Treating Mr. Billionaire

~63~

Despite Dawn's accurate suspicions, getting the admission from Maria herself created a jaw-dropping manifestation effect across every angle on her face, and she looked like someone who had been struck dead right there on spot. "Oh my fucking motalla..." A gasp slipped from her parted lips, her eyes widened almost comically as she grabbed her friend's shoulder to strengthen their locked gazes. "Jayden Stanely was the I'm-not-sure-if-he-likes-me guy??" she whispered-shouted, her lips curving up into a wide grin.

Maria shook out her arms free from her grip, the stupor she was yet to heal from causing her to fall into the nearest seat. "It wasn't like I wanted to hide it from you. I knew you were going to react like this." She murmured, her fingers tangling in her messy hair as she sank deeper into the sofa, as though trying to bury herself under its fabric.

"Who wouldn't?" Dawn squeaked again, jumping onto the couch as well. "You do realize who we are talking about, right??" her eyebrows rose, her face full of both excitement and astonishment. "Girl, you are the most trending topic now on the internet. How did you keep this from me?? This is huge. Like, super fucking huge." Her eyes glimmered with barely contained delight.

"And that should make me happy, how?" Worry marred her forehead, as the reality of her situation hit home, and it was nothing similar to whatever fantasy her hopeless romantic friend had in mind.

But Dawn didn't falter, instead, her beam grew wider by the second. "You have to tell me everything you have been keeping from me. That way, we can both think of a way to sort out...if you chose to call this a mess, then it's a mess indeed." She stated matter-of-factly. "It's only a matter of time before those pestering reporters crack who the unknown girl is and come knocking on your front door."

The words made Maria chew on her lower lip anxiously, and the sight of those light brown eyes gaping heavily into her blue ones caused her anxiety to flare even stronger. "I don't know, Dawn. I don't even know if I want to be involved in all of these." She finally exploded. "We barely started dating and I have already caused so many problems for him. Th-there are so many hate comments out there..." her voice trailed off weakly, and her chest tightened with overwhelming pressure.

Even at the moment, she knew discovering her identity would be an easy feat for the public, yet she was more worried about summing up more attention to Jayden's life. He had never really liked the spotlight much anyway, and the thought of having the whole world criticizing him for his own choice of love life was daunting.

Dawn placed a hand on her thigh in an attempt to calm her nerves. "Listen, girl. None of this is your fault." She paused, a small smile gracing her face as her eyes scanned across her friend, taking in her appearance. "You never know...Someone like him who is used to fame will not forget about the high chances of being stalked. I mean, he might have known what he was doing when he brought you to such an open space." She shrugged, a teasing tone tainting her otherwise serious speech before adding in a pretense deep voice, "Yeah, you dumb reporters, go on and take every picture you want. You know, his way to reveal you to the world and crush down his engagement rumors."

In the middle of her earnest act to be optimistic about the situation considering she was the kind of doctor that would go late to work for staying up all night delving into romance dramas, Maria couldn't resist a laugh at the fake deep voice. "He doesn't sound like that." She shook her head, her eyes twinkling in amusement.

Once again, her good-humored friend had effortlessly found a way to bring a smile to her face amidst the chaos surrounding her. Although, Maria was not quite sure about that over-optimistic point of view of hers, nonetheless, she welcomed any excuse to laugh freely and relieve some of the heavy load weighing her shoulders and her heart.