The Daring Billionaire’s Wife by Lypstical

Dominic

Vanessa's white dress instantly turns bloody red as the blood soaks and spreads around the slashed area of her stomach. She screams in agony as she falls backwards, Mia rushing to her with confusion and wide eyes.

The air leaves my lungs as I leap over the tables and chairs to get to her while fueled with rage at the sight of Carmella looking down at Vanessa bleeding out and attempting to stab her despite Mia trying to shield her from more harm. Just then, some of the security restrain Carmella and expose her real identity by taking off her disguise. I don't even look in her direction as all I can think about is Vanessa and our baby.

As Vanessa rests her head in Mia's lap, she looks right at me with tears in her eyes, trying to stop the bleeding by placing the palm of her hand on it.

"My baby," she whispers, her lower lip quivering.

For a moment, I freeze, listening to Carmella yell in the background.

"Get off of me because I'm not done yet!"

I know Vanessa needs to get to the hospital, but I can't move and Mia seems lost. Watching my wife in this state shakes me to the core and I realize something even deeper right this moment.

It's only when Frank crouches beside me to help that I snap out of it.

"Hey, you'll be okay," he gently says to her, then looks at me. "Dude, Jake and I just cleared everyone out of here so they don't see anymore of this. Whatever you're thinking about, now isn't the time. Your wife needs you!"

As he begins to give instructions to security so Vanessa can be rushed to our family hospital right across the road from my hotel, I reach for her hand and tighten my grip on it, gesturing to Mia to let me take over and she nods while wiping her tears. Vanessa can barely keep her eyes open and I frantically shake my head.

"No! Stay with me!" I whisper with a pang of desperation.

"I said I'm not done yet!" Carmella yells once again. "That bitch is still breathing! Did I at least kill that thing growing inside of her?"

I shoot her a glare, my vision blurry from the tears threatening to roll down my cheeks.

Just as I think about all the things I want to do to her, my heart races faster when my mother runs towards her and slaps her in the face while in tears.

It's only now that I realize what just happened - my family saw everything. I look over at my father, who slowly approaches Carmella and he's fuming. He shoots me a glare but his gaze soon softens as he looks down at Vanessa with concern. Despite everything going on right now and what this means for me, I can only think about the woman's hand I'm holding.

A stretcher is quickly brought in and I step aside just for a moment, Vanessa still looking right at me despite struggling even more to keep her eyes open.

"My baby."Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

"Just take it easy. Everything will be okay," I assure her, my voice filled with doubt.

As the stretcher is taken outside, I look on while Carmella is restrained by security, my mother demanding that she should be arrested.

Despite everything that awaits her, she looks over at me and cackles in a maniacal way before yelling.

"Did you like my surprise, baby?"

Sophie and my mother gasp loudly, their eyes wide in shock.

Only thinking about how she hurt Vanessa with the intention to kill her and our unborn child, I clench my fists, charging at her as my vision becomes more blurry.

Right before I can get close, my father places his hand on my shoulder, his grip so tight that it's enough to tell me just how furious he is.

"Vanessa needs you right now. We'll handle this. I'll definitely deal with you later. Go."

Composing myself, I make my way to the exit and Carmella bursts out laughing. "That's it? No kiss? Didn't you miss me?"

She suddenly grunts after a hard slap and I look back, spotting Sophie standing right in front of her and doing it a few more times while in tears.

I look away so I can hurry to Vanessa, but Patrick blocks the way while moving backwards.

"This is my fault. I should've told you the truth much sooner."

"Get out of my way!" I push him aside, running across the street as the cars honk at me for causing a few minor collisions.

Just as I cross to the other side and make it to the hospital doors, a tear rushes down my cheek as I can't contain my rage. This was the worst thing that could happen this evening. I rush inside, only hoping that everything will be alright with Vanessa and the life growing inside of her.

Vanessa

The sound of the beeping monitor catches my attention while still having my eyes closed and as soon as I open them, the bright lights take me a while to adjust my vision.

It's only after I realize I'm in the hospital that I remember what happened.

Panicking, I gasp as I attempt to sit up.

"My baby!" I cry out with urgency.

Dominic instantly places his hands on my shoulders and gently says, "Hey, take it easy."

"My baby! Please, how's my baby?" I cling to him as tears rush down my cheeks. "I need to know!"

"You're fine. This isn't good for you. Try not to move too much or you'll make the pain worse."

"No!" I frantically tighten my random grips along his arm.

"Our baby is okay, so calm down."

I pause, a wave of relief beginning to take over. "Really?"

"Yes," he assures me, gently wiping my tears away.

It's only after I calm down that I feel the pain on my lower stomach, something that I just made worse with my frantic movements.

"You lost quite some blood before you were brought here. I feared we were going to lose the baby but you know what? I'm glad you're both okay." He kisses the back of my hand and sits down on the edge of the bed.

