To Trap a Billionaire

Twenty-Seven

"What do you mean 'you're not going through with it'?" Kristen asked. It was the weekend after my first week of marriage with Arlo. I was at Kristen's apartment for a change. Arlo was trying to sleep in this weekend.

"I'm not going to divorce Arlo," I repeated.

"That's not the plan!" He said, throwing his hands in the air.

"Is it not enough to be married to a man I love?" I asked.

"No! As long as you're married to him, he'll be holding back some of his assets. It's not enough!" Kris yelled.

"It's enough for me!" I snapped back. I took a breath and tried to calm down. "Look, I'm glad Katherine worked out for you, but I actually want to be with Arlo. And he's going to take care of me, so it's really a win-win. If you can't see that, you've got more of dad's corruption than you realize," I said.

"What happens when he's done with you?" Kristen asked.

"Then I'll deal with that bridge when it comes... if it ever does," I answered.

"You had sex with him, didn't you?" He asked.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked, thrown off. He chuckled but it was anything but humorous.

"You're going to feel a connection to the person you lose your virginity to. It's basic human nature. You don't really love Arlo, you're just feeling a bit infatuated after having sex for the first time. You need to snap out of it. And I hope you wore a condom because you do not want to be lugging a kid around after this," he said. I was too angry to be embarrassed. Mainly because we didn't.

"This isn't because we had sex, Kris! I've been thinking about this for a long time. I'm done using him. Maybe Katherine was right about the prenup," I tried to explain. His eyes got wide with shock.

"What prenup? Ly, did you sign a prenup? And when did you talk to Katherine?" He asked.

"She came by Arlo's office a little while ago to warn him that I was just a gold digger but he didn't believe her. And so what if I did?" I replied vaguely. He sighed and ran his hand down his face.

"If you did, you've really lost your mind. You're going to get nothing," Kristen said heatedly.

"I've got Arlo," I countered. He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, that's all you have. Don't come crying to me when your little plan falls apart," he said bitterly. "You should go," he added. I felt the tear leave my eye and trail down my cheek. It felt like I was losing my brother.

"Kris..." I started.

"I really hope you know what you're doing," he said, opening the door. I looked at him hesitantly before I left. I went down to where the car was waiting. John, one of the drivers, was waiting for me.

"Take me home please, John," I asked quietly before I climbed into the back of the car. He closed the door behind me before going around to the driver's side. I knew Kristen wasn't used to being honest or straying from a con once one was already set in place, but I didn't think he would shun me for it. After all, we only had each other for the longest time. We were practically inseparable. And Kristen actually liked Arlo in a genuine way.

My eyes were puffy by the time I got back home. Arlo was passed out upstairs when I left the house but he was in the kitchen when I got home. I sniffled and wiped my face to try and hide the fact that I was just crying.

"Hey! I didn't know you were up," I said, trying to sound cheerful.

"I woke up a little bit ago," he answered before he frowned and took my hand, pulling me closer to him.

"What's wrong? What happened? Did something happen with Kristen?" He asked automatically, wrapping his arms around my waist. It was crazy how much Arlo saw right through me.

"My brother and I... we just don't see eye to eye anymore. I'm afraid that our relationship has gone beyond repair," I answered vaguely.

"What? How? I thought everything was fine," Arlo asked again confused.

"I told him I didn't agree with a direction he was going in with one of his business ventures," I lied. Arlo laid off of the questions.

"Well if there's anything I can do, I'll do it. I know how much he means to you," Arlo offered. There he was again, being the sweetest guy. I had to tell him.

"Arlo," I started. A lump in my throat stuck and kept me from telling him everything. If I told him, I would lose him, and I couldn't lose him.

"Go lay down, honey. I'll bring your food to you," he said to me. My face flushed with heat. This would be so much easier if he were the terrible business tycoon we thought he would be.

It was safe to say that I was depressed. And I needed to talk to someone and tell them everything, but the only person I could talk to was Kristen, and he was mad at me right now.

I didn't go to work for the next few days. I couldn't even bring myself to leave the bed. Arlo was worried about me, and rightfully so. Of course, he thought it was just because of my fight with Kristen, which it did have some to do with but not all. I couldn't keep lying to Arlo but I couldn't tell him to truth. I needed to talk to someone, but no one could know what was going on. I wanted to talk to Kristen but he didn't approve. And if Arlo ever found out, he would know that his mom was right, and he defended me for nothing. I couldn't live with this guilt. I had to do something, anything, but I didn't know what yet. Arlo looked after me the best he could but he was running out of options too. He had no idea what was really wrong with me... and he could never know.