Bargain Bride: The Billionaire’s Forced Wife

“I’M WILLING TO HELP YOU,” those were Sigmund’s words before the call ended. A voice of a man stating that his call time was over while Sigmund was talking, and various voices of other people screaming to remove Sigmund because he has been using the phone for a long time.

Chiara looked at her husband, contemplating whether they should accept his help. On the day she visited him in prison, Chiara extended help because she still doesn’t have enough connections to get more information.

But now that her husband is awake, and she have Sophia and Caterina to give her updates, she doesn’t think that she will need Sigmund’s assistance. However, she is curious on what information Sigmund has, or maybe, a physical evidence against their rival.

“Shall we accept it?” Chiara asked her husband. She doesn’t want to decide for the two of them. “I don’t know how he can help us now that he is still in prison.”

Sigmund can’t do much aside from giving statements they can use against Giovanni. But that’s not what they need right now. They need physical evidences.

Caterina and Sophia gave her statements they got directly from their rival, but in the court, those words are considered to be “easy to twist”. On the other hand, physical evidences are honored in the court.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Ezio took a moment to think how to answer the question. “He is now reaching out to us, because he knew that Giovanni cannot pull him out anymore,” he said as a matter of fact.

“Did the authorities finally close the Bonetti Law Firm?” she asked as she wasn’t updated on what happened to the said law firm.

Her husband nodded. “They were closed just two days ago. Lawyers under them were all under investigation,” he replied.

“So that’s why,” Chiara spoke, grasping the situation. “Giovanni doesn’t have any lawyers to pull Sigmund or Isabella out, and Sigmund is desperate enough to reach out to us.”

Ezio rested his back on the chair. Thinking about the old man words. It has come to his knowledge that the old man was the mastermind on slandering the image of his hotel.

He knew that they shouldn’t trust that old man, but Ezio cannot let the opportunity pass from his hands.

“Cara, you will meet Simone’s wife tomorrow, right?” he asked.

Chiara nodded. “Yes, tesoro. She already agreed on the place and time that I gave,” she answered. “Why?”

“Try to get some information about Sigmund through that woman,” he replied and gave a calm smile to her. He wanted to maximize all of their resources before attacking their rival. “You mentioned that she was with Sigmund during your statement about the hotel, then that means that they are working together. That woman might give a glimpse on what Sigmuna knows.”

Chiara understood what he said. She has to squeeze all of the information that she can on their conversation, without being too obvious. She already planned the questions in her head, and she hoped that all of those things will be answered.

A day passed and Chiara is now on the way towards their meeting place. Ezio was in the same car as her, reminding her about where he positioned his mean and where he will be waiting and monitoring their conversation.

Ezio, as usual, went all out on making sure of her safety. Atleast 20 body guards where with them, scattered around the place and ready to protect her once another person did something bad.

“Should I accompany you, cara?” Ezio asked his wife when they arrived at the meeting place. They were surrounded by gardens filled with flowers and plants.

From a far, they can see Alessandra waiting on a table just right in the middle of the area, the part that Chiara chose. It’s right beside the entrance, and only a glass window separated it from the outsidd, giving Ezio and the other people more access to view them.

“There’s no need,” Chiara spoke. “It might set her off if I will bring another person. Besides, she mentioned that she wanted to talk specifically to me.”

Ezio nodded as a response. His eyes tell that he is hesitant to let Chiara go alone, but he understood what she said.

Before Chiara left the, she gave him a peck of kiss. The moment she stepped outside, she prepared herself for what could happen, including the questions she is going to ask.

Alessandra stood up when she saw Chiara approaching her. Just from one look and Chiara knee that the last weeks have been restless for Alessandra. Her eyebags were deeper than before, even leaving a dark spot under her eyes. She also looked thinner, making her baby bump evident.

The moment they seated on the chair, Alessandra opened the topic immediately.

“I won’t beat around the bush,” she spoke, her voice hoarse. She looked down, as staring into Chiara’s eyes felt like she was sucking her soul and energy.

“I want to apologize for making a scene outside your house before, and for accusing you of seducing my husband,” Alessandra said with a low voice, but enough for the two of them to hear. “well, future ex-husband.”

Chiara’s eyes widened for a short time before going back to her neutral face. She didn’t expect that Alessandra will apologize to her.

Way back in high school, Alessandra was one of the “mean girls”. Even if she did something wrong before, such as hurting and bullying other students, she never apologized. She never took the blame even if the school head interfered. She was a woman with such a high pride.

” I understand, and I accept your apology,” Chiara responded. Actually, she already accepted to herself that Alessandra won’t apologize, so her stating won’t changing anything. But she felt relieved hearing those words from her.

