Married to the billionaire I hate

CHAPTER TWO:THE DINNER TABLE

Valerie

By the time I got home, I was still angry.

I pushed the front door open and walked inside, dropping my bag on the small table near the entrance.

“Valerie?”

I heard my mother’s voice from the dining room.

I walked toward her and saw my parents and Sophie sitting around the dining table.

They were all waiting.

I stopped when I saw the food in front of them.

“Why haven’t you eaten?”

My father looked at me.

“We were waiting for you.”

I sighed.

“Again?”

My mother frowned.

“Valerie.”

“I’m hungry, Mum. Why do we always have to wait for everyone before we eat?”

My father shook his head.

“Because that is our tradition. We eat together as a family.”

I looked at the food and rubbed my stomach.

“I understand, but I’m starving.”

Sophie rolled her eyes.

“You could have come home earlier.”

I looked at her.

“I didn’t ask you.”

“Both of you, stop,” Mum said.

I ignored Sophie and pulled out a chair.

“I need to shower and change first. I don’t feel comfortable eating like this.”

My mother nodded.

“Go and freshen up.”

I picked up my bag and started walking toward the stairs, but my father’s voice stopped me.

“What happened at the café?”

I turned around.

“How did you know something happened?”

“You look angry.”

I sighed.

“I saw the worst man today.”

Sophie laughed.

“You say that about everyone.”

“No, this one was different.”

I walked back toward the table.

“There was a waitress at the café. She accidentally spilled juice on a man’s clothes, and he started shouting at her.”

Mum frowned.

“He hit her?”

I nodded.

“He slapped her because of juice.”

My father’s face became serious.

“And you got involved?”

“Of course I did. I couldn’t just stand there.”

Sophie looked at me.

“What did you do?”

“I gave him a five million naira cheque.”

Everyone at the table became quiet.

My mother stared at me.

“You did what?”

I smiled.

“He kept talking about how expensive his clothes were, so I gave him money to buy two more and told him to keep the change.”

My father shook his head.

“Valerie.”

“What?”

“You should be careful. You don’t know who people are.”

“I don’t care who he is. He shouldn’t have hit that girl.”

My father sighed.

“I know.”

I smiled and turned toward the stairs.

“I’m going to shower.”

“Don’t take too long,” Mum called after me.

“I won’t.”

I climbed the stairs, still thinking about the man at the café.

His face was still fresh in my mind.

His arrogant voice.

The way he spoke to that poor waitress.

The way he looked at me when I challenged him.

I shook my head.

I didn’t want to think about him anymore.

He was just another rich man who thought money made him better than everyone else.

I had no idea that before long, I would see him again.

And this time, I wouldn’t be able to simply walk away.