The Billionaire's Contract Wife

Chapter Four

~Astrid~

One gunshot wound, a surgery, and a couple weeks of home healthcare later, it’s Astrid’s wedding day… yay. It’s exactly how she had imagined it would be. Actually, no, it wasn't, and in all honesty, she’d never imagined that she’d get married—not since Papa died, at least. So standing there in the beautiful dress felt like a joke.

The dress hugged every inch of her curves, which were more prominent now that Simon had placed her on a high-protein diet because she was severely underweight. An intricate lace wrapped around the entirety of the dress as it stretched about four feet behind her. The dress started a few inches below her shoulders, and her dark skin glowed under the lights as she walked down the aisle. Her hair was styled in a simple low bun, and her veil was as long as her dress. Her make-up was quite simple as well, but beautiful since it was her first time.

The sound of her heels against the floorboard was unnerving because it was the only sound to be heard. The only people present for the so-called wedding were Beau, who happened to be Simon’s assistant, and Elenora, a woman who was a replica of Simon. She was present with her husband and her four children, quadruplets. There was also some guy named Benji, who was Simon’s only friend and bridegroom, and finally Ro, Astrid’s best friend, as her bridesmaid.

She got to the end of the walkway where Simon and the priest stood waiting for her. She turned to face Simon, and there was nothing but an ice-cold demeanour. She looked away.

“We have gathered here today to witness..." The priest started, but Simon interrupted him.

“Skip to the vows.”

“Ah..”

A couple of disapproving murmurs rose, and Benji palmed his face gently behind Simon.

“Of course.” The priest said, but his eyes said something else, something disapproving.

They both repeated the same cliché lines since they had nothing prepared.

“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride.” The priest finalised.

They had the most awkward hug in the history of awkward hugs, followed by awkward, scattered claps. Astrid didn’t care; she was just glad it was over so she could get back into the comfy white fox sweats Simon had gotten her.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t fast enough, so they had to take pictures. The paparazzi had been invited, and they were the fastest medium to spread the news.

“Just try to look like you aren’t dreading this.” Simon had whispered in her ear before they left the church. She didn’t know how she survived the yells trying to get her attention, the flashes of lights in her eyes, or the absurd questions that were thrown at her. Only two things made the day bearable: having Ro by her side and, surprisingly, Elenora coming up to her to offer her some comfort before she and Simon left. She’d given Astrid her number on a piece of tissue paper to reach out to in case she needed anything. Astrid was sure she wouldn’t need it because she didn’t even have a phone, but it was still a nice gesture.

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“We will be staying at my beach house for three days to commemorate this event.” Simon said immediately the car was on the move.

Commemorate? He makes it sound like we just opened a company or something

“Like a honeymoon?”

“Yes.” He replied blandly. Astrid nodded. Looking out the window, she wondered howAnika was; she hadn’t been able to reach out for over a month now, and she was probably worried.

“Can I use your phone?”

“Why?”

Astrid arched one of her brows at him.

“It’s my phone, after all; I should at least know who you intend to call.”

“My sister. Happy?” Astrid replied as she stretched out her hand for his phone. Simon handed it to her, and like clockwork, she typed in the number of Anika’s nurse. She usually allowed Astrid to speak to her from time to time. On the third ring, the nurse picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey Stella. It’s Astrid; I was wondering if I could speak to her. It’s been a crazy month, I can’t explain it… hey Anika… I know. I’m sorry. No, I’m not hurt… I promise I’ll come when I’m free, okay? Soon, I hope.” Astrid said that as she shared glances with Simon, his eyes drilled into her with a disapproving look, and it was probably because she was lying.

“Mama?… Uh, she’s okay… we’re good… Yeah… I’ve got to go okay… see you soon… bye” the line clicked and although they had sat in silence for a while this one suddenly felt uncomfortable, she handed him his phone but he didn’t even look at her. Why did he care? Better still why did she care? She owed him nothing.

“You can’t blame me.” Astrid sighed.

“I don’t.”

“Okay.”

“Do you want your duffel bag moved to the beach house along with your other things?” Simon asked, Astrid nodded and then resumed her window-watching.

The beach house was ethereal; it was like something straight out of a movie. It was white, with a lot of glass doors and balconies for a perfect view of the ocean. Astrid was so busy staring at the beautiful architecture that she hadn’t realized a man had walked up to them.

“Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, welcome. This way please.” Simon held out his arm for Astrid to take, after staring at him for a bit, she took it as the man ushered them into the beach house. Astrid reveled in the smell of fresh ocean water, she’d never felt so at peace. Only because the ocean reminded her of Papa and happy times. Workers bustled in and out of the house with their belongings, putting them in place as they walked in.

“Thank you, Tim.” Simon said. Tim nodded, then turned to yell to the workers.

“OKAY, GUYS, LET'S START WRAPPING IT UP!”

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Astrid wasn’t sure what exactly woke her up, but she just knew something wasn’t quite right. She groaned and rubbed her eyes, then tried to go back to sleep, but something kept telling her she was in danger. Frustration filled her as she got up. Astrid turned on her lights; there was no one in sight. She opened her balcony, and everything looked normal, but she was sure someone was there. She walked over to her bed, reaching under the frame. She pulled her gun from where she had hidden it earlier and made her way outside. The lights were dim as they had been when she had retired to bed, and nothing seemed out of order.

There was a faint noise; she wasn’t sure what it was—shoes clacking or maybe something falling. Whatever it was, she was on high alert now. She pulled the trigger of her gun as she stealthily moved downstairs, where she saw the cook tied up and gagged on the floor.

Sh*t! Someone was here. SIMON!

“I’m so sorry; I’ll be back.” She whispered at the cook whose face was now filled with confusion as she watched the only possible savior run back up the stairs. Simon's room was a handful of rooms after hers, she prayed she wasn’t late as she got closer reducing her pace, his door was open, and she tip-toed into the room quietly.

There he was, a dark figure looming over Simon with a gun pointed at him. She had to be smart. Chances are he has already pulled the trigger, and shooting at him recklessly may cause him to shoot Simon as well. Astrid shot at the intruder's hand, disarming him and waking Simon up as well. Then, she quickly aimed for the intruder's head and shot him; he died immediately.

“WHAT THE H*LL!” Simon yelled.

“I just saved your life.”

Astrid walked over to the corpse and turned the body over. It was one of Dante’s goons. Ralphie. She swore under her breath.

“We’ve been followed.”