When I Got My Senses Back

Chapter VIII: A Snake, A Stoned Heart & I, A Multi-billionaire (1)

Christine glanced at the figure above her. The scent that hit her….. it was coming from Reginald.

She murmured, “Come closer.”

Reginald didn’t hear clearly and leaned in. “What did you say?”

Without warning, Christine grabbed his arm and pulled his skinny frame into her arms.

Damn. He really needed to eat. Build back his body. Stamina, agility, strength… he needed it all. Because what the hell? How was this small woman tossing him around like a rag doll?

She was wearing a robe, probably ready to sleep. But the robe had loosened, revealing her flawless collarbones and the deep curve between her breasts.

Caught off guard, Reginald stared. And kept staring. “What… what are you doing?” he asked, stunned.

“Don’t move,” Christine said. For once, she didn’t push him away. She buried her nose in the side of his neck, her lashes lowering. Why did this man smell like butter and milk?

Where were the usual manly scents like cigars and leather, or coffee and sandalwood, or musk and rain-soaked earth? This one was different. It was soft. It was sweet. It was almost edible.

Before long, she drifted off to sleep in his arms, hugging him tight.

“Hey… hey, woman?” Reginald whispered. “Chris… Christine?” he called but he got no answer.

He shifted slightly, and immediately, Christine who was of course still half-asleep, frowned, like someone was trying to snatch away her beloved plush toy. Her aura darkened.

Damn. She was scarier asleep than awake. How was this woman so different from the rest? Reginald literally froze like she would bite him any minute from now if he moved again. What kind of woman scares a man? She was just… odd.

He remembered how, when he was young, he was always drawn to the odd ones. If everyone liked fast cars, he liked the kid on the rickety bicycle. That’s just who he was. And this woman….. she was different.

He sighed. Fine. He’d let her hug him. Just for tonight.

If he dared break free and disturbed her sleep, she'd probably stay up all night and drag him into another hellish routine tomorrow.

So he sat back quietly, letting her cling to his hand like a lifeline.

Then he spotted a phone on the nightstand, probably hers. Having a playful thought in his head, he picked it up. He just wanted to sneak a picture of her sleeping and back it up to iCloud.

Right then, a notification popped up.

AlexXi Group which was Christine’s family company, was investing millions in a small studio.

His mind immediately went to Eloise. Didn't She always say she'd start with a studio.

Another message popped up. From… Eloise Payton? Why was his fiancée messaging his current wife?

It read: “So when exactly do I get to meet him? Let’s talk tomorrow.”

Reginald blinked.

Him? Who the hell was this “him”? Wait… Christine and Eloise knew each other? Before he could process that, another message came in.

It read: “I need to tell him something, even if he’s a dumb and may not understand. Bring him.”

Reginald rubbed his temples. There was no mistaking it now, he was the ‘him’ they were addressing in the message. So Eloise wanted to see him, and Christine had to bring him?

He scrolled through their chat history. He didn't read much but he was stuck on that one message where Christine told Eloise to keep her distance from her husband, and that she’d bring him over after “the deal” was settled.

What deal?

“She wants to see me… Does she still care?” Reginald murmured to himself.

Back when they were engaged, he had promised her, confidently, that he would marry her.

Her only condition was that when her business took off, she’d say yes. So he promised her a multimillion-dollar contract the moment she graduated from business school. Even before she had a company.

He still remembered her expression during that video call eleven years ago. It was hopeful, she was excited and unable to hide her joy.

But now, regret churned in his gut.

The arrangement with Christine hadn’t been love. It was probably a setup between both families, made after he lost his mind. To Eloise, it will probably look like he’d betrayed her.

His hands curled into fists. He needed to talk to her. He needed to be honest about everything with her.

He replied to Eloise’s message with a simple: “Okay.”

Then he thought of someone. Good thing he had their number at his finger tips. He dialed the number on the phone and sent it a message: "Come pick me up tomorrow. And bring along all the diamonds and jewelry you can find, worthy of being gifted to my woman!"

If Eloise Payton was going to love him the way he is, then he'd spoil her.

Afterwards, he quickly deleted all messages, his and hers and deleted the phone number he dialed, trusting the person was smart enough to identify that the phone number he texted with was not his and not reply back.

Christine would never know, she should never know.

*

The next morning, just before sunrise, Reginald slipped out of bed quietly.

As he opened the door, he came face-to-face with Garrett whose hair was messy, eyes bloodshot, looking like he hadn’t slept. His tone was sour with jealousy. “Reginald Belmont, it took you all night to ‘cure’ her? What exactly did you do to Christine in there?!”

She was a woman, after all. And Reginald… he was a man. What couldn’t he do?