YOKED TO A BILLIONAIRE BY VENNEH LISAH

𝐘𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐀 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐘- 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄:

"Okay." D'barl nodded. "Your clinic in North Nation's a nice one. The doc frequents it since it's hard for a doctor to treat himself. He needs a professional opinion from other doctors."

''Oh, I'm just an amateur compared to him." Carol smiled sheepishly. "Your previous treatment has been going well, grandpa. You should keep at it."

"I think I should. My back's been really sore lately. I think I'll go back once everything's settled down here." D'barl fiddled with the board.

"What business do you have here?" Davon asked casually. "I'll handle the company, so don't worry about it." Finally. Davon grasped the chance to talk about it.

"I know you can handle it." D'barl gazed into him. "But what about your personal problems?"

Davon froze. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Carol's a good girl." D'barl peered at Carol. "You should talk to her more."

Davon frowned. He was about to fly into a rage, but then he remembered something.

'Grand pa will go back to North Nation if I pretend to date Carol, and he wouldn't bother me anymore. I can also take the time to settle with Violla.'

Davon nodded. "Yeah, she's a nice girl. I can try dating her."

"Really?" D'barl was overjoyed, and Carol was stunned. She had been waiting for him to say that for the longest time.

"Of course." Davon didn't show too much enthusiasm, or it'd be too fake. "I can date her and see what happens."

"Good. Very good. Excellent." D'barl nodded in exuberance. "You'll see how nice Carol is once you get along with her."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Davon gave her a piece of meat. Touched, Carol smiled gently at him.

D'barl was overjoyed to see that, and he didn't want to get between the 'couple,' so he said, "Whoops, I'm getting sleepy after I had something to eat. Must be my age acting up. I'll go to my room now. You guys go ahead without me." He patted Carol's hand and gave her a cryptic look.

Douglas took D'barl back to his room, and Davon put his cutlery down. "I'm done with supper, so I'm taking you to your room." He took Carol to her room upstairs.

D'barl turned around and whispered to Douglas, "Go and see if that kid's doing what he said he would. He's one little trickster, that boy is. This might also be his lie."

"I don't think so." Douglas was confident in Davon's promise. "The young master has always been an arrogant one. He can't pretend to like someone he doesn't."

"True." D'barl nodded. "He hates putting on pretenses. That kid was cold to Carol, but he's changed quite a bit."

"Maybe he's sympathizing with her," Douglas analyzed. "Pity is the first step to love, you see. Well, some say friendship is."

"You have a point." D'barl nodded. "Still, take a look just in case."

"Very well then. After I take you to your room." Douglas went upstairs in silence after taking D'barl to his room.

At the same time, Davon took Carol back to her room, placed her on her bed, leaned closer, and whispered, "Looks like grandpa really wants us to be together. Why don't you work with me here? I want him to stop bothering me."

Carol stiffened up in disappointment, but she quickly gave him a gentle smile. ''I see. I'll do it.''

"Thanks." He nodded. "I owe you one, and I'll be sure to pay you back."

''It's fine. I want to do this.'' Carol suddenly hugged Davon and pulled him because she saw someone outside her room.

Douglas was looking through the ajar door and saw Carol lying on the bed, while Davon leaned closer. Then she hugged him. And they were almost kissing.

Someone coughed, and Douglas scurried away, though not without casting a death glare at Cruze. Cruze only shrugged, and he went to close the door.

Their lips were about to touch, but Davon instinctively pushed her away. He could pretend to be in a relationship with Carol, provided there was no direct contact with her, as he would be repulsed by any kind of skin contact.

Carol gesticulated, ''I didn't mean it. Someone was peeping on us, so I...''

"I know," Davon interrupted. "It was Douglas."

Shocked, Carol bit her lip and nodded.

"Thank you." Davon left the bed. "Sleep tight."

Cruze was waiting for him outside. "Mr. Douglas has gone back to his room," he reported once Davon came out.

Davon closed the door, but instead of going back to his bedroom, he went to the study. Cruze poured a glass of wine for him. "You're pretending to be in a relationship with Miss Carol so Mr. Old Roman will leave you alone, aren't you?"

"You noticed too?" Davon arched his eyebrow.

"I've been working for you for a long time now, so that much is obvious for me." Cruze smiled. "The same thing goes for Mr. Old Roman. You can't fool him with half-hearted acting."

