YOKED TO A BILLIONAIRE BY VENNEH LISAH

By the time Violla woke up, Davon was not beside her . Reading the note under the lamp, a smile crept on her face.

The note read: Hey beautiful ! Remember to have breakfast when you wake up. I will be busy today and might be home late again. Regardless, I will be back!

He signed off as 'escort', as he did before.

Violla could not help but laugh. She kissed the note, feeling a sweet sensation spreading all over her.

Cohabitating with him for the past few days made her feel particularly happy. Now, she realized that Davon could be warm and good to her.

She began to think that she should confess to him and tell him about his children soon. Perhaps, they could live together happily as a family.

Breaking her trail of thoughts, the alarm rang. Glancing at her phone, Violla realized that it was already half-past seven. She did not hear it earlier.

In a hurry, she got out of bed and ran home barefooted with her phone in her hands.

Her children were already awake. A nurse was preparing breakfast while the others were combing the children's hair and dressing them.

Taking the opportunity while they were busy, Violla secretly sneaked back to her room. Then, she pretended to have just gotten up. Waving at her children, she greeted, "Ryan, Jason and Eliana, good morning!"

"Good morning, Mommy!" Her children greeted her cheerfully.

"Mommy, you can sleep a little more. We can get to school ourselves." Ryan was very considerate. "You look very tired."

"I am quite tired, but I still want to have breakfast with you guys." Violla gently ruffled Ryan's hair.

"Hmm, Mommy, have some hot cross bunnies." The boy passed her a bun.

"Mommy, have some soy milk." Following suit, her daughter passed her a glass of soy milk. Then, the girl used her chubby little hands to push away the hair on her mother's forehead. "Mommy, don't get tired. You should rest more."

"Eliana, you are such a good girl." Violla pecked her daughter's cheek then turned to look at Jason. She realized that he looked troubled, with his head hung low.

"Jason, what's wrong?" She softly asked.

He tilted his head and frowned. "I called grandpa Roman last night and wanted to ask him how I should use the toy he bought me. He was happily chatting with me when suddenly he went silent and…"

"What happened next?" Violla egged on.

"Then, I heard lots of voices. Some were screaming for grandpa Roman, while others were yelling for the doctor." Jason spoke while gesturing with his hands.

Then, he anxiously questioned, "Mommy, is Grandpa Roman alright?"

"Is he sick?" Violla furrowed her brows, feeling an ominous premonition.

"Let me give him a call." Ryan immediately took out his phone and dialled D'barl's number. Unfortunately, it was off.

The family exchanged looks, and the atmosphere turned grim.

Eliana pouted, and tears filled her eyes as she asked, "Is grandpa Roman sick? Shall we go to the hospital to look for him?"

"Eliana, don't worry." Violla hugged her. She tilted her head and looked at the nurses. "Did you hear anything about it?"

"Nope." They shook their heads.

"Do you want me to call and find out?" A nurse took out her phone and was about to make the call.

"Wait." Violla quickly stopped her. "Don't say anything about it, and don't ask about it."

"Mommy, what's wrong?" Jason asked in confusion.

"Grandpa Roman has a special status and there are many things about him that are confidential. We should not spread the news," Violla explained. "If we say anything wrong to people outside, it may cause unnecessary trouble for him."

"That's true. We should listen to Mommy." Ryan urged, "We should pretend that we don't know anything and not ask about it."

"Don't worry, we understand." The three nurses nodded understandingly.

"I will not say anything either." Eliana used her chubby little hands to cover her mouth.

"What should we do then? Do we sit back and do nothing?" Jason asked uneasily. "I'm worried about grandpa Roman."

"Me too." Ryan lowered his head. "Grandpa Roman treats us well. If he's really sick, we should go and see him."

"Don't worry," Violla tried to comfort her children. "I will try to find out about what happened. Once I confirm the news, I will arrange for all of you to visit him."

"Okay," the children nodded obediently.

"Alright, you should all eat breakfast first before heading to school."

"Yes, Mommy."

Then, Violla got changed and escorted the children to the school bus.

As Jason's leg was still in a cast, the nurses followed them, so they could come back home together when school was over.

When Violla returned home, she took a while to think about what to do before she decided to call Davon.It was engaged.

She knew he was probably busy and did not want to bother him. Instead, she decided to talk to him after he returned home that night.

