Chapter 1
Anxiety gripped my heart, squeezing it until I thought I would puke or pass out. I glanced at the mirror in the break room. A tangled web of purple and black pulsated over my head as I held the phone to my ear.
He’s not going to answer, Lily muttered, but I ignored her.
When I was about to give up, Robert answered the phone with a gruff “Hello?”
“Hi, honey. I’m so sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to remind you that the cruise is tomorrow. We have to be at the port by 5 PM,” I said cheerily, fighting past the lump in my throat.
“Yeah, yeah. Tomorrow at 5. Listen, I have to go,” and before I could say anything else, he hung up, leaving me with the sound of a woman’s husky laugh ringing in my ear.
Who the hell was that? Lily demanded, but I was just as much in the dark as she was.
Probably just a customer at the bar, I told her. It had to be. I trusted Robert completely.
Still, I put the phone back into my apron pocket with a sigh.
“What did he do this time?” a voice asked from behind me. I jumped and turned to find Cathy glaring at me. I grimaced as I saw the swirling vortex of neon orange above her head. She was extremely annoyed.
“He didn’t do anything. He was just busy at work,” I said softly, hoping to placate her. But Cathy was very protective of me and didn’t like Robert.
“Right. If you can take double shifts for two weeks straight to buy these cruise tickets, the least he could do is give you some of his precious time, Almara” Cathy snapped and I winced. But what else could I have done? It was for his birthday and I had just graduated college. It’s not like I came from money either.
“He didn’t make me do it. I wanted to. I like doing nice things for the people I care about,” I smiled at her, trying to convince her and myself that everything was fine.
She rolled her eyes and clacked her Candy Apple Red nails at me. “Well, I’ll be here for you when you get your heart broken. I love you, sugar,” and with that she walked back into the restaurant.
I slumped down into one of the chairs, putting my head into my hands. I was really hoping this cruise could turn things around for us. Robert had been distant lately and I wasn’t sure why.
We’d known each other since we were cubs and had grown up together. It had turned into a romance when we got to high school and we’d always been super affectionate.
But things had changed once we graduated. We both had our own jobs and couldn’t be together as often as we used to. If the separation was the only issue, then being together for seven days on a cruise would surely fix it.
I shook my head and straightened my shoulders. Robert and I would get married like we always planned. We would be happy just like my parents. All of our dreams would come true.
At least that’s what I told myself.
* * *
The cruise ship was more magnificent than I could have possibly imagined. It glowed a moonbeam white in the light of the dying sun.
I’d read somewhere in my research for this trip that the owner was the youngest billionaire and the most luxurious room on the ship was permanently reserved for him. Not that I could ever afford it.
People like that basically lived on a different planet. Luxury like this was probably second nature to him, while I had almost worked myself to death just to experience this. But it didn’t matter. I had done it out of love. Robert and I were going to have a perfeect trip.
The cool wind from the sea brushed my cinnamon brown hair away from my shoulders, revealing the heart-shaped neckline of my emerald green dress. The long sleeves would help fight off the ocean chill, but the linen made it breathable. It was the perfect dress for a cruise and I felt pretty for the first time in a long time.
“Almara! There you are, sweetheart!”
I turned with a big smile on my face, waiting in anticipation as Robert pushed his way through the crowd, his rolling suitcase running over a few toes in the process.
I was happy to see a bright yellow over his head. He was actually excited about this trip.
When he was finally in front of me, a flash of red jolted through the yellow and my smile turned stale. What could I have possibly done to have drawn out that color?
“What are you wearing?” Robert asked, eyes roaming over my body, making my cheeks heat with embarrassment. He didn’t approve.
I ran my hands down the dress self-consciously. “I bought it for the cruise. Don’t you like it?”
“It’s fine, I guess. But look around. You stand out like a sore thumb.” He waved his hand to encompass the rest of the cruise guests. Most of the women were scantily clad. My cheeks burned hotter.
“I’ll keep that in mind next time,” I smiled tightly at him, wrapping my arms around my waist. The momentary joy I had felt was disappearing.
