#worth the milllion-year wait

[loveandthings11]

I asked my server at The Nines if she was there for Jeremy Strong and Anne Hathaway’s Met Gala after-party and she said she started the day after that aksjddjdk

[queenshelby]

Hurt (Part One)

Pairing: Cillian Murphy x Reader (x Tom Holland)

Words: 3,078

Warning: Fluff, Age Gap

Summary/Note: You are Tom Holland’s friend and meet Cillian Murphy while they are filming “In The Heart of the Sea”. This plays in 2015 and Tom Holland has just turned 18 for the purpose of this fic whereas Cillian is 39 years of age and divorced.

You were hurt again, but you had never been hurt like this before. It was worse than the three times you had ended it with him in the past and it stung. It stung badly. He had used you again even after you committed the past four years to him, thinking that he was the man you would marry one day. But you couldn’t have been any more wrong about him. He was betraying you for years and you weren’t sure what hurt more, the fact that he cheated on you again, or the fact that he did it with your best friend Nadine.

Nadine was everything to you and you had always been there for her, even through the darkest of times when she lost someone close to her. And yet, she betrayed you and became an accomplice to the crime on your heart. 

The feeling of betrayal, hurt and emptiness had washed over your body when you found out about the affair and you felt as though you couldn’t come up for a breath of fresh air. Your consumed with pain and you were drowning it. You felt worthless and believed that Mathew had just been with you for the money.

Money in the tune of 1 milllion pounds your father had left you with when he died so tragically, leaving you without parents at the young age of 18. This money, however, was tied up in a trust fund with a final payout to be made when you turn 25, which was still 5 years away.

It was therefore worth marrying you to secure this kind of inheritance and you felt as though that this was all you were to him. You were his financial security. Nothing more and nothing less.

***

Just as tears came streaming down your face again and you hit the lowest point of your despair, the phone rang finally.

“Are you alright Y/N?” your friend Tom asked with concern as you picked up the phone.  You had texted him about your findings but it was only hours later that he called.

“No, I am not fucking alright Tom. I am over it. I am done with men” you told him and, in this moment, you had sworn to yourself that you would never give anyone the power to hurt you like that again. Your ex robbed you of everything. He robbed you of your self-esteem and treated you like were nothing but an object.

“I am sorry Y/N. I didn’t see your message until now. I would have called you right away but I was on set, filming” Tom explained, somewhat upset by the fact that he missed this important message from you. You had been his dearest friend for over ten years and, whilst you were older than him by two years, he had always been the voice of reason for you, the one who you would call if you just didn’t what to do.

“It’s fine, you don’t need to apologise Tom” you reassured him, knowing very well that Tom had been rather worried about you for a while. But, you also knew that he was busy filming his newest movie “In the Heart of the Sea” and therefore had a limited amount of time.

“You should come and visit me. It will clear your head. Despite, this set is so fucking awesome, you should see it” Tom then said and you smiled just for a moment. You could tell that he was excited about this role and you were happy for him.

“Whilst I would love to come for a visit to L.A, I have work to do that can’t wait…” you began to explain but your friend interrupted you.

“You are self-employed Y/N. I am sure you can make time. It would just be for a few weeks and you told me yourself that you needed a break” Tom said naively, not realising what your work entailed but you also knew that you needed some time off, so you agreed.

“I guess I could make time” you told him and, whilst you knew that you would likely be sleeping on the floor in a tiny studio apartment during your stay, you didn’t mind. You clearly needed the distraction and you most certainly didn’t have money for a hotel. Whilst you received a regular allowance from your trust, you utilised this to further your business and you also needed the money to look after your 12-year-old sister who, for the next few weeks, would have to stay with your grandparents if you were to go to LA.

You had become her guardian two years ago and, since then, your life revolved around her. You became her mother and her sister all in one and this, in itself, was difficult as well. But now that she was 12 years old, she didn’t need you as much anymore and your grandmother was more than happy enough to look after her for you so that you could finally take a break.

The following day…

After having packed your bags and booking a last-minute budget flight to LAX, you arrived at Tom’s studio apartment the following day.

The apartment block was conveniently located adjacent to the studio where filming took place and you were rather impressed with its amenities. It had a gym, a large pool and sauna. It was completely booked out for the cast and crew and you wondered whether it was okay for you to stay there.

“Are you sure I can just stay here Tom?” you asked before putting your bags on to the living room floor.

“I cleared it with the studio first, so, yeah, it’s fine” Tom told you before pointing you to a second bed in the corner of the large room.

