THE SUBSTITUTE HUSBAND BECAME HIS WIFE'S BOSS

CHAPTER 4

Isabella paced back and forth across the marble floor of her living room, her heels clicking with each anxious step. She checked her phone for the tenth time in five minutes—still no message from Ricardo Vega. Their meeting was supposed to have started an hour ago.

"Where is he?" she muttered, her perfectly manicured fingers drumming against her phone case. "He said he'd be here by nine."

Unable to stand the waiting any longer, she dialed Ricardo's number. The phone rang twice before connecting.

"Mr. Vega, thank goodness! I was worried something had happened. Are you on your way? I have the contracts ready to—"

"Ms. Rodriguez," Ricardo's voice cut through her excited chatter, cold and professional. "I'm calling to inform you that Stellar Film Company is withdrawing our offer."

Isabella's words died in her throat. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"The role is no longer available to you. Our cooperation is terminated, effective immediately."

"But... but you can't be serious! We had an agreement! Alejandro assured me that everything was arranged!"

"Mr. Morales has no authority in this matter, Ms. Rodriguez. Good day."

The line went dead.

Isabella stared at her phone in shock, her hands trembling. "No, no, no!" She frantically redialed, but the call went straight to voicemail.

Just then, the front door opened and Carmen Rodriguez breezed in, still glowing from her yoga session.

"Darling, you'll never guess who I just saw!" Carmen announced, dropping her yoga mat by the door. "Ricardo Vega himself was right outside our house! He was getting into his car with—" She paused, frowning. "Well, I could have sworn I saw Diego in the passenger seat, but that's impossible, isn't it?"

Isabella's head snapped up. "Diego? You saw Diego with Ricardo Vega?"

"Well, I thought I did, but it must have been someone else. I mean, what would Diego be doing with a man like Ricardo Vega? They move in completely different circles."

"What time was this?" Isabella's voice was sharp with suspicion.

"Just now, maybe ten minutes ago. Why? Didn't you have your meeting with Mr. Vega this morning?"

Isabella's face contorted with rage. "That bastard! That ungrateful, vindictive bastard!"

"Isabella! What's wrong?"

"Diego sabotaged me! He went to Ricardo Vega and poisoned him against me! That's why the deal fell through!"

Carmen gasped. "But why would he do such a thing?"

"Revenge! He's angry about the divorce, so he destroyed my career out of spite!" Isabella threw her phone across the room, where it clattered against the wall. "I can't believe we were so blind! We let that parasite into our family, and this is how he repays us!"

"Are you certain it was Diego I saw?"

"Who else could it be? The timing is too perfect to be a coincidence!" Isabella's voice rose to a shriek. "Three years, Mother! Three years I supported that worthless man, and the moment I try to rebuild my life, he stabs me in the back!"

Carmen shook her head in disgust. "I always knew there was something off about him. Too quiet, too... calculating. We should have listened to our instincts."

"He probably went crying to Ricardo Vega with some sob story about how I abandoned him. Made me look like some heartless monster!"

Isabella grabbed the house phone and dialed Diego's number with shaking fingers. He answered on the third ring.

"Isabella."

"You piece of garbage!" she screamed into the phone. "How could you do this to me?"

"Do what?"

"Don't play innocent! You went to Ricardo Vega! You poisoned him against me! You destroyed my comeback because you can't stand to see me happy!"

"Isabella, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"My mother saw you with him! She saw you getting into his car right after he called to cancel our partnership! Explain that!"

There was a pause on the other end. "I don't owe you any explanations."

"So you admit it! You admit you sabotaged me!"

"I admit nothing. Ricardo Vega made his own business decision."

"Liar! You went to him with your pathetic victim story, didn't you? Poor Diego, abandoned by his cruel wife for her first love. Is that what you told him?"

"Isabella—"

"You're pathetic! You're so weak that the only way you can hurt me is by sneaking around behind my back like a coward!"

"Are you finished?"

"No, I'm not finished! Do you have any idea what you've done? That role was my ticket back to the top! It was my chance to reclaim my career, and you destroyed it out of petty jealousy!"

"If you believe that, then there's nothing more to discuss."

"Don't you dare hang up on me! You owe me an explanation!"

"I owe you nothing, Isabella. We're divorced, remember?"

"This isn't over, Diego! I'll make you pay for what you've done!"

"Goodbye, Isabella."

The line went dead. Isabella stared at the phone in fury before slamming it down so hard the plastic cracked.

"That coward won't even admit what he did!" she raged. "Three years of marriage, and I never saw his true face until now!"

Carmen placed a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Darling, you need to call Alejandro. He arranged this partnership in the first place—surely he can fix this mess."

Isabella's eyes lit up with desperate hope. "You're right. Alejandro has real power, real connections. He'll be able to handle this."

She grabbed her phone and dialed Alejandro's number. He answered immediately.

"Isabella, mi amor! I was just thinking about you."

"Alejandro, thank God. I need your help. Something terrible has happened."

"What's wrong, baby? Tell me everything."

"The role you secured for me with Ricardo Vega—Diego ruined it! He went to Vega behind my back and sabotaged the whole deal!"

"What? That's impossible!"

"I'm telling you, he destroyed everything! My mother saw him with Vega this morning, and now Vega won't even take my calls!"

"That son of a bitch," Alejandro's voice hardened. "How dare he interfere with our plans?"

"Can you fix this? Can you get the role back?"

There was a slight pause before Alejandro responded, his voice full of confidence. "Of course I can, mi amor. Don't worry about a thing. I'll handle this personally."

"Are you sure? Vega seemed so final when he spoke to me."

"Isabella, trust me. My family has more influence than you realize. Ricardo Vega will listen to reason when I explain the situation."

"But what if Diego has already poisoned him too much against me?"

"Then I'll find you an even better role with a more prestigious production company. The Morales name opens doors that others can only dream of."

Isabella felt relief flooding through her body. "Oh, Alejandro, I knew I could count on you. You're nothing like that vindictive worm I was married to."

"You deserve so much better than him, Isabella. I'll be there in an hour, and we'll sort this whole mess out together."

"Thank you, mi amor. I love you so much."

"I love you too, baby. Don't let that nobody upset you anymore. By tonight, everything will be back on track."

Isabella hung up with a radiant smile, her faith in Alejandro completely restored.

Carmen beamed with pride. "Now that's the kind of man you should have married from the beginning!"

"You're absolutely right, Mother. Alejandro would never stab me in the back the way Diego did. He actually cares about my success."

"And he has the power to make things happen. Not like that leech who's been living off our charity for three years."

What neither woman knew was that at that very moment, Alejandro was sitting in his study, staring at his phone with a sick feeling in his stomach. Just three days ago, he had approached his father about using their connections to help Isabella.

"You want me to call Ricardo Vega?" his father had laughed mockingly. "Son, Ricardo Vega is so far above our league that we might as well be insects to him. The man controls half the entertainment industry in this country. What makes you think he'd take a meeting with us?"

"But father, surely our family name carries some weight—"

"With restaurant owners and small-time contractors, yes. With men like Ricardo Vega? Don't make me laugh. You're being naive, Alejandro."

Now, having promised Isabella he could fix everything, Alejandro had no idea how to keep his word. But he couldn't admit the truth—not when she was looking at him like he was her savior.

He'd have to find another way. Somehow.