"Are you sure I won't find her on your couch again?" I ask for the third time.
Pierce sighs, "I promise nothing like that will happen."
We soon arrive at his house and he pulls into the driveway. After successfully parking in a safe place, he got out of the car and opened the door for me like a gentleman.
I go down like a princess, he takes my hand in his, and together we head inside.
Instead of a woman in lingerie, I find an old woman sitting on the couch.
"You're finally home," she says in a dissatisfied tone when she sees us.
I look at Pierce questioningly, "My mother." He sighs, he doesn't look happy to see her.
"And that must be the new fiancé you acquired for yourself." She says, pointing at me, and I can tell she's not happy.
"Well, she's not bad to look at."
"Mom, can we do this another day?"
She smiles, "Just a few questions and I'm off, I just have to make sure."
Her attention is turned to me again, "What does your father do for a living?
A bile of spit forms in my throat, I know where this is going, but in the end, she won't be satisfied with my answers.
I swallow hard. "He is dead."
Pierce squeezes my hand lightly while his mother's eyes show no compassion.
"What about your mother?" She further probes.
"The same as my father," I answer honestly.
A hand hovers over her head as she falls back onto the couch. "What should I do with you, Pierce?"
"You should go, Mom," Pierce says emotionlessly.
"It's been a long day for Aurora and she needs to rest."
"Please avoid stopping by my house without notice, I will change the door code, I know you were the one who gave it to Johanna."
"You don't want to listen to me, son?"
"Have a safe trip home."
With our fingers intertwined, he pulls me towards the stairs leaving the old woman to fend for herself.
I'm grateful for the way he stood up for me, but I know it won't stop there. The look on his mother's face said it all, a poor orphan like me has no right to marry her rich, sexy billionaire son.
"Are you doing okay?" Pierce asks in a gentle tone.
"I'm doing well." I lie, break free from his grip, and walk towards the bed. "I'm just exhausted, I'll be fine after some sleep."
He smiled in relief at my words, "Get some rest, I'll make you something to eat."
"The bathroom is over there." He points to a door on the left, "Feel free to grab anything from my closet."
With that, he left the room and I fell on bed, dejected, wondering where exactly my life would take me.
The golden rays of sunlight streaming through the window made my eyes widen. Pierce was sleeping soundly next to me, his arm wrapped around my waist. I looked at him with love, he looked so calm while he slept, almost like an angel.
I'm afraid we're going too fast, but I don't know how much time we have left together, so I've decided to cherish every second.
"Good morning sunshine." He greets lazily as he stretches out his arms to yawn.
"Did you sleep well?"
I smiled "like a child." And it wasn't a lie, last night's sleep was the best I've had in months, probably thanks to the soft bed and the male presence behind me.
"It's a relief to hear that." He gently caressed my cheek.
"Remember, we need to prepare for work." My survival instinct kicked in.
"That's true, but I'm the boss and I can go to work whenever I want, while you, my darling, are engaged to the boss, so you don't have to follow these little rules anymore, be confident."
"I just don't want rumors to spread."
"As long as you succeed, there will always be rumors, people will talk, you don't need to pay attention to it. I mean, besides what would be the worst thing they could do?"
He appears so confident and I can see where that stems from. If I were a billionaire like him, I would also have unlimited confidence.
I nod and decide to listen to him.
Pierce didn't take us to my old job but to his main office. As soon as I entered the building, I felt how many eyes were on us. People were pointing and whispering in hushed tones. I wondered what was said about me, but I remembered Pierce's words and decided to push them to the side.
"This is my new secretary, Aurora," he said to a woman sitting behind the counter.
Without waiting for a response, he took my hand and led me down the corridor.
"Slow down," I warned, but he didn't listen.
He finally came to a stop when we got to his office and I struggled to catch my breath.
"What's the rush?" I wondered aloud.
Avoiding my gaze he parted his lips. "Ir came to my notice this morning that Mom had given Johanna a position as a manager in this company."
Oh no, my heart drops to my stomach, not the lingerie woman.
"I tried to avoid crossing paths with her for your sake."
A loud knock on the door caught my attention. "Come in." Pierce gave his permission and the door slowly creaked open.
A woman I could recognize when Johanna entered.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
"I don't remember calling you," Pierce said, frowning.
She closed the door behind her but didn't bother to move forward. "I heard you were around and decided to drop by and say hello, who knew you would show up with this thing."
I wanted to give a well-deserved reply but Pierce beat me to it.
"Have you no shame Johanna."
"You're right." She confirmed, "When it comes to you shame is something I cannot afford, you're the only man I want."