The Daring Billionaire’s Wife by Lypstical

Vanessa

Had this been any other situation, I'd be passionately jumping on Dominic right now and telling him just how much I love him to his face, unlike what I did on that stage.

Even though he hasn't directly said he loves me, I'm still left speechless as my heart flutters but I know that for everyone else, they're silent because they don't believe him. I look over my father and tears don't stop running down his cheeks even when he wipes them off.

"It might seem like I'm just trying to save myself, but it's not the case," Dominic says again, making me look back at him. "What I feel is real."

Suddenly, my father-in-law clears his throat and rises to his feet, stepping away from his desk as he says, "As of this moment, you're no longer part of Project J-22." "Honey!" My mother-in-law chimes in.

"I'm not finished," he waves his finger. "You're banned from future projects that I wanted you to be a part of and forget about being part of the company. I'm taking away everything that should've been yours. That's what you deserve." He then glances at me, his gaze softening just a little bit.

"Focus on Vanessa. That's the only reason I'm still talking to you."

And with that, he storms out, my mother-in-law going after him.

Sophie and Jake also rise to their feet, coming right to me but it seems they have nothing to say as they can only shake their heads.

I can't take their silence. No one has really said anything to me and it doesn't make this any better.

With their heads low, they walk out the door, leaving me with Dominic and my father.

I look over at Dominic and he just sits still, facing the floor with his eyes shut and a heavy sigh of defeat. This is the lowest I've ever seen him.

My father, who still doesn't even look at me or Dominic, continues to sniffle and I can't take it anymore.

"Dad, I'm sorry about all this."

He wipes his tears again and calls for his nurse waiting outside, completely ignoring me.

Right when she comes in, he says, "Please get me out of here."

"Dad, please don't go."

As soon as he walks out of the door, I attempt to press a button on my wheelchair so I can go after him but Dominic holds onto it.

"Give him some time," he says quietly. "Let's give everyone some time."

I look back at him and he can barely hold his head high. It's only now that I realize he needs me as well.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"Do you even have to ask? I knew something like this was coming, but it still hurts."

I reach for his hand and as he holds onto it, he closes his eyes as his lips come in contact with it.

Even though my heart flutters at the gesture with his words about his feelings for me running through my mind, I can't fully celebrate it.

"Everything you've been working hard for ever since you and I got married has been taken away from you," I say to him.

"I know, but things change. Those things don't really matter anymore. Come on. I'm still a billionaire with so many companies to run. What difference does it make if I miss out on a few?"

He tries to sound positive but I've seen for a long time just how much this meant to him. It was his dream company after all and now, he'll never have it.

-

Dominic

It's early in the afternoon and Frank and Mia accompany us back home.

Mia insists on being the one to to take Vanessa up to the bedroom, leaving me with Frank in the living room.

"Dude," he says, "It's been a few days now and your family still isn't talking to you. Maybe you shouldn't have told them the truth."

"How could I not? You heard Carmella call me 'baby' after she attacked Vanessa, so how could I avoid any of that?"

He nods in understanding. "I'm sorry that this is happening to you."

He'd usually be cracking jokes, but this is different and he knows it.

"I hope Mia doesn't take too long so we can leave." He looks down at his watch.

"Can you guys stay here today?"

He chuckles softly. "Of course I can. When are you going to see Carmella?"

"Not right now. I need to be here with Vanessa."

"Has she said anything ever since you talked about your feelings in the presence of everyone?"

"No, but one thing is for sure. She was flustered by it."

Remembering her pink cheeks despite the situation we were in makes me smile a little.

"It's pretty obvious to me that she might never talk about it." I huff.

"And that's why you're the man to do it today!" He pats me on the back to hype me up.

I make my way upstairs and as soon as I'm in the bedroom, Mia excuses herself.

"Hey, how do you feel?" I ask as I join her in bed.

"Well, as long as I don't laugh, it won't hurt," she says.

I chuckle, then turn serious as I reach for her hand.

"The other day, I said a lot of things to everyone and I meant it all, especially when I said I have feelings for you."

She looks away for a moment and I don't speak, giving her the chance to construct her words.

Looking at me again, she says, "It's taken me so long to say something because I was flustered at that moment." "I know."

"You do?" Her eyes widen.

"Of course. It was written all over your face."

Embarrassed, she hides her face by covering it with her hands, something that I find so cute that it makes me smile.

Holding onto her wrists to uncover her face, I say, "Did you mean what you said up on that stage when you said you loved me?" I get closer, stroking the side of her face.

She looks right into my eyes with sincerity and says, "Yes, I really meant every word. That's how I truly feel about you."

Despite not being on good terms

with everyone else, having Vanessa by my side and knowing that she loves memakes my heavy heart

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lighter. I'm aware that I have cart

I

I

directly told her I love her and it's

because I want what I feel for her to turn into something deeper than it is now.

"Come here, babe," I whisper.

"Hmm?" Her eyes widen in surprise.

Her flustered reaction makes my lips curve into a smile. "I've wanted to call you this for a while now...because that's who you are to me." Holding onto the back of her head, I place my lips on and she firmly wraps her hands around my wrists and I can feel her smile as we kiss. Even after we break the kiss, I keep holding onto the back of her head, making her rest her forehead against mine as I speak to her. "We have a lot of work to do to fix everything but despite what's going on, I'm glad this is the one beautiful thing I can hold on to."

She giggles, her eyes locked on mine.

"Can I ask you a question?" she says.

"You just did."

She rolls her eyes as she moves away by a few inches. "This might be the wrong time but I can't take it anymore since I've been curious for a while now. How is it that you only found out about Patrick being Carmella's ex-husband when he told you? Didn't you have the slightest suspicion before that he was

connected to her just by his full

name?"

"I didn't even know her ex-husband's name. She never wanted to talk about him much since it was such a trigger for her....and I fucking believed her." I grit my teeth in anger. "Hey," she says, placing her hands on the sides of my face.

"I know." I look down at her stomach to change the subject. "Can I touch it?"

"Yeah, but please be gentle."

Only because I didn't want to cause her any discomfort since the attack, I chose not to touch her stomach until she was comfortable enough with it.

Gently, I place the palm of my hand on it then look up at her face. "Am I hurting you?"

"Not at all."

I lower my head, resting the side of my face right on top. Just doing this brings me a form of peace that I didn't know I needed, even when I look at the scar.

"I'm so glad you're still on the way," I say to my unborn child. "I'm waiting for you, my princess."

Vanessa scoffs, running her fingers through my hair. "You're doing that again?"

"Don't start." I playfully warn her.

I continue to hold onto the sides of her stomach, letting myself gently rest on it a little longer as I speak to her.

"Have you finally spoken to your dad?"

She sighs heavily. "No. I thought I should just go to him and talk in person but it's not a good idea. I keep thinking I should still give him time like you said but I don't know how much longer I can do this."

"It's the same for me. It didn't help that when my family came to your room to check on you, they didn't speak to me at all and didn't even say much to you."

"It's like they're conflicted and had I

been in their shoes, I would feel the same way. It also doesn't help that there's still mystery surrounding the launch despite all the products that have already been shipped out. The public is curious about what's truly going on. Now that I feel way better, I'll give Carmella exactly what she deserves."

I raise my head after sensing the rage in her tone.

"I've been waiting to hear that," I say to her, "but first..."