The Princess and The Billionaire

CHAPTER XXIII

September 15th 2013

Nadine had taken the day to spoil herself in preparation for everything that Jonathan had planned out for her. In the morning, she went to the salon to get her hair and nails done. The added highlights made her already light brown hair stand out considering she had it curled. Her nails were painted with nude polish and a little bit of glitter, it wasn't something she was used to, but Jonathan seemed to be a fan of it.

She didn't have a large circle of friends, and Dominic had already informed her that he was going on a trip that could extend past her birthday. Still, a few of her classmates had arrived to celebrate with her in her home. She had nothing to do with them showing up on her doorstep. Jonathan had called them over secretly, as another surprise for her. They watched a few movies, shared stories and under an hour or two, they left.

"You had fun?"

She looked up from the table, stuffing some of the packs of food into a garbage bag. "Yeah. Thank you so much for this."

"Don't thank me just yet because the day is not over. Look, I will leave you to clean up because I have a delivery to pick up for the after-party. No complaints. I know you have no classes tomorrow so, we are going to waste the day away. I am going to pick up the stuff we need and then when I come back, we would take out my console, eat and play games for the rest of the night."

Her face brightened, and she snatched the empty bottle of coke he held out to her. He stepped forward, and she tipped her face up so he could kiss her cheek before he stepped around her. Nadine laughed again when he waved his wallet at her, a catty smile on his face as he jogged to the door and yanked it open.

"Oh," he gasped in shock when he nearly ran it the tall woman that stood on the other end with a bag hanging by her side. "Can I help you? Are you lost?"

The lady laughed, shaking her head in reply. "I am not. I am here to give Miss Shearman her birthday gift from Mr Marseille. He didn't know if he would make it back before today, but he prepared this just in case. This is for you."

Nadine took the package from her, thanking her softly before she turned to leave. Jonathan followed her back into the room. He watched her quietly as she sat down to unwrap the gift box. The inside was sectioned into two, the first part held a beautiful bright white headphone while the other had a dazzling pair of sneakers lying in it. Jonathan nodded with wide eyes, picking up one sneaker and turning it around in the light.

"This is beautiful."

"And expensive." She mused and rolled her eyes when she noticed Jonathan's pursed lips. "Don't look at me like that. Of course, I appreciate the gift, it is beautiful still, and it makes giving him a gift a lot harder."

"You know that Dominic is not like that. The man gave me a game console that I am sure cost more than my motorcycle. You can't lie either, your problem is that you are worried people would start talking about it."

"Maybe." She sighed. She lifted the headphones to her ears and groaned dramatically "This is so comfortable."

Jonathan watched her calmly before reaching forward to pull the headphones from her hands. He laid them down in the box and caught both her hands in his. He whispered softly, "Nadine."

"Yeah."

"I didn't want to say anything because you know, I thought you would do yourself a favour. I thought you would just tell the man what you felt, but I see you won't do that. If you like him, Nadine, tell him."

She dropped his hands and shook her head. "Weren't you heading out to get some food?"

Jonathan shrugged as he stood. "Ignore me all you want, we both know what I am talking about. If you waste time, you might be in time to see him bring another woman to one of your birthday parties."

Nadine raced after him, and he laughed, speeding out the door and closing it before she could get to him. She slammed against the door, flattening against the mahogany surface, and burst out laughing. Jonathan would never grow up.

Nadine went back to the couch to pick up her gift box. She took it to her room, laying to box on the top of her bed. Leaving the shoes in the box, while picked the headphones out to slip them over her ears before turning them on. She switched on the Bluetooth on her phone, choosing an upbeat playlist to listen to. As the music played, she sank down to the couch and stretched her legs out.

Another birthday. The seventh one without her family to celebrate with her. The music played on while her mind strayed back home to the island, to floating dresses and rooms the size of parks. It wasn't the money that she missed, although she did miss it a little, it was what they did with the space around the palace, particularly on her birthdays.

Nevaeh would clear entire halls for her birthday, and she would have large speakers hauled in along with numerous mattresses that would be laid out on the floor. They would close the doors, and play music so loud that they would barely hear themselves. On the mattresses, around the room, they would dance, sing in their off-key notes and play around.

The memory drew her up from the couch. She increased the volume until she could no longer hear the honking of cars or the shouts of vendors on the street. Slowly she began to move, like she was back home, her sister holding her hand. Her searching fingers found the band she held her hair up with, curling a finger around it, she pulled it free. The ponytail came apart and her hair fell over her back. Her head bobbed, and she clapped her hands together before swaying them above her head. She closed her eyes, tilted her head back and laughed out loud and she began to twirl.

In time, she was laughing and screaming out the lyrics to the empty room. Jumping and dancing with the memories and with joy. On another twirl, she opened her eye. Laughter rumbled out of her even as she stumbled to a wide-eyed stop.

Dominic stood at the edge of the couch, smiling wildly at her.