BETROTHED TO THE BILLIONAIRE

Ryan’s POV

When she isn’t out after five minutes, I let out a sigh, not out of surprise because I know she is the world wide known definition of tardiness.

She is never early to anything. Not even our wedding.

Who am I to even think today will be different?

That woman is just one out of a hell of bat-shit insane women out there. I used to think I have this sort of effect on women but Valerie is an exemption.

I never thought I would also be ever cool-headed with a woman but Valerie is that woman who is suddenly turning me into a cool-headed man.

How can I keep up with my arrogance when she doesn’t even give me room for that? How can I keep up with my stubbornness when she is way more stubborn than I am to the point that I get exhausted and tired of going back and forth with her with words?

At this point, I think I am just going to let her have her way. I have a lot to deal with and having to put her on my list of problems right now is not something I can afford to do.

My mother is my priority now.

Valerie promised to help me talk to my mother.

Without informing me, she called my mother to tell her that we would be coming for dinner tonight.

I wonder how she did that. But I guess it is easy since my mom likes her. Everyone in my family does except of course me.

Anita called me to inform me. I was surprised. Valerie didn’t even bother to call me after doing her thing.

I remember dropping off my number at the house this morning before going out but I wonder why she didn’t call until it was 6 pm.

She called and told me we would be going for dinner at my parent’s. She made it known to me that I needed to leave work early, which was why she felt it was useful to call me.

If I was someone who leaves work early, maybe she won’t even call at all. She would just expect me to show up at the door and then she would let it out.

I didn’t leave work early enough. The dinner is at 7 pm but because I got her call rather late, I had to do some rounding up and I left the office ten minutes before 7 pm.

On my way here, I told her to get ready and meet me outside the courtyard since there is little time to go in, take a shower, and get changed.

It is just for dinner.

I am thinking of giving her a call again to know why she is taking so long. We are ten minutes late already and my Mother’s place is a twenty minutes drive from here.

She appears suddenly the moment the front door opens and I heave a deep sigh of relief, instructing John to get the door for her.

John gets down and runs to the other side to open the door for her. She thanks him with a smile and climbs in beside me, a feminine cologne wafting past my nose and making me snap my head to look at her.

She is wearing a baby blue long sleeves bodycon midi dress with high heels and her straight hair packed in a low bun, exposing the silver butterfly earring on both ears.

Elegant is the word. Simple.

I never thought Valerie could be this pretty. I guess that first impression does last forever.

“Do I look good?” Her question jerks me out of my reverie and I nod before looking away.

“Too good?” I can sense the smirk in the tone.

“Yeah.”

“That’s the plan. Simple but good.”

The last time I checked, Valerie and I went to bed last night after another argument and she doesn’t expect that I will be complimenting her now like the world’s most beautiful woman when we can switch to our argument mood in seconds.

“Why are you late?” I don’t need to tell John to take off before he does. The car roars to life and he reverses backward to take the gate out.

The car drives out and I realize Valerie isn’t answering my question. I turn to face her.

She sees me watching her with a raised brow. She shrugs nonchalantly and replies. “Just putting a finishing touch to my look.”

My forehead creased in confusion. “Finishing touches?” I have to examine her face more appropriately to be sure I know what I am thinking.

She doesn’t have elaborate makeup on. I’m sure it’s just lipstick, powder, and mascara, that’s all, isn’t it?

“Yes?” It sounds like a question.

I sigh and look away, disinterested in further details. She is already late anyway.

Silence ensues and I see her from my peripheral view, watching me. She is seated comfortably on the car seat as though she owns the car and the person beside her.

It looks like I am the one getting a lift while she is the “madame”.

I wonder how her ex-boyfriend coped with her personality. A cool-headed man in his right senses won’t fall for this woman. I guess that’s why they broke it off.

“I called a doctor”, she mentions and it dawns on me that she was watching me, trying to figure out how to raise the topic of my mother’s health.

It is inevitable. We are going there after all and it will surely be raised. If not by me, her.

I nod without a word.

I called a doctor too. Myeloma is incurable. That was what the doctor told me. This is why Anita said she was dying.

It can only be managed to increase the years of living of the patient through chemotherapy and the rest but it can’t be cured. I got to realize that this must have been going on for years without me knowing.

My mother has been battling with such an ailment without my knowledge. I didn’t notice any changes and it makes me sad the more I think about it.

When I contacted the family hospital, I got to know that Mother had always been in and out of the hospital since the beginning of the year and she has given up on the treatments now.

She has refused to go on with the treatment and I wonder if Father knows about all of this.

Why do I have to be the last person to know? Why is this happening to her? She is a good woman and she doesn’t deserve to die now.

Not now.

But what powers do I have to change that fate? I have no power whatsoever and the more that I think of it, the more tempted I am to get on my knees and cry to the One who created us all.

I am not religious. I can’t remember if I ever prayed in my life but at this point in my life, I strongly believe that He exists and I want to pray that he spares my Mother.

“I’m really sorry, Ryan”, Valerie’s touch on my shoulder jerks me back to life. “It’s incurable.”

“I know”, I shut my eyes to indicate that I don’t want to talk about this.

I don’t even want to talk to her. I am not interested. The silence is comforting enough and it is giving me time to reflect.

“You know what, Ryan?” She breaks the silence again. I do not answer nor do I shift my gaze away from the window. “I just realized yesterday that I don’t need to be married to take my revenge on Fred and Brenda.”

Fred and Brenda? Is that her boyfriend’s name?

She chuckles lightly and leans forward. “I mean I don’t need to be married to anyone to take my revenge but getting married to you is an advantage. You are a fucking billionaire and I can flaunt our wealth…”

“Our wealth?” I cut her short, staring at her in amazement. “I thought you were less interested in money?”

“Well, yes but isn’t it our wealth?”

“Shut up!” I growl and look away again.

“Whatever! Just listen to my reason for saying that. I don’t need to be married because Fred and Brenda can’t last, you know?”

I shake my head.

I am not really interested in the conversation but I am beginning to think that she is doing this because she knows that I want a diversion from my thoughts and the topic of my mother’s health.

She smiles widely, her eyes shining brightly and I wonder why she just realized she doesn’t need to be married now that we are three days into our marriage.

Our horrible marriage life.

“Fred and Brenda can’t last because they are not meant for each other. First, Fred is too cool-headed for a wild girl like Brenda, and second, Brenda uses men like Fred and dumps them after a while when the whole thing becomes too boring for her to bear.”

When she finishes, she grins widely like she just won the lottery.

The way she analyzed it makes it seem like she is teaching me something.

“So no more revenge?”

“I haven’t decided.”

I nod and lean backward in the seat, my gaze forward as John overtakes the slow-riding car in front of us, leaving a huge gap between our car and the car.

I don’t speed but I guess today, it is needed. Within minutes, we are a few meters away from my parents’ home.

As he honks the car horn to alert the automatic gates to open, my phone beeps to signify a message.

I dig my hand into my pants pocket to fish out the phone.

It is a message from someone. A strange number. I open the message to see the content.

“I saved your number as JERK. Why haven’t you saved mine with THAT CRAZY WOMAN?”

It takes a while for me to realize it is coming from the woman sitting right beside me. When I look up, she turns her face away and opens the door before John can get the door for her.

This is when I realize we are already at the Lorenzo’s mansion.