The Alpha and the Dragon Princess

Coming to visit my mom for a week sounded like a great idea. But now that I'm here, all I want is to be back home with Tony. Tony is my boyfriend. We have been together for three years now. I moved in with him a year ago. It was a huge deal. Tony is older than me, he's twenty-nine. We had some arguments about kids and family. So when Tony mentioned visiting his family for the week, I quickly said I was going to go visit my mom. I didn't want to come between him and his family. To be honest, I was missing my mom. I had not been home in almost a year. Tony was my school adviser. That was how we met. My freshman year, I walked into his office, and we just hit it off. He was smart and funny and not bad looking. He helped me figure out what classes and credits I would need and set up my schedule. Afterward, he offered to show me around campus. We ended up in the coffee shop. We sat there talking for a few hours, then he took me out to dinner at a cute little restaurant in town. He was such a gentleman and so cute. I fell in love with his charm and sense of humor. We would hang out all the time after that. He would send me cute texts throughout the day. He was always telling me how much he missed me and checking in on me between classes. After a few months of hanging out every day, he took me out to dinner and asked me to be his girlfriend. To be honest, I already thought I was, so, of course, I agreed. In the beginning, it was hard. The day after I became his girlfriend, I saw him on campus in between classes. I ran over and threw my arms around him. He stopped me and pulled away. Of course, my feelings got hurt. I thought he was ashamed of me or something. But later that night we talked, and he explained that it would be frowned upon for him to date a student. He didn't want his colleagues to know about us. Not until I had finished school. At first, I was pissed. But it was his job and if he worked somewhere else, I would not be able to be affectionate with him. I been on my best behavior. Well, around people any way. There have been many occasions I have come to his office, and he has f****d me on his desk or on the couch in his office. I thought about just giving in and getting married. I mentioned it to him a few months ago, but he said he didn't want to rush me into anything and that he was okay waiting. I thought it was sweet that he wanted to wait until I was ready. Even with all the pressure his mom was putting on him. Being away from him now makes me question if his mom was right. Is my five-year plan stupid? I was missing home. I missed Tony. I was home alone again. Mom didn't make it back home yesterday, and it looked like she was not going to make it home today either. Mom had a new boyfriend she was pretty serious about. She was spending all her time with him. I was happy for her, I really was. My dad died when I was thirteen. He was coming home from work and was hit by a drunk driver. My mom took his death hard. In the beginning, she tried to be strong. She tried to pretend she was okay. I could hear her crying in her room every night. After months of listening to my mom cry alone in her room while I cried in mine, I went to her room, she held me tight and we cried together. Time healed some of our pain, but the hurt was always there. When someone close to you dies, that pain of losing them never goes away, no matter how much time goes by. That person will live with you until your last breath. So will the hurt and pain. For years, mom stayed to herself. She stopped doing all the things she loved. She stopped smiling and laughing. She distanced herself from all her friends. She was a shell of a person without my dad. It was hard to see her like that. Sometimes she would spend days in bed. She lost a lot of weight. She was here but she was not living. She was a zombie. My senior year of high school, everything changed. I had been studying at my friend's house and was on my way home. It was dark and misting outside. I was having a hard time seeing through the patches of fog. I didn't notice the animal until it was too late. I swerved to avoid hitting it and slid into a tree. The impact of the airbag crushed some of my ribs and punctured my lungs. I still have the scars from the emergency surgery they performed to save my life. They are long, dark and deep and cover a good portion of my chest and upper abdomen. I kept them hidden, not letting anyone see them. Even Tony has never seen them. I always kept my shirt on. He could touch my breast with his hand, but that was all. I also never took a shower when he was home. Or got fully undressed in front of him. He asked me about it one time, and I was honest with him. I told him I had been in an accident and almost died. And that the surgery to save my life left scares. Scares I was not comfortable with other people seeing. He tried to find sneaky ways to see them. I caught him with a flashlight one night while I was sleeping trying to slip my shirt up to see them. I freaked out when I caught him. "Come on babe, I love you. Just let me see them. It's not going to change how I feel about you." he said as I left and drove home. That was our first fight. After that, he realized I was serious about it and gave up, not wanting to cause another argument. After the accident, my mom apologized for leaving me. Not physically but mentally. For not being strong enough to get through the pain. For not being there for me and taking care of me like I needed her to. She promised she would do better. It didn't happen overnight. It took time. But eventually, she was able to start living again. She was leaving the house more. She got in contact with her old friends, who welcomed her back with open arms. She was meeting up with them for lunches and dinners. She was finding herself again. My dad's brother was a lawyer. He got my mom a very generous settlement. My mom was well off. Which meant I was well off as well. The day she received the settlement check, she went right to the bank. She paid off all her and my dad's debt, including the house and the cars, and she split the rest into two separate bank accounts. One was for her, the other for me. She said that's how my dad would have wanted it. My mother and I were both billionaires and no one knew. My uncle made sure our names were never mentioned publicly connected to the settlement. And he had the records sealed. I was happy for my mom. My dad would have wanted her to move on to live after he was gone. She deserved to be happy again. She deserved to feel loved and so do I. We both deserved to be happy.