THE RICH MARRIED WOMAN Episode 9 – Onyekachi Ikeh
I took my bath and walked back to our room to change to my night wears.
After drinking tea and eating pancake for dinner, I heard him walk into the room.
He walked towards me. “I know that you wouldn’t believe this, but Collins was following us. When I reversed to pick you after the rain started, he over took me. You can ask him yourself if you think that i am lying to you”.
“Are you saying that you came back to pick me?”.
“I did but Collins was faster than I was”. He took off his suit.
I stood up and helped him to take off his necktie.
He stared at me. “When I got back to work after realizing that he had picked you up, I realized that, Matilda had fooled me”.
I stifled laughter as I unbuttoned his shirt.
He stopped me. “I don’t think you have to help me unbutton my shirt as if we are a normal couple”.
I shrugged. “You are the only one that is not normal. You love two women more than your wife”.
He shook his head at me in disbelief. “Were you not the same person that told me that you didn’t love me? So why are you bothered?”.
“I am not bothered!!!”.
“Then stop worrying about that!!!”.
I walked towards the door. “What are you eating this night?”.
He shrugged. “The usual”.
“Yam and pepper soup? Okay, lemme see if I can prepare it”.
He coughed uneasily. “Gold, I am sorry that I was later than Collins”.
My heart melted immediately I heard him say that. He had never apologized to me, especially not for things like that. Why did I feel so happy that he apologized for things like that?
He watched me. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”.
I smiled. “I don’t think I have to say anything”.
He swallowed as he looked away. “The rain beat you so much after I left right?”.
I nodded and walked out of the room.
Why did it look like I haven’t really known Raymond enough?
Why did it feel as if there was something more that I had to know about him?
I excitedly walked into the kitchen and began to prepare the pepper soup.
I heard footsteps from behind and turned.
It was Collins.
There was still more to know about him too.
“Surprisingly you feel so excited despite the fact that your husband left you in the rain to pick up another woman”. He said sarcastically.
“My husband came back, but you had already driven me off”.
“Why do you believe that?”.
I shrugged. “Well, no one in the house knows that I came in your car today. If Raymond had not come back to pick me up immediately, he wouldn’t have known too”.
“I dropped you at the front of the house”.
“My driver even thought that I had used taxify to get back home”.
“You are actually excited that he made an effort to pick you up”.
“Why did you over take him?”.
“He over took me first”.
“What do you mean?”.
“Do you know the reason grandfather fixed your wedding date so fast? It was because he had seen my diary”.
“What diary?”.
He met my eyes uneasily. “You are the only woman that I have ever loved, Gold. The day I wanted to tell you about it was the day grandfather had found out. If not, we would have been married by now. Raymond took you from me”.
Tears filled my eyes as I watched him. I never ever thought of Collins ever loving me before I got married. “I am sorry”.
He sighed. “If Raymond cheats again, will you come back to me?”.
If Raymond cheated again, I don’t know what I will do but I didn’t want him to cheat again.
I didn’t want anything that will make me leave Raymond.
Raymond was pitiful.
He searched my eyes. “You love your husband”.
I was shocked at his response. “Er? I don’t…er…I mean, I…”.
“Raymond would never love you. Stop raising your hopes unnecessarily and come to me”.
“Even if my marriage with Raymond ends, I can never come to you, Collins”.
“What?What do you mean?”.
“Raymond is so imperfect but I don’t know why I still want to be with such person!”
Tears filled his eyes. He couldn’t bear the hurt he was feeling in his heart. He walked away.
I sobbed because I could feel his pain. It just feels as if he is being cheated of everything, but no matter what, I just couldn’t find myself marrying Collins.
I stopped short when I heard someone’s footstep.
Someone had been watching us.
I rushed out to check here and there for any sign of the person but I couldn’t see a sign of anyone.
I walked back to the kitchen and found Jennifer Roland there.
She smiled softly at me. “I over heard your conversation with Collins”.
Was she actually the one that was watching us all these while?
I pretended as if I didn’t care that she had listened to our conversation and turned my soup with a spatula as it boiled in a pot.
“If you love Raymond, you are only wasting your time. You don’t deserve him”. She walked out of the kitchen.
