Billionaire Temptations: Rich, Ruthless & Obsessed

Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Emily

“Simon and I would like to thank all of you for attending and celebrating our wonderful day with us. We both feel so honored that you took the time out of your busy schedules to share the most important day of our lives.”

“The next important day will be your divorce,” I whispered.

“Right?” Jackson looked over at me with a small smile.

“We are so excited to start our lives together as husband and wife. A union made before God of two people who will love each other for eternity.”

“Until the marriage goes south and one of you cheats,” I spoke in a very low, soft voice.

“And it will happen.” Jackson winked.

I couldn’t help but steal small glances at Jackson as we ate our five-course meal. His comebacks to my snide remarks intrigued me. It was almost as if he felt the same way about marriage as I did. Pulling my phone from my purse, I set it down beside my plate. Suddenly, several dings came through at once with text messages from Brad, Louis, and Daniel. Jackson glanced down at my phone and then raised his brow at me.

“It seems you are very popular with the boys.”

“It seems you are quite nosy.” I smirked.

“Couldn’t help but be when your phone blew up, and all those little dings pierced my ears.”

Evelyn left the table to talk to the bride, and Kami left as well to talk to the groom. I picked up my phone and held it up to Jackson.

“This is the man drama I was talking about earlier.”

“It seems like you have your hands full.” His brow arched.

“I do, and it’s exhausting. I’m taking a break from the dating world for a while.”

“Pity. I was going to ask you out.” The corners of his mouth curved up into a striking smile.

“You were not.” I lightly smacked his arm.

“Okay, maybe I wasn’t. I don’t want to add to your man drama.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.” I finished off my wine.

“May I get you another glass of wine?” he asked.

“Sure. I’ll walk with you.”

As we headed to the bar, it was time for the bridal dance. The bride and groom took their places in the middle of the oversized dance floor, and “All of Me” by John Legend began to play. Jackson handed me my wine, and with his scotch in his, we stared out at the happy couple as they shared their first dance as husband and wife.

“I bet five years from now, the expression on their faces will totally change,” I spoke.

“I agree. It’s all rainbows and roses now but give it a couple of years.”

“I feel like weddings are a fraud.”

“How do you mean?” he asked as he looked at me.

“Well, people attend, give obscene amounts of money as a wedding gift, and in ten years, the happy couple who pledged their love for each other in front of all those people and made a promise til death do us part end up divorced. Then when you get the news that the happy little couple couldn’t make it work, all you keep thinking about is the money you gave them.”

Jackson chuckled. “I never looked at it like that. I think I like your thought process, and I agree. All your little remarks and comments lead me to believe that you’re a couple hater.”

“I’m not a couple hater. I’m just a firm believer that nothing lasts forever. I don’t believe in long-term relationships or two people becoming one. For God’s sake, you are your own person, but all that goes out the window the moment you decide to hand over your life, emotional control, and identity to another person. You don’t need to be in a relationship to be happy. If anything, relationships wreak more havoc on your life than anything else.”

“Wow. Very insightful, and I agree with every word you just said. Relationships are for the weak. They’re for those who seek others so they can feel strong. Besides, people are selfish. They only enter into relationships if they can get something out of it.”

“Truth, Mr. Caine.” I smiled as I clanked my glass against his.

I stood there and listened to Jackson Caine, who had the same views on relationships. It was refreshing to finally meet a man whose thought process was the same as mine.

“So, do you have woman drama?” I asked.

“Yes, sometimes I do. It’s emotionally draining,” he replied.

“Right? It’s like, what part of ‘I don’t want a relationship’ do you not understand? We can go out to dinner, dance, drink, and have sex, but that’s the extent of it. I don’t want to meet your family. I don’t want to be exclusive. I don’t want to have to answer to you and tell you what I do every five seconds of every day, and I don’t want to have to explain myself as to why I didn’t text or call you back thirty seconds after you called or texted me.”

“Damn, Emily. You have hit the nail on the head.”

“Shouldn’t you be with your date?” I cocked my head.

The corners of his mouth curved into a sly smile. “I’d much rather be in your company right now. The stimulating conversation is very engaging.”

Once the bridal dance was over, fast music started to play, and Evelyn ran up to me, grabbed my hand, and dragged me out to the dance floor.

“You’ve been talking to Jackson all night. What’s up?”

“Nothing. We share the same views on relationships.”

“Great.” She rolled her eyes. “Another relationship hater.”

I giggled and shook my hips to the beat of the music, letting myself get lost and forgetting about the text messages I had yet to respond to.