Forcibly Wedded: The Billionaire’s Convenient Wife

"Hey there, stranger." Sheyna waved, coming over to Anzu's table. "I haven't seen you round here since last week. How's it going?"

A rueful smile twisted Anzu's lips. "You want the truth or the pretty lies I've been feeding everyone?"

Sheyna laughed. "Surprise me."

In between juggling Seto and Ayaka, Anzu struck up a friendship with the eccentric surfie. She rehashed her past week, mentioning the dinner with Seto and the problem of locating her sister.

"Have you tried her mobile?"

At Sheyna's question, Anzu groaned. "If it were that simple I wouldn't have Seto Kaiba breathing down my neck."

"But you enjoy it anyway," she grinned.

Anzu had the grace to blush. "Pardon?"

"You like him. And don't you dare ask, 'who?'" She arched a pale brow. "Seto Kaiba has major hunk status. And you know what I think?"

"What?" Anzu asked warily.

Sheyna brightened. "I think he finds you irresistible!"

"Sure he does," Anzu rolled her blue eyes. "That's why he woos me with snippy remarks about my sister and undermines my intelligence."

"Maybe it's his idea of flirting."

Anzu cocked a skeptical brow. "Oh, yeah? And I suppose when he makes love to a woman, he bounds and gags her."

"Kinky." Sheyna winked, laughing at the plum-face brunette. "I'm willing to bet money the both of you hook up within a week."

"How much?" Anzu asked, wildly entertained by the idea.

"Five hundred?"

"Deal."

The taxi stopped outside the hotel and Anzu stepped out. That was it. If she was to remain in Australia for another two weeks, she would rent a car.

This thought accompanied her as she walked across the foyer and up to the register counter. She greeted Heidi, who told her she had a guest waiting in the lounge.

"A guest?" Anzu asked, raising an eyebrow. "Did they give you a name?"

Heidi glanced at her notes. "Ayaka Mazaki." She looked up. "She says it's very important and asked that you see her upon your return."

"How long has she been here?" The pounding thump of her heart was echoing loudly in her head.

Heidi moved by glancing at her watch. "About ten minutes."

"Thanks," she murmured to the woman behind the desk.

"You're welcome!"

Anzu twirled an errant curl, her stomach tightening into a ball of anxiety. The memory of the her sister's letter resurfaced with a vengeance, injecting a touch of anger in her veins.

The lounge was within her sight and from the cover of the potted palms, Anzu saw the writer of such a disgusting letter—Ayaka.

Anzu shook her shoulders to banish the tangled knot of muscle, taking a deep breath as if going into battle.

She circled the mauve chaise, narrowly avoiding an expensive-looking vase, still moving closer.

When Ayaka saw her, she sprang to feet, a dimple appearing on either side of her mouth when she smiled.

"Anzu, darling. I haven't seen you in such a long time." She swept Anzu into a warming hug, pulling back to air kiss each cheek. "How have you been?"

Anzu opened her mouth to answer, throw an accusation, anything but the gasping sound of horror as she caught the sight of a buggy.

"You have a baby?" she blurted. "How?"

The lights of laughter in Ayaka's eyes told her just how stupid she thought that question. And that was something she didn't need telling.

With a little smile, Ayaka lifted the tiny red bundle from the buggy. "I'd like you to meet your nephew—Elian Kaiba."

The words were spoken in softer tones, but the impact was louder, more destructive to Anzu's hearing than a round of ear-splitting explosives.

She stared at the tiny infant whose dewy rosebud mouth was pouted and a sable of dark hair matting his head.

"Elian Kaiba," Anzu repeated, the beginnings of a hysterical laugh rising from her throat as she forced a modicum of calm. "As in Mokuba Kaiba's son?"

Ayaka smiled. "Got it in one," she pushed the baby into Anzu's arms. "Would you mind holding him for me? This suit can't afford to get wrinkles." She gave a twirl. "Isn't it absolutely gorgeous?"

Gorgeous, it was. The rich burgundy-colored trouser suit looked stunning against Ayaka's exotic features. The pleated folds were elegant and simple, stylish and chic. And the matching jacket was appreciatively modest.

Little Elian fussed, thrusting chubby arms in the air as if fighting a dream villain. A smile blossomed on Anzu's lips as she gently rocked him into a peaceful slumber.

"You're good at that," remarked Ayaka, who leaned in. "I always knew you were destined for motherhood. It's a shame you can't hold on to a man long enough to get him to the altar."

The barbed comment was designed to cut deep, but Anzu had long since developed an immunity against her sister's catty remarks.

"Are you aware Mokuba Kaiba is dead?" she asked flatly.

Ayaka gracefully floated to one of the couches, speaking only when Anzu joined her. "I wasn't living in a cave, darling. I know the father of my child is dead."

Banking the up rise of annoyance, Anzu asked tightly, "Was he aware he'd fathered a child?"

