Billion Dollar Vengeance

Chapter 25: Happy Birthday

I can't sleep in like I usually do. Instead, I stare at the dark ceiling until my alarm goes off, thinking about the day ahead. I'll be out in the manor today with a cleaning bucket, just like always. But I'm a year older now. And in my fragile state, I don't feel any wiser. I'm thirty-five today. And I fucking feel it. My body is still recovering from the horrifying night in the sewer system, but thankfully it's only soreness and bruises left. I get up eventually, and pull on my cleaning t-shirt.

More than ever before, Bruce plagues my mind. It's been almost a week since we had sex with Selina. Just about every hour, I'm reminded of how it felt. Alfred said he would forge a foundation repair report for me to show Jenna, even though I told him it didn't matter. But he insists on being official- on protecting Bruce at all costs. And I'm not going to argue with Alfred. But the idea of going back home doesn't excite me like it should.

The kitchen is full when I trudge in to grab a granola bar. Jenna is standing over the stove, and Carly and Stella are sitting at the bar with a full breakfast spread in front of them. Jenna catches my eye as I walk in with a frown.

"Happy birthday!"

Stella jumps up and shoves a glass of orange juice in my hand. "Happy birthday."

I take a sip and almost spit it out. It's a mimosa, not plain orange juice. "Thanks," I mutter, hesitantly accepting a plate full of eggs, pancakes, fruit, and sausage.

The girls are chipper, and I try to smile too, but it's hard. I'm suspended in a perpetual state of alertness. Ready for danger. Ready to run into him. It's exhausting.

The room around me quiets suddenly, and I look around frantically for the source of the tension, my heart jumping to my throat. There he is, standing hesitantly in the doorway. Bruce is wearing a baggy black t-shirt and dark jeans, his wet hair brushed back away from his face as it dries. There's a yellowish bruise around one eye and another on his jaw accompanied with a line of freshly healed skin. His eyes are glued to mine. My body tenses with nerves. The last time I saw him, he was so angry at me that he threatened to kill me. When we left the storage unit to come back to the manor, he was cold and harsh. It wasn't unwarranted- I would be pissed if Jenna ever put herself in harm's way like that. But I haven't seen Bruce since then. Surely he's still just as angry as he was.

"Mr. Wayne. Good morning." Carly clears her throat. Stella offers a similar uncomfortable greeting. Jenna glares at him.

He ignores them entirely. His feet slide forward into the room, and I notice now that there's a notebook in his hand. He approaches me and extends it out. "Happy birthday. You can take the day off if you want."

As soon as my hand closes around the other end of the notebook, he turns and walks out of the room. Carly and Stella start whispering about him, but I can't lift my eyes away from the writing on the cover of the worn notebook.

Year 2-3 January-March

"A day off, that will be nice," Jenna offers.

But I shake my head. I can't stand a day of doing nothing. The notebook in my hands feels like it weighs a thousand pounds. I put it down on my pillow in my room before I head out to clean. I dust, then steam the tile floor in the library before doing the same in the long hallway. I remain there, perching on a decorative chair as I nibble on a granola bar for lunch. My body is still sore and tired, but I push through and dust some more ornate, gothic architecture and furniture. My mind remains fixed on my bedroom all day though.

Without pausing in the kitchen for dinner, I shut myself in my room, take a long shower, then finally sit down at my desk. My hands tremble as I hold the notebook, so I have to lay it flat on the desk before I can start reading it.