(2 Book Box Set) Loving The White Billionaire: 2 & 3 (10 page)

O
n the way back home from the hospital, I found
myself fixated on the words my brothers spoke from their hearts. They were
trying to save me. Though they went about it the wrong way, I knew that they
were just trying to protect me like they did when we were younger. When we
finally got back to the apartments, Axel turned off the ignition, and sat still
with me.

He was waiting for me to say or do something. Finally, I
turned my head in his direction. He smiled a small smile before he reached over
to touch his lips to my forehead. I smiled a ghost of a smile back, before I
unbuckled my seat belt and got out of the car.

As Axel unlocked the door, I stood silently as I waited.
Once we were inside, I walked straight to my bathroom, and closed the door
behind me. Axel didn’t bother me at first, but after thirty minutes he started
to ask questions.

“What happened, Jaida?”

“Nothing, I’ll be out in just a minute.”

“Ok.”

After ten minutes, I finally got down from the counter and
faced Axel in the room. He was sitting up in the bed, his eyes locked with mine
before I broke eye contact. Though I did sit down close to him on the bed. Our
fingers wove together as we shared the plush space.

“My brothers are just really getting on my nerves; that’s
all.”

“Look, how about we go to your best friend’s house, Josie
was it?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah, how about it?”

“That does sound like a good idea; I haven’t even called her
since I’ve been here.”

“There you go, just give her a call, and we’ll head over
there tomorrow.”

“She always did help me out when it came handling my
overbearing brothers,” I said.

“Well good then, we’ll make a trip and get your mind off of
them for a while. You should call your mom to ask her to keep you informed on
your dad; keep you posted on when he’s awake.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” I said after taking a deep
breath.

“Let’s get some sleep, and then in the morning you can
decide what you want to do.”

I nodded my head in agreement, but I didn’t say anything.
Instead I got up, and got myself ready for bed. When I finally lay down, it was
while Axel was still in the shower. I decided that I wouldn’t wait up for him;
I was too tired and too emotional. It didn’t take me long. Axel was still in
the shower when I fell asleep.

When I woke up, it was almost as if I’d just fallen asleep.
I didn’t feel energized at all. I felt more like I’d never gone to sleep. I
felt sluggish and weak from exhaustion. It was probably a mix of stress, and
all of the unhealthy food I had been eating over the past few weeks.

“Hey, I made some fruit smoothies. I figured that we’ve been
eating a little too much fat, so I went out and bought turkey bacon and fruit.”

“Wow, did you wake up feeling exhausted too?” I asked.

“A little bit. I need to go running or something.”

“We could go later on tonight if you want. I like to run on
the beach after the sun sets.”

“Ok sounds great, I also got some other health foods, I
found a ship that I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with that sells health
foods.”

“Yes, I go there often,” I said stretching before standing up.

Heading to the bathroom, I decided to hop in the shower real
quick and freshen up before breakfast. I could hear Axel saying something, but
felt as though he wasn’t talking to me. He carried on with his conversation,
although I never responded.

“I didn’t know you were in the shower. I’ve been talking to
myself the whole time.”

“Oh, sorry. I just came straight in here,” I said wrapping a
towel around myself before stepping out of the shower. 

“How did you sleep last night?”

“I slept fine.”

“Do you want to tell me why you keep giving me short answers
without giving me direct eye contact?” he asked.

“What?” I felt so embarrassed that I didn’t know what to
say.

“I know that your brothers gave you a hard time last night,
but why are you taking it out on me?” Axel asked.

“I’m not. I’m just…not,” I said turning away to face the
sink.

“Talk to me, Jaida.”

“My brothers are only trying to protect me, Axel.” 

“What are you talking about? Protect you from what?
Me
?”

“From society and how they will treat us. They don’t dislike
you; they just dislike the stress that it will bring on me.”

“I can understand that, but just because something is going
to be hard, does not mean that you should just avoid it.”

“I’m just so confused about what I should do, Axel. I mean,
when the doors are closed and it’s just us
,
we’re in a perfect little world. But then we go out and we get stares and
people looking down their noses at us! My family is giving us crap even when
I’m alone and you’re not there! What’s the point in having the perfect
relationship if we can’t even celebrate it with our families?”

“Jaida, I know this is new for you, this is new for me too,
but you know what, I”m not giving up on this. I am not giving up on you.”

“Axel,” I sobbed.

“You listen to me, Jaida, if you feel anywhere near as much
for me as I feel for you, then you’ll stay with me, and we’ll get through this
together.”

“Do you really think this is worth it? Being uncomfortable
around family members and out in public?”

“Yes, Jaida, you are worth it to me,” he said sincerely.