"He was," Ayaka claimed fervently. "But he denied it was his. Now the bastard is dead and I'm stuck with his kid!"

Anzu clamped her lips together, daring herself to remain calm.

"You would think a family as rich as the Kaibas would pay anything to get one of their own." Ayaka continued angrily. "My figure will never fully recover from being pregnant!"

Numbness crawled over Anzu like the wild vines at her mother's cottage, the ache in her heart growing deep.

With a throat as dry and scratchy as sandpaper, she inquired, "Why did you blackmail Mokuba?"

Ayaka's brown eyes glittered. "You know?" she shrugged. "That bastard had to pay for violating my body with his child. It was only fair."

Fair? Anzu questioned on the verge of hysterics. Was it fair that Mokuba was dead? Was it fair that he would never know his son?

She felt a sharp knife plunge into her chest, its blade dipped in acid, melting every amiable feeling she had toward this woman.

"I've been in contact with Mokuba's brother," she revealed in a strangled voice. "He was the one who told me about the blackmail letters."

Ayaka merely sighed. "Of course," she nodded, examining the emerald studded ring on her finger. "I figured as much."

Staring at the peach-faced baby, a thought came to Anzu's mind and she voiced it. "How were you able to find me?"

"My mother," Ayaka stated bluntly. "That woman is the biggest gossipmonger in Australia. She's very interested in your affair with Seto Kaiba."

Anzu blanched. "There is no affair to speak of," she groused. "We've only met twice in the past, and the only thing we've discussed is you."

"Really?"

She did not like Ayaka's expression. "He blames you for Mokuba's death, and insists on having his revenge."

"Revenge?" she asked, her brown eyes shadowed by vague worry. "Why would he want revenge? Isn't that a bit dramatic?"

Anzu shrugged one shoulder, not particularly in a caring mood. "He is very much aware of the phone call you placed before Mokuba's death."

"How?" Ayaka queried, her pallor plummeting. "I blocked my ID, and Mokuba's mobile must have been destroyed in the crash."

"That isn't important," Anzu replied swiftly. "I want to know what drove Mokuba out of his home like the hounds of hell were after him." Realization hit her like a baseball bat. "It was about Elian, wasn't?"

"You know all the answers," Ayaka grumbled. "Why bother asking me?"

Blue eyes narrowed. "I'm asking because a part of me wants to help you. I can't do that unless you tell me the truth."

"You want the truth that badly, huh?" Ayaka sneered. "You're right, big sis. It was about Elian. I decided to let good old Mokuba know he was a daddy. I knew he wouldn't leave his prissy fiancée, so I had to tip the scales in my favor."

Anzu's heart gave a violent shudder. It exploded in her chest, the sharp fragments lying painfully in her flesh.

"You planned it, didn't you?" she accused hoarsely. "Your pregnancy."

To her horror, Ayaka looked visibly smug. "It wasn't easy," she said, toying with a dark curl of hair. "I had to sabotage an entire box of condoms."

Anzu stared at her sister, no, the replica of Reika Asakura. Beauty wasn't the only thing Ayaka had inherited from her mother. She had deceit in spades.

"I can't believe you would do such a thing," she cried, mortified. "Have you any shame?"

"You're a fine one to talk," her sister replied acidly. "Having an affair with your boss is far worse than what I did. I was trying to ensure my future."

"By trapping a man into marriage?"

Anzu didn't defend herself against Ayaka's comment. Her relationship with Zach Dalton was complicated, and in no way anyone's business but her own.

"You didn't know Mokuba the way I did," Ayaka defended. "He was the most incredible human being I've ever met. And those three months we shared were magical." Her face crumpled with anger. "Pity, he ran out before I could tell him we were expecting our first child together."

"Why didn't you mention your pregnancy in the letters?" Anzu asked, struggling to sort through this mess of an affair.

Ayaka shrugged gracefully. "I'm no fool. He would have pushed for a termination. So I waited until abortion was no longer an option." She sighed. "Somehow, I managed to hide that abomination growing in my womb by moving to Adelaide."

"Does Reika know?" interrupted Anzu, whose stomach was churning at the term Ayaka used to describe her son.

Brown eyes widened. "Do you think I'm stupid?" she scoffed. "My mother detests children. She would have been very vocal about getting rid of it."

"So, why have you returned?" Anzu inquired dully, knowing her sister wanted something.

Ayaka smiled coyly. "You said something about helping me earlier…"

"What do you want?"

"You've been getting on well with Seto Kaiba. How about you sweet talk him into giving my son what he is entitled to." Ayaka smiled widely. "Mokuba's fortune is at stake, and my son—his son, deserves what should be his. You agree, don't you?"

Anzu kept her lips pressed tightly together as waves of disgust and mortification swept her away in its strong currents.

The words No and I won't help you struggled to leave her mouth, but as she waged the verbal war inside her head, her eyes fell on the last person she'd hoped to see—Seto Kaiba.