Chapter 1 Jayden Cross

• Talia
• All rich people go to hell.
• I was made to believe that for most of my childhood. Rich people were vile, rich people were entitled, and rich people made the world a horrible place, so therefore, they were bound to suffer for the rest of eternity, right?
• Bullshit.
• Now, as a grown woman, I had been made to understand that nothing made the world go round as well as money did. Therefore, if riches were for demons, then, maybe, just maybe, I might as well be the devil herself.
• "Wine."
• I extended a hand, gracefully and confidently, expecting at my simple order, my cup be refilled.
• "Yes, Ma'am," There was a whole racket in the dressing room, and the maids were quick, up and about on my request, making sure to do exactly as I say, and without much waste of time.
• With a careful sip from my wine cup, I smiled to myself, in perfect peace and harmony, in satisfaction, admiring the beautiful angel that stared right back at me in the vanity mirror.
• She was a girl I almost didn't recognize.
• There was a time she didn't have such a perfect life - no maids who ran at her order, no food on her table, no expensive dresses and flamboyant lifestyle to flaunt, but it had been a while now that things had changed, and as a matter of fact, I couldn't be more proud of the girl I was staring at, at the mirror.
• There she was, sitting all pretty and sophisticated in her luxurious dressing room - a room that looked like it was worth the fortune it probably was. Lighted, pretty vanity mirrors at every corner, ornaments of gold at the corners of the room, the most magnificent furniture, and tiles of diamonds on the ground.
• She didn't have to do any work on her own just like she used to in the past. Or buy food at low quality restaurants that sell sour food. Neither did she have to keep on owing some never ending rent for a nasty, obnoxious, possibly perverted landlord and his horrible, roaches and rodents infested apartment; all of that hard knock life was gone because she was rich now.
• I was rich now; Life was easier. It couldn't get any better.
• And to top it all off, I, Talia Bailey, now, Mrs Talia Cross, was famously known as the wife of Mr. Jayden Cross - the devilishly hot, stinking rich billionaire. A man who had possibly all the ladies in the entire population of the city of Miami, falling head over heels and hopelessly for him.
• My sister, for one, could never stop to remind me that I might as well be the luckiest woman alive.
• "Mrs Cross, your makeover session is completed," Yasmin announced softly, just as soon as she was done, blending in my bronzer, putting her finishing touch in perfect place.
• The maids and makeup artists in the room seemed to stand at attention at my silence, almost like they were getting ready to hear from me, what I had to say, about their work on me.
• Needless to say, whether I liked how I looked mattered nonetheless, and what mattered was what my husband, Jayden Cross, had to say about it. It was his approval that mattered.
• The reason was because, today, being the 15th day of April, marked exactly one year since his business had made a remarkable record with it's newest sales. The - a multi million earning shoe brand owned by my husband was the reason he amassed a stunning net worth of over ninety billion dollars. Needless to say, tonight, in his large cape cod mansion, we had almost a thousand of important guests downstairs, joining in the party to make merry and celebrate a year of one of his latest sales anniversary.
• A party at a place like my husband's house was a big deal. Not only because so many influential, bloody wealthy people would be meeting in his large, luxurious hall of the mansion, but the media was not going to give us any bit of rest as well. Indeed, he was so much of a big deal that the media took any chance they could get to make a new story about the world's most handsome billionaire.
• And if there was anything I had learned to understand about the man, it was that Jayden Cross absolutely hated to look bad in the public eye.
• For that very reason, he had demanded that his wife, his most prized possession in fact, must look as stunning and wickedly gorgeous as she could be, which meant I had to impress everyone.
• And failure to meet that demand and disobey him tonight would definitely cost these workers their jobs in a heartbeat.
• They might as well hang themselves if that were to happen because nowhere on the planet would they ever find another job that will pay them even quarter the income that Mr. Cross paid them.
• "I like it." I declared at one glance of the mirror, and there was a large sigh of relief in the room.
• I did like it.
• My brown hair was made silk and long, and curled into wavy lengths, just the best way it could be. I loved even more, how neat my skin was, how clear and flawless it looked, and how it glowed as the multiple golden rays of the lights of the vanity mirror shone on it, popping out in all it's beauty, that soft green of my almond shaped eyes.
