Bargain Bride: The Billionaire’s Forced Wife

CHIARA’S WORLD STOPPED upon landing her eyes on her husband. Her body forgot how to breathe for a moment. Her mind stopped functioning and it became cloudy. The sounds of crickets and air conditioner suddenly stopping ringing in her ears.

Her eyes wete fixated on the mismatched eyes of her husband. Those different colored eyes that darted through her soul as if he is looking inside of her. Those eyes that captivated her heart. Those blue and green orbs that made her heart thump quickly.

Suddenly, she was thrown back to reality when those eyes blinked at her. Chiara caught a large amount of breath that it almost choked her. Her eyes that were once fixated on her husband started to feel hot.

Before she knew it, dam of tears fell from her eyes. And she’s not the only one who’s crying. The now conscious Ezio also has tears falling to the corner of his eyes.

“I… A..,” Chiara couldn’t find ant words to say. She wanted to talk to her husband, just like what she did earlier, but her lips and mind couldn’t form any words.

Is it perhaps because she talked too much for hours today? Or is it because after months of waiting, her husband is now awake? Is it because of the surge of emotions flowing through her body?

Ezio blinked again. This time, it was longer than a usual blink that Chiara worried that he might go back to his slumber again.

“Mom! Dad!” Chiara shouted at the door while gently holding her husband’s face using her shaky hands. “Mom! Dad! Help!”

She didn’t stop shouting for her parents. Time by time, she would look at her husband, who she always find staring at her with teary eyes.

“Does something hurt?” Chiara asked, her voice cracking in the middle of the sentence.

She inspected his body, looking for a part that might be giving discomfort or pain to her husband.

“Does your head hurt? Huh? Can you hear me?” she asked repeatedly to Ezio who just stared back at her.

Chiara didn’t know what to do. She was overwhelmed by different emotions that she doesn’t know what to feel at that time. Her entire body is in chaos.

“Mom! Dad! Help me!” she shouted once again while her right hand was running through her hair and her left hand was wiping the tears on her eyes.

The door suddenly opened, revealing her mom and dad with their sleepy eyes, but she can see that they were startled.

“Mi figlia, what happened?” Fabio spoke as he dashed towards his daughter while holding his wife’s hand.

“Doctor,” Chiara responded as she reached for her husband. “Call the doctor, please.”

Celine’s eyes widened as her hands flew to her lips. Her hands started to tremble while looking at her son-in-law who is now awake.

Fabio, although shocked, hurriedly composed himself and reached out the private doctor. It was already late at night, and they hoped the doctor will respond.

“Do you feel anything?” Chiara talked to her husband while touching certain part of his body, hoping to get a response from him.

“Can you see me?” she waved her hand infront of her husband. “How about this? How many is this?” she asked while holding up two fingers.

When Ezio didn’t respond, Chiara moved closer to him. “Can you hear me, tesoro? Can you hear my voice?”

Ezio didn’t talked nor moved, and that frustrates Chiara. Her lip trembled as she tried to wipe the tears that seemed to be never ending.

“Can you remember me?” Chiara asked with all of the hope she have left. “I am your wife. Do you remember me?”

The doctor arrived without Ezio saying anything. He was immobile, like a mummy. He was stucked in his position, not moving even an inch. The only movement he did was blinking his eyes.

Although Chiara wanted to be near her husband, her parents gently backed her away to give the doctor access to the patient’s body. Chiara kept on looking on her husband, checking him and the reaction of the doctor.

When the doctor removed his stethoscope, Chiara hurriedly asked. “How’s my husband, doc?”

“His vitals are stable. I did a physical exam on him, ” he flipped a page on his clipboard. “His pupil size dilates and constricts normally. His breathing pattern is also normal.”

“But why is he not responding to me, doc?” she asked once again, worried of her husband’s situation. “I kept on talking to him earliee but he wouldn’t respond.”Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

The doctor nodded in small movements. “For now, Signor Ezio cannot move or speak. But don’t worry, this is pretty normal for comatose patients,” he gave a paper to Chiara. “We just need to have him undergo some physical and speech therapy sessions for faster recovery.”