I hissed and walked into the room with the food in my hands.
Raymond had turned on the heater in the room.
I placed the tray on the table and looked worriedly at him. “Are you alright? You caught the cold?Is that why you turned on the heater?”.
“You were the one that was beaten by the rain and majority of people that are beaten by the rain end up getting pneumonia if it is not properly managed at the early stage like yours which is at the early stage right now”.
I was surprised at him. “You turned on the heater for me?”.
He was feeling uncomfortable. “Stop reading meaning to everything I do. I am doing everything for grandfather. I don’t want him to think that I am not taking care of you”. He sat to eat his food.
As I watched him take a spoon to eat, I could smell Ghana pepper from the food.
I stopped him and tasted it.
I coughed.
The pepper soup was filled with Ghana pepper.
I didn’t put Ghana pepper in the food when I was cooking.
Someone else had put it there.
Jennifer Roland.
That moment that I had rushed out to check on who had been watching I and Collins after I had a sound outside, Jennifer Roland had definitely used the opportunity to get to the kitchen to put the Ghana pepper in the soup.
That only meant that someone else had seen us.
“Someone put Ghana pepper in the food”.
He was surprised at me. “Who would have done that?”.
“Jennifer Roland. The woman you love so much that hates you so much”.
“She wouldn’t do such a thing”.
I held his cheeks in my hands. “When will you wake up and realize that you have so many enemies? Huh? When?”.
“Jennifer Roland is not my enemy”.
“Should I get you a proof then?”.
He nodded thoughtfully. “Do that then”.
“So what will you eat this night since you can’t take pepper soup now?”.
“Tea and pancake”.
I rushed to get from the kitchen and returned with it arranged on a tray.
I relaxed on the bed and began to eat some strawberries that I had gotten from the fridge.
Immediately Raymond finished his meal, he jumped on the bed next to me and snatched my plate of strawberries.
I snatched it back but he snatched it back from me again and we struggled to get the plate from each other.
He filled his mouth with four strawberries.
“You are finishing my strawberry!!!”. I cried out.
He forced a strawberry into my mouth and chuckled.
It was the most awkward moment of my life.
He wrapped his arms around me and searched my eyes. “Did you let go of me because of Bower bound or because I taste like strawberry?”
I was surprised at him. Was he the one that had listened to our conversation a while ago? . “What are you talking about exactly?”.
“You had nothing to loose. Why then did you choose to stay with me?”
“Did you eavesdrop on us?”.
“Who?”.
I searched his eyes and realized that he was not the one that had eavesdropped on us…but how did he know that I loved him?
“How can I not know that you love me? You made me your greatest priority. You even know when Ghana pepper is in my food, you cuddled me and I couldn’t have the April first nightmare, you believed in me despite the fact that Collins was the one that picked you up from the rain before I did, you still left the room a while ago to prepare my favourite. I know you love me, Gold. You don’t have to say it, action speaks louder than words”.
I remained silent all through the night and wondered who had eavedropped on us.
If it was not Raymond or Jennifer Roland? Who was it?
Jane Roland looked curiously at her husband. “What kind of woman do you think that Gold is?”.
Zac shrugged as he typed on his laptop. “She is a woman that Raymond needs”.
“Are you aware that Collins was the first person to love Gold?”.
“Collins?”.
“Yes, and your father knew about it, that was why he had hastened the wedding between Raymond and Gold”.
“Why would father do that?”.
She shrugged. “Father in law sees the future. Look at it! Gold is almost as perfect as the deceased designer Dennis! That girl has potential! Raymond cheated on her but she still forgave him!”.
“When will you stop spying on her?”.
She rolled her eyes. “Surprisingly I didn’t like her before, but now, I am beginning to notice that there is something different about her”.
Victor filled Raymond’s cup again and he gulped the liquor to the last drop.
“You guys know that I never get drunk! The most handsome of all never gets drunk!!!”. He cried out and they burst into laughter and applauded him.
Suddenly Margaret appeared from nowhere.
She glared at him. “You are here drinking like the coward that you are”.
His heart slipped at the sight of her. “Margaret?”.
