Treating Mr. Billionaire

~63~

"OH MY FUCKING GOSH, MARIA!" Maria's eyes flew open at the high-pitched squeal that pierced through the atmosphere, and the continuous ringing of the doorbell was enough to give her one of those damn morning headaches.

She threw the heavy blanket covering her body away with a disgruntled expression, cursing mentally as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes to glare furiously at the constant screaming of her name coming from the window, as though the lady outside would shut up if she glared hard enough.

Her body sprung out of bed at once, her bare feet landing on the floor with a thud, and she was sure she marched violently to the front door, throwing open the latch none too gently and scowling at the brunette standing in the doorway.

"What the hell, Dawn?? It's seven in the morning." Her voice came out muffled with sleep, but her annoyance was crystal clear.

Dawn instantly simply shot her an excuse-me kind of look as she pushed herself inside the house with no permission needed. "What the hell??" she repeated, turning to face the messy blonde and shooting her a disbelieving stare. "How are you sleeping so peacefully when you are all over the media?" The lady inquired while crossing her arms over her chest, her eyes scrutinizing the other woman critically.

Maria merely rolled her eyes at the question, moving closer to the couch to snuggle against it, her arms wrapping around her knees tightly. "What crap are you talking about so early in the morning?" she asked tiredly.

A not-so-genuine laughter erupted from Dawn's lips before she brought out her phone, and Maria watched as her friend's thumb began furiously tapping against the screen. "Famous Jayden Stanley is rumored to be in a relationship with a non-celebrity after being spotted with a mysterious lady in the middle of the night at..."

She continued to read off her screen, but the simple mention of the name 'Jayden' had already snapped away every trace of drowsiness from Maria's system, the adrenaline from the news breaking through the last vestiges of her slumber.

Her lashes flickered repeatedly as her body rose from the cushioned seat in a controlled manner. "...what did you just say?" she sputtered, and a pair of amazed black eyes found her terror-stricken face.

"Well, does it ring a bell? Jayden Stanely found with some mysterious non-celebrity last night??" Dawn went akimbo, clearly amused with her announcement.

Maria moved, even more, closer toward the other woman, and almost snatched the device from her hand. She skimmed through the news feed hurriedly, and it seemed more like a nightmare as familiar images came popping out from every single news article. Her heart stopped momentarily as thousands of negative reactions flooded the pages. "No way..." she whispered under her breath, unable to believe her eyes, and for a moment she was afraid that her mind was playing tricks on her.

The scene from the previous night seemed so alive within her palms; the moonlight shone down upon them as they chatted in complete oblivion about some sneaky reporters spying on them, the waves crashing gently against the large boat, every bit of their private moment captured in several photographs.

"Well, I can recognize my own best friend even in the dark." Dawn heaved heavily next to her, watching the different kinds of emotions passing through Maria's face. "You are the mysterious lady, aren't you?" Her brown eyes narrowed into slits, with her voice softened with caution.

With her brows still raised, her face tilted sideways in the most frozen expression ever. As much as she would have loved to deny it, she knew better she was already trapped within the webs of her excellency queen Dawn. "Yeah..." Her lashes lowered with the weakest whisper coming from her lips.