Beautiful Rose (Elixir Billionaires #1)

14. Rose

14

ROSE

“You gotta be kidding me. Really? Her Zander, really?”

Vanessa’s shrill words get everyone’s attention. Her eyes burn with rage and hatred as they fix on me before her gaze slides lower, and a spiteful smile plays on her lips. She raises our held hands up in the air for everyone to see.

That’s when I know this isn’t going to end well.

Zander takes a step forward, and my limp arm falls down. “What the hell, Vanessa?” he hisses.

“You tell me, Zander. What are you doing with this girl? She was the one on stage, right?”

“Not-t-t here, Vanes-s-sa.” Zane stands beside her, somehow not scared to approach even though she’s swaying with anger.

“No, Zane. You stay out of this. This is between me and Zander.” Some of her perfectly pinned-up hair falls on her forehead as she shakes her head.

“There’s nothing between you and me, Vanessa. What the fuck are you talking about?” Zander’s eyebrows squish together as he rubs his forehead with his fingers.

As if she hasn’t even heard his words, Vanessa’s voice turns down a notch with a hint of seduction, which I absolutely hate.“Zander, this is what you like? A fucking mouse ? You could have told me that you’re into those kinks…”

Utter humiliation fills me. I never thought someone would interpret me and Zander together in this way.

I’m still in shock when Kristy grabs my hand and almost drags me toward the door. Her face is fuming. I wish I could have expressions like her for once, but I’m just stunned and anxious as several pairs of eyes focus on us—on me.

But Vanessa has other plans. She tugs on my free arm, pulling me away from Kristy. “Not so fast, missy. You aren’t going anywhere.”

In the tug of war between the two girls, I lose my balance, but Zander catches me by my waist.

“Leave her be, Vanessa.” His deep growl vibrates through my body as his hands dig into my hips.

Vanessa lets go and stands in front of me, her hands crossed over her chest as she scowls. My eyesight blurs, and it feels like everyone is moving in closer, surrounding us like sharks ready to feed and I am the prey.

“What the hell is going on?” Zach asks, eyebrows raised in confusion.

But before anyone can respond, Zane moves in front of me, effectively shielding me from Vanessa’s view. “You’re t-too drunk, Vanes-ssa. Let me t-take you to your hot-tel room.”

“No, Zane.” Vanessa pushes past him and points her finger at Zander, red nail polish on display—almost the same color as our red, my and Zander’s. “Just tell me what’s going on between you two.”

At her insistence, Zander’s grip on my waist tightens almost painfully. I turn, grimacing, and he releases me with a jerk. I try to remember in all my video calls or meetings if I’ve ever seen Zander this tense and agitated, but I can’t remember one instance.

“What does it look like?” he asks, glaring at Vanessa.

I don’t like the way Zander’s mouth twists as his words are spoken quietly, laced with a controlled anger. His death stare slides away from Vanessa and toward me, and the coldness turns to confusion.

I hate it.

I wish, just once, someone would accept me publicly.But maybe that’s too much to ask.

My eyes well with tears, and a million emotions feed my tumultuous heart. I drop my gaze and my shoulder’s slump. Any high I had from earlier—after seeing Zander—is gone. I’m barely holding in a sob when he speaks again.

“Marr and I are together. And if you have no more questions, I would really like to get the hell out of here.”

My heart sputters with muted joy as my mind sorts through the implication of his words. He doesn’t give me time to process them before he retakes my hand and leads me away from everyone.

Once outside, he releases his tight grip and runs his hand through his unruly hair in frustration. “This was not how I had planned this evening.” He takes my hand again, his touch much more gentle than before.

My breathing grows heavier, and as much as my hands want to tug on my sleeves, they also want to stay clasped in Zander’s warmth.

“What I said inside—”

Zander’s words are interrupted by Kristy’s stormy arrival. “Rosie, are you okay?” Her eyes scan us, standing close, hands held together. “I was worried. I’ll…come back later,” she mutters.

“Kristy, wait. I have to make sure everything is back to normal inside.” Zander nods toward the entrance through which she appeared. “You stay with Marr.” He squeezes my hand before whispering, “I’ll be back soon.”

I nod lightly and he heads back inside.

“I had no idea things were going so well between you two.”Kristy briefly shakes her head in disbelief. Or is it hurt? I’m not sure. She has never looked at me like this.“I knew you guys were talking, but I didn’t know you guys were together.”

“Kris—”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Oh my God. I betrayed my best friend.

“Kristy, I…didn’t know. We never…talked about it?” My throat chokes and I feel more upset than before.

“About you being the girlfriend of the hottest bachelor?”

Her question throws me for a loop.

Is this how everyone is thinking about me and Zander? The diffident me and the Adonis him.

