Bella paced the house and dialed Daniel's number for the umpteenth time but she could only hear the dial tone, it was not even ringing, he always went off without informing her but this time she had a bad feeling about it.
She sat on the couch and fell asleep right there on the couch. She woke up very early the next day and still had no sign of him. She quickly dialed his line and it was the same as the previous day, what could have happened? There was a knock on the door and without thinking, she ran to the door but it was Aaron
"B...boss Aaron, w..what are you doing here?" She asked in confusion, it was so late in the night already, "m..my husband is not at home"
Aaron's face was tight with worry and Bella had a bad feeling, did something happen to Daniel?
"I want you to get some of your things and come with me"
"What? No, what's going on? Where is Daniel?" She asked in a raised voice
"You have to come with me for your safety" Aaron replied softly but still she hesitated
"I'm not leaving without Daniel, what happened to my husband"
"He is fine, he asked me to bring you" Aaron replied and Bella quickly went to her room and packed a few clothes.
Aaron's house was nice and cozy but Bella wasn't there for the coziness, her eyes were in search of Daniel but she couldn't find him anywhere, she couldn't shake off the bad feeling at the pit of her stomach either
"Where is Daniel?" She asked Aaron ready to go into battle with him if he did not tell her the truth
"You have to calm down Bella and listen to what I have to say" he replied but before he could go further, his attention was caught by breaking news that was been shown on television and he quickly rushed to turn up the volume of the television, Bella's attention was caught also and she stared at the screen and listened to what the newscaster was saying
"There was a shootout in the underworld and the king of the underworld, Nikolai Klaus was shot and one of his men was found dead. Until now, no one knows if he is alive or dead as he had dived into the deep sea below the ravine, there is just a slim chance of his survival but his secret has been revealed because his identity has been revealed and this is how Nikolai Klaus looks like"
"Damn, this is fucking bad" Aaron cursed as a picture of Nikolai Klaus was splashed across the screen and Bella's head spurn, she would have fallen if Aaron had not caught her on time, she steadied herself and faced him
"I don't understand, why was Daniel's picture displayed as Nikolai Klaus?"
"Let me get you a glass of water" Aaron replied but Bella was in no mood to be kept in the dark
"Answer me" she yelled, "you are his boss right? He referred to you as his boss, Daniel is broke ass illegitimate son of Calvin, he cannot be a billionaire" she ranted, shaking her head as if that will keep away any ideas from forming in her head
"He is my boss and he is Nikolai Klaus" Aaron replied calmly and Bella's hands slowly felt the sofa and she sat on it, it's either that or she would have fallen
"Nikolai Klaus is Daniel?" Her tone was that of disbelief as she began to see some signs that she hadn't seen before, that was his secret, "the house we are living in is his and not for a friend" she stated and Daniel's caramel eyes and that of Nikolai came to mind, she had always thought it odd that they looked alike. Her husband is the king of the underworld and he has been shot and no one knows if he was alive or not. She'll have time to be angry with him later, for now, she has to know that he is alright
"How did he get shot? Who shot him? Is he alive?" She asked but Aaron shook his head
"I wasn't with him when it happened, I have my suspicions and I don't know if he is dead or alive" his voice cracked at his last words and Bella observed he was holding in a lot of emotions, "our men are still searching. He has to be alive" he muttered
Bella felt cold inside, on one hand, her brain was trying to process that Nikolai was Daniel and that he lied to her about his identity, and on the other hand, she didn't even want to think about the possibility that he might be dead, the thought of that can make her dizzy, no, he can't be dead, she still has a lot of things to say to him, a lot of questions to ask him but most of all, she still needs him in her life
"I'll go look for him," she said as she stood up from where she was seated and Aaron stared at her in surprise
"Where are you going to look for him? Don't worry, our men are out there and he will be found soon"
She paced agitatedly in Aaron's sitting room and he sighed, "You can get some rest, I'll let you know when we find him"
"I can't sleep knowing my husband is shot and lost somewhere" Aaron sighed, confused about how to pacify the boss's wife, he had brought her here for her protection, and he knew Calvin would seek her out since he already knew she is Nikolai's wife if Nikolai is alive, Calvin might want to use her as a bait to lure Nikolai out and Aaron will not allow that to happen, he will keep his boss wife safe until he returns. But now that he had her safely in his house, he was confused about how to handle her and her emotional outburst, he almost groaned out loud when he heard her sniff. Damn, he definitely cannot handle a woman's tears, he has to think of what to do, perhaps have any of her friends with her
"Brittany" the name came to his head and his heartbeat increased, memory of what had happened between them invaded his head but she was the only friend of Bella that he knew of, should he dare to call her?
Bella sneezed again and he heard a sob escape, not giving himself any time to think again, he dialed Brittany's number
It kept ringing and he prayed she would pick up, he knew that she would be asleep by now, at last, her soft voice came through the receiver, "Who is this?" She asked groggily
"It's Aaron, I..."
"Damn you" she screeched angrily and Aaron felt she wanted to hang up
"Hold on, don't hang up, Bella needs you," he said quickly and she paused at the sound of Bella's name.
"What's going on, where is she?" She demanded and Aaron gave Bella the phone
"Oh Brittany, you have no idea what happened to me, Nikolai... Daniel....my husband has been shot and I don't know if he is alive" Bella cried
"Hold on Bella, I can't understand a thing, where are you?"
"She's at my place" Aaron answered, "can you come?"
"What, I can't come alone, it's so late already, I don't even....."
"I'll get someone to pick you up" Aaron replied cutting her off
"Alright but I'm only coming for my friend, so don't get any ideas" she warned and despite the situation, Aaron smiled and quickly put his tongue in his cheek
"Yes ma'am" he replied
"Jerk" she cursed and Aaron heard the dialed tone as she hung up
He shook his head exasperatedly and quickly called someone who would pick her up, he would have gone himself but he couldn't afford to leave Bella all by herself, "make sure you bring her safely" he warned and hung up. He found himself looking forward to seeing her beautiful angry face.
******************************************
Joana hadn't slept, she was doing some school project with the television on when the news headline suddenly caught her attention. She was shocked to the marrow at the face that was displayed as Nikolai Klaus, she had missed marrying a billionaire? The broke-ass Daniel Calvin is Nikolai Klaus? What has she done?
"Mother!" She cried not minding that it was late night already, "Mother" she screamed again when she heard no response from her mother. Her scream this time around gave her the response she wanted and her mother came running
"What's going on Joana? Are you okay?"
"I'm not okay Mother, look at that face on the screen, that is the face of Nikolai Klaus" she cried and her mother stared at the screen in confusion
"Isn't that Daniel Calvin"
"Yes Mom, he is Nikolai Klaus, a billionaire with so many companies and I missed him, I didn't marry him but rather allowed that beggar to get married to him, I would have been the wife of a billionaire right now, do you know what that means?"
"Calm down my princess, it is not too late, you can still have him and be the wife of a billionaire, all you have to do is kick that beggar out of his life"
Hope sprang in Joana's heart as she stared at her mother, "do you mean that mother?" how are we going to do that?" She asked
"Don't worry my child, leave everything to your mother, all you have to do is follow my instructions"
"Wow Mother, thank you so much, I love you"
"You deserve only the best and you alone deserve to be that billionaire's wife. Now, go to bed and I'll think of something tomorrow"
Kissing her mother's cheeks, Joana happily went to bed, her mother would give Nikolai Klaus to her, she couldn't wait to be the wife of the billionaire king of the underworld.