The Russian Billionaire’s Secret(84)
Chapter 2: Can’t Buy Me Love
Chapter 3: Fixing A Hole
Chapter 4: Helter Skelter
Chapter 5: Baby You’re A Rich Man
Chapter 6: Getting Better
Chapter 7: Free As A Bird
Chapter 8: Demi’s On The Run
Chapter 9: Alex Hires A PI
Chapter 10: Reunited
Epilogue
Chapter 1
A Day In the Life
Demi approached the edge of the ghetto with trepidation. It had been four years since she had successfully managed to leave the ghetto, and she wasn’t too keen on going back.
The place held for her terrible memories of the poverty she had endured as a child, of how the only times she ever saw her father was when he stumbled home drunk and passed out on the sofa, and how her mother dealt with her father by sleeping around.
Demi had endured a truly difficult childhood, and it was with great difficulty that she had been able to get herself out of the ghetto. However, it was her mother’s birthday today. She couldn’t avoid going home this time, not without truly hurting her mother’s feelings.
As she entered the ghetto where she had spent her childhood, her fancy car seemed to attract a lot of attention. Demi wasn’t worried though, as most of the people in this neighborhood were her friends. Still, it seemed to place a barrier of sorts between her and the people around her. It was as though the fact that she was no longer poor made her somehow fundamentally different from the people she had grown up with, the people that had not been as lucky as her and who hadn’t been able to make it out of the ghetto the way she had.
Demi parked her car in front of her parent’s house and exited the vehicle. She could hear the sounds of the party from the backyard; it seemed as though the party had started early. Demi entered the house and saw her cousin Chantelle filling a jug up with water in the kitchen.
“Hey Demi baby!” said Demi’s cousin, approaching her and giving her a one armed hug with the other arm balancing the full jug of water. However, despite the warmth of her greeting Chantelle eyed Demi’s clothes with a mixture of disapproval and envy.
Demi looked at the dress she had worn. It was expensive, which was probably why Chantelle looked at her that way. Deciding to ignore it, Demi proceeded to exit the house into the backyard where she was greeted by the tumult of her mother’s birthday party.
Practically every member of her family was present, which was nice in a way because she missed them when she felt lonely back at her home in Manhattan. This suburb of Queen’s may be dirty and poverty was rampant here, but in a way this place despite all its flaws still felt like home.
“Demi!” said the voice of her mother.
Demi turned to the direction from where the voice came and saw her mother rushing towards her, a smile on her face. The pair embraced, and then Demi’s mother turned her back on her daughter and headed to a strapping man that she seemed very interested in.
Demi realized that she did not know where her father was, so she approached her mother and asked, to which she got the response, “Oh somewhere in the house sleeping off his latest drinking binge.”
When Demi asked her mother who the man she was with was, she responded, “Just a friend, can’t I have friends?”
After enjoying the party as best she could, Demi decided to head home. As she drove off, she realized that the reason she did not enjoy visiting her parents was that she no longer felt that she belonged in that world. She felt as though she had to be different from whom she truly was. She was somewhat surprised by this, because she had expected the complete opposite. Home was supposed to be where she could take her mask off, as she often felt as though she had to be someone that she was not at work as well and with her city friends in order to fit in.
As Demi entered her apartment building and got into the elevator, she realized that she was unhappy. She had a decent apartment, certainly better than her home back in the ghetto in any case, and a nice car, yet she was not satisfied with this life of constantly struggling to pay bills, of constantly being alone.
As she entered her apartment, poured herself a drink and sat down on her sofa, she wondered at why that was, and finally came to a conclusion.
She was unhappy because she did not feel like she belonged anywhere. She had money and success, but she had no one that loved her unconditionally. She decided that wallowing in her misery was not good for her, so she put her coat back on and decided to go for a walk in central park in order to clear her head and relax.
Chapter 2
Can’t Buy Me Love
“I’ve been feeling unhappy,” said Alex to his best friend and the Chief Financial Officer of his company, Juan. “How come?” asked Juan, ever concerned for his brilliant friend’s happiness. “It’s Karen,” said Alex, “I don’t think it’s going to work out between me and her.”
“That’s sad to hear, man,” said Juan, “But it’s not like you were in love with her or anything, right?”
“That’s just the thing!” said Alex, “I might have been in love with her, but our relationship was far too fickle for any kind of emotional bond to form. All she cared about was my money. Every day it was something new. A new car, a diamond ring, a dress because her friend’s boyfriend had bought her one, every day she wanted something else. I mean, it’s not that spending the money bothers me, it’s just that I wish there was some emotional bonding as well.”