Hate To Love You My Billionaire Lover

He added, “Most white wines need to be consumed within a year or two before they lose quality. Homemade wines have an even shorter shelf life.”

“So wines have their lifetimes as well. Then the bottle we had in India, which was said to be the same age as me, would be considered ancient, right?”

“You are quite the student. A servant of mine told me a great analogy once. She said a newly made white wine is like a girl, and like a young woman after it is stored for one or two years. She becomes an old lady after a few more years. The transition is seamless, but it is noticeable in the taste.”

This was a fresh speech for Arianna and the change from ‘girl’ to ‘young woman’ pulled on her heartstrings. Arianna asked, “What kind of woman is compared to the wines that spoil or are made incorrectly.”

Then Arianna answered in her mind,’ Women like me, of course.’

“It should be the kind of woman with a miserable fortune. She can pray for a better afterlife in that case.” Travis knew that Arianna was thinking of herself.

“You said you didn’t believe in the afterlife.” Arianna quickly noted.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

“Did I?”

****

On the sixth evening when Travis visited her, Arianna had just woken up.

Her days and nights seemed to be working oppositely lately. She could not get very good sleep since the surgery because she was still on pain medication that made her hallucinate. She tried to sleep with the lights on at night, but for some reason it worked better in the daytime.

Arianna didn’t want to trouble anyone, so she kept the situation to herself. The nurse just thought Arianna’s body was weak and needed the extra sleep.

When she dreamed, it was always of her loved ones. But they never said hello or smiled at her. Instead, they all acted like they didn’t know her.

She went to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water and noticed Travis in the living room. She asked him, “Have you ever been afraid of the dark or nightmares?”

“Once when I was a child.”

“How did you overcome it?”

Travis seemed moody today. He pointed to her glass and said, “Could you pour me some too?”

When she put the cup of water in front of him, he told her sincerely that the best way to overcome fear was to watch horror movies – the more horrible, the better. Travis said that reality would seem beautiful after seeing such a thing.

****

That night, Arianna was very bored. She went online and found a classic horror movie in an HD version. Because the computer screen was so small, she wanted to link the movie to the TV screen to make it easier to see and hear. But Arianna had no idea how to do it, so she had to recruit Travis.

The film was creepy from beginning to end, and horrible images flashed across the screen endlessly.

When Travis was about to leave, Arianna called, “Hey.”

“What?”

“Does this film have a happy ending?”

“See for yourself.”

Arianna sat on the sofa with her bare feet up on the table, biting her nails. The woman on the screen suddenly screamed through the speakers. It sounded fierce and real.

Travis looked like he was smiling, “Are you sure you can handle this?” Then he left the room.

When she was alone, Arianna grabbed a pillow and quilt from her bedroom and wrapped herself up to feel safer. She was already scared in the first few minutes, but she knew she would be even more scared if she didn’t finish it.

After a few minutes, Travis came back with a few documents in his hands. He said, “I forget what this film is about. I guess I will join you.”

So, Arianna watched the rest of the movie with Travis on the other couch.

She has been staring at the screen intently, not looking at Travis.

He had long fallen asleep on his couch. The documents were scattered on the ground. Arianna got up and picked up the files and set them on the table. He frowned slightly and adjusted his position but did not wake up.

Arianna stuffed a pillow under his head and covered him with a spare quilt from the cupboard. She told herself this was the first and last time she would do such a thing for him. It would be how she thanked him for watching the movie with her.

She headed back to her room and fell asleep quickly. Arianna did not dream of her family members that night.

****

On the seventh day, Arianna told Travis she wanted to go home.

Travis did not stop her from packing. He took a deep breath and said, “If I -”

Arianna interrupted him, “Please don’t even try to bribe me. I want nothing except my freedom.”

The nurse was going to go to the apartment with Arianna and continue to take care of her there. But Arianna politely told her that her services were no longer required.

Ryan drove her home, and Arianna never looked back. In the rearview mirror, she vaguely saw a figure in a white suit standing on the balcony of the second floor of the villa. She quickly dropped her gaze to the floor mat of the car.

The construction of Arianna’s house was still ongoing and was very noisy during the day.

Ryan mentioned, “You should stay a few more days in the villa until this construction clears.”

Arianna ignored him and invited him to a meal instead. She wanted to thank him for driving her around for so many years. They stopped at the apartment first so Arianna could change, and she came out carrying a big bag.

At the dining table in the restaurant, Ryan said carefully, “Mr. Cooper was hoping you could stay.”

“For what? Has he not gotten his hatred out of his system yet? Does he want to make it up to me? Does he feel bad for the loss of my grandfather? Or has he become so accustomed to my presence that he is uncomfortable when I am not around?”

Ryan kept silent.

“He has no reason to hate me anymore. But do I have no reason to hate him?”

“If you hate him and want to take revenge, you should stay with him so that you can get the opportunity to torture him or frame him.”

Arianna laughed, “Did he tell you to say that?”