him about the dog he promised me.”
“Maybe tomorrow, so don’t wait up for him, okay?” Wise words coming from her, but by the time Jan guided her to the bedroom she shared with the billionaire, she ended up ignoring her own advice and waited up for him.
Leaving the door ajar so she could hear his footsteps coming up, Ilse fumbled her way to her writing desk and pulling the drawer open, she took out one of her pens and a blank sheet of paper.
Time continued to crawl past her, and Ilse kept herself awake by writing blindly. She would show it to Jaak later, and she would ask him if it was still legible. Hopefully, it would make him laugh. Hopefully it would lead them to doing other things that involved getting naked.
Hopefully.
Ilse knew she was being foolish and desperate, but she also knew she had nothing to lose. Sex could make them reconnect. Sex could give them the courage to stop lying. Sex could—-
And that was when she felt it.
He was here.
Ilse wasn’t precisely sure if the billionaire was already inside their bedroom. She only knew he was near enough to watch her, and it was all she could do not to stop her hand from moving.
He continued to stare at her, and her pen began to scrawl indiscriminately on the paper.
Quertymisdfnagfowersgsg
Misadfnr-udsf03
$02nivniit
She felt the billionaire start to retreat, turning away from her slowly, and it was all she could do not to lose her grip on her pen.
She had to keep writing. She had to keep pretending. She had to keep lying.
She had to, so that if the billionaire ever thought of glancing back—-
He wouldn’t know that she knew he had chosen to leave her...again.
When the billionaire finally came back to her side, Ilse had already fallen asleep in their bed, and she woke gradually to his touch. “J-Jaak?”
“Good morning, sleepyhead.”
She turned towards his voice, could sense him seated at the edge of their bed. “What time is it?” she asked groggily.
“Time for you to decide where you want to have brunch,” the billionaire answered mildly. “Do you want me to send up a tray for you or do you feel like going down?”
“I’ll just shower and then I’ll go down.” She paused then said very casually, “What time did you come up?”
“I didn’t at all.”
Ah. She pretended to rub her eyes, but really, it was just so she could give herself time.
“Too much work.”
Liar.
Liar.
Liar.
And yet it was only the first of many other excuses, the first of many nights that they wouldn’t touch.
Chapter Nineteen
Jaak left on her third day home, citing an emergency at work, and Ilse bid him goodbye cheerfully, telling him not to worry about her. Her blindness shouldn’t keep him from working, she had told him, and it was essential they started acting like normal. The billionaire had been swift to agree, and she had been just as swift to pretend she hadn’t noticed the relief in his voice.
While he was away, the billionaire had arranged for Ilse to meet with various specialists, some of whom he had even flown from other parts of the world. And yet the prognosis remained the same from all of them.
There was no guarantee treatments would work, no guarantee her eyes would heal on their own. There was no guarantee they could find a donor who would match her need, no guarantee that even with the perfect match, she could see again.
No guarantee.
And Ilse knew that they were telling her in a roundabout fashion that she could only hope for a miracle.
On the eighth day that the billionaire was away, Jan asked her if Jaak was indeed coming home tomorrow night.