Marrying Her Older Billionaire

 In order to express the love that they felt, they were going to have to do this. They were going to have to do this to her father, because their love was important. It was the most important thing in their lives.

“So I talked to Richard today,” she said. “He really misses you. He was wondering if you wanted to have dinner tomorrow night. The three of us. What do you say?”

“That sounds like a lot of fun,” said Matthew. “I must say, I have been missing that guy for quite a while too. I was wondering when I’d be able to meet him, but I figured that he’d just be too busy working because of the position that I left him with. Where do you guys want to go?”

“You decide,” said Angie. “Wherever you want to go. Richard will pay, don’t worry about it.”

“Alright,” said Matthew. “That sounds absolutely wonderful. Let’s have steaks. I haven’t had a good steak in a while, I really want to enjoy the taste of good beef. Steak and wine, really delicious meaty red wine.”

“That sounds absolutely wonderful,” said Angie with a smile. “I can’t wait, dad.”

“Are we doing it tomorrow night?” he asked her.

“Yup,” said Angie. “Tomorrow night.”

Tomorrow night. It was the night where everything was going to change for everyone. The idyllic romance that she and Richard had been enjoying for so long was going to be no more. They were going to be left with something completely different. They were going to be left with something that would be a great deal less than what they were used to having. But this was just the way that these things worked. This was just the way they were going to have to live now because they had done something that was against the laws of love. She didn’t care, though. She was doing the right thing now by telling her father. She was doing the right thing now, and at the end of the day that was all that mattered.

She went to her room and laid down. She thought about all that was going on. She thought about the tumult that had engulfed her life ever since she had come back. She couldn’t even imagine the level of stress that she had undergone when she had arrived because it all seemed to have happened to a different person. She had experienced so many different kinds of stress over the past few days. She had experienced so much stress that all she could think of now was how everything had come into place after all of the chips had fallen.

She went to sleep and got up the next day feeling quite fresh. She was glad that she was feeling active. It would make it a lot easier for her to do what it was that she needed to do today. It would make it easier for her to enjoy the things that she had been enjoying up until now. It would make it easier for her to get through an entire dinner with her father, her fiancé opposite her, and the other important man in her life not even knowing what was going on between the two people he was having dinner with.

She got up and showered, remembering how things had been in Africa for a lot of people and feeling very grateful indeed that she was able to live such a privileged life. She was glad that everything that was happening was happening this way in the end. The road she had traveled had wound around quite a bit, but at the end of the day it had lead her straight to Richard. She would not have had it other way. The road that she had traveled had allowed her to grow. She had fallen in love with Richard, but perhaps he had fallen in love with the Angie that had come back from Africa. Perhaps he would not have been able to fall in love with an Angie that had stayed behind, that had lived life in New York. Perhaps it was the unique way she had grown up in Kenya, the growth that had come from all of her efforts to make all of the children that she taught have a better life.

She thought about all that she had enjoyed so far. She was grateful for all of it, and it would be worth the reaction her father would give when he was told what had been going on for so long.

She exited the bathroom and got ready. She had a busy day ahead of her. She had a lot of job interviews and a lunch with a friend that she had lost contact with after going to Africa. She had recently reestablished contact with this friend, and now was going to see her again after a long time. She might be a little distracted, but she was glad that she would have something that would allow her to take her mind off what she was going to have to do tonight.

She left for all of her errands, and by the time she got back it was time for the three of them to go to dinner. Richard was coming to pick them up and he was going to be here in an hour. She decided to start getting ready. She wore a nice dress. She wanted to look good for both her fiancé and her father, and she wanted both of them to be in a good mood. This was just her way of trying to make it so that everything went smoothly. It was rather irrelevant, because no matter how nice she was looking her father was going to have the reaction that he was going to have, regardless of what his daughter happened to be wearing at the time.

Still, she felt like she had to do something. She couldn’t just go for it and not do something or the other to make the situation as good as possible.

Richard came to pick them up and they got into the car with him.

“Hey Matt!” he said brightly. “Hey Angie.”

He was the perfect actor. He did not make it apparent at all that he and Angie had something to hide. He was acting like there was nothing at all that was going on. She was impressed to no end by his ability to pretend. It made her feel safe in a way. She knew that whatever happened, Richard would be able to handle it. This included, whatever it was that was going on, Richard was going to be able to handle it and that meant that Angie could feel relaxed.

Angie sat on the other end of the car. Her father sat in between her and Richard. This seemed like the right way to sit. Neither of them wanted him to get the wrong idea or get suspicious before they had a chance to tell him. Neither of them wanted him to react before they were ready for a reaction.

They got to the restaurant. It was the best steakhouse in the entire city. Just like Angie’s way of trying to soften the blow for her dad had been to look good, Richard’s way of trying to soften the blow was bribing her father with the best steaks that the city had to offer, Matthew’s favorite steak place in fact.

“Wow!” said Matthew. “I haven’t eaten here in a while. There are a lot of memories attached to this place. Remember the first time we won a big case, Richard? We brought the whole team here because we had been so happy.”

“I remember,” said Richard, clearly uncomfortable that his friend was being so familiar. Angie had a feeling that a part of him wanted Matthew to get angry. He wanted Matthew to be distant. After all, it would make what they were about to do so much easier than it was right now, because they wouldn’t feel so good about Matthew.

There was nothing they could do. They were going to have to tell this version of Matthew, the version that loved the both of them with all of his heart, that they had been keeping something so big from him for so long.

They entered the restaurant and ordered steaks. They ordered the best wine that the restaurant had to offer, and when Matthew was done, when he was full and slightly drunk from all of the fantastic red wine, they told him the thing that they had been dying to tell him for so long.