Mafia Billionaire’s Forlorn Wife
Chapter 36

“Arabella, wait!”

I stop near the entrance, not wanting to create a scene here in the middle of swarms of paparazzi and other business acquaintances of Rhys’.

He catches up to me, his best friend no longer in sight as I turn around and find him looking at me with his eyes filled with worry.

“I didn’t know she was waiting for me, Arabella.” Rhys states in a hushed voice as he comes to stand in front of me and I have to do everything in my power to not seem like I care about what has just happened.

“And?” I say with a smile fixed on my face for any cameras that might still be focused towards us. “I told you not to embarrass me, and you did. Now, let us not draw any more attention than necessary, okay?”

My cheeks hurt from the smile that I am keeping and my heart hurts from having to keep up this pretence of being unaffected.

The night has not even started and I already wish to go home and sleep it off.

“Arabella, listen to me,” Rhys tries to reach out and take my hand in his own but I immediately pull back.

“Please don’t touch me.” I say in a shaky voice that makes my smile falter slightly before I gather myself again and soften my expressions, “can we just go up?” I say gesturing towards the VIP elevators.

Rhys stares at me for a moment like he wishes to say something but then he ends up nodding his head, “alright, let’s go.” He says stepping closer before his voice drops by a few octaves, and he whispers in my ear, “I’m going to put my hand on your waist, is that okay?” He asks almost timidly.

I give him a soft glare, realising that he’s worried that I would make a scene.

Scoffing, I nod my head, “go ahead.” I hiss under my breath while keeping my expressions neutral as his hand comes to rest on my lower back and I shiver in response because this gown has a low dipping back and his palm is currently in direct contact with my skin.

Goosebumps rise on my body but I shake my head, trying to get rid of the effect he has on me as we start walking towards the elevator.

“Mikhailov!”

We stop in our tracks and I plaster a polite smile on my face as we turn around to respond to the voice that called after us.

However, my smile almost turns sour when I see the person standing in front of us.

“Christopher.” Rhys greets with a tight lipped smile as he stares down at one of his past rivals who has been long defeated by Rhys’ firm at this point.

The blond haired man standing in front of us at the moment used to be the king of the financial streets of Seattle. Because of that, Rhys’ hedge funds had to face a lot of scrutiny and competition initially. However, with his business tactics and resources in the underworld, Christopher is no longer in the same league as Rhys’ company.

He, however, does have a tendency of being a snobby pain in the a*s for Rhys, from what I have observed in the few times that I have had the displeasure of interacting with this man.

“Well, well, Mikhailov, seems like you two were having a bit of a tiff.” He says pointing towards the entrance of the monument where the paparazzi are still clicking pictures of the arriving guests. “I take it that the Mrs. still doesn’t like your ex girlfriend.”

I stare at the man pointedly, imagining a thousand scenarios where I am bashing his head into the wall for rubbing salt on my wound before giving him a smile, “Mr. Young, I am standing right here.” I remind him with my sweetest voice, “and don’t you worry, there is no trouble in paradise for us. We are happily in love.” I say that before glancing at Rhys and leaning into his body while giving him the perfect smile that could fool anyone.

Rhys clears his throat, staring into my eyes for a few moments before he says, “that’s right, Christopher. And besides, I don’t understand how it is anyone else’s business to determine what is happening in our marriage.” With that, he wraps his arm tighter around my waist and pulls me closer as his lips brush against the side of my head.

My heart flutters in my chest at the gesture, before it starts to ache as I am reminded of how long it has been since anyone has been affectionate towards me.

Willing my face to not betray my emotions, I smile at Christopher Young, “anyways, I am looking forward to getting my hands on some of the Dali paintings on auction for tonight, so, I believe we should get going. Yes, sweetheart?” I ask sweetly, turning to look up at my husband.

Rhys chuckles and gives Christopher a discreet glare as he says, “yes, I believe it is time to leave now.”

And with that, the two of us are about to take our leave when Christopher puts forth his hand in front of me and gives me a conniving smile when I meet his eyes, “it was a pleasure meeting you again, Arabella. And it will be a wonderful event indeed.” He states while looking at me with a watchful gaze.

I hesitate before putting my hand in his, thinking that perhaps he is going to go for a simple handshake. However, when he clutches my hand tighter and brings it to his lips, my entire body stiffens as I feel an acrid taste filling up my mouth while my instincts scream at me to snatch back my hand and slap this man across his face.

