CHAPTER 64: – WHO REALLY ARE YOU? –

’No way...’

There was absolutely no way this could be possible!

Viviana shook her head slowly. There was just no way Nikolas could have been behind this.

How could he?

This was Aceto they were talking about. A billionaire! What in the world could Nikolas have offered him to make him withdraw a deal that he’d already come this close with?

Glancing back at the stage, Viviana saw Fernando frozen where he stood. His eyes were blank, he wasn’t even blinking, clearly out of it.

"Instead," Aceto continued, picking up where he’d left off, "I am proud to announce our exclusive collaboration with a name that represents power and connection beyond imagination."

Everyone leaned in, still reeling from the shock of the earlier announcement.

The light panned away from Aceto and landed on someone else in the hall. All eyes turned to none other than Elio Romano, Nikolas’s proxy.

Huh?

What was going on?

Viviana furrowed her brows. This was Nikolas Bastiani, the man her husband shared the very same name with.

Elio smiled, doing everything possible to avoid Nikolas’s gaze. If he dared make Viviana suspicious, he did not doubt one bit that Nikolas would kill him. He climbed the stairs to the platform.

The guests were completely stumped, watching as a screen descended behind the two men. It flickered on and loaded with two bold words:

BASTIANI / ACETO

Gasps echoed. Cameras flashed wildly.

Impossible!

Aceto and Nikolas Bastiani? How was that even possible?

They all knew that nikolas Bastiani was one man one would hardly see. He was not accessible. He was a man capable of rejecting Amadeo Di-grassi who was only second to him. How in the world did Aceto manage to get an audience with him? Not to mention making an appearance in this event that could not even count as one of the biggest events ever held in the Valestra continent?

It all suddenly made sense why Aceto canceled the deal with Fernando. This was too huge, it was insane! Who would choose the Stolov family over a name like Bastiani?

Silence settled over the room.

Viviana held her breath, stunned completely into utter speechlessness.

"From now on, my brand will work solely with Nikolas Bastiani, whose presence we are fortunate to have tonight," Aceto announced as he shook Eliot’s hand.

Elio smiled at him. He turned to the crowd and gave a small nod.

No one dared to speak.

Even the reporters held back. Not a single one of them could bring themselves to question either Aceto or Elio.

And even if they did, Aceto would not care. A deal with Nikolas Bastiani was bigger than any other collaboration out there or even whatever nonsense the media may have to say.

He spread the contract papers on the podium and penned down his signature. Elio took the pen and signed too. Though in reality, these papers were nonsense. The official contract had already been signed by the real Nikolas Bastiani who was in the midst of the crowd.

As they exchanged handshakes, cameras flashed everywhere. The audience could not help applauding, despite their shock.

Viviana on the other hand, turned to Nikolas. The man smirked down at her, biting his lips.

"I won," he said to her, implication in his gaze. "And you owe me something."

She slowly shook her head. "That’s... impossible. How could you... You-you know of this?"

Nikolas shrugged. "Something like that."

"That’s impossible!" Viviana could not make sense of any of this. "That’s Nikolas Bastiani. How did you know he would be here? How did you know Aceto would cancel the contract? How in the world did you know any of this was going to happen?"

Nikolas popped his hands into his slacks.

"Does it matter, Viviana?" He said, "The point is I won, and that I granted your wish. The rest is not important."

"Nikolas–"

A sudden commotion broke out, pulling her attention back to the stage. Fernando had fainted. He collapsed on the floor, completely unconscious.

The ambulance seemed to have been called by someone and guests were not quickly exiting the hall. Although the reporters stayed, taking videos and photos relentlessly.

This was going to be a top selling story.

Someone grabbed Viviana. Before she realized it, she was being pulled away.

"Nikolas?"

"We have no business here anymore. Let’s go home."

He had her buckled into the car before she could even think, driving them out of the lot and onto the road.

Most of the ride was in silence and her glancing at him every now and then.

"Do you have something you want to ask me?" Nikolas finally said. He couldn’t stand her silence any longer.

’Yes. Yes I do have something that I want to ask!’ She thought to herself. She had a thousand questions.

Sabrina’s words were echoing in her head. The idea that this man could be the real Nikolas Bastiani. But how could that be possible? Nikolas Bastiani was at the event! Still, Sabrina’s mention about the proxy could not stop ringing in her head.

It just... It just made no sense at all!

Bastiani was a man who rejected her father over and over again.

Of course, the idea that Nikolas could have gotten to Bastiani in any way was nonsensical. Nikolas was just Nikolas and Bastiani was the top most influential and richest man in the whole of the Valestra continent.

Even mere Aceto was man of very high status.

Just how could Nikolas have met him? And not just that, even managed to convince him to drop the contract.

She wanted to assume this was a coincidence, but how could it be? The way Nikolas had spoken with pure confidence, it was clear that he knew Aceto would not be going forward with that contract.

Viviana bit her lip.

’Who are you really, Nikolas?’

"Keep looking at me like that and I might not be able to control myself until we got home," Nikolas suddenly spoke.

Her heart stuttered. She blinked frantically, quickly looking away with a flustered expression. "W-what do you mean by that?"

Instead of answering her, Nikolas smirked, shaking his head. His tongue dragged over his teeth and he raised the speed of the car just a bit more.

"Nikolas!" Viviana snapped over at him. "Have you lost your mind?!"