Davon frowned. 'True. I did tell him I'd try to date her, but if I don't go a mile further, that sly old fox isn't gonna buy it.'

"You might have to go to the extremes if you want Mr. Old Roman to leave you alone," Cruze reminded him carefully.

"What do you mean I have to be aggressive?" Davon barked, "Insolence."

"My apologies, Sir." Cruze bowed.

Davon glared at him, but Cruze had a point.

'This is going to be a headache. I might have to turn to extreme measures to make him leave. But I don't really want to do that. Maybe I can get away with it without anyone noticing. After all, nobody's gonna know what we're doing behind closed doors.'

"Good idea." Davon squinted.

"But you'd have to make sure your kids don't bump into you guys when you're going at it," Cruze suggested. "Especially Ryan . He's really sensitive, and it's going to hurt your relationship with him if he sees you getting intimate with Miss Carol. That's probably why he ran away today."

"True." Davon frowned and nodded. "That's important."

"So what will you do?"

"I'll be staying in Garden golf for the next couple of days. Ask Carol whether she would like to go with me tomorrow morning." Davon wanted to 'get closer' with Carol while keeping his children away from his business.

"I think she'll be delighted," Cruze said. "But Mr. Old Roman can't see what you're doing then."

"He's no fool. I bet he'll have spies snooping around." Davon knew D'barl well. "He'd probably check in on us too."

"I see."

When they had breakfast the next morning, Cruze asked Carol if she'd like to go with Davon on a stay in Garden golf .Of course, D'barl was there to listen in. Cruze even told her the hot spring there could help with her recovery.

D'barl arched his eyebrow. "Go get some fresh air, Carol. Staying at home all the time isn't good for your health."

''Okay!'' Carol was still hesitant, but not after D'barl encouraged her to go. She smiled. "Thanks for having me, Cruze."

"No prob. I'll tell Mr. Young Roman about it, and Immaculate going to go get prepared."

Cruze was about to leave for the preparations, but D'barl suddenly said, "I can't let her go alone. Take Collins and Killian with you."

Just as Davon had predicted. "Of course," Cruze obliged.

Immaculate went to pick Carol up that afternoon. Carol took two nurses with her because of her injuries and D'barl sent two bodyguards with her. Cruze sent another two bodyguards to tag along, making it a total of four bodyguards, one doctor, and two nurses escorting Carol around. It was a crowd.

The manager of Garden golf knew Carol was someone close to Davon when he welcomed her at Garden golf's parking lot as she had a lot of people protecting her. She was to stay at the same villa where a hot spring was in the backyard, just like how Davon wanted.

It was already eight in the evening when everything was done, but Davon was nowhere to be seen.

Even so, Carol didn't seem to show any form of anxiety. She told the manager to keep her arrival a secret, for she didn't want to worry Davon. The manager nodded with a smile.

'Such a gentle lady. She might be a mute, but she comes from a good family, is knowledgeable, gentle, and gorgeous. She's perfect.'

Immaculate treated Carol's wounds and told her, "You can't go into the hot spring just yet, Miss carol, but you can soak your feet in it."

"I see. Thank you, Dr. Immaculate." Carol was a cultured lady who was polite to everyone, including the servants. She'd even smile at the waiters as a sign of gratitude for their service.

"Don't mention it. Rest up. I'll unpack."

"Of course."

After Immaculate went to the room beside hers, Carol quieted down and pushed herself to the window, and looked at the rain that was pouring outside.

'It's a downpour. I wonder if Davon is trapped in the congested traffic.'

Indeed he was, and congested traffic was an understatement. Davon was stuck at the exit, and he couldn't even move an inch. Davon was reading through the documents when Cruze suddenly pointed at the rear-view mirror and gasped. "That looks like Miss Landiana's car!"

Davon looked into the rear-view mirror and saw the silver Rolls-Royce that belonged to Violla. The traffic finally inched forward, and the Rolls-Royce moved up and stopped beside his black one.

"Goddammit! They're everywhere!" Marco glared at that car. Even though he couldn't see the interior, he could feel the woman inside glaring back at him.

"Tell me about it." Cruze felt a headache coming up at the thought of that woman. "Wait, they can't be heading the same place as we are, can they?"

"What?" Davon frowned. "Did Lewis invite her too?"

