MR BILLIONAIRE'S REGRET: CHASING HIS IRRESISTIBLE WIFE
Enlisted.

(ARIELLE'S POV)

"Italy?" Ashley repeated, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Yes, the founders of the scholarship have their academy in Italy," I responded, excitement sparking inside of me.

"What scholarship?" Ashley asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"The one Mr Stone, my manager, told me about," I explained. "I had turned it down, but I think it's the solution to my decision to move now."

"Tell me more-"Ashley made to say, but I was already shooting out of my chair. I hurried to the sitting room and retrieved my phone from the couch, tapping on the calendar screen. My heart skipped a beat as I realized it was less than two weeks before the scholarship expired. "What's going on?" Ashley called out.

"I have to call Mr Stone," I responded, already dialing his number.

"Hello?" Mr Stone's voice came through the line.

"Hi, Mr Stone. I'm calling about the culinary scholarship. I know I declined initially, but I'm interested now and would love to know if it's still Open."

"Ah, Arielle! I'm glad you're interested, now. You don't know how much I wanted you to take the offer and how disappointed I was when you turned it down. Yes, the offer is open and won't be ending until a week's time. And even if it was closed, You're one of my top candidates, and I'd have pulled a few strings around to get you in."

A smile and a blush crossed my features. "Thank you. How do I apply?"

"You can sign the papers when you come to work tomorrow."

"Alright. Thank you for your kind response."

"Oh, it's nothing. Do have a good night's rest," and the line went off.

I returned to the dining room beaming. "It's happening."

The next day at work, I took the scholarship form, but as I began to fill it out, I realized I needed some documents. But there was a problem, those documents were back at Jared's place.

A knot instantly formed in my stomach as I thought about returning to the house. If I could have my way, I would love to skip that par jt I can't because I need the documents if I still want to be able to travel.

Hesitant, and at a loss on what to do, I dialed Ashley's number. "Hey, I need your help," I said, explaining the situation to her.

"Don't worry, I'll go with you," She offered without hesitation after I was done explaining.

I felt instant relief. "Thank you, Ash."

"You're welcome."

"Um, one more thing Ashley."

"What?"

"You know, I don't have Jared's number anymore to call and inform him ahead of time that we're coming -"

"Want me to call him?" She interrupted.

"Yes, please. Tell him we'd be dropping by in the morning on our way to work to get the documents. I'd rather not talk to him if I don't have to." "Alright, I've got you."

"Thanks, Ash."

"No biggie," she replied before the line went dead.

I put the documents aside afterward and returned to work. An hour later, Ashley called.

"Hey, I just spoke to Jared," she said. "He's cool with us coming over."

"Okay."

*******

The next day, on our way to work, Ashley and I pulled up at the house. My heart raced as I stepped out of the car.

"I'll be right back," I said to Ashley.

She nodded and remained in the car while I walked up to the front door.

Jared opened it, his expression neutral. I spared him a momentary look, he was dressed for work.

"Hey," he called.

"Hey," I replied. "I need to get my documents."

He nodded and stepped aside, allowing me entrance. I hurried up the stairs, praying I didn't bump into Sofia. In the room, I quickly gathered my documents, but as I scanned the shelves, I realized something was missing.

"Where are my cookbooks? Did you move them?" I turned to Jared, who had joined me in the room.

"No, I didn't," he responded with a shrug. "They're supposed to be there."

"What do you mean, you don't know -"

I was cut short by the door going open, and Sofia stepping. Oh please, not now.

"Those old, dirty-looking books?" She asked with a smirk. "I got rid of them. I didn't see the need for them.

I almost got rid of your novels too, but I couldn't because I love novels

too guess that's the only thing we both have in common."

I slowly straightened up, praying I heard wrongly. "You did what?"

"I got rid of them," She repeated. "They were looking so large and medieval. You weren't coming back anyway, so I thought -"

"You thought what, Sofia? You had no right to get rid of what's not yours," I snapped.

Jared stepped forward, his expression apologetic

"Arielle, it's okay. I'm sure she didn't mean it that way. She probably thought they were no longer in need-"

"Of course, you'll always take her side. What's the excuse today? Aha! She's pregnant."

"Hey, calm down," he said, placatingly. "I'll get you new ones, okay? Just tell me their names-"

"New ones?" I laughed, amused. "You think money can buy everything, Mr. Billionaire? Those books were first editions, rare and irreplaceable. And they hold memories, memories from my culinary school days."

Sofia snorted. "Oh, please, they were just old books."

I glared at her but decided not to let the matter escalate any further. She was not worth my time and energy. "You have no idea what you've done. Get out of my sight."

I swiftly packed my documents and spun on my heel, hurrying out of the room.

"Wait, Arielle!" Jared called out.

But Ignored him and hurried out of the house, slamming the front door behind me.

"Hey, are you okay?" Arielle asked as I got into the car.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "I'm fine. Don't worry."

She nodded and started the car. "Let's get out of here."

As we drove away, Ashley reached out and placed a comforting hand on my arm. "You need to calm down."

I nodded, taking another deep

breath. Slowly, my anger waned away. Ashley dropped me at work, and I headed straight to Mr Stone's office. We went through the

paperwork together, and one's

it

was settled. He promised to submit the documents to the right source at the close of work, and I accepted, returning to work.

******

A week later, my phone rang.

"Arielle," Mr Stone's voice came through the line. "I have good news. Your name has been enlisted for the scholarship."

My heart skipped a beat. "Really?"

"Yes. Just wait for a few more days for the departure details."

I smiled, excitement flowing through my veins. "Thank you, Mr. Stone."

"Congratulations, Arielle. You deserve it."