Mafia Billionaire’s Forlorn Wife
Chapter 23

I shake my head, thinking about Arabella’s antics as I watch her leaving the door.

Her comment about seeing other people still irks me because the truth is, even though I am only married to her in name, and only until I get my revenge from Mancini, I am still abhorred by the idea of being with someone that isn’t Arabella.

Whatever be the current situation between us, she is still my wife and I am still her husband. I would never cheat on her.

And the greatest proof of that fact is that the reporter who wrote the f*****g article with Arabella’s name is currently bloodied and beaten up in the basement of my house. He will die before the end of the day.

No one talks about her in such a crude manner and gets away with it. No one.

“Arabella, listen—” I stop in my words when I notice that she is just frozen in her spot in the doorway of the conference room that she was heading out of.

I can’t see what’s on the other side of the door which makes me furrow my brows as I approach her and when I finally realise what has stopped her in her tracks, I cuss under my breath.

Amelia really chose a good time to come here. I don’t mind her presence but right now, with the things that Arabella has just accused me of, her appearing in my office is not good for my relationship with my wife.

But wait…why do I care about any kind of a relationship with Arabella? It’s not like I like her or anything. She doesn’t mean anything to me.

Does she?

I shake my head just as Arabella lets out a scoff, “Amelia.” She greets tightly, and sparing me a last glance, she just storms out of the place before I can say anything.

Amelia looks at me with her eyes holding a troubled expression, “what just happened?” She sputters out.

I sigh, shaking my head I step outside the conference room and make a beeline straight to the liquor cabinet in my main office as I pour myself something for this piercing headache that has suddenly developed.

“Nothing, she wanted to talk to me about something.” I reply just as she approaches me and pours herself a glass too.

She raises her brow, “really? So, now she’s interested in talking to you?” She questions in a snide manner and I hate to admit the fact that it irks me. The tone with which she is talking about Arabella is something that doesn’t sit well with me.

Amelia has been my friend since childhood. Her father did a few odd jobs for mine and even though he is more of an oil mogul and most of his businesses are completely legal and legitimate, there are still moments when he requires Bratva assistance.

Our fathers used to be great friends before mine was killed by Dominico. As for Amelia’s mother, she ran away with a lover of hers and was later killed off by the Bratva men at the command of her father. Amelia doesn’t know that bit. She just knows that her mother is gone.

And it is because of the guilt of hiding the truth from her that I am always extra cautious when it comes to her. Amelia has always been a sensitive girl and throughout our lives I know that she doesn’t deserve the things that have happened to her. Which is why I feel protective over her because to some extent, I relate to the sadness and pain of her life.

Which is why she is also someone who knows the reality of my marriage with Arabella, including what Arabella said to her cousin just before our wedding.

When Amelia first found out about my decision to get married to Arabella, she did try to protest, reminding me of how her father killed mine, but when I told her about my real motives, she was completely on board with that idea.

“She was just upset about the article in Seattle Scoop.” I say waving my hand as I flop down on one of the couches and she comes to sit beside me.

“Is that so?” She ponders, “huh, I wonder why though? I mean she did meet James after all.”

I roll my eyes, “I have told you a thousand times that she didn’t meet James, he just happened to be there at the bar when she came back from Paris.”

I don’t know why but the urge to defend Arabella is strong. I mean, Amelia shouldn’t even know these intimate details and she wouldn’t have found out either if she didn’t hear me on call when I was threatening James to leave town for the second time.

“Yeah, but that seems too convenient in my opinion.” She says with a roll of her brown eyes, “I mean, I don’t understand what her agenda is, to be honest.”

I furrow my brows, “what do you mean?”

Amelia shrugs, pushing her hair off of her shoulder as she sits back and looks at me with her lips pressed in a thin line, “well, first of all she is clearly not in love with you, I mean we established that even before you got married to her. Secondly, she doesn’t care about you as she has shown plenty of times in the past few months since the two of you have been married. Then why in hell does she get agitated over some article of you and I?”

I roll my eyes, “look, they’re dragging her name into the mud. And we both know that she’s a pretty famous socialite and business woman whose business also depends on her public image.” Great, and now I am giving explanations for a wife that I am not even supposed to care about, “believe it or not, I am actually concerned about her. And this reporter is most definitely going to get what’s coming to him.”

Amelia’s eyes widen, “don’t tell me you already have him strung up in a dungeon or something? Why would you do something like that for a woman you so clearly don’t care about?” She almost sounds annoyed and appalled by the idea.

I have to remind myself that Amelia is my friend and only means well as I shake my head, “he’s not just coming after Arabella. He’s coming after me too.” I tell her in all seriousness, “I hate the fact that ever since I have married her, my life has somehow become the main topic of discussion in the media. I have always been very particular about keeping myself off the news until absolutely necessary, but now, it is like the media always gets the wind of my whereabouts and they just happen to click those wretched photographs at the most inopportune times.”

I would really have to remind them of just who they’re dealing with here. I have always had a very strict policy of keeping my life private but somehow, at the moment it is anything but that.

It is never a good idea in my line of work either.

“Huh, maybe Arabella has someone following you and getting your photographs clicked, you know?” Amelia states and I scrunch my face in absolute abhorrence of that idea.

“She would never do that.” I snap, a little too harshly than I should have, but still. Even the insinuation of such a thing makes me want to knock some sense into Amelia.

She looks taken aback for a moment, blinking at me with an unreadable expression as she says, “how can you be so sure?”

I shake my head, “I just am. She would never do something like that.”

I am getting irritated by this conversation with each passing moment.

Amelia scoffs, “don’t tell me that you’ve fallen for her or something. This isn’t your naïveté speaking, is it? Because she is a pathetic little bi—”

“ENOUGH.” I growl, glaring at her in a way that has fear streaking her face, “I know Arabella and I don’t exactly have an ideal marriage and we wouldn’t be together if it wasn’t for my revenge against her father, but I would not sit here to listen to you trash talk about my wife. Is that clear?”

She nods her head frequently, her eyes wide as she looks at me in shock.

I take in a deep breath, “good.” I say before adding, “and as far as what you are insinuating is concerned — Arabella would never do that because I know she would never stoop so low as to have me followed and then reported to the press. She might not love me but she is a woman with class and extremely high standards. Now, I haven’t seen her vindictive side but I know that if she has to show someone their place, she would do it in a magnificent way and the entire world will either be on awe of her or be scared of her when she does that.”

I know because that is the side that I am always most worried about.