Mafia Billionaire’s Forlorn Wife

002-Arabella

I stand there and watch as Rhys speeds his Maybach out of the driveway and then off the property, feeling like he just reached inside my throat and ripped my heart out.

Fresh tears form in my eyes as I slowly turn around and realise that a few maids dressed in grey and white uniforms are standing by the stairs leading up to the main double doors of the mansion, watching me with pity.

Shame crawls up my body just when a bald man dressed in a black suit steps out of the house and glowers at the maids, "you are not paid to linger! Scram!" He scolds them and they scurry inside the house almost immediately.

He meets my gaze and gives me a formal curtsy as though I am not standing there in front of Rhys' mansion, still wearing my wedding dress with a face probably smeared full with my mascara and blotches of tears.

"I am Vernon, Mrs. Mikhailov. I will be of service to you should you require anything." He tells me with his smile widening slightly into a more pleasant grin.

I stare at him and then a question pops up in my head—

Can you ask the God why my husband is behaving like the devil with horns all of a sudden?

But then I realise that it is not a question I wish to speak out loud and nor will Vernon be able to answer it.

And so, I settle for a nod, staring at the man with a blank look before brushing past him and back into the house before taking the stairs with my bare, swollen feet from staying in heels all night.

I reenter the room where Rhys left me so ruthlessly last night and when I look around, I feel exactly the same way as the room looks— barren and empty.

Fresh tears threaten to spill down my cheeks but I barely let them anymore as acceptance begins to wash over me in agonising waves.

I left everything behind for this man. He made me fall in love because he wanted revenge from my father. But I fell for him like he was the antidote to every poison in this world. I fell for him like he was the answer to all my prayers. Like he was going to love me like I had never been loved before.

I fell for him with everything I had and it was still not enough.

⚜️⚜️⚜️

I changed into a soft cashmere sweater and a pair of black pants before I walked down the stairs once again, wearing a pair of black flats.

The house somehow seems even quieter now than last night and everywhere I look, I see curated perfection in the modern designs of the interiors. There is not a single blemish or imperfection in sight and that makes me feel suffocated all the more.

In just one night my life has turned entirely upside down and I do not know why I let myself get swept up in this storm.

I mean, surely Rhys could not have faked the last few months, right?

All that love, the care, the madness...was it all really just a ploy to make me trust him? A plot to gain the revenge that he so desperately required?

My father killed his father seven years ago. And if what he said is to be believed, he has been plotting this since then.

Has he really been waiting for me to come of age so he could strike and take what he so desperately wanted?

Or was my arrival just a mere stroke of luck for him?

I should have listened to Leo when he suggested that I shouldn't be marrying a man six years older than I am.

But I'm twenty eight and of course I had to marry some day. I thought I was at least marrying the man I loved with all my heart rather than someone that my father chose.

But oh, how wrong I had been.

And now, I cannot even go back to my own family because they would never trust me. Or worse, they would lock me up or ship me off the continent to some remote place from where I wouldn't be able to f**k up their lives anymore.

I mean, I didn't even know that Rhys had anything to do with the Bratva. The day I found out who his father had been, he told me that he wanted nothing from the life of blood and mayhem and he was only a CEO of one of the biggest trading companies in New York.

That part is apparently true, he is a CEO but I now realise that he plays a much larger role in the Bratva side of his family than he has given me a memo for.

I wander around the house, taking it all in with disdain as I realise that this is my new prison now.

I am so lost in thought that I don't realise someone coming up behind me until a British voice speaks—

"Are you lost, Ms. Mikhailov?"

I startle and quickly turn around to find Vernon standing in front of me with a hesitant smile on his lips.

I blink a few times before saying the first thing that comes to my mind so I do not come off as a complete nut job. "The kitchen! I'm hungry and this place is practically a maze." I tell him with a firm voice.

If there is one thing that I have always been good at, then it is not showing others when I am vulnerable.

Last night and this morning's debacle was an exception. But now, I would die before I let any of these people see how utterly they have broken me down.

Vernon looks at me as though he does not believe me, "well, the kitchen is in the other side of the house, you will only find the boss's study, and an indoor pool in this wing." He says pointing to the set of double doors that are now right behind me.

"Oh." I utter out.

Well done, Arabella, nice response.

I scold myself mentally when Vernon asks, "would you like me to escort you to the dining room? Frida has prepared you a big breakfast to welcome you to the house and she is already waiting for you."

