What Am I To You?

"Thank you," Maddison said smiling as she received a hot cup of tea from Elias. She leaned back on the sofa as Elias joined next to her. 

Though he sat close to her, she didn't feel the need to move away. Although they had not known each other for very long, their time together had brought them together. She felt like Elias was someone she could trust. 

But there was still so much she didn't know about him. Yet he seemed to know everything about her. 

"You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to," Elias said as he turned to face her. 

He gently placed his hand on her knee as he continued to reassure her, "But I just want you to know that I'm here for you."

Maddison was a little defensive. After all, their relationship was just a transaction to him, was it not? Elias gave her an offer she could not refuse. To be his girlfriend and eventual wife. In exchange, she got a large sum of money and revenge on Hugo Anderson and his new wife. 

"But our relationship isn't real," She blurted out without holding back. 

She was looking into his eyes as she spoke, uncertain as to why she did so. To her surprise, she noticed a shift in his eyes. It almost looked as if Elias was disappointed to hear her say that. 

"I'm sorry, I just…" Why was she apologizing?

Maddison agonized over it. On one hand, their relationship was as she had said, it wasn't real. Yet there was a small part of her, a part that she was denied, that wanted it to be real. She shouldn't have spoken up. 

Elias didn't look away. Internally, he was trying to find a suitable answer. He knew what Maddison said was right. He wasn't her real boyfriend. What made his words believable? 

"Put our agreement aside for now," he said calmly after he finished recollecting his thoughts, "Think of me as a friend who's here to support you. I mean what I said, Maddison. I'm here to listen. If you prefer that we sit here in silence, that's fine by me too."

Maddison bit her lip as she processed what he had just said. She could not help but feel the heat under her cheeks. She could tell that Elias was genuine with his words. He wasn't lying to her. 

[If he really wanted to take advantage of our contract relationship, he would have done so by now.] She reasoned to herself. 

So, she made up her mind. Maddison lowered her defenses and relaxed her shoulders. She closed her eyes as she leaned against Elias's shoulder. He didn't flinch nor did he move away. It was a sign that he meant what he said. 

Elias and Maddison sat in silence for a while before she began speaking. 

"My father offered for me to move back home, he said he wanted me there," She said slowly. 

"That's great news, is it not?" Elias asked, a little confused as to how that would upset her. 

He quickly realized there was more to the story so he fell back silent, being the listening ear Maddison needed. She took a deep breath of air as she continued, hoping her voice would not crack. 

"It is good news. I mean, that's what I've been dreaming of since I was young. To reunite with my family and to live with them again. But…"

Maddison curled her fingers around the teacup as she looked down. She gripped it tighter and tighter as she fought to keep her emotions in check. She knew Elias had said that he was here for her. 

But she didn't want to show how weak she was at that moment. 

"Margaret came in and…," Maddison paused for a moment, uncertain of how to continue. 

Elias noticed how much she was struggling. He wrapped one arm around her shoulder and held onto her hand with the other. He pulled her in close, using physical contact between them to show his support. 

"You don't have to say anything you don't want to. You can end the story here," He whispered to her. 

Maddison felt the warmth of his embrace. The nervousness she had felt just moments ago melted away like snow on a sunny day. Elias had such a strong effect on her, he was such a comforting presence. 

For the first time in a long time, Maddison felt safe in his arms. Even safer than she had ever been when she was with Hugo. 

"She called me a gold digger," She finally breathed, finding the courage in Elias's support to speak. 

But when those words left her lips, another thought crossed her mind. She looked up at Elias, wondering how he saw her. 

"Do you think I'm a gold digger, Elias?" 

He looked like he was about to speak but Maddison hadn't noticed. Her thoughts spiraled down a dark path. She couldn't look him in the eye anymore. Why did she ask him that question anyway? Of course, that's how he saw her!

She accepted his deal. Money in exchange for being his contract girlfriend and eventual wife. 

"What am I saying?" Maddison laughed half-heartedly, "I mean, of course I am. I agreed to be with you for money. If I'm not-"

Before she could finish her words, Elias lifted her chin and pressed his lips against her own. This move caught her completely off guard. It didn't take long for her to melt in his embrace. She had not realized it before but Maddison fell in love with Elias the moment she met him. 

His care and concern for her only further nurtured the feelings she had for him. He was a billionaire with all the power in the world and yet he chose her to be his. What was there not to love?

Elias pulled back shortly after, leaving Maddison longing for more. She was a little dazed by what had just happened. 

"It was the quickest way I could think of to get you to stop speaking," He explained with a grin. 

Maddison didn't know how to react. She simply looked at him in complete bewilderment. 

"I don't think you're a gold digger, you never were one and you will never be one," He explained calmly. 

He didn't sound like he was lying at all. From the tone of his voice, Maddison knew for certain he was speaking from the heart. There was no doubt about it. 

"If anything, Margaret Walker is a gold-digger. Everyone who knows about how she married your father knows she's the classic example of that," Elias mused.