Mated To The Billionaire's Wife

Chapter 1: Anniversary Bliss

Mia’s POV

The stampede of paparazzi crowded around us like hungry animals ready to devour us with their endless questions and made-up scandals. Plastering a smile on my face, I let out a hidden sigh and looked straight into the cameras.

“Mr. Prentiss! What is the reason you are hosting this lavish gala dinner?” a reporter asked, extending a microphone toward the man standing next to me.

He let out a laugh before wrapping his arm around my waist. “Aren’t you up-to-date with your information? It’s our first wedding anniversary.”

“Of course we all know that, Mr. Prentiss. But, why such a lavish event with so many dignitaries and celebrities?” another reporter asked and the body next to me tensed.

His voice turned a notch deeper. “Can’t I spend my own money according to my wish to celebrate being married to this beautiful woman right here?”

“Certainly, Mr. Prentiss. Congratulations once again,” the second reporter replied in an apologetic tone.

Just when I thought the whole ordeal was over, a different reporter approached me with a microphone. “Mrs. Prentiss, how does it feel like being married to one of the country’s most famed billionaires for a year? You must be on cloud nine!” 

My breath hitched in my chest and my heart started pounding so loud that I could hear it in my ears. My eyelids fluttered as the crowd of reporters and countless cameramen looked at me in anticipation, but all I did was hesitate.

“Come on, darling. Don’t worry, you can tell them. No need to be shy,” the man beside me muttered with a smile on his face but his arm tightened around me, almost pinching my waist.

Nodding my head, I forced out a smile. “It’s been great.”

However, before any of the reporters could ask any follow-up questions to my brief and unsatisfactory answer, the renowned Mr. Prentiss showed them his palm and they remained silent. Instead, the cameras began flashing as they captured our photos but none of them could capture what my life truly was like.

With his arm still around my waist, he pulled me along with him as he headed to our limousine parked in front of the grand hotel, dragging me compellingly until my legs couldn’t keep up. It was clear that my answer and the way I presented myself angered him as they always did, and the result of that was soon to come.

After waving to the crowd of reporters one last time, he opened the door for me and helped me in carefully. Then, his door was opened by a butler on the other side and he sat next to me in the back seat of the limousine before the car began moving forward.

As soon as he raised the partition separating us and the driver, Mr. Prentiss swerved his head toward me and shot me a death glare. “Great? The reporter asks you one question and all you can answer is great?! Are you purposely trying to make me look bad or are you just that stupid?”

“B…but, but—” I stuttered, trying to justify myself but I was instantly silenced when he grabbed my hair and yanked it back.

Turning my head so that I was facing him, he narrowed his eyes at me menacingly. “I don’t want to hear your excuses. Your punishment will be waiting for you when we reach home. Until then I don’t want to hear a peep out of you, not even the sound of you breathing.”

Pushing me towards the window, he dusted his hands with a huff and pulled out his cell phone. Gulping back the lump in my throat, I adjusted my hair before scooting myself as close to my door as possible. My lips trembled as I began to cry, but his words quickly silenced me and I slammed my palm on my mouth to stifle the sound of my sobs. Leaning my head on the tinted window, I looked out at the passing road as tears streamed down my face.

Mia Stefan-Prentiss. Wife of Mr. Eric Prentiss, CEO of Prentiss Technologies and one of America’s top 10 billionaires. We’ve been married for exactly a year today, but it didn’t take more than 2 months for my husband’s true colors to show. By the time we came back from our island honeymoon, I had my first reddened cheek, the result of a slap from my new husband because I was friendly with the resort manager. So much for a happy ever after.

In a way, I guess I should have known. Obviously, I never wanted to marry Eric in the first place. Our fathers were acquaintances and ran in the same circles, but last year my family company hit a huge loss and almost went bankrupt. That was when the senior Prentiss, Mr. Tristan Prentiss, Eric’s father, proposed an idea to my father. If he agreed for Eric to marry me then he would acquire our family company and keep it afloat. At that time, it felt like a good offer. I knew Eric from our mutual friends and we had hung out a few times. Then, before I knew it, we were at our engagement party and then our destination wedding.

Throughout the whole time up till our wedding, nothing felt out of place. Eric was the perfect gentleman and showered me with love constantly. He would parade me around publicly and buy me the best things money could buy. Then, in a snap, everything changed.

The big golden gates creaked open outside my window and I knew my prison was approaching. Straightening myself in my seat, I wiped away my tears and tried to dab at my makeup to appear presentable. A few minutes later, someone opened my door and I stepped out in front of the lavish mansion we called home.

As soon as we were out of the eyes of the paparazzi, Eric ignored me completely, which meant no more holding my hand or wrapping his arm around my waist, much to my relief. However, it also meant that no one could protect me anymore as soon as I stepped into the mansion.

“Eric! You’re home! How was the press conference after the gala? Sorry, we couldn’t stay for long. I had a conference call with Japan,” Tristan Prentiss, my father-in-law, said as soon as we walked in.

Looking up from his phone, Eric turned to look at me. “Well, Mia? Care to fill them in on how you embarrassed me in front of the world?”

“Why am I not surprised?” Eva Prentiss, my mother-in-law, chimed in with a scoff as she shook her head.

Unable to stand their disappointing gaze, I cast my head down and walked away towards my room, but not before leaning back against a wall to eavesdrop on them once I was out of sight. There was no way I was going to let them badmouth me and discuss about me without knowing what their plan for me was.

“This is not the first time this has happened. Well, this is what happens when you make a bad businessman’s daughter your daughter-in-law, Tristan!” Eva voiced out without a filter.

Tristan let out a sharp exhale. “I had to, Eva! How else was I going to get her company? You know very well that we needed a company from another industry to complete our conglomerate. So, stop blaming it on me. It was a good opportunity and I took it.”

“You’re lucky she’s beautiful even though she’s a complete i***t,” his wife replied, her words cutting through me like they were freshly sharpened knives.

Clearing his throat, Eric tapped the floor impatiently. “Well, if you two would excuse me, I have a date with my wife.”

My eyes widened and I quickly ran as fast as I could to our bedroom, where I was supposed to be. As soon as I reached inside, I gripped the bedpost and panted for air as I tried to regulate my breathing. Then, the realization that Eric was heading right toward me to punish me dawned on me. Panicked, I opened the door to head to the guest room or study room, but it was too late.

“Where are you going, wife?” he asked with his tightened jaw as he leaned against the door frame.

Shaking my head, I tried my best to find my voice. “I’m g…going to sleep in the guest room.”

“That can’t be right. Aren’t you going to make love to your husband on our marital bed? It’s our anniversary after all,” he replied tauntingly, each word echoing with revenge as he nudged me into the room and locked the door.

“No, I don’t want to,” I declared somewhat bravely, hoping that was enough to stop him even though I knew from personal experience that it wasn’t going to work.

Walking backward, my breath hitched in my throat as I watched him continue to approach me while removing his blazer and then cufflinks. By the time he started unbuttoning his shirt, my leg slammed against the bedpost and I fell backward onto the bed before Eric leaned over me with his darkened eyes, trapping me in his arms.

“Wrong answer, little lamb.”