Billionaire's Inheritance Bride(15)

Claudio was shocked, but it should have been expected. He was the  world's biggest sports star and now he'd been filmed handing over cash  to a prostitute. Things were bound to be chaotic.

After passing the crowds of reporting vultures, he drove for an hour,  finally making it to his father's villa. It was usually quiet, a cozy  little place in the hills, but Claudio realized then that this calamity  was going to follow him wherever he went.

It took all of his might just to push through them:

"Can you respond to the rumors that you're going to be expelled from the  game, Claudio, for bringing it into disrepute? Claudio?" A reporter was  in his face.

Claudio had to calm himself and not physically handle the reporter. He  had to get through to his father's house and get inside as quickly as  possible without losing his temper.



Closing the door behind him, Claudio could see Cristiano waiting by  their father's side. Their dad was sitting in his armchair, his head in  his hands. He looked up at the sound of Claudio's footsteps.

"Claudio..."

"Father... Please believe me, this is all a mistake. I was drugged and  then set up. I never had anything to do with that prostitute or the  drugs."

"I... If you tell me as a man that you had nothing to do with this, then  I will believe you, son. But this does not solve the problem."

"Please, tell me how I can make this right?" Claudio asked, kneeling on  the floor next to his father, who looked frailer than usual, the stress  making its presence felt.



His father pondered for a moment in silence, then spoke: "I think that..."

"You have to own up to it, Claudio. Admit that the photos are real and accept responsibility," Cristiano offered.

Their father looked up and then straight into Claudio's eyes. "Your  brother is right. You must restore what little pride we have left in our  family name. That is even more important than saving your career, which  is probably over."

Claudio couldn't believe what he was hearing. His career was over? But  he had just got started! Then he saw it in his father's eyes and it  broke his heart. There were tears streaming down his fathers face.

"Oh, dad, please, don't... I'll do whatever you say to make this right!" said Claudio.



"There is only one way that I think this can be fixed, " said Claudio's father now getting a grip on himself.

"Please, Father, I'll do anything."

"You have to marry that girl. Make the outside world understand that it  was not a one-night stand and you love her. People will forgive if it is  an affair of the heart," his father said.

" I barely know her, dad!" Claudio shouted.

"Please, Claudio. For our father... For our family name … " said  Cristiano. "If you marry this woman then you can show that you are not  some high-flying sports star just using someone for kicks. This will at  least restore some of our family honor," Cristiano's expression was as  grave as the situation.

"So, even if she did agree to this, I'd be stuck with this woman for the rest of my life?"



"She will agree, son. She is from the street and you will provide her  with a lifestyle she could never even dream of; then, after two years,  you may divorce each other. At least people will believe you were  honorable enough"         

     



 

"And what about the people who have done this to me?"

Claudio's father sat back in his chair. "They can wait for another time.  They no doubt want you out of the league because of your performances.  When life picks you up, sometimes it is best not to struggle, but  instead to learn to take the fall without injury, so you can fight  another day. Clear your name first, Son. This is the only way."

Claudio couldn't believe what he was doing. He left his father's villa,  pushing through the crowds of reporters once more, and then into his  car. He was heading home and thinking about calling a private detective  to hunt down the prostitute who had ruined his life.





***


It took less than a day for the media to find Suzanne. They came with  their notebooks and their cameras. They walked the streets showing  photographs of the "woman with Claudio". Money changed hands between a  reporter and a prostitute who knew where Suzanne would be.

She was walking along 5th Avenue, still in a daze about what had  happened the day before. In truth, she felt sorry for Claudio. Suzanne  had watched the story unfold on a TV in a hotel room she was able to pay  for, thanks to Claudio's generosity.

It just wasn't fair. There he was, a committed famous athlete, and his career was now being destroyed.



"Suzanne!" The voices shouted from across the street.

Flashes of light flickered from their cameras, and a television crew ran  in between the traffic to intercept her. Suzanne had never experienced  anything like it. She was frightened. She didn't want to be known as a  hooker, but now that's all the world had seen of her; it's all they'd  ever see. Who want to be with her now, when they knew what she was?

She was just a few yards from the front of her hotel, and with a dash,  she made it just before the television crew were able to put questions  to her. In her room, she cried. What was she going to do? She'd been  thrown into prostitution because of bad luck, and now any dreams she had  of getting off the streets seemed to be in tatters. Who would now  employ her knowing that she was the drug covered prostitute with Claudio  Vega?



Just as she sobbed into her hands, there was a knock at the door.

"Go away! Leave me alone!" Suzanne shouted, exhausted and distraught.

"Well, that's not a very nice way to greet a friend, is it?" a familiar voice said from the other side of the door.

"Claudio!" Suzanne leaped up from where she was sitting and ran to the door, opening it.

She was so happy to see him. Not just because of his good looks, no,  just to have a friend. In many ways, Claudio was the only person she had  in the world, which was ironic since she'd only known him for two days.

Suzanne threw her arms around Claudio and hugged him. Claudio held her  in a strong, affectionate brace. Finally, he pulled back and saw that  she'd been crying.

"I saw the reporters outside, are you okay?" asked Claudio, his voice soft.

"You better get out of here... It'll only make things worse for you if  they see you with me..." Suzanne didn't mean that. She really wanted him  there.

"I managed to sneak in the fire-escape. I was wearing a disguise?"  Claudio pulled a clip on beard and sunglasses from his pocket.

Suzanne laughed. It felt good. She hadn't been happy in some time, and even just the shortest reprieve was welcome respite.

"I'm glad you're here," said Suzanne, sitting down on an old sofa.

Claudio joined her. "So am I. So am I. Have you been okay?"

"It's terrible... I feel awful for you..."



Claudio felt a stirring at her kindness. She seemed to put others first,  and that was the one thing Claudio found most attractive in a woman.

"How did you find me?" asked Suzanne.

"I hired a private detective. Turns out the reporters were even better  snoops than he was, a friend at a local radio station tipped me off."

They talked for a while, and as they did so both were amazed at how  easily they connected. The conversation flowed like they'd known each  other for years. They laughed and talked, and in that couple of hours,  the bond grew between them.

But Claudio had been skirting around why he was really there, and felt  it was time to approach the delicate subject. Yes, he wanted to make  sure that Suzanne was okay, but he had his family honor on his mind,  that was most important.         

     



 

"Suzanne, how would you feel if I took you away from all of this?" Claudio said, his voice steady and serious.

"What... What do you mean?" Suzanne seemed sheepish.

"I want to make you a proposition. It's a business proposition, but it will help both of us get out of this mess."

"What kind of proposition?" Suzanne was now getting nervous.

"Look, I'm dead in the water here. Those pictures of us, while they  don't categorically prove I took drugs and spent the night with a  prostitute, they certainly imply it. I could go to the press and say we  were drugged, that we were forced to do it, but that's a hard sell. I  could go to the police and get them to test me for drugs, but no matter  what these things show, people will still believe I've brought the game  into disrepute. I'll at least be suspended from the sport for a couple  of years..."



"How can I help?"

Claudio moved closer, and held Suzanne's hand gently.

"My family's reputation means more to me than any career, any trophy.  But... If I admit that what those pictures show actually took place, and  that you and I are... In love... Then perhaps it will gain enough  sympathy that I can slowly win back my reputation, and perhaps even  avoid a lengthy ban from the sport I love."

"I don't understand."