Addicted

Chapter 6: Do I want this?

Ethan woke up to his phone going off repeatedly. He sighed as he looked over at the clock, 6am. He ran his hand over his face as he leaned forward and grabbed his phone off the night stand. He sighed as he looked at the name on his screen before answering.

"Hello" He answered. "Ethan, baby why didn't you come home last night?" Lauren's high pitched voice came through the phone. He did plan to go to the house last night but seeing Cassie in such a state made him change his mind. She didn't say much but the look in her eyes let him know she was battling something. He wanted to make sure she was okay.

"Sorry Lauren, I left the office later than expected and decided to just come to the penthouse. I apologize for not giving you a call." He heard Lauren sigh on the other end before speaking again. "It's okay." She answered. "I know the penthouse is much closer. I just barely see you these days with all the wedding planning and you working. I miss you baby."

Ethan sighed as he started to feel bad. It wasn't just the mix of schedules. It seemed ever since he proposed, Lauren only talked about the wedding. The venue, the guests, her dress. At this point it was a social event, something he never wanted. He always wanted a quiet intimate wedding and thought they were on the same page when he proposed.

It was like she changed into a different person overnight. Her sense of entitlement went up and she never hesitated to say she was Ethan Shaw's fiancé. He wasn't the biggest fan of that. Ethan liked to keep a low profile, he preferred if people didn't know who he was. He found people to be more authentic, more honest and real around him when they thought he was just another man rather than a multi billionaire.

"Ethan are you listening to me?" Lauren's voice broke him from his daze. "Hm? Yea. Sorry, what did you say?" He asked as he finally climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

"I said would you mind if I got two dresses? One for the ceremony and one for the reception."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Two dresses now. "Sure babe, just don't go over budget."

Money wasn't really a big deal to him but he wasn't reckless. He always set a limit or people would try to abuse it.

"Oh, I figured I had no budget." She stated sounding disappointed. Ethan looked at himself in the mirror and shook his head.

"You have a budget. The wedding planner knows it. Get what you want within the budget." The budget was $100,000 for the whole day. She had more than enough wiggle room.

She continued to talk more about plans and extending the invite list. He sighed as he turned her on speaker and began to run the shower.

...

Cassandra woke up with a heavy heart and terrible migraine. No matter what she did, she couldn't seem to shake the fear that Jarrod was going to find her.

She got up and walked into her bathroom, leaning over the counter she looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy from her lack of sleep and constant crying. Her hair was in a very messy bun and she sighed.

She felt mentally drained and didn't have it in her to get dressed and ready for work. She looked at the clock, 7am. She knew she was going to need to call off.

She grabbed her phone and dialed Ethan's number. It went to voicemail so she left a message letting him know she was taking a sick day.

Deciding she needed to relax herself, she started some bath water and put a couple lavender drops in it. Her body immediately relaxed upon contact with the warm water.

Her phone began to ring but she decided she would just let it ring. She needed to just clear her head today. After cleaning herself she got out, oiled her body and detangled her hair.