She proceeded to tidy the house and make some soup for Mrs. Blake. Then, she was about to take a nap when Smith suddenly called.

Pausing for a moment, she answered, "Hello?"

" Violla, do you have some time to spare? Can we meet?"

"I'm afraid, I'm a bit held up at the moment." She did not want to see them. First, there was no need to do that. Secondly, she was afraid that they would misunderstand that she ditched Leila purposely, and they would want to take revenge against her.

"Don't worry. We don't have any ill intentions, but we only want to ask you some things in person," Smith assured.

"I have already told the police what I know. You can ask them directly."

"Give me your phone." Violla heard Amira's voice. The woman was trying to control her emotions and sound calm. "Violla, if you don't wish to see me, it's alright. I only want to ask you a few questions. You can answer me over the phone instead."

Violla gave in. "Ask away then."

"I already understood the situation from the police, and I believe what you said was true. Back then, when we mistreated you, you did not take revenge against us. Now, it's even harder to believe that you would get someone to hurt Leila. After all, even if you wanted to, you would not be able to bring yourself to do that."

"You sure understand me well." Violla let out a bitter laugh. If Leila had half of Amira's wisdom, things would not have gotten to that point.

"Regarding the incident, there are certain things that the police refused to reveal. I wanted to ask if you saw the people who dragged Leila into the van. Did they assault her there?" Amira probed.

"That…" Violla felt like she was in a difficult position. She understood that the police wanted to protect the suspect's identity before carrying out a thorough investigation of the matter. Therefore, they did not want to reveal the details.

As an eyewitness, it was not her position to disclose anything either.

"It seems like the person who ordered it is someone I'm familiar with," Amira commented.

She was clever and could guess from Violla's hesitation. Trying to sound her out, Amira muttered, "Was it Franklin?"

"No," Violla immediately denied.

"Then, it must be Barbra then," Amira used the same method again.

Violla was stunned. When she was about to speak, Amira already confirmed her guess. "It was her! I knew that it was that sly b****! Our family has already ended up in this situation. Why can't she let Leila off? Why is she so insistent on pushing her to a dead end?"

"You should calm down." Violla quickly persuaded. "This matter has yet to be investigated. You should wait for the police to conclude it."

"Calm down? How can you ask that of me?" Amira howled. "My daughter was assaulted and suffered a huge blow. She can't get pregnant ever again and is mentally unstable. Her life is over."

Hearing that, Violla felt bad too. Letting out a sigh, she murmured, "I'm sorry. If only I called the police earlier, things might have turned out differently."

"Why didn't you call the police?" Amira agitatedly accused, "Why?"

"I wanted to report it when I witnessed the incident unfold. However, they spotted me and chased after me. Then, someone else appeared to stop them, so I thought it was over. I did not expect…"

"Someone came out to stop them?" Amira picked up an important point and grilled Violla about it, "Why did you think that it was over? Was it Franklin who appeared?"

"No, it was his assistant." Violla explained, "I thought that since they were a family once, the assistant would save Leila. Besides, it was illegal to hold someone forcefully, and the assistant would not allow that to happen."

"A family? How were they a family?" Amira wailed, "Didn't you know that the assistant hates Leila? He probably stopped them as a show for you so you would not call the police. After you left, he must have continued to punish Leila."

"That can't be true, right?" Violla was shocked. "Why does he hate Leila? Even if they had disagreements, he wouldn't."

"Forget it. I can't be bothered to explain it to you." Amira was livid. "Violla, you should pray for good luck. If you don't learn your lesson, someone as innocent as you will be bound to meet an unfortunate event!"

With that, Amira ended the call.

As Violla listened to the silence on the other end, she thought about Amira's words and felt horrible.

'Does the assistant really have an issue with her? Did he plan it with Barbra?'

Thinking back, Leila was arrogant and defiant. She never respected others and probably offended the assistant back then. As such, he held a grudge against her.

That was not impossible.

Well, recalling the past events, she had known the assistant together with Franklin from a young age. In her memory, the assistant was someone who was upright and righteous.

Even after she fell from grace, he still cherished their friendship.

Violla was unwilling to believe that he was a bad person.

However, from another angle, he only treated her like that because it was mutual respect. As for Leila, she was never polite to him. Often, she would insult him the moment she saw him, and it destroyed his self-esteem.

