The Troubled Billionaire

Chapter 1: The Envelope

Three days. Seventy-two hours. Four thousand three hundred twenty minutes. Two hundred fifty-nine thousand two hundred seconds. That's how long since Chase, Zyljan, Aiden and I found something that made me rethink everything that happened in my life. I can't deny that it left me really shocked and speechless, so every time I think about it, I tend to space out all the time.

Of course, we didn't tell our parents about what we saw; it was our dirty little secret — just like how they have theirs.

I shouldn't even think about what we saw, it probably meant nothing anyway. It was probably just those same old threats my parents get every month. I shouldn't really be worried and bothered about it that much.

"Amber?" I heard Chase's voice say beside me, but I was still too caught up in my thoughts to bother and talk to him.

Believe me, I love him, but my thoughts are eating me away.

"Teddy Bear?"

I still didn't say anything.

"Babe?"

I finally turned to look at him and saw that most of our friends are already looking at me in wonder and curiousness. I looked at them. "What?"

"Chase kept calling you, but you didn't say anything." Paige said and I blinked a couple of times before nodding my head at her.

"Is something bothering you?" Sophie asked. "You've been spacing out a lot lately, and it's beginning to worry us."

I looked at Chase and saw that he was already looking back at me. He gave me a small smile, and I can't help but smile back at him. Just by that simple smile, I know everything is going to be fine. Maybe not now, but it definitely will. It's like he's my reassurance in everything, the therapy I never thought I needed.

I squeezed his hand tightly and he squeezed back with the same force. He looked back at our friends and gave them a smile. "Amber has just a lot on her mind lately. She's fine, there's nothing to worry about."

I heard an inaudible gasp coming from my left side. "Amber, are you pregnant?" Hannah asked.

My eyes snapped to look at her and my eyes widened at what she said. Dylan, Drake, and Stacy are looking at me and Chase back and forth; Shane looked at his girlfriend in complete and utter shock; Ian and Blake smirked at us; Sophie and Paige are quiet — it's clear that they don't know what to say. Aiden and Zyljan choked on the shakes they were drinking, and they kept on coughing like there's no tomorrow. Brian and Sean laughed loudly, making Chase to smirk at them.

They all looked at me, anticipating and waiting what my answer is. Where did Hannah get that goddamn idea? "Of course not!" I said with finality in my voice and I heard most — probably all — of them sigh in relief.

"For a minute there, I thought you were pregnant." Hannah said with a laugh. I laughed along with her while shaking my head. This girl has crazy thoughts.

"This is fun and all, but I have something to tell all of you." Stacy said while constantly looking at each of us. She has this nervous look on her eyes, and just by the way her fingers are shaking, I can tell it isn't anything remotely good.

"What is it?" I asked, curiosity lacing in my voice.

She looked at Ian for some kind of support, I guess, but even Ian is looking at her with a confused and curious expression. I looked at her once again, seeing her once sparkly blue eyes water and become dull. She sighed and tried to wipe away her falling tears nonchalantly.

I was about to wrap an arm around her, but Ian was quick to hug his girlfriend. Usually when someone hugs her, she begins to cry. But this time, I'm surprised she didn't. This isn't exactly the same Stacy.