THE NOMINAL WIFE

CHAPTER 6: Be My Nominal Wife

Voltaire then suggested to Iryn, "Let us just have lunch first at the restaurant opposite the hospital. Then perhaps he will already let you go. He often fell asleep after lunch."

Iryn agreed, "Okay."

So hand in hand with Wallace at the middle, they walked towards the front entrance of the hospital.

Voltaire had already called on Juno and so his SUV had already stopped by the driveway was they got near. Juno went down from the SUV and opened the door for them. Wallace entered first and sat down on the seat behind the driver seat. Iryn entered next and helped securing Wallace in his travel car seat with the seat belt. Juno and Voltaire then both entered the SUV through the opposite doors to the front seats.

Voltaire then made the introductions, "Iryn, this is Juno, my security chief. He usually drives for us whenever Wallace and I go out together. He is also in charge of the incognito background security team whenever Wallace had to travel alone with Tatay Manolo and Yaya Guada. I guess you have met them already."

Iryn acknowledged such, "Yes, I met them several times already with Winona and Wallace."

After just a few minutes, they stopped by the basement parking of Elysium Hotel, which was just opposite the hospital. They were escorted by a hotel employee at a hotel suite. The hotel employee also handed Voltaire a paper bag before leaving them

Voltaire handed her the paper bag, telling him, "Freshen up first. I already ordered a room service lunch for the three of us. Dr. Dy told me while Wallace and I were on the way that you rushed to the hospital this morning because of your sister, so you are not dressed up the way you usually present yourself professionally. We also need to talk about your sister."

She agreed, "Okay."

As she entered the bathroom, Iryn checked on the paper bag and saw black undergarments, a matching camel brown coat and ankle boots, and matching black sleeveless top and skinny pants .

She took a quick shower, brushed her teeth, dried her hair with the hair blower, and then joined the father and son after dressing up, not wearing the coat and the boots yet.

They were already at the dining area of the hotel suite while a hotel employee was serving the food that he ordered. She sat down beside Wallace.

When the hotel employee already left, Voltaire said, "Let us eat now."

"Yeah," Iryn then asked him all of a sudden which surprised him, "Anyway, why did you tell my sister and your acquaintance by the elevator that we are dating?"

Voltaire said, "I was shocked with your sister's rant. I don't know how to explain to her why my son is calling you Mommy. Then she even divulged that my brother could be the father of the baby she is carrying. As for Natasha and her husband, I am aware that he is your ex-boyfriend for ten years and you somehow felt awkward with him seeing you on very old casual clothes while he and his wife are elegantly attired. I chose to lift up your moral by telling them that we are dating."

Iryn pointed out, "But we are not dating, Mr. Lauchengco."

Voltaire's response was, "Please feel comfortable calling me Voltaire and I will call you, Iryn, " then he revealed, "I somehow overheard the last part of your conversation with your sister as we get near the door of her hospital room."

She asked him, "What did you actually hear?"

Voltaire replied, "I heard about your willingness to cover up for her pregnancy and raise her child as your own. I can help you with that without your dignity being questioned as a single mother."

She was curious, "How?"

He told her, "Be my nominal wife and be Wallace's second mother. We can get married and fake your pregnancy as you sister's pregnancy has become visible already. We can hire someone to make her a body suit in such away that she will just appear to be fat as her baby bump gets bigger. My son needs you, Iryn. Our marriage in name only will also stop my grandfather and father from setting me up on potential second wife. With your busy work schedule, I know that the time you can spend with my son will just be limited. If we are already married, you and your sister can move in with us. If you are suspecting someone from my family to be behind the accident we encountered that killed my wife, then the more that you need to keep your sister's pregnancy a secret. If my brother is indeed the father of her child, Tita Moira will do everything in her power not to taint her son's reputation. Your sister might be in grave danger. I am the only person who can help you protect her from my family."

She then told him, "Yeah, Winona mentioned to me that she received so much pressure from your father's second wife."

He also opened up, "My wife is Tita Winona's niece by her cousin. Initially, Winona had been used by my stepmother to break my heart so that I will be a woman hater and will not ever get married or have children. But then we fell in love. Winona told me the truth and she sided with me. When Wallace was born, my stepmother had become even more upset. She and Winona would often have arguments which eventually cause her anxiety disorder. Her parents owe so much from my stepmother so my wife just received all the emotional blows coming from my stepmother without complaining. But such had affected my wife's mental health. She might have not been able to cope up with such if not for your help. I just knew that you were friends but I did not know that you were her psychologist."

She asked him them, "How will you be able to protect me and my sister then?"