That is how uncomfortable this man makes me feel in that moment. So much so, that my facial expressions slip and my lips turn down in a scowl.

The only reason that I am not slapping this man away is because I don’t wish to cause a bigger scene for the media than what Amelia’s fiasco at the entrance has probably caused.

But Rhys seems to have other thoughts about this, because the moment I pull back my hand from Christopher’s grip, Rhys’ fist is flying across his jaw and I swear I even hear a cracking sound of his bones in the process.

I stumble back slightly but Rhys’ arm that is still around my waist stabilises me as Rhys grabs Christopher by his neck and growls, “don’t touch my wife again.”

And with that, my husband pushes him away and without a word, starts guiding me to the elevator.

I am more than shocked about his reaction and possessiveness as I look up at Rhys with wide eyes and my jaw hanging open at what he has just done.

People step out of our way, probably because Rhys currently looks like he is ready to have them all for his dinner and even the elevator is empty because most of our poor audience looks scared of him after having witnessed the scene.

This is going to be golden fodder for the media houses.

The elevator doors close and we start moving up to the top of the Needle as I turn towards Rhys, “what the hell was that? Do you know how big of a scene this is going to be?” I scold him, staring at him with worrisome eyes as I wonder if this man has even been thinking straight tonight.

Rhys doesn’t say anything for a few seconds before turning towards me as he lowers his head to meet my gaze, “he touched you.” He barely whispers.

My eyes widen slightly at the gentle tone of his voice and I am so surprised that for a moment I let my emotionless mask slip off of my face, “Rhys, it was just a—”

“Shh…” he comes closer and cups my cheek, looking into my eyes as his breath fans my throat and his thumb grazes my cheek, “shh shh…he shouldn’t have done anything. He shouldn’t have even looked in your direction. Nothing. You’re mine.” He whispers, looking down at me in a way that makes me feel like he is possessed by the spirit of the Rhys that I fell in love with.

“Don’t do this…” I croak out, my voice getting heavy once again which frustrates me because I have spent the whole day crying and I wanted to spend the evening with wine and fine artwork. I didn’t want to cry tonight. “I’m not your possession, Rhys. You can’t act like you own me when it suits you but not give me the time of the day when I need it.” I whimper out.

“You’re my wife, Ivy.” He coaxes, his words falling sharper than before as he puts more emphasis of the word, clutching the side of my neck, “no one should be touching you. And the way your face changed when he kissed your hand…” I find rage pouring into his midnight blue eyes, “the way you shuddered in response, I knew that he made you uncomfortable. He deserved it.”

The affirmation and consideration in Rhys’ voice makes my heart clench in my chest as I stare at him with wonder, “why do you always have to give me hope?” I ask him softly.

His eyes darken slightly, “there are more things that I can give you, sweetheart.” He whispers and before I can ask him anything, his hand reaches behind me and he presses the red button as the elevator comes to a halt mid-hike.

My eyes widen as I grab onto him because of the shakiness as I look at him in shock, “Rhys, what are you doing? Someone would find out about this and it won’t be good for your reputation.” I say as I look all around the elevator interiors but then I breathe a sigh of relief when I don’t see any cameras.

Rhys turns my face back to his own eyes, “f**k all that.” He whispers in a manner that makes my entire body shiver as my mouth goes dry just from the purely desirous look in his eyes. “Let me show you things that I can do to you.” And saying those words, Rhys crashes his lips on top of my own.

My eyes widen and my whole body takes a few seconds to react but that gets my husband to become impatient and he presses me against the wall and starts kissing me even more fervently until I finally k**s him back.

His hands travel up and down the lengths of my arms, his fingertips gently trace my skin before they settle on the slit on my right thigh as his hand starts slipping beneath the delicate fabric of my gown.

I bite down on his lips when I feel his fingers pushing my panties to the side as they start moving between my slick folds and his grip on the back of my neck tightens.

I m**n breathlessly as he enters me with two of his digits working in a slow rhythm and then building it up until I am panting and completely out of control with his k****s along my neck and the heel of his palm rubbing against my clit.

This man is going to drive me f*****g insane one day.

“No one touches you, moya solnyshka. You’re mine.” He growls in my ear, pressing his thumb harshly against my clit to emphasise on his statement and that makes me cry out in pleasure as I press my head against the elevator and scrunch my eyes shut, feeling his fingers moving inside me.