“They even put a spare bed in here?” you said surprised and Tom nodded.

“They sure did after I explained to them that you are not my girlfriend. Apparently, there was some confusion about this” he admitted with a quiet chuckle.

“There always is” you laughed before finally giving him a warm hug. He had always been like a younger brother to you and you had always looked out for him but, now, it was him who looked out for you.

That night, you talked for long and whilst he would usually join you in eating some comfort foods when either of you were down, he was on this strict diet which didn’t permit him to do so.

“You look so skinny man” you observed and he sure was hungry and you were quick to hide your snacks from him.

“And you look sad, so enjoy your ice cream” Tom said nonetheless before putting on a movie for you both to watch.

The day after…

The following morning, you both got up early and, whilst Tom wanted to take you to the studio and show you around that day, things didn’t quite go as planned.

In fact, as soon as you came walking out of the apartment block together, you were inundated by the press who, just like the studio administration team, thought that you were Tom’s girlfriend.

They took one photo after another of you both and, whilst Tom was trying hard to get them to stop, they wouldn’t.

By this point, you began to get quite queasy, hating the attention of the paparazzies ever since the press in the UK treated you and your sister so ruthlessly following your father’s suspicious death. He was a wealthy businessman and your family attracted a lot of attention at the time.

Tom could see that you weren’t coping and, with that in mind, he suggested that you go the coffee shop across the road and wait it out while he talks to them.

Although you felt rather guilty to leave him, you agreed to his suggestion nonetheless. You were about to have a panic attack and this was clearly the better choice for you.

You hated the press and you hated the fact that these paparazzies were clearly thinking that you were dating Tom which, of course, was simply not true.

Not only has Tom been your friend for over ten years without any rumours like this having been spread in the past, but also had you decided many years ago that you would never go out with an actor. You had travelled with Tom in the past and met several of his colleagues, none of whom had interested you and Tom warned you about men in the industry as well, which was a warning you took seriously. According to him, they were difficult and not always faithful and the last thing you wanted was a man who cheats on you.

Despite, dating in itself was not currently on your radar. You had just broken up with Mathew and, unless prince charming was about to sweep you off your feet unexpectedly, you were going to embrace being single for a while.

***

With all this in mind, you breathed a sigh of relief as you took a seat at an open table near the back of the coffee shop which was straight across from the studio.

Having a clear view of the door and windows from where you sat, you could keep an eye on the paparazzi as they followed Tom back to the studio while you took in a breather.

Guilt gripped you briefly again, thinking about the fact that he had to put up with this kind of harassment while you sat in the cosy coffeeshop, waiting for the air to clear. But, just as you ordered your coffee, the bell above the coffee shop door rang out sharply, yanking you out of her thoughts. Being early in the morning, the person entering the shop was only the second person inside the small premises that morning and he looked somewhat familiar to you.

When this stranger approached you, the breath you had been holding escaped you softly. The newcomer couldn't possibly be another one of those crazy reporters, you thought. He didn’t look like it and he most certainly didn’t have a camera. But why was he walking towards you then?

Your heart thumped hard and a flush crept up your chest when he came closer and then, he suddenly spoke up.

“Hey” he said carefully as your eyes swept over him again. He had the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen and you became mesmerised by them immediately.

“Uhm…hey?” you asked nervously while looking at him.

“I think you lost your wallet” the man then said and, when you looked down at his hands, he carefully placed it onto the table.

“Oh my god, I was just…you know…” you said while clumsily reaching for your wallet and, while doing so, accidently knocking over your coffee and spilling it all over the table.

“Woah, too much caffeine already? And it’s only 7 o’clock” the man chuckled before reaching for some napkins on the table and helping you to clean up the coffee you had spilled.

“I am just a bit flustered this morning. All these reporters… It was just a little much… I am sorry” you told the stranger while accidently brushing his hand with yours and then pulling away, almost knocking over your glass of water as well.  

“You are not used to the press?” he asked and, when you shook your head shyly, he carried on. “I get it. They can be pretty persistent here in L.A. and, going by your accent, you are not from here, are you?” the man then asked while putting the dirty napkins into a pile on the table.  

“No, I am from the UK and, yes, these paparazzies are bloody awful” you stammered quietly, eliciting another smile from the handsome stranger.

“Well, that is what you get from dating an actor I suppose” he chuckled and, for some reason, you felt it necessary to correct him.

“Oh god no, I am not dating Tom! He is just a friend! In fact, I am totally single. I just broke up with my ex” you blurted out before realising how desperate you sounded and how embarrassing this was getting.