Robert grunted his agreement and pulled me along, cutting in front of people to get to the front of the line, ignoring all the angry grumbles that followed us.
“Hi! Welcome aboard! We’re letting all of our passengers know that we’re having a Moonlight Promenade on the second floor of the deck in the ballroom around 9 o’clock tonight. We hope to see you there!” A member of the crew greeted us at the door, handing out pamphlets as we passed by.
I inwardly cringed. Robert loved to dance and I had zero rhythm, but I knew we were going to be there.
“You most definitely will!” Robert told her as we followed another crewmate to our room.
• * *
The ballroom was beautiful, but I couldn’t appreciate it. I was too focused on not spraining an ankle in the ridiculous heels that Robert had insisted I buy at the cruise’s boutique. He’d also made me buy a new lemon yellow halter dress with a plunging neckline.
I could feel the lewd stares coming from the male passengers and tried my best to ignore it. I instead focused on Robert and the way that his face was lighting up as he looked around.
“Isn’t this great, Almara? When’s the last time we went dancing?” He asked excitedly, making a beeline straight for the dance floor where couples already gyrated against each other to the music. I had thought they would play waltzes or something similar, but they were playing club music instead.
“It’s been too long,” I agreed, but inside I was thinking it hadn’t been long enough.
He pulled me against him, arms sliding around my waist as he led me into a sensual dance. I tried my best to keep up, swaying my hips to the beat, but I knew it wasn’t a fluid motion. It felt choppy and out of sync.
But Robert didn’t seem to mind. His eyes were trained on my cleavage and a healthy dose of pink started spreading through the yellow cloud above his head. Lust. I hadn’t seen that color in awhile.
Robert’s hands slid lower, giving my backside a healthy squeeze. I jumped and playfully slapped his hands away. Robert gave a low chuckle in my ear and put his hands right back where they had been.
I squirmed out of his embrace, murmuring that I had to go to the bathroom. I wasn’t a virgin in any sense of the word, but PDA was not my thing and he knew that. I had to escape and cool down a bit.
When my nerves were under control, I left the bathroom and was immediately greeted with a sight that set my blood boiling. Robert was dancing very intimately with a strange woman bedecked in jewels. The cloud above his head was a deep pink and so was the woman’s.
What the hell? Lily growled, her anger mingling with mine.
I took a deep breath. Robert just likes to dance, I tell her, knowing it would do nothing to placate her.
Right, if that’s what you want to call it. Lying to yourself doesn’t make it go away. He’s not our mate. Leave him.
That was all fine and well for her to say, but I had never been lucky in my life and I knew the chances of meeting my mate were slim. Besides, the wedding planning was already under way. And, most importantly, I loved Robert.
Wanting to avoid conflict and ruining our trip before it even began, I decided to walk outside to get some fresh air.
Resting my arms on the handrails, I looked out over the ocean, enjoying the spray of sea foam on my face.
“Will you marry me?” a deep voice floated on the wind and I glanced over. A man with his back to me was down on one knee in front of a gorgeous woman.
He was wearing an expensive deep blue suit, the matching sapphire cufflinks glittering in the moonlight.
“Arthur, I told you I’m not ready. How many times must I repeat myself?” she asked, red-orange swirling above her head. She walked away, heels slapping angrily against the deck
The man’s cloud turned a deep blue. He was heartbroken and my own heart went out to him.
“As many times as it takes,” he whispered before standing. When the moonlight illuminated the man’s face, I stared at him in stunned silence. He was the most beautiful man I had ever seen.
