Melody Anne's Billionaire Universe: Devoured (Kindle Worlds Novella) (6 page)

“Do you want soup, Vivi?” Eula was on her knees in her seat.

“Y-yes, please.”

Eula filled the ladle with frowning concentration, but when she poured the soup into Vivian’s bowl, some of it still spilled on her lap, and Eula stiffened in realization.

“S-sorry, Vivi.” Eula looked like she was about to cry of shame.

Knowing she had to act very fast, she said, “It’s okay.” After patting her pants dry with the napkin, she told the little girl in a confidential whisper, “Do you know, Cinderella did the same thing, too, with her mother?”

Eula gasped. “She did?”

“Uh huh, and I did so, too, with my own mother. And you told me I’m like Cinderella, right?”

Eula nodded.

“So do you know what this means?”

Eula shook her head.

“You did something only princesses could do!” She clapped her hands. “Yay!”

Caught up in Vivian’s excitement, Eula dropped the ladle back into the bowl and clapped her hands as well. “Yay!”

Eula was much more relaxed afterwards, and dinner with the Valencias proved to be the most delicious and fun affair she had for ages. Following dinner, they went to the private living room, where Eula flawlessly played several nursery tunes.

“Has she been taking lessons?” Vivian asked, even more impressed now.

Luca nodded. “At her insistence, too.”

“She plays wonderfully.”

“Thank you.”

And then it was time for Eula to wash up and change for bed, where she insisted on Vivian’s company instead of her father’s. Vivian was also the one who tucked her into bed, and although her eyes were already drooping sleepily, Eula said, “I want you to tell me a bedtime story. Please?”

“Of course.”

“The pink book please.”

“Umm, okay, give me a moment…” Rising to her feet, she searched for the shelves in Eula’s bedroom for a pink book and found it tucked behind all the others bearing the same logo.

LV.

Did that mean LV also had a publishing house?

Going back to Eula’s side, she showed the book to the little girl. “Did I get it right?”

Eula nodded.

Vivian opened the book, and the first thing that caught her eye was the title page. Had she really read this right? Clearing her throat, she said, “The Story of Eula’s Lost Mother.”

Eula nodded again.

Once upon a time,

In a far away land,

There lived a king and a queen, who had a baby girl.

The girl’s name was Eula.

They were once very happy,

But then one day, lightning struck and thunder roared.

Flash! Boom!

And the queen became scared.

She ran and ran,

Past the forest,

Over the mountain,

And finally she dived into the ocean.

Down, down she went---

Until one day, she turned into a squid.

Vivian paused. “Maybe this is wrong. Maybe the queen turned into a mermaid.”

Eula shook her head. “Nope. I also asked Papa if the queen can turn into a mermaid, and he told me this is the real story. The queen is now a squid.”

“A squid,” she echoed doubtfully.

“Yes,” Eula said patiently. “A squid.”

Vivian cleared her throat. “Okay, a squid.” She turned to the next page.

Now that the queen was a squid,

She was no longer scared.

In the ocean, she would not be able to hear the storm coming.

There would be no lightning or thunder.

No flash! No boom!

And so she lived happily ever after.

As for the king and the princess,

Their new story begins in another book,

When the king finds a new queen,

And the princess finds a new mother,

And they, too, will live happily ever after.

Vivian closed the book. “The end.”

“Did you like the story, Vivi?” Eula asked.

She nodded. “Yep.” It was extremely odd, but it had been a fun read.

Eula nodded and yawned, saying, “I’m glad.”

Vivian kissed the little girl on the forehead. “Good night,
principesa
.”

Eula’s eyes glowed. “Night, principesa.” And then her eyes fluttered closed, and after a minute, her breathing evened.

Tiptoeing from the bed, Vivian headed back to the shelves and returned the book. After a moment’s hesitation, she pulled out another volume, a blue book this time, but one that also bore the LV logo.

The Story of Why Papa Has to Go to Work.

She pulled out another book.

The Story of Why Grandma Lives in Italy

Just as she was about to pull a third book out, she heard Luca murmur in amusement, “Having fun?”

Almost jumping in her shock, she turned towards him and found Luca leaning one shoulder against the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, and a smile playing on his beautiful lips.