I didn’t say anything; all I did was look into his eyes. The
truth was written in them, all I had to do was accept it. A tear rolled over my
eyelid, but didn’t get far as Axel caressed my cheek. My eyes closed lightly
before I rested my head against sturdy muscles.

“Let’s get something to eat, Jaida. And then we can get our
day started,” he said against my forehead.

“Ok, what kind of fruit did you get?”

“Melons, bananas, strawberries, and kiwi fruit.”

That sounded delicious to my healthy side, and cheered me up
to the point where the tears ceased to roll. I lifted my head from Axel’s chest,
and smiled when he kissed my cheeks. At that moment, the familiar rumble of my
stomach caught our attention before we headed out and into the kitchen.

As I sat down at the small dining table, I watched Axel as
he got to work preparing food for his baby, as he called it. As I leaned back
against the hardness of the chair, I reached across the table for a soft fruit.
The brown fuzz of the kiwi felt like I was holding a tuft of fur.

I brought it to my nose, tickling the tip with the texture.
Taking a deep breath, the strong aroma of citrus cleared my sinuses and
rejuvenated my senses. I heard Axel say something, but I missed it. Turning to
focus on him, I opened my mouth to speak when he placed a big mug of fruit
smoothie down on the table next to me.

“Did you get these at the food store?” I asked while I
admired the flowery design in the glass.

“Yeah, do you like them?”

“I do, I’ve never seen mugs this huge!” I said before taking
a sip.

“How do you like your smoothie?” he asked as I closed my
eyes from the full flavor.

“Oh yeah!” was all I answered before dipping my head to take
another full swig.

“Good, I used raw honey as a sweetener, and there’s also
avocado mixed in.”

“Oh, good choice,” I said licking the foam off my lips.

“How about some bacon and cheese?” he said before setting
the plate down in front of me.

“Wow, Axel, you really know how to make healthy foods huh?”

“That’s my specialty,” he answered before sitting down to
join me.

“We should definitely keep this up; I’m already starting to
feel much better.” 

“That’ good. After we visit your father, we can go running
on the beach if you want,” he offered.

“Oh yeah, I’d like that.”

“Good, I thought I could make us some lunch and then follow
it up with dinner out.”

“Sounds good, where?”

“Sushi?” he asked.

“Ooh! Yes, sushi! We can go to this restaurant that I’ve
been dying to go to since it opened about three months ago!” I said.

Well then, sushi it is.”

“I’m so glad that I met you, Axel, regardless of all the
negativity,” I said softly.

“I am too, Jaida, I am too,” he said with a gentle voice of
his own.

“I mean, you like the same stuff I do, you’re so attentive
it’s almost unreal. Truly, I’m waiting for you to prove that you’re not
perfect. Have you killed anybody in your past?” I asked taking another sip.

“Of course not!” he said mockingly suspicious.

“Sure, because that wasn’t suspicious at all.” 

“I’m too nice of a person to commit murder,” he said.

“You know, you’re right. So far you haven’t had any
explosions of anger so; I believe that you’re too nice to kill. We’ll see how
long that lasts,” I said with a wink.

“You’re something else, you know that?”

“I do.”

“Alright, hurry up, let’s get you to your friends before I
rip your clothes off.” he said.

“Ok, Ax.”

Jumping up from the table feeling brand new, I made it back
to the room to throw on some shoes and a jacket, before I reached my phone.
Punching in the appropriate numbers, I waited three rings before the other line
picked up.

“Hello?” my mom answered.

“Hey mom, how are you doing this morning?” I asked.

“Just fine, I went home last night upon request from your
father. I got some good sleep for the first time in a few days.”

“That’s really good to hear, Mom. We don’t need both of you
to be sick and in the hospital.”

“That’s exactly what you’re father said!” My mom said
through a chuckle.

“Are Sammy and Luke there?” I asked.

“No, they’re on their way though.”

“Oh ok, well I was going to stop by there later in the
evening. I wanted to go by and see Josie, and maybe Aunt Florence.”

“Oh! That sounds like a great idea. Maybe Josie can come up,
I would love to see her, and I’m sure your father would too,” she said.

“Yeah, I’m going to call her now and see if she has anything
planned today, being that it is Thursday.”

“I thought she was off Thursdays?”

“You’re right! Ok mom, I’m going to call you back later on
in the day, please let me know if Daddy wakes up. I love you.”

“Love you too, baby, bye bye.”

Pushing a few buttons on the screen, I ended the call with
my mom before calling Josie. She didn’t answer on the first try, but called me
back before I could redial. She had me on hold for the first few moments of the
call, but finally answered with a chipper greeting.

“Josie! I missed you girl!” I said in response.

“Are you back in San Fran?” she asked.

“Yes ma’am!” I said as she squealed in delight.

“Come over right now!”

“I am. Oh and by the way, I won’t be coming alone…”

“You better not be back with Ethan!” She said sternly.

