BETROTHED TO THE BILLIONAIRE

Valerie’s POV

This must be one of his girlfriends and probably one of the girls he would ask to become his sex partner.

She looks like a model with her long legs and curvy shape. I am curvy too and I have long legs as well but her outfit beats mine, reminding me of how I haven’t been taking advantage of being a billionaire’s wife.

Her jewelry is from one of the top stores in New York and her handbag is a designer’s handbag.

I totally forgot all about Fred until he clears his throat to get my attention. I was shocked to see him, but not as shocked as seeing him with a different girl yet again.

I keep expecting to see him with Brenda now and then. I keep wishing desperately for the assurance that those two are making my breakup worthwhile by being together but from the look of things, they aren’t.

It’s either Brenda has already dumped his silly ass or he never loved her the way he loved me.

Frankly, I felt that emotion again. That pain always strikes my heart, making me feel like something died inside of me whenever I see his face ever since he betrayed me.

I thought I was doing a great job at forgetting all about him. Well, I am. I haven’t thought of him in a while. I am no longer comparing him with Ryan but it suddenly dawns on me right now that I haven’t gotten over him fully.

Ryan is right. He comes to my head whenever he appears in my sight. Everything keeps coming back even when I try hard not to let them come.

Fred has always been a thorn in my flesh and right now, it is so difficult to shred that flesh off my skin.

Staring at him now reminds me of a lot of things that we have done together. He looks leaner than the last time we met. His eyes aren’t as bright as they used to be and I wonder what is going on in his life.

I am not supposed to care. I shouldn’t care. But on second thought, I feel like knowing what is going on in his life will give me the right to smile or laugh.

Is he happy? Is he sad?

He doesn’t deserve to be happy after what he did to me. I can’t help but wish him anything but sadness. I don’t want him to ever find me in another woman, not even in this goddess standing before me.

Wait!

Does Ryan know her? How?

I turn to Ryan and he is still looking bewildered, his expression unwavering.

Where do they know each other from?

When I lift my head to gaze at her smiling face, it feels familiar for no reason. I am so sure I have never seen her before. I am so sure I don’t know her but I have no idea why she looks familiar.

“Celina?” Ryan jerks upright and demands again as if to be sure this isn’t a dream or an imagination.

Celina? The name sounds familiar too. Is she a celebrity? Have I seen her on TV or somewhere? Is she really a model?

Wealthy people know each other. Ryan is a billionaire and I’m sure this lady here is also one or probably she is a daughter of one of Ryan’s business associates.

“Yes, Ryan. It’s me. Unbelievable, right?” She smirks with pride as she twirls around for him to admire her.

Fred shifts uncomfortably, dragging my attention back to him as he makes a sound with his legs.

I am expecting Ryan to rise and embrace her tightly but he isn’t doing any of that. Instead, he scoffs, holding his jaw with his right hand as he watches the two figures in amazement.

“Really?”

She does not answer. Her smile suddenly disappears too and I begin to wonder what is between them.

Is she his ex? Is she dating Fred? Our exes are dating each other?

Abruptly, Ryan stands up straight and drags my seat out to help me up. Quickly, I pick up my purse and phone. “Let’s get out of here.”

His tone is filled with nothing but anger. Rage.

He looks mad too. Like someone who just caught his lover cheating on him. I had this same look on my face when I caught my best friend with my boyfriend. The feeling is horrible and heartbreaking.

I can remember so vividly that Ryan said he was never in a relationship, even though he had a lot of girls buzzing around him like bees but right now, I am more than convinced that there is something between him and that girl.

He isn’t dragging me out but his hold on my hand is firm as we take the exit.

Why do all of our outings always have to end with dramas? Our first outing ended because a paparazzi took a picture of us. The party we went to ended because we stumbled upon Fred and Brenda at a party and now this.

I am so sure I would have convinced Ryan to stay that night at the party if only we didn’t bump into them.

His pace becomes fast with each step and I am about to tell him to slow down when the familiar girl calls his name from behind, followed by the sound of her heels.

