The CEO’s Second Choice

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“Elena! Lovely seeing you again!” Came the cheery voice of Meghan as she saunters into the villa. She was dragging a garment rack behind her before she enveloped me in a hug. Her Dior scent was lovely, and it brought a smile to my face. “Lovely to see you as well, Meghan. How was the flight over?” I ask her, and we make polite conversation. We had bonded over the dress design, and I quite liked her.

“You need to see how this dress turned out! Oh, you will be in absolute love!” She says with excitement to her voice that causes me to get hyped up as well. We walked over to the garment rack and as she unzipped the dress, my heart rate rose. It wasn’t just beautiful, it was exquisite! The rose gold shimmered in the light sweetheart neckline that would amplify my modest bosom, and the long-sleeved shawl/bolero with Queen Anne neckline would keep the chill away. The dress had me melting!

“I… I do not know how to express my feelings right now!” I tell her with tears in her eyes and wrap my arms around her again. She smiles and giggles at my response. “I wish I got this response from all my other clients!” She says as I let go of her and we walk up the stairs to the master bedroom.

Meghan frowns when she steps into the bedroom. “We weren’t in here last time, were we?” she says, clearly confused. I chuckle. “No, this is Sebastian and my room. Come into the walk-in and we can get this started!” I tell her and she follows me in.

20 minutes later, she was the one with tears in her eyes as she regarded me with wonder. “You make this dress what it is! On a mannequin is one thing but on you… gorgeous!” She gushes as she walks around me, taking the dress in. I stared at myself in the mirror and could see what she meant. My curves were not hidden away, instead, they were accentuated by the waistline and hugged my body comfortably. “I will definitely use you again, Meghan. Thank you for this.” I say, and we hug once more.

She helps me get out of the gown and we walk down the stairs, “Ready for tonight?” She asks, and I nod. I had no choice but to be ready, and this time I would not be alone; I would have Sebastian at my side. He loved my body and worshipped it, whereas at every other Winter Ball my mother would make rude comments about my weight and curves.

How did I put up with it for so long? Was it because she was my mother and had a say in my entire life? If there is one thing this marriage has taught me, it is that you need to remove all the toxic people from your life. I have not spoken to my mother since I left our wedding reception. Her behaviour there proved to me that she never thought of me as a daughter.

“As ready as I’ll ever be, tonight will be different, I can feel it,” I tell her, and she offers me a smile. We said our goodbyes, and I wandered to the kitchen, as I suddenly felt peckish.

“Ah, Mrs Dumont! Would you like some breakfast?” Ilse offers me as I take a seat in the breakfast nook. I nod, “Please, Ilse! A full English, if you don’t mind! I am ravenous and feeling brave this morning.” I say, and I notice the big smile on her face.

I watch her as she prepares the food with a smile, the smell of garlic mushrooms making my mouth water! As she placed my food in front of me, she sighs, “It is lovely to see you and Mr Dumont smiling and in love! It has brightened up the entire household!” She says with glistening eyes while beaming at me. I couldn’t help it. My bottom lip trembled, and I enveloped her in a hug. “Thank you, Ilse! I am done fighting what I feel for Sebastian, and ever since I gave into my feelings, I feel a thousand times lighter!” I say with honesty and she nods, not needing a further explanation, and she leaves me to eat in silence.

After breakfast, I headed back up to the bedroom so I could do some research about Oxford. I would still love to get a degree behind my name, even if it was only English Literature. After about 5 hours of vigorous searching and reading, I discovered that there would be an Open Day with Oxford Alumni who have made a name for themselves in English Lit. If I am happy and taken by the course, I have to write the admission tests and submit a paper. Seems easy enough.

The next Open Day was in a month’s time, so plenty of time to get myself ready. When I submitted my admission to Harvard, I did not have this feeling of contentment over my heart as I did with the prospect of studying at Oxford. I was trying to run away from a life where I had the tools to make something of myself, but I am only realising this after moving away from my family.

It seems that they were the ones keeping me tethered to the life of an heiress.

The next few hours pass by in a blur and at 4 pm, Jean-Pierre and Sasha arrive to beautify me. “Elena!” Jean-Pierre gushes in his gorgeous French accent as they walk into my shared room with Sebastian. They regard me with curiosity, until Jean-Pierre speaks up, “So… you and Sebastian…?

I blush at this and both he and Sasha shriek, “Oh my gods, you naughty minx!” Sasha says as we walk towards the bathroom to wash my hair. These two!

“Yes! Sebastian and I are together…together.” I say, not sure of how to put it into words. I have told no one about this yet, tonight they would all see. Jean-Pierre flashes me a sly look as Sasha wets my hair at the basin, “How is he in bed?” He asks, and I nearly jump up from my seat, but Sasha pushes me down and glares at him. “How rude, Jean-Pierre!” I cry out, but all they do is giggle at me.

Dare I tell them about this morning? No! Definitely not!

“I am only curious as to how billionaires are in bed,” he says, feigning innocence and shrugging. This causes me to giggle uncontrollably, and Sasha directs her glare at me. “Sorry! Sorry!” I apologise and she sits me up, wrapping a towel around my hair.

I stand up and look at them both. “Let’s just say I do not think I will ever tire of Sebastian Dumont,” I say with a sly smile, and both their jaws hit the floor. Sauntering out, they skitter after me and that was the end of that conversation.

They’re used to me being the outspoken and rebellious one, so the fact that I was keeping quiet about something like this really bothered them. They spent the next hour trying to get me to reveal more, but my lips were sealed!

After making me look gorgeous, they help me into my ball gown and I turn to look at myself in the mirror. Eliana was always the rose, the proper lady… the beautiful one. But tonight, I will be all of those. The dress, my hair and makeup all brought my look together. Does love do this? Does happiness cause you to see yourself in a different light?

My transformation can attest to this.

“Exquise,” I heard my husband’s silky voice behind me and knew he had arrived home. He must have taken the Phantom today because I didn’t even hear his car pull up. I turn around to face him and he walks towards me, smiling, with eyes full of love. This made me blush and my eyes darted to Jean-Pierre and Sasha in the doorway; their eyes were as big as saucers.

He kissed my cheek and his familiar scent had me aching for him, an ache I did not even know existed in loins!

“Ready to go?” He asks and I nod, then I take in his attire, noting the gorgeous three-piece Tom Ford suit and how well it clung to his body. “I am,” I answer him, then I walk towards Jean-Pierre and Sasha. “Thank you, loves. You have really done an exceptional job on me today!” I tell them and embrace them both. Jean-Pierre shakes his head. “We only accentuated your beauty, Elena.” He says as he grabs his implements and they wave goodbye.

“He’s right, you know,” Sebastian says behind me and I smile, feeling beautiful for a change. Tonight I would not compare myself to anyone. Tonight I would be Elena Dumont, heiress and Sebastian Dumont’s wife.

Sebastian slips his hand into mine and we walk out, ready to face the public as husband and wife.