Billionaire's Replacement Wife

Paula's POV

"I need you to pretend as my wife," my eyes widened upon hearing those words from him. He was serious, not even a tinge of sarcasm can be seen on his face. "W-What?" I asked again, making sure if heard it right.

He leaned on the swivel chair and crossed his arms while staring at me, "I'm willing to pay you any amount, you name it."

I gulped as my mouth went agape, "P-Pay m-me?"

"Yes, you can tell me any amount that you want to receive from me and I'll give it to you once you sign the contract of our agreement." He finally stood up and walked in my direction. "Based on the information that I got, you are a college student at Gosling University which is one of the schools that I own. And also, I heard that you are currently living with your grandmother who is now confined in the hospital."

I wrinkled my brows. How can he know such personal things about me?

"Miss Edwards, I know how badly you need this money. If I were you, I will do everything for my beloved grandmother and-

"All I need to do is to pretend as your missing wife, am I right?" I looked straight at him.

"Well, yes. You need to act like her, look exactly like her, take care of the kids, make them all believe that you are her until I finally find my wife."

"How long will I be pretending?" I asked again, my voice was shaking. The man gazed at me with his deep ocean blue eyes that could melt someone if he tries to stare at them. He suppressed a sigh before he spoke,

"Until I finally find my wife."

"What if you don't find her?" I nonchalantly asked.

The man then furrowed his thick black brows, his eyes were sharp, "I will find her, no matter what it takes. I will be able to find her."

I bit my lower lip as I nodded, "O-Okay."

"Are you saying that you're already agreeing to pretend as my wife?" he was almost smiling, though it didn't reach his eyes. I gulped again while my hands were trembling, slowly, I opened my mouth as I looked at him, "W-We should have an agreement first."

His brows rose up, then he nodded, "I understand, so, do you have any conditions?"

"You should give me half of the payment first, t-that is my first condition." I retorted. He nodded as approval and so I continue speaking, "No kissing between us, no touching, no mingling with my personal real life, and no-

"No sex." He suddenly said which made me look at him. "D-Definitely no sex," I repeated.

"So, those things are your only conditions?" he asked me again.

I thought for a while then I looked at him, "And one more thing, no one in my friends or anyone who knows me should know about our agreement. We're only going to act like a couple in front of your family and in front of your children."

"I understand. Anything else?"

"N-Nothing." I shook my head. I heard him let out a sigh of relief, "Then, shall we meet tomorrow to sign the agreement?"

"Okay."

He nodded, "Let's meet here at my office, I will also transfer the money in your bank account as soon as you sign the contract."

"Okay." That's the only word that escaped my mouth. The man lay his right hand in front of me, asking for a handshake. I looked at him, then to his hand, and grabbed it. "Thank you, Miss Edwards."

"Don't thank me too early, I haven't signed the contract yet," I replied.

"I see. So, see you tomorrow?"

"S-See you tomorrow."

He even walked me towards the huge steel door of his office and opened the door for me as I stepped outside. "Thanks," I said before finally walking away from him. I called a cab to ride my way home and as soon as I got inside it, tears came flowing down my cheeks. I tried to wipe it away using my palm but it just won't stop.

"Stop crying, Paula. You will be able to pay your debts and the hospital fees now." I said to myself.

I am Paula Edwards, a twenty-year-old girl who lives with my grandmother who is not really my grandmother. She just took me in and raised me after seeing me in front of a church back when I was still an infant. I didn't get the chance to know who my real parents are, I don't know what they look like or why they decided to leave me there. I'm no longer interested in finding them anyway because I don't see any point in doing that. They already threw me away, which only means that they didn't want me to be a part of their family so why would I even bother looking for them?

And yes, as you have read in the first part of this narrative, I just had an agreement with Mr. Voltaire Farusco, the Billionaire and the richest man here in New York who just lost his wife after a plane crash. I met him in a bar, that night when I decided to get drunk and be crazy after my boyfriend named Jake broke up with me. It was the same night when Mr. Farusco decided to get drunk too because of his wife. And because he thought that I was his wife, he grabbed me in the middle of the dance floor and kissed me passionately as if there was no tomorrow. And you know what happened after that.

A week has passed and four men in black suits suddenly arrived in front of the University I am studying at and told me that their boss wants to see me because he has something to talk about. I agreed with his plan, I agreed to pretend as his wife because I need the money. No strings attached.

