Page 27 of Billionaire’s Promise

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While we were waiting for the food to arrive, Kai took the opportunity to have a shower and change out of his suit. Like a lot of Asian men, Kai wore his trousers shorter than most western men, showing off their ankles. A lot of them either wore those tiny invisible socks or didn’t bother with any. To me, it was an odd and ridiculous fashion trend. It somehow looked good on him, though.

Clare and Dave appeared from nowhere and started helping out with setting up the table, whispering quietly to each other as they worked. Dave let out a laugh so loud that it shook the table. Who knew that a 6 ft ex-military tough guy who could kill with a look had such a great sense of humor. No one would have guessed that they were bodyguards at all.

There were fourteen rooms in this apartment.

Fourteen.

I thought that my little apartment was too much for just me. Mom had repeatedly said that I could have stayed at Dad’s, or with Liam. And that I was taking away a home from some homeless person.

I knew it was nonsense, but I couldn’t help feeling guilty for ages after I made the purchase. My conscience kept reminding me that there were starving and homeless people in the world who would die for just a fraction of the space I had.

Kai came from money. That was no secret. Although I had met plenty of rich people in my life, I had never seen rich like Asian rich. They simply knew how to spend their money. Or not to.

“You like?” His voice startled me as I stared at a remarkable painting in front of me, hanging proudly on the large wall in the living room.

“Yes.” It was a beautiful painting indeed, but I was in fact staring into nothing.

“Leonardo, I think,” he said nonchalantly.

“Da Vinci?” I couldn’t believe what I heard.

Well, I shouldn’t be surprised.

Actually, could people buy a painting like that?

“Yes, who else? Not from the Wolf of Wall Street I hope.” He answered with a twinkle in his eyes.

I smiled. Not because the joke was funny. Or that I was impressed by the painting – even though the painting was genuinely impressive. But seeing Kai relax was such a relief.

“What is it called?” I might know a few famous paintings, but I knew very little about art, and I wasn’t about to pretend. I had dedicated my life to medicine, and I wasn’t going to apologize for being uncultured.

“Who cares.”

I didn’t have a clue what Kai meant. When someone owned such an expensive item, they should at least know what the heck the painting was called. “Didn’t you buy this?”

“Not quite.”

“What? Please, don’t tell me you stole this?” I couldn’t believe what I was even asking. “Oh, wait.”

“Kind of.”

Oh no, I thought I was going to faint.

A painting like this must have been worth hundreds of millions, right? I wanted to check on my phone and find out which Da Vinci painting had gone missing. But then if it was indeed stolen, it would be all over the news. There must be people out there hunting for it.

“I stole it from her lover,” he sort of elaborated.

“Fuck, can you please stop talking in riddles. It isn’t funny to joke about these things.”

“I won it in a bet from a friend, I think. Or I might have had someone win it for me in an auction. To be honest, I don’t really remember. All I know is that it looks nice on my wall.”

Phew, I felt a relief as I dried the cold sweat that had started to form inside my palms.

“I gifted it to you, asshole.” Jenny dragged her tired body down the stairs. Nobody could see her from the living room, but she had one of those voices that traveled well even in a large and crowded space.

“Are you sure? Did I not win a bet with your husband-” he stopped. It just occurred to him that mentioning her husband might be triggering.