“That’s good to know” the man then chuckled in response and you knew that he was amused by your demur.

“Well, I need to go now. I have things to do…” you then quickly said with blushing cheeks and, by this point, you could barely look at him. Yet, you tried to take glimpse again as he was simply gorgeous with curly hair, ocean blue eyes and full kissable lips. His cheekbones were razor sharp and, for a split second, you desperately wished that you wouldn’t have acted like an idiot in front of him.

“Alright. It was nice to meet you” the stranger then said with sheepish grin just as you got up from your seat.

“You too” you said quickly before walking out of the coffee shop in haste and without picking up your wallet from the table.

Ten hours later…

Later that day, just as you came out of the shower, there was a knock on the door of Tom’s studio apartment. Thinking that Tom forgot his key, you raced to the door and pulled it open with only a white towel wrapped around you.

He had seen you like this before and you certainly didn’t think anything about it.

To your surprise however, when you opened the door, it wasn’t Tom who was standing in the hallway. Instead, it was the stranger from the café earlier that day and your chin dropped.

“Shit, hey…what are you doing here?” you asked. You were in shock to see him and he looked rather surprised as well, likely by the fact that you were almost naked.

“Delivering your wallet” the stranger then told you with a grin while clearly checking you out with these ocean blue eyes of his.

“How did you know where I was staying?” you panicked, wondering whether he was some kind of creep.

“I didn’t. It was a good guess though. I work with Tom and I figured that he could pass the wallet on to you if you weren’t here with him” the stranger then told you with a slight chuckle before introducing himself properly. “I am Cillian by the way. I am just next door” he then said.

“I am Y/N. Nice to meet you…again” you stammered while reaching for your hand and, in the process, almost dropping your towel.

“Okay then, have a good…” Cillian said before wanting to leave and, just as he was about to turn around, you interrupted him.

“Wait, would you like a drink or something?” you quickly asked, sounding like an idiot once again but were rewarded with a grin by the blue-eyed stranger.

“You’ve got something low carb?” he asked and you nodded quickly.

“I have low carb beer. It tastes like shit but you are welcome to it” you told him before inviting him inside and walking to the fridge.

“So, you are part of the cast then huh?” you asked Cillian, considering that he was watching his diet.

“Yes, I am” Cillian responded before thanking you for the beer which you had just handed to him.

“Cool, uhm…yeah…I will get dressed in the bathroom…have a seat…get comfortable or something. Tom will probably be here soon” you told him nervously and, again, he was clearly amused by your demur and grinned.

“Okay” Cillian chuckled with amusement while watching you grab some clothes from your rather messy suitcase and heading to the bathroom.

***

Within seconds, you returned fully clothed in some leggings and a t-shirt while mumbling something to yourself, trying to figure out what to say to Cillian while Tom still hadn’t come back from set.

“Are you okay?” Cillian asked seeing that you were talking yourself.

“I was just asking myself a question” you admitted as your lips twitched in an attempt at a smile. "

"Now I'm really curious. What was the question?" Cillian asked

"It's silly and it certainly isn’t relevant at all" you told him as you shook your head and blushed.

"Well now I have to know" Cillian said. His smile almost knocked you flat and you swallowed harshly, your mouth suddenly bone dry.

Cillian, however, waited for you to speak with his eyes gleaming with laughter.

“How old are you?” you answered breathlessly and Cillian immediately cocked an eyebrow.

“Thirty-nine. Why?” he asked with amusement.

“Thirty-nine?” you said surprised and he nodded before asking you the same.

“How old are you?” he then asked.

“Twenty” you quickly responded nervously just as, finally, Tom came barging through the door, apologising for being late before asking about Cillian’s presence.

“I lost my wallet today and Cillian was nice enough to return to me” you explained before handing Tom a can of diet coke.

“Lucky you. Did he take your cash?” Tom teased before letting you into the secret that Cillian and him have been playing the X-box most evenings after concluding filming for the day. It helped them both to relax and switch off and you couldn’t help but challenge each of them to a game.

“Why would I take her cash you weirdo?” Cillian then laughed and, with that, he stayed another couple of hours, joking and playing some games before heading back to his apartment next door.

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[markdecastroweb]

Which lottery winner are you? A tale of two players

Willie Winner and Larry Loser both won $10 million jackpots at the same time.

And, as you might guess from their names, they both did different things with their winnings.

Larry had always envied the rich. Now was his chance to live like them. So what do the rich buy, he wondered?