Voltaire's POV

I woke up lying beside an exquisitely beautiful woman with a perfectly v-shaped face, small nose, and plump pinkish lips that I always wanted to kiss. She was snoring cutely, with her mouth slightly opened. How can she even manage to be so beautiful while just merely sleeping?

I smiled as she started to move and hugged me. She can't really sleep without even hugging something. Such a clingy koala. My beautiful koala.

"Time to wake up, sleepyhead." I whispered in her ears.

She moved, but instead of waking up, she hugged me even tighter. "It's too early, babe..."

"We still have to send the kids to school."

"Just tell Marie to send them to school..."

"Marie took her day off today." I sat up and kissed her shoulder. "It's alright, I'll be the one to send them there instead. Just take a rest. I know you got tired because of what we did last night."

She didn't answer anymore, so I just smiled. I kissed her on her forehead before I finally went inside the bathroom to take a bath.

Melissa and I have been married for eight years already. We've been in a relationship for ten years, then as soon as she graduated from college, I finally proposed. She is the love of my life and the only woman that I wanted to marry and live for the rest of my life. I'm a self-made CEO of my company that I have built back when I was just eighteen. Meanwhile, Melissa is a well-known fashion designer in the country. We met at a GALA one night and I instantly fell in love with her beauty.

"Daddy! Where's mommy?" my daughter asked as soon as I went downstairs.

"Isn't she going with us?" her twin added.

I knelt down in front of them with a smile on my face. "Mom's still sleepy and I didn't want to wake her up. Dad would just be the one to send you to your school today, okay? We shouldn't wake mommy up."

Charlotte and Cedric are our twins. They are already five years old and they really made our life happier.

"But she promised me that she'll eat ice cream with me..." Charlotte pouted.

"It's alright Charlotte, we can just eat ice cream with dad. Right, dad?" Cedric said as he looked at me.

I nodded as I pat them both on their heads. "Of course, daddy would take you to the ice cream parlor and we'll eat your favorite ice cream there. So don't be sad now, Charlotte. You can just play with mommy when you get home."

"Okay..." she said.

"That's my girl."

***

"I'm really, really sorry, babe. For sure, Charlotte's mad at me. I promise to buy her an ice cream yesterday." said Melissa while she was fixing my tie.

"It's alright, I already brought them to the ice cream parlor before going to their school, anyway. And I also told them that we'll be having dinner outside later."

She smiled at me. "Really? Thanks, babe! Maybe I'll just pick them up from their school later."

"They'll surely love that. I'll just call you, okay?"

"Okay."

She tapped both of my shoulders as soon as she was done fixing my tie. She looked at me and gave me a quick kiss. "See you later."

"That tastes so good, can you do that again?"

"What?" she was smiling.

I put my arms around her waist and pulled her close to me. "Kiss me again, babe."

"Babe... you need to go to work now..."

"Please... just a second. Just one kiss, okay? Just one." I said, while looking at her lips.

"Alright, alright but just one kiss, okay?"

I nodded. "Yes."

She then moved her face close to mine and pressed her lips against mine She was about to pull away but I cupped her face and kissed her back. I bit her lower lip and she opened her mouth. We continue kissing while my hands were traveling down her blouse, slowly unbuttoning it, when she suddenly stopped me. She was tapping my chest, so I slipped away and looked at her. "Why?"

"Babe, you need to go to work now, and me too."

"But babe-

"We just did it for five hours straight last night and you still have that energy?" she was laughing while she was buttoning her blouse again.

I pouted. "We can actually do that all day long."

"Oh, this man. Come on, you're going to be late."

"Fine." I just sighed as I followed her outside of our room. She really is so beautiful, especially in that white floral blouse she was wearing and that tight pencil skirt that showed her perfect curves. Fuck, I couldn't stop myself from wanting to kiss her and lay her down on our bed.

After sending Melissa to her office, I finally went to my company building. Our ninth wedding anniversary is already coming, so I decided to prepare a surprise for her. I actually bought a private island for her. I want us to go there and have our time together. It's been a while since we last had alone time together since she always had to work or take care of the children. I want her to take a rest and have some fun.

I smiled as I remembered what happened last night. She just showed me the black lingerie that her workmate gave to her. I wasn't able to get a hold of myself, so I kissed her until we just found ourselves lying on our bed, naked. I really love Melissa. She is the only woman that I will love for the rest of my life.

Paula's POV

"Paula, I have something to say to you," said Grandma, while I was getting ready to go to school.

I fixed my eyeglasses as I sat on the couch next to her. "What is it, grandma?"