This evening turned out so unexpectedly. I had only wished to have a nice time with him like a normal girl.

He said we were together . A word I’ve nervously imagined while lying on my bed, lights out, covers pulled up to my head, scared to even dream it in broad daylight. But every time Zander whispered the word in my dream, he wasn’t so…frustrated. In my dreams, he was delighted.

But tonight, he said my dream word to shut Vanessa up.

Kristy’s hands grab mine, stopping me from harshly pulling on the cuffs of my new dress. “I want to be angry with you. But when you do that”—she cocks her head to my fidgeting fingers—“I can’t be.”

“I’m so…sorry.” All the confusion and the stress of not only the past hour but the entire day of prepping myself up exhausts me. A tear rolls down my cheek. “I never wanted to…hide anything from you. But there wasn’t anything to hide. You know that, right?”

“What are you saying?” Her thumb gently wipes my cheek.

“Zander said…that…to shut Vanessa up,” I whisper between hiccups .

“I don’t think so, Rose. I think he likes you.” She grabs my shoulders, squeezing them gently.

“But why? Do you really think someone can be attracted to me? And do you really think someone can stay attracted to me after knowing everything?” My voice trembles.

She gives me a tight smile, and I look away from her pity-laced face.

“You won’t know until you take a chance. Maybe Zander is your happily ever after. ”

Traitorous tears roll down my cheeks. “I can never have a happily ever after. No matter how much I want it, how much I pray for it. All my ever afters are tarnished by my ever befores.”

“You can’t mean that.” I hate the tears pooling in her eyes, but there’s no missing the hesitancy in her voice. Even when she denies my words, she knows there’s truth in them.

“Believe me, Kristy, I am happy. My life isn’t exactly what someone would want for themselves, but I’ve got no complaints.” I press on her cold hands, which are still holding mine. “However, there are certain things I can’t dream of. My past has ruined every possibility of some things in my future.”

She throws her arms around me, and I can feel her tears as her body shakes in tandem with mine.

In between hiccups, I mutter, “I like him so much. I have never…felt like this before.” My voice shivers as I confess my feelings. “I feel alone…every time we end a call, and my heart does a weird fluttering when he texts me. This all…scares me…so much.”

She pulls back.“Then tell him.”

Before we can argue more, heavy footsteps approach us. I know it’s Zander; I can feel it. My heart has started doing that fluttery thing it does every time he’s around.

Zander stands beside me, and I hide away from his gaze. I don’t want to remember the moment he was compelled to make the absurd declaration.

“Shall I take you both home?” he asks.

“Why don’t you and Rose talk? I’ll let the guys know we’re leaving,” Kristy replies.

What? No. No, Kristy. Don’t do this to me. Don’t leave me alone with him. Not now.

“I…should come with you.”

“No. You stay here and talk .” She squeezes my shoulders before scrambling inside.

“Marr?” Zander’s voice is soft and calm. “How are you?” He grabs my hand, and I shiver under his touch.The tears I’m trying to send back roll down my cheek.

When he tips my chin back with his finger, I peer up at him. A soft smile touches his lips.

“Okay.” My heart clenches when his thumb wipes my tears, and he even rights my glasses.

“About what I said inside—”

“It’s okay. You don’t need to explain. I understand.” I shake my head, and his hand falls from my face.

“What do you understand?” he urges, confusion laced in his eyes.

“That…that it just came out…of your mouth.”

“I didn’t blurt out some random stuff, couch girl. I hadn’t planned on making such a huge declaration, but…”

My heart no longer flutters, but there are raging storms inside me that make me tremble. “I don’t understand. What…are you…saying, Zander?”

“I like you, Marr. I thought I made that clear with my insistent calls and copious texts.” I feel his gentle hand on my wrist as he pulls on my butterfly charm bracelet with his index finger. It’s just a whisper of a touch.

My breathing stops. “B-but you don’t know me.”

“I know you enough to know I like you.”

“Zander— ”

“I know we missed some big steps in between. It’d have been better if we had gone on some dates and I’d dazzled you a bit more.”

Did he just say dazzle me more? Doesn’t he know he’s already swept me off my feet?

“Why are you doing this?” My muscles twitch as something between excitement and nervousness fills my heart.

“Because I mean what I said inside.” He tugs on his tie.

His hesitation is palpable, and his fingers on the cherry knot around his neck feel like they are saying much more to my crazy brain.

“I like you, Marr. Very much.” He pauses once more.

His words and nervousness befuddle me. He looks equally confused as me, but his speech somehow doesn’t falter as mine does.

