YOKED TO A BILLIONAIRE BY VENNEH LISAH

A corner of D'barl's mouth quirked up. It took him a while to utter a word. "Okay…"

"Grandpa Roman." Eliana said in between sobs, "I won't make you piggyback me anymore. Please get well soon. I want to buy hot cross bunnies for you to eat."

"Don't cry, Eliana," Jason said, but even he himself could not stop his tears from rolling down his cheeks. "Sorry, grandpa Roman I shouldn't have forced you to play with us. You must be really tired."

"What's wrong with you two?" As the older brother, Ryan raised his voice and expressed his dismay. "I thought we agreed not to cry?"

"No, I didn't cry." Jason took in a deep breath and wiped tears off his face with his tiny hands.

Eliana pouted, but she also tried resisting the urge to cry.

Douglas came up to the children and consoled them. "All right, all right. Let's not disturb grandpa Roman anymore, shall we? Let's go out."

"Okay." They nodded.

"Say bye to grandpa Roman ," Douglas reminded.

"Bye, grandpa Roman. When we come to visit you the next time, I'll bring hot cross bunnies for you, okay?" Eliana said.

"Get well soon, grandpa Roman. Let's play soccer together soon," Jason added.

"See you soon, grandpa Roman." Ryan added.

Douglas took the children out and said, "Wait for me at the lounge, okay? I'll take you home soon."

"Okay, Mr. Douglas." All three of them nodded.

At the lounge, the medical staff took good care of the children. They even prepared snacks and fruit juice for them.

Douglas walked to the office as he wanted to know more about D'barl's condition. All of a sudden, Davon opened the door and left in a hurry. He almost knocked Douglas down.

Douglas shouted in pain while clenching his chest. "Mr. Young Roman, I'm old, so please be more kind to me."

Davon did not even look at Douglas. He kept pressing the button outside the elevator as if he was in a hurry to go somewhere.

"Where are you going?" Douglas caught up with him and asked, "I need to discuss with you."

"Do not allow any visitors to come in without my permission. You hear me?" Davon instructed and went into the elevator.

He then stepped forward, prevented the elevator's door from closing, and asked, "Where are the kids?

"They're in the lounge. I'll be sending them home soon..." Douglas started.

"No." Davon interrupted and instructed, "They'll stay with you."

Douglas was dumbfounded. "But why? What happened?"

Davon did not answer him. He took a few steps back, allowing the elevator's door to close.

A line formed between Douglas brows as he could feel something must have happened. At that point, he could only do what Davon told him to.

"Mr. Douglas, the car's ready. Shall we send them back to Uplands Estate?"

"No," Douglas said, "We'll take them back to our place. Get people to prepare the daily essentials for the kids."

"All right."

Douglas walked to the lounge and noticed how upset Ryan, Jason, and Eliana were. They sat quietly on the couch and did not touch the snacks and fruit juice at all.

"Can we go home now, Mr. Douglas?" Ryan asked when he saw Douglas coming in.

"There's something I need to discuss with all of you." Douglas squatted down and continued, "I need you to stay at Mr old Roman's house, okay? I'm sure Mr. Old Roman will be glad to see all of you when he returns home."

Jason and Eliana exchanged glances and then looked at Ryan, who was the ultimate decision maker of them all.

"I need to ask Mommy first," Ryan said, "We need to get her approval."

"All right." Douglas gently tapped on Ryan's shoulder, "Let's go outside and call your Mommy, okay?"

"Okay." Douglas left the ward with the three kids. Ryan's eyes lit up when he noticed that the smart watch had a signal again.

He immediately called Violla, but her phone was switched off.

With his brows furrowed, Ryan gave a try again. Yet, it was still the same.

"Ryan, Mommy's phone is still uncontactable. Do you think she's too tired and has dozed off?" Jason moved over in his wheelchair. "How about we go home and tell her?"

"I agree with you." Ryan nodded. "Looks like that's the only way."

"I will accompany you home." Douglas made a gesture with his hand, and the three nurses carried the kids respectively into the car.

The kids were excited as the car headed towards Uplands Estate.

