The Billionaire's Pretend Wife (Isabella)

Jacob found Jason in a bar, surrounded by several beautiful women. Jason was a total ladies man, and he knew how to keep his women happy. That was the reason Jacob had thought about him as the best source of advice on how to placate Isabelle.

As Jacob approached his booth, Jason drove the women away, and they left, albeit hesitantly. It appeared that they loved his company as much as he loved theirs. Jacob took that as a sign that he had come to the right guy.

"What's going on?" Jason asked him after he sat down and ordered a drink. "I'm assuming it's not about work because otherwise, you wouldn't have met me at a bar."

Yeah, had it been about work, he would have had him hurry his ass back to the office. Other than being his vice president at the company, Jason also happened to be his friend. That was why he was seeking such personal advice from him.

"I pissed off my wife," he revealed, "and no matter what I do, she won't forgive me. What do you think I should do so she can stop being mad at me?"

Jason looked at Jacob, noted the seriousness of his voice, and the lowered eyebrow that suggested he was thinking deeply about the matter. He cleared his throat and leaned back in his seat. "You came to me to ask how to get your wife's forgiveness?"

Jacob nodded.

Jason burst into laughter. Jacob's frown turned into a scowl, but it wasn't enough to stop him. He had never thought that his charismatic boss who women threw themselves at would have trouble dealing with one.

"What's funny?" Jacob demanded, his voice sharp.

Jason cleared his throat again and took deep breaths to recover from his laughter. "Sorry, I...I didn't think you would have a problem with that. Coaxing a woman is easy."

Jacob raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"

Jason nodded and crossed his right ankle over his left knee. "It's easy. Apologise, give her a hug, and say something sweet. She'll forget why she was mad at you in the first place."

Jacob's scowl made a second appearance. He had apologised multiple times, all in vain. He guessed that if she wasn't willing to listen to his apologies, that meant the hug was not applicable. And saying something sweet?

"If I knew what to tell her to get her forgiveness, I wouldn't be here talking to you, would I?"

Jason rubbed his jaw in contemplation. "In that case, maybe you should buy her something she likes. That always works."

Jacob didn't think that would work. First of all, Isabelle was clearly not in the mood to accept anything from him. Second, he didn't really have any idea of what she'd like. And, he had a feeling that even if he bought her something and she accepted it, she would end up exchanging it for money.

Right. Money.

That was what she had an issue with, right? Even after giving her the fifty thousand dollar payment for the necklace design, she was apparently still short on cash. That was why she ended up at the pawnshop in the first place. Maybe if he helped solve her financial problem, she would warm up to him, right?

***

The next morning, Jacob approached Isabelle while she was having breakfast and held out his bank card to her. "Take this and use it as you like," he told her.

Isabelle looked at the card, and then at him. "Why are you giving me your bank card?"

"You can use to pay for anything. You don't need to pawn things to get money," he explained.

"We are not a real couple," she told him and looked away. "And we don't even get along well. I can't use your money."

Jacob sighed. "Just take it. We are living together anyway and as far as everyone knows, you are my wife. You won't have to worry about your expenses with this card, so just take it."

"My expenses or how I pay for them should not concern you," she told him, coming to her feet. "I don't want it." She walked past him and went to gather her bag and coat, and then left the house for work. Jacob pocketed the card and wondered what else he could do. He had a sick feeling that maybe it was too late to fix things.

She was no longer visibly pissed off, but he felt that her new attitude was much worse. She was distant and aloof. As if she couldn't be bothered. It was like they had gone back to the days of treating each other like strangers behind closed doors.

Was she really not going to give him another chance? How else could he show her that he was sorry he had misjudged her?

At this point, he felt like there wasn't a way to do that. If she was determined to lock him out, there was nothing he could do.

But he wasn't about to give up. He had to show her that he badly wanted to be back in her good graces. If she saw how much being on good terms with her mattered to him, maybe she would soften. Once again, he called Jason, hoping that this time, he would have better advice to give.