Chapter 2
I couldn’t help but stare at him. His midnight-black hair framed and an olive-tone faced. His forest-green eyes peered through thich eyelashes, gazing at the woman across from him. “Don’t start with me, Arthur,” Sofia snapped, flipping her honey-blonde hair behind her shoulders. A small carry-on was beside her. Did she mean to leave the ship? “We’ve been together for eight years, Sofia. On top of that, we’re fated. I don’t understand why you keep denying me.” Arthur’s voice came out strained, the heartbreak evident in every syllable. Despite his earlier attitude, my heart went out to him. “We’ve been over this. You only want to marry me so that I can provide you and your family with heirs. And you know as well as I do that being fated doesn’t equal love. You don’t actually love me,” Sofia said matter-of-factly. I wanted to tell her that that was a lie, but nobody knew about Lily’s ability to read emotions and we had to keep it that way. Arthur’s body stiffened. “I do love you.” Sofia scoffed and put both hands on her hips. “No. If you loved me, you would have waited until after the ballet tour. You would have waited for me to fulfill my dreams. Expecting me to drop everything isn’t love. It’s a cage.” She took a deep breath before continuing in a softer voice. “I know your grandmother wants grandchildren. But I can’t sacrifice everything I’ve ever wanted for my career just to make her happy. And pregnancies are definitely career killers.” Arthur moved closer to her, taking her hands in his. I really shouldn’t have stayed to witness this, but I couldn’t seem to make my body move or tear my eyes away from the scene in front of me. “My grandmother is sick, Sofia. She might not be here for much longer,” his voice was now pleading, asking her to understand. I honestly could not grasp her unwillingness to have a family with him. A family of my own was all I ever wanted. “What does that have to do with me? All I want right now is to be the best. And having children will keep me from that. I’m sorry, but your grandmother’s wishes do not trump mine,” Sofia said with a note of finality, throwing Arthur’s hands off. She side-stepped him and walked toward the railing. Where was she going? “Fine. You’ve made your point, Sofia. Just go.” Arthur still had his back to her and his voice was deceptively calm, but the storm brewing over his head told a different story. Alarming shades of blue and black twisted together. The poor man was in agony. I went to step forward, feeling like I had to do something, anything, to help these people work it out, but without warning, Sofia picked up her carry-on and jumped over the side of the ship. A strangled cry left my lips and I threw myself into the railing, peering into the dark as if I could actually do something to save her. But my fear was unwarranted. There had been a speedboat waiting for her and it was already taking her away from the cruise ship. I could only stand there in shock, watching as Sofia disappeared from view. Well that was dramatic, Lily interjected, snapping me out of the daze. I shook my head to get rid of the rest of the fog. That’s a bit of an understatement, I agreed, putting a hand to my head. Maybe this had all been a fever dream. My skin felt clammy, but that was due to the ocean, not a fever. How’s the eye candy doing? Lily asked and this time I did roll my eyes. But she was right. I should check up on him. Arthur hadn’t moved from where Sofia had left him. I thought I heard a sniffle, but I couldn’t be sure. A second later he brought a hand up to his eyes, wiping away moisture that I couldn’t see. I think he’s crying. What should I do? I asked. I didn’t want to leave him to his own devices. Not in his current state. But he was also a stranger. Why don’t you go over there and comfort him? I’m sure there are plenty of things you can do to get his mind off his situation, Lily offered suggestively and my face burned. I’m with Robert, I reminded her firmly. You need to get your wolfy urges under control. Says the woman who needs a change of undies, Lily snarked and with that I shut down our mental link as well as I could. There wasn’t really a way to shut out Lily completely, but I could make it clear when I’d had enough of her meddling. While Lily and I had been having our little debate, Arthur had finally moved. He was closer to the railing and I could clearly see his red-rimmed eyes and the tears that were falling freely down his cheeks. The storm above his head had developed into a tempest. A jolt of fear passed through my body. From a very young age, I could see others’ true emotions floating above my head. I’ve kept it a secret. It’s not common for wolves to have extra powers, especially a nobody like me. I wanted to believe it was a gift from the Moon Goddess. But there was a chance not everyone would think that. So I kept it to myself. The vivid colors of people’s emotions are what had initially sparked an interest in painting. I had wanted to capture everything that I saw. And for the most part, the colors were calm and happy. But this…this was the worst emotional state I had ever seen before and I had no idea what to expect. Lily, you don’t think he’ll jump, do you? I asked, opening myself up once more to my wolf. Oh, now you want my advice? Lily quipped but I could still feel her concern as we both watched Arthur take another step toward the railing. But to answer your question, no, I don’t think he’ll jump. How can you be so sure? My breath hitched as he took another step. I can’t let that happen. He’s not going to jump, Lily said again, but I wasn’t listening. Arthur had reached the railing and was climbing up onto the first rung. My body moved before my mind could catch up to what was happening. I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around him from behind, using all the strength that came with being a wolf to keep him pressed against me. “No!”
