THE BILLIONAIRE'S CINDERELLA WIFE

EPISODE 2

EPISODE 2

I love my family more than anything in this world, well, there is the fact that I actually don’t have anything else besides my family, no career, no possessions and no other relationships. I’m tired of this life, in fact I feel like I don’t have a life at all, it’s like I’m not living but I’m just breathing. I’m twenty years old, I should be having the time of my life, going out with friends and getting up to no good, partying and dancing the night away. Sadly that is nothing close to my life, I don’t have friends to begin with, not that I am not good at socialising but I have never had that time. Who would want to be friends with me and what kind of friendship would that be since I never have time to hang out with people? My life literally revolves around my family and house chores, I have to make sure that the house is squeaky clean in the morning and then I make breakfast for everyone whilst my mother, the queen, takes pleasure in staying in bed till late. After walking Mattie to school I go back home and bake cupcakes before heading out for piece jobs. I arrive back home late evening and If I had a normal mother I would get home to a hot cooked meal but because she is far from normal I get home to empty pots and I take over an hour to prepare dinner. There are dirty dishes that need to be washed after dinner, after that I clean the kitchen before baking a few extra trays of cupcakes. By the time I go to bed I’m completely exhausted and I can’t even treat myself to eight hours of sleep. I feel like an overworked maid that never gets paid, I hate it and it’s building me up with resentment towards my mother who doesn’t want to step up and help make my load lighter, it makes me want to scream and throw things around.

My blue eyes are always dull and blood shot because of lack of sleep, my body has become thin and shapeless, I keep losing weight without even trying. Being tall and thin is not a good look at all, it’s no wonder no boy has ever bothered to look at me twice. My strawberry blonde hair has lost its shine and texture; it has become dry and brittle. Although my father tells me that I’m beautiful all the time, I don’t see any beauty when I look at myself in the mirror. I turn away from the mirror with a frown and a wistful sigh. I long for the day I will stare into the mirror and smile, seeing bright eyes, fine hair, smooth skin and a gorgeous outfit that will boost my confidence and self esteem and I be able to walk the streets with my head held up high. I want heads to turn with envy or desire when I pass by and not the pitiful stares that I get from the neighbours. I hold on to hope that one day I will get to live and I will get the taste of life and love too. I want to know what it feels like to have someone kiss my shoulders, hug me and hold my hand, or to hear the words ‘I love you’ being whispered softly to my ears and butterflies flying in my stomach.

***

“Becca...can I talk to you for a minute?” My mother requests as I pass by the living room, I reluctantly stop walking and turn back to face her after rolling my eyes. I already know what she wants to talk about, she wants to apologize for smacking me, not because she regrets it but because she doesn’t want me to tell my father about it. He sternly warned her about laying her hands on his children, well, she never has to smack Mattie because he is a sweet little darling who never talks back at her unlike myself so I’m the only one who gets to taste my mother’s wrath. I wasn’t always this stubborn and hard headed but as you grow older you get an itching that compels you to fight for what you belief is right and keeping quiet or saying ‘yes’ to everything suddenly becomes impossible.

I guess it is difficult for most parents to acknowledge and accept that their children are no longer babies but adults who have their own minds and are capable of distinguishing between what’s right and wrong.

I take a quick glance at my wrist watch, time is no longer on my side, I should be heading out to do the tasks I am hired for today but since my mother has asked to speak to me It would be rude of me to refuse. I can only hope she doesn’t take much of my time or maybe I should just agree to whatever she says so that we finish quickly. “Yes mom...” I try not to sulk as I sit down next to her, she shifts her position on the couch so as to face me,

“I’m sorry for slapping you, I shouldn’t have done that, you are my first baby, my one and only daughter, I love you Becky...you know you are my shining star,” she tries her best to soften me up. “Ah huh,” I curl my lips. She laughs softly at my response and I start laughing too but we both stop a moment later and we stare at each other quietly.

She takes hold of my hand and covers it with hers, I am not used to my mother being touchy and sweet towards me but it does feel good. “Listen, I would really appreciate it if...”

“I don’t tell dad about this...” I finish the sentence for her because I think I’m a smart ass who already knows what she was going to say.

“No! That’s not what I was going to say,” she gazes at me with a look that says, ‘you don’t know everything, like you think you do,’ Now I can’t find the right words to respond to her so I just stare at her hoping she will spare me and say what she wanted to say before I interrupted her.

“I was going to say I would really appreciate it if you forgive me for slapping you and not hold it against me but since you have already mentioned your father, it would be great if you didn’t tell him about this. You know how he makes a big deal out of everything, besides, he doesn’t need to know everything you know” she winks at me.

“Yes I forgive you mother and I won’t tell father about this, now if you will excuse me...I have to get going,’’ I respond with a dead tone as I jump to my feet.

“Becca...you look upset, is everything alright?” She asks with concern. “I’m fine...I’m late...I will see you later,” I respond without turning to face her while making my way out of the house.

‘He doesn’t need to know everything you know,’ these words from my mother’s mouth keep ringing in my head and they upset me because they take me back to the day that I caught her with another man in our house. She begged me not to tell father and said if I did then I would be responsible for breaking up our family. I had to keep my mouth shut not for my mother’s sake but for my father, the news of my mother’s unfaithfulness would have crushed him to the core and I also thought of Mattie, he deserves to grow up in a home with both his parents by his side. He doesn’t get to have fancy toys and other privileges that other kids of his age enjoy, the only thing he has is his family and I couldn’t take that away from him.

My thoughts keep me distracted as I walk down the quiet streets of our neighbourhood, we have a close knit community, it’s a place where almost everyone knows everyone. Nothing interesting ever happens in this neighbourhood, it’s dull and boring. If you ask me I think it’s a perfect place for old aged people who want nothing but peace and quiet. Most of the houses here are old and in need of renovations, same with our house, it’s what we could afford to rent. I hate the house we live in as well as this neighbourhood and I hope one day we will move to a better place but right now I can’t see how that can happen, unless some kind of a miracle happens.

“Hey...watch where you are going Cinderella,” the man I accidentally bumped into barks at me. “I’m sorry...I didn’t mean to...I was...” I try to explain and apologize but he cuts me off. “Save it...Cinderella,” He gives me the hand. “I am not Cinderella...why do you keep calling me Cinderella?” I ask, my eyebrows caving in, alarmed by how rude he is being.

He looks at me from head to toe, “do you really have to ask?” he laughs before walking away.

I’m left astounded and feeling less confident than I was when I walked out of the house, do I really look that bad or that man was just being a mean jerk? I wonder as I take a thorough look at myself. There is nothing wrong with the shift dress I’m wearing except for the fact that it’s not fashionable, perhaps he was referring to my weight? I’m well aware of how thin and bony I have become but how can I gain weight when I eat a little and work a lot? How could that man be so cold and cruel when he doesn’t even know anything about me?

I take a deep breath as I decide to brush it all off my mind and focus on my tasks for today and one of them includes teaching a fifteen year old girl how to bake. I’m very good at baking and I’m also a good teacher that is why I often get paid to give people baking lessons. This week I am going to be selfish for once, I’m going to use the profit to buy myself a new outfit to wear and get my hair done by the beauty salon. I deserve to treat myself because I have been working too hard for too long, I only hope father will understand, I trust that he will.