Hide and Seek: Married to My Master Part 2

4. Alessandro

"We found her, sir."

After my lawyers left during visiting hours, Lara had walked in. I was already in a fantastic mood after hearing that they believed I had an excellent chance of being released in about a week, but now I felt high on life.

"That's wonderful, Lara. And my son? Did you see him? Did you get a picture??" Her face fell a bit. I sighed loudly and massaged my temples.

"I'm sorry, sir. It was kind of late when we located her apartment. He may have already been in bed... But she's fully aware that you'll be released soon, we have guys stationed all around her neighborhood, and we have cameras on her front door and any accessible windows. She's going to get tired of being tailed and watched soon, and she'll come back. I'm positive."

And if she doesn't, I'm more than happy to gently convince her myself.

Just like the day of our wedding, I wanted her to come to me. Now that I had these fucking human trafficking charges, I couldn't risk forcing her. I just needed her spooked. Paranoid. Hopeless.

I wanted her aware that eyes were on her and that it was useless to hide now. My people were ordered to watch her around the clock. If she tried to make an escape in the middle of the night, someone would notice, and she would be followed. Running and hiding would soon grow tiresome, and she'd be forced to confront me.

Of course, once I was cleared for international travel again, I would be sure to pay her a few visits myself. But I'd make sure to bring a witness and keep things civil. After all, I was just a hurt, lonely, abandoned man who desperately wanted to see his dear wife and meet his only son.

Nothing more.

Lara had already planned to leak photos to the paparazzi of our tearful, long-awaited reunion. It would become part of my comeback story; a wrongly imprisoned billionaire, finally reunited with his family after 3 painful years.

I was playing the long game, now. I thought the 2 months I'd waited before initially approaching Aria had been excruciating, so I wasn't sure how long I could peacefully play this game again. But this go around, I no longer had the element of surprise or the sense of security most people felt around me, due of my good looks, wealth and charm. This time, I was counting on her fear.

People made stupid decisions when they acted out of fear.

Eventually, she'd make a stupid mistake. One that would land her right back in my arms. And in my bed.

Or I'd take her to court for custody. I wasn't sure what my odds were after 3 years in prison, but I had the money to fight for years if necessary; I was pretty sure she did not.

Either way, I was feeling pretty confident that things would go relatively smoothly. Lara still looked a little nervous though. I studied her carefully, watching her as she appeared to be weighing whether she should say something else. I rolled my eyes. If she was hiding something, I didn't want to have to force it out of her.

"Lara, what? Just spit it out. You look nervous as fuck." She chewed her lip nervously, avoiding eye contact as she tried to formulate her response.

"Um. I'm just...concerned for you, sir. It's been 3 years. What if...what if she's remarried? What if her son—" I narrowed my eyes at her as my fists clenched rightly. Her eyes widened and she gulped. "I'm sorry. I mean your son...what if he's not ready to meet you? I know you're excited but...things could be complicated." I shook my head in disbelief.

Where the fuck was this even coming from?

"Lara, don't ever fucking speak of that again. Ever. Aria is still married to me. She is mine. If I find out that she fucked someone else..." I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, trying to rein in the sudden need for me to bash someone's head in. Just the thought of her running away from me, into another man's arms filled me with more rage than I'd ever felt in the last 3 years.

Which was saying a lot.

"She knows better. But if there is or was ever someone else... I will personally take care of it."  Lara nodded hesitantly, still looking unsure. "And my son is 2. I'll take him to Disneyland every day and let him eat ice cream for dinner for a month. He'll adapt quickly."

Lara finally smiled, looking a bit more relaxed.

"I'm sure he's absolutely adorable, sir. I'm excited for you two to finally meet. And I'm very happy that you're getting your life back." I smiled back at her, pleased that she was finally thinking positively.

Still, what she said nagged at me a little.

Were we still married??

All traces of Aria Daniels/DeSantos had vanished. It was as if she'd never existed. Did our marriage hold any significance anymore? Did our prenup even mean anything if the person who'd signed on the dotted lines technically no longer existed?

Lara had informed me that Aria had changed her name, citizenship, birth certificate, everything. She was now Malia Eriksen. A woman I'd technically never met and had no ties to. A quick paternity test could easily prove that we shared a son, but I honestly wasn't sure what hold I had on her, other than that.

Still, she'd been on the verge of a nervous breakdown the night before her disappearance. She tried to stab me, didn't respond to sex, and had even slept in a different bed. I had nearly broken her; there was no way she had moved on so quickly.

But it would certainly make things more complicated for me—and more painful for her—if she had.

*************************************
9 days after my visit from Lara, I was sitting in the courtroom listening to the judge discuss the terms of my release. Fines, community service, and a year of probation, in exchange for them dropping the charges and expunging them from my records. This would significantly better my chances of winning in a custody case against Aria, if she proved to be difficult to control. I leaned over and whispered something in my lawyer's ear, and he nodded.

"Your honor, will Mr. DeSantos be permitted to travel outside of the country while he's on probation?"

The judge—an elderly woman who constantly looked tired and irritated—peered down at me, pursing her lips as she weighed the risks. My lawyer glanced at me nervously before speaking up again.

"Mr. DeSantos does quite a bit of international business and his parents live in Spain and France. He hasn't been able to visit them in over 3 years, obviously. He would very much like to be reunited with his family as soon as possible."

The judge arched an eyebrow and returned her gaze to the papers in front of her, taking her sweet fucking time to read over all the documents before answering.

"Fine. But not immediately. Once you complete 3 months of probation, you will be permitted to travel overseas. But only with documented permission from your probation officer. If you violate these terms, all the terms of your early release will be redacted and you will return to prison to complete your original 15-year sentence. Is that clear, Mr. DeSantos?"

I barely suppressed an eye roll as I replied, "Yes, your honor."

Bitch.

Regardless of the terms, I was genuinely happy and hopeful for the first time in years. And honestly, it would be more fun to give Aria hope that I wasn't going to come see her in Iceland if I was forced to stay in the United States for the next 3 months.

She was likely already on edge.

And I was going to show up right when she finally began to relax again.