The Billionaire's Sixty-Day Wife

Chapter 14

Alejandro's POV

The viral photo becomes a disaster by sunrise.

Every business channel is discussing it. Every financial website is analyzing it, every gossip account is reposting it.

What should have been a temporary story suddenly becomes a national conversation.

However, the conversation isn't helping Vega Pharmaceuticals.

Investors are nervous, stock analysts are asking questions. Several board members have decided this is my fault which means my morning begins exactly where I don't want it to.

A board meeting.

"The situation is becoming a distraction." One of the directors adjusts his glasses while speaking, and judging by the number of people nodding around the table, he isn't alone. "The media attention is affecting investor confidence."

Another board member immediately agrees. "The lawsuit is being discussed again."

I already know that, everyone knows that.

The photo practically dragged the lawsuit back into public conversation.

A conversation I never wanted reopened.

Across the room, Victor Vega looks far too pleased with himself.

"Maybe we're focusing on the wrong issue."

The moment he speaks, several people turn toward him.

Victor folds his hands calmly. "The real problem isn't the photo."

Here it comes.

"The real problem is Camila Reyes."

I lean back in my chair slowly.

Victor notices, he continues anyway. "Since she entered Alejandro's life, we've dealt with a lawsuit, public scrutiny, negative press, and constant media attention."

The room grows quieter.

Victor smiles slightly. "The pattern seems obvious."

I almost admire the strategy.

Blame the outsider, always effective. Especially with people looking for easy answers.

Several board members exchange uncertain looks, one even nods.

"My wife isn't responsible for the media."

The words come out calm.

Victor smiles. "Of course not." The insincerity is obvious. To everyone, especially me. "But perception matters."

Victor doesn't care about the company, he cares about weakening me.

The company is simply the weapon.

"Investors are questioning your judgment."

I hold his gaze.

"And you're helping them."

For a brief moment, the room goes silent.

Victor's smile fades.

The meeting continues for another hour, but the damage is done.

By the time the meeting ends, the damage has already been done because Victor managed to plant questions where there were none before and turn small concerns into growing doubts.

He got almost everything he wanted, and by the time I leave headquarters, my patience is completely gone.

Which is probably why I find myself driving toward St. Matthew's Hospital instead of going home.

I tell myself I'm checking on Maria.

A lie, a very obvious lie.

The realization irritates me, almost as much as what I find when I arrive.

I hear Camila's laughter before I even reach the cardiac wing, and the sound is warm, genuine, and completely unfiltered in a way I haven't heard much lately.

For a second, it actually makes me smile, but the moment I turn the corner, that smile disappears.

A tall, confident doctor in a white coat is standing beside her, and whatever he's saying has her laughing again.

The sound immediately becomes less charming as I continue walking toward them, noticing that neither of them has seen me yet because the doctor's attention is entirely on Camila and hers is entirely on him. Something unpleasant settles in my chest as I watch them together, and I don't like it one bit.

"Hey." Camila looks up first, and surprise immediately flashes across her face. "Alejandro?"

The doctor turns, friendly smile. I dislike him already.

"What are you doing here?"

A reasonable question.

However, I don't have a reasonable answer.

"I was checking on your mother."

The lie sounds convincing enough, hopefully.

Camila smiles. "She's doing better today."

Relief immediately pushes away some of the tension.

The doctor extends his hand. "Ethan Ross."

I shake it briefly.

"Alejandro Vega."

Recognition appears instantly.

"Nice to meet you."

The man seems genuinely pleasant which somehow makes everything worse.

Camila gestures toward him.

"Ethan's one of the cardiologists working with my mom." That explains it. "Ethan's also the reason my mother actually follows her treatment plan."

Ethan laughs.

"That's not true."

"It absolutely is."

The ease between them immediately catches my attention.

My mood worsens.

Camila notices eventually.

"Alejandro?"

I blink. "What?"

Her eyebrows rise.

"You just stared at Ethan for ten seconds."

Damn.

Ethan tries not to laugh. "I should probably go."

Before leaving, he looks toward Camila.

"I'll stop by later."

"Thanks, Ethan."

The smile she gives him is warm, far too warm.

The second he disappears around the corner, I speak.

"You seem close."

The words leave my mouth before I can stop them.

Camila blinks once, then again, and the slow smile that gradually spreads across her face immediately makes me suspicious because it looks like she's just figured something out.

"Oh."

I immediately regret this.

"Oh?" I repeat.

"Oh." The smile grows wider. "That's what this is."

"What are you talking about?"

Camila folds her arms. "N-othing."

Definitely something. "Camila."

The smile becomes impossible to miss.

"Are you…. jealous?"

Absolutely not, probably not.

"No."

She laughs, actually laughs.

"I didn't say Ethan was handsome."

"I didn't say he wasn't."

The moment the words leave my mouth, I know I've lost completely.

Camila's laughter gets even worse. However, so does my awareness of how much I enjoy hearing it.

The conversation ends when a nurse arrives with an update about Maria's medication.

A useful interruption because Camila is still smiling.

Hours later, after leaving the hospital, I sit alone in my office overlooking Los Angeles.

The city lights stretch endlessly beyond the glass.

Normally, the view helps me think but tonight it doesn't.

A soft knock interrupts the silence.

"Come in."

Victor enters.

"I wanted to apologize."

I nearly laugh because Victor never apologizes, which immediately tells me this isn't actually an apology at all but something else entirely.

He talks for several minutes while pretending otherwise, though I barely listen because the moment he leaves, another man quietly enters through a private office door.

It's the private investigator Victor hired less than an hour ago, and after accepting an envelope that undoubtedly contains a very generous payment, he disappears again while Victor watches him go with a cold, patient, and deeply satisfied smile.

"I want everything." The investigator nods. "Everything?"

Victor's smile widens.

"Every secret."

After taking the envelope, the investigator slips out of the room without another word, leaving Victor standing alone as he turns toward the city lights with the same cold smile still resting on his lips.