He wants her back: The billionaire's leading lady

"You're here finally." Pierce growled in the darkness.

"I'm sorry, my session went on a bit longer today because Sarah came in late." I explained breathlessly, feeling around the wall for the light switch. I knew better than to keep him waiting.

"Leave it. Come to me," he commanded. I did as I was told, dropping my duffel bag to the floor as I ambled towards him.

"Clothes." My pulse quickened in my veins and I tugged off my cardigan, my pants, bra... then I stopped. I could tell he was in a bad mood, one that didn't have anything to do with me being late. I shivered lightly in anticipation and waited for him to close the space between us.

When he stood, he pressed my semi naked body to his fully clothed one and released my hair from its ponytail prison. "How was your day," I asked tentatively, as he ran his fingers over my hips, tracing an invisible line to my waist.

"I'll show you." He growled, and picked me like I weighed nothing. Naturally my legs wrapped around him as he strode towards the bed, a sense of urgency driving his every move.

* * *

The sound of Pierce's phone ringing stirred me awake. I moved closer to him, humming in satisfaction. If I woke up everyday in his arms like this it would be a dream come true. His arm tightened reflexively on my waist before he came to. Then he realized his phone was the source of the noise and untangled his limbs from mine. Even with my eyes closed I knew he had gotten up to grab it. Disappointment filled me at the loss of his warmth and I curled up against the intrusive cold. When I opened my eyes, he was bent over his pants, rooting in the pocket for the phone. From the bed I admired his physique and marveled that he had chosen to be with me instead of the many women that flocked around him. I would never get tired of this sight. When he looked at the name on the screen he frowned, glanced at me and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door tightly behind me, and with that singular move, my sex-induced bliss was shattered by a healthy dose of reality.

I met Pierce Blackwood during a shoot when the studio had invited him for a tour since he was one of their shareholders. His magnetism and charm had worn me over that same day. As I tried to act my scenes I would catch him watching me with an intensity unlike any I'd felt.

After that session he asked me to dinner and I agreed, and I agreed. When Pierce proposed a casual relationship during said dinner, I accepted the following morning.

It could've been curiosity about the broody billionaire that cherry picked me out of the throng of women that flocked around him.

Or it could've been the thought of the thrill I would get sneaking around with one of the wealthiest men in the city. All I knew now was that somewhere between stealing kisses in restrooms and falling into bed in my apartment, I had fallen madly in love with him. Even after I discovered that Pierce's initial attraction to me was due to my resemblance to a former love. I was happy to have him in any way he offered, and I held tightly into the hope that he would one day see me as I saw him. That one day, he would roll over one morning after sex, take my face in his wide calloused hands, and tell me that he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. On the mornings that we woke up in my apartment, I would keep my eyes shut and wait...pray that it would be that day. But on those days, he would caress my face, kiss me, say the sweetest things and then he'd leave. There was never a declaration of love.

But I had all the time to spend with Pierce. We had been together for two years already, and we had built a weird sort of friendship. The next step would have to be love, right? For now, I would have to deal with the doubts that surfaced from time to time and his private calls in the bathroom, where he was sure I wouldn't hear, or interrupt. I slipped into an oversized tee and waited for him to be done with his call.

When he came out he had a strange look on his face. One he masked with indifference when he noticed that I was watching him. He picked up his trousers from the floor and slipped into them with a fluid movement. He was leaving.

"Can't you stay till daylight? It's already three a.m." I asked hiding my desperation behind a smile.

"I have an emergency." He replied, not pausing his task.

"Is it work?" I pressed on. When he ignored my question I started again, ignoring how my heart raced. "I have an interview today, the cast of Gossip and Dreams managed to score one with Lindsay Cordon." Getting Lindsay Cordon to take interest in our small time production was a great honor. This is my first time taking the lead role in a TV drama, and I wanted him to see I was making progress in work. I wanted him to be proud of me.

"That's lovely." He buttoned his shirt up. My shoulders sagged.

"You said you would stop by today."

"I did?"

"Pierce you promised." My sister had school, mum was out of the question and there was no one else I wanted more to watch me on stage.

"You don't have to stay for the whole thing." I pleaded. "just long enough that I see you."

Pierce looked at me, conflicting emotions warring on his face. "I can't today, Myra. I'll come to your next one."

I smiled sadly, the sting of disappointment sinking in. "You said that last time."

"I know, just...the next one. I promise." He swept my tousled hair back from my face and kissed me. "Have fun at your interview." The room felt empty without his presence filling my apartment. I hugged my knees to my chest. 'You're being an idiot' an incessant voice whispered in my head. It was wrong. I had learnt a long time ago that relationships were a complicated thing. Pierce was nothing short of a dream come true for a woman like me. All he needed was time, and I loved him enough to give it to him.

