Marrying the 'Crippled' Billionaire

Heart Fluttering

Georgia

"That woman you call your mother is crazy, Michael! She's absolutely crazy!" I hissed as soon as I walked into the bedroom that Michael and I were officially going to start sharing today.

"Shhh," he quickly hushed, and I furrowed my brows in confusion, wondering why he was hushing me despite the fact that I was in an enclosed space with only him.

"Georgia, dear, could you please help me get into the bathroom? My arms feel a little tired right now, and I can't seem to push myself in," he politely requested, fueling my confusion.

I couldn't understand why he was suddenly talking in hushed tones and why he suddenly asked that I push him to the bathroom, but instead of asking why, I simply played along with him.

As soon as we entered the bathroom, I closed the doors behind me and even went as far as locking them, just in case there was something crazy going on that I didn't know about.

"What was that about, Michael? Are your arms really hurting? What's going on?" I asked almost immediately.

Instead of just responding as soon as I asked a question, Michael suddenly got up from his wheelchair and turned to face me directly.

"Rule number one: just because you think that we're alone in a certain space doesn't necessarily mean that we're really alone, Gia. Unfortunately, my dear mother has surveillance cameras in my room, and there is also a high chance that my room is tapped with listening devices, so until I give you the go-ahead, try not to say anything that might get us caught," he said, and I gasped in shock.

"Don't you think this information would have been much more useful if you had told me back at your place? What if she heard me call her crazy just now? How exactly am I going to explain that to her if she questions me?" I hissed, wondering how he could have skipped telling me something this important.

"My apologies, Gia. I suppose it slipped my mind to tell you, but I'm also not certain if my suspicions are accurate. I'm only sure about the surveillance cameras, but I don't trust her enough to believe that she wouldn't have tried to wiretap my bedroom so she could listen in on my conversations," he explained.

I honestly wanted to be surprised, but after the conversation I just had with that crazy woman, I wouldn't put it past her to wiretap his bedroom. It was clear that she was very obsessed with knowing everything that Michael was up to, and it honestly made me feel bad for Michael how very determined she was to keep him under her control.

"Well, I can only hope that your suspicions are false, and even if they aren't, let's just hope she didn't hear me call her crazy. But, like I said, that woman is actually very crazy. I didn't think I was going to find anyone as crazy as my stepmother, but yours definitely takes the crown for the craziest stepmothers to exist," I said to him, earning a light chuckle from him.

"Let me guess; she must have told you that you can't and won't be accepted into the family unless, of course, you prove your loyalty to her by making sure that she's well informed on anything that has to do with me. I'm right, aren't I?" he responded, and the fact that he was very accurate almost made me laugh.

"And when I told her that I saw you standing on your own two feet, she couldn't even hide her anger. I thought she was going to at least pretend like she was happy that you were getting better and then ask me to keep her up to date, but she was clearly very pissed off. She even mentioned something about contacting your physical therapist to check in on your progress," I explained, and he just kept chuckling, obviously not surprised.

"Let her do whatever she wants. She's not going to get anything," he replied confidently.

"But don't you think that there's a chance that your physical therapist might be working for her or whatever? I mean, I don't want to hurt your feelings or anything, but there's a chance that everyone around you might be fake," I pointed out.

"Including you? Are you also fake?" he asked, taking me by surprise for a bit since I didn't expect him to use my own words against me.

"I'm not going to ask you to trust me or anything like that, because if I were in your shoes, I honestly wouldn't trust anyone. So instead of trusting me, just trust the hatred I have for my stepmother. I would never willingly cooperate with somebody who reminds me of someone else that I hate," I said, assuring him of my loyalty in my own way.

"I appreciate it," he responded with a wink.

"So, what next?" I asked.

"For now, nothing. Let's just see what she...," he was responding until, all of a sudden, we both heard a familiar voice that took us both by surprise.

"Michael," Elena's familiar voice called out.

"s**t!" Michael cussed under his breath before instinctively sitting back on the wheelchair.

For the first few seconds, we were both confused on what to do and how to respond to her, but knowing that delaying to respond any longer was only going to make us seem even more suspicious, I quickly said something.

"We're in the bathroom!" I yelled out.

"Together? Alone?" she pointed out in a tone that made it obvious that she was suspecting something, and honestly, I had the urge to remind her that Michael and I were married and there was nothing weird about a married couple being in a bathroom by themselves.

"I'm helping Michael get into the shower, but I'll be out soon. Do you need something, Mrs. Romero?" I asked.

"Why isn't Michael saying anything? Is he okay? Is there something going on that you're not telling me?" she asked.

I mentally rolled my eyes. "He has shaving cream on his face right now, but he can hear you. Would you like to come in to check?" I asked, hoping her obsession would not actually push her to make the embarrassing decision of walking into her newly married son's bathroom.

Almost like she heard my exact thoughts, she responded. "That would be weird, don't you think, dear?"

"Well, duh," I unconsciously blurted out, and as soon as I realized what I said, I slapped my hand over my mouth in shock.

Thankfully, she didn't seem to hear what I said since she made no comment on it.

"Michael and I will come to see you as soon as we are out, if what you have to say to us can't wait until dinner, Mrs. Romero," I quickly added, hoping that would be enough to get her out of here.

"You both should be in my office in thirty minutes; don't keep me waiting," she instructed, her footsteps retreating almost immediately.

When I could no longer hear her footsteps, I peered through the bathroom door to make sure that she was really gone, and when I realized that she was no longer in the room, I let out a sigh of relief.

After confirming that she was gone, I turned to face Michael, who surprisingly had an amused look on his face.

"For someone who could have gotten caught, you look a little too amused, don't you think?" I hissed, folding my arms across my chest in disapproval.

"Also, why didn't you say something earlier? You could have easily just told her you were fine, and she would have left much sooner," I added, wondering why he left me to do all the talking.

Instead of looking apologetic, he simply smiled at me, a cheeky smile that made him look ten times more good-looking than he already was.

"D...don't you have anything to say for yourself?" I stuttered, hating how flustered I suddenly was over the fact that this man was smiling at me instead of apologizing to me.

He stood up from his chair a second time, and before I knew it, he was standing inches away from me, still looking amused.

"Has anyone ever told you how cute you look when you're flustered?" he asked in a low voice, and my breath hitched.

"T...that wasn't what I asked you, Michael. Don't try to change the...," I was saying, until his lips suddenly met mine in a light kiss that caused me to freeze on the spot.

His lips barely stayed on mine for two seconds, but the instant heat I felt on the inside was enough to melt my entire being.

"What...was...that...for?" I managed to breathe out in a whisper, instinctively touching my lips.

"That's what you get for being so charming," he simply responded, and before I knew it, this man was back in his chair, wheeling himself out of the bathroom, while I just stood there with wide eyes, still replaying a two-second kiss over and over in my head.