The Billionaire's Pretend Wife (Isabella)

Isabelle worried her lip with her teeth when the client replied right away, asking that she stop working on the design. Did he no longer want it? Or did he want to put an end to their partnership?

Or maybe he did not appreciate her asking for an extension. Some clients were very strict about deadlines and could cancel an entire project if they were delayed even a little.

Considering that, she sent him another email, hoping he changed his mind. In the second email, she told him that she would do her best to finish it in time.

Even if she had to give up sleep, she was going to get it done.

She didn't want to lose such a client-the chances of finding another one who could pay anything close to fifty thousand dollars for a single design were pretty low. Besides the money, she was keen on building a good reputation. Good feedback from clients was very crucial for her career. If she became known for tardiness, it would become hard to get new clients.

She also really liked the client-he was easy to work with, and she was having fun designing jewellery for him. Some clients could be difficult, demanding, and downright rude, making the experience unpleasant. Especially those who were paying a lot of money for a design. It made them feel like it gave them the right to treat the designer like their minion or something. But this one, even with the huge sums he was paying, wasn't problematic at all.

As she waited for his reply, she placed her phone on her bed and came to her feet. She ended up at her vanity, staring at herself in the mirror. Her hair was dishevelled from the action that had happened on the sofa. But her hair was not the most glaring evidence of what had transpired between her and Jacob.

Her lips were pink and looked a little swollen, there was a range of marks on her neck, and her nipples made visible bumps on her blouse. Her face flamed as she recalled how he had cupped her breasts in his large manly hands. It had felt so, so good...

She shook her head. That was not the right train of thought to entertain when she was trying to ignore the ache between her legs that refused to go away.

Not when she was trying to not give in to her body's desire and welcome whatever temptation he threw her way. It was a good thing he hadn't come after her when she ran away. If he had, she wasn't sure she would have been able to resist him a second time.

While she was fighting the urges that Jacob had awakened in her body, the man was still sitting in the living room, recovering-without much success-from the passion she had stoked in him.

He received her email where she said that she could still finish the design on time and smiled. She must really want to go on with the work, he thought. If she wanted to keep the job that badly, he couldn't say

no.

The only reason he had asked her to stop working on it was because he had hoped to get away the distraction that had apparently drawn her from his arms. But he knew that if he withdrew the request, it would probably cause more distraction as she started looking for ways to earn some extra money. He didn't want her to stress out about that-or start entertaining ideas like participating in drug trials.

Replying, he told her to not worry, and that there was enough time to work on the design.

Her reply came a short while later, thanking him and telling him that she would work hard to deliver it on time.

He sighed, leaning back into the sofa and placing his phone aside. "This woman," he muttered, staring at the ceiling. She was driving him crazy, and he didn't mind it at all.

If only she knew the kind of effect she had on him...

His mind refused to move on from the imagine of her lying on her back, her breasts in his hand, his hard-on digging into her most intimate part...

Not just his brain, but his body too. He was still hot and bothered, and the erection in his shorts didn't look like it was going anywhere anytime soon.

With a low course, he shot to his feet and headed for the bathroom. It was time for a cold bath.

***

The next day while at work, Isabelle received good news that made her even happier than the police showing up the previous day and marching Mr Grayson away. It was a call from the hospital letting her know that they had finally gotten a kidney that was a match for Ruth.

Once the rest of the expenses were paid, they would go ahead with the transplantation as soon as possible.

Isabelle had managed to pay for Ruth's care up until the transplantation with the money she had earned from the necklace design. Now, all she had to do was pay for the cost of the surgery.

She didn't have the money in hand, but she didn't worry too much about it. This time round, she was determined to get her adoptive parents to give her the money they owed her. She was willing to do whateve it took to get them to give her the money, even if she had to resort to threats.

This was Ruth's life on the balance. She couldn't afford to let them treat her however they wanted any more.

In the evening after work, she made her way to the Cruzes home. When she knocked on the door, a servant appeared. But, instead of welcoming her inside, the servant told her that she couldn't get into the house.

Isabelle huffed, knowing right away it was Lucy's doing. The last time she had come looking, they had told her the family was on vacation abroad. Today, they wouldn't even let her into the house. They couldn't make it any more obvious that they didn't want to give her the money if they tried.

But nothing, not even being locked out of the house, was going to faze her. "Tell Lucy that if she doesn't come to see me, I'll tell Jacob that I was forced to marry him in place of my sister. Maybe she would like to see how he deals with her when he finds out she deceived him."

The servant stared back at her with wide eyes, but she wasn't about to take back any of that. She meant every word of it.

At this point, it made no sense to keep up the deception if her family was not going to honour their side of the deal. She had sacrificed herself for Ruth, and if this marriage didn't benefit Ruth, it made no sense to keep doing as her family wanted.

If she was going to keep lying to Jacob, she could at least make it worth it. She was already feeling guilty that he was ready to make them a true couple when all she was doing was deceiving him.

If he found out, he would hate the Cruz family for deceiving him. He would also hate her, she knew, and the thought made her heart squeeze painfully in her chest. But she would deserve his hate. She only hoped that by the time it got to that point, Ruth would be fully recovered.

As long as Ruth was okay, she could put up with being hated by Jacob and feeling like a horrible person for the rest of her life. She knew it was selfish, to lie to him like that, but she hadn't had any option. For Ruth, she was willing to be the bad person for once.

And Lucy had another thought coming if she thought she was going to let her keep using her so shamelessly just so her daughter could continue her carefree lifestyle.