The Contract With Her Father's Billionaire Rival-Chapter 88. Suzie—The Escape.

"What do you think of this place?" Richard asked with a warm smile.

Suzie took in the building, her heart pounding. The apartment was beautiful with sophisticated designs. Just when she thought she couldn’t be more impressed, this place took the cake.

The living room was spacious, with a large TV mounted above a fireplace. Though she couldn’t tell if the fireplace was real or decorative.

"It’s beautiful. I love it," she said, her voice filled with emotion as she looked around.

Richard chuckled, pleased by her response. "I’m glad you love it. It’s equipped with a top-notch security system, so you have nothing to worry about. No one can get to you here."

She nodded, her heart swelling.

"Mummy, circle!" Walter cheered, running to a corner of the room and pointing upward.

Her eyes followed his little finger, landing on a circular ceiling bulb. "Yes! Circle!"

"Good job, buddy!" Richard said, clapping.

Walter gave one of his shy smiles and did his little dance. Richard laughed, his blue eyes widening with surprise.

"You can dance!"

"He can," Suzie said, joining in the laughter.

For a moment, bliss filled her. For a moment, nothing mattered. She forgot her pain, her worry, and she just laughed till she almost cried.

Until she did cry.

"Hey, hey," Richard said, rushing to her side.

She tried to swallow the tears, but they rushed out uncontrollably. Richard opened his arms, and she stepped into them, sobbing.

After a few seconds, she straightened up. "I’m sorry."

"Don’t apologize," Richard said gently, offering a soft smile. "You’re safe now. It’s okay to cry."

She nodded, biting her lip to hold back the rest of the tears. Damn Troy for making her this vulnerable. Damn him for making her uncomfortable, for unsettling her simple life.

She hiccuped and wiped her eyes as a single tear slipped down.

Taking a deep breath, she gathered herself. "Thank you. I’m sorry."

"It’s okay," Richard said. "You really don’t have to be."

She gave him a small, grateful smile.

He stood there for a moment, watching her. She could tell he wasn’t sure what to say next, so she took the lead.

"Thank you for giving us this place."

"You’re welcome. Want to check around?"

"Sure."

Richard led her to the kitchen, which was fully stocked with food. Her stomach sank at the sight—so much variety.

"I come here twice a month when I need to escape the outside world," Richard said, noticing her reaction.

"I get you."

But she didn’t.

He was a wealthy man, and she couldn’t understand his own version of escape. She had to hustle everyday just to feed her son. Escape wasn’t a luxury she had ever known.

"If... it’s not up to your standard, I can have it restocked tomorrow. Cool?" he asked sheepishly.

"Restocked? You have everything here," she said, walking over to the cabinets.

Oh Lord, there was food everywhere. Snacks, cereals, even healthy options.

When was the last time she had healthy food?

Maybe on days Walter didn’t finish his plate. She often survived on junk just to make sure he ate right. After Nicolette walked away from her father’s house, things only got harder.

"I mean... I don’t have... kids’ food," Richard said, rubbing his neck.

She chuckled, amused by his embarrassment. "He eats grown-up food. Just in small portions."

"Oh." His blush deepened. "I didn’t know."

"Yeah," she said, smiling at his innocence.

He shifted awkwardly. "Want to check the rest?"

"Yes, sure."

They returned to the living room, where Walter was poking around the fireplace.

"Is that real?" she asked.

Richard raised an eyebrow. "Real?"

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Rich people and rich things.

"I mean, I thought it was just for decoration..."

"Oh," he said, his face lighting up. "It’s real. I use it during the winter. I guess I’m old-school, I prefer it over those modern heating systems."

She had no idea what heating systems he was talking about, but she nodded.

They stood there in an awkward silence before he cleared his throat.

"Shall we?" he asked, gesturing behind him.

"Yes." She turned to Walter. "Let’s go, baby."

She held his hand, and together they followed Richard.

"It’s just two rooms. One downstairs, one upstairs," he explained. "I wanted something cozy."

"Oh, I get," she said.

This she understood. Cozy—small—had been her theme every day until Le Rez.

Richard opened the downstairs room, revealing a massive space painted in white. But there was nothing cozy about it, it was bigger than her entire apartment.

Was this what rich people called cozy?

"It’s beautiful, right?" he asked.

She nodded. It was indeed beautiful. There was something soothing about it, maybe because the view outside was a small garden.

"You’re free to stay in whichever room you like," Richard said. "Want to check upstairs?"

She followed him up. As soon as she entered, she gasped. The room was painted green, decorated with music-themed art.

