The Millionaires Pursuit

Chapter 45

Not even in his darkest dreams had Erik imagined he would ever see Rosaline introduce him to his ex lover, who had deviously managed to disguise herself as an unassuming friend and guest at Rosaline's birthday party. So many different thoughts and emotions were whirling around in Erik's mind, some of which he knew were borderline psychotic. He never knew he could experience such rage and fury towards one person, but it seems there was no extent to his ill feelings towards Bianca and her conniving ways. Erik was vaguely aware that Rosaline was currently in the middle of explaining how she and Bianca met, and yet he couldn't contain his concentration for longer than a few seconds given the fact that the woman who had carried his child for a short and heartbreaking portion of her life was smiling at him as if she knew every little detail concerning the damage that was about to unfold.

"Excuse me ladies I need to use the restroom." Erik casually interrupts the conversation, before swiftly moving through the house to locate the nearest bathroom.

Once inside, Erik locks the door and anxiously runs his fingers through his neat and tidy locks of hair. He tugs on the ends and screws his eyes shut in complete and utter angst. He stares down at his hands that have begun to noticeable shake and let's out an aggravated sigh upon realising how affected he has become by this situation. In all fairness however, Erik knows he has every reason to feel enraged by seeing Bianca's face, yet he also knows that should Rosaline and her family find out about his past that Erik probably won't be given a moments notice to leave, nor explain himself. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if he had to be physically removed from the premise by police. In contemplating all of these outcomes and more, Erik hardly notices the tapping coming from outside the bathroom door.

"Erik, it's me." He recognises Rosaline's angelic voice.

"I just wanted to see if you're alright? You left so suddenly, I wasn't quite sure what happened." She adds in an uncertain tone.

Rather than attempting to continue this conversation behind a door and where prying ears could hear every word exchanged between the pair of them, Erik abruptly opens the door and urges Rosaline to come inside. With a look of confusion etched across her face, she inevitably steps inside the small bathroom and looks to Erik for some sort of explanation.

"What's going on?" Rosaline asks in a puzzled voice.

For a brief moment, Erik ponders over the idea of telling Rosaline the truth about who Meghan really is. Ideally, there should be nothing stopping him from doing so but he also knows that if he were to reveal the truth to her in that moment he would risk ruining her birthday party and upset her indefinitely. On the other hand, he knows that if he chooses to keep Rosaline in the dark about his relationship with Bianca for a little while longer, at least he might be able to buy some valuable time and explain the details of their toxic love story in an environment that would enable Rosaline to ask questions. At this point, Erik knew he was far more concerned about protecting the fragility of Rosaline's heart more than anything else, which is why in that instance he chose to deflect and instead not reveal the complete truth about his unusual behaviour around Bianca.

"I'm sorry for cornering you like this sweetheart, I just needed a minute to myself." Erik truthfully admits.

"You don't need to apologise, it's alright. What's bothering you though? Is it my parents? Brothers?" Rosaline assumes with a worried look across her face.

Regrettably, Erik nods in agreement despite knowing that for once it isn't exactly Rosaline's parents or her brothers that are causing him such grief. Instead, it seems as if his troubled past has finally caught up with him and is preparing itself to destroy the only source of goodness in Erik's life.

"I thought I saw my mum and Nickolas speaking to you before? Don't tell me they're still giving you a hard time?" Rosaline is quick to deduce, before reaching for the door handle to leave.