Alessandra was silent for a moment, contemplating what to say. Before she arrived, Alessandra already practiced in her head what she wanted Chiara to know. But now, she seemed to be lost for words.

“I know I’m not in the place to say this to you, but our marriage wasn’t made with love,” she spoke, her voice cracked in mid-sentence. “When you married Signor Vitali, Simone was heartbroken, and I took advantage of that.”

“I was with him the entire three years, helping him move on with you. I settled in being a rebound, because at the back of my mind, I was hoping that my efforts will come to fruition, and that he will love me the same he loved you.”

She gave a bitter smile to Chiara, as small tears fell down from her cheeks. Her heart felt like it was being crushed as she reminisced the times she became a stupid woman for love.

“It was supposed to be your 7th year anniversary. Simone got drunk and something happened between us,” she added. “I got pregnant, and I used that to lock him in a marriage. I used my family’s influence to force him to marry me.”

“I thought everything will be fine once we got married, that he will finally forget about you,” she shook her head repeatedly. “But I was wrong. He kept mentioning you everyday, comparing me to you. I endured it, because I was hoping that he will open his heart to me. That maybe, our child can be a bridge to tie us together.”

“When a friend of mine saw you together, I just lost it. I didn’t think twice before attacking you, ” Alessandra admitted. “It didn’t came to my mind that he might be the one trying to get you back.”

She wiped her tears and laughed. “I’m sorry. I just want to let this out.”

“It’s fine,” Chiara replied. “You don’t have to apologize. It will be better for you to let your emotions out, especially now that your pregnant.”

Alessandra’s hand went down to her stomach. Her eyes softened as she remembered that a life is inside of her: her life, her light, her hope.

“I already filed for a divorce. I’m sure Simone will also agree to sign it, ” Alessandra spoke.

“What about the baby?” Chiara asked.

“I will raise the baby alone,” the pregnant woman answered. “My parents supported the divorce, and they will help me in taking care of my baby. I won’t let my baby be near to Simone.”

Her voice is full of hatred for her husband. Alessandra gulped before composing herself. “I called to tell you something about Giovanni.”

Chiara’s eyes flickered upon the mention of their rival. “Giovanni? What do you know about him?”

Alessandra took a deep breath before speaking. “He used to visit our house before Uncle Sigmund was sent to prison, ” she chuckled ironically. “Actually, he even offered me financial support and guidance fore my career, in exchange of being his mistress.”

Chiara’s eyebrow raised upon hearing that. She didn’t expect that Giovanni will ask Alessandra to be his mistress, given that he has other mistresses, and a wife at that time.

“I refused. I loved Simone so much. But Giovanni kept on going to our house. Usually, Simone and him were talking about something, but I don’t know what it is. They stayed in a separated room during their meeting,” she added.

“The day we saw you in the hospital, Simone called Giovanni and told him that your husband is in the other country.”

Ezio, who was listening to their conversation, tasked some of her men to retrieve Simone’s call record and the recording of the conversation. That could be a physical evidence if Giovanni mentioned something about his incident.

“Also, Giovanni was the one who ordered Uncle Sigmund to slander your company,” Alessandra revealed. “My words might be not strong enough, but I think Uncle Sigmund still has the message of Giovanni from his phone. He might also know more thing about him. All I know is that they already knew each other before Simone and I got married.”

When their conversation ended, Chiara guided Alessandra towards the exit and helped her ride their family’s car. Before they could ever reach the car, a familiar voice called Chiara.

“Chiara! Baby!”

Her face contorted with anger. Simone is here, and she is sure that having him nearby will not be good for Alessandra.

When Simone saw Alessandra with Chiara, he immediately pointed towards the pregnant woman.

“What are you doing here? Did you hurt Chiara?!” he exclaimed to Alessandra, jumping into conclusion.

He was about to pull Chiara away from Alessandra when Chiara hit him with her handbag. “Go away!”

“Baby! Chiara! Did she tell you something? Maybe that’s why you’re angry at me,” he looked at Alessandra with hatred. “Bitch! Don’t you dare destroy my relationship with Chiara! You’re nothing but a woman who use pregnancy to lock me in a loveless marriage!”

Chiara was ready to protect Alessandra from Simone’s slap, when a muscular hand stopped Simone, gripping his wrist tightly before cracking the bones.

Simone screamed in pain as his wrist became dislocated from Ezio’s strength. Ezio was glaring at him, full of hatred for almost laying his hands to Chiara, and for calling him baby.

“If you dared to go near my wife again, I will make sure that you won’t be able to walk anymore,” Ezio warned him before giving him a final kick that made Simone drop to the ground.