Clearly, this was Richard’s room.

"Sorry about the decor," he said, a little flustered. "I’m a huge rock and roll fan."

"It’s beautiful," she said.

A real guitar hung on the wall, next to a huge black-and-white photo of a man with wild hair and dark eye makeup.

The room was neat and unexpectedly inviting. For some odd reason, she was more inclined to sleep in this room than the one downstairs.

"Thank you," Richard said, his cheeks reddening. "You’ll have the security code to the house. I’m the only one who knows it. Once you’re inside, no one can get in unless you share the code."

Panic crept in. What if something happened to her and no one could reach her?

"Sure," she replied with a strained smile, not wanting to show her panic.

Too late. Richard noticed it.

"Nothing will happen to you," he said gently. "There are twenty security guards around the building," he added softly, stepping closer. He placed his hand on her shoulder and a chill raced through her.

What was that?

"I’ll come by once a day if that helps."

She nodded, unwilling to react to his touch.

"You can call me anytime. There’s an emergency button downstairs, when you click it, it immediately alerts the police."

"Alright," she said tightly, a small gasp escaping her lips.

He quickly withdrew his hand and stepped back, clearing his throat. "Uh, the cleaner comes every Thursday."

Damn Susanne! What was that?

She lowered her gaze, her cheeks burning. "Thank you."

"You’re welcome."

They stood in silence, neither meeting the other’s gaze.

"You—"

"We—"

They spoke at once, then laughed awkwardly.

"Let’s head back down," Richard said.

"Yeah."

She picked up Walter, who was busy naming shapes, and followed Richard downstairs.

He walked to a picture frame and lifted it. "This is the emergency button. Press it, and the police will be here in five minutes."

She saw the large red button and nodded. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"There’s a phone around the corner," he added, gesturing. "In case you need to call someone. Sometimes the server here can be a bit iffy. There’s also a pool in the backyard, in case you want to use it."

The mention of the pool made her heart flutter. Her body instantly longed for it.

"Thank you so much, sir. I really appreciate it."

"You’re welcome, ma’am," he said with a smile. "I’ll leave you now. I know you’ve had a long day."

He moved to pick up her suitcases.

"Oh, don’t worry, I’ll handle that," she said quickly.

"I just want to help."

"You’ve done enough, Mr. Allens. Thank you."

He nodded. "Alright. Have a lovely night."

"Thank you. You too."

"The code is eight-seven-nine," he said. "Easy to remember."

"Eight, seven, nine," she repeated. "Got it."

"Alright. Bye-bye, little man."

"Bye," she and Walter said, waving.

Once Richard left, Suzie sighed deeply. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She had finally gotten help—real, tangible help. Exactly when she needed it.

Walter yawned.

"Oh, someone’s sleepy," she said, tickling him.

Walter giggled, kicking his legs in delight.

"But we have to eat first."

She took him to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and scanned the options.

What to make?

Oatmeal. Milk. Carrots. Bananas.

Her mind got to work, and she mashed something up. She fed Walter, finished the leftovers, then took him to the white room.

After giving him a quick bath, she laid with him until he fell asleep.

Then she went to find the pool.

Just like Richard said, it was in the backyard. She gasped at its size. The water looked pure under the moon, so pure she couldn’t resist.

She stripped and dipped, her tension melting away as she swam. Her thoughts drifted to Troy, to work, to Mrs. Wahlberg, but they didn’t hurt at all. They were just there—floating, tensionless.

She swam, enjoying the water until her thoughts faded, then she climbed out. She grabbed a towel from the nearby stack at the edge of the pool, wrapped it around herself and left there.

After checking on Walter, who was still sleeping, she made her way to the kitchen to make something for herself.

But just as she entered the living room, she heard the sound of the front door and she jumped.

Before she could move, Richard appeared in the living room.

"Mr. Allens!" she gasped.

"Oh, I’m sorry," Richard said quickly, but he didn’t turn away. His blue eyes softened as they lingered on her neck.

She swallowed hard, unable to move. Her body responded to his gaze in ways she thought she had lost—ways she thought she had buried.

Her stomach tightened. Her nipples hardened against the towel.

"I... I forgot to take something," he said, finally looking away, clearly flustered. "I’ll just grab it."

He moved past her quickly as she dashed to the kitchen, her heart racing.

What was that?

What just happened?

She clutched her chest to calm her heart.

That look in his eyes... had she imagined it?

Mr. Allens was off-limits.

She knew that. She knew that!

Yet, she waited until she was sure he had left the living room before stepping out.