Mafia Billionaire’s Forlorn Wife
Chapter 25

“What are you doing?”

I give her a quizzical look, sitting down beside her, “what do you think I’m doing?” I ask her, “I’m trying to get these little mutts to step aside so I can sit down.” I mutter, waving my hand as one of the puppies runs off from where he was playing beside Arabella and I finally take the spot.

I look around at the studio room, filled with books and notice the mother dog in Arabella’s lap lifting her head to look at me with interest. I glare at her and she glares back.

Arabella grunts under her breath, shifting so that she can k**s the top of the mutt’s head, “stop scaring Gloria.” She mumbles, nuzzling her face in her fur and caressing the dog which only makes a poisonous slither of jealousy unfurl inside me.

I’m jealous of a dog? Why? I mentally scream at myself as I look away, “what is this place anyway?” I mutter in amazement.

Arabella rolls her eyes, “why do you care?” She snaps.

“Listen—”

I stop in my words and harsh tone when I find her shoulders deflating in defeat as she shakes her head and gives in, “Words and Whiskers is an amazing haven for readers who also happen to like pets. People come here and they can sit for hours and hours. There have been times when Luke and I would have sleep overs here. They have different rooms assigned to different pets depending on people’s preferences. And these rooms are also themed in what kind of books they hold.”

I furrow my brows, “as in?” I am completely clueless to a concept like this.

She looks at me like I’m some project that she has no hope over, “look, this room has romance books, really cute, fluffy, and utterly sugary stories that just make you forget about real life and make you smile and laugh and swoon for hours at a stretch. Hence, these lovely golden retrievers, my beautiful Gloria over here with her six puppies— Zoey, Alex, Coco, Sprinkles, Scarlet, and Cherry.

“Then we have the dark romance room that has mostly morally grey books with mind blowing smut—” she sees the quizzical look on my face and huffs, “— s*x, mind blowing, well written s*x with toe curling stories and wonderfully smart and bold female characters. That room has two beautiful, black Persian cats, named Scarlet and Alexander— quite the beautiful couple, if you ask me.

“There is another room with royal romances as well as great historical fiction and also retellings of greek mythologies. Sir Nicholas the Third— who is a Great Dane and Sir Richard— a Doberman, have their reign in that room. They look kinda scary but they’re really the sweetest boys ever.

“They’ve got the aquarium room for the self help stuff that I don’t particularly care about. They’ve got an outside conservatory that is made to replicate a greenhouse and has all these beautiful butterflies and small birds for the fantasy books. There is also a pond I think, somewhere around here with a croc or an alligator…I don’t particularly know what books they have there.”

Silence. That is all that surrounds us when she finishes speaking. I am amazed by the concept of this place but I am more amazed that she has just spoken to me for five minutes straight and with the same energy that she used to use when we were dating each other.

And currently, I am just reminiscing of how much she loved to give these little explanations on how she perceives different aspects of the world and how she was always so eager to get me to see her point. I didn’t know I was missing that until right now.

I blink at her incredulously, “who even thought of this place?” I mutter out, mind boggled by the unique concept and how she just described everything to be coordinated according to genres. Now, I’ve never been a reader because I never had the time for it, but I do know how readers get— at least I found out after meeting my wife.

“Well, it was Ellie.” She says before she meets my gaze, “Eleanor. The girl you must have seen at the reception.”

I raise my eyebrows in realisation as I nod and she goes back to reading the book in her hands while chewing on a candy bar.

I watch her for a few moments, realising for the first time since coming here that she doesn’t look okay at all, despite all the talking and chatting about this establishment.

Her hair looks as though she has been running her fingers through them all day, her cheeks are red like she has been crying, and when I take a look at her legs spread out in front of her, I realise that she is bouncing her knee, probably without even realising it.

All of these are signs of her anxiety and I don’t know what to do or say to make her feel better. And no matter how tough I try to be, I do want to help her because there is a very irritating part of me that can’t see her this way.

That is when she shuts the book with a loud bang, making Gloria jump slightly as Coco starts sniffing around my wrist at the same time.

“Okay, what?” She snaps at me, meeting my eyes with an annoyed expression on her face.

“What?” I stutter out, completely off guarded by the attack from now not one but two puppies currently climbing in my lap. I think the other one is Cherry but really, it’s hard to tell.

“Why did you come here?” Arabella questions, staring at me with a pointed expression.

I don’t know the answer to that either.

But, instead of accepting that in front of her, I shrug my shoulders, “I was informed that you hadn’t come home and I got worried that you—”

“That I was out and about with some guy like you are with your girls? Maybe you thought I called James for a meeting again.” She finishes bashfully on my behalf.

I gape at her, realising just how low she thinks of me, “that is not what I was going to say.” I try reasoning, “I was saying that I got worried about your well being because it was pretty damn late.”

She breaks into a sarcastic laugh, “worried?” She asks pointing at me, and then turning her finger towards herself, “about me? Oh, god, you’re hilarious.”

“It’s not funny.” I say through my teeth.

She gives me a death glare, “no, Rhys, no it’s actually not funny. Would you like to know why?” She asks, “because I don’t believe a word you say right now. You say that you were worried about me but for the last five months of our marriage, all you’ve done is screw me over and ruin the good things about my life. So no, Rhys, it really isn’t funny.”

I roll my eyes, “oh, for god’s sake! I do not have a personal vendetta against you, Arabella. I have one against your father and you’re just…”

“A collateral damage?” She snips, “a stepping stone to achieving your goals?”

I sigh, “that’s not what I was going to say.”

“You sure as hell meant that, Rhys.” She growls right before she puts the book aside and then starts to get up mumbling under her breath, “….just had to come here and ruin the one thing making me happy.” Is what I can hear.

I instantly feel the guilt of hurting her over and over again, even though I know that I shouldn’t. It’s not as though she loves me or anything. She never wanted me. All she wanted was the Bratva money and nothing else. And she’s Mancini’s daughter.

But even through all that, the pathetic organ inside my chest doesn’t make me feel better when she bends down to say goodbye to the dogs.

“I’ll see you soon sweetheart,” she coos to Gloria, scratching her behind her ear, hugging her, letting the little puppies lick at her face and her hands.

And I stand there looking like a fool, glaring at those dogs who currently experience the most blissful feeling in the world— Arabella’s affection.

My eyes widen at my own thoughts as I furrow my brows wondering what the f**k is wrong with me, and why I am thinking this way.

But before I can give it more thought, Arabella starts leaving and I catch up to her just as she steps out into the hallway.

“Arabella, wait!” She stops in her tracks and turns around as I step out too and the two of us stare at each other standing in the middle of an empty hallway. “You can stay if you want to. I’ll wait outside for when you’re done.”

She gives me an unbelievable look, “why? So you can be sure that I’m being in line like a good trophy wife that you want me to be?”

I sigh, “so I can make sure that you’re okay.” I mutter begrudgingly as I look away from her, “I don’t want one of my enemies coming after you. The lord knows I have a lot of them. So please, just go back in there and stay for as long as you want, and once you’re done, the car’s right outside.”

And with that, I start walking past her when I stop just beside her and without looking at her, I say, “and irrespective of what you believe, I never cheated on you. I wouldn’t do that. Amelia is just a friend.”

She raises her head to look at me at the same time that I lower my eyes to hers, “I don’t believe you,” she whispers and when her voice cracks a little towards the end, I feel all air leaving my lungs and a sharp pain stabbing through my heart, “and just know that some day, you’re going to look back at all this and wish you could come back in time and fix everything. But by then it’ll be too late.”

And with that, she storms back inside the room, leaving me standing here in silence.