Married to the Wrong CEO

Chapter 105: Back deals(1)

Still, she did her best to cover what she knew to have been a blunder, forcing her expression to settle even as tension tightened every muscle in her body.

"Wh... what?" she stuttered, meeting the old man’s steady gaze. His eyes looked even sharper than they usually did, focused entirely on her as he settled his gaze on her with a knowing expression that made her chest tighten.

"It was hard not to figure it out. First was your sister Elisa, who had her toes cut off after she was kidnapped," he said calmly, his tone disturbingly measured.

"Then was your stepmother Maria! Legs cut off and words carved into her skin!" Elder Bellini continued, pointing it out without hesitation, his voice steady as if he were listing business facts rather than atrocities.

"Clearly the mafia was involved," he said, even as he picked up his wine glass and simply fiddled with it, rotating it slowly between his fingers without actually drinking from it.

Dora stared at him, her thoughts racing as she tried—and failed—to find the appropriate words to say. The deal, she reminded herself sharply. The deal with Dante said I couldn’t discuss the details with anyone. And that most definitely included the old man beside her, who was indirectly but very clearly telling her that he knew far more than he should.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," she responded with a blank look on her face, meeting his gaze head-on, silently letting him know that he wouldn’t get anything from her.

Dante was the one she had a deal with, not him. Even if she liked Elder Bellini’s presence, even if she enjoyed spending time with him, the rules were clear.

But barely had she finished speaking when she watched the old man reach to his left, toward a folder he had picked up earlier when they left his study. It lay beside him now, untouched until this moment.

It was a brown folder, worn at the edges. Instead of checking its contents, he simply picked it up and handed it over to her, silently gesturing for her to open it.

Something Dora barely hesitated before doing. Her fingers felt stiff as she opened it, stunned when she pulled out a single-page contract whose title was impossible to miss.

’Terms for acquiring my shares in the company,’ she read, even as Elder Bellini began to speak, her eyes scanning the requirements written neatly across the page.

"I want Dante to be happy, and it was obvious that he wouldn’t be getting a wife anytime soon," he began.

"He’s my grandson," he continued, "and he’s much colder than you think. So cold that sometimes he even scares me," he admitted quietly.

Dora listened, but her attention froze on one particular requirement written boldly on the black-and-white document. Her breath caught as she stared at it.

Boldly written. Impossible to miss.

Just as Elder Bellini opened his mouth to say it aloud.

"One of the requirements for him to acquire my shares—which he needs to have more control over the company—was for me to see his child," Elder Bellini spoke plainly.

"Not just any child. It had to be from a wife that he clearly loved," he continued.

Dora felt her heart miss a beat. And yet, strangely, she remained calm as she listened. Too calm.

It was almost as if she had already accepted her place, already understood her role in Dante’s life. So much so that she wasn’t surprised by this new information she had just gained.

"I was surprised, though, when a week later he instantly informed me that he had found someone," Elder Bellini continued, a faint smile appearing on his face as he turned to stare out the huge window beside them.

They both stared out now, neither of them looking at the other.

"Dante might have done it because of the contract, but I have no doubt in my mind that he loves me," Dora said firmly, unwilling to give up even after everything she had just been told. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

There was clearly a breach of the contract between grandfather and grandson—one that she was now trapped in.

Pregnant. Vulnerable.

Unable to fathom what Dante would do if he found out that the main reason he accepted her as a surrogate was no longer relevant.

Fear gripped her heart as she became painfully aware of the fact that Dante did not care for her in the slightest. And worse—he didn’t care whether the child was a boy or not.

"Do you care about him?" Elder Bellini asked.

Dora instantly responded with a lie, lifting her gaze to meet his. freewebnøvel.com

"Of course I—"

"Still, you care about the child," he interrupted, his voice calm, almost gentle, as if stating a fact rather than presenting new information.

She didn’t speak. She didn’t have to.

It was true.

The bigger her stomach grew, the more attached she became to the child inside her. And the more attached she became, the more terrified she felt.

Terrified enough to have nightmares—nightmares where she was forced to leave, where her arms were empty, where there was no choice at all.

She was startled when Elder Bellini continued speaking, coughing again into the same handkerchief. He turned slightly away as he did, quickly stuffing it back into his pocket once he was done.

"...That’s why you’ll make another contract with me," Elder Bellini told her.

The words shocked Dora so deeply that she turned her entire head to look at him, her thoughts scrambling as confusion took over.

"What?" she blurted out, struggling to form coherent words.

"We’ll keep the knowledge that I know a secret," he said evenly, "and in exchange, you’ll do all you can to stay in that child’s life."

Dora stared at him, stunned.

"I know Dante," Elder Bellini continued. "He’ll want you gone the moment it’s done."

She fixed her gaze on him as if he had suddenly grown two new heads.

"Why?" she asked, unable to hide the deep frown forming on her face. "Why would you even care?"

"Dante won’t allow it," she continued quickly. "Then how am I supposed to stop it?" she asked, indirectly reminding him of the contract—the one that clearly stated she had to leave the moment the baby was born.

"Dante wouldn’t give you a written contract," Elder Bellini said calmly, "for fear that it will be leaked."

Dora’s eyes widened. He was right. All she had was a verbal agreement—one he was now telling her to defy.

"You are legally married to him," he said. "I can give you ammunition to fight for custody."

Dora stared at the older man, her heart pounding violently as she wondered what was truly going through his mind—and what accepting his offer would ultimately cost her.