"Father Jordan told me yesterday that there was a couple who went to the church yesterday. They asked him about-

"Grandma, not again today. For sure, the couple has nothing to do with me. They will never look for me again, I know that. And I already accepted the fact that I will never see them again. They didn't like me, that's why they left me. If they don't care about me, then why would I even care about them?"

"Paula-

I put my hands on both of her shoulders as I looked into her eyes. "I know you're just concern about me, grandma. I'm fine without them. I even lived twenty years of my life without seeing or knowing who they are. You're already enough for me, grandma. You already fulfilled all the responsibilities that my real parents weren't able to do. Please stop looking for them already."

She then heaved a sigh and gave me a nod. "Alright, I won't try to look for them again. I promise you."

"Thank you, grandma..." I hugged her. "Thank you..."

"Alright, I think you need to hurry now. Cindy's already outside." Grandma said.

I eased away from her. "Take care of yourself while I am away, okay?"

"I will. Oh and by the way, can you buy some beef before you go home later? I'd like to cook some beef stew later."

"Really?! That's my favorite! Okay, I'll beef later!" I took my backpack and stood up. "I'll be leaving now, grandma."

"Take care, sweetheart."

I just waved goodbye to her, then I finally went outside our little house. I have been living with my grandma since the day that she found me in front of a church. My actual parents just left me there, leaving no note or without even telling anyone why they did that. It was Christmas eve that night and so grandma became so happy when she saw me. She thought that maybe I'm a gift from heaven to her. She always wanted to have a daughter since she never got to marry someone. She was living alone in a small brick house and runs her own mini library business.

"Paula!!!" with her loud and ear-piercing voice, Cindy came running towards me while holding a magazine in her hands.

"Good Morning, Cindy. What do we have today? For sure you have something to talk about your prince charming again." I said as we started walking.

Cindy Castillo is my best friend who works as a server in a coffee shop near our University. She's living with her parents and her two younger siblings. She's cute with her short blonde hair and full bangs, making her look like a doll. She loves to tell me about her ultimate crush every single day. "Guess what, Paula?! I just saw Peter Anderson yesterday! He ate in our restaurant and I was the one who served him!" she excitedly said while jumping like a kid.

"Really? That's good for you then. But then, it's actually strange for a celebrity to eat in a not-so-expensive restaurant, right?"

"I'm actually thinking about that, too. But maybe he just wanted to try our coffee. Or maybe they were having a shooting near our coffee shop!"

I nodded. "That's right."

"Oh, and I have another thing to tell you!"

"What is it?"

She showed me the magazine that she was holding. "Look at that man in that cover! Isn't he super hot and handsome?!!"

The cover of the magazine was a young man with thick black eyebrows, a perfect v-shaped face with a sharp jaw, and high cheekbones. He also has red lips that could make all the girls want to kiss him. He was wearing corporate attire with his arms crossed. "He's handsome," I said, then averted my gaze. "By the way, who is he? Is he a celebrity too?"

"Dude! He's the owner of our university! And guess what? He's the richest and most successful self-made CEO here in New York! Isn't he so perfect?!!"

"Really?" I said as I reached for my phone inside my bag.

"Yeah! But there's a problem."

I started dialing my boyfriend's number on my phone. "What's the problem?"

"He's married." Cindy pouted.

"Married? At such young age?"

"Uh-huh. He's married to a fashion designer."

I shrugged. "Oh well, only rich people get to marry rich people, anyway."

"That's right, and those Cinderella stories, they are all shits."

I had to dial Jake's number again before he finally picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hello, Jake?" I looked at Cindy to excuse me. "Where are you?"

"Here at school." He replied.

"Alright, Cindy and I are on our way there now too."

"Okay then, I'll wait for you at the entrance."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

Then I hanged up the phone and put it back inside my bag.

"That's it?"

I looked at Cindy. "Huh?"

"I mean, that's all that you wanted to say to your boyfriend? No I love you? No flirting?"

"Cindy, you know we're not like the other couples that you see."

"That's right, I've never seen a couple that acts like best friends anyway. I even doubt if you guys already kissed."

I just shook my head at that crazy thought of my best friend. But actually, Jake and I never really kissed. We've been in a relationship for two years now, and I love him so much. I met him when I was in high school. He was my ultimate crush back then because he was the most handsome guy in our school. Then one day I got surprised because one of my classmates told me that Jake wanted to meet me. He confessed to me one summer night and, of course, I immediately said yes.

I only have simple dreams, and those are; to graduate and get a decent job, to give my grandmother a decent life, and to live with Jake forever.