03 | An Opportunity, Part 1 (Bella)

// Amabella's POV //

I had another dirty dream about my stepfather last night.

It was scarily vivid and highly inappropriate. I wish I could have forgotten it immediately after waking up this morning, which is what usually happens with most of my dreams. Instead, this one stayed with me. Taunted me. I could barely look at my reflection in the mirror as I brushed my teeth because of how much shame I felt.

I fully acknowledge that I'm a sick individual for wanting to fuck my mother's new husband. And if I don't move out of here soon, I'm afraid that might eventually happen.

"Bella, darling?" Mom reaches across the kitchen table and snaps her fingers in front of my face. I look up from my half-eaten bowl of cereal to meet her concerned blue eyes. "Kaden asked you a question. Aren't you going to answer him?"

"Oh. Right. Sorry." I casually resume stirring the soggy cereal, trying to appear unbothered by Kaden's overt staring. "I'm settling in just fine," I answer his question, proving that I've been half-paying attention. "Anyway, Mom. I need a favor. Think I can borrow your car this afternoon?"

"For?" she asks.

"Shopping. I have a job interview on Friday, and I have nothing to wear because all my best clothes got destroyed in the fire." I pause when she gives me a hesitant look. "I promise I'll be careful in your car. If mine wasn't still in the shop, I wouldn't even be asking for yours."

"The shop?" Kaden interjects. "What happened to your car, Bella?"

"I was on the way home from a friend's house one night when I got surprised by a deer," I answer without looking at him. "My car got totaled, but I walked away unscathed."

"Only by the grace of God," Mom adds with an exaggerated sigh. "Second to her calling me about her apartment being on fire, that night will be one I'll never forget."

"I'm sorry that happened to you, Bella. It must have been a terrifying ordeal." Kaden reaches over to touch my free hand, placing his large palm over mine. I finally look his way, immediately getting lost in his dreamy green eyes. "I'm glad you made it out safely."

"I-It was a while ago, but thanks." I grip the spoon tightly with my other hand, doing whatever to keep from reaching after Kaden when he pulls away. He breaks eye contact first, releasing me from the trance I'd fallen in. "So, Mom..." I clear my throat and push my cereal bowl away from me, no longer having an appetite. "Can I use your car or what?"

"Bella, you know I work crazy hours during the week. I'll be needing the car for the rest of the day. But Kaden has today off and I'm sure he won't mind playing chauffeur for his stepdaughter." Mom flashes Kaden a bright smile. The same one she used on my father to make him cave to her wild requests. "Right, honey?"

"Of course." Kaden smiles back at her and then looks at me again. "I'd be more than happy to help out."

"That's nice, but you really don't have to." I give him a panicked look. The type of trouble that we could get into when left alone is endless. "I can just call an Uber or something."

"Darling, stop being dramatic," Mom laughs. "You're not wasting money on an Uber when your stepfather is more than capable of taking you wherever you need to go."

"Listen, Bella. You've only been here for a few weeks, and we're still getting to know each other, so I understand you may feel uncomfortable asking me for things. But your mother and I are one now, and I need you to realize that this house and everything in it..." Kaden pauses, having unnecessarily emphasized the word 'everything.' "It is yours as much as it is your mother's. Whatever you need, all you have to do is ask and I'll do my best to get it for you."

Wow. Kaden fucking Matthews, ladies and gentlemen! I feel like I should stand and give him a round of applause for that gem of a performance.

"If what's yours is mine, does that also include all the fancy cars sitting inside the garage?" I question him, curious to know which buttons I can push. "And the motorcycles, too?"

"The keys are hanging on the wall. You can drive any car you'd like, but not the motorcycles." Kaden smirks, then he gives me a dark look that might have set my mother off if she wasn't so damn oblivious. "No one touches the motorcycles but me."

"And why is that?"

"Two reasons: they can be extremely dangerous machines when misused, and I highly doubt anyone here can handle them like I can."

"It's kind of sexist for you to assume that I don't know how to ride a motorcycle."

"Do you?"

"No. But your assumption that I didn't is still sexist."

"Enough, Bella!" Mom exclaims, preventing me from teasing Kaden any further. "Stop giving your stepfather a hard time. You know he didn't mean it like that."

I revert to ignoring them again.

I wish I were anywhere else but here. Ever since my mother called me downstairs to have breakfast with her and Kaden for 'family bonding time' or whatever she called it, I've been trying my best to make it look like I have all my shit together. In reality, I'm falling apart at the seams. And it's all thanks to the dark-haired, green-eyed, built like a Greek God of a man that's sitting at the head of the kitchen table.

According to my research, as COO of his family's business, my stepfather is a very powerful man. Having eavesdropped on a few of his phone calls, he's also a candidate for the CEO position that will need to be filled after his father retires next year. Their privately owned company, Fortran Inc., is one of the biggest steel manufacturing companies in the world. Kaden's net worth is astronomically high, and if I believed in his marriage to my mother, I'd say she hit the jackpot.

"I'll get in late tonight as usual, so neither of you wait up for me." Mom stands about ten minutes later to clear her plate. She returns to the table and gives me a peck on the cheek. Kaden receives a robotic kiss on the lips before she scurries out of the kitchen.

I follow her lead and run upstairs to lock myself inside my bedroom. It's obnoxiously huge and yet another reminder that Kaden Matthews is rich as shit. From his mansion of a home to the backyard that is big enough to fit *another* house, his wealth shows itself everywhere I look.

But I don't have time to obsess over how long Kaden's money is, not when I still have a job to complete by proving that he and my mother are up to no good.

For weeks, I've been watching how they interact with each other, and it's more like they're roommates than a married couple. I rarely see them hang out around the house together, and I feel like I never see them be affectionate with each other. That only happens if I'm in the room with them, which is another red flag. And for them to be newlyweds, I haven't heard the words 'I love you' get passed around nearly enough.

Taking all that into account, I won't be shocked to find out they're also lying about their sleeping arrangement. They may go into Kaden's bedroom every night, but something in my gut tells me they don't sleep together. Part of me hopes they don't.

"Bella?"

The knock on my door startles me and I almost drop my cell phone on my face.

I roll out of bed and mentally prepare myself for whatever conversation Kaden is seeking to have. I open the door, and he just stares at me. His green eyes speak a thousand words, and his expression makes me feel as if he can see right through my thin tank top and shorts.

"Kaden?" I break the awkward silence. Clearly, I'm not the only one in this house struggling with feelings that I shouldn't have. "Is there something you need from me?"

"Yeah, I just... You didn't give me a time back at the table, so I wanted to ask when you'd like to go shopping this afternoon."

I laugh and shake my head. "Please forget what my mom said. I don't need you to be my chauffeur to the mall. I can drive myself using one of your cars."

"I'm sure you can, but your mother thinks I'll be going with you, so I'd like to tag along for her peace of mind," he says. "God forbid you go alone and get into another accident. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if such a thing were to happen."

I want to scoff and slam the door in his face. I don't know what type of game it is that he's trying to play with me, but at the last second, I decide to go along with it. He has unknowingly presented me with an opportunity that, if executed correctly, will finally get me answers to the questions that I have left surrounding his marriage to my mother.

"If you want to hang out with me that badly, then all you have to do is ask," I tease, making him chuckle. "How about one o'clock? It's after lunch, so traffic shouldn't be too crazy."

"Sounds perfect." Kaden turns to leave, but not before saying, "If you need anything from me in the meantime, I'll be in my office downstairs."

I ignore how that sounded like an invitation to come and find him later. I shut the door before stepping out and doing something I'll regret.