Just then, one of the nurse's phone rang abruptly and she answered the call at once. In a split second, her expression changed as she asked nervously, "Is Miss Milan all right?"

Hearing his Mommy's name, Jason turned pale and asked anxiously, "What happened to Mommy?"

The nurse shook her head at them as she continued to talk on the phone, "Alright. I got it."

After hanging up the phone, she quickly reported, "It's the call from the property management office. According to them, the elevator of our apartment building broke down this afternoon and straight away fell from the sixteenth floor…"

"Ah…" Hearing her words, Eliana panicked and burst into tears; her cheeks flushed red in an instant.

"How about my Mommy?" Jason grabbed hold of the nurse's hands and asked again in anxiety, "Anything happened to Mommy?"

"No, no…" the nurse shook her head at once.

"Jason, Eliana, calm down. Let the nurse finish her words." Ryan comforted his siblings and asked apprehensively, "Was Mommy in that elevator?"

"Try to calm down and speak clearly. Don't scare them," Douglas chimed in.

"Yes, Mr Douglas." the nurse took a deep breath and explained, "Miss Milan was not in that elevator, but one of her friends was in there. Fortunately, it was stuck at level three and didn't go all the way down to the bottom. The one inside the elevator passed out and was immediately rushed to the hospital. They're all fine and only sustained minor injuries."

"What a relief that their Mommy was not in that elevator. Good to hear that the others are fine, too." Douglas stated.

Douglas heaved a sigh of relief and recalled Davon's reminder instinctively.

'Perhaps Mr. Davon could foresee something bad would befall the kids and their mother? So that's why he assigned me to take them along with me?'

'Anyway, these three kids and their Mommy have been leading a simple and peaceful life. It's impossible that they are on bad terms with anyone. I really wonder who has the heart to put them at risk.'

'No matter what, the kids' safety is the top priority. I must ensure they are well protected all the time. If anything happens to them, Mr. Old Roman would not let me off easily when he regains consciousness.'

After pondering for a while, Douglas consoled the three kids, "Children, it's not safe to go home at the moment. Let's just stay temporarily at grandpa Roman's place. I'll get people to bring your Mommy as well. Don't worry about her."

"Looks like that is the only way now." Ryan tried to call his Mommy again, yet still could not get through. He knitted his brows and said nervously, "Mr. Douglas, I'm worried that Mommy is in danger. Can you please get someone to look for her?"

"Sure, no problem." Douglas asked, "What's your Mommy's name? I'll get people to look for her now."

"My…" Ryan started.

"My Mommy's name is Violla Milan!" Eliana cut in even before Ryan could complete his sentence.

Still holding the phone, Douglas' hand stiffened instantaneously. His eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Eliana stiffly and stuttered, "Y-your…her name is Violla Milan?"

"Yeah…" Eliana nodded and replied honestly, "My Mommy has a beautiful name, right?"

"Eh…" Douglas was dumbfounded. He suddenly realized why Davon was behaving weirdly lately.

'Now I know why Mr. Young Roman eagerly sent the three children home after the accident, met them at Fairy Land when they were with Mr. Old Roman and assigned me to take good care of them. No wonder…Violla Milan is their Mommy! Does Mr old Roman know! Of course he knows. The old man loves playing mind games.'

"Mr. Douglas, are you all right?" Ryan looked at Douglas uneasily. He was actually hesitating whether to tell him their Mommy's name, as she had reminded them not to reveal her identity to anyone.

Yet her name just slipped out from Eliana's mouth when he was still hesitating.

'Anyway, under this extreme circumstance, Mommy's safety is the most important!'

'We have no choice but to mention her name. I hope Mommy will understand and won't be angry.'

"I'm fine, don't worry." Douglas could not help feeling a rush of complex emotions within himself. Looking at the kids, he made a wild guess daringly, "How about your daddy's name?"

It never came to his mind that Violla was already a mother.

'Are these three children Davon's flesh and blood by any chance? If my guess is right, why is Davon treating them in such an indifferent way, without any sense of fatherly love? Moreover, looks like they're really intimidated by Davon.'

