Billionaire's Rejected Masterpiece

As I stood in the doorway of our once-shared bedroom, watching Nathan hastily throw his belongings into his oversized Nike bag, I couldn't help but feel a pang of anger mixed with heartbreak. "I just need some space," he muttered, his voice strained with frustration. I couldn't hold back my sharp retort. "Does this have anything to do with that w***e you met at Zoe's the other night?" I snapped, my words dripping with venom. Nathan spun around to face me, his eyes blazing with frustration. "Elle, come on," he pleaded, his hands thrown up in defense. "I told you nothing happened." I rolled my eyes, feeling the sting of betrayal. "You tell me a lot of things, Nathan," I shot back, my voice laced with bitterness. As he crammed the last of his clothes into his bag, Nathan turned to me with a heavy sigh. "We both knew we were heading for this," he said, his voice tinged with regret. "Things have been rocky for a while now, and you know why." "Rocky for you because you're constantly searching for something that doesn't exist," I retorted, my frustration boiling over. Another heavy sigh escaped Nathan's lips. "I'm sorry, Elle," he said softly, his eyes avoiding mine. "I just can't do this anymore." My heart clenched as he made his way to our cramped living room, dropping his bag on the floor with a thud. He pulled out his wallet and threw some cash on the table. "This is for the next couple of months so you can pay the rent," he said, almost mechanically. Then he leaned down and kissed me on the forehead, a gesture that used to make me feel safe, but now only added to the ache in my chest. I crossed my arms, staring at him pleadingly. "I don't want your money," I whispered, my voice barely above a hoarse whisper. "I want you to stay. Please, Nathan, don't give up on us." In that moment, I realized I was reduced to the most pathetic version of myself, desperately begging my douchebag of a boyfriend to stay. Not because I was still in love with him, but because the fear of being alone was all too familiar, a haunting ghost from my past that I couldn't bear to face again. He picked up his bag from the ground and slung it over his shoulder, “Take care Elle,” and just like that he walked out. I stood in the middle of the living room and looked at the closed door as tears escaped my eyes. Nathan and I have been together since sophomore year of college. We both attended Michigan State University and met at a frat party when he was a Delta Sigma Phi. Nathan was a good looking guy with his 6ft stature and medium build. He was not exactly eye candy, but he was cute. He always kept his jet Chase hair perfectly combed, and his dark brown eyes reminded me of my one favorite thing in the world, chocolate. Nathan was the person whose presence lit up the room. His charm and romance is what swept me off my feet. He studied accounting while I studied Art. It was not too long after we graduated that his cousin got him a job at the large accounting firm where he was employed. This is how we ended up moving from Michigan to New York. Nathan worked full-time as an accountant and made pretty decent money, so I was able to take on a part-time job at a record company and finish painting the pictures I promised the art gallery. We rented a one bedroom apartment that was small, but it was our home for the past year and it made us happy; at least I thought it did. I took my teary eyed self and sat on the couch, curled in a ball and cried myself to sleep. I had not been sleeping long when I was startled by a knock on the door. I sat up and looked around the room, eyes swollen and red. “Elle, are you in there?” I heard a familiar voice say as she pounded on the door. I got up from the couch and stumbled to open the door. Madison always seemed to know when I needed her most. She threw her hands up in the air. “Elle, it is about time, I thought I was going to have to break down the door.” She put her arms around me and hugged me tight. I motioned for her to come in as she pushed her way through and set a large brown bag on the table. “I come bearing douchebag boyfriend food,” she smiled as she rummaged through the bag. She removed the boxes of Chinese food and set them on the table. “We have Mongolian Beef, Lettuce Wraps, Chicken Fried Rice, Wonton soup and chocolate ice cream for dessert.” Her grin went from ear to ear, but quickly fell as I dropped my head and curled back up on my couch. Madison sighed heavily as she walked over and sat next to me. “Nathan texted me and said he left. He wanted me to come over to check on you and make sure you were ok.” I lifted my head from my arms. Who the f**k did he think he was sending my best friend over to see if I was ok? I thought as angered burned inside me. “He said he left because of irreconcilable differences.” “What are we married?” I growled. Madison gave me a sympathetic smile and walked to the kitchen to grab plates and silverware for the food sitting on the table. I could not stop thinking about Nathan and how he just left. We were never apart for more than a couple of days, and now we’d be apart forever and once again I was alone. I knew why he decided to leave, and for that reason I hated him. I gave him every opportunity to tell me the truth, but he could not even look me in the eye and do that. He was a coward, and I had no room in my life for cowards. Even though I felt sick to my stomach, I got up and made my way to the table as Madison put some food on my plate. “Listen Elle, Nathan is a douchebag, and I’m sorry you wasted the last four years of your life with him. You need to focus on something else. You need to finish your paintings and get them over to the art gallery so people can find out who Scarlett Harper truly is,” she said waving her fork around. I lightly smiled because I knew she was right; if there was one way I could escape the hurt and loneliness, it was through my paintings. She reached over and put her arm around me and gave me a squeeze, “Don’t worry I’ll be here for you.” I met Madison at the art gallery the day I stopped by to talk to the owner about displaying my paintings. The minute she asked, “May I help you,” we clicked and have been best friends ever since. One thing about Madison is her personality, its way bigger than her 5’2”, Size 0 body. She always sports the perfect look with her long straight brown hair and perfectly placed makeup that enhances her bright blue eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her dress