THE SUBSTITUTE WIFE

THE PERFECT WOMAN

"A man must keep his word," Pietro said aloud, though more than sharing it with his wife and daughter, he was telling it to himself. He felt the weight of what he was about to do. He loved his two daughters with equal measure, no matter what... But with Anastasia, he felt a different kind of pride. A secret pride.

He always remembered the day he met her, her flushed cheeks and wide eyes forever etched in his memory.

He never imagined that the little sleeping baby they once placed in his arms would become a breath of fresh air in his existence.

She was his little one, even if he didn't tell her.

While Eloise needed constant attention and expensive praise, Anastasia was content with any book or business magazine that offered her new knowledge... She was his obedient little one, causing no headaches, and the only daughter who unfortunately didn't share his blood.

"Your sister has left us, Anastasia. She left because she refused to marry," Pietro announced, determined to do what was right and keep his word.

"What will you do now, Dad?" she asked, drawing closer to them.

"You are going to take your sister's place," he told her, looking her in the eyes.

Anastasia couldn't believe what her father was saying.

"You are our only hope, Anastasia! If you don't replace your sister in this, we will be ruined in more ways than one!" Pietro exclaimed angrily. Inside, conflicting emotions boiled within him.

The actions in the company, which were his pride and greatest achievement, were being threatened by a bad move, a bad investment that not only affected him but also the shares of the Vills and Tsartsaris.

The only hope was a marriage that would unite the two families, as Bemus Vills had told him, and he understood it. But the problem was that his only eligible daughter had run away, and he didn't have time to waste searching every corner for her.

Fortunately, no one knew that his youngest daughter wasn't a legitimate Miller.

Pietro knew what he was doing was dangerous.

He would be deceiving the Vills right to their faces, and the last thing he needed was another problem with them... But he had no other choice.

"But maybe there is another way, Dad!... What if they also made a mistake and we can overlook both mistakes by mutual agreement?!" she asked desperately, because she knew what happened when a wife was given as a virgin and it turned out to be a lie.

That was treason and it was severely punished... Plus, she didn't want to bring dishonor to her parents.

For God's sake, she wasn't even the bride they had initially offered in marriage!

"Don't you think I've tried everything already? It's the only way, and I won't take another path!" her father exclaimed, interrupting her mental tirade. He took a deep breath and then sighed. "I've made a deal with Vills, Ana. He has an illegitimate grandson and wants to save the family's reputation by getting him a wife from a good family, a wife of Greek blood and a good surname," he explained.

"It's so easy to exchange a daughter for money," she whispered, pained, amidst her tears.

"I've made a deal with Bemus Vills, and I won't be the one to back down, so go change. We're going to organize with them right away about the engagement party," her father said decisively, and she could only cry silently, terrified that her secret would be discovered.

She let her tears flow freely because she knew she couldn't refuse; not when her sister had already abandoned their parents.

Her minutes of bravery were over.

Lost in her thoughts, Anastasia Miller reverted to what she had always been, the invisible girl who did everything possible to be exactly what her parents needed.

An obedient daughter who fit perfectly into the societal profile of Heraclion.

The bargaining chip they needed to settle a debt.

A couple of hours later, Anastasia noticed her father was quite angry.

She didn't know if it was because he was remembering her sister's escape at that moment or because they had been kept waiting endlessly in the Vills mansion's room, but either way, he seemed ready to explode.

Anastasia tried to remain calm and fought to refrain from sniffing, not wanting to show that she had been crying before arriving.

She had always been good at hiding her emotions, but since her father had talked to her, she had been crying about everything.

She repeated to herself over and over that she needed to calm down, that she just had to pretend to be Eloise and everything would be fine.

"Pietro Miller," a very hoarse voice rang out, breaking the silence of the room in a crisp and frigid manner.

Anastasia looked up, terrified at the mere thought that this might be her future husband's voice.

Seeing the owner of the voice only made her feel even more terrified than she already was.

The man standing at the door of the room was dressed in a gray suit that hugged his sturdy, defined body tightly. But it wasn't that which intimidated her the most, but his deep, gray eyes.

"My grandfather is... Indisposed," he said abruptly, and Ana swallowed hard.

His grandfather?

Was she going to marry this man?

She observed his rough facial expression for a second longer and couldn't help but swallow forcibly.

He was going to kill her as soon as he found out she was no longer a virgin!

"Kal, my boy, how are you? Your grandfather spoke to me about you, he's very happy about your..." Pietro began, then abruptly stopped. "Bemus!" he exclaimed, and Anastasia looked up to see an old man appear behind Kal or whatever his name was.

"You must be the lovely daughter of Miller!" the robust, white-haired man exclaimed, quickly walking over to Anastasia, looking her straight in the eyes. Ana held his gaze, and the old man smiled with something very similar to affection.

"You're very beautiful, like your mother. Although I see in those eyes the strength and intelligence of your father... Just what this old man needs to straighten out a wayward soul," he said in a joking manner and took her hands in his own, guiding her to sit on the couch next to him. "How old are you?" he asked quickly.

"I-I'm twenty-five years old," she stammered, mentally berating herself for her obvious nervousness. Anastasia swore she heard the man with gray eyes snort.

"Twenty-five..." he murmured and gave a quick glance at her father. "Kellan is a bit busy right now, but he'll be completely available for the engagement party," the grandfather informed, and Anastasia didn't miss how Kal left the room.

Kellan? she wanted to ask in a low voice, but she didn't dare utter a word.

"Bemus, I must seize the opportunity now that Kal has left. I know how upright and demanding he is with deals... I couldn't risk..." Pietro began to say, and Bemus looked at him with a slow, lazy smile.

"I know what you mean, Pietro. As they say in America, the devil doesn't know by being a devil, but by being old," the old man recited.

"Do you know?" Pietro asked, pale with worry that Bemus might tell him he no longer wanted a union because of the lie.

"Yes. Of course, I know that this young lady is your youngest daughter, not the eldest, as we had agreed," he stated with total certainty and looked back into Anastasia's eyes.