“I’m not! His name is Axel.”

“Axel Frost?” Josie joked.

“Um, actually, yes, Axel Frost!”

“Oh, right, his name is Axel Frost, like the billionaire.”

“No, his name is Axel Frost. He is the billionaire,” I said.

“Ok, yeah, whatever. I’ll see you and “Axel Frost” in ten
minutes.”

Josie hung up the phone as she tried to control her
laughter; little did she know that I would have the last laugh. As I stuck my
phone in my jacket pocket, Axel came up to stand next to me. He looked down at
my amused expression as he tried to figure out what was so funny.

“She doesn’t believe that I’m dating Axel Frost.”

“Oh! Yeah, that has happened to one of my significant others
before. Her parent’s nearly passed out when they saw me,” he said with a laugh.

“I can’t imagine the look on her face.”

“Oh, trust me, it’ll be priceless.”

A
xel was exactly right. Josie’s expression when
she laid eyes on Axel was priceless. For a moment she was completely
speechless. I had to snap my fingers in front of her face to snap her back to
reality. She apologized and blushed before she stepped back into her crazy and
flamboyant personality.

“Nice to meet you in person Mr. Sexy, they call me Josie,”
she said extending her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Josie,” Axel said before kissing the
back of her hand.

Oh my God! He kissed my hand,” Josie exclaimed as we all
laughed at her reaction.

“Ok, that’s enough from the both of you, are we allowed to
come inside now?” I asked.

“Alright, come one in. I’m sure it’s not the most lavish living
area you’ve ever been in, but it’ll have to do for now,” Josie said.

“I don’t know what it is with the both of you, but I love
both of your places! You two have excellent taste in home decor.”

“Oh
,
girl he even talks money!”

“I can see why she’s your best friend,” Axel complimented.

“Are you guys hungry? I’m about to make some Mediterranean
burgers,” Josie said from the kitchen.

“That sound delicious, how do you make that?”

“With turkey, I’ve been trying to keep my eating clean. Your
dad scared me.”

“Oh, so you’ve heard?”

“Heard what?” she asked.

“Dad’s in the hospital,” I said sitting down in her kitchen.

“Oh my God! It’s his heart isn’t it?” Josie asked with her
hand on her chest.

“How did you know?”

“Because he’s been complaining about it. Last time I saw
him, he was at the store and I heard him fussing about his cough with your mom.
But what made me think it was his heart was the fact that he was out of breath
and holding his chest. He tried to put on a facade when he saw me; I don’t
think he realized that I heard him.”

“I guess I’m the only one who didn’t know. Here I am living
it up in the Bahamas and my dad is over here dying.”

“Honey, don’t do that to yourself. I’m pretty sure that he
didn’t tell anybody,” Axel said rubbing my back.

“Exactly; you have done nothing wrong.”

“I can’t help but to feel that way. We barely talk because
he’s awake for such a short time. Apparently he’s supposed to go in for surgery
tomorrow.”

“Open heart surgery…damn. That is one of the most expensive surgeries.”

“Almost four hundred thousand dollars,” I answered.

“Just make sure you keep me posted. I’ll be praying for
him.”

“Wow, it’s already two thirty.”

We’d already finished our lunches by then and were now
sitting in the living room enjoying each other’s company. I noticed immediately
that Axel was the type of person who could get along with anyone. The way he
joked around with Josie with such ease, let me know that he could put up with
anything.

Josie wasn’t hard to get along with, but it took a special
type of person to not take offense to some of her jokes. Axel laughed them off
like a pro, and even had some of his own. I got up after a while to go to the
bathroom, and as I was washing my hands my phone vibrated in my pocket.

Drying my hands off with haste, I shoved my hand in my back
pocket and pulled it out to see that it was my mom. I got so excited I ran out
of the bathroom and into the living room. As soon as I answered it, my
excitement ran away and was replaced with fear.

“Come to the hospital, he’s being rushed into surgery
early!”

“What? What happened?”

“Just come down! Please!” she cried before hanging up the
phone.

“Go ahead, don’t worry about helping me clean up, you just
let me know what’s going on!” Josie said rushing us out of the house.

Jumping into the driver’s side, Axel slammed the passenger
door behind him, and we shot off down the road.

We’d gotten to the hospital as fast as we could. But by the
time we got there, it was too late. My dad had already been whisked away for
surgery. Tears instantly fell down my cheeks when I realized that I was too
late.

As we stood in the waiting area outside of the surgery room,
Samuel paced back and forth while Luke sat with his chin on his entwined
fingers. Mom sat with her hands together in prayer as she whispered silently to
the Lord.

Axel rested his hand on my back to soothe and comfort me as
he rubbed it back and forth. We stood by the chairs; I couldn’t bear to sit
down at the moment. I was about five seconds away from pacing like Samuel.