'But, if he's not their biological father, why does the domineering and arrogant Davon treat them so differently?'

"I-I don't know…" With her head lowered, Eliana's tears flowed out of her eyes. She felt down whenever she was asked about her daddy's name; she was afraid to be humiliated by others as a child without a father.

"Mr. Douglas, why are you asking about this?" Jason was displeased and frowned quizzically. "Are you having the same thought like the others? Will you also look down on us as we're from an incomplete family without daddy?"

"No, no! I don't mean that." Douglas tried his best to explain, "I asked about this just because I thought there might be a possibility that I actually know your daddy. Oh dear, my poor Eliana! I shouldn't have asked that question bluntly. I'm terribly sorry. Can you forgive me?"

"Alright, I accept your apology." Children were the mostly innocent and forgiving. As such, Jason accepted his apology sportingly.

"Mr. Douglas, I hope that you won't mention about daddy again." Ryan said firmly, "We only have Mommy."

"Alright, I get it now." Douglas felt guilty as he had unintentionally inflicted pain to the children's vulnerable feelings.

"I'll get someone to protect your Mommy now. Don't worry." Douglas made the necessary arrangements without hesitation. At the same time, he kept wondering who the kids' father could be.

Nonetheless, it was not the right timing to be concerned about that .

Because of the elevator incident , Douglas did not send the kids home. He sent them directly to D'barl's Garden Villa which was located in the northern suburbs.

He bought them new clothes and other basic necessities. The three nurses, also followed them back to the villa in order to take care of the kids.

Douglas had to rush back to the hospital again after the necessary arrangements were made. Leaving the villa, he reminded the maids to take good care of the kids.

The three kids had been there once previously. All the maids served them well, knowing that they were apples of D'barl's eye.

Douglas told the kids that they could stay in the villa without any worries. If they felt bored, they could let the maids accompany them for a stroll in the garden, go for horse riding or swimming.

Even so, they were not in the mood as they were all very concerned about their Mommy's safety.

Douglas convinced them that he would try to get in touch with their Mommy as soon as possible and bring her back safely.

The kids finally felt relieved hearing his words.

Once in the car, Douglas was initially thinking of calling Davon regarding Violla's matter. After thinking for a while, he changed his mind. 'If I'm not mistaken, Violla is deliberately keeping quiet about the relationship between Davon and the three kids. To play safe, I better zip my mouth as well.'

The car was in total silence as Douglas was lost deep in thought. 'I am convinced the kids are Davon's. He is just stupid to see.'

Meanwhile, Davon was calling his aunt Diana in his Rolls-Royce.

After quite a while, the call was finally answered by a languorous voice.

"What are you trying to do?" Holding back the burning rage in his heart, Davon questioned, "She has nothing to do with the grudge and dispute between both of us. Why did you abduct her?"

"Since you didn't let me see pops, I've no choice!" Daina Roman said with a sense of sarcasm. "Even though he has passed the right of inheritance on to you, he hasn't set a will for other properties. I could be the inheritor! You've no right to stop me from seeing him!"

"Grandpa is still alive, yet you're already so impatient?" Davon said in an icy-cold tone, "There is already a lot in your possession. Don't be too greedy."

"How ridiculous," Diana jeered, "All these are supposed to belong to me!"

"Your father passed away long ago. I've been the one managing everything for this family painstakingly in North Nation. Just because of my gender, pops would rather pass you the right of inheritance instead of me. You're just a greenhorn, so how could you deserve it?"

" What of Uncle Dan and Uncle Dylan. They have rights to the inheritance too." Davon tried reasoning with her .

"Exactly my point. Why did pops make you successor when I have brothers who are still alive and I am also still alive? " Diana squealed.

"You've to ask Grandpa about that," Davon replied coldly. "He probably feels that I'm more suitable than you in inheriting his position. Roman's Corporation and Roman's group has been founded and built on high-tech genius minds."

" From grandpa D'barl,to my pops Dante and to me . All of us have high-tech genius minds. I can't say the same for the rest of you.He passed me the right of inheritance when I was sixteen years old. It's been ten years, yet you're still brooding over it?" Davon was infuriated.

