Chapter 03

Silas's POV 

For the first time in five years, I woke up with a smile on my face.

I couldn't get last night off my mind. The way Julian moaned against my skin…the way his back arched underneath me as I thrust deeper…the way I had shamelessly begged him not to stop.

It got hard just thinking about him…the way he touched me like he already understood my body. Last night, he taught me things I didn't know I wanted…it was like watching a master class in seduction.

I had never experienced anything like that before. I thought I was going to feel guilty afterwards but for eight hours straight…the only person I could think about was Julian.

I didn't even think about my late husband once. It scared the hell out of me but it excited me even more.

I reached across the bed, eager for another round…was it four or five? But my hands met cold empty sheets.

“Julian” I called sitting up. The penthouse was quiet except for the distant hum of cars outside.

I padded naked to the bathroom, then the kitchen grew more frantic with each empty search.

Had he left? After what we shared? Why would he do that to me…was I that bad?

Using my intercom, I called the security guard at the gate.. “I need to know if anyone left this building this morning”

“No sir…no visitor logged out since yesterday evening. Is there a problem?”

Was that even a question?.

I was standing naked in my living room searching for a man who looked exactly like my late husband and had fucked my brains out all through the night…of course, there was a problem.

I threw on a shirt and shorts and grabbed my keys and I found myself speeding to the hall where we met yesterday.

This was insane…I was acting like a love sick teenager chasing after a one night stand who probably didn't want anything to do with me again.

But I couldn't stop myself. Julian had given me something I didn't know I needed. He was proof that I could feel again and I wasn't tied to Emery’s memories.

It wasn't just about the sex…being with him last night gave me a sense of healing.

The security at the gala venue recognised me immediately. 

“The artist from yesterday, I need his address”

They exchanged glances with themselves probably wondering why a billionaire was personally tracking down a trouble maker from last night.

One frowned. “Sir…did he steal something? If so, we can alert the police”

“He didn't steal anything. I want to buy more of his paintings, I need his address”

For a moment, I thought no one knew anything, but then one of the guards leaned closer. “I know him…he lives not too far from here”

He gave me the address and I thanked him and left quickly, climbing back into the car.

Twenty minutes later, I was driving through the neighborhood I hadn't seen since my orphanage days.

It reminded me so much of my own past. The cramped apartment where my parents and little sister had died in the fire when I was twelve.

That night…I had crawled out of my bedroom window while everyone I loved burned alive. 

I met Emery three years after I left the orphanage. I was working in a book store and Emery had walked in searching for a particular book.

We bonded over literature…then went for coffee dates then took long walks through the park where he'd tell me about his family's hotel business.

With Emery, everything had been slow…we dated for months before we finally had our first kiss…a year after,he introduced me to his parents and two years later, he proposed.

But with Julian…it took just one conversation and I lost my sense of reasoning.

I almost missed the address, until I stopped at a small building with peeling paint.. that was almost collapsing.

I knocked on the door…no answer.. 

“Julian…it's Silas, open the door!”

“Are you looking for that rascal Julian?”

I turned to see an elderly woman staring out of her doorway.

“Yes, I am. Is he here?”

“You'll find him at the hospital down the street. His mother collapsed this morning from a heart attack and he got into an accident on his way there”

I finally found the hospital after thirty minutes of searching. I went to the reception but they said they wouldn't let me in because I wasn't family.

Then, I reached into my pocket to call him…only to remember I didn't have his number.

My phone was in my hand ready to call Goldie to track down his number using bank transfer details when I heard raised voices from around the corner.

“I don't give a shit about your excuses! My mother is dying and you owe me three grand…”

It sounded like Julian…but I wasn't sure..

When I finally reached the direction of the voice… I saw Julian standing with his back to me, phone pressed on his ear…and his free hand running through his messy hair.

“She needs a heart transplant!” he continued, his voice cracking. “The deposit alone is fifty thousand and that's before the surgery and medications and…”

The person on the other end must have hung up then thrown his phone against the wall with force that the screen cracked…then he buried his face in his hands.

His bandaged arm was already bleeding and I don't know how to explain how I felt.. but seeing him like that broke me from the inside.

I wanted to go to him immediately but I didn't even know what to say.

“Julian…” 

He turned around and saw me and his expression changed. He quickly wiped at his cheeks, picked the phone up and shoved it inside his pocket.

“I know you're here to arrest me…I'm sorry…please forgive me…for the sake of my mother, don't put me in jail I beg you…please I swear, I didn't mean to take it please!”