My eyes widen slightly and I nod my head, "lead the way please." I tell him.

He nods with a small smile and then begins to take me in the direction of the dining room. We walk in silence through the intricately designed halls of the mansion before Vernon clears his throat.

"I gather that you also have an interior designing firm of your own?" He asks me with mild interest.

I nod my head hesitantly, "yes I do."

I started my company with my childhood best friend Leo and today, it was one of the top three interior designing firms in all of America. I work hard for my firm and it is truly my pride and joy.

"Well, then I am certain that you would like a home work space for days when you don't feel like going all the way to the office, shall I get the renovations started? You can of course put your own talents into designing it." Vernon suggests with a giddy smile on his lips.

I stop in my tracks and raise my chin, fixing my gaze square on the majordomo's face. "Tell me, Vernon, do you know why your boss married me?"

I know he knows. I overheard his short conversation with Rhys this morning and the way he spoke, I know for a fact that he is aware of the predicament between myself and his boss.

He looks taken aback for a moment before gathering himself again, "I do in fact, know about it Mrs. Mikhailov. And even if I didn't, last night was surely enough to give me some ideas."

Yes. The night because of which I still have a sour throat.

I let my lips curl up in a small smile, "perfect. Then you know that I will not rest until I have a perfect reason for your boss to use me like that. I have grown up being an independent woman and to realise that I was all along a pawn in my own husband's games in not something that I will accept or allow that easily."

Vernon chuckles, "I would expect nothing less of the elusive Arabella Mancini, after all, you're the girl who can rule your father's entire mafia business but still told him to f**k the hell off in pursuit of an empire of your own. Which is why I believe that Rhys and you make a wonderful couple. You have more things in common than he realises."

Ah yes, it was one of the things that drew me to him. The fact that he too was a proud owner of a multi billion dollar company, same as me, even though our fathers had kingdoms dripping with rivers of blood and drugs. In the midst of it all, both of us had chosen to step aside.

Apparently he hadn't.

I give Vernon a pleased grin, "then yes, Vernon, I will take that office that you just offered and I will design it on my own. And not only that," I look around at the main living space where we are currently standing with a scowl, "I will be changing a lot around here to match my own tastes, since, as your boss put it this morning— I have to stay here and look pretty." I give him my best camera smile.

He stares at me for a moment before chuckles, shaking his head, "oh, Rhys is in for a ride." He mutters more so to himself.

No.

Rhys is in for a f*****g storm.

No one takes advantage of my heart like that and gets away with it.

I will either win this thing and make him realise that he does love me. Or I will lose and leave this place forever.

But I will most definitely not let him treat me as a pawn, as a random arm candy, or as anything less than what I deserve to be treated.

The rest of the walk to the kitchen is spent in silence but the moment I enter the kitchen, I feel like I've entered a war zone.

My eyes widen seeing a tall and healthy middle aged woman yelling out orders in crude Russian, filled with slangs which I shall never name as she chops zucchini with the precision and speed of a well trained chef while barking orders at the flurry of servants trying to follow through.

The kitchen is located in one end of the house and from the noise and clattering in this large space I now know why no other rooms are around.

"It is always like this." Vernon says in my ear as though revealing a well kept secret. I look at him with wide eyes and he simply shrugs with a sheepish grin on his lips.

He then takes a deep breath and takes a few steps inside until he reached the edge of the long isle that the head chef is working on before he picks up a pan and slams it on the stone.

Everyone stops in their tracks and my eyes widen further as I stare at them wordlessly.

The Russian woman narrows her eyes in Vernon's direction before he clears his throat.

"Apologies, Frida, I think you wished to see Mrs. Mikhailov?" He asks, quirking his brow knowingly.

The Russian woman I now recognise as Frida, lets out a few words of exclamation as she throws her hands in the air, "moya milaya! I have been worried about you since I found out that you were crying the whole night."

My eyes widen and I don't know what to say as all of the staff is basically gawking at me as though I am some unicorn.

I simply wave my fingers with a sarcastic grin on my lips, "yup, that's me, the crying bride..." I mutter, wanting to roll my eyes so bad.

Frida looks at Vernon, her grey eyes widening comically as she says, "oh, she's funny!"

And with that, I am swept into a furry of chaos, food, and loud exclamations but somehow, this chaos seems like the only familiar and welcoming thing about this house since I arrived here.

Perhaps I wouldn't be as worse off.