Chapter 53 Declining To Be His Girlfriend
“I can’t, Nicholas. Why do you want me to be your girlfriend? If it is just for physical intimacy, then I’m not interested.” Shocked and offended, Nicholas got up and stood quietly, staring at her. He hadn’t expected her to decline after the most passionate lovemaking they shared the night before.
“Yes, I desire you, and so do you. It is a good enough reason to date,” said Nicholas, at his wit’s end. He just couldn’t understand why she was being stubborn about it. Couldn’t she feel the magnetic pull between them?
“No, not for me.”
“Then what did you expect of me? Did you expect me to confess my undying love for you after a night of fun?” he demanded angrily, his frustration getting on his nerves. Alyssa’s jaws dropped, and she gaped at him in disbelief. So was that what it was for him? Was it just a night of fun?
“I see. So now that you’ve had your fun, I don’t think you would need my services any longer,” she stated, barely able to suppress the mad fury rising inside her. How could he be so blatant? A nerve twitched near his jaws as he tried hard to control his temper.
“No, unless you can offer the same services tonight,” he spat out.
“Not as long as I’m alive,” she gritted out angrily, storming into the bedroom. She heard the main door open and bang shut as Nicholas stormed out of the room. Alyssa paced the bedroom floor, seething with anger, the soreness between her legs making her even more furious. So that was all he felt for her? Just physical desire? Hurt and humiliated, she sat down on the bed thinking of what she had done. She shouldn’t have given in last night and surrendered to his desires. It was clear that he didn’t need a PA and had brought her here only for fun. No, she couldn’t stoop so low, not even for her one-sided love. She couldn’t be his plaything!
Her phone buzzed with an incoming call from her stepdad, and Alyssa fumbled with fear. She knew this was important since Daniel Van Every never called her directly. He either communicated through Alexander or paid her a visit! A sense of dread gripped her heart as she accepted his call.
“Yes, dad,” she said meekly into the phone, all the fight leaving her body as she braced herself for the worst.
“Come home, Alyssa,” said Daniel Van Every in a stern yet patient tone that surprised Alyssa totally. She had expected him to yell insults at her and arrive in Singapore to get her.
“I don’t have the money to buy the flight tickets,” she admitted in a small voice, surrendering to her stepdad’s wishes. Not having any wish to stay back in Singapore to be a whre to Nicholas, her dad’s offer looked much more reasonable. She wanted to escape this hotel and Nicholas. Daniel Van Every was a little taken aback at seeing her give in so quickly, without an argument, without a fight.
“I’ll just get the tickets and forward them to you,” he said, disconnecting the call. After three minutes, her phone beeped with an email stating that her flight was in two hours. Without wasting time, Alyssa packed up and changed out of her pajamas. She quietly left the hotel and walked down Bayfront Avenue to get a cab to take her to the airport. She didn’t know where Nicholas was and didn’t wish to inform him before leaving. Nicholas’s meeting was canceled, and he sat at the bar and swirled the drink in his hands. If they wouldn’t fight, he would have taken her out on a date. He finished the drink in a single gulp, bitterness creeping inside his heart. After what they shared last night, he had expected her to accept his proposal. It was the first time he liked a woman so much to propose a relationship to her, but she just crushed his heart. Did she really love him?
Why did it happen to him all the time? Every time he tried to go near Alyssa, she pushed him away. Why couldn’t she just surrender to him? Pouring himself another peg, he pondered over his next move. He had to convince her he hadn’t meant what he said and hadn't brought her here for fun. He brought her here to spend time with her, to get to know her better, to show her how much he liked her. It wasn’t just for physical intimacy!
It was nearly lunchtime when he emerged from the bar, tottering towards the elevator that would take him to his room. He wondered what she would be up to now! Did she realize she had hurt him? Would she apologize to him? Would they again catch up where they left off last night? He pressed the doorbell of his suite room but strangely, no one opened the door. Had Alyssa gone asleep? He had forgotten the room card in his haste. He called reception and explained his predicament and within minutes; they sent an attendant with a duplicate card to help him enter his room.
Nicholas looked around the empty room with surprise. Where was Alyssa? Did she go out somewhere?
“Ma’am has left,” informed the attendant, shocking Nicholas to the core.
“Left? Where did she go?” he asked.
“I don’t know where she went. She has left with her luggage four hours back,” said the attendant. Nicholas gaped at him, still not believing a single word he said. How could Alyssa leave without informing him? Where could she go? He rushed into the bedroom to check the closet and gasped, realizing that she indeed had left. Her luggage and belongings were missing.
Wild with anger and concern, he pulled out his mobile phone to call her. This was such an irresponsible thing to do in an unknown city! However, his call didn’t connect since her phone was switched off. Nicholas stared at his mobile phone in surprise. Did she leave Singapore? Did she take a flight back? Upset beyond words, he threw the phone on the bed in frustration. How could she do this to him? He was just venting out his frustration, not really meaning a word he said! He paced the room, clearly in a dilemma as he couldn’t return home, having a tight schedule ahead of him, and deals to sign. The only way was to wait for her to reach New York and then call her.
Alyssa felt tears of humiliation and heartache prick at her eyes. She knew that by now, Nicholas had realized that she had left. It was better this way since she didn’t wish to have anything to do with him now and would email her resignation once she reached New York. She gulped down the painful constriction in her throat, refusing to break down. It was time to move on. Alexander was right. Nicholas wasn’t worth her time and love.
She reached New York and went out to book a cab, but her eyes popped out seeing her stepdad waiting for her outside the terminal. “Dad? There wasn’t any need for you to come here. I could have taken a cab,” she mumbled tiredly.
“Just get in. You’re coming home with me.” Alyssa’s jaws dropped at his order. Home? Which home was he talking about?
“The rest of my stuff is at the apartment I was staying in,” she said in a small voice, not admitting that she was staying at Nicholas’s apartment. A nerve clenched at Daniel Van Every’s temples, yet he controlled his anger.
“We can collect your stuff from Nicholas’s apartment.” Alyssa’s jaws dropped with shock. So he knew she was staying at his place. She didn’t argue since she, too, wanted to stop taking any favors from him. It was better that she left in his absence. She didn’t need to guide her dad to the apartment, as he knew exactly where it was. It was really shocking to know that her family had kept a tab on her whereabouts even when she had moved out. While he waited for her downstairs, Alyssa went upstairs and packed all her stuff. Leaving the keys with the security guard, she loaded her stuff into her dad’s car with his help.
“Done? That’s all you have?” he asked, and Alyssa nodded. She was dying to know where he was taking her, but couldn’t ask out of apprehension. What if he started prodding her with more questions? They climbed in and he drove away. To her horror, he drove straight to his own house this time without even asking her if she wanted to stay with them.
“Dad, why am I going home? I can live in the apartment as I used to earlier,” she said, massaging her temples warily.
“Enough of staying alone and skipping meals, Alyssa. I’ve sold that apartment off and have shifted all your stuff to the house. You’ll be staying with us. No arguments,” he said with finality in his tone. Alyssa didn’t prod further and closed her eyes and sat waiting for her mom's much-dreaded reaction. This time, she would tell them the truth that there was nothing between her and Nicholas Donnelly!