The voice in my head had no more arguments to make.

Since I was up, I decided to get a head start on preparing for my interview. There was no point forcing myself back to bed or staying up to worry about my relationship with Pierce, I had bigger fish to fry. Pierce or no Pierce, that day was set to be one of the best days in my life AND career.

* * *

We waited while the host made her opening speech. She talked about the gossip and dreams for a bit while Hannah, the best manager in the world, drilled information I already knew into my skull.

"Remember Myra, the minute you notice the conversation is steering towards your rumored relationship with Blackwood-"

"I push the focus back to the show, I got it."

"And you do it subtly, with an award winning smile in place." Her brown curly hair moved with a life of its own as she spoke.

"Won't she have to win awards to know what that feels like?" Jace, a costar joked, as he fluffed his hair. I rolled my eyes. Jace liked to bug me like an annoying brother at any chance he could get.

"Are you set?" a stagehand asked us. When we had given our affirmative, he ushered us up the stairs and into the light. I planted a smile on my face and waved to the hooting crowd as we made our way to Lindsay. My eyes scanned through the crowd, hoping to find a particular pair of eyes watching me. Maybe he decided to surprise me, I wished as my cast mates took various positions on Lindsay's sofa.

"Might I say you look very beautiful today Myra." Lindsay said, distracting me from my futile search. I forced an easy smile on my face.

"Thank you so much, Lindsay. It's such an honor to be on your show..." Few minutes later we were bouncing off each other, building a very easy conversation. She quizzed me and the other cast members on what it felt like to be on set, the dynamics outside the filming process and the challenges we had struggled with in our roles. By the end of our one hour with Lindsay, I was positive that we would have more viewings for our soap opera by the end of the week.

I was grinning from ear to ear when I met with my manager backstage. Surprisingly, her expression didn't mirror the excitement on my face.

"Did I say something wrong during the interview? I'm sure it went well." I asked, confused as she handed me my flask.

Hannah smiled like she was trying not to upset me with her next words. "Oh honey, you did great! Star of the fucking show."

"Then what's the problem?" I took a sip of my berry infused iced tea and felt my muscles relax for a short while. She extended her cell phone to me, which I collected warily before she pulled me farther away from the other actors.

"Look, I know, you say there's nothing between you and Pierce Blackwood, but in case there is, I want you to look at this away from the group."

I refused to let his name bug me, but Hannah's actions were doing nothing to soothe my now bubbling nerves. I froze with my bottle halfway to my lips when I saw the main photo and headline. It was a photo of Pierce smiling down at a small framed woman while she had her hand in his hair, and the headline read; CEO of multi-million dollar conglomerate, Pierce Blackwood, photographed with first love. My flask slipped from my hand.

"Shit!" Hannah yelled and caught the bottle before it reached the ground. I could not force a word of thanks to her, or peel my eyes away from her phone.

It wasn't the caption that got to me. When you are famous, unwarranted rumors tend to spread, especially when you're more secretive. I had seen posts shipping me and fellow cast members, him and other members of high society, a few deep founded allegations about our relationship...so the tagline was nothing new. It wasn't the headline that had me moving in a mindless gait to an empty folding chair, it was the picture...pictures! I discovered in horror, as I scrolled down the article. It was her.

Pierce's first love was with him in every photo, a big smile on her face. She was back and in his arms. Pierce seemed to be supporting her weight with his body while she clung to him like every breath in her body was fueled by his presence. I didn't need the caption to tell it was her because she looked like me. Or I should say, I looked like her. It almost looked like it was me in his arms from some certain angles.

But I could never be her.

I was never the girl Pierce was glad and proud to show the world with. The loud ringing in my ears left me dazed. She was supposed to be a ghost from the past, not here getting cozy in an embrace. I would rather have him holding a different woman than her.

Hannah extended my flask to me and I grabbed at it, feeling extremely thirsty. So that was why he was in such a hurry to leave that morning. His emergency was arriving at the airport early enough to pick her up. Why didn't he tell me she was coming back into his life? A laugh bubbled out of my mouth. Was she going to take her place in Pierce's life again? More importantly, was that what he wanted?

I always knew from the bottom of my heart that my relationship with Pierce was not going to work out eventually despite my pathetic hope, but I didn't realize the end to come so abruptly either, catching me completely off guard.

Hannah called my name carefully. I likely looked like I was losing my mind. I needed to get my shit together. Every one of the cast members had seen the post, I was sure, and would be watching for my reaction.

On cue, Sarah waltzed in from whatever part of hell she had been hiding in since we left the set.

"I was going to give you the news of the century but judging from your face you have already seen it." she said snidely, smirking at me

"Back off, snake." Jace warned. Of all people to come to my defense, I thought of him last. I must look terrible for him to be standing up for me.

