CHAPTER 40: – A RUMOUR –

Sabrina eyed Viviana, who sat opposite her. A few strands of her golden blonde hair were in her face.

"Don’t look at me like that," Viviana muttered, casting her gaze down to the cup of coffee she held.

"Are you serious?"

Sabrina sounded displeased.

"Vivi, we’re best friends. But the moment you got married to that man, you completely forgot about me."

"It’s not like that, Sabri."

"Then what is it like?"

Viviana breathed out. "So much has been happening with my family since the wedding. It’s not that I forgot you, I never could. You’re my only friend. I was just caught up and dealing... with everything."

"Viviana." Sabrina’s soft voice reached her ears. "Why did you never call me? You know I’d always come if you called. I’d never not be here for you."

"I know. I just..."

Viviana ran her fingers through her hair.

"I quit. Well, at least I tried."

Sabrina waited a moment to understand what she meant. "You quit? I don’t understand."

"My father’s company. I tried quitting, but then I remembered that when I was eighteen, he made me sign this agreement before I started working for him."

"What agreement?"

"I must work for him for thirty years, and I cannot back out. As I have now, he may or may not sue me."

"What did he say when you quit?"

She said, "Nothing. He allowed me to leave. So it’s safe to say he doesn’t need me anymore in that company, which is good, because this is exactly what I want. I also made sure to get a hold of Hax from him."

"The dead company?"

"Yes." She nodded. "I will revive it."

Sabrina steepled her fingers. "Your revenge, won’t this pull you back from it? Or do you no longer intend to get back at these people? Your father, stepmother, that b*tch of a stepsister you have, and that jerk Fernando. Are you planning to let them get away with everything they’ve done to you?"

Viviana cocked a brow. "Me? Have I ever set my mind on something and backed out from it, Sabrina?"

"Never!"

"Exactly. This is all part of my plan." She locked eyes with Sabrina. "They hurt my mother again, and this time around, he cut off her treatment as well. How could I give up on revenge?"

Sabrina blinked, lost. "I don’t understand. I thought you’d made it clear that none of them could see your mother?"

"Of course. But power is everything, Sabrina. How could they prohibit someone like my father? Or Savannah, who is his wife?"

Viviana exhaled.

"There is nothing to fret about regardless. She’s been transferred to another hospital."

"Another?"

"Yes. Clinica B."

"Clinica B? As in, Nikolas Bastiani’s hospital?" Sabrina exclaimed. "How can you afford it right now? Didn’t your father freeze your bank account?"

"He did. but..."

"But what?" She stared with an inquisitive look.

Viviana shook her head. "I’m not really sure, but the hospital told me that someone paid off her bills and suggested a transfer. They needed my consent, so I checked... and it turned out to be true. A bit strange, but I was in a dire situation."

Silence fell between the two of them.

Sabrina zipped her brows. "Who paid her bills?"

"I have no idea. All I got from the hospital was that he was a buff, tall man who wears glasses. Nothing more. Oh, he gave them the name, York, but other than that, I know nothing else."

"And you don’t think that’s strange? I mean, it couldn’t really just be a crazy coincidence, could it?" Sabrina tilted her head thoughtfully.

A slight scowl slowly emerged on her face. "Wait a minute. What is your husband’s name again?"

Viviana lifted a brow. "Nikolas Bastiani...? Why do you ask?"

"Doesn’t something sound fishy here to you?"

"What do you mean?"

Sabrina took a deep breath. "Viviana." She said, "Oddly, and somehow by the earth’s green earth, your husband has the very same name as the famous multi-billionaire Nikolas Bastiani. And not only that, someone magically helped you, clearing your mother’s fees in your most dire moment. They even transferred her to a top-tier hospital like Clinica B."

"That’s..."

Viviana’s face dropped.

"What are you trying to insinuate?"

"He’s aware of your mother’s situation, isn’t he?"

"Yes," Viviana admitted, but shook her head. "However, your insinuation cannot be true."

Sabrina cocked her brows. "It’s not entirely impossible, you know? If anything, it sounds pretty possible."

"I understand. But it’s debatable. How in the world can it make total sense?" Viviana asked. "The world already knows who Nikolas Bastiani is, and it’s not my husband. And fine, let’s assume he really is Nikolas Bastiani. Why would he hide himself? And the known Nikolas Bastiani, who is he then?"

The questions had Sabrina rethinking again with twinkling blue eyes. "That’s... W-well..."

"See?"

Viviana held her gaze.

"Honestly, this same thought had crossed my mind once, but it just doesn’t add up. Sure, it’s not impossible for him to share the same name, but to actually be Nikolas Bastiani? That makes no sense. If he is, then why the secrecy? And why would a man like him go on a blind date, let alone marry someone he barely knows?"

She pointed out, " I’m sure Nikolas Bastiani doesn’t lack choices in women. Besides, my father has been trying to strike a deal with him for years, and every single time, he turned him down. Do you really think a man like that would not only show up for a blind date but also let me drag him around and pay him into marrying me?"

Sabrina flickered her eyes. "Well... now that you point it out like that, it does sound quite far-fetched. But I’m not ruling the possibility out. I mean, I have heard a rumor once."

"What rumor?"

"There was a rumor that went around two years ago, I think. It said that the Nikolas Bastiani we know isn’t the real Bastiani. They said he was nothing more than a proxy because the real Bastiani wanted to stay hidden."

Viviana asked, "And was it ever proven?"

"No." Sabrina twisted her lips. "The rumor eventually died because nothing came of it. Now, I’m not saying your husband might be Nikolas Bastiani, but nothing is truly impossible. I mean, look around you and at what’s happening. The sudden help you’re getting somehow tracks back to Bastiani. What if he’s the one helping you anonymously?"

"I don’t believe that." Viviana shook her head.

"Then, would you like me to look into your husband?"

She furrowed her brows. "Sabrina, that’s... I mean–"

"Come on, it’s not wrong to do so. Think of it as really getting to know your husband. You married him on a whim after all, and you barely know much about him."

Viviana was conflicted. "It feels wrong. Investigating him like this..."

"Oh, please, getting to know your husband more is what I’ll call it. There is nothing wrong here."

"I’ll ask him myself."

Sabrina frowned at her. "And you believe he’ll tell you the truth?"

"Why would he do otherwise?" Viviana scowled. "I don’t see why he would hide a thing if I asked."

"Okay."

Sabrina agreed with a shrug.

"But if you ever change your mind, don’t hesitate to give me a call, and I will look into it. I feel like that husband of yours is a large fish in a pond... He’s more than he shows, I just can’t prove it yet."

Viviana rolled her eyes. "I have a favor to ask of you."

"What?"

"Fernando, could you find any of the models who work at his agency? I would like to have a talk with at least one of them."

"Why?" Sabrina asked.

"Remember that rumor that went around about him before?"

"Oh... I do."

"Well, I don’t think it was just a rumor, and I would like to look into it."

Sabrina grinned. "Oh! I see where you’re going with this. Leave it to me! Two days at most, you’ll have the information you need."

"Thank you. I have to–" Viviana’s phone pinged with a message, snatching her attention. She swiped in, only to frown deeply.

DAD: There is a family meeting tonight. I want you and that man to be here. And no, I am not asking. You must and you will come because you and I need to have a word. 7:00. Do not be late.

Her gaze darkened. Beneath, another added text had popped in:

Don’t test me, Viviana. You have defied me enough.