Goodbye Ex, Hello Hot Billionaire

MASHA “Martin, heard you're in a bit of trouble. What are you going to do about that stand-in little sister now that your soulmate is back?” I heard Fred, Martin's best friend,tease . I froze against the wall that was leading to the car park, my hand hovering over my phone. My heart thudded painfully in my chest, each beat echoing like a warning. I bet I wasn’t meant to hear this. I wasn’t supposed to be here either. I only followed Martin with the intent of surprising him since we haven't been spending much time together. But what I didn't expect was for him to stand against his car with his best friends and talk about his childhood sweetheart. Martin and I had been in a secret relationship for seven years and he insisted on keeping it low until he sorted out the issue. Well, the issue being my brother who would kill him the second he found out! Literally. Fred's words made my fingers go limp, as I waited. But for what exactly? For him to finally acknowledge he loves me? I don't know, but I sure as hell was curious about his response. Jane was the love of his life, but she had been gone for seven years. “It’s you I love, Masha.” His voice echoed in my head. I believed him, but it wouldn’t hurt to hear him say it to his friends right? But the answer I desperately wanted to hear didn't come and my heart sank. “She left years ago,” Another voice jumped in, “Give the guy a break. I mean, who would wait that long for one girl?” A voice I didn’t recognize added, laughing in the process. I peeped, moving away from the wall so I could see who was standing in the car park. Martin was leaning against his car, looking as unbothered as ever while Fred took a swing of his beer before he spoke again. “So you’ve moved on, huh? To whom? Niks’s little sister of all people? That’s gutsy, Martin. I’ll give you that. Treating her like Jane’s substitute? That’s crazy and I'll bet my left testicle he'll kill you if he finds out!” “Who says he will? Do you think I've been tapping that p***y just to lose my life in the process? No, man. I’ll die with this secret and so will you!” Martin responded in an amused tone knocking all the air out of my lungs. Tears stung my eyes as I turned and ran back to the entrance where I parked my car. I should have known better. I was a stand-in for his princess. The woman he actually loved and wanted to be with. Our love was a big fat lie! How could I have been so stupid? My vision blurred and my heart felt like it was being torn to shreds as I drove away. …… I groaned as my head felt like it was submerged under water several times before I passed out. The events from last night came crashing down and I broke into more sobs. How could he do this to me? We had been planning a wedding for five years. One which would never happen? I touched the left side of my bed only to be more disappointed by how cold and untouched it was. He didn't come home last night! My heart ached as I lay there, staring at the ceiling. It wasn’t that Matt didn’t come home last night that hurt. It was that I hadn’t expected him to and he proved me right. He wasn’t the man I thought he was anymore. A soft sound from the bedroom door stirred me from my thoughts, and I turned to see the man of the hour standing at the edge of the bed, a stupid smile plastered across his face like everything was fine. Matt was my brother's assistant while my family stayed in New York. But they had to expand the family business seven years ago and had to relocate to Russia. My brother insisted I tag along but being the stupid love sick fool I was, I refused and stayed back. “Morning, babe,” he said. I glared at him, but he didn’t seem to care. Like it didn't bother him!. Instead, he strolled over to the bed and leaned down, bracing one hand on either side of me, caging me in. “Were you working late last night?" he asked, his voice low and edged with a command. I wanted to hit him, to scream, to wipe that smug expression off his face but instead, I looked away, my jaw tightening. “I think you know the answer to that, Martin.” His eyes narrowed slightly, the smirk fading as he cupped my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. “Don’t play f*****g games with me, Masha. Why didn’t you come after I waited for you, for so long?” I closed my eyes briefly, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill over. This man was seriously testing my patience and I wasn't above murder. I grew around it as an independent strong girl. My last name was f*****g Kirovsky But love made me stupid. A weak girl. And now here I was holding back the tears threatening to spill. No, I wasn’t going to cry in front of him or for him. Never again. Seeing my silence, his expression faltered for a moment, but he quickly recovered. “Come on, don’t be like that. I waited for you and wanted to spend time with you, baby. Let’s go together to Jane’s welcome party. I need you by my side. We’re getting married soon, after all.” The earlier coldness from a second ago vanished into thin air. My heart stirred even though I knew it was a lie. Maybe a part of me hoped he was joking and none of what I heard was true. “Come on,” he urged, sitting beside me and placing his hand on my knee. “Please. Just for a little while. It’s important to me that you’re there. I’ll tell the world about us soon.” Then it hit me like light bulbs. Maybe this was a chance for me to see if he was truly over Anna. I took a deep breath and responded. “Fine. I’ll go.”