He told her, "You have met Juno. He is a former junior marine officer. His brother was my former driver who died with my wife and our unborn child during the accident. He along with the rest of our security team will protect all of us from the background. I can even assign a personal driver/bodyguard for your sister is you want. I will never ever allow any of my paternal family members to hurt my family ever again."

She then decided, "I will just agree on three conditions."

His response was, "Name it."

She sated her conditions, "First, we have to sign a prenuptial agreement. I have no interest with your fortune coz I can earn on my own. Second, you are not allowed to stop me from pursuing my career. Third, we have to find a residence near the city proper. Your private villa is quite far from STU as well as from the preschool and my clinic."

He replied, "Deal."

She then asked, "So when will we get married?"

He answered, "The soonest possible time," Then he asked her, "Will you just be fine with a private civil wedding?"

Her answer was, "That will be perfect, and let us just be low key regarding our marriage. With my sister's condition, I cannot tell my parents about our marriage yet."

He responded, "I understand. A low profile relationship is just fine with me. But there will be times that you need to accompany me in attending some family and business gatherings as my wife."

She expected such, "Okay."

Then he asked, "So who between my two half brothers is the possible father of your sister's baby?"

She answered, "Vitto."

He then said, "But he was interested in you back then. I even asked Juno to look after your safety because of what his mother might do against you. I am very much aware that you are a good lady based from my wife's stories so I didn't want you to be somehow entangled with him."

She shared, "I also don't know how they hooked up together. My sister used to date Shawn Duque. But she immediately broken up with him a month ago when she was confronted by his girlfriend."

He divulged, "Shawn Duque's betrothed is my cousin Vanessa Ongpauco. Guess, we really have to protect your sister the more from my paternal side of family. Vitto's wife is a vicious lady despite her amiable face. If she finds out that Vitto has a child with another woman, she will definitely go ballistic. As for my cousin, Vanessa, she is a spoiled brat. If she finds out that Shawn has impregnated another lady, she might go ballistic as well."

Wallace was eating on his own while occasionally being checked by Voltaire and Iryn. When the little boy was already done eating, Iryn thoughtfully asked him, "Did you enjoy lunch, Bubba?"

Wallace answered happily, "Yes, Mommy."

Wallace then yawned.

Iryn asked, "Sleepy, Bubba?"

Wallace's response was, "No, Mommy."

Iryn asked, "Can you already brush your teeth on your own, Bubba?"

Wallace affirmed, "Yes, Mommy."

Iryn then said, "Then let's go to the bathroom and bush our teeth."

They were both surprised with what Wallace said and did next. He said, "Daddy, too," then hold on to their hand on each of his two hands and lead them to the bathroom.

They all brushed their teeth at the same time.

After brushing their teeth, Wallace had yawned again.

Voltaire carried him up and then gently lay him down on the bed.

Wallace then sleepily said, "Mommy, don't go."

Iryn then asked, "How long does he usually nap?"

Voltaire answered, "One to three hours."

She asked further, "Why didn't you attend your brother's wedding?"

Voltaire's reply was, "My Sundays are exclusively for my son, Iryn. That is one request that I asked my father in exchange for my continuous exemplary work performance for LGC," Then he told her, "I will call on Juno now to escort you back to the hospital."

She agreed, "Okay."

When Iryn arrived back at the hospital, Ivy immediately asked her a lot of questions.

Ivy's first question was, "Are you really dating Voltaire Lauchengco, Ate?"

Iryn's answer was, "Yes. His wife was a good friend of mine and Grace. He and Wallace lived in seclusion after her death. He only goes out for his work at LGC. Last July, I and my work colleagues had done the annual psychological assessment of the employees at the headquarters of LGC. We also saw each other briefly at the memorial park when Grace and I visited his wife's grave for her first death anniversary last July 31. Our paths had crossed several times prior to such. We started seeing each other by August. I did not know about Wallace's case yet. His son has been suffering from PTSD due to the accident that killed his wife, their unborn baby, and their driver. They were all in the same accident but Voltaire and Wallace survived it. It was only now that I had seen Wallace again. He had never spoken again after the accident. He used to call me Tita Iryn but when he saw me again this morning here at the hospital lobby, he had spoken again for the very first time and keeps on calling me Mommy. Voltaire had no choice anymore but to tell me the condition of his son. I will be Wallace's child psychologist and we also decided to enroll him at Angels Headstart Preschool so that I can monitor his mental health."

Ivy excitedly said, "I can already hear wedding bells."

Iryn's response was, "Well, we're both old enough already. We have already talked about the topic of marriage in passing. If we will get married someday, we both wanted it to be low profile."

Ivy seriously asked her then, "Have you told him that Vitto could possibly be the father of my baby?"

