BETROTHED TO THE BILLIONAIRE

Valerie’s POV

The sadness lurking around his expression when he left the room to see the doctor is no longer there. It has been replaced with something unreadable but much more intense than the sorrows I could feel within him.

Just from the fact that his Mother couldn’t remember how she got here, I am beginning to put the puzzles together.

At first, I thought it was all a pretense but now I see the reason why she never remembered my visit to the house and why she did not claim to have called me over.

I see the reason why she never act as if I was there as a witness that morning.

Something is definitely wrong somewhere. Something is fishy.

I had slipped out of the room without her knowledge when the nurse signaled me to leave. I wanted to wait outside so I could ask Ryan all the questions I have.

Suddenly, he looks straight into my eyes and I see it.

This time, it isn’t sorrow or sadness.

What I can see behind his eyes is nothing but fear.

And denial.

Quickly, I move in to hug him. I know I should have done this earlier but I feel we both need this. This confusion is becoming too much for me too. I can’t seem to wrap my head around what is happening so I don’t want to blame him anymore for not believing a thing I say.

Refraining from asking him what the doctor said could be the cause for her forgetfulness, I hug him more tightly.

But he moves away before I could think of what else to do. He grabs his head in between both hands with a heavy sigh as he spins around.

“Hey, Ryan”, I drop his hands and hold them tightly, staring at him intensely. “What did the doctor say?”

He does not answer. He isn’t looking straight at me either. He seems to be avoiding me and the question too.

Or probably he is ashamed to tell me what it is. If this is the case, then he shouldn’t have called me here.

I really do not know if I am here as his wife for the moral support he needs or as a person who is a supposed witness.

“Ryan, are you going to say something?”

“I don’t know”, he answers with more confusion skating on his expression.

“You don’t know?” I almost shout at him in frustration. “I am asking what the doctor said.”

“She can’t remember a thing”, he points to the door. I nod. “And she has no cancer.”

That does the trick. I thought it was going to be something I know or something I am aware of. I have been trying to figure out why she forgot incidents that have to do with her poisoning while she remembers others and I have concluded that it must be one of the side effects of the poison.

But this. This news right here is something I never expected in my wildest imagination.

Unconsciously, my jaws drop open. “What?!”

“Yes”, he holds onto me too as he replies. “I am as confused as you are. I don’t know what the doctor is saying and I don’t even know what else to believe. First, she was diagnosed with cancer, now she is poisoned and then she has no cancer…how is that even possible…what is…”

“Ryan?” I cut him short from his ranting, pulling him beside me and moving towards a seat.

He is restless and his body is trembling. I make him sit before facing him squarely so we can continue our discussion.

“Calm down, ok?” I say and he nods vigorously even though he is still shaken.

We shouldn’t dwell too much on the discovery. We should rather find out how and why it happened and who is responsible for all of this.

“Is this doctor trustworthy?” I demand from him and he jerks upright sharply in shock.

I nod at him, urging him to say what he thinks. If the doctor is trustworthy then it means this has nothing to do with the doctor but if he isn’t, then it means he is collaborating with the culprit, and this big news is meant to take us off the trail.

This is a good distraction.

“Of course he is”, he responds firmly, his brows furrowed in anger. I don’t know if this anger is towards me or my question.

“Was he the same doctor who diagnosed her with cancer?” I ask again and he shakes his head, his creased brows released.

“Why didn’t you take her to the family doctor?” I question him the very next thing on my mind.

Without hesitation, he replies. “Because I thought of trying someone else.”

I know what he is thinking. Ryan is still in denial but he knows the truth now. He did this because he feels his father might have won the family doctor over.

That same doctor diagnosed his Mother with cancer which means one thing; the diagnosis was fake and his Mother isn’t dying.

We remain silent, his breathing becoming heavy gradually while I continue to stare at his hard face, pondering over the next line of action.

What do we do next?

Since his Mother can’t remember what happened before she got here, then it means his Father will rest assured that we won’t be able to trace anything to him.

“Are you still trying to say that my Father is behind this?” he asks me, his two hands shaking.

I do not bother to hold his hands. Instead, I nod confidently. I don’t care whether he believes me or not. I was right about the poisoning and he will be a fool not to believe me again.

“Bullshit!” he turns away from me, with rage.

Silence ensues.

I am waiting for him to say something that will enrage me as well so I can leave.

I didn’t plan for us to meet again tonight but it happened anyway because he called me. If he didn’t think I was right, he wouldn’t have called but I guess he is still a fool for not believing.

“What has Anita got to do with this?” his question is directed at me, even though he is gazing at the wall opposite him.

Apparently, he isn’t having too much difficulty believing that his Father is responsible. What he is having difficulty believing is that Anita is involved and Mr. Lorenzo isn’t his father.

This brings me to some questions I have no answer to.

Why is Anita helping him? If Mr. Lorenzo isn’t Ryan’s biological father, then who is? If he isn’t Ryan’s father, is he Anita’s?

Is that why she is helping him? Why will she take sides with her Father instead of her Mother?

“How old is she?” I find myself asking instead of replying to his question.

He turns slowly to watch me with a look of disbelief. “I asked you a question, Val.”

“You think I still care if you believe me or not?” I retort back sharply but not with a raised voice which is surprising to me too. “She is your Mother, you decide what you want to believe. So just answer the damn question. How old is your sister?”

“What does her age got to do with this?”

“Everything, Ryan. It has everything to do with this but if you don’t need my help, I can leave”, I stand up abruptly from the chair. He looks up immediately with pleading eyes. “Are you going to answer me or not?”

He sighs. Then rakes his hands into his hair while I wait patiently.

“She is 25 years old”, he replies.

I snort. “25 years old and still in college?” he throws me a cold glare and the smirk on my face drops. “If your brother was alive, how old will he be now?”

“What? What has that…”

“Ryan, I will leave if you don’t answer me now!” I threaten but it isn’t empty. I meant it. I am tired of his silliness. He is annoying the shit out of me.

“He ought to be 20 years old by now”, he mumbles under his breath.

“How old are you, Ryan?” I ask with folded arms. He stares at me with a hard look with no intention of answering me. “You are 26 years old, right?”

He does not reply.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

I clap my hand with a smile creeping to my face at the discovery. “You will be 27 years old in August and Anita will be 26 years old next month, what does that tell you?”

His confusion has intensified. He shifts in his chair and mutters. “What do you mean?”

“Can’t you see it? You are just a few months older than Anita which means she is not your sister!” I shout it into his ears so it can sink deeply into his system.

I guess this is the answer to his question now.

His question of why Anita is involved in all of this.

Impulsively, he shoots to his feet and yells. “What the hell!”