𝐎𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞

Chapter Fifty-Five

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The short flight to New York was uneventful. Matthew was on his laptop the whole time and only spoke to Jamie. Imani didn't know how to initiate a conversation, so she sat silently in her seat.

"Where are we going?" she finally found her voice. Matt looked at her and said, "to my friend's home. You'll be comfortable there and, most importantly, away from the press.

"I don't understand how the press got wind of it. I told you a couple of hours ago."

"Olivia told them. " Matt said in a flat voice. It was as if he didn't care; perhaps he did not. There was no need to; the press would eventually have found out about it anyway.

"Your girlfriend?" Imani's jealously came off in her voice; Matt noticed, but he said nothing.

"Not anymore. We broke up." She could have jigged if she had been alone. She felt triumphant.

There was so much she wanted to tell him, like sorry for how she walked out of his life without considering how much it hurt him.

"I should have told you about my parents." Matthew narrowed his eyes at her. He wondered why she brought that up now. What game was she playing? He didn't like how things had turned out between them. He had loved her; he still did, but trust is a significant component of love, and he didn't trust her.

"It doesn't matter," he mumbled. Imani didn't know how to get him to love her again, but she was willing to try everything in her power.

When they landed, they were picked by Rom. He pulled Matt in a hug, scooped up Jamie, and then shook hands with Imani.

Matt sat at the front, while She and Jamie sat at the back, anxiously wondering what to expect. Matt had not said much about their destination other than the owners. She had met two, but not their wives, Raphael, and their children, so she didn't know what to expect.

Traveling through a rocky road wasn't what Imani expected; even more shocking was the fact that they drove through a forest. She remembered Matt once talking about an artificial forest; she figured this was it.

The excitement of traveling with Matt again kept Jamie awake. Imani couldn't keep up with his chatter because a lot was happening in her mind.

They arrived at a massive electronic gate that seemed to be scanning their face. Instinctively, Imani looked at Matt for reassurance. He nodded as if he knew she needed him to assure her that it was okay.

The house Inside the gate was more shocking. It was a modern house, big enough to fit hundreds of people, if not more. Imani could not reconcile it to the road they traveled to get there. She wondered why they couldn't have tarmacked because money clearly wasn't an issue.

Matt opened Imani's door while Rom pulled Jamie out.

Less than a minute after they got out of the car, Raphael appeared with baby Serena in his arms and Lia, Luca, and Zion in front of him.

"Matt," Raph called, putting Serena on one shoulder so he could shake our hands. Of the three men, Imani found Raph to be the most intimidating.

"Welcome to our humble abode," Rom said with a laugh, maybe because he realized the irony of calling the house humble.

With Jamie in her hand, Imani followed the guys into the house. The children kept glancing at Jamie, giving the impression they rarely get other children coming into their home.

Since Jamie was an introvert, he couldn't bring himself to initiate a conversation, but Luca did, talking and welcoming him to play with them. He eyed Lia, who nodded. It was the beginning of Jamie having a lifetime of friends.