The Billionaire's Second Wife

Chapter 6

Two days prior to her wedding, Ella requested Natasha to accompany her to her parent's home to give them the wedding invitation. They might have not treated her like their daughter but Ella still considered them as her parents. She wanted her dad to be the one to escort her down the aisle and give her away to Justin like every other father.

Deep in her heart, she knew that she would only end up being hurt like everytime however, she didn't want to give up on him without trying to convince him.

"I don't know if this is a good idea, sweety." Natasha said as they were walking to Richard's house which was just a few streets away.

"I know.. but he is my father and I want him to be there for me on my big day. Is it too much to ask from him, Natasha?" She turned to her as they continued to walk.

"I can understand you feelings but I just don't want to see you hurt."

"Don't worry about me. I am kind of immune to their harsh words and it wouldn't affect me." She ensured her aunt as she took her hand and led her into the gate.

She knocked on the door softly and waited for someone to open it. Being late in the evening, she hoped everyone would be present at home so that she could personally invite them. Her back stiffened when she heard heavy footsteps, before the door was opened by her dad.

"Dad.." Her voice came as a breath.

"Why did you come here?" It crushed her heart when she noticed the sudden sourness on her father's face as he saw her standing at the door.

"May I come in? I have something to tell you." She asked her father unsure of what his answer would be but luckily, he opened the door wide and strode inside with Ella and Natasha trailing behind him.

"What the f**k are you two doing here?" Diana's screeching voice pierced their ear drums as soon as she saw them following behind her husband. "Richard, why did you let that b***h in after what she did to us?" She asked through gritted teeth.

"Mom.." Ella began.

"Don't call me that. I'm not your mom." Diana yelled at her. Hearing her high shrill both her children came out of their rooms. They threw a look of disgust at Ella.

"Diana, we are here to talk to Richard and I would say you better keep your filthy mouth shut." Natasha seethed angrily. She squeezed Ella's shoulder with a single nod, encouraging her to do whatever she was here for.

Ella took out an invitation from her cross over bag and handed it to her father, "Dad, I'm getting married this Sunday.." She paused to look for any reaction from him but when he stood there with eyes fixed on the card, she continued to speak, "I want you to be walking me down the aisle."

She heard the loud gasps from Diana and Vicky as they moved closer to her father to have a look at the invitation that he was still holding.

"She is getting married to Justin Reynolds?" Vicky whisper yelled to her mom while Diana's jaw fell open with shock. Ella didn't know why they were so surprised by the fact that she was getting married to Justin. 'Did they know him personally?' She wondered, not aware of his reputation of being the most successful businessman of the year.

"And what made you think I would want to attend your wedding?" Richard asked Ella bluntly. Ella turned her attention back to her father.

"Richard, she is your daughter and the only reminder of Nicole. How could you talk to her like that?" Natasha bellowed at him.

"Reminder of Nicole?" He quirked his brow at Natasha before he sneered at her. "No. She is the reason I lost Nicole forever. I wish she wasn't born at all. That way things would have been much different." He ripped the invitation into pieces before throwing it on Ella's face. She shifted her eyes on to her stepmother and siblings who were watching her with an evil glint in their eyes.

Even though Ella was well prepared for all this, she couldn't stop the tears that were rolling down her cheeks now. She swallowed hard and walked near him, placing her hand on his arm. She could feel him muscles tense under her touch.

"I am sorry for being such a big disappointment to you. I know that I am your least favorite person in the whole world but dad.." She tried to sniffle her cry. "You are the only family that I have got."

Ella thought she saw a slight trace of remorse in his eyes but that faded the moment he heard his wife clear her

throat behind him.

"You lost your family the minute you decided to bring a cop into this house and accused us of physically abusing you. You ungrateful brat." Diana spat at her.

"Ella, it's a total waste of your time and energy talking to them. Let's go." Natasha began to pull at her arm.

"Dad please.. I beg you.." Ella's hazel orbs implored him to listen to her but he turned his back on her and left her crying in the hallway.

Natasha managed to drag Ella out of that house. Once they were a few metres away, she held Ella's shoulders firmly.

"Ella.. Look at me.. Look at me.." she placed her forefinger under her chin to make her look at her. "Believe me when I say this, it would be better if these people don't show their faces in your wedding. Now stop crying. You have so much to do than to stand on the streets and cry your eyes out." she said wiping her tears off her cheeks.

Ella spent the next two days being pampered by her aunt. Sandra helped her pick a floor length wedding gown with laced sleeves that ended just a little above her wrist. The dress hugged at her waist and flared at the bottom, trailing a little at the back.

Justin didn't want yet another sophisticated wedding. So, it was planned in the most simple way Ella could have ever imagined and she wouldn't have wanted it in any other way.

Most of the guests were Sandra and Natasha's friends and the remaining ten to fifteen were Ella's close friends from her high school and college.