“She, umm, had me reading her a bedtime story,” she whispered.

“I heard.”

Her face heated up, Vivian feeling inexplicably embarrassed at the thought of Luca listening to her while she had read the story she now realized he had personally penned. It had to be him. No one else could be so sweetly devious.

After kissing his daughter goodnight, Luca drew her out of the room and quietly pulled the door shut.

And then they were looking at each other, neither of them saying a word.

Butterflies started fluttering its wings in her stomach, and she couldn’t stop herself from swallowing audibly. She wished he would say something, anything, but Luca only continued to gaze at her with gleaming light blue eyes that seemed to mock and seduce her at the same time.

I know what you want. You know what I want.

Give me what I want, so I can give you what I want.

She wetted her dry lips and was startled to see his nostrils flare. When she saw the heat now glittering in his gaze, she realized in shock that such a simple thing had actually aroused him. She wetted her lips again, and he stilled.

“Are you trying to seduce me, cara?”

His voice was silky, his Italian accent more pronounced than usual, and Vivian had to consciously will herself to keep breathing. It was just too sexy! When she could make her vocal chords work, she choked out, “N-no.”

“Then…” His head cocked to the side. “Perhaps you are trying to tell me something?”

She nodded.

“What is it?”

And again, there it was, the promise in his gaze, but oh, it was so much more sensual now, so much more possessive.

Vivian whispered, “I will be your wife.”

Chapter Five

Tuesday. It might be the second day of the week, but as far as Vivian was concerned, today – and not yesterday – was
the
beginning of a new chapter in her life. A chapter that, this time around, revolved completely around Gianluca Valencia and his adorable daughter, a family that she would soon be a part of---

She pinched her cheeks, and it hurt.

She knocked her head against the vanity mirror mounted over the sink, and it hurt, too.

Pulling away, she stared at her reflection, thinking,
I’m not dreaming then.

She said out loud, “So that’s that, soon-to-be Mrs. Luca Valencia.”

A tumultuous mix of joy, fear, and excitement struck her at hearing the words she had spoken, and Vivian could feel herself redden even if it was just her---

From the hallway, Maggie called out laughingly, “Did I hear you just refer to yourself as---”

---and her roommate.

She cut Maggie off in embarrassment, groaning, “Don’t!” Wet hair flying behind her as she hurried down the hallway, she saw Maggie already waiting for her beside the table, still in her pajamas but with a Cheshire smile on her face.

“Naughty, naughty girl,” the other woman cooed as Vivian plopped down on her seat and began stuffing her face with cereal. “Are you really going to marry your billionaire?”

Vivian lowered her spoon with a groan. “Will you please stop calling him that? You make me sound like---”

“You’re after his money?”

She glared. “I’m not.”

Maggie’s face softened. “I know you’re not, hon, but the world doesn’t so you just gotta be prepared for some backlash.” She stared at her friend, who was, as always, the picture of innocence in her cleaner’s uniform, and sighed. “Are you sure about what you’re doing, Viv?” When her friend had come home all flustered and starry-eyed, lips swollen with kisses, Maggie had honestly no idea what to do or think. And then Vivian started telling her the most amazing story about Mr. Photocopy being a billionaire in disguise and, to top that, a father looking for someone to be his wife and mother of his daughter---

If it hadn’t been Vivian, Maggie would have thought she was being conned. But this was Vivian, who could never really lie well no matter how hard she tried. It had to be true, but the question was – could Mr. Photocopy / Mr. Billionaire be entrusted with her friend’s gentle heart?

She said carefully, “I don’t want to burst your bubble or anything, but…don’t you think everything sounds too good to be true?”

Hiding her face behind her coffee mug, Vivian asked haltingly, “Are you saying you don’t think it’s possible that he’d want to marry someone like me?” It was hard, voicing out her worst fears, and she held her breath as she waited for what her always-blunt friend had to say.

“If you mean someone pretty and unbelievably nice---”

Vivian choked on her coffee. “Mags!”

