The Billionaire's Real Wife

Chapter 10: Hot Seat

"Boss lady, you shouldn't be doing this," Ethan said, pointing at the used plates I was carrying. The boss will get mad at me if he sees you doing all this."

"He didn't trust me enough," I whimpered.

"What did he say?" He asked, taking the used wares from me.

"He insisted I join him. He wouldn't have eaten the food if I hadn't joined him," I said, sitting on the chair, watching Ethan as he tidied the kitchen up. He was quite good. He kept quiet and continued cleaning. I wanted to put the aforementioned discussion forward, but I flinched

"Who have you been talking to?" He asked. I took a deep breath and adjusted myself. The long-awaited discussion had come.

"I have made new friends already."

"Which of them told you about the boss's mystery woman?"

"I don't want to mention their names, but, is it true he locked her up in his bedroom?" I asked.

"Boss Lady, this mystery is beyond me. Please, don't push me there."

I stood up and walked toward him.

"Did he lock a girl up in his bedroom? Yes or no?" I asked authoritatively.

"No, but there is a mystery you must unfold," he said casually as he arranged the plates properly. I knew he was lying, his voice exposed him.

"You are lying, someone heard her voice last night!" I said loudly. Ethan kept calm and pretended he didn't hear me correctly. I wanted to repeat myself when his voice came before mine.

"Whose voice did your friend hear last night?"

"The girl's voice! He was making love to her against her will!" I yelled.

"Keep your voice low, ma'am. I'm not supposed to discuss his private life, but I'm just doing it for…him and y…you. I don't think he has slept with any other woman since the first day he set his eyes on his soulmate. He is faithful to her," he whispered to avoid being heard.

"Liar! Is that what he told you? He left the intercom on last night." I said loudly again, ignoring his warning. He kept quiet and concentrated on the kitchen he was tidying up. I felt bad for calling him a liar after some minutes.

"Ethan, I'm sorry," I apologized. "I'm so confused."

He nodded without looking at me.

When did he meet his soulmate?" I asked.

"I don't know, but it's been long," he responded.

"Why did he lock her up in his bedroom?"

"I think she is in a better position to answer this question. You need to see her and talk to her. No amount of explanation from me will ever make sense to you. You need to see the mystery girlfriend, or whatever he calls her, I don't know."

"Exactly what I want. So how do I see her?" I asked. Ethan pulled out a clean towel and wiped his palm after washing everything I used. He hung the towel and joined me on the round dining table.

You want to see the woman he is obsessed with?" He asked and I nodded.

"Why?"

"I want to set her free."

"She is in his bedroom, but the voice your friend heard last night was not hers."

"Whose voice was that?" I asked.

"I don't know," Ethan said. "Boss Lady, you asked a lot of questions," he grinned.

"Oh..god," I muffled. I could not believe I was displaying my attitude already. Mom has told me several times to stop asking so many questions. She said every curiosity is not meant to be satisfied. I don't know how to deliver myself from curiosity.

"Just one last question; what do you think I should do?"

"Go to his bedroom and find out," Ethan grinned coyly, and I attached meaning to it immediately.

"Thank you, Ethan." He bowed and left the kitchen.

I rested my head on the table as I tried to reconcile the answer Mr. Gregory gave me and that of Ethan. I concluded there was no woman. I think his domestic workers cooked the story up to dent his image. I lifted my head swiftly when I heard the sound of the chair beside me.

"I see you like him," Logan said, sitting on a chair and taking a sip from the cup of Chamomile tea he kept on the table. He had just gotten out of the shower and his distinctive body wash was aggressively minty. I took in a deep breath to help my erratic pulse.

"Logan…I…I…"

"It's fine," he said. His voice was odd, yet gentle and irascible patient. "I went to your room, but you were not there."

"I… want to talk to my people; would you help me with your phone?" I asked to throw off the topic.

"Why not?" He said, pushing his phone to my side.

"What happened to your phone?"

"I didn't come with my things. What's the code?"

"Try face unlock," he said, taking a sip from his tea.

I didn't want to ask questions, so I brought the phone closer to my face and it unlocked. I began to dial my mom's number.

"Haste up, your maids need to retire to their various quarters. I'm waiting for you." Logan stood up and left the kitchen. I fixed my eyes on him until he was out of my sight.

"Good evening mom."

"Mia?" She asked.

"Yes, mom"

"Mia, are you watching 'Inside The Place' now?" Mom asked.

"No"

"Oh, I forgot your husband doesn't even have a television. Good night, I want to catch every glimpse of the show," she said and hung up.

'Inside The Palace' was a television program mom and dad hardly miss every Saturday. I watched the program once and it made me feel like a loser, a failure, and an inferior. Queenie did not stop acting as though she was at the center of the universe. She made a lot of unhealthy comments about me and I decided I would never watch that program.

I climbed the stairs hurriedly to set my girls free. The phone in my palm almost fell off as soon as I walked into my bedroom. The low candlelight with floral fragrance - my favorite fragrance, elevated my spirit. A wave of nostalgia swept through me and I remembered my childhood sweetheart. I have been avoiding that fragrance like plague because of the feelings and memories it resurrects in me. I couldn't wait to bathe and climb onto my soft, comfortable bed.

"You guys can retire to your quarters," I said to the girls that were in the bedroom waiting for me.

"No, ma'am, you need to bathe," Rosa said.

"Are you going to bathe me?"

"It's our job, ma'am."

"What!" I said and they giggled. I dropped the phone I was holding on the bed and headed in the direction of the master bathroom. One of the girls followed me with two white towels. I pulled my clothes off and gave them to her.

"Thank you, Nellie; please, drop the towels and leave," I said. Nellie dropped the towels on a rack and turned to leave.

"Em…switch the television on, I want to watch some movies before I go to bed," I added.

"Alright, ma'am."

I relaxed in the bathtub and washed myself slowly and thoroughly, wondering where and how the marriage celebration would take place tonight.

Queenie's voice on the television called me back to reality. I quickly came out of the bathtub, dried my body quickly, and hung the small towel on my chest. I needed to change the channel before she began to spill my secrets. I felt bad the last time she did.

However, I stopped and took some steps backward when I saw Logan lying comfortably on my bed with his eyes fixed on the television as though he was enjoying the show.