Chapter 3
“What do you think you’re doing, little wolf?” Arthur’s voice was all growl but it didn’t scare me. Given his current emotional state, I was surprised that he could speak at all. “Please don’t do this. Think about your poor grandmother. How would she feel if you were gone?” I pleaded, burying my head into his back. I tightened my arms around him, hoping that he could feel that at least one person was here for him tonight. Arthur firmly, but gently removed my hands from his body, his strength overpowering me. I felt like a child compared to him. He stepped down from the railing and turned, pushing me back with his hands on my shoulders. Arthur frowned down at me. “Did you really think I was going to jump into the sea?” I furrowed my brows. “Weren’t you? You were obviously upset…and crying…” My voice trailed off as he glared at me and I ducked my head to escape it. Arthur sighed. With his thumb and forefinger, he cupped my chin and lifted my face back to his. “I wasn’t crying. The sea breeze irritates my eyes. That’s all it was.” That’s a lie, Lily chimed in and I shushed her, even though I knew she was right. But if Arthur wanted to hide the truth, it wasn’t up to me to expose him. “Then why did you go up on the railing?” I pressed, not willing to let it go. He didn’t know that I could see his emotions swirling around over his head. I could see everything he was trying to hide. “Sofia isn’t the only one who’s dramatic,” he gave me a sad smile and dropped his hand, putting it into his pocket before opening it to show me a glittering diamond ring. “I was going to get rid of this.” My face was hot as I stared at the ring. This was so embarrassing. I told you he wasn’t going to do it. You should have listened to me, Lily said and I couldn’t even bring myself to argue with her. I one-hundred percent should have listened to her this time. “Here. I want you to have it,” Arthur said abruptly, placing the ring in my hand. He closed my hand into a fist around the ring. I just gaped at him. “I couldn’t possibly accept this,” I protested, trying and failing to give the ring back. He stepped away, clearly not wanting anything more to do with the ring. “You can and you will. Think of it as a reward for your kindness. Even if it wasn’t needed,” and with that he walked back toward the ballroom and presumably his room. I stood there, frozen. What the hell had just happened? I’d only come out here for some fresh air. I hadn’t expected to get wrapped in someone else’s drama. You have too much of a bleeding heart, Almara. You could have just stayed out of it. You know the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, Lily unhelpfully supplied and I had to admit that maybe she was right. I was too much of a bleeding heart. I opened my fist to look at the diamond ring again. It must have been worth a small fortune. Perhaps having a bleeding heart wasn’t such a bad thing after all. I hurried into the ballroom, searching for Robert. I wanted to tell him about everything that had just happened. I wanted to tell him about the hail mary that we had been given. Neither of us had a lot of money. The jobs that we had barely paid for the bills and we didn’t have much in savings. Not to mention the wedding costs. This ring could change everything. However, I couldn’t find him. He wasn’t anywhere on the dance floor or at any of the tables. I was headed toward the bathrooms when a waiter suddenly grabbed my wrist. “Miss, are you looking for the gentleman you arrived with?” “Yes, I am. Do you know where he went?” The waiter grimaced and I knew that it wasn’t going to be good news. “He and the woman he was dancing with had a lot to drink. Too much actually. They were, um, very affectionate. We had to ask them to leave,” he informed me and I felt the blood leave my face. No. He had promised he would never do this again. Lily growled. I warned you this would happen again. He’s a gold-digging, two-faced ass. You know he wants more than the simple life you have planned. Tears filled my eyes and a lump formed in my throat. No. He wouldn’t do this to me. Not again. “Here. I think you need this,” the waiter said softly and handed me a glass of red wine. “Thank you,” I whispered and downed the entire thing in one go. The sweet wine burned on the way down and warmed my belly. The rush felt good and I greedily reached for another glass before the waiter left to continue his shift. I downed the second glass too and my body instantly felt hot. I set the wine down and brought my hands to my face. Yep. My skin was indeed on fire. Forget that you’re a lightweight? Lily asked and I giggled. I hadn’t thought that information was relevant. I deserved to have some fun, too. Get to bed before something happens. You’re burning up. We could shift by accident. There are