Fake-Married to My Billionaire Boss

Chapter 59 : One of Their Own

"You don't play?" Yandra says, lifting her sunglasses over her eyes to rest them on her head.

I take a sip of my mango smoothie and sigh happily. Country clubs never held any appeal to me, so I never bothered coming to Raul's until he casually mentioned they used real Guimaras mangoes on their menu. "No," I say, a little sheepish. Nodding to Raul and Nico playing singles on the tennis court, I add, "I keep meaning to learn, but I couldn't make the time for it." It wasn't because of work, as I had my weekends free usually. But I like to read on the weekends, so tennis or any sports would take up valuable reading time. Unlike the gym, which only required thirty minutes to an hour two or three times a week, I found sports to be too much of a time commitment.

"They have really good instructors here." Yandra is quiet for a moment. "If you want," she continues, almost shyly, "you and I could play sometimes. I promise, I'm not very good."

I laugh. "If you put it that way, why not?" An awkward silence follows. I might as well get this over with, I guess. "Raul told me. You know, about what happened."

She bites her lower lip nervously. "I thought he might have. Are you... You're not still mad, are you?"

"It's all right, Yandra." I give her a wry smile. "It was Bianca who put you up to it, wasn't it?"

Her eyes went wide before she looks away toward the tennis match, suddenly very interested in Nico's backhand. "I can't talk about it."

"She's going down for Señor Saldana's murder, you don't have to be afraid of her anymore."

"Will she, though?" Yandra lowers her sunglasses, still facing the court. "Am I supposed to believe the Elizondo clan will let one of their own go to prison for a crime?"

It did occur to me early on that Bianca could have just had Raul killed if she was so determined to get control of the company. After all, she didn't seem to have any qualms about committing murder. I realize now that there was a line she couldn't cross— family. Nicolas Saldana was disposable to her, Raul wasn't. He was still her cousin. It was something I didn't understand until now. If Bianca gets away with literal murder, Raul would be fine. However, Yandra might not be. As close an Elizondo family friend as her parents are, she is still an outsider. Her safety might not be nearly as important as the family's reputation.

Was I foolish to assume Raul and his family would let Bianca's arrest and conviction play out the way it should in the legal system? The company is already going through a PR nightmare as it is. Having an Elizondo and a former chief operating officer convicted of murder will do much more damage to the company's reputation.

No. No way. Raul would never. My husband isn't perfect, but I know he's an honorable man. The company and his family are both important to him, but so are his friends. He would never sacrifice Yandra's well-being just to save the family from the shame of Bianca's conviction.

"I don't know what the rest of the family are thinking," I say, "but I know Raul will do the right thing. If you agree to be a witness for the prosecution —help establish Bianca's motive— he'll do right by you. So will I."

"Did he tell you to talk to me about this?"

"No. He wanted to talk to you himself, but I said I'd do it."

She takes off her sunglasses and turns to look at me, her expression part suspicious, part disbelieving. "Why?"

"Because I want you to know that I'm on your side."

"What do you care?" She laughs bitterly. "As his wife, you have the protection of the family. What happens to me shouldn't matter to you. And before you ask, no, I'm not marrying Nico. We're keeping up the pretense of being engaged only because he thinks it's the best way he could keep me safe. But he's a good man and deserves a better wife than me."