Maggie smirked. “Serves you right for wasting time on self-pity.” Her voice became firm. “I’m not saying this as your friend, okay? You know I always call it how it is, and I’m telling you that any guy with average IQ should consider himself lucky to have someone like you as his wife.
That said,
I still think there has to be a catch, and before you marry him, it’s important that you find out what it is.”

Anxiety had Vivian chewing on her lip.
A catch,
she thought uneasily. Logically speaking, she knew that Maggie was likely right and there had be a catch for someone like Luca Valencia to go to such extraordinary lengths just to marry someone like her.

But…

What if the impossible had happened and there was
no
catch? What if, in the course of all those weeks they had spent time with each other, he had realized they were greatly compatible and he had gone as far as buying her IOUs just to make sure he had a chance with her? What if he was just covering all his bases, simply to make sure that she would be forced to spend more time with him and realize what he already knew?

And that was that they were meant---

“Stop that,” Maggie said darkly, knowing what was going on the moment she saw her friend’s dreamy expression.

“Mm?”

Maggie scowled. “Seriously, it’s creeping me out.”

Vivian blinked. “Huh?”

“That look on your face,” she snapped. “Quit it.” Doing her best to resist the urge to shake some sense into Vivian, Maggie said emphatically, “Just ask him, okay?”

Vivian slowly shook her head.

Maggie’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re
not
going to ask him if there’s a catch?”

“I want to trust him.”

“I know you do, and naturally you should, but asking doesn’t mean you don’t trust him. It only means you want to know the truth.
Okay
?”

Vivian shrugged.

“Oh my God, you’re so stubborn!”

A smile wobbled on Vivian’s lips because she knew it was true. She was pretty stubborn, once she had made up her mind. “I promise I’ll consider asking him, okay?” Taking one last sip of her coffee, she stood up and took her bag from the living room. “I have to go now. See ya!”

When Vivian stepped out of the apartment building, the first thing she saw was a stretch limousine parked by the curb. The door opened almost immediately, and her jaw dropped when she saw Luca stepping out of it. He was dressed in a dark blue suit, his sense stylish but conservative, with an air of quiet authority that was rarely seen on a man of thirty-one years.

“What are you doing here?” she blurted out.

Instead of answering her, he drew her towards him firmly, and when she was close enough, he bent his head down to kiss her.

Luca almost smiled when he felt Vivian still in shock, but instead of letting up, he deepened the kiss, causing her to whimper under the sweet pressure. Her lips slowly parted and he took advantage, his tongue sliding inside the warm, moist cave of her mouth.

Vivian’s hands curled into fists between them, her heart beating so loud and fast that she wondered how it was that none of the people around them could hear it. The apartment building she lived in had a very busy sidewalk, and even as her mind whirled at Luca’s passionate kiss, a part of her could sense people’s gazes on them, some shocked, others affronted, and then there were those who were so fascinated that she could feel their gazes burning at the back of her head.

She could sense all these, but even so she could just not stop kissing Luca back. There was just something so exquisitely masterful about his approach, and she found herself getting addicted to it rather than turned off. It almost made her feel weird and ashamed, but it was hard to dwell on such negativity with Luca’s tongue still exploring her mouth and all the while doing his best to make her knees give out.

When he finally lifted his head, she couldn’t stop inhaling deeply, needing to breathe, which she had quite forgotten to do in the first few moments.

“
Buon giorno, cara,”
he said huskily as their gazes met.

Her cheeks turned pink as she mumbled shyly, “
B-buon giorno.
” A pause, then she added earnestly, “I’ll self-study Italian, I promise.”

Luca traced her lips. “It means a lot that you wish to do so, but allow me please to hire a tutor for you so that you will not need to struggle unnecessarily with the lessons, si?”

“O-okay.”

Once inside the limousine, Vivian recovered enough of her senses to once again ask him what he had been doing outside her building.

“I wish to drive you to work,
naturalmente
.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“Ah, but before we get to the office, I believe it is proper that you wear this…” He pulled out a box from his pocket and offered it to her.

Heart beating madly against her chest once more, she took the box with shaking hands and flipped the lid open. Inside was a breathtakingly beautiful heirloom ring, and as she stared at it in wonder, Luca said over her head, “It is passed from generation to generation, for the women we promise to marry during the engagement. May I?”

