THE CEO'S FAKE WIFE

Ups & Down

"My daughter-in-law! Look at you! You're so beautiful!" said Luke's mother when Beatrice appeared in front of her with a cheerful smile, hiding her annoyance and changing the mood in an instant was her forte now.

"You look beautiful too, this is Tristan Thomas' new release, isn't it?" she asked, pointing to the dress Luke's mother was wearing. As she expected, Luke's mother smiled widely,

"Wow, you really know about fashion! God has sent you to be my best friend!" said Luke's mom said as she took Beatrice's hand and took her in, to the Williams Bridal. She even ignored his only son who just followed them with a little smile on his face, he didn't expect his mother to be so in love with Beatrice, the fake daughter-in-law, that situation would make everything more difficult for Rebecca to replace Beatrice's place later on.

"You were not lying about your daughter-in-law, she's so beautiful!" said an assistant designer when he saw Beatrice standing in front of him. Beatrice just smiled shyly, it turned out that her mother-in-law was praising her behind her back, it was so heartwarming! She wished everything was real...

A few meters from her, Luke was also busy talking to another assistant designer. Meanwhile, Williams herself, the master wedding dress designer, was preparing a wedding dress that Beatrice would try on.

"Well, let's do the fitting together so we can see if there's something unmatched between the bride and the groom, is that okay?" said Williams as he finished setting up a wedding dress that Beatrice had never seen how did it look like, but she trusted Luke's mother so much, she knew she has a good taste of fashion, she wouldn't let her down.

Luke and Beatrice both entered the fitting room, Luke first came out with a black tuxedo suit that made him look more handsome than usual. He stood in front of a large mirror, waiting for Beatrice who was still in the fitting room.

He was busy adjusting his watch when suddenly Beatrice was standing in front of him in a long white wedding dress that showed off the curves of her shoulders and smooth back perfectly. He was stunned, until he realized that his eyes couldn't leave her, making her a little embarrassed, but she remembered that she was annoyed with him, so she chose not to say anything.

"Oh my dear God! Look at you! You are so beautiful! And look at your husband, he lost of words!" joked Luke's mother while approaching Beatrice and holding her hands.

Luke immediately turned away from her, he felt ashamed of himself. But in his heart, he admitted that Beatrice was really beautiful and charming. ''But that doesn't mean anything!'' he rejected that stupid idea, he would never fall in love with her.

"Try to stand side by side, ummm maybe this curve can be a bit smaller, and this one," William began to scribble on the sketch in the book he was holding and that grabbed Beatrice's attention, she really wanted to be a fashion designer! It must be really cool!

Luke glanced at her secretly, seeing her reaction when she watched William sketch her wedding dress, her eyes sparkled, which means she was very interested in the fashion design thing as she said to him before. He secretly promised to fulfill her dream to become a fashion designer, because she deserved it. Once again he reminded himself that it means nothing. He would never fall in love with her!

"Bea honey, are you going straight home?" asked Luke's mother when they were in the lobby of the Williams Bridal.

"We're going to have a late lunch, do you want to join us, mom?" Luke interrupted before Beatrice had a chance to answer. She glanced at him and chose not to comment.

"I have an appointment with a friend, just go both of you, I'll call you guys when I have an update about the wedding reception," said Luke's mother as she went forward to kiss both Luke's and Beatrice's cheeks in turn.

"And Bea, you should come with me to attend some charity event next time! You'll definitely like it!" she said before getting into the waiting car. Beatrice nodded with a smile, "I will!" said her cheerfully.

A valet Service came to hand over the keys to Luke, he immediately walked to the car after that, but he stopped because he saw Beatrice was still standing where she was.

"Why are you still there?" asked Luke confused, he stared at Beatrice who was still standing silent while staring at the crowded streets creeping up.

Beatrice shook her head, "Just go!" said her curtly. Luke was silent, he knew Beatrice was still mad at her because he called her 'cheap'. "Hurry up! Get in the car," he said trying to keep his intonation even but Beatrice didn't respond to his words at all.

Luke walked quickly towards her, and in one swift movement, she carried her with one lift, which surprised her.

"Luke! What the hell! Get me down!" she mumbled while moving her legs. He ignored her, he opened the car door and lowered Beatrice who immediately stood up and blocked her so she wouldn't run away.

"It's not funny you know! Step aside! I'm going somewhere else! Get out of my way!" she scolded while trying to push Luke away. But he didn't move, he just stared at her without words.

"Just get in, Bea, don't get me in trouble, this kind of attitude will make people question our marriage!" said Luke exasperated because Beatrice was still stubborn. Beatrice was silent, still didn't want to get into the car.

Luke took a deep breath, "Okay, look, I'm sorry!" he said even though he desperately held back his pride.

Beatrice was silent, still not intending to get into the car. Luke bit her lips, thinking, looking for a way to make her melt. "I know you are not a cheap woman from the first time we met at Schiphol, I was just being emotional, I don't like you being close to Matt, he is my enemy and you are my wife," said Luke, looking down at the street.

Unexpectedly his efforts succeeded and made Beatrice get into the car. She was intentionally making him 'guilty' so he would be aware that Beatrice was not a woman who would be easily intimidated.

Luke put on a little smile, then get into the driver's seat. He started the car, and stepped on the gas pedal slowly while secretly glancing at his wife who was looking out the window.

The car drove slowly because the traffic was quite heavy, Luke was busy looking for topics to lighten the mood, it felt awkward for him because she used to see Beatrice talking a lot, and seeing her being silent like that made Luke feel uncomfortable.

"About the budgeting proposal, is it finished already?" he found the topic but he was so worried that his question would be ignored. "Not yet," she replied curtly, not looking away from the window. Luke nodded, "So, is there anything specifically that you want to eat right now?" asked him carefully. Beatrice shrugged, "No, I'll eat anything."

Luke was running out of ammo, she thought Beatrice would become enthusiastic when he brought up the topic of her business plan but she didn't care at all.

Then he remembered something, he pressed something on the car's small LCD screen, then looked for Jhon's number, he was his personal assistant.

"Yes sir!" his voice came over the car speakers.

"Jhon, have you taken care of the money I asked this morning?" asked Luke while glancing at Beatrice who was still sitting staring at the window. It worked! He could see Beatrice's eyes a little bit moved.

"Yes, sir. It's processing now, I'll give you the original demand deposit when it's done," said Jhon, which immediately made Beatrice's heart flutter, she knew Luke and John were talking about the money that would be transferred to Gary Martin, the old fart who her father owed him a million dollar.

"Great!" said Luke even more excited because Beatrice was already sitting facing the front, and occasionally glancing at him. "Okay, John, thank you!"

Beatrice was just about to open her mouth to ask something, but the sound of a phone call sounded loud once again from the car speakers, and a name displayed on the LCD screen stopped her intention to speak. It was Rebecca.

Luke cursed himself, cursing his stupidity. Beatrice looked away once again, at that time her face was darker than before.

*****