"Mind your business minion, I'm just having a conversation with the star of the show." She said sarcastically. "You know I would have mistaken her for you, the blonde hair, face-you're basically her but taller. But then I realized that Blackwood would never be caught dead with his hands around you like that in public."

I felt sick to my stomach, I'd been having these episodes more frequently but they had been because I was worried about this interview, now, I felt sick for a whole other reason. I took one look at Sarah and knew it wasn't worth it to talk to her. I wasn't even sure I could get a word out without my voice breaking from all the hurt that was building in my chest.

"I need to use the restroom." I gritted out to Hannah, handed her my bottle and rose slowly from the chair.

Sarah laughed. "Oh come on Myra, you're acting like you thought you'd be more than a good fuck for Pierce. Wait, did you think you had a chance with him. Were you imagining a white picket fence, three kids and a dog?" she mocked.

"That's enough of that." Hannah chided. "It's a rumor that circulated a long time ago. Let it go."

I had to say something, if I walked out without saying a word it would look like I was leaving with my head between my legs. I took in a deep steadying breath, schooling my features before I turned to face Sarah again. I planted my hand on my hip and cocked my head to the side. "For someone who spends most of her evenings fucking Lancaster to stay on this show, you certainly have a loud mouth."

Jaws dropped to the ground, while Sarah turned red in the face. "What the hell are you talking about?" she screamed in my face.

"Oh you know, rumors and all that, it doesn't help that you smell like him when you come back to the studio." My other cast members hid their faces behind their hands. "Word of advice though, If you want to be the main lead next time, you gotta move up. There's only so much our director can do, try fucking the producer-or studio head but for now, do your best cope with the fucking fact that I earned this role and no amount of snide comments or bumping uglies you do will change that."

Without waiting for her comeback I spun around and headed to the women's room, the expression on her face lending me the strength that I needed.

Hannah was right behind me and locked the door to the room when she was sure we were the only ones present. "That was a long time coming." She said dryly. "Took you a while to bring out that inner fire I love so much."

"There's no use pretending to be a placid little doll anymore." I shrugged and dropped onto the bench defeated. It had been all for Pierce. The easy smiles while with him and in the industry. Accepting offensive or dismissive words so I could fit into his image of me; the docile perfect girlfriend who never asked for more. "So it's safe to say that you're really dating him." she stated. "I understand your need to keep your relationship private, but why didn't you tell me you were in this deep?"

"For one I'm not supposed to be deep in anything. It was a strict 'friends with benefits' situation, if you can even call us friends, more like strangers with benefits." I choked back a sob, "It wasn't supposed to happen like this." I replayed every minute I had spent with Pierce, the last few months in my head. We had been good together, I was sure I hadn't imagined him loving me back... he loved her. When he looked at me he saw her, his first love. I looked up at Hannah. "I'm such an idiot."

"Oh don't say that love. Pierce is wealthy, and the wet dream of every woman in Hollywood. You were bound to fall for him."

"...and now, I'll be losing him!" Fear clawed at my heart. In the two years I spent with him, separating had never been a thought in my mind. I understood that it would take him a while to realize he loved me but this?? "What if I'm wrong?" I said quickly. "There could be a perfectly reasonable explanation for him being with her at the airport. He could've been keeping it a secret because he wasn't sure how I'd react." That sounded sane. I nodded to myself, accepting my own explanation.

"Honey I've been in Hollywood longer than you, Those two were quite an item back in the day, if she's back..."

"They can be friends." I argued back.

Hannah raised her hands in surrender, "True. There could be a great explanation for this that he'll tell you soon enough."

"Yes."

"...And there might be something else you'll want to talk to him about." My brows furrowed as she began rooting in her bag . "I know this is bad timing considering the news you just had, but I've been keeping this for over a week now and I think it's about time you checked. If things are great then I could be wrong, if not...we'll figure it out."

"What are you talking about?" "Gimme a sec." frustrated at not finding what she was looking for, she dumped the content of her bag onto the floor. "Aha!" she reached down and picked up a packet, which she proceeded to hand to me.

"What's this?" I stared at the box with a blank face.

"It's a pregnancy test kit. For you."

Laughter bubbled in my throat when her words registered in my head. "Hannah, what on earth would I need this for? Put it away before someone walks in and assumes the same thing." I dropped the packet on the bench between us like it had burned my hand. "I'm not kidding Myra. I know you wish I am, but I'm not. You've been sick for nearly a month, you stopped eating mango flavored chips even though they're your second favorite food in the whole world, and your body, it's changing..."

"Jesus Christ Hannah, slow down with the sex talk. I'm not pregnant, okay? I can't be. We've used protection every time we had sex."

"Every time?"

