The Daring Billionaire’s Wife by Lypstical

Liam

Two weeks ago, getting to our honeymoon destination was filled with excitement and desire. I expected it to be the same on my way back with Aileen, but it doesn't seem to be the case.

While I'm already trying to get back to work by going over a few documents on my laptop, she seems distant as she sits on the other side of the limousine with a poker face, far from me while scrolling on her phone. It doesn't matter what she's looking at, I would have expected her to at least sit so close to me. To grab her attention, I close my laptop and raise my head, leaning back in my seat.

"Babe, is everything alright with you?" I ask, glancing at her crossed legs and skirt raised all the way up to her thighs. I still can't seem to get enough of her.

She sighs, looking up at me with an assuring smile. "Everything's fine."

I narrow my eyes suspiciously. "You know that I'm asking because I don't think that's the case."

"Why would you say that?" She tilts her head in curiosity.

"It's written all over your face that something's wrong."

"Fine, you got me. I didn't want to say anything because it's nothing. It's just the usual back and forth with my entitled family. The three of them just won't stop with their demands."

"Wait, I thought you blocked them. I remember you told me that."

"Well, I did, but anyway, it doesn't matter. I'm fine. I can handle them." She puts her phone on the seat next to her and places a hand on her chest with an enthusiastic smile. "I can't wait to see our new home!"

"I was just about to say something similar. I can't wait to show you." I nod in agreement.

Her enthusiasm puts me at ease as this is what I would expect of her. For the rest of the ride, she barely pays attention to her phone, engaging me in conversation by asking about my work.

We get to our new home, one of which I recently bought and I hold her hand as we step inside. She looks around with a light nod and a small smile, her reaction not meeting my expectations as I thought she'd be blown away by the size of this mansion. It makes me wonder what's going on with her.

"It's so beautiful here," she finally says, her tone neutral.

"Wait until you see the master bedroom." I chuckle.

Holding her hand, I lead her to the elevator and notice her smile, which doesn't seem to completely be genuine. Is she that annoyed by her entitled family? It has to be something else as we already spoke about this in the limousine, but what could it be? This should be an important moment, but she only seems half present with me.

We get to the bedroom door and I push it open, letting her walk inside before me.

She stands in the middle of the spacious room, looking left and right with her shoulders slightly curved inward. It's clear she's tense and I just want her to relax.

I get closer and stand right behind her, place my hands on her shoulders and plant a kiss on her cheek.

"Have you seen the size of this bed?" I whisper against her ear. "Imagine all the things I'll do to you here."

She giggles flirtatiously, then steps away from me.

It's only now that I realize what might be on her mind. How insensitive of me. To make up for it, I bring it up right away as I get close again.

"Now that we're here, you can focus on finding your biological parents again."

She immediately turns around to face the other side with a deep sigh. "You're right. I can now focus on that since I left it all up to Meryl." "Any updates so far?"

"Nope. Nothing yet." She firmly shakes her head.

Before I can speak, my phone begins to ring from my pocket, the caller ID making me clear my throat.

"I have to take this. It's my father."

She nods with a smile and I step out of the room so I can speak to him. It's business as usual, as a lot is expected of me but at the end of our conversation, he mentions an upcoming event and I realize there's something I haven't yet told Aileen. It's also related to what my parents and I spoke about the first time they met her. I don't want to sound like a control freak, so it's best to find an easy way to tell her about it and I know just how to do it.

Coming back to the bedroom, I look around but there's no sign of her. That's until I look at the balcony. There she is, facing the sky with her arms wrapped around herself. While approaching her, I say, "You know, you can always share what's going on with you."

"Oh, hey, I didn't hear you come in," she says as she looks over her shoulder. "How did it go?"

"It's only been a few minutes since I returned from my honeymoon and we're already talking about business."

She playfully rolls her eyes. "That is to be expected."

eline

I wrap my arms around her, ready to indirectly tell her what my parents told me that evening. "My father also mentioned the upcoming fundraiser As my wife, this will be your first public event and it's just the beginning, so you better be ready. You're now an important figure in my family and we value reputation above anything else. That's why you rarely find anything negative in the press about us."

She turns around to face me, raising her eyebrows, her lower lip trembling as she struggles to meet my gaze. "Why are you telling me this now?" she asks, shaking her head a little.

"I just thought you should know this now since I've never mentioned it before. I mean... it's the case with any well established family within my class, Who would want a tarnished reputation? Absolutely no one, but anyway, everything's been great so far. I only meant it in the sense that there's a certain way you need to carry yourself at these events. The press will always try to find a way to get their hands on

something negative and make it trend."

"I know that." She nods in understanding..

"Then it's settled."

I plant a kiss on her forehead, relieved that this has played out better than I expected.

-

Aileen

Of all the times Liam could have told me about anything to do with reputation, why did it have to be now, when I just found out about my parents? Shit!

I refused to believe it when Meryl first mentioned it to me, but my world has come crashing down after going through everything she sent me. I've been looking at it since Liam and I were still on that island.noveldrama

The hardest part has been sitting so close to him and pretending like everything's alright. I've only had a few months of happiness and just when I was wondering if I should tell him or not, it feels like the universe is against me by having him tell me about what is expected of me as his wife.

Getting a moment alone in the

bathroom while with my phone, I

get

start typing to reply to a message Meryl sent to me but instead, she calls. Apart from Liam not being the bedroom, there's so much distance between the spacious bathroom and spacious bedroom, including the soundproof walls that I don't have to worry about him

hearing any of this just in case he's back.

It's for this reason that I pick up but still keep my voice low.

"Hello?" I say to her.

"Hey, can we talk?" she asks from the other end of the line.

"Of course. I'm alone." I sigh heavily. "I don't even know what to say about all this."

"I was at a loss for words when I found out. Have you told Liam?"

"No. Why do you think I said I'm alone?"

"Wait, why do you make it sound like you don't intend on telling him?"

"Because that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"Are you kidding me right now? You're going to hide this from him?"

"Look, it's not like I'm going to do it forever. I just want us to make sure it's all accurate."

She scoffs. "Didn't you see the documents I sent you?"

"Of course I did, but it's those articles that are just so unbelievable. My parents have such a reputation?"

"I know that I'm stating the obvious, but yes."

I shake my head with disapproval. "You know, you're not helping."

"Sorry. So, what now?"

"Liam and I have barely settled in our new home and he's already so busy with work. In any other situation, this would make me mad, but I'm glad. Once he leaves, you and I need to personally visit my parents. Please keep this to yourself." "Hey, have I ever let you down?"

"No." I smile a little, then turn serious again. "I'll speak to the agency just now."

"I was just about to ask you that."

As soon as I end the call with her, I call the agency, instructing them to keep this a secret from Liam and as they directly answer to me, they have no objections.

Even after I put the phone down, I'm unable to calm my nerves as I think about the image I'm supposed to uphold now that I'm part of the Richards. How will I deal with this if absolutely everything I've read about my biological parents turns out to be true?