“You have no plan about us getting back together?”.
“Margaret, I can’t leave my wife. I don’t think anyone can take care of me like she does. We are not even that close but she knows me like no one else”.
Margaret gasped at him. “Were you not the same person that was talking about her like that the other day?”.
“The only reason I came here that day was because my wife was not around and I needed to while away time”.
She fumed. “Are you saying that you had only used me that night?”.
“She was the first person to cuddle me and I didn’t have that nightmare that I always had for years! How can I leave such a person?”.
She lifted a hand to slap him but before she could do that, someone held her hand from behind.
They all looked up.
It was Gold Roland.
She held her hand tightly and glared at her. “Margaret, I came to protect this naive husband of mine from women like you”.
THE RICH MARRIED WOMAN Episode 10 – Onyekachi Ikeh
Margaret pulled off my gripse. “How dare you hold my hand, you daughter of a nobody!”.
“Daughter of somebody, leave someone’s husband alone”.
“You are the one that do those amateur designs I see on Bower bound business papers right?”.
I bowed mockingly to her. “Yes your majesty”.
She barged out of the bar.
I took his suit that was carelessly lying on the table. “Raymond, let us go home”.
He nodded obediently and followed me from behind.
I sat at the driver’s seat.
He was surprised at me. “Can you drive?”.
“I was a Keke napep driver all through my days in school”.
He rolled his eyes. “This is not a Keke napa or whatever you call it. This is a car with the latest technology”.
“Just get in and stop making noise”. I started the engine and he rushed to sit at the backseat. I turned. “Do I look like your driver?”.
He chuckled. “I heard that people that sit at the front seat die faster than people that sit at the back, so let me just preserve my life here”.
“Come to the front right now!”. I cried out.
He gasped at me. “Anytime you scream like that and I remember the day you plugged iron to deal with me after I cheated on Margaret, I usually feel as if I have no other option than to just faithfully obey you everytime”. He rushed to join me at the front and buckled his seat belt.
I grinned mischievously at him. “Hold to your seat tightly”.
“Why?”. He stuttered.
I increased the car speed and drove on.
He stared breathlessly at me until we got home that day.
When I got to office the next morning, I had already finished drawing some designs that I had researched about for hours when someone knocked at the door of my office.
I walked to open.
I recognized him.
Nathan Boyle.
One of the board of directors of Bower bound company.
He walked into my office and examined the design that I had drawn on the computer closely. “You can’t submit this to Bower bound company”.
I was surprised at his statement. “Why?”.
“Bower bound don’t appreciate a designer the way a designer should be appreciated. That was what they had done to designer Dennis”. He explained.
I was surprised at him. “Why are you telling me this?”.
He walked to stare out of the blinds. “Bower bound only appreciate foreign designers. That was how he was able to survive”.
“Survive? You know where he is right now?”.
“Don’t ask me questions. Just do as I say. Hide this board in the underground room of the Rolands kitchen. Any design that you spend twenty four hours trying to put in place, don’t give Bower bound company. Reserve it in that kitchen, then you contact foreign designers and sell it to them. That way, you will make your name worldwide just like Mr Chap had done”.
Mr Chap was one of the most famous designers in the world.
He was always wearing a mask and no one knew his identity but he had a signature.
The signature of a man trapped in the midst of lions.
Any design that he did was concluded by that painting (signature of a man trapped in the midst of lions).
The man cleared his throat. “Mr Chap is Mr Dennis”.
I stepped back in shock. “What do you mean?”.
“If he had remained in Bower bound where his value was dormant, would he have been world designer mr Chap today?”.
“…but before I started working in Bower bound, Jennifer Roland bought mr Chap’s works to design the company products”.
“Jennifer Roland would never believe that the underestimated Dennis is mr Chap. After all she killed him”.
I was more confused. “What do you mean?”.
“Jennifer Roland killed Dennis but he survived and became mr Chap”.
I sobbed. Father had been alive all these while. “But what is he still doing in Texas? Doesn’t he have a family that he wants to look for?”.
“Mr Chap needs an evidence against Jennifer Roland before he arrives because if he arrives now and she finds out his identity, she will wipe off his family”.