Justin didn't bother inviting anyone. The invitations that Sandra had given him to be distributed to his guests were neatly tucked in his office drawer and long forgotten. He just wanted to do and get over with this lame excuse of a wedding so that he could get back to his normal routine.

Sandra had to coax him so much to buy a new wedding suit or else he would have just worn something from his wardrobe.

On the day of her wedding, Ella thought that she was going to get a panic attack. All sorts of insane thoughts were clouding her mind like, 'What if I tripped on my own gown and fell face down on the floor? What if I had this intense urge to sneeze when I have to say 'I do'? Or 'What if Justin didn't show up to the wedding?'

"Nervous?" Ella turned to Sophie's voice and saw her poking her head through the slightly opened door of her room.

"Thank God you are here.." She pulled her inside before closing the door. "I am very scared." Ella confessed grabbing Sophie's hands.

Her ice cold shaky hands gave Sophie an insight of how nervous her friend was.

"Calm down. We are all going to there with you and it would be over before you know it." She said rubbing Ella's palms.

In the afternoon, a beautician came to help her get ready. On Ella's request she tried to keep her make up minimal. Her long thick locks were tied into a messy chignon bun with some of the loose tresses tumbling down like waves around her face.

"You are the most beautiful bride I have ever seen." The beautician complimented as she dolled up Ella.

"Justin wouldn't be able to take his eyes and hands off you." Sophie winked at her, making her blush like a beetroot but Ella doubted any of that would happen since she was aware of how uninvolved Justin was with this marriage.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"May I come in?" A heavily pregnant woman asked them peeping into the room.

Ella noticed Sandra walking behind her when the unfamiliar woman squealed excitedly, "Oh my God, mom you were right!! She is so pretty."

"Oh sorry, I am Jane, Justin's sister." She hugged Ella sideways.

"Hi Jane, nice to meet you.." Ella smiled at her.

Sophie and Jane remained by her side throughout the afternoon, trying to keep her calm. Early in the evening they were taken to the church were the ceremony was being held.

Ella's hopeless heart refused to give up and still believed that her father might come at the last moment but much to her heartbreak, there was no sign of Richard till the the minute she was supposed to walk down the aisle.

Her eyes were beginning to brim with crystal like tears when she saw Natasha, "Shh.. You shouldn't be crying on your wedding day. Come on." Natasha handed her the small bunch of lilies and looped Ella's other arm in hers before walking her towards the altar, were Justin stood, looking magnificent in his tux. Just the sight of him made Ella's heart stop beating all at once.

The band began to play and all the heads turned towards Ella as she carefully walked through the hall. She noticed Sophie who was seated next to Liam. They waved at her causing her lips to curve into a crooked smile.

A few steps later, she was standing in front of Justin who was looking everywhere except her.

Bobby was standing close to his dad, looking as cute as ever in his miniature tux. Even though Ella was feeling nervous and light-headed, she managed to smile at Bobby warmly which made him hide behind his dad's legs.

"Take care of my Ella. All she has is you now." Natasha said between her tears and placed Ella's hand in Justin's palm.

He nodded in return and wrapped his fingers around Ella's delicate hands. His eyes briefly met with her hazel orbs and for a split second, Justin thought a surge of electricity passed between them but he managed to quickly avert his eyes from hers.

As much as he knew, Natasha was Ella's aunt then why was she giving her away?

He wondered where her parents were.

He couldn't ponder much into it since the priest began to read passages from the Bible about love and marriage. The rest of the ceremony went in a blur and when the priest asked him to kiss the bride, he brought the back of her palm closer to his lips and placed a plain kiss on it.

Although the kiss barely lasted for a couple of seconds, Ella could feel the heat radiating from the spot where his lips met. Her stomach felt like it was colonised by hundreds of butterflies. She thought she felt that way because she was never been kissed by a man before.

Sandra had arranged for a reception in a five star hotel right after the wedding. She didn't want to make Ella feel like this was just a second marriage with no one actually interested in it and for that she did everything she could do from her side.

The guests came one by one to wish Ella and Justin a happy married life. The whole evening, Justin didn't utter a single word to Ella and stood there like a rock. The first time he smiled genuinely was when he saw his little sister and her husband Antony making their way near them.

"Hey brother, happy married life."

His smiled vanished immediately and the rigid scowl was back on his face, "Thanks." He muttered emotionlessly.

"Hey man, congratulations." Antony shook hands with Justin and gave him a brotherly hug.

"Thanks dude."

"Your wife's really hot." Jane whispered near his ear and giggled like a teenager. He shook his head and decided to ignore her childishness.

"How's the baby?" He asked in an attempt to divert her mind from Ella.

"Baby is good but very naughty." She said rubbing her bump.