The latest copy of the Robb Report magazine showed him:

A seaside mansion

Several expensive European cars

A luxury yacht

Lavish tropical holidays

 Larry wanted it all, so he went on a spending spree, and it was fun while the money lasted.

But he wasn't prepared for some unusual problems.

First, his house cost more than he expected. You don't get many serious mansions for less than ten million these days, and this one cost half his winnings, $5 million.

He found it a couple of miles back from the beach. It was selling at a discount because it only had a 2 car garage, and most other buyers wanted a 4 car garage.

A bargain, surely!

And Larry didn't think twice about plunking nearly $2 milllion down at that fancy city showroom for a Ferrari and several other high-end vehicles for his family.

Pity the Bentley had to stay outside in the fierce Florida sun all year round because of the lack of garage space.

And so his new life began. He booked vacations on exotic islands, taking along most of his family members - and the many friends he had managed to make since his win.

Willie looked at his windfall differently.

He didn't even wait to collect his $10 million dollar check. He asked the lottery people to put it straight into a deposit account at his bank. And it was locked up so he couldn't touch it for 3 months.

Then he and his family sat round the kitchen table one night, and made a wish list of everything they wanted out of life.

They reviewed the list on the same day every week. And each time they met, they crossed off some items that had lost their appeal, and added other items they wanted.

For example, Willie's wife would have liked expensive diamonds and jewelry. But as Willie said, diamonds don't go up in value. And they also advertise the fact to others that you've got money... not the wisest move to make in recessionary times.

So gifts of diamonds were crossed off the list. And after a while they became not so important.

Gradually - over the 90 day cooling-off period they had given themselves - the list settled down and reflected what Willie and his family really wanted.

When the time was up, Willie got moving.

He visited his bank and moved his money into long term deposits so that it was earning some serious interest. Turned out this move would return them almost a million dollars a year.

Then he got a mortgage guaranteed by the $10 million capital he had locked up. That bought him a nice house in a good area.

The beauty of this strategy was that part of the interest he was getting now paid the mortgage off each month. And it still kept his ten million dollars intact.

There was plenty more spare cash coming in from the interest payments, and over the months ahead Willie used this to buy the cars and furniture they had planned for.

Fast-forward two years later...

The two winners were facing entirely different futures.

Larry was broke. His mansion was costing a fortune in maintenance - as most large homes do. And he had run out of cash to maintain it.

As well, he couldn't sell this house either... the small garage and distance from the water was only a couple of the problems in his poorly researched purchase.

Ever heard someone say they are asset rich but cash poor?

That was Larry right now.

He was cash poor because all his capital was tied up in his possessions, and none of them produced an income.

Worse, his expensive cars - like the new Bentley that cost him over $300k - were only worth half that amount now because of new-car depreciation. 

And the dealer would only give him a fraction of the new price to buy them back.

Larry wasn't used to keeping expensive automobiles, so his cars were never cleaned or serviced.

The second-hand price reflected their poor condition. Way low.

But he had vacation memories, right?

Wrong.

The Caribbean vacations were great at the time. But all those expensive weeks for his dozens of so-called friends in 5-star hotels on the beachfront had cost him a lot of his winnings.

He had also celebrated a lot at the time, and the constant drinking had made his memory hazy. In a few year's time, he would remember little of those exotic trips.

On the other hand, Willie - to his surprise - found his net worth had actually increased.

He was worth almost $1,000,000 more two years later... and that was on top of his winnings.

Not only was his house worth 10% more than he paid for it, but since the mortgage was coming out of the interest on his capital, it was costing him nothing to pay it off.

And he had also paid $300k off the house with 'free' money plucked from thin air - his $10 million winnings, which were still sitting in the bank.

It got even better for Willie.

Because he had bought cars that were already one or two years old, unlike Larry he avoided the heavy depreciation loss.

But the best was to come...

Willie's income stream was never going to end. He would never have to work or worry about an income again. He was set for life because he had got sound advice and used a bit of common sense.

Can you see yourself in this story?

Are you a Willie or a Larry? (Sorry to exclude you women - use Wilema or Lara if it helps you there).

Could you plan well, as Willie did? Or will you squander this once-in-a-lifetime chance? You generally only get these kinds of opportunities once. Pays not to mess it up.

So what will you plan to do this week to start your winning streak?

dear Ken,

Once again I got another prize using the Lottopredict. This time it was all up $27,000.00 from 3 tickets over the last month and I cant thank you enough for the opportunity to get winning tickets all the time. Deidre S.

Which lottery winner are you? A tale of two players published first on https://188lotosite.tumblr.com/