quite a few human passengers on this cruise ship. I don’t think the humans would appreciate a drunk wolf running around, Lily griped and I pouted. I didn’t want to go to bed. Lily swiped a metaphysical paw across my middle. Not enough to hurt, but I knew she was closer to the surface than she should have been. I definitely didn’t want to shift in the middle of all these people. I took a few steps and knew that I wouldn’t make it too far in these heels. I kicked them off, leaving them where they landed. They weren’t my style anyway. I quickly stumbled away and tried to keep my eyes focused. But it was getting harder. The room had started to spin. Get to the room. Get to the room. Get to the room. I repeated it like a mantra. I could lay down once I got to the room. Things would be a lot better once I got to the room. When I reached the door, I leaned my head against the cool steel. I fumbled in my purse for the key card and slapped it against the pad. Nothing happened. I looked at the room number. It was definitely the right one so why wasn’t the door opening. Maybe I’d missed. I slapped the card against the pad again, turning the handle at the same time. The door opened. Thank the moon! I slipped in, closing the door behind me. Why was the room so hot? I couldn’t breathe. This dress that I hated was too tight. I allowed my hands to grow claws and ripped the dress off of me. In the process, I accidentally cut off my underwear as well, but I didn’t care. I was burning up. I climbed into bed and moaned at how cool the sheets felt. They were like a soothing balm against my skin. The bundle of sheets on the other side moved and I realized I wasn’t alone. Robert was here and already asleep. He hadn’t abandoned me. The relief I felt was almost corporeal. I moved over and wrapped myself around him, burying my face into the nape of his neck, breathing him in. He smelled really good tonight. He does smell really good. That’s strange…but I didn’t hear the rest of what Lily was saying. Sleep pulled me under and I was dead to the world. Sunlight streamed in from the window as I woke up. I groaned and brought my hand to my eyes to shut out the light. It was too bright and it definitely wasn’t helping the headache that was threatening to rip my head apart. What happened last night? Well, you threw back two glasses of wine like you had been stranded in the desert and they were the first water source that you found, Lily informed me and I groaned again. What had I been thinking? I slowly lowered my hand and looked beside me. Robert was gone. Maybe he had gone to get us both breakfast. Or, at the very least, some coffee. I desperately needed it. I slowly stood up and made my way to the bathroom. I’d freshen up some before he got back. I didn’t want him to see me like this. I splashed water on my face and reached for my toothbrush, but it wasn’t there. Confused, I looked around and, with growing horror, realized that none of the things in the bathroom were mine or Robert’s. The bathroom was extremely luxurious. The room had a soft and elegant fragrance, not like the generic scent in ours. The faucets were inlaid with gold, inlaid with blue gemstones, a far cry from the basic silver I had seen. Even the toilet was gold. Who had a gold toilet? Alarmed, I walked back into the room and finally noticed how nice it was. Much nicer than our room. Much nicer than we could ever afford. This far exceeded my imagination of luxury. This wasn’t the right room. I had spent the night in a stranger’s bed. And my memory was fuzzy. I remembered cuddling, but anything past that was gone. Had we done…stuff? I had to find Robert. But how was I going to explain this to him? My dress was in literal pieces on the floor. And I couldn’t exactly leave the room naked. I had no other choice but to raid the closet. There wasn’t much in the way of clothes so I settled for a long dress shirt. I buttoned it all the way to the top and it was long enough to cover all my bits. It would have to do for now. I bundled up my clothes from the floor and swiftly left the room. On my way out, I looked at the room number. It was 1100. Our room was 1200. I wasn’t even on the right floor. Not wanting to linger in case the stranger came back, I made my way down the hall and up the stairs. Thankfully, there weren’t any other guests to witness my potential walk of shame. After what seemed forever, I finally made it to the right room. I carefully touched the key card to the pad and was rewarded with a beep that let me know that this was indeed the right room. I breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door. I heard them before I saw them. “Harder…yes…like that…yes…yes…” Soft moans emanated from the bed and I watched in horror as Robert pumped in and out of the woman from last night.
