Mafia Billionaire’s Forlorn Wife
Chapter 45

I m**n at the delicious bite from the pepperoni pizza, liking it more than anything else, especially with not having eaten in more than twenty four hours.

“Oh, mama’s hungry.” Leo jokes and I almost end up choking on the bite that I’m eating as I look at him with startled eyes.

“You did not just say that!” I shriek but there is still a smile on my face at the way he looks so peaceful while teasing me.

It’s like the storm that this morning brought has passed and perhaps, it’s a new beginning for me.

“Come on, don’t tell me you think that I’m not going to c***k all these pregnancy jokes all the damn time now, mama bear.” He says bopping my nose and that gets me giggling as I snuggle back against the giant mound of pillows he has arranged on my bed claiming that it’ll be good for my ‘pregnant back’.

At the moment, we’re sitting under heaps of throws and blankets while watching reruns of Gilmore Girls on the flat screen mounted on the wall in front of us. We’re surrounded by food and nutritious drinks and so far, Leo has tried his level best to make me as comfortable as possible.

My heart melts at just how much he cares about me.

“I really wish you were interested in women.” I blurt out before even realising what I am saying as Leo throws his head back laughing and I bite my l*p sheepishly. I shrug, “well, you take care of me more than any other man in my life ever has, so like…” I trail off with a shrug.

Leo chuckles as he loops his arm around my neck and presses his lips to my head fondly, “believe me, Bella, if I had even the slightest inclination towards the opposite s*x, you would have been the only girl I would look at.”

I grin, “I’m still the only girl you look at, Grinch.” I remind him and he shrugs before the two of us break out laughing.

There’s a reason why we have stuck together through thick and thin for so many damn years.

We fall into comfortable silence as I snuggle up beside him, resting my head on his shoulder and devouring the pizza slice in my hands before going for another one.

“You do realise that this time I am letting you eat unhealthy but from tomorrow on we are going on a strictly healthy diet, right?” He says giving me the side eye.

I pout, “come on, really?” I say trying to give him my best impression of puppy eyes before repeating his statement in my head, “wait, you said we…?”

He looks at me like it is the most obvious thing, “yeah, I mean, you won’t feel disheartened or alone. You’ll have my support in eating healthy.”

I look at him for a moment and then tears fill up in my eyes as I squeal, “you would really do that for me?”

“Awh, come here!” He hugs me, stroking my hair as I cry softly in his embrace, “of course I will. I am with you till the end of time, Bella.”

More tears escape my eyes as I whisper, “he’s gonna come for me, Lee. I really don’t want him to know about this pregnancy. He’ll just try to ruing everything for me.”

The realisation that Rhys has never loved me and the acceptance that he would never put me before his foolish endeavours or his best friend has my heart clenching painfully in my chest as I sob.

My f*****g emotions are riled up since last night and I have no one else to blame but myself.

“Hey hey hey…” Leo whispers, shushing me as he pulls away just enough to wipe my tears, “no crying okay? You’re going to stress the little one.” He tells me and I feel my heart burst with gratitude, “and besides, “I’m here for you. I’ll smuggle you out of this f*****g continent if I have to.”

That makes me chuckle through my tears, “I actually think you might just do that.” I tell him with a heartfelt smile on my lips.

“You feel happy about this pregnancy right?” He asks after a few seconds, looking at me in all seriousness, “you really want this, right? Because if not then believe me you don’t have to go through with this for any reason. It should entirely be your own choice and I wouldn’t want you to make any rash decision or—”

“Lee!” I say with a smile, interrupting him before telling him, “I am one hundred percent positive about having this baby. Because believe me, the first thought that came to my head after seeing the results was how I need to protect my baby from whatever else Amelia has planned. How I need to protect my baby from Rhys’ lack of acceptance and harshness. I thought about how I need to keep us both safe from the world of the mafia. And not once, since then, have I regretted this. And I won’t.”

Leo looks relieved by that as he smiles, “perfect then, that is all I want for you.”

That makes me side hug him before I remember something, “wait, weren’t you telling me about how you started seeing someone last night before I passed out?” I ask, wanting desperately to change the course of this conversation and to know more about my best friend’s current love life.

Leo seems to understand my urge and smiles, “yes, you slept right before I was about to tell you his name.”

I smile sheepishly and he chuckles before removing his arm from around me as he reaches over to the side table and grabs the iPad, “but, I’ll do you one better,” he says, “I’ll show you his picture.”

I grin brightly at that, “yes please!” I say with enthusiasm.

I sit in silence as he opens the iPad, probably searches for his new beau’s photograph. However, halfway through that, his face drops and his lips turn down in a deep scowl as he reads something on the screen.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I ask him, furrowing my brows as I lean forward to see what he’s seeing.

However, before I can take a good look, he pulls the iPad away but he wasn’t quick enough for me to not see a glimpse of an old red carpet picture of mine.

“Leo, what’s that?” I ask him, suddenly my entire body goes on high alert as I look at him with a rigid expression.

He gets a little jittery, “oh, it was nothing, you know what? Let’s watch the show.” And saying that, he reached for the remote to unpause the flat screen but I intercept him and snatch the remote for myself.

“No.” I say firmly, “I think I saw my picture and I believe it is from a news article. You need to show me what the f**k is going on.”

Leo purses his lips, “I would really rather you not see those things, Bella.”

I roll my eyes, “wouldn’t you want me to be prepared? I should at least know what they’re writing about me now.”

Leo tries to deny but the way I give him a pointed glare, he caves, handing me the iPad.

Thinking that probably the story about Rhys punching Christopher is what is going viral, I start scrolling and soon, I realise that nothing in this world could have prepared me for the storm that is just about to enter my life.

Every gossip column, every magazine, every newspaper is trending with the story of Rhys Mikhailov’s Unfaithful Wife.

My eyes widen with horror as I realise the pure hatred that I am getting from every social media platform I have. Even the people who don’t follow me or my work are talking about me, assassinating my character in public, and the main cause behind it all is a video that brings my heart to a stumbling stop.

My entire body chills as I watch the video play on the screen and tears of humiliation and pain fill up my eyes as my head snaps up towards Leo.

“This isn’t what happened…I swear…I didn’t k**s him…I was just trying to distract him for long enough for myself to find an opening and kick him in the balls.” I whimper, wanting to explain myself in very specific detail as Leo shakes his head and throws the iPad away before bringing me in his arms again.

“I swear I didn’t do anything…” I cry out.

“I know, I know you didn’t. You don’t have to explain anything. Last night was a terrible disaster and you suffered through it. I’m sorry for not being there to protect you from all this crap.”

I open my mouth to speak but before I can, the bell rings once again and pure, icy dread spreads through my entire body as I straighten up and meet Leo’s gaze.

“It’s Rhys.” I say without even having to check. “He must have seen all this and now he’s here. God…is he gonna kill me?”

“HEY!” Leo says placing his hands on my arms, “I am not going to let anything happen to you or your baby.” He assures me, “now, just stay here and I will go and deal with him— if it is him.”

“It is! I know him. He would never digest something like this. He probably believes everything that they’re saying.”

Leo squeezes my arms gently, “I will deal with him Bella.” His voice gets a darker edge as his usually friendly eyes darken and I am reminded of the man he is underneath his joyful appearance. “You don’t have to worry about a thing. I will deal with him. Just stay here.”

Shakily, I nod my head, and as Leo leaves, I can’t help but feel that today is going to be my last thread.