“Hey, don’t worry too much, he’s in good hands,” Axel
soothed against my ear before hugging me.

“You know what, before I was just trying to follow my
sister’s wishes, but now, I don’t care anything about that,” Samuel started
after standing still.

“What are you talking about?” I asked lifting my head from
Axel’s chest.

“The guilt that you feel right now could’ve been avoided if
you weren’t too far up his ass is what the hell I”m talking about!” Samuel
busted.

“You can dislike me all you want to, but I’m sick of the way
you keep talking to your sister!” Axel snapped.

“Oh, so now you decided to defend her? It’s been almost
about a week and you haven’t had anything to say before.”

“Because like you, I was respecting Jaida’s wishes to keep
my composure, but for you to say something like that shows me you don’t have
any respect for her request.”

“You don’t know anything about me, or her, being that you’ve
only been dating for a few weeks! Who are you to challenge my respect?”

“Look, I may not have mown her for longer, but it’s very
apparent who has more respect.”

“It’s not called respect it’s called puppy love. The only
reason you’d do anything she says is because you’re getting laid.”

“Samuel!” My mom interjected.

“No, he’s right, Ma. You can’t tell me this man loves our
sister. He’s a billionaire playboy who could get anyone he wants!” Luke added.

“Lucas, I’m going to need you to stop complementing the man
who is screwing baby sister,” Samuel said.

“What I’m saying is, it’s just a matter of time before he
loses interest and tosses you to the side for another woman.”

“How dare you talk about your sister that way? How dare you
try and make me seem like I have those intentions for her? Do you want to know
why I’m here? It’s because I love her, and I would do anything and everything
to makes sure that she’s happy. And if that means leaving another country to
make sure she sees her mother, her father, and her asshole brothers that’s
exactly what I’m going to do!”

That was the first time I’d heard Axel say that he loved me.
The room went quiet for a moment after he said those words. I didn’t know how
to react to that. I felt stuck like I should say something, but the situation
trapped me and prevented me from saying anything at all.

“You don’t love her,” Samuel said getting close to Axel’s
face, “You love what she does to you at night. I refuse to let you use my baby
sister like she’s some toy.”

“The only one who’s playing her right now, is you. You may
not like me because I’m white, you may not like me because I’m not Ethan, but
you damn sure better get used to the fact that I love your sister, and I’m not
going anywhere.”

Samuel scoffed and took a step back to look at me. I hadn’t
said anything through this whole charade. I knew exactly what Samuel was about
to do by the look in his eye.

“And why haven’t you said anything? This man is here
defending you, and all you can do is watch? You may love her,” he said while
still looking at me, “But right now, she doesn’t love you as much as you
think.” 

“Samuel, stop it” I said.

“Tell me I’m wrong and I will.”

Though everything within me screamed at Samuel that I loved
Axel as well and that he was the one for me, my mouth never opened. The words
were right there, but one thing stopped me; fear. I looked down at my shoes in
shame. I could feel Axel’s eyes on me, and I knew my silence hurt him.

I heard Axel chuckle humorlessly, and just as I looked up, I
saw his back as he walked away. My heart immediately began to ache with pain. I
just let someone amazing like Axel walk away. And I did nothing to stop him.

I couldn’t bear to watch him any longer, and turned away and
back to my family. Tears moistened my eyes and spilled as I tried to blink them
back. My hand covered my mouth as I sobbed into it.

I heard footsteps before I felt hands against my shoulders.
But they weren’t the hands I’d grown to love. Anger boiled my blood hot as he
tried to comfort me with a hug. Losing composure, I shoved him away from me as
he stumbled towards the ground. He caught himself before he fell, and looked at
me as if I’d suddenly grown a third eye.

My mom exclaimed, but I didn’t pay her any attention. There
was a way to protect someone without running their life in the process. I no
longer saw my brother as my protector, but rather my enemy.

Maybe he was right, maybe he was wrong. All I knew was that
right now, Samuel was not my brother at that moment. Lucas came to help, but
stopped when Samuel righted himself. Though I wasn’t as mad at Lucas as I was
at Samuel, I still didn’t want him near me.

The only reason I didn’t leave was because my Dad wasn’t out
of surgery yet. I didn’t want to leave without hearing what the surgeons had to
say, so I sat all the way to the back of the room, and waited until the surgery
was over. I didn’t care how childish it seemed, I didn’t want to be around the
people who’d rejected Axel without so much as giving him a chance. But I
couldn’t just be made at them either. I had myself to blame as well for not
sticking up for him.

I needed my dad. I need to hear his voice. I needed to see
how he felt about it all. I’d never had this experience, but my dad was
different from the rest of my family. My dad was an understanding father, and
he was always in my corner.