The Billionaire's Redemption

Chapter Five

The persistent ringing of Alex's phone echoed through his throbbing head, piercing the fragile veil of his sleep.

Groaning, he fumbled in the dim morning light, his hand searching the cluttered drawer for the phone. The remnants of the hangover from the wild night he had spent with Henry the previous night clung to him like a shadow.

"It is the weekend, for God's sake! Why can't I have a peaceful morning and night? Can't a guy catch a break on the weekend?" He bemoaned as he stretched his hands to pick up his phone from the drawer beside the bed, while he was still half-awake.

His irritation for Isabella from the previous night heightened as he noticed the constrained space on the once-empty drawer as her array of deodorants and cosmetics had encroached upon his territory.

He couldn't reconcile himself with the idea of being tethered to her as he cast a disdainful glance at her belongings.

A small sense of relief washed over him as he realised she was not beside him. Her absence spared him the irritation her presence often invoked. The thought of being stuck with her indefinitely gnawed at him, and the mere idea of sharing a bed with her made his skin crawl.

She disgusted him enough that he couldn't face her as they slept. They slept with their backs turned against each other.

As he finally retrieved his phone, his bleary eyes scanned the screen.

He hissed, seeing that the call was from Henry.

"At least you have a fiancee that's living with you if you need someone to talk to this early morning. Why me?" Alex said immediately that he picked up his call.

"Dude! The latest fiancee in town." Alex wondered the cause of Henry's laughter as he checked his phone's screen to verify if it was truly Henry.

"What has gotten into you this morning?" Alex inquisitively asked.

"Ever since I saw it, I haven't stopped laughing, to be honest."

"Dude, what's going on? What's the meaning of all this laughter? Are you ready to tell me the reason or not?" Having fully awakened, he sat upright on the bed, resting his back on the bed's backrest.

"You really don't know?" Henry said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Henry. To be honest, What's going on?" He asked him.

"Well, check online and get back to me. Ensure to call me back." Alex, getting weary of the incessant laughter on the phone, decisively hung up. 

He immediately turned to the internet, only to be met with shock that reverberated through him. In disbelief, he instinctively rubbed his eyes as he couldn't fathom what lay before him—wondering if his sight was still working perfectly.

There, on the screen, was a video uploaded by Isabella. A video was captured while he was oblivious in his sleep beside her on the bed. As he stared at the screen, his mind grappled with the surreal nature of the situation as shock etched across his face.

"He looks cute whenever he is asleep, and I would do anything, even if it meant going against the world to be with him forever." Alex's eyes widened as he heard her utter it in the video.

Annoyance surged through him, propelling him to sit upright with a sudden, almost jarring motion.

"Forever my foot." He scoffed.

"What the hell has this woman done for God's sake? Now everyone would think that we are something." He rose up immediately and went down to the stairs to confront her.

"Isabella!, Isabella!!" He called as he walked down the stairs.

"Yes darling. Good morning." She walked towards him and pecked him on the cheek.

"How was your night? I hope you slept well because I did." He couldn't help but stare at her in bewilderment, because he was confused about whether she was deliberately trying to torment and frustrate his life or whether she was doing it because of the love she had for him, as she claimed.

"Yes, I did. I wrestled with a demon all night, thanks to someone." He chuckled.

His tone changed to a stern one immediately.

"What is the nonsense you posted, Isabella?!"

He frowned his brow intensely, his eyes wide with frustration.

"A video...of us, of course." She pointed at the both of them, beaming with smiles.

"Without my consent?!"

"Do I need to get your approval before uploading the video? I am your wife-to-be, Alex." She stretched her arms across his shoulders as she looked him in the eye, appearing serious, but he didn't care.

"Besides, what's the big deal? It's not as if I posted our sextape." She added.

"Wife-to-be?" He found the word 'sextape' funny and considered her reckless for thinking they were or would be.

"Do you know the consequences of what you have done?" He grasped her shoulders firmly and shook her vigorously.

"Consequences of what? Don't tell me you don't intend for our relationship to be public yet." She scoffed.

"Well, since I noticed you weren't, I decided to make the move." She added, as her words reeked with confidence. 

"It's a plus for both of us, honey. Our union would have piqued people's interest by now based on our personalities." She said, as he stormed out to the kitchen.

He knew that she did it for her own interest. She was a vlogger, and that video would have amassed followers on her social media accounts.

"What the hell have I gotten myself into?" With a forceful blow, he slammed his fist against the cold surface of a French door refrigerator.

Despite his public persona, he detested being a topic of discussion in the mouths of the public. 

He craved a quieter existence, free from the scrutiny of others. A union with her threatened the solitude he cherished. Lost in contemplation, the growl of his empty stomach made him remember that he hadn't eaten anything since the lunch he had the previous day.

Driven by hunger, he approached the cooktop, hoping that she had prepared breakfast for him since the dining table was empty, only to be met with disappointment as an empty pot awaited him. A perplexed exclamation escaped his thoughts, "What the heck?!"

He exploded, his voice a low growl that rumbled through the room.

As frustration surged through him, his head buzzed like an electrical current. He pivoted, ready to storm into the living room, only to find her already there.

His outburst, however, seemed to have little effect on her.

With a radiant smile as her eyes sparkled in mischief and hands on her hips, she stood, seemingly oblivious to his internal turmoil.

"Why can't she just stop smiling? Doesn't she know what she thinks is seducing is disgusting?" He thought inwardly.

"I'm famished, Isabella. Where is the breakfast you prepared?" He asked calmly.

"Breakfast?... I forgot to tell you yesterday..." She attempted to approach him, but he halted her movement by extending his arm forward, signalling her to stop.

"I'm not sure if you have a maid because I haven't seen any since yesterday, but if you do not, we would need to employ one, honey. You know to cook, to do the dishes, and to do house chores."

"I don't think I heard what you said correctly. Can you come again?" He was surprised that she could utter the statement again.

"What has gotten into your head, Isabella?" He cried out.

"What do you mean?" She inquiried.

"Well, for your information, I don't employ anyone except for the gatekeeper, and I would never do that. I like being alone in my space. I don't want anyone to intrude on or invade my privacy." He retorted.

"Then don't expect me to make a meal for you. I have never prepared any in my entire life." She replied.

"Why?"

"Because I've always had everything in this life at my disposal, including cooking."

"What?!" He couldn't believe his parents wanted him to marry the kind of woman in front of him, uttering such nonsense confidently.

"That's it, darling." 

Frustrated beyond endurance, he reached a breaking point. Just as she moved to exit the kitchen, his anger surged uncontrollably. In an abrupt outburst, he seized a coffee maker, and with a forceful motion, he smashed it against the floor.

"What mess have I gotten myself into for Christ sake?!" He bemoaned.

Isabella was scared and surprised by his sudden display of anger because she didn't view him as that violent and aggressive.

Ignoring her presence completely, he moved past her as if she were a ghost, heading out of the house to attend to the persistent hunger as his stomach growled, feeling like worms were gnawing within it.