"Just like her mommy." Justin teased his sister, making her husband chuckle for which he got a smack on his head. Ella couldn't help but think how attractive Justin looked when he smiled like this, wholeheartedly.

Jane stood there talking to them for a few minutes before she decided to give some space for the other guests.

It was Ella's friends who came to congratulate them next. "Justin, this Sophie my best friend." she introduced them to each other.

"Hi Justin.."

"Hey.." He nodded with a pleasant smile.

Then she introduced each one of her friends and Justin patiently stood there shaking his hands with her friends.

"I have something for you.." Sophie handed her a box which was neatly wrapped with a gift wrapper. "Open this only when you reach home, if you don't want to get embarrassed in front of everyone."

Ella could tell that it wasn't any normal gift just by the naughty smirk that was plastered on her friend's lips.

She nodded and placed it safely beside her where she had placed the other gifts. She made a mental note not to let it reach into Justin's hands.

Soon after the dinner, Sandra asked Justin to take Ella home.

"Where is Bobby?" He asked as he took out his car keys.

"Oh don't worry about him brother. We will be taking him home with us." Jane said smirking. "You wouldn't want any disturbances tonight."

"Jane.." He growled at his annoying sister and turned towards his mother, "Mom.."He was about to argue but she stopped him with a hard glare.

"Justin, we will bring him to your place tomorrow morning. Now take Ella home." Sandra said firmly and Justin knew he couldn't disobey her in front of so many people. Ella stood there fidgeting with her fingers unsure of what to say or do.

Natasha pulled her niece into a bone crushing hug and Ella began to sob instantly, placing her head on her aunt's shoulders. "I will miss you sweetheart.." She pulled away and said wiping her tear strained face.

"Justin, she is very precious. Please don't hurt her and make her happy." Natasha knew Justin wasn't in love with her but she believed Ella's married life wouldn't be as bad as her life with her parents. If not today, someday he would fall in love with her sweet niece, who had an in born ability to make people like her.

She kissed Ella one last time before letting her get into the car.

The drive to their home was surrounded by a thickening silence. Ella noticed from the corner of her eyes that Justin ran his fingers through his hair often, making it look messy, in a good way though.

Even with the air condition on inside the car, she could feel the rise in the temperature yet her hands and feet felt cold. It was their first night together and she didn't know what was on Justin's mind.

In a few minutes, Justin drove the car to the parking lot under a tall building. He walked around and opened the door for Ella.

"Thanks.." She murmured.

"Come.." He led her to the elevator. She watched him press the button with the number thirty four on it. Those two minutes inside the elevator, with Justin next to her, felt like the longest few minutes of her life.

He unlocked the door to his four bedroom apartmemt, "Welcome home." He said holding the door for her which made her smile at him shyly.

He closed the door behind them and went straight to his room. Entering it, he stopped dead on his tracks. The room was decorated with scented candles and rose petals were splayed all over the huge bed that was in the middle of the room.

His throat clogged with a memory from the past. This very much reminded him of his first night with Andrea. He was very happy then and in a romantic mood unlike now.

Ella didn't know what she was supposed to do and followed mindlessly behind Justin into, what looked like his room. She felt a little uncomfortable by all the arrangements made for them and stood there not daring to move an inch further.

The first thing that caught her attention was the small photo frame which was placed on the bedside table. It wasn't very clear from where she was standing but she didn't have to be a genius to guess who the person was who was hugging Justin in that picture.

Sensing her presence behind him, he turned around and for a brief moment their eyes met, her hazel to his green. He couldn't deny the fact that Ella was pretty, what other men would call stunningly beautiful but he wasn't really attracted to her in any way. All he could think about was Andrea.

"Ella.." He stepped closer to her, making her lower her gaze. Ella could feel her heartbeat rising a few times faster than normal that she thought it would burst any minute now.

He stopped when they were an arm's distance apart. "Ella.." He called again to get her attention on him. Her name sounded totally different to her own ears when it rolled off his tongue and she slowly forced her eyes to look up at him.

"I know this is our first night together as husband and wife but I'm sorry to disappoint you. I am not ready for any of this yet. I hope you will understand my situation." This was where he spent his nights with Andrea. He didn't want to share it with anyone else now but at the same time, he didn't have the heart to ask Ella to leave the room.

"You can sleep here and I will take the guest room. I will ask the maids to shift my things to the guest room first thing tomorrow morning." With that he backed away.

She wasn't expecting anything from Justin yet his words managed to drive a hole through her heart.

"Justin.." She stopped him when he was about to leave the room.

"Yes.."

"I don't mind taking the guestroom. You seem very attached to this room" She said letting her eyes wander over the walls which had lots of pictures of his dead wife, "..and I don't want to take it away from you." she told him in the softest voice he had ever heard.

He was beyond relieved when he heard that. "Thanks.." He said as she walked past him to the guest room.