Rise of the Billionaire actress

Esther was in her living room, late in the cool evening, and leisurely watching a program with the lights dimmed. Ever since Karen travelled, she found herself having more nights where she lounged alone, chasing some level of entertainment before she bowed out of the fight in retirement to bed.

This night was no different, she relaxed into her chair, at the brink of letting go but was jolted by three successive bangs from the front door. Her eyes flickered to the time, not expecting anyone. She warily stared at the door, wondering what and who was behind it.

” I know you are in there! Open up!” A loud, angry and unfamiliar voice came from the door.

Esther felt chilled to the bones. Was she being robbed? She scanned the room for the nearest weapon she could utilize- which ended up being an old flower vase she doubted could inflict a reasonable amount of pain.

The door frame rattled at the amount of force exerted on the bangs that followed, her heart fell into the abyss that was her guts.

She couldn’t do it, she needed help. Only then did she remember the police and her phone; But of course, at the moment she needed it most, her phone went out of power, leaving with it her supposed last resort.

Consumed by fear, she turned off the television, hoping to somehow delude him into believing her absence. Mere seconds later, she realized she might as well just yell her presence to all and sundry.

” Boy, you better get up or I’ll call the police.” The voice gritted out, not as loudly as he’d been before. ” Hey! I can see you! Open up or I’ll call the police on both you and your drunken husband!”

Esther realized, a second too late, that she unconsciously walked into the view of the angry, old man. As she stood by the TV switch, she came face to face with the man, stood akimbo in her window with a frightening countenance.

” Coming!” She retorted, her mind frantically trying to make sense of what he meant by ‘drunken husband’. On getting to the door, she mentally prepared to educate him on his mistake, while having ample weapons by the side- in cases of an unforeseen circumstance.

” Finally answered the damn door, huh?” The man said, just when the door opened. ” That would be fifty dollars.” He charged, taking out a pack of cigarettes and helping himself.

” What? Fifty-” Esther was cut off by the sight of the man doubled over by the door, a very familiar looking man who rendered her speechless at the reveal of his face. She took a close look at him, then the man, and forward to the taxi parked by the streets. It suddenly made sense.

The driver let out a puff of smoke from his nostril, ” Tell me, does he make a habit out of this?” His voice was gritty and his tone accusatory

Esther cleared her throat, ” Give me a minute.” She headed inside and a minute later, returned with a fifty dollar note. “Thank you, I’ll take it from here.” She said, actively helping a drunk ‘Daniel Greenwood’ from the floor.

” Get out before he drains you of all you’ve got. My sister’s been in that situation. Shit didn’t end pretty.” The man said with a snort, giving her a pitiful look which didn’t go down well with her.

Who gave him the right to make such rash assumptions?

In reply, she set loose a faux smile, helped them inside the house, and kicked the door behind her. It took her a second to realize she wasn’t feeling his weight so heavily.

He was walking, reducing the audacious task of taking him inside. Other than that, she realized they were alone, a fact that sent her self awareness and nerves out the roof.

Esther grew hot when she thought back on how natural and normal it felt to have him in her space. What frightened her was how perfectly he blended into her world, how perfectly he fit in and made her supposed solace wholesome.

By now, Daniel was doused in sobriety. How could he remain hazy when he’d been taken in by his queen? The silence that engulfed them felt loud.

The otherwise cool atmosphere was charged with an inexplicable amount of suppressed energy and sparks. During their brief walk to the couch, they reeled of self awareness and the parts where they connected sizzled with electricity.

He couldn’t help but submerge himself in the feeling of having her this close to him; her familiar deep and slow breath patterns, the soft flesh that was her skin and the all consuming, breath taking scent and aura she exuded.

She was just as he remembered, she aged like fine wine, curved in all the right places. Daniel gulped, feeling like a fish out of water and unconsciously breathed the air that was her. If it took his getting wasted to be afforded such a divine encounter, then he didn’t mind getting inebriated and hazy all the days of his life.

Esther felt antsy, winded and in need of space. She could feel her body awaken at his presence and her knowledge of the fact that they were alone didn’t help matters.

Her heart, in its smartest composition, chose to skip so frequently she wondered if it was normal. Daniel was assisted to the couch in barely one minute but somehow, it felt like the longest walk she’d ever participated in.

He was able to invoke feelings she killed a decade ago in barely two minutes of proximity. She dropped him on the couch and when their gaze connected, her heartbeat went wild and warning bells went off in her brains.

” I’ll get y-you some water.” She managed to say, and rushed out of his presence like one burned by a scalding hot pot.

Esther headed to the kitchen behind the living room. After making sure she was out of sight, she fell like a pack of cards by the kitchen wall. She heaved, trying to normalize her erratic heartbeat and wrap her head around the fact that Daniel was in her living room, supposedly inebriated and waiting for a glass of water.

She took the infamous breathing exercises, hoping to calm down enough to know how to function around him- an attempt that proved futile, much to her disappointment.

Like a wounded lion, she got up, angered at her natural reaction to him.

The fact she couldn’t get a hold of herself was an insult to the years she invested in building a mental and emotional fort around her. Who did he think he was, walking in here and disarming her?

Esther straightened up, tested her wavering steps, poured out a glass of water, and talked herself to reasoning – using the one person she’s always used to curtail whatever semblance of emotions seeping out of her.

Deloise.

She couldn’t afford any slip up now, she was out of that web, and would do everything possible to clean up whatever was left of the situation. Esther walked into the living room like a woman with a purpose, upon seeing him, her steps faltered and she felt a familiar prick in her heart.

She remained undeterred, refusing to bow to the pressure and kept her walls even more guarded as she contemplated the best way to clean things up. Once and for all.

Daniel felt Esther approach before he saw her. When she entered his line of sight, he didn’t believe he could fall any deeper in love with her than he already was, but once again, she disputed that possibility. As she approached him, even in his tipsy state, he knew if she touched him again, he’d be putty in her hands.

” Here.” She said, handing over a filled glass while trying her best to avoid any kind of contact. Only then did he notice the aura around her. It pained him to think she found him a nuisance to her when everything else faded to the background when she stepped into the room.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

The words were out before he could stop them, ” I’m sorry to be a bother, I’ll be on my way if that’s what you need.”