Insouciant (The Billionaire With A Choice)

Family

Family

"Never thought we'd meet up like this."

I shrug. "Thought it'd be nice to get out and not confined to my properties." I'm with Caroline. We are having breakfast at this Café.

"So you are telling me that doesn't bother you?"

I sip my milk slowly. "Ignore it. They just want a reaction."

"Tell me, how did you do it?"

"I forced myself to move on. People will do anything to put me down. I can't show that. I made the choice of keeping my life private because I was embarrassed and didn't want pity. I was able to use my skills and keep what I love. That's the only way I kept my sanity. Now enough about the past. You have been wearing a lot more makeup?" I point out.

"I am old."

I scoff, "you are a bad liar."

She ignores the fact digging into her baked eggs. It's this dish that is like potato skins if the potato was a baguette. And the cheese was eggs.

I am never one shy to get to the point.

"You seeing someone?"

Caroline laughs. "No. As much as your father pisses me off, I am still very much in lo-"

"Again with the lies. I said enough about the past, but I have to know."

She covers her mouth with a napkin as she speaks.

"You are in a relationship. Let's say your feelings grow, so much so it's comparable to Oscar and his past relationship-"

"How do you know that-"

"That's not important. Anyways. Let's say that happened. And your significant other cheats on you. The amount of pain that consumes you is devastating. And the one person who I would never expect to be there was. He felt my pain. And one thing that really connects people is pain. Ryder and I had our problems. This was the last straw. Did I immediately fall for Henry? No. It felt wrong that I called off my engagement just to go off with the brother. But Henry was somehow always there when I needed him. At one point in my life, I was lost and didn't know what to do with myself. I was going to enlist for a fourth tour. I would've gone to the Congo-"

She stops as I stare at her wide-eyed. "You requested. Didn't you?"

She nods.

"That was suicide. Six million people died-"

"Henry stopped me before I finalized it. I don't even know how he found out. It's not like we were constantly communicating. He said I was making a mistake. But I was single. I lived alone. Didn't have many friends. Thought it was time better spent. I have fought in three wars. What's another? I just wanted certainty in my life, and Henry said he could get me a job. As a trainer. For cadets. He was a leader. The position gave me peace. And made me attached to children. I have always wanted a child. But I wanted a child within a committed marriage. Henry knew that. He eventually admitted his feelings for me. And I wasn't opposed to the idea of us being together because I know he's a good man. We got married. We began a family."

"Ryder?"

"You might have a cousin." She admits.

"What?"

"Overheard Henry once. Talked about how Ryder got Mary pregnant-"

"Mary?" I immediately cut in.

"The woman he cheated on me with her name is M-"

"Mary Shrew," I whisper.

"How do you know her?"

"She-she went to the institution. She runs a male escort business."