Love, Lies and Billionaires

Cameras, microphones, and, of course, lots of human beings flooded the entrance of the courthouse. They all seemed to be moving backwards as they tried to take one or two pictures and words from their star.

The more the crowd came out of the house, the more they became uncontrollable to the guards who shielded Alexander.

He paid them no attention as he seemed to look ahead of them through the dark shades he had on. He paused in his tracks and looked down at his wristwatch, his mind searching for his next move from here his job here was done.

“Mr. Blackwood, sir, your divorce with Mrs. Blackwood was so sudden and out of the blue. Does this confirm the rumours that your union was a contracted one?” One reporter, who was also struggling with the others, managed to get close to Alexander and asked.

“Sir, in estimate, the duration of your marriage to now, miss Sharppe was an estimate of six months. There’s been whispers flying around on this. Do you care to clarify?” Another asked and almost poked Alexander with the mic, but one guard was quick to shield him.

Alexander slightly shook his head at the idleness of the people to calculate the duration of his marriage to Maren. He paid no attention to them, but his attention was focused on the black car behind his.

Standing by the opened door of the backseat was Maren in a black suit. Her hair was packed in a messy bun and her glasses, which were initially worn, were now off and on her hand.

A journalist stood by her and threw some questions while the guards fought to keep the others away.

She seemed to be so engrossed in the interview that she didn’t seem to pay attention to any other thing around her.

“Ma’am, what can you say about Mr Sinclair, your ex fiance’s death investigation?”

“Well, all I can say is it’s being handled by the best in the country and whoever committed the murder would be caught and be punished accordingly”

“Ma’am, I hate to ask the obvious question here but the city is just dying to know what was initially behind your marriage to Mr Blackwood” the lady asked just as Maren answered a previous one.

Maren paused for a second and stared at the journalist, then at the camera, which hadn’t stopped flashing for a second.

She turned the mic and straightened herself. “On that, I’d leave you to your assumptions,” she replied with a straight face. As much as she hated what was going on and how she and Alexander had ended up, she wasn’t ready to say anything capable of ruining her reputation or expose any of her vulnerabilities.

Maren turned to the car and made to enter. “Ma’am, just a minute more please,” she lady said quickly, making Maren turn back to her.

The only reason she had agreed to be interviewed by her was because she needed a little more publicity, which she felt could help her company. And the lady was from the biggest news publication in the city.

“Mrs Sharppe, from the judgement back in court, it says since Mr Blackwood isn’t the biological father if your son, he won’t be involved in any aspect of his growth. What is your honest thought about that, ma’am?”

If Maren was being honest with herself, that question really touched a soft spot, but she stopped it from making her heart drop. By reflex, she turned in Alexander’s direction and noticed him staring, which he didn’t hide as he still kept his eyes on her like he could read her lips.

Slowly, Alexander’s lips curled into a smirk, and Maren turned away in both disgust and regret.

The cameras flashed into her face, and Maren swallowed with pride.

She looked straight into the camera, her shoulders hanging with boldness. “My honest thought on that is Nathan, and I do not need a man in our lives. We’ll be absolutely fine without him” she replied and dove into the car whose engine was turned on and ready to move.

Alexander watched the car leave, then his smile dropped when it was out of sight. Then he proceeded to his awaiting car and it sped off.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

*****

“So you guys are divorced, what now?” Nella said and dropped into the chair opposite Maren with a mug of hot tea in her hand.

Maren stared up from what she was doing and raised a brow. “Isn’t it too late to be taking that?”

Nella shrugged and proceeded to take a sip, so Maren gave up and went back to what she was doing. “What’s next now Alexander is gone?” She asked again.

Maren dropped the pen in her hand and looked up from the papers in front of her. “What next is, I take charge of my life from now on. The contract is over. I have to company to myself and I can run it the way I want,” she replied with a smile.

“Oh, that is nice,” Nella said, returning the smile. “So what about Louise, your snitching secretary? You’ll send her away, right?” she took a sip.

Maren stopped, like she was thinking. “Nah, I don’t think so. I mean, she really is as competent as Alexander painted her. She’d be really useful being around,” Maren said.

“Don’t you think she’d keep snitching?”

“I’ll handle that”

“And what about Nathan?” Nella asked again.

Maren shot her a ‘you’re really not questioning be right now’ look, but Nella just shrugged again.

“Mom?”

“Speak of the devil,” Nella whispered as Nathan gently climbed down the steps.

Both women turned to him. The look on his face was one of worry, and he gently walked to where his mom sat.

As soon as he got to where she was, Mrs Sharppe appeared at the top of the stairs with a neutral expression on her face, which didn’t really bother Maren, but she was bothered by the expression on Nathan’s.

She turned back to Nathan and picked up to sit on her lap. “What’s wrong, baby?” She asked.

He fumbled with his fingers like he was searching for what to say. Then slowly and quietly, she said. “Am I going to see Alex again?”