The Daring Billionaire’s Wife by Lypstical

Vanessa

As I open my eyes, it takes a few seconds for my vision to adjust,so I take my time with it by stretching my entire body on the bed.

I can already feel a light headache and it's a form of relief knowing that I don't have anything important planned for today.

When my vision finally adjusts, I stare at the ceiling, instantly raising my eyebrows at my surroundings. I'm in my bedroom at home, but how is this possible when I don't remember getting in this bed? Thinking my eyes are deceiving me, I sit up and the covers roll down to my lower half, exposing what I'm wearing. It's the same dress from last night at the party. What the hell happened? The last thing I remember is the girls cheering me on to dance while I was still in my seat.

No matter how hard I try, I'm unable to remember anything after that. I must've taken those shots too rapidly and that's why I feel this way. I still don't regret it. I just hate the way it makes me feel right now. Thinking about the main reason I even took shots like that, my heart sinks. I couldn't believe it at first when Carmella told me, but it still hurt. That's why I wanted to confirm it from Dominic and knowing that it was actually true hurt even more. That's because it was only yesterday that I felt like we were becoming friends, but it was all just for nothing.

This gives me even more of a reason to stop whatever it is I think I feel for him. I actually feel like a fool thinking about how he's been looking at me, trying to find the right moment he'll divorce me. Though I still don't know what he thinks now that they're not together, I've already decided that starting now, I'll just do what I'm here for. I'll play my part only because of my father. Dominic wants children and I'll give him just that while guarding my heart.

Putting my hurt feelings aside, I push the covers off of me, scooting to the edge of the bed and bringing my feet on the plush carpet. I step on it, then rise to my feet and I instantly feel a little dizzy. It might take a while for me to be back to myself but I still don't want to just be in bed, especially after remembering why I drank all that whiskey in the first place.

I drag my feet to the bathroom and as soon as I look in the mirror, my eyes widen a little at my messy hair. What surprises me even more is that I still have a full face of makeup. My pillow should've been a mess. Was I so drunk that I wasn't even able to turn on my side?

After tying up my hair, I begin freshening up, taking my time with it and treating it like the self-care that I always have. I stop for a moment, wrapping my arms around myself. It's at this moment that I tell myself shouldn't let this bother me so much. I'll be alright

Right after the shower, I reach for the hair dryer. I blow my hair with it while standing in front of the mirror, the hair strands getting blown in different directions.

While still at it, I realize that I was so upset yesterday and hurt that I didn't watch the video Dominic sent to me.

I quickly finish up working on my hair, then sit on the bed after taking my phone from my purse. I expect the screen to light up right away but it doesn't and it's only after I power it on that it lights up. I don't remember powering off my phone. Did Dominic do this for me? Why would he even do that? The thought of him doing me that favor only makes me scoff. At this point, it doesn't matter what he'll do for me. I don't care anymore.

A few seconds after it powers on, I scroll through the messages until I find the video. Before I can even play it, it already looks like it was from a hidden camera, which makes sense because I'm certain he didn' want everyone knowing that he was taking a video, especially our parents.

Curious to see how it all went down, I press play, leaning against the headboard and in only the first 10 seconds, it puts a smile on my face, the sadness in my heart feeling just a bit lighter. Everything about the scene is so hilarious - from the actress playing the culprit, to the two guys pretending to be the detectives.

My father lashes out at her at first and even though it's mostly funny to see, it warms my heart seeing him express the fear he had of losing me that it almost gets me a little emotional. I even panic when he places his hand on his chest like something's wrong, but Dominic goes to him, holding onto his shoulders and telling him to take it easy. His actions make me smile, but I soon frown, remembering what's going on between us.

After my father, it's my father-in-law's turn and he has a similar moment as he lashes out at the actress and she just sits there, apologizing like she actually means it.

Then comes my mother-in-law, who starts with a hard slap and I cover my mouth with wide eyes as she lashes out loudly. Then comes another slap and another one. I can feel the rage in her voice as she talks about how concerned she was about me and how she feared for the worst. What really melts my heart is when she describes me as her own daughter, one she feared she had lost.

Despite all those slaps, the actress just sits through it all once again. I wonder how much she was willing to endure.

My mother-in-law places her hand on her chest as well and Dominic rushes over to her, calming her down as well.

Finally, it's Dominic's turn and I instantly roll my eyes at the fake rage and concern he displays as he talks about how much he loves me. Now that I know what his plans were for me, this has no effect. He sounds so convincing that as our parents watch in the background, they nod a few times to most of his words, as if proud of him for taking charge. If only they knew what his plans were all along.

He goes on to talk about the value I hold in his life and I can't take it anymore. It even makes me shake my head as I know he's only lashing out because I'm the one person who's going to help him take over his dream company much faster.

Feeling my heart sink the more I hear him speak, I stop playing the video.

I rest my head against the headboard again, closing my eyes with a heavy sigh. It seems that even as I try to forget what he's been planning, it doesn't seem to go away so easily as everything else is mostly connected to it.

