Billionaire's Contracted & Unloved Wife

For some reason, Ariel decided to leave at night.

She had her head leaning on Aiden's shoulder as their car drove inside the compound.

"We're home, love," Aiden whispered to her.

Ariel smiled, "Mm, finally. Can't wait to see my baby," she hugged his arm.

Aiden petted her hair; there was a kind of feeling that wrapped around his heart; he felt proud, happy, fulfilled, and loved. It was the best feeling in the world.

He would never stop being thankful to Ariel for coming back to him, for bringing back his son to him, and for bringing more joy into his life.

"Welcome home, Ariel," Gregory said as he opened the door for them.

Ariel nodded at him, "Thanks, Gregory," She smiled at him as she let Aiden help her out of the car.

Aiden nodded at Gregory as he carried Ariek out of the car, heading into the house, and Gregory hurried over to open the door for them.

"I can't wait to sleep on our bed, I was so fed up at the hospital," Ariel pouted.

Aiden chuckled, "I know, Darling, I can give you a massage after I've set a nice warm bath for you, you'll feel heavenly," He promised, walking through the door and into the living room.

Ariel nodded, "Why are the lights off, Papi?" Ariel questioned the moment they got in.

"I don't know, I'll turn them on -"

"Surprise!"

Aiden almost dropped Ariel to the floor when he heard the loud voices behind him.

He turned around and was surprised to see his friends and family behind him.

Everyone was holding a balling and a 'welcome home' sign was hung on the wall behind them.

"Welcome home, Mummy!" Jace ran toward his parents.

Aiden carefully dropped Ariel to her feet but did not leave her hand.

"Oh, my, Jace, I missed you," Ariel smiled as Auden lifted Jace so he could hug her.

"I missed you, too, Mummy." Jace hugged her tightly.

"Welcome home, Ariel," Grandma Nari went up to her and offered her a small bouquet of flowers.

"Thank you, Grandma," She let the old woman hug her.

She looked into the living room and smiled wider, "Really? You guys did have to do this," She chuckled.

"But we did because we want to let you know how much you mean to us," Jess stepped forward from beside Ken.

"And I made this cake for you; welcome home, Ariel," Moon slowly walked out from behind everyone, carrying a small cake in her hands.

"Don't eat it - Ouch!" Jewel whispered.

Gideon flicked Jewel's forehead, shaking his head at him.

Ariel laughed.

"Hey," Aiden held her back when she wanted to wall away from his side.

"It's alright, Aiden. I can walk, and I really need some sweetness in my body right now," She winked at him and approached Moon.

Moon smiled happily when she saw Ariel approaching her, she bit her lips anxiously and held the cake steady, "I don't know if you'd like it, but I tried my best to make it sweet enough," She said.

Ariek smiled, "Thank you, Moon, it looks delicious, I can't wait to eat it," She took it from Moon and hugged her.

"Life's too tiresome to hate someone, Moon; thanks for the for," She whispered and stepped away from her.

Moon couldn't stop smiling; she hurried to wipe her tears with the back of her hand.

"Thank you, everyone, it's really thoughtful of you all to do this, I'm happy to have you all in my life," She said, holding her hand out for Auden to hold her.

"And we're happy to have you; Aiden's one lucky man, too; it should have been me," Logan announced as he stood beside Eva.

Everyone laughed, except Aiden but his lips did tilt upwards in a smile.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone, oh, I'm right on time. Welcome home, Ariel," Lin ran up to Ariel and hugged her.

Ariel chuckled, "You're right on time, Lin, I have just arrived," She removed a piece of paper from Lin's hair.

"Coming from the office?" Ariel asked.

"Ah, yes, but here, I had time to get a gift, that's why I'm late. Open it when you're alone," She whispered the last part.

Ariel smiled curiously as she took the small gift box from Lin.

"I think you should all leave, Carla clearly stated that she observes rest," Aiden said, keeping his hand on her waist.

"She will rest, but not after our dinner. I've asked Anna to prepare something for everyone, let's all head to the dining," Grandma Nari said and held Ariel's hand, leading her to the dining table.

Everyone settled down and ate; a light chatter filled the table, and when the dinner was over, they bid Ariel a goodnight and left her home.

"Ready for that bath?" Aiden asked as he undressed Ariel in the room.

"I crave it," Ariel sighed.

Aiden smiled, "I'm at your service, Moma, let's go," He took her hand and led her into the bathroom.

***

Viktor was waiting beside the door for Moon to walk inside the house; they had just returned from Ariel's home after their long, silent drive.

Moon walked in and closed the door; she saw Viktor standing close to the wall and gave him a small nod, "Goodnight, Viktor," She said and walked away, heading to the room.

Candy was sleeping by the time they returned, the Nanny Viktor employed was awesome. However, it made Moon wonder what her purpose was in the house.

For some time now, she no longer did anything, just eating and feeling guilty of living freely in someone's house.

She entered her room and locked her door.