Iryn's answer was, "Yes. I also told him about Shawn. He warned me about the possible repercussions once they both know as well as their respective family about your pregnancy. So as planned, we will keep it as a secret. He will help us out just to be sure that you and the baby will be safe. So please just listen to me this once regarding the baby, okay?"

Ivy affirmed, "Yes, Ate. I will listen to you from now on."

Dr. Dy had another talk with Iryn that afternoon.

Her mentor said, "Your sister seems to have ben less anxious already. She even told me when I checked on her a while ago that you are dating Mr. Voltaire Lauchengco. What is the truth, Iryn? What did you tell your sister to make her feel less worried about her condition?"

She decided to tell her mentor then, "I only intend to tell you and Grace the truth, Dr. Dy. And I do hope that you will keep the secrets that I am about to tell you."

Dr. Dy said, "Your secrets are safe with me."

She started talking then, "You are already aware that my sister is somewhat rebellious that is why our parents decided to send her off to me."

Her mentor uttered, "Yes."

Iryn continued, "She already had s*x with two men within her stay here and it seems that the day that she possibly conceived were near to the dates when she did it with those two men."

Her mentor recalled, "She had a relationship with Shawn Duque, right?"

Iryn confirmed it, "Yes, and he could possibly be the father."

Her mentor asked, "Who is the other one?"

She divulged, "Vitto Lauchengco."

Her mentor was shocked, "Being entangled with those two families is dangerous, Iryn."

She acknowledged that, "That is true, Dr. Dy. So I need your help to contact the NGO that we are helping, which helps out single mothers with their pregnancy and delivery in secrecy. I told her that I will raise her baby as my own and be the biological legal mother."

Her mentor asked, "How about Wallace's father? Are you really dating him?"

She told the truth, "No. But when he and Wallace went to see me again after his son's checkups, he overhead the last part of my conversation with Ivy wherein I told her about covering up her pregnancy and making it appear that I am the one pregnant and not her. When he and Wallace also entered the room, Ivy had a panic attack. She thought that I told Voltaire about his half brother being the father of her child. Voltaire did not know how to react with her panic attack especially when Wallace cried because he got scared with my sister's ranting. He had managed to pacify my sister by telling her that we are dating and that he did not know anything yet about her pregnancy up until she ranted about it."

Her mentor said, "I also saw you leaving with them when I was on my way to the cafeteria at the ground floor."

Iryn told her mentor, "Wallace will not let me go. So Voltaire suggested that we have lunch altogether. We also met Gerard and his wife by the elevator on our way out."

Her mentor admitted, "Yeah, I seemed to have noticed them at the at the obstetrics and gynecology department floor when I had a consult with a pregnant woman there whom they suspected of suffering from eating disorder. Anyway, did anything happen with your encounter with them"

She narrated, "Gerard's wife seems to be an acquaintance of Voltaire. She greeted him and his son and even slightly pinch Wallace's cheeks. Wallace cried and reached out to me, calling me Mommy again and again. So I pacified him. Gerard then reacted and asked if I'm treating Wallace as his child psychologist and why Wallace is calling me Mommy. It was a very awkward situation. I was just very casually attired rushing here to the hospital for my sister while they were all elegantly attired. Voltaire seemed to have noticed such. He also seems to be aware of my past relationship with Gerard and so he told my ex that we're dating."

Dr. Dy commented, "It serves him right. I bet he was shocked. He dumped you for a richer lady but you now you got yourself a far much richer boyfriend."

Iryn then continued, "Voltaire and I talked about the conditions of his son and my sister over lunch. He proposed that I become his nominal wife so I can look after Wallace more and I will not have to taint my reputation as a single mother. He is willing to raise my sister's child with me. He will also protect us from all the possible consequences of Ivy's entanglement with Shawn and Vitto."

Dr. Dy asked surprisingly, "And did you agree?"

Iryn nodded her head in approval, "Yes. I gave him three conditions though. I told him that we have to sign a prenuptial agreement because I'm not after his fortune, that he cannot interfere with my career, and that we should reside somewhere near the city proper."

Dr. Dy queried, "And he agreed on all conditions?!"

Iryn confirmed it, "Yes."

Dr. Dy then asked, "Will there be an actual wedding?"

Iryn's reply was, "We agreed to have a private and low key civil wedding the soonest possible time."

Dr. Dy said, "I can ask my husband to marry the two of you. He is a judge."

Iryn acknowledged such, "I will tell Voltaire about it then."

Dr. Dy then seriously stated, "I know that you have somehow lost your faith in love when that jerk ex-boyfriend of yours had cheated on you to be with a much richer lady. If I don't know Mr. Voltaire Lauchengco to be a good man, I will stop you from entering this kind of marriage. I know that you agreed on such because of that boy and your sister. But marrying into his family is no joke."