“That’s it, baby, that’s it. Come like a good girl.” He whispers and those words are followed by a much more tantalising pace of his fingers that makes me closer and closer to the edge right before I give myself away to my pleasure and allow it to pull me into its blissful waters.

Rhys holds me to himself as I crash from the high that he just made me experience and once I am able to catch my breath again and open my eyes, I find him looking at me with an indecipherable expression on his face.

“You were worried about the media right?” I nod my head, not even thinking about the stupid photographers or paparazzi in this state right now, “well, I gave them a bigger story by punching Christopher.” He smirks.

Gods, what is this man made of?

⚜️⚜️⚜️

The two of us finally enter the gala after I made sure to look a little presentable after our shenanigans in the elevator— I still can’t believe that I allowed him to give me an o****m in the freaking elevator.

“There’s Madeline.” Rhys states, gesturing to the gorgeous middle aged woman with platinum hair falling till the half of her back in gentle waves. “Let’s go and greet her.”

He is about to lead me to her but I reach out and grab his hand, “wait,” I say nervously, “let me first go and touch up my make up.” I say sheepishly as I look around at the beautiful arrangements made in the highest place of Seattle.

Rhys looks around and nods his head, “there’s the restroom.” He says pointing to the corner corridor and I nod my head gratefully.

“Alright, I’ll be back in two.” And with a small smile gracing my lips, I walk away from him and towards the restroom which is probably empty right now since there are not many people using the restroom at the start of an event.

I enter the well decorated and lit space, finding one of the stalls to be closed but without paying a head to it, I start reapplying my lipstick even though it is still there slightly.

I’m still humming under my breath when the sound of heels clacking against the marble echoes through the space and I barely pay attention until someone grabs me from the back of my head and I am being roughly pushed against the basin.

Piercing pain shoots through my skull while I try to fight the person holding me under but I am unable to see their face.

“Let me go! What the hell?” I struggle against their grip and that is when I hear their voice.

“You have some nerve showing up tonight, bitch.”

Cold recognition spreads through my body as I realise that it is Amelia who is currently assaulting mr.

“Amelia, let me go.” I hiss through my teeth, struggling more but I realise that she is freakishly strong.

She lifts back my head by gripping the roots of my hair and that creates a blinding pain in my skull as she tilts my head back and glares at me heatedly, “how many times do you need to be reminded of the fact that you are nothing to Rhys? Your mere presence suffocates him, Arabella. Why did you even have to come in his life and ruin everything?” She hisses at me.

I try to claw at her grip on the back of my head but she only grips harder and then starts walking me towards the stalls.

“Amelia, he will find out and he would not be very happy about this.” I remind her, genuinely scared for a moment because I see the madness and rage flashing in her eyes.

I should have learnt self defence when I had the chance.

“Oh, believe me, he won’t say a word to me.” And saying that, she pushes me into the stall, and closes the door with me inside.

I hear shuffling sounds and even as i try to open the door, I find out that I am stuck inside this godforsaken bathroom stall.

“Amelia, don’t don’t do this! Please!” I say slapping my palms against the door, trying to open it from the inside but it just wouldn’t budge. Has she blocked it or something?

I hear her snicker from outside, “stay gone for a little bit, Bella. I’ll come fetch you at the end of the night. Ciao.”

And with that, I hear her heels clacking again, then I hear the sound of taps running, and then the sound of her heels feels like she’s going out.

“Amelia! Please! I’m claustrophobic!” I bang against the door when I hear her conniving voice outside.

“Here’s five grand for you to put up a sign that says this restroom is flooded.” She says to someone and horror settles deep down in my chest.

I start looking around and realise that there is no other way to escape this stall except for the door and she has locked it.

It takes about ten more minutes before I see water seeping into the stall from outside and I start feeling my breathing get uneven as my claustrophobia settles deep in my bones and I try pushing away the nasty thoughts currently roaming my mind but I am unable to do so.

Memories of nights spent in such closed spaces start flooding my mind and I feel tears pouring out of my eyes as I bang against the door over and over again, “please, let me out! Amelia! Someone! Please…”

My knees give away as my anxiety reaches unbound levels and I fall to the ground as my shoulders shake from the force of my sobs but I continue banging at the door.

“Please…”

“Let me out…”

“Don’t leave me here…”

And then, as if the worst hasn’t happened already, the lights go out and everything turns dark.

“No no no no…”

Horror settles in my heart as I realise that I am stuck here and my phone is outside on the slab inside my purse.

And no one might come to save me.