She couldn't stop the smile on her face as she thought of Ariel's words. Ariel was such a darling and she would wondered why she didn't like her at the beginning.

"Who am I kidding? I was jealous and an idiot," She muttered, shaking her head at herself.

She removed her clothes and tied her towel around her body, she needed to shower.

Standing in front of the mirror, she smiled. For The first time, she felt happy, and it was all because of Ariel.

The feeling of someone telling you they forgave you after you've done some horrific things to them was unmatched. She was starting to realize that Ariel was never actually planning to let her rot in prison; she just wanted to teach a lesson; she was glad that Ariek didn't listen to her stupid plea to let her go back to prison.

She had been so scared of facing the world, his fears, and the aftermath of her action, but so far, it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

Contrary to her belief, everyone was nice to her, as if they were secretly waiting for her complete transformation.

She had been so bad and evil and didn't deserve their love, friendship, and forgiveness.

She heard a knock on her door and looked back at it, she knew it was Viktor, but she didn't want to open it, she had been avoiding him since the day she kissed him, she didn't even know why she had done that.

"Open the door, Moon, I just want to speak shortly with you," Viktor spoke quietly.

Moon sighed and slowly walked toward the door; she hesitated, hovering her hand over the handle, and finally opened it.

"Hi?" She smiled nervously.

"Hi..." Viktor's eyes betrayed him by going down Moon's exposed neck and arms, he clenched his jaws and stared at her face.

"Can I come on?" He asked.

Moon nodded, "Of course," She left the door and walked to her bed.

Viktor shut the door and walked inside the room, stopping beside Moon.

He stared at Moon's face for a while, "You did great tonight," He said.

Moon blinked, "I did? I just offered Ariel a cake, " She said.

Viktor nodded, "That was a bold step to reconciliation; you could have chosen to stay home, to not care; after all, she had asked you to stay away. But you didn't; you visited her in the hospital, and you brought her a gift; it shows your genuine willingness to reconcile, Moon," He explained.

Moon blushed, "Well..." She glanced at him, "I'm really happy; Ariel is such an angel; after all I did, she forgave me. I never expected anyone to forgive me, even you..." She looked up into his eyes and felt her heart race when she saw the way Viktor was staring at her.

Viktor sighed, "Moon..." He called quietly, his hand raised mid-air to touch her but he brought it down to his side again.

"I've been wanting to talk to you about something," Moon cleared her throat, sitting on the bed; she didn't trust her towel, so she decided to sit still until Viktor was out.

"What's that, Moon?" Viktor questioned calmly.

"Um," She shuffled her legs on the floor, "You got a Nanny," She said.

Viktor nodded, "I did," He replied.

"She cooks, takes care of Candy... and you..." She stared at her fingers.

Viktor suddenly frowned, "She does," He was starting to realize where the conversation was heading, and he didn't like it.

"Then..." Moon paused, glancing at him.

Viktor slowly lowered himself beside Moon on the bed, "Then what, Moon?" He asked quietly.

"Then, can I go? I need to live by myself and find a job. That way, I can be able to also provide for our daughter and she can stay with me whenever she wants," her voice was small as she informed Viktor.

Viktor clenched his jaws, "No, Moon, you can't leave," He put a finger under her chin, staring into her eyes, "You can find a job, Moon, I won't stop you anymore, but you can't leave, Candy needs you," He told her.

Moon but her lips gently, "I know, Viktor, that's why I said she could visit me whenever, I'm not planning to be absent from her life, I just... want to go," She explained.

Viktor shut his eyes for a second, his hand on Moon's chin traveled down her neck and behind her head, "You can't leave, Moon, Candy needs you... I need you...' He whispered.

Moon shivered, "Viktor... don't do this.... please, I don't deserve your -"

"I'm the one to decide what's good for me, Moon. I thought I hated you, no, I did hate you. You hurt me beyond measure, betrayed me, I'm supposed to despise you, but I can't, I'm losing the battle of wills here, Moon. I can't let you leave me... I just need you to try, try and love me for real this time. No more Aiden, just me, Moon, I've always been there for you but you treat me like trash. People might call me stupid for wanting you, but they'd never understand love; no one does... I love you, Moon, I need you to stay with me, with our child, please," His voice was husky and shaky at the same time.

Moon sucked in a deep breath, "Viktor..." her heart was panting as she raised a hand to his face, "You love me?" She asked.

Viktor nodded, "I couldn't help it, Moon... I -"

Moon kissed him abruptly, sucking his lips deliciously.

Viktor pulled away and looked at Moon's face, "You're kissing me, Moon, do I take that as -"

"I'm no longer the foolish Moon, Viktor; I'm not walking away at the only person I've truly loved; you had loved me even with my flaws, Viktor, this time, let me return all the love to you if you'd let me," She smiled.

Viktor smiled, "I'm letting you love me, Moon, and I'm begging you never to break us up again," his hand went to her exposed thighs, causing her to shiver.

"I promise," She whispered and kissed him again.