To distract myself further, I decide to call everyone but just before I can even begin, my father calls first and I instantly smile by just looking at the caller ID.

Sitting up more, I pick up with enthusiasm. "Good morning, Dad."

"Good morning, my child," he says from the other end of the line and sounds so enthusiastic and a little more energetic than yesterday. "It would have been even better if you had done something." "What's that?" I narrow my eyes, wondering what he's talking about.

"Yesterday, you checked on me in the morning to find out if I had breakfast, so what happened today?"

I chuckle softly, nodding in understanding like he can see me.

"The truth is that I was just very exhausted. I had a little too much to drink while at the party."

"You shouldn't do that to yourself."

I can already imagine him shaking his head in disapproval.

"I'll be more careful next time."

"Good. I'm just glad Dominic was there to take care of you."

"And because of how much I had to drink, I woke up not too long ago. That's why I couldn't check on you earlier. I was actually about to do it, but you beat me to it by calling first."

"I see."

"Now, did you drink lots of water and have enough food?" I ask.

"Of course I did." He chuckles. "Do you think I would call you without doing that?"

"You know that I'm just making sure."

"Of course, my child. And why didn't you pick up my call yesterday?"

My smile fades as I remember that I put up my phone on silent because I could only think about Dominic and what he planned to do with me.

"I was just extremely busy at the conference," I lie to him.

"I see. Well, I just wanted to tell you about how it all went with that lady, but you obviously heard about it from Dominic."

"Yes, he told me and you need to take better care of yourself because there was a moment when it seemed that you weren't doing too well," I say with concern.

"How could I not end up that way considering that you're my source of joy and that lady was trying to take it away from me? Don't worry. Nothing will happen to me. I'm right here." "And I'm glad to know that." I sigh with relief.

"Right before I called you, I received a call from Patrick," he says.

"Did something happen?"

"No. He was just telling me about how he's excited to begin and you know he was once again thanking me."

"Of course." I shake my head. "That never comes to an end."

"To be honest, I'm a little anxious that he's actually starting this week. The company has high expectations of him because I recommended him despite his track record." "I'm sure he'll do just fine," I assure him.

"He better do that because if he fails, it'll also be embarrassing for me and I-"

He suddenly coughs, making me furrow my eyebrows.

"Dad? Is everything okay?"

"Yes. I just choked on something."Original from NôvelDrama.Org.

He coughs again but softer than before.

"There we go," he says to himself. "Now, as I was saying."

He carries on with the conversation and sounds absolutely fine, making me worry less and less until I forget about it.

Talking to him already makes me feel so much better and after my call with him, I intend to call everyone else except Dominic.

Dominic

The morning traffic is nothing new. It's always been there every day of the week but this is the one time I wish I wasn't stuck in traffic. It makes me so impatient that I slam the steering wheel a few times with a grunt.

"Whoa! You really need to take it easy," Frank says from the other end of the line. I have him on speaker while I drive.

"How the fuck am I supposed to take it easy when the cars in front of me aren't moving? Everyone here's just wasting my time."

He chuckles.

"You think it's funny?" I glare at the phone.

"How could I not find this funny? Had this just been another day of you on your way to work or so, you wouldn't be so impatient but because you're going home, things are different."

I sigh. "You even know that I don't want to miss the chance to do things right."

"Hey, if it doesn't work out now, you can do it at another time of the day."

"Don't you understand that it's more effective this morning?" I huff.

"Hmm...now that I think about it, you're right. You better make sure you do it this morning or it's going to suck."

"You know what? You're not helping."

"I thought you wanted my opinion on this."

I lean back in my seat, the cars honking only adding to my irritation.

"You know, if you want to get to Vanessa faster, why not just call for your helicopter?" he suggests.

"And where the fuck is it going to land? It would still take me a while to get home by the time it gets here," I say with irritation

"Dude, when I made this suggestion to you yesterday at the party, I didn't say you should be so into it."

I sigh deeply, relaxing my shoulders. "I just want to do things right. Vanessa might still be asleep. I hope she is. She better be."

Frank chuckles again and this time, I don't even have the energy to banter with him. It's actually upsetting that I'm still stuck in traffic.

Finally, the cars in front of me begin to move and I firmly hold onto the steering wheel.

"I'm finally moving again," I say to him.

"Good. I'm already at the office. I'll see you when you get here, but call me as soon as it happens. I want to hear all about it, whether it succeeds or fails."

"Seriously?" I poke my cheek.

After he ends the call, I focus on the

road. Even if want to drive faster, I

can't because of all the cars in front of me. As soon as that opportunity presents itself once I'm on a

different road, I go for it, glancing at the time. It's only 9:30 a.m. and I'm certain I can still make it

The tires screech as I pull up in the front yard, unbuckling my seatbelt quickly while only thinking about Vanessa's reaction to what I'm about to do. This better turnout as expected.