I never knew that Jennifer Roland was so dangerous.
The man turned to me. “Do you know Candelaria?”.
“The head maid of the Rolands mansion?”.
“She is our spy. We gained her loyalty a long time ago. There is only one evidence that will implicate Jennifer Roland and it was hidden by Collins Roland mother the day she had died. Collins Roland’s mother and Dennis were supposed to die on the same day but Dennis survived”.
“So are you saying that Jennifer Roland was the one that killed Collins Roland’s mother?”.
“Collins Roland’s mother was almost as strong as Jennifer Roland. If she was still alive up till today, she would definitely be married to Zac Roland by now and would have taken the company after she must have poisoned pa Brian. Why did you marry Raymond? To find your father right?”.
My heart slipped. “How did you know that?”.
He chuckled and walked to sit on my seat. “Do you think I will trust you enough to be telling you all this just because you are an upcoming designer? I know everything. I know that you are the daughter of Mr Chap. The only way that you can make your father return home is by finding that evidence that implicates Jennifer Roland. Candelaria was the one that the mother of Collins had told that the evidence was in that mansion. If not for your marriage with Raymond,we would have been on Collins side. Your father had wanted to protect Collins like his own son because of his relationship with his deceased mother, but now that you are married to the family of his worst enemy, the battle has just begun”.
Tears filled my eyes. “You have nothing to worry about. I have not slept with Raymond Roland yet. There is still a chance to divorce if things get out of hand”.
He held my hand in his. “There will be war. We are four men, but one man will cause war if you don’t divorce Raymond Roland”.
“What are you talking about?”.
“I, Mr Chap, Eric who is a shareholder of this company and Collins Roland. We have been planning for this game together but now, Mr Chap has to protect his son in law against Collins and protecting his son in law against Collins means war but the war will stop only if you divorce Raymond Roland”.
“I will divorce Raymond soon but I will only do that as soon as I get that evidence!”.
He placed a comforting arm around me. “We have three tough women in this world. Jennifer Roland, Collins mother and you! Gold Roland, you are a strong battle for Jennifer Roland”.
My phone rang. I connected it. “Hello?”.
“Am I speaking with Mrs Gold Roland?”.
“Yes, who is on the line?”.
“Laura’s brother”.
“Fabian?”.
“Were you not informed about the launching of the fishery business and restaurant opening of Avocados Spirals which is taking place today?”.
My heart slipped.
Avocados Spirals was what Collins had mentioned to that unknown caller that night that I had eavesdropped and the restaurant opening?
They had moved both launching to the same day so that no one would understand that the party was arranged because of the avocados spirals that Raymond would taste and be hospitalized for two months.
It was planned.
That was why I was not informed.
I sobbed. Raymond was definitely going to be hurt today. “Has Raymond tasted the avocados spirals?”.
“He will in two minutes time”. He disconnected the line.
I panicked and dialled Raymond’s number but he was not connecting.
Raymond would taste it.
There was no way I would be able to reach Lekki in two minutes time even if I used flight.
Nathan Boyle looked worriedly at me. “What happened?”.
“My husband is allergic to Ghana pepper and Collins Roland would put it in the food that he is going to taste in two minutes time”.
Nathan gasped. “That is great opportunity to find the evidence!”.
“My husband would be hospitalized!!!”.
“I thought you said you were going to eventually divorce him! Why are you worried!!!”.
“I can’t help being worried about my husband! He is my husband!!!”. I fired at him and rushed out of the office to my car.
I drove on and prayed after texting Candelaria. “Father lord, please don’t allow my husband to take that thing! God please!!!”.
As I drove on, I noticed that a car was following me from behind.
I increased my speed but the car overtook me and blocked my path.
I rushed out of the car. “What the hell do you think you are doing?”.
He got out of the car.
Henry Roland.
He grinned at me as he walked towards me. “I waited for this moment! You think you can protect him?”. He grit his teeth and held my head aggressively and smashed my face on the windscreen of my car until I couldn’t feel myself breathing anymore.
Henry Roland had stopped me from going for the launching so that no matter what, my husband would never survive.
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Hmmm. Epic