I sigh with relief, closing my eyes for a moment. "I didn't even realize I was looking right at Carmella."

"I was absolutely careful with that

list and was certain I did my best. I

didn't know she'd go as far as finding a way to make it on that list without making it obvious. I need tell everyone that you're awake. They're just waiting in my dad's

office here at the hospital,

I gasp, tears rushing down my cheeks. "Oh no! My dad probably saw everything during the live stream!"

"He did. That's why he's here, too."

"What?"

"Everyone's waiting for answers. After what happened with Carmella, there's no way we can hide the truth from them. They need to know everything."

"But that means you-"

"I don't care what happens beyond this point. I just want to make things right, no matter what it takes. As for Carmella, she's definitely going behind bars after what she did. She's nothing but the devil."

Ever since Dominic found out how manipulative she could be after lying about Billy, he's always seemed more on the side of believing just how evil she is, but I sense that this is different. "What aren't you telling me?" I ask.

While holding my hand, he tells me everything they spoke about with Patrick and it's immediately obvious to me that he regrets getting involved with Carmella and believing her lies about her ex-husband. "Wait, this now makes sense," I say to him.

"What are you talking about?"

"The first time I mentioned Patrick was when Carmella was staying home with us. It was the reason she burnt herself with that hot tea. I guess it triggered her."

"It definitely did."

"There were a few times when

Patrick called while I was in her presence and each time, she would go into a state of panic and run

away. I guess she thought I knew et

the truth and I was just trying to scare her or something. She always did that and I could never figure it out. Now it all makes sense. I even remember her running away during my confrontation with her after what she did to Billy. It was because she saw Patrick."

He nods, then gives me a warm smile. "I should have called the doctor by now or someone else but I was just so carried away by my relief that you're both okay."

My heart flutters and I lower my gaze for a moment but look up at him when he continues to speak while looking right into my eyes.

"I'm so glad the hospital is so close to the hotel. When I saw you bleeding, I thought Carmella, no, Angela or whatever the fuck her name is, succeeded. I wasn't at peace for a while."

"I can tell." I nod in agreement, taking note of his red eyes.

Though he seems relieved, he's also fuming and I understand him as I feel the same. Carmella could've attacked with that blade anywhere else on my body, but the fact that she aimed for my stomach makes her intentions clear.

"I can't believe that this entire time, she was waiting for the right moment to attack me. We would've known her whereabouts if those bodyguards you assigned to her, still worked for her."

"I'll never forgive her for this. The clip

of her attacking you was posted online, but my family had it taken down soon, and that content will be blocked. While it helped to do that, it doesn't take away the fact that she attacked you and people are talking about it. But you know what? For now, I don't care about the rest of the world. I need to talk to my parents first."

"I don't think this is a good idea."

"What else am I supposed to do? I can't lie about this."

"What if you lose everything that you've been aiming to achieve?"

He gently squeezes my hand as he says, "I froze for a moment after I rushed to you and saw you in pain. It was because I realized nothing else matters. That's why I don't care about what happens starting now. As long as you two are okay."

He gently places his other hand at the back of my head and kisses my forehead, a gesture that makes me feel warm and cared for. Then, he lowers his face for a kiss on my lips and my heart starts racing. What does this mean?

Even before I can find an answer to my own question, he pulls away and smiles at me.

"I'll get the doctor now."

I can only nod as I'm left speechless and he chuckles.

The doctor comes in to check my vitals and the entire time, Dominic just holds my hand, his mind wandering off a few times as he lightly shakes his head. I can only imagine what he's thinking about when it comes to Carmella. No, Angela, that crazy bitch. Each time he notices that I'm watching him, he smiles at me and kisses the back of my hand.

Still with pain in my lower stomach, a wheelchair is brought for me just so I can go up to the office with Dominic.

"Wait," I say to him just before he pushes the door open so we can leave my room.

"What is it?" he asks.

"Are you sure about this?"

He crouches down in front of me and reaches for my hands. "I'm sure."

While in the hallway, I spot Frank and Mia. She immediately rushes to me and wraps her arms around me after crouching down.

"I'm so glad you're awake now! The doctor already said you would be okay but still, I'm so sorry that happened to you. As for that fucking bitch-"

"Hey, we're in a hospital," I whisper to her.

"Sorry, I can't help it." She clears her throat.

"Hey, how do you feel?" Frank asks, standing right next to Dominic.

"It hurts, but I'll be okay."

"You two have a lot of explaining to do. Everyone is in so much shock that when I gave them the update that Vanessa and the baby will be okay, they didn't even say much. You should've heard Mr Richards-"

"Hey, you're not making this easier for Dominic," I say to Frank.

"It's okay," Dominic assures me. "I'm ready for this."

"Then let's go."

While pushing the wheelchair on our way to the office, he says. "When we get there, you don't have to say anything. I'll be the one to do it."

"Do you really think this will go well?" I gulp.

"No, but I'm ready for anything."