At her nod, Luca took the ring out of the box and slowly slipped it on her finger. It was a strangely perfect fit, which her whimsical mind considered a nod from Lady Luck.

Watching her keenly, Luca asked, “Do you like it?” A quick nod. “Good. We’ll all make the necessary announcements today, and we’ll get married on the day after---”

Startled, she asked, “Aren’t we moving too fast?”

“Is there any reason for us to delay our wedding?” Luca asked levelly.

“No, but---”

“Then we shall proceed as planned,” he interrupted her in the same tone, “
si?
”

Ruthless,
she thought as she gazed at his implacable expression. He was a lot more ruthless than she had initially given him credit for, and now she had her first taste of how it was to try going against him. Wetting her lips, she asked haltingly, “If I don’t agree?” She held her breath, expecting Luca’s temper to ignite any moment.

But he didn’t.

She almost reared back as he reached for her, just the smallest part of her wondering if the billionaire would strike her.

Luca’s hand stilled mid-air and a frown touched his forehead. “Did you think I would hurt you,
cara
?”

“I…”

It deeply offended him to know she thought him that kind of man, but Luca reminded himself that it was only to be expected. Right now, she probably felt she was being bullied into a corner and any sign of rebellion would be quashed with brute force. He said quietly, “I promise you, Vivi. No matter what happens between us, you will
never
come to physical harm in my hands.” His lips twisted. “My entire life, there has only been a single instance into which I had been provoked to forget the lessons my mother had instilled in me about treating the fairer sex with courtesy and respect. I struck my ex-wife in the face, but it was only that one time and I have not done so again, no matter what the provocation.”

Holding her green eyes captive, he said gravely, “I tell you this so that there are no lies between us.”

She thought about what he had revealed, and swallowing, she said, “Thank you for telling me the truth.” She might be naïve, but even she knew it wasn’t easy for any man to admit to having been provoked into hitting a woman, and she appreciated the risk he took for doing so. “I won’t blame you for what happened. I…” This time, she swung her gaze away as she mumbled, “I researched about you a bit on the Internet, so I k-know, just a bit, about what happened between you two.” She almost winced at the words, knowing that she couldn’t blame Luca if he considered her actions as stalking. Maybe it really was, but she had just wanted to know more about him and his past.

Unfortunately, the knowledge she acquired hadn’t been what she expected at all, with the tabloid reports including all sorts of sordid and sensational details about their supposedly wild and rocky marriage, their constant fights, and later on, the scandalous way in which his wife had left him for an older and – at that time – wealthier man.

Suddenly, she felt Luca cupping her chin, and Vivian reluctantly allowed him to tip her face up so their eyes would meet.

“Do you think less of me now because of what you’ve learned?” Luca managed to keep his voice steady even though he was mentally cursing all the paparazzi to perdition. Even now, he could remember the headlines tackling his doomed marriage to Maria, and the majority of them had painted him the stupid, cuckolded husband whose sexual infatuation with his wife had cost him his fortune.

He prepared himself to see pity in Vivian’s gaze, but instead she was shaking her head vehemently at him. “Even if I’m not as worldly as you are, I’m not stupid either,” she said sharply. “I can read between the lines, and after seeing you with Eula, I know that all of your sacrifices were for her.” After a moment’s hesitation, she touched his hand, saying softly, “I don’t think there’s any shame in that, Luca. If you ask me, I…think you should be proud of how much you’re willing to do and give up out of love for your daughter.”

The words caught him off guard, Luca never having expected to hear something like it from someone so young, someone who barely knew him.

But then – wasn’t this the very lesson he told himself not to forget?

Time was no way to measure how much you knew a person
, Luca reminded himself grimly. You could spend forever with someone and still not know her, but you could also be with another for just a moment and know everything about her.

Maria had taught him that…and now, Vivian was reminding him of the same lesson, albeit in a different way.

A small sigh escaped him. “Sometimes,
cara,
you simply take my breath away.”

Luca’s admission, spoken almost reluctantly in a low undertone, had her toes curling. “I d-do?”

“Yes.”

She smiled helplessly, saying, “You don’t sound happy about it.”