Cruze didn't see that coming. "That's going to be a sticky situation. If Miss Landiana bumps into Miss Carol, you're going to have a hard time explaining." Davon had told Cruze, Clyde and Marco about his plans with Violla so they can help him where they can. Cruze knew that if Violla met Carol there will be a lot of misunderstanding.

"I don't think they're heading to Garden golf," Davon refuted. "Remember what happened at the seaside restaurant? Things were pretty ugly, and I don't think Lewis would be so dumb as to invite both of us at the same time."

"You have a point." Cruze nodded.

The traffic loosened up a short while later. Davon's car was about to go ahead, but Violla's cut in, much to Marco's chagrin. "These women are barbaric."

"Take it slow. We're not in a hurry," Davon said.

"Yes, Sir." Marco stopped grumbling.

They moved on at a snail's pace and had to wait for ten more minutes before exiting the highway. Instead of going to the hotel with hot spring when he arrived, Davon went to the banquet hall instead.

Sir Lewis' banquet was held there, and there were the partners from West Nation who came to talk about the upcoming project. The moment he came out of the car, the manager went to welcome him. "Mr. Roman, Sir Lewis has been waiting for you. Miss Carol is all settled down. Shall I invite her?"

"No." Davon wasn't planning on having Lewis know that Carol was there. Lewis' villa was on the racecourse, which was some distance away anyway, so they wouldn't bump into each other.

"Alright." The manager led them to the banquet hall without further ado. Davon scanned the cars in the parking lot, but he didn't see the silver Rolls-Royce.

'Looks like Violla isn't here.' His frown subsided. 'Now I can get into business.'

An uplifting piano tune was heard upon their entrance, and thunderous applause followed. Davon didn't pay any heed to it, since Lewis was an outstanding pianist, and he just had to show off at every banquet.

But he was shocked to see the pair in front of the piano when he got close.

"Miss Landiana came!" Cruze was stunned.

"But we didn't see their car." Marco was baffled.

"Miss Landiana came twenty minutes ago. She went to Sir Lewis' villa and came with him," The manager whispered.

"Damn woman." Marco glared at Belly.

"This is going to spell trouble." Cruze frowned at Davon.

"Shut up," Davon growled. They lowered their gazes and said nothing more.

"What's wrong?" the manager had a bad feeling about it.

"Mr. Manager," Cruze whispered something to him, and the manager nodded. "I understand. I know what must be done."

Another song had concluded, and thunderous applause filled the banquet hall. Sir Lewis held Violla's hand politely and bowed at everyone.

Everyone praised them for looking like a perfect couple, while Davon spared nothing but a cold gaze, though he clapped politely too, and his entourage followed.

Lewis gave Davon a warm welcome when he saw him. "You're here, Davon!"

The guests only noticed him at that point, and they stood up to greet him. Davon gave them polite nods, but he noticed a problem. All the partners brought their own date with them, and even Lewis had Violla with him. Only Davon came alone.

"Have a seat, Violla." After Lewis had settled Violla down, he quickly welcomed Davon. "What took you so long?"

"What is going on?" Davon was asking Lewis, but his eyes were on Violla. Violla had mingled nicely with the partners and their family. She even brought gifts for them, though Belly and Lucky were the ones holding them.

"I have to tell you something." Lewis took Davon to the side and whispered, "Can we have one more partner for this project?"

"No," Davon refused without any hesitation.

"Oh, don't be a party pooper, Davon," Lewis calmed him down. " Violla's acknowledged by the partners, and they agreed to it. I can't do anything about it."

"So you set me up? You're forcing me to agree?" Davon frowned, looking serious. "Who asked you to do this?"

I…" Lewis glanced at Violla subconsciously, but he looked away moments later. "Nobody. This talk was going to happen anyway. We're just having one more member here."

"So who told them to bring their partners, and who allowed the Landianas to attend this banquet?" Davon was upset. "And who told you to keep this a secret?"

"I did," Violla said coldly. She walked up to them with elegance and smiled at Davon. "You seem to dislike the surprise, Mr. Roman."

Davon glared at her coldly and looked away. He couldn't bring himself to get angry at her. But he was so uncomfortable with the whole arrangement even though they agreed to play with everyone's mind for the time being. Davon was feeling jealous seeing Violla and Lewis together.