AFTER HIS REJECTION: THE BILLIONAIRE HE WANTS BACK

IRYNA I was so damn worried. I had been sitting in the same spot for more than three hours, and my back was aching. I took a napkin from my pocket and mopped the beads of sweat that had gathered around my brows. I knew I had to look good. It was an important day—the day I was finally going to say “Yes” to the handsome model, my high school crush and longtime boyfriend, Michael Grant. I had been looking forward to this day for a very long time, and I was very much excited. A message popped up on my phone screen, and I opened it in a hurry to see who it was. “Sorry Iryna. I almost forgot about the outing. I’ll be there in a few…” I smiled and adjusted my glasses on my face. I didn’t care if I had to wait for hours to see Michael. What mattered to me was that he was coming. I giggled in excitement and arranged the table quickly. Everything needed to be in order. I turned around to see that the waiter was smiling at me. The waiter, Fred Walters, was an advanced man in his early sixties. He was tall, smart, and kindhearted, and a few times when I had stayed up at the Downtown bar waiting for Michael, the waiter had made sure to entertain me with old jokes about the World War Two over a few shots of Tequila. I had always wondered how an old man working in a bar was able to afford such an expensive drink, and when I eventually offered to pay for the drink one day, the waiter refused. Fred Walters walked up to my table and drew out the opposite chair. I frowned and looked around quickly. I didn’t want Michael to meet me discussing with the old man, and luckily for me, he was not yet in sight. “Still waiting for him eh?” Fred asked as he poured himself a glass of wine. “Yes I am,” I replied, adjusting my glasses. “My boyfriend would be here anytime soon.” Fred gulped down the glass of wine at once and started pouring out another. “I wish you luck, girl. He sure does like to keep you waiting.” “My boyfriend is a model,” I replied, smiling. “He is always busy with brands and endorsements and deals like that.” “I see,” Fred nodded and stood up. “There’s him coming over now. I’d better get back to work. Think about the offer I gave you last week, Iryna.” I muttered a curse as Fred walked away. How on earth did a sixty-year-old man working in a downtown bar expect me to abandon my handsome model boyfriend and choose him instead? It didn’t even make sense to me. I looked up to see Michael approaching me. His thick black hair curled down his face and over his left eye, and I thought he looked hot as ever. “Hello,” Michael smiled as he admired me. Michael was no doubt a handsome man. His brown-colored eyes always had this spark in them that could make any lady go nuts. His arms were taut and muscular, exactly how a model’s should look, and I couldn’t help but imagine getting lost in his gaze as usual. “Hello Mike,” I smiled back at him. “You had a lot to do at the office today I guess?” “Of course,” he sighed. “But I’m here now, and that’s what really matters.” I blushed and reached for his hand across the table, but my hand hit the bottle of wine on the table and it came crashing down on the floor. Everyone in the bar turned to look at me. “s**t!” I cursed in my head. Michael didn’t even make a move to help me clean it up. He stared at the mess on the floor, and just then, we heard a voice behind us. I turned around to see the waiter standing behind me with another bottle in his hand. “I didn’t order another bottle,” Michael frowned. “You didn’t order the first either,” the waiter replied. “Your girlfriend did, and that makes me wonder the kind of relationship you two have.” Michael stared at the waiter in shock and turned to face me. “Who the f**k is this old fool?” I turned to face Fred Walters. “Not today, please.” Fred Walters shrugged and walked away after dropping the wine on the table, and Michael turned back to face me. I was smiling again. “Who’s gonna pay for that?” he frowned. “Uhmm…I would,” I smiled. “Great,” Michael nodded. “Waiter.” I watched as he called for the waiter and took his order. All the while, my heart was in my mouth as I prayed Michael wouldn’t order something very expensive, and luckily for me, Fred was able to convince him that the most expensive dishes were not yet available. In a matter of minutes, the food was ready and we ate silently. I was not exactly happy about the fact that Michael was making me pay for the meals, but I didn’t dare say a word. “I’ve been thinking,” I said, determined to break the ice. Michael looked up at me. “Yes?” “We’ve been dating for a long time now,” I said. “And you know how I feel about you. I thought maybe you would want to take this forward a bit.” Michael stared at me for some time and I sighed. “Just say it already. Make it formal,” I pleaded. “You know I love you very much. We would make a good couple…” “Stop it, Iryna,” Michael said. “You’re embarrassing me.” “I would love you and cherish you forever,” I added. "Iryna, stop," He cut in again. "Is this some sort of a joke?" At that point, I was already sweating. "What do you mean?" "Wait, you're serious?" He chuckled. "Do you really expect me to get married to you, Iryna?" "Bu-but we've been dating for some time now," I stammered. "Well, I think it's time you knew the truth," He said. The truth? My heart was pounding in my chest now. I felt my whole world crumbling apart. He had just rejected me, and now he wanted to tell me the truth? “Wha-wha-what truth?” I stammered. I blinked hard, trying to fight back the tears that had etched at the corners of my eyes. “I never liked you, Iryna,” Michael said. “It was all a dare. I couldn’t bring myself to tell you it was a dare because you looked so happy. I thought treating you badly would drive you away from me, but you were just too stubborn. I blame James for all this!” I could feel the air around me get hotter. The words were struggling to escape from my throat, but they just couldn’t. “A…a dare?” I managed to ask. “Yes, stupid,” a feminine voice said behind me. I turned around to see who it was. It was Audrey Evans, the beautiful and spoilt daughter of billionaire Marcus Evans. “I gave him a week to tell you the truth and break up with you,” Audrey frowned, taking Michael’s hand. My face twisted in horror, and I turned to face Michael. “Audrey Evans? What does she have that I don’t?” “A nice shape for starters,” Michael replied. In a bid to spite me further, Audrey drew Michael closer and kissed him full on the lips. “See you around, loser,” Audrey said and turned around. “Let’s go, babe.” I watched, with hot tears dropping from my eyes, as they made their way out of the bar. After everything I'd done to make our engagement night a success, it had ended in a devastating heartbreak.