"Yes!" I yelled and moved further away from her. The last thing both of us wanted was a child. I had an experience being raised in a dysfunctional family, and I would not do that to a kid. Plus my career had just started, what part of my life would a kid fit in. Pierce...well Pierce was Pierce. A kid out of wedlock was not up on his bingo cards. We were careful. Very careful.

Except... at the premier of Gossip And Dreams, he had bent me over in his private booth and fucked me senseless.

I froze. No. it happened one time. That wasn't enough. Even as I argued, I knew I was wrong. It dawned on me that I could not recall my last period. Hadn't even thought of the thing since I was so busy with work.

"You don't look too confident." Hannah said sympathetically and stretched the box out for me again. "Just get it over with. I might be wrong and this will be some funny misunderstanding to look back on."

"Or you could be right, and I'll be hot water."

"Only one way to find out." She nudged me toward the bathroom after I had taken the packet reluctantly. When I was locked securely in one of the stalls, with Hannah guarding my stall, I peed on the first one and waited for it to react.

"What's happening in there Myra, I hope you don't plan on pouring water on the kit!"

Now why hadn't I thought of that? "I'm just waiting for the results to come in." I yelled back through the door.

"Its five minutes, it should be done by now."

"Chill for chrissakes" I muttered under my breath and got up from the toilet seat to look at it in the sink. Two red lines glared back from the strip.

"What does it say...Myra? What does the test say?" she wriggled the handle of the door.

"Give me a minute H, it's faulty-let me try it again." I squeaked.

"Oh Myra." She sighed, but waited till I repeated the test again, and again, and one more time for good measure. They all came back the same. Positive. "You can't spend the rest of your day in there; you have to come out at some point." I opened the door, looking white as a sheet.

"It was one time." I said, walking past her in a daze. I was really pregnant. "We've always been safe." Was this some kind of punishment from the universe?

"Shit like this happens all the time babe, don't beat yourself up about it. And hey! If Pierce accepts the pregnancy, your life will be on easy street. Look how much traffic your career has gotten in two years. The rumors about you two gave more popularity to gossip and dreams-and I'm sure you've enjoyed the times you spent with him."

I stopped pacing, thinking about how he helped save my mother, even though he didn't know. He just handed me money after I asked, no questions about what I wanted it for. That was how it had always been. He didn't know me. He never asked questions about my life outside of work, that was all there ever was to our relationship and now I was pregnant.

"Hannah, he doesn't want a child."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Look at the man!"

She pulled me down onto the bench beside her while my mind raced. If I learnt about this child that morning I would feel differently right now. If SHE didn't enter the picture I would have a strong believe that somehow Pierce and I would work things out, that I could convince him to accept the child-to see me as more than a secret affair. Her arrival filled me with so much doubt now.

"I don't know what to do, Hannah. I can't be pregnant." I said, fear creeping into my voice. "I don't know the first thing about taking care of a child, I have my mum and sister to care for, this'll be an extra mouth to feed. How do I keep it a secret from Pierce?"

"Relax love. You're serious about not telling him?"

"I-I can't." Not yet. Not till I was sure that he still wanted me in his life. My voice lowered to a whisper, "what if he asks me to get rid of it?"

"Don't let your mind fly Myra, I think you should tell him. But for now, go for an actual test, determine how far along you are with the pregnancy and the health of the baby, deal with that problem first. I would come with you for moral support, but I need to speak with Lindsay and her team, and I don't want you delaying this any further." She said as she stroked my arm.

"That's okay. I'll let you know how it goes" I said quietly. All I could think of was the fact that I had a mini Pierce growing in me. Hannah wrapped her arm around my shoulder.

"You got this."

* * *

It did not feel like I had anything when I was spread out on the table, getting a physical exam from my gynecologist. Or when she told me that I would get the gestational age of my baby the following week when they compile my blood test and ultrasound. There was no 'oh you're not pregnant' or 'sweetheart, it's just your hormones.' No, I was really carrying a child. Pierce's child.

While my doctor spoke to me, I could not help the excitement that bubbled deep within my chest. I was pregnant! I had a little one growing in my tummy and it was mine. Correction, mine and Pierce's. I imagined a world where he would be excited to hear the news. Where he would plant kisses all over my face and spin me around. A child could be a good thing...Maybe it was the catalyst Pierce needed to see that he loved me.

The doctor returned my dazed smile, and told me congratulations before he led me out of her office.

As I walked out of the OB-GYN I fired a call to Hannah. She picked on the first ring.

"So?"

"The results will be in by next week, I was told I would get a call when they're ready."

"How are you feeling?" she sounded like she was having a meal.

"Scared...confused...bursting with joy?" I would have added more words to describe my mushy feelings, but the words died in my mouth when I spotted Pierce a few steps away, with a blonde woman clinging to his hand as a doctor spoke to them.