• The smokey eye effect was worth admiring too; it was a look that Jayden Cross absolutely adored on me. The red lip gloss on my full, supple lips were a necessity as well, because he particularly said he liked how I looked in red. For that same reason, my dress was red, off the shoulders, and long, flowing right behind me and practically sweeping the floor - a dress that would drop jaws on sight, but at the same time, appease my husband, having he had made it clear to me that he hated to let anyone else see my legs as they so were his favorite part of my body.
• In all honesty, I loved how I looked.
• But, unfortunately, what I loved would not even matter as little as a penny if Jayden Cross thought otherwise tonight.
• "Mr Cross wants to see Mrs Cross," Oliver, the butler announced as he stepped into the room, the middle aged blonde man was formerly cloud in a tuxedo and a tie that was his usual uniform.
• Fingers crossed.
• Assisted by dozens of maids rushing at my sides, I fell into prim and proper steps, lightly knocking my glass shoes against the floor as I walked daintily and carefully out of the room.
• I had to walk with poise and grace.
• After all, I was the wife of Jayden Cross.
• I could not do anything to make him look bad, that was the deal.
• "I can take it from here," I passed an order to the maids to leave me alone and get on with their business, when they had walked all the way with me, to the large spiral stairway, made of gold protectors and shiny steps - a long stairway that would lead me straight to the huge hall were the party was happening.
• With a sigh of preparation, I prepared myself, fell back into step, and made my way downstairs to meet the public eyes, praying within me that Jayden would see me and put a smile on his face in approval.
• And good graces were upon me.
• Cameras were launched my way, and eyes met my frame as I walked down the stairway like a queen, and in turn, gasps were heard from side to side, and there were side talks, a lot of them.
• In order words, I stole the attention of the whole party.
• It was good attention; The smile of approval on the face of Jayden Cross said it all.
• My billionaire husband stood there at the foot of the stairway, in all his glory and blinding handsomeness. The man was twice as handsome as the devil himself, sprouting an incredible build that made you wonder if he took bodybuilding as a second career after making such bastard money. His hair, long and dark, rolled at the middle of his hair, in a neat, incredible man bun, the tan on his skin, perfect and precise, and with hazel eyes that were struck with awe, a charming smile that could melt dozens of hearts, and an outstretched hand towards me, he took the pleasure of announcing, indirectly, to everyone in the room that I belonged to him and him alone.
• "You look stunning." He complimented for everyone to hear and coo, took my hand in his, and helped me down the stairs as a massive round of deafening applause filled the air, exploded like a bomb in the entire hall.
• "Let's welcome Mr Jayden Cross, and his lovely wife, Talia!" The party host had added fire by further announcing our presence to everyone whom by now already knew of it.
• Jayden was a man of public display of affection, so using the opportunity, he made sure to kiss me right in front of everyone in the room, fuelling all their excitement even more.
• The media was in a frenzy. Outside the mansion, inside the mansion, everywhere, camera lights flashed at us, from every angle, and I knew it first hand that even as early as tonight, our names were going to be everywhere on the Internet, everywhere on the news, and everywhere on the papers.
• Of course, Mr and Mrs Jayden Cross were the power couple of Miami - We were a huge deal.
• "Walk with me, darling," He whispered as he led me to the grand table, to the seat specially for me and him, two seats that more or less looked like two massive thrones.
• Deciding to fuel the public even more, he showed everyone his love for me, by offering to have me have a seat first, before proceeding to his seat.
• "Thank you, sweet heart," I smiled, and everyone was elated by us, blushing in utmost delight.
• "Anything for my beautiful darling," He blessed me with that charming smile before we decided to share a toast together - an action that, in all our influence, the entire hall decided to join in for.
• Well, this didn't start off so bad for us.
• And hopefully, it won't end badly either.
• To make sure of it, in the middle of all the jeering and celebrating, Jayden made sure to tilt his head to me and remind me of one more thing.
• "Remember, we are in an agreement," He said to me, "A contract - and the terms and conditions, which you already know about, are not things I like to mess with. Pull this night off one more time, and you get your share of it. Otherwise, you lose out and go back to your old life."
• That was a reality check and it hit me hard. So hard.
• Of course, sometimes, I tend to forget. Mr Jayden Cross and I were under a contract to act as a married couple to the public eye, and make the whole world believe that we were completely and head over heels in love with each other.
• That was it. So, there you have it - Miami's power couple was all just one big, twisted loop of lies.