"I had actually gotten over it earlier, but how dare you assault my son? Since you're not treating us as your relatives, don't blame me for paying you back." Diana's tone turned cold.

"He only has himself to blame," Davon roared coldly.

"I almost forget about it." Daina gave an eerie sneer, "Both of you were quite close since young, yet you end up having a scuffle just for a woman. Reminds me of Dan and your father Dante. Do you want history repeating itself? Did Violla cast a spell on both of you? I'm really curious about what kind of exceptional charm she has! "

"You'd better don't do anything to provoke me. " Davon warned.

"It really depends on my mood," Diana said mockingly, "You know that I don't have a good temper, don't you? If she infuriates me, there's nothing I can't do."

"You're threatening me?" Davon gritted his teeth.

"No, I'm just negotiating with you." Diana sneered, "When you're willing to let me see pops, I'll release her!" Diana hung up her phone straight afterwards.

Davon's face fell when he heard the engaged tone from the other side of the phone, for he was sure of Diana's temper.

'The woman is decisive, ruthless and has unpredictable mood swings; all of us from the Romans family are born with the same weaknesses.'

'If Violla accidentally provokes her even with only one sentence, it looks like she will do anything to torture her.'

"Mr. Young Roman, don't worry. Clyde is now tracing Miss Diana's whereabouts," Cruze comforted him warily. "When he manages to get any clue, we'll take prompt action and save Miss Milan."

Davon did not say anything. With his eyes lowered, he seemed to sink into deep contemplation.

The ultra-thin phone was fumbling in his palm, reflecting his extreme anxiety at that moment.

There were numerous times whereby he confronted Diana with profound placidity and confidence, but he was never restless and helpless like he was then.

Thinking of the potential risk that Violla might be encountering at the moment, his heart was filled with growing uneasiness. Beads of perspiration started to appear on his forehead.

Cruze had never seen Davon like that before. He asked tactfully, "How about we just let her see Mr. Old Roman? After all, he has regained consciousness and is well protected by our men. I bet aunt Diana has no chance to harm him at all."

"That is not the point." Davon's brows furrowed. "If I give in now, it will indicate that she wins the game."

"Then…" Cruze could barely say anything in confusion.

"Just wait for a while more." Davon gripped the phone tightly and said, "Let Clyde send me all the clues he manages to collect. I'll investigate myself."

"Yes, Mr. Roman." There was silence again as Davon's mind drifted away into deep thought.

Meanwhile on the other side, Violla gradually came to herself. Still squinting, she scanned through her surroundings with great difficulty. She was apparently in a delicate room, yet there was no sign of anyone.

Snippets before she became unconscious flashed across her mind. Realizing that she was in an extreme situation, she raised herself from the bed in an instant. However, she was momentarily blinded by a sudden dizziness and slumped onto the bed again.

Holding her head with her eyes shut, she tried to calm herself down. After a while, she opened her eyes again and scanned through every corner of the room. To her surprise, it was a dainty room with a sense of gracefulness and elegance. Apparently, it looked like a guest room owned by someone who was really wealthy.

She was still in her own white cotton dress, her hair unkempt and messy. Other than still feeling a little dizzy, there were no visible injuries on her body.

'Who has actually abducted me here?'

Obviously, her abductors had other hidden motives, or were under the orders of someone else. If not, it was impossible for her to be left unharmed in such a nice room.

'Are they Roman's men? Or are they part of the Tariques family?' While Violla's mind was running wild, the door of the room was abruptly opened. Two maids pushed a food trolley towards her.

"What is this place? Who are you?" Violla almost used up all her energy just to support herself from sitting up in the bed.

None of the maids responded to her question. They just silently served the meal on the dining table. " Enjoy your meal Mrs Roman."

They bowed at her before leaving the room.

"Wait! Don't go… I am not Mrs Roman. You are confusing me with someone else. Please don't go." Violla tried to stop the maids, yet all her energy was drained from her. She could only gaze at them helplessly till their figures disappeared from her view.