THE BILLIONAIRE'S FANCY WIFE

CHAPTER 1

Tip toe!

Tip toe!!

The masked man kept glancing around, his eyes swift as they looked from left to right.

Slowly, he made his way to the vacation car parked in front of a beautiful white-picket-fenced house.

It should have been me! ... He growled to himself.

I should have been the one who bought her dream house; I should have been the only one she loved, the one she kissed, and the one she turned to.

You bastard! ....

He stared at the bomb in his hand and threw it into the car, scurrying away to hide behind a house three blocks away.

She will never be mine if you're still alive!...

He waited till he heard the slamming of the door.

Hand in hand were the love of his life and another man. His best friend.

How dare you take her away from me?!...

Anger surged through him, and he was so desperate to press the button, but he had to wait.

He didn't want his woman to get hurt.

So he watched as she turned around to go back into the house, probably picking up something she forgot.

A grin spread on his face as he watched the man enter the vehicle, and without a second thought, he sent the car and his best friend to the pits of hell.

He watched as his woman ran out of her house at the Kaboom sound.

He saw her collapse on the floor.

With a slow stride, he walked towards her and carried her slowly in his arms.

“You're safe now.” He whispered, and as he turned around to leave, he saw his friend still struggling.

The bastard is alive!!!

His body was badly burned; one of his eyes had fallen off the socket, yet he kept calling out her name.

“ M…a…Ma…”

The man smiled and said, "Let me give you a parting gift.”

He held the lady up to his chest and leaned down to passionately kiss her lips.

He heard the soft cries of his best friend, but it only fueled him on, and by the time he came up for air, Liam was dead.

“Good riddance!”

And he walked away into the night.

PRESENT DAY!

“What?!” Rhys growled as he heard his grandfather’s will.

A surge of anger and devastation bubbled through his veins.

Even in the grave, his grandfather still had the power to get under his skin and rile him up.

Alastair’s ex-family lawyer gulped his saliva more times than he could count.

The man was almost as old as Rhys’s grandfather; it’s a miracle he’s still alive at this time, even though his frail heart dies every time he comes across Rhys Alastair.

If it wasn’t because his best friend had called in a favor, he wouldn’t be the one reading out Marcus’s will. And oh, how he wished to turn back the hands of time.

Alastair noticed the pale look on the old man’s face and tried all he could to rein in his anger. He didn’t want to be the reason for Benson having a heart attack and joining his grandfather in the grave.

“Why didn’t you stop him?” Rhys asked in a very low voice, but one could still hear the anger he was trying to keep at bay.

“You know how your grandfather is, Rhys. He’s a very stubborn mountain. The old popsicle died and left me to be at the receiving end of your anger.” Benson shook his head as he adjusted his glasses.

He didn’t know what made Rhys angry more—the fact that his grandfather had left him all his assets only if he got married within six months of his death or the fact that he chose the woman Rhys would marry.

Benson had always thought his friend was playing a very risky game by forcing Rhys to get married or watch his grandfather’s hard-earned money fall into his greedy relatives' hands.

Marcus was very sure that his grandson would do as he asked, even though he didn’t need his grandfather’s assets.

He’d worked as hard as the previous Alastair men to make a name for himself, but Marcus knew his grandson would rather burn in hell than let his aunts and uncles take a penny from his properties.

Rhys stood on his two feet and rubbed his face with his palm. This was not going the way he planned.

“Is the girl’s family aware of this arrangement?” He asked.

“Yes. Marcus told them the day he made his will.” Benson replied, and Rhys chuckled. He really had no say in this matter, did he?

He turned to look at Benson and forced a smile. “Please tell Bane to make arrangements for our meeting with Zane’s. We’ll be visiting them to discuss the wedding arrangements in the next three days.”

Benson looked pleasantly surprised and very relieved as well.

A part of him was so sure that Rhys would reject the will. He had to commend his friend’s trust in his grandson.

He wished he had that same amount of trust in his own grandson, but that silly boy left him to face Rhys alone.

“Of course.” Benson nodded and stood up to walk out when Rhys called out his name.

“Benson, thank you.” He smiled genuinely at the old man.

The old lawyer smiled at the young man, who was almost a splitting replica of his late grandfather, and walked out.

A few moments later, the door clicked open, and a young man with black hair that had a streak of blue dye in it walked in.

“Bad news?”

“Worst news!” Rhys replied with an exasperated breath.

He was genuinely tired; his bones were aching, and he was extremely sore all over his body.

“Remember your grandfather means well.” Bane stared at his best friend with eyes full of concern.

Everyone knew how close Rhys was to his grandfather. His death was not an easy toll on him, not to mention the heavy blow that his will must have delivered.

“I’m not sure about this time, Bane.” His shoulders slouched.

“Hey, why don’t you take the week off? You need it.” Bane suggested it, and Rhys didn’t even bother fighting it. He simply agreed.

“We’re going to see my bride soon. I want to make a good first impression.” He didn’t have to; he couldn’t care less.

He could be a fucking asshole if he wanted to, just to make his soon-to-be wife call off their marriage, but he was going to honor his grandfather’s wishes.

Celestine would be his bride, and he would give her everything a husband should. Everything, including his heart, no matter how long it took.

The night air was cool and breezy, creating the perfect atmosphere for the club tonight.

The moon was high up in the sky in all its serene glory; the sky was scanty of stars tonight, its emptiness portraying the void in Rhys’s life.

It felt like all forms of life and joy had been sucked out of his body the minute he saw life drain out of his grandfather’s eyes.

Almost on autopilot, he walked to the upper section of the Exclusive Club.

A waiter served him a drink in a flute glass, and he downed everything at once before signaling for more.

"Rhys, darling, you shouldn’t drink so much.” A beautiful brunette in red lipstick and a dress that showed off her feminine assets cat-walked her way to the man dripping of loneliness.

Rhys breathed out in frustration; all he wanted was a moment of peace and quiet. Was that too much to ask?

The beautiful lady obviously couldn’t read the room, nor did she have an observing eye, because she would have seen the way his shoulders tensed when she touched his bicep.

“Come on, tell me what’s wrong. I promise I’ll just listen.”

It took all he had within him not to grab her hand away from him and crush it till her bones turned to powder.

Considering his size and her petite frame, it wouldn’t be so hard.

“If I were you, Charlie, I’d move away from me faster than I can blink my eyes.”