“How long will it take for him to recover?” Fabio asked the doctor.

“I’m not certain, signor, ” he replied. “It varies from person to person. Some people took only days. However, some will take years. He is responding to stimulus, as I observed from his pupils, so there is a huge chance that he will come back to normal.”

The doctor went back to Ezio’s side. “Signor, if you can hear me, please blink once.”

All of their eyes are fixated on Ezio, waiting for him to respond through moving his eyes. Suddenly, just some seconds after the doctor spoke, Ezio blinked once.

It made the people inside feel relieved. Then, Chiara tried the same thing. “Tesoro, blink twice if you can feel my hand on your arm.”

Chiara’s eyes became teary again as her husband blinked twice as a response.

Chiara nodded and leaned towards her husband. She held his hand and touched his face. “It’s fine. We will work this out, okay? Everything will be fine, ” she gave a smile to her husband. “You will recover and we will go back to normal again.”

MORNING CAME and the first thing Chiara did is to expose her husband in the sun. It was a suggestion by the doctor to expose Ezio in the sun for a few minutes to get some vitamin D and regulate his circadian rhythm.

For now, since Ezio still cannot move, the doctor suggested to put him in a wheelchair if they will go outside, or just open the curtains to let the sunshine in.

“It’s a beautiful morning today, tesoro,” Chiara spoke with a smile while pushing the wheelchaie gently. They are currently in the front yard of the safehouse and Chiara was wheeling her husband around.

She pointed the pergola sitting on the side of the yard. “Let’s go over there. The sun can directly shine on you in that area.”

It was only 6:30 in the morning. The sun is up but the heat is normal. It still feels a little cold, but comfortable, even if a person is exposed directly to sunlight.

When they reached the pergola, Chiara sat on the wooden chair and made her husband face her. With a smile, she spoke.

“I thought of using this pergola to celebrate our anniversary, ” she said before looking around while pointing some parts of it.

“We can put some curtains in this part,” she pointed the back of the pergola before switching it to the sides. “And these parts two.”

“We can have our candle light dinner here. Fara is good at designing tables and chairs,” she said. “Mom can cook for our meal. I want to do it but my cooking skill is not great.”

“But I can bake for us, ” she added befofe turning her face back to her husband. “I baked a cake for our anniversary yesterday. I will bake another one for you once you have recovered.”

She fixed the collar of the polo shirt that her husband is wearing. It was ruined by the wind. She gently brushed his soft hair to put it back in place.

“I like this pergola, ” she spoke. “Let’s build one or two in the mansion once we came back. We can have a rest there, or have a celebration.”

A thought suddenly crossed her mind. “We can also have a mini pergola for our future children,” she said, already seeing the future. “They can play house in that place and have fun in the yard.”

Chiara held Ezio’s hand and caressed the wedding ring in his ring finger. She was staring at it for a long time, thinking of something.

“I looked for you that day, ” she spoke out of nowhere. “I was excited because you were going home, but the day passed and you didn’t reach out to me. Until Luigi called and told me what happened.”

She threw a deep breath before making an upside down smile. “It was difficult without you. I don’t even know if I’m doing what’s the best for the company, but I managed to make it stable until you return.”

“Every night, I was praying that when the morning came, you will be beside me, awake,” she looked up at her husband, tears starting to get on her sight. “And He finally heard me.”

Chiara reminisced the past night were she would cry beside her unconscious husband, whispering and begging him to wake up.

“I have decided long ago. I won’t divorce you, tesoro. I want to be your wife until the end, ” she spoke, earning a tear from Ezio.

“You waking up is the best anniversary gift you can give to me,” she reached for his face. “Te amo.”

With that, Ezio finally felt how soft his wife’s lips were. Even if he’s immobile, he will never forget the first time his wife gave him the kiss he’s been craving for a long time.