Chapter 4
I don’t know how long I stood there just watching the two of them together. It was like a trainwreck that I couldn’t take my eyes off of. I could barely even hear Lily while she was raging inside. Something must have given me away because Robert slowed down and looked over his shoulder. He didn’t even give me the courtesy of pulling out of her. He just gave me a look full of contempt as he eyed me up and down. His lip curled in disgust. “Where the hell were you last night? What are you wearing?” He has some nerve, Lily growled and she was so close to the surface now. I could feel her fur brushing across my skin. If I didn’t get control of my emotions, I was going to shift. And possibly tear that woman apart. “Well?” Robert asked as a perfectly manicured hand traced invisible lines across his shoulder. I shuddered, my heart constricting so tightly that I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t answer even if I wanted to. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter. We’re done, Almara,” he spat, his words like venom. “Wait…no…” I whispered, putting a hand over my heart as if I could keep it together. As if I could physically keep it from breaking. “I don’t love you. You have these pathetic dreams of a perfect marriage and becoming a painter. None of these things equal money. You’re just another loser. Even your looks are pathetic. The dream ends here, sweetheart.” Robert turned away, dismissing me. The moans of the woman beneath him starting up again just seconds later. Tears blurred my vision. How could he be so cruel? I dropped the clothes on the floor and ran back outside, heading for the stairwell. It seemed like the safest place to fall apart. I barely made it to the first step before my legs gave out on me. I sank to the floor, curling in on myself. Sobs racked my body. Even though I was safe on the cruise ship, I felt like I was drowning in the ocean. The sound of the stairwell door opening made me sit up. I made myself as small as possible, hoping whoever it was would just ignore me and keep on going. But no such luck. Shiny black loafers appear in my eyeline, followed by a white handkerchief, and glittering sapphire cufflinks. I stared at it blankly. The owner sighed and crouched down, dabbing at my eyes for me. When I finally could get a good look at who it was being so nice to me, I realized with a jolt that it was Arthur, the man who had given me the diamond ring last night. I froze, not sure how to react. “Are you okay?” He asked gently, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. My lips started to tremble and before long I was sobbing again. Arthur huffed, but sat down beside me, pulling me into his lap. I buried my nose in his chest and inhaled, his pine and campfire smoke scent calming me down almost instantly. Almara, Lily started but I was way ahead of her. This was the same scent from last night. This was the stranger whose bed I had slept in. I struggled to get out of his lap but I managed to untangle myself. “Last night…I’m so sorry…I didn’t mean to…but…did we…” I hope I wasn’t as incoherent as I sounded, but that’s all that would come out. “Don’t worry about it. Nothing happened,” Arthur said gruffly, tugging his clothes back into place. He ran a hand through his dark hair and gave me a smirk that was becoming all too familiar. “Why do you look so disappointed, Almara?” Blood rushed to my face so fast that it made me dizzy. “No….no, I’m not…wait. How did you know my name?” “I followed your scent when I realized you weren’t in the room anymore. I heard everything that happened. So, you got dumped too, huh?” I flinched. “You don’t have to be so direct about it. And you shouldn’t have eavesdropped. That’s not very polite.” I was done crying. Now I just felt drained and I honestly didn’t have the energy to be nice anymore. “Why were you following me anyway? Are you here to punish me? I didn’t mean to go into your room. It was an accident,” I said, standing up and backing away from him. Arthur stood too, advancing on me until my back was against the wall. He brought one hand up near my head, the other down by my waist. I was effectively trapped. His oh so green eyes darkened as he looked down at me. “Do you want to be punished, little wolf?” My thighs clenched together of their own accord as fire shot straight to places that were lower than my stomach. Arthur inhaled and I knew he could smell my desire. My face burned hotter. Arhur chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to punish you. Not unless you ask. I just came here to give you this.” He pushed away and held up his hand. On his finger dangled a pair of ripped, black lingerie. My ripped, black lingerie. I snatched it away from him. “Thanks.” “You can return my shirt at your earliest convenience. Although I must say that it looks much better on you,” Arthur said, trailing a finger down the buttons and I shivered. My breath caught in my throat. I felt like a deer in headlights. “I have a feeling that you won’t want to go back to that room. You’re more than welcome to use mine. I won’t be needing it anymore. Now, is there anything else that I can do for you?” Arthur asked, fully backing away, all traces of the flirt gone from his face. He handed me his key card. For some reason, the image of the golden toilet flashes through my mind. “In your bathroom…is it really a gold toilet?” I blurt out. I’m not even sure why. I just had to know. “What?” He asked, raising his eyesbrows. His sensuous lips slowly stretched into a smile, “Of course. I always expect the best.” Who was this man? “Is there anything else you need, golden toilets aside?” I shook my head. “I couldn’t possibly ask for more than this. You’ve already given me so much. But, who are you, really?” “That is classified information.” He gave me a wicked smile and didn’t elaborate. "It’s okay to be selfish sometimes, you know", Lily said, piping up for the first time since I came into the stairwell. Lily was right. I had just been dumped. I deserved some kind of good out of it. “Um, if it’s not too much trouble, I’d like some canvas and paints. Please,” I tell him, grasping the key card tightly in my hand. I looked everywhere but at him.
Chapter 5
Arthur smiled at me. “Your wish is my command. I’ll send someone for your things. Just go to the room and do what you have to do. Cry, scream, tear the room apart. Just let it all out.” And then he left and I was all alone again. I wished I could just leave the cruise ship. I didn’t want to be here anymore. But we were far enough away from the shore by now that there was no chance of going back. He’s giving me whiplash. He’s sour, then he’s sweet, and then sour all over again, Lily complained, but then I felt her lick her lips. He’s kind of making me drool. I groaned and tuned her out. I was going to be stuck here for the next six days. I groaned again and tipped my head against the wall, closing my eyes. I should have never booked this cruise. I should have never taken all of those shifts. I should have never wasted that much of my time. What the hell was I going to do? For the next two days, I confined myself to the room. Arthur made good on his promise. He’d had my luggage delivered to me, along with canvases and paints. I poured all of my hurt and anger onto the canvases. While the result wasn’t my usual style, I ended up liking them. They were edgy and it felt like the start of a new beginning. When I managed to make it to the deck, I kept away from everyone, choosing to sit the farthest away from the activities. I switched between painting the ocean and reading the romance novel I had brought with me. The ship was so big that I managed to not see Robert again. Or Arthur for that matter. I wonder if he’d leapt off the edge onto a speedboat or if he’d managed to book another room. But if he was as rich as I thought he was, it could honestly be either. And that’s how I passed the rest of the trip. Painting and reading, reading and painting. And eating…sometimes…when I could stomach it. Lily wasn’t very happy about it. On the last day, right before we were about to dock, there was a knock on the door. I paused in the middle of packing and opened the door to find a crew member waiting on the other side. “Here’s your bill, ma’am. You’re more than welcome to pay using our app or you can settle your bill at the customer service desk on the first level. Thank you for booking with us and we hope you had a lovely vacation.” I took the slip of paper from him and looked down at how much I owed. It couldn’t have possibly been very high since I was very careful with my spending. However, when I looked at the total, there were a bit too many zeroes. “Wait, this can’t be right. There’s no way that I spent this much…” My voice trailed off as I vaguely remembered receiving a card in the mail. A card that the cruise had sent to all of its guests for use on board. A card that had no