As such, it was probable that the assistant would do that.

With that thought, Violla felt a chill down her spine. She thought back on Amira's words and realized that it made sense.

If she continued to think so innocently, others might easily betray her.

While thinking about it, her phone rang again. This time, it was an unknown number.

After a pause, Violla answered. "Hello?"

"I am Barbra." The voice on the other end sounded arrogant and stuck up.

"What do you want?" Violla answered in a very cold tone.

"Let's meet and talk," Barbra demanded.

"We don't have anything to talk about." Violla could not be bothered to continue and was about to cut the call.

"Think carefully about it," Barbra sneered. "I know all about your family's secret, including the letter your father left for my cousin."

Violla froze. "What do you mean?"

"Your father wrote about the person responsible for his tragic fate." Barbra proudly said, "If you want to know more, you should come to Diamond Restaurant now. Don't worry. I will not hurt you because I am a good citizen who abides by the law."

Before Violla could respond, Barbra hung up.

Gripping her phone, Violla felt perplexed. She did not know why Barbra had the letter. Perhaps, it was a trap or a bait, but she still wanted to find out the letter's contents.

Even so, after going through so much, Violla was wary.

She decided to call Martin, who she had not contacted for a long time.

Soon, the call connected. The man excitedly greeted, "Violla!"

"Martin, do you still have the letter my dad sent you?" Violla asked without hesitation.

"Yes, of course," Martin replied. "It is in my house in your City, but I am now in another Nation. What's wrong? Did something happen to you? I'll rush over."

"No, it's alright." Violla hurriedly stopped him. "I was just wondering about what the letter said."

"Well....." Martin was stumped.

"Is it a secret about my dad's bankruptcy?" Violla queried. "Did he tell you who set him up in the letter?"

"Why do you want to know?" Martin blurted. Then, he immediately comforted her, "The matter happened a long time ago, so you don't have to bother about it anymore. Your dad did not want me to tell you about those things because he did not want you to be involved."

"I know." Violla knew how Martin was like. He would not reveal anything if he did not want to no matter how much she asked.

"Are you alright?" Martin asked worriedly.

"Yes, I am okay." Violla pretended casually to make a passing statement, "Barbra wants to have lunch with me."

"What? You still have business with Barbra?" Martin sounded glad. "That's great news! You have nobody else to rely on over there. If anything happens, you can get her to help you. She is also a woman, so it would be easier for both of you to communicate without Davon being insecure."

"Ok." Violla smiled. "I am about to leave. We plan to meet in Diamond Restaurant."

"Okay, I will give her a call soon and ask her to look after you," Martin cheerfully exclaimed.

"Thank you, Martin."

After the call ended, Violla prepared to head out. Within half an hour, she reached the restaurant.

Barbra booked the whole place, and there were no guests nor attendants in sight.There were only a few bodyguards outside. They looked grim and dull.

As soon as she stepped into the restaurant, Violla felt like she was in danger. Despite so, she was not scared as she knew she had Martin as her backing.

"Should I say that you're stupid, or should I praise you for being courageous?" Barbra sat in the middle, glaring at Violla. "You knew that you would be in danger, but you still came?"

"You can't touch me." Violla gave the other woman a death glare. "Tell me, what do you want from me?"

"Sometimes, I don't understand you." Barbra mocked, "Leila abused you in the past, yet, you still helped her? Are you Mother Mary?"

"Did you make me come here so that you can say that?" Violla retorted, "I already told the police everything. There is nothing else we have to discuss in private."

"You should know that the Smiths are no match for me." Barbra warned, "I hope you do not act rashly."

"You have overestimated me." Violla chuckled in response. "I don't plan to be nosy, but I was only carrying out the duty of a citizen."

"Are you telling me that you are prepared to fight against me till the end?" Lasers were shooting out from Barbra's eyes. "You should know what the consequences are."

"I told you that I would not be nosy," Violla emphasized. "I only told the police the facts. I will not speculate and tell them things I am not sure about. On the other hand, I will tell them everything I am certain of."

"Very well." Barbra's lips curled up into a smile. She did not continue and only gave a hand signal.

Two bodyguards aggressively approached Violla.

Meanwhile, the latter did not move and simply stared at Barbra's phone.