Chapter 19

Juliano's POV

“He said he'd send the CCTV of the street where the incident happened. I provided him with the time and date. Hopefully, he might be able to get the plate number of the car.”, Zack said.

“Okay, thank you", he bowed and left.

Zach has been one of my trusted bodyguards, but he's at home most times. I asked him to contact the FBI agent, I wasn't in the right frame of mind. Police makes information travel fast. To avoid public announcements.

I sat down with my back rested in the sofa, my legs on the centre table and one of my hands hanging at the back of the sofa. There's a threat to my life. I already ordered for few more bodyguards from the agency. Who were the men that came to the office the other day? and this, what if they're the same set of people?

I heard approaching footsteps and raised my head, it was Margot rushing down from the stairs without a glass of water. She looked worried

“Ohh, my son. How do you feel?, she said touching my forehead. Why did you have to go out at midnight. I was so worried”, handling me the glass of water.

“ I don't have fever. It was Aver, a nurse called me that she overdosed and she was requesting to see me. It was an emergency. You'd be asleep”. I said, regretting my actions which almost got me killed.

“We don't know where the attack is coming from. Maybe you should work from home for a while. Did you contact the police?”, her hands resting on the arm of the sofa

“No, but investigation is going on”

“You can stay indoors till then”, she said with a wrinkled brow.

A notification appeared on my screen grabbing all of my concern. I clicked on it, my reflexes acted so fast.

The article reads: ‘Young business man, Juliano Bernard was seen in Rome American Hospital at midnight with his ex-girlfriend who was rushed to the emergency unit on drug overdosing. Information says he's in search of a wife, he went to threaten her in the hospital to get married to him..’ with attached with pictures of Aver and me, looking so furious in the hospital. I couldn’t read all

They were multiple comments underneath

‘He went in the midnight to avoid scenes’

‘Rich people can be so manipulative’

‘I'm sure she took drug overdose due to multiple threats from him’

My eyes, seeing not believing. I rest my elbows on the table and bury my face in my palms.

It's strange how certain things never leaves our memory.

The villain playing the hero. A wolf in sheep clothing

I hate the media, they publish anything without further confirmation. There was no one in the room when my father talked about marriage. I know Aver wouldn't have came without a reason. The camera click, I should have knew something was wrong.

Why didn't information talk about her faking it?

My chest was tight; my face was hot. I shook my head, swallowing back the sick feeling rising in my throat. This is not what’s best for me.

I wouldn't be so cheap to provide the media with the truth. It'd make them more involved in my personal life. I have a name to protect. BER corp is at stake.

If she thinks I'd get married to her because of this and the oppression from media, then it can never happen. Not even a contract marriage. I can't stand seeing her.

Acting fast to debunk the rumor was the best option. People aren't blind to my flaws. Now, they'd see me as a narcissistic and manipulator. Most importantly, clients and business partners.

I picked up the remote from the table, pointing the sensor to the TV, it switched on. To check if it was on the TV too.

That was the first news to come up. Margot's eyes dropped, her eyes widening in disbelief. Her hands flew to her mouth, muffling an involuntary gasp.

I switched off the TV, smashing the remote to the ground.

My heart was still pounding, hot frustration blowing through my veins. Margot sits beside me, silent and grave. I almost wish she would talk, wish she would say something to justify my anger. I know, deep down, that it can’t be justified—not even by my worries.

“I'll contact the publisher and the news”.

Silence.

I stood up, pacing the living room, glancing at the wall and high windows, the publisher picked up the call and says, “Rockford Chronicle. This is David speaking.”

“This is Juliano Bernard. Take it down, the article, the pi tures, the news everything.”, I said fuming with anger.

“Mr Juliano, you know how this works. That picture’s already viral. It’s public domain. I can’t just—”

“I don't care, you can, and you will.” my voice dropped an octave.

“Take everything down, it's fake. It must not resurface”

I hanged up the phone and sighs—one of my big, long, something-is-wrong sighs.

She moved closer, “ How did it go?”, touching my shoulders.

“He said they'd take it down”, I said not wanting her to get more tensed.

Thousands of people would have viewed it, even before I was notified.

“Who did this?”, Margot asked

“I don't know but it should be Aver”, I didn't want to tell her the details. The whole plan and her plots.

“You should get married to someone else, but take this down first”. A long silence followed her closing statement. Somehow, I knew that wasn’t the end of the topic.

My mind drifted to Enzo.

We live in different worlds like two different entities, like strangers.