“And though I didn’t plan to say it this way, and definitely not in a room full of a hundred people, I really want to see where this can lead us.” He waves his hands between us. “I have never felt like this before. I’m still not sure what this is, but I don’t want to stop or go back to being just friends.” Zander rakes his hand through his perfect hair and looks at me with wild eyes before his gaze softens. “But I also can’t demand feelings, so I would like to know—what do you want?”

My pulse goes into rapid beats. “Why would you…even want me?” I whisper.

His eyes widen in surprise. “Why would I not? You are smart, intelligent, funny in your own way. You are so different from others. With you, I never pretend. Being with you is like being in a bubble of happiness, and I want to stay in that bubble. I—”

“Stop. Please. Stop.” I jerk away, causing his finger to slip from my bracelet. Taking a step back from him and his affection, I stumble and fall on the ground outside the hall.

Incessant tears run down my face. There is only so much I can take. Things that are offered to me today will be robbed from me in the blink of an eye, and it’ll be no one’s fault. Just my poor luck, as always.

“Marr! Are you okay?” Zander crouches next to me but keeps his hands to himself.

After hearing his words, after hearing how he feels about me, I just want to embrace his affection, be in that bubble with him.

“Are you hurt?” He’s close enough for me to feel his heat but he’s not touching me. The night sky is dark, but there’s enough light from inside the hall that I can make out his face and expression. “Can I help you up?” There is so much sincerity in his voice.

He knows me. He understands me. With him, I don’t feel like I’m different. I can say all my insecurities to Zander without being judged. Can I give this a chance?

“Yes,” I mutter.

He holds my hand, his touch sending jolts of electricity throughout my body. Our fingers intertwine like before. I look at our connected hands and then at him. He gives me a smile and then pulls me up.

“Yes,” I whisper again.

“Sorry?”

“Yes, I want it.” There’s momentary confusion in his eyes before his lips curl into a smile. My eyes rivet to his dimpled cheek. “But there is something you need to know.”

“Anything you say or tell won’t change how I feel about you.” He looks around and asks, “Do you want to talk here?”

“Can we go someplace... private ?” My heart pounds against my rib cage. A part of my brain screams at me to run in the opposite direction, but I try to ignore the voice tonight that has governed every decision in my life.

“Sure. Come with me.”

We walk hand in hand, his stride confident and positive of our future together .

Me? I’m a shivering mess with a haunted past.

We enter through the hotel’s back entrance and take the elevator to the third floor. When we step into the lobby, he turns to me. “I have a suite here. But before we go in, Marr, I want to tell you whatever you’re going to say will not change how I feel about you.”

“Please. Let’s go inside.” I can’t look at Zander anymore. I never imagined I’d open up about my past to a stranger like this, but I need to do it before I cower and back out.

With my head held low and my hand captive in his, I enter the room. I take a few steps inside and stand under the center light. He nods toward the couch, but I hold my ground. His grip on my hand loosens, and he takes a seat, looking at me in confusion.

My body trembles. The heat of Zander’s attraction isn’t enough to stop the tremors that keep me awake at night.

He brushes his hand lightly against my arm, and a startled cry leaves me. My mind has already transported to places I hate.

Stunned by my response, he blinks rapidly. When he tries to speak, I shake my head. I just want to get my story out without any interruption. All the energy and warmth that was around us moments ago is no longer there. I know he expects me to narrate some sob story, but my wounds are sharp and deep. They draw people around me into a dark abyss.

I peer away from his concerned gaze and drag the zipper of my dress down.

“M-Marr, what’s going on?” He jumps from his chair and stands before me.Grabbing my hands, he stops me from lowering the straps. His grip tightens almost painfully as his knuckles turn white. “Why are you…” He swallows and I watch his Adam’s apple bob. “Why are you taking off your clothes?”

“Please let me do this,” I whisper. Tears of shame fill my eyes and spill down my cheeks.

His pained face turns white, and he stammers, “This is crazy. I have no idea what you’re trying to tell me, but no, not like this.”

I haven’t even started, and he’s already hurting. I can feel his hands shaking over mine. My heart crushes thinking about the pain I’m causing him. This is what he gets for liking me—pain and heartbreak.My brain again screams to leave this room, this town, and run far away from him. But my greedy heart whispers repeatedly to take a chance .

Take a chance.

“Please.” I listen to my heart and jerk away from him. My action causes him to lose his balance, and he stumbles a step back. Taking the opportunity, I lower my sleeves, pulling my dress down until the heavy fabric rests on my waist.

Zander turns his back to me. “Marr, I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me. But not like this, please.”

My feelings for him move to a whole new level. Even when I’m vulnerable, he is protecting me and my tarnished dignity. I pray to all the forces of nature who have led me this far and brought him into my life. Please let him be the one. My happily ever after .

I move to where he’s standing and turn so that he can see my back. He can see that I’m not who he thinks.