A Deal With The Billionaire

EPISODE SIXTY THREE

THEME: Reflection of the past

CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATE OF AMERICA

AT THE GRAND HALL

Hope watched as Raven nitpicked at her dessert and something seemed off about her. She had tried calling James attention to it but he was away from the table chitchatting with some people at the party. Tired of the somber atmosphere, Hope cleared her throat.

“Is everything alright, Raven?” She asked, but was met with utter silence.

It was obvious the young lady was lost in thought and had a lot on her mind. She hadn’t heard Hope call her the first time. Rather than shout out her name again, Hope switched seats and sat next to her.

“Why are you so lost in thought?” Hope asked gently with concern.

Raven jumped so hard and she almost slipped out of the chair. She had zoned out completely and wasn’t even aware of it. The night had taken a toll on her so much that she has lost track of time and her environment.

“Goodness! Raven, I didn’t mean to scare you.” The older woman stated, hoping she didn’t frighten her too much.

Raven chuckled nervously. “Pardon my manners, Hope, I just got carried away for a moment.”

Hope reached out to hold her hands. “Raven, is everything okay? How about Rowan? Perhaps did something happen again? I had been talking to Eva and she said he was fine. Did anything go wrong?” Hope bombarded her with questions as her eyes darted back and forth.

Raven almost let out a laugh. So badly she wanted to tell the old lady how worried she is of her beloved daughter blowing she and Christopher’s cover.

“Seriously, I am fine, Hope, I promise. I am just a little tired.” Raven replied.

“We should go home then.” Christopher chipped in from behind. He had been listening on the conversation for a few seconds.

“Honey, when did you get here?” Hope asked.

“A few seconds ago?” He replied, holding Raven by the shoulder. “Let’s go home baby.”

“How about the party?” Raven questioned, worried that she might prevent him from being where he was needed.

“Oh, don’t worry about that!” Hope dismissed. “He has nothing much to do around here. They will sort out the rest at work tomorrow.”

Raven took Christopher’s hand that he offered to her. She stood up gently and bent low to give Hope a kiss. “I will see you some other time then. Say me hi to Ava.” She looked around. “James?”

Hope shook her head and let out a chuckle at the same time. “He should be around somewhere. He hasn’t been at an occasion for a while. Trust him to enjoy it to the fullest.”

Christopher held Raven in place and kissed his mother. “You both shouldn’t stay out too late. Did Nelson bring you and dad?”

“Yes.” Hope answered.

“Alright, you both stay safe.” He said.

“Drive safe you too.” Hope said as she waved after them.

It surprised Raven to see Steve standing by the car awaiting them. She felt Christopher must have texted him before hand. He opened the door for them both, before heading to the driver’s seat. They got on the road in few minutes.

“Are you still that shaky?” Christopher queried when he noticed how unsettled she was.

Raven looked away from the window and she smiled lightly. “I am okay. Don’t worry I will be fine.”

Giving Steve a look to be sure he was watching, Christopher leaned towards her and kissed her lightly on the lips. “Try to get some sleep, I will wake you up when we get home.”

Taken aback by the gesture Raven intended to ask him what that was for when they were out of the public eye. As if on cue, Christopher nodded his head towards Steve and she got the message.

Leaning back into the car seat, Raven let herself get immersed in the ride as the car drove into the night.

****************************

CHRISTOPHER CRAWFORD APARTMENT

“Hey, wake up.” Christopher shook her by the shoulder.

Raven had slept off immediately her head rested against the seat. He had asked Steve to retire for the night and telling him that there was no need to help him take her in.

Raven stirred, squinting her eyes at the light the seeped in from outside. “Are we home?”

Christopher nodded as he stepped out of the car and Raven followed suit.

“You look really tired you should get some sleep.” He advised.

“Thanks.” She muttered.

Raven staggered into the house before taking off both of her heels and holding them in her hands.

Sitting at his bar, Christopher watched her struggle with the heels before holding them up. It amused him because he had never seen any lady try so hard to get out of their heels. Raven obviously wasn’t the fancy type of dresser.

Pulling out a whiskey bottle he didn’t bother to pour it into a glass. Instead, he downed a bit of it and letting it burn his throat. Christopher wiped his mouth as he went up to his room.

To avoid any disturbance he had the phone on flight mode. He threw himself into the comfort of the bed after taking off his clothes to slept off. There was going to be a board meeting tomorrow and he needed to get himself ready very early.

However, he found it hard to close his eyes. Checking the time he realized the night wasn’t so far spent yet. Putting his phone back on, he dialed Benjamin but his line was unavailable. He wanted to talk to someone so badly but he didn’t know when he dialed Jessica’s number. He had it memorized in his head since they had been together and it wasn’t hard to type the number out despite having deleted her contact. Just as he made an attempt to press call, he got back to his senses and in annoyance he threw his phone angrily across the room.

“Control yourself Chris!” He chided himself. “This won’t do!” He repeated.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

Christopher was really pissed at how he had almost given in into his heart desires. He had been doing great without his ex girlfriend for more than a month and he still could live on without her. He stood up from the bed, took a long shower and the whiskey he had taken began to set in. And he fell asleep in no time.

On the other hand Raven eyes had decided to come wide awake because the little sleep she had in the car had made her more active. Checking the time it was just about 9:00 pm. She decided to call her mother and check if she was still awake.

‘Hey baby.’ Eva answered on the second ring.

‘Mom.’ Raven’s voice broke on hearing her mother.

Eva sat up from her end. “Hey sweetheart, are you okay? What’s wrong?’

Raven sniffed, throwing her head to the back to prevent the tears from falling. ‘It’s nothing mom. I just miss you and Rowan.’

Eva breathed out deeply. ‘We miss you too honey.’

‘I don’t know if I can do this mom.’ She mumbled after some seconds of total silence.

‘Baby, you don’t have to sound like that. It’s only a matter of time before you adjust to marital life. And it is not even two weeks yet.’

Raven went silent for a while, she knew her mother was still there due to her breath coming into the receiver.

‘Ok mom. Thanks. How is Rowan?’

Eva chuckled. ‘He is fine and full of life as usual. He made Tiana run for her life all day.’

Raven laughed too feeling more at ease. ‘That’s so typical of Rowan. Tiana had it coming.’

‘She sure did.’

‘I should leave you to sleep mom. It was nice talking to you. Give Rowan my kisses. I love you.’

‘I love you too baby. Take good care of yourself and promise me that you will be fine.’ Eva said.

‘I will be fine mom, I will.’ Raven repeated, even after the call had ended.

She reassured herself continuously till sleep took over her.