in a pair of sweatpants; for her it is all about style with skirts and cute little tops. There isn’t a shortage of guys when Madison is around. They’re always flirting with her, but she has yet to find the perfect man to give her heart to. I didn’t feel like eating, but I knew I had to appease Madison or she would not leave me alone. “Do you want me to stay with you tonight?” I set my fork down, “Nah, I just want to be alone. I think I’ll go take a bath.” I got up from the table and headed to the bathroom. I turned the water on and poured a capful of bubble bath in its stream. I twisted my long blonde hair up and clipped it to prevent it from getting wet. I climbed in the bubble filled tub and slid down until my head was resting on the bath pillow behind me. I laid there, closed my eyes and tried to think of a plan, but I was to grief-stricken, and I needed the proper amount of time to wallow in self-pity before moving on with my life as a single female. By the time I got out of the bathtub, Madison had everything cleaned up. She had left me a text message saying, “Elle, get some rest and call me if you need anything. I’ll call you tomorrow, love you always.” I smiled for she was about the only family I had left. My mother passed away from cancer when I was six, and my father died right before my eighteenth birthday. I had an aunt and uncle back in Michigan, but I have not seen or heard from them since my dad died. I always considered Nathan’s parents my family, but now that we’re broken up, it would be more than awkward to talk to them. I made sure the door was locked. I turned off the lights and snuggled in my bed, burying my head under the covers to escape the reality of my life, at least for tonight. The next few days I did nothing but stayed in my pajamas and concentrated on finishing my paintings. I called work and told them I had the flu. They told me to take the rest of the week off, which was something I didn’t have a problem with. I was afraid I couldn’t afford it, but I needed to get my paintings finished and off to the art gallery. I wouldn’t have been good company to anyone anyways. I made my third pot of coffee of the day and checked my phone to see if I had any messages. Nathan had not made any attempt to contact me since he left. How does a person just forget about someone after being with them for four years? A fire stirred in my blood just thinking about it. The way I saw things I had two choices; I could sit in my tiny apartment and let my life die out, or I could suck up what happened and go out into the world and live. I opted to go out and live. I was not ready to die yet; I had too many things I wanted to do. I frantically cleaned my apartment, which was long overdue, and I was ashamed that I let it get that way. I took a garbage bag and started tossing everything out that reminded me of Nathan. I was determined to rid this apartment of any sign of him. By the time I was finished, my little home was practically bare. The shelves in the bookcase that housed pictures of me and Nathan now sat empty reminding me of the emptiness I felt in my heart. “Hello,” I sleepily answered. “Were you sleeping?” Madison asked rather loudly. “I was just taking a little nap,” I yawned. “Get up; I’m on my way over to your place to get ready for the club.” I heavily sighed, “Club? You said we’d go celebrate; I thought maybe that meant dinner, not clubbing.” I didn’t feel like going to a noisy crowded club tonight. “Elle, snap out of it, you have been a hum drum since douchebag Nathan left. Reclaim your life, have fun like you used to; you are the most fun person I know.” “I don’t know Madison; I’m not feeling the club scene tonight.” “You’ll feel it once you get there and who knows maybe you will meet your Prince Charming tonight.” Did she say Prince Charming? I don’t want a Prince Charming. I don’t want anything to do with men period. It was important to Madison that we celebrate, so I agreed to go. “Ok Madison, I guess I’ll go, but I do not want to be out late, I’m tired.” “Yay,” she shrieked. “Oh, my friend Caleb is picking us up at your place, bye.” “Wait, who is…”click… I silently chuckled and hopped in the shower. Madison’s exuberance attracted a lot of different people. I believe that’s why we connected with each other so quickly. As soon as I got out of the shower, Madison walked through the door and threw a bag from Forever 21 at me. “What’s this?” I asked as I peeked inside the bag. She looked at me and smiled as she flitted to the bathroom, “Just a little pick me up I bought for you to wear tonight.” Madison was generous like that; we always bought each other things we thought the other would like. I opened the bag and took out the most spectacular silver, glittery knit tank top. “Madison, I love it,” I smiled. I asked Madison about Caleb, and she said he was a friend of a friend, and they went out a couple of times. I found it odd since this is the first time I’m hearing his name. She said she started seeing him right when Nathan left me. She didn’t think it was appropriate to talk about her dating life so soon. To be honest, I was touched by her thoughtfulness not to mention it, but at the same time I was pissed she didn’t. Caleb came to the door and whistled at the both of us as Madison opened it. He gently kissed her on the cheek and walked over to me holding out his hand. “I’m Caleb, nice to meet you.” I shook his hand and told him the same. His grip was firm, and from what I could tell so was his body. He wore his short brown hair messy but in an attractive way and his Chase eyes were piercing. I could see why Madison was attracted to him. The three of us slid into the cab that was waiting for us outside. Madison had her arm around Caleb’s as they nuzzled each other. Suddenly, I felt like a third wheel. “So, what club are we going to?” I asked. Caleb broke his gaze from Madison and looked over at me. “I thought we’d go to Club S.” I frowned trying to think of how I knew that club, and then it hit me, my friend from the soup kitchen, Frankie is a bouncer there. I gasped. “Isn’t that a s*x club?” Madison looked at me and smiled, “Elle it’s a normal club; it just so happens that some people go there to find others to have s*x with.” She said it so casually as if it was no big deal. I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t the S stand for s*x, as in Club s*x?” Madison and Caleb both smiled at me. “Great, now I’ll have to be on the defense all night.” “Live a little Elle,” she laughed.