Ryan does not answer her. We step out of the restaurant, the guards at the entrance bowing to us and I nod in reply.

“Ryan?” She runs forward and grabs his shoulders as we get close to the car, thereby making his firm grip on me go off.

She is breathless. She places her right hand on her chest to calm her racing heart while I look behind her to see if Fred also followed her.

He is just stepping out of the restaurant like a boss with his hands in his pockets and a devilish smile on his face.

“Let’s talk”, she mutters, still breathless.

“There is nothing to talk about, Celina. As you can see, I am on a date with my wife”, he says in between gritted teeth.

The girl’s gaze flies to meet my intense stare, disbelief crossing her expression. Her jaws drop open instantly. “Wife?”

“She married him for his money”, Someone chips in from behind. I look behind her as she turns to see Fred walking briskly toward us. “The Valerie I know wouldn’t do this shit just for revenge so I am sure it is for the money.”

“You know her?” She asks him, turning back to me, examining me from head to toe.

I raise my head high up and smile at her. I don’t understand what is happening at the moment but I won’t let anyone’s words get to me.

“You think you know her?” The spite in Ryan’s voice gets to me. He grabs my hand, the furious look still evident on his face. “She is my wife and we got married because we love each other.”

Fred scoffs, turns around dramatically then faces us squarely. He shifts his gaze from me to Fred, then shrieks in laughter.

“Married for love? If she wanted to marry for love, then we would have gotten married…”

“Shut the f*** up, you idiot”, Ryan balls his hand into a fist, letting go of my hand. His expression is scary. I have never seen him this angry before. It looks like he has been piling up his anger toward Fred and now that they have met, he wants them all out.

“No, I won’t. She loves me, not you!” He steps forward, a few inches away from Ryan’s. Celina is looking around in total confusion.

I bite my lower lips, thinking of what to do. I never saw this coming. I never imagined Fred and Ryan would meet in this circumstance and I never thought Ryan would be this mad at him. I really do not know if his annoyance is because of the lady or because of me.

“A real man does not cheat on a woman”, Ryan asserts slowly and calmly, as though he is reading the words from a paper. “If you truly loved her, then you wouldn’t have cheated on her. But I guess that is all for good because she became mine the moment you cheated on her.”

“What?!” Celina exclaims, her attention back to me.

I don’t even have the time to smile or react to his statement because I am thinking deeply about it.

He is right. I became his, but not literally. The moment I caught Fred cheating on me again, I made a choice and the decision to accept the betrothal and become Ryan’s wife.

This won’t be happening if Fred didn’t cheat on me with Brenda. Maybe I would have blindly walked on into the next phase with him simply because I loved him.

Fred laughs shortly, Ryan’s statement not having any effect on him. “I’m sure you don’t know the whole truth, Mr. Billionaire. You are as clueless as f***. If you know all the truth about why we broke up, then you won’t be saying all of this.”

I feel his anger dissipate a little and the urge to turn back to ask me what Fred is talking about.

But he doesn’t look back.

Fred points his index finger at me. “Valerie is not the person you think she is. She is nothing but a total…”

A blow cuts him shut.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

He stumbles backward and regains his stamina then rushes forward to hit Ryan.

Celina steps in between them immediately, stopping Fred from attacking Ryan with an animalistic look on his face.

“Stop this, you two.”

Ryan points towards him again while I stand like a zombie watching them. I feel numb. My head is black. I don’t know how to react or what to say.

“Don’t refer to my wife that way, you idiot. I don’t care why she broke up with you. All I care about is her and you are nothing but a piece of shit so get the fuck out of here.”

Celina looks back, her eyes filled with fear. “Won’t you stop them?”

Her question seems to jerk me back to reality because I know if I don’t do something, then Ryan might get hurt or hurt Fred more than he has done. The blow on his jaw is making him bleed from the nose already.

I am lost in a trance for a few minutes as they exchange more words and the moment Celina steps away from their middle, Ryan charges towards him again and I do the only thing that comes to my head.

I hug him from behind and he stiffens.