limit. A card that Robert had quickly snatched out of my hands. “If you’d like an itemized receipt in order to refute any charges, please go see the customer service desk. They’ll be able to help you. Have a nice day, ma’am.” I crumpled the slip of paper in my hand. There had to be a solution. I wasn’t the one that had spent the money. Surely I wasn’t liable for this. Only one way to find out. The crew member at the customer service desk gave me a tight smile. “Like we already told you, ma’am, there’s nothing we can do. The account is in your name.” “But look at all these charges at the bar. All these charges at the boutiques. I barely spent $100 the entire time I was on the ship. Please. There has to be CCTV or something. You’ll see I didn’t spend the money,” I pleaded, not caring that I sounded a little whiny. I was desperate. “We understand that, ma’am, but the guest under your account did. Therefore, you spent the money,” she said dryly. I knew she was getting annoyed. The spots of orange dancing around her bored beige cloud told me as much. “I don’t have this kind of money…” I let my voice trailed off, but she just gave me a flat stare. She was completely unimpressed and not sympathetic to my plight. I sighed. “Is there a supervisor that I can talk to? Maybe set up a payment plan?” It was the customer service rep’s time to sigh. “One second.” She disappeared into the office behind her. I nervously drummed my fingers on the counter and prayed to the moon that everything would be all right. She came back out a second later and crooked a finger at me. “Follow me.” She set a brisk pace that I struggled to keep up with. We came to a private elevator that must lead to the higher ups’ offices. “Take this all the way up. The owner of the ship would like to talk to you.” I swallowed hard as I pushed the elevator button. The doors opened immediately and I stepped inside. There was only one button on the wall. Why did the owner want to see me? Was I in a lot of trouble? The elevator seemed to take forever and when the doors opened, it was like another world. The office was the very definition of opulence. Lush chairs sat in front of a huge mahogany desk. And the man behind the desk… …was Arthur. “What are you doing here?” I blurted out before I could stop myself. I bit my lip to stop anything else from coming out. “I would have thought that was obvious, little wolf. This is my office. You’re here to see me,” Arthur said calmly, leaning back in his chair and putting his feet on the desk. Almara, the ring. Give him back the ring. Maybe it’ll be enough to pay off your debt, Lily urged and I jolted into action. I dug into my purse and pulled the ring out, marching over to the desk and putting it gently down before him. A muscle in Arthur’s jaw twitched. “This isn’t nearly enough, Almara.” I gripped my purse strap. “How much more would I owe?” Arthur let out a huff of laughter. I wanted to bare my teeth at him, but this man held my life in his hands. I kept myself from doing it, but just barely. “Much more than you can afford. There’s no way you could ever hope to pay me back. Let’s just put it that way.” Tears blurred my vision before they spilled over. This was the second time I’d cried in front of this man and I angrily wiped the tears away. Why did these things keep happening to me? I looked behind him at the ocean. The floor to ceiling windows gave an excellent view of the horizon and I briefly wondered if I should just jump. It felt like my life was over. I had no love and no money. No future. “Please don’t do that. Think about your poor family. How would they feel if you were gone?” Arthur asked, throwing my own words back in my face. He was mocking me. I bet he found this entire thing hilarious. This is such bullshit, Lily growled, but I was too busy wallowing in despair to pay attention to her. Arthur watched me, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. I couldn’t stop the growl that trickled past my lips. His eyebrows lifted in surprise, but he didn’t seem upset about it. In fact, he looked intrigued. “If I may offer a solution?” Arthur rose from his black leather chair, picking up the ring as he came around the desk. It felt like he towered over me as we stood toe to toe. He grabbed my left hand and slipped the ring onto my finger. Somehow it was a perfect fit. I stared at it and looked up at him questioningly. “Marry me and have my baby.”
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