A Bullied Billionaire

Chapter 7

He just smiled slightly and then looked away from them. He chose to remain silent in his seat while he waited. When he saw a violet Honda Civic outside—the car Dante used when he first visited him—his hormones went wild. He excitedly waited for Marimar to get out of the car.

The driver's door opened, and Dante emerged, checking the side of his polo shirt. Then another door opened, and a thin woman got out. She just stood there watching Dante. Then the backseat door opened.

His eyes widened as he waited to see Marimar for the first time. The first thing he saw were legs clad in black stockings and high-heeled shoes. Then, the woman he presumed to be Marimar slowly got out of the car. He was stunned.

Oh my God! The Black Nazarene in Quiapo… Goosebumps erupted all over his body as the woman fully emerged, wearing a tube blouse—her navel exposed—and extremely short shorts. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, with loose strands falling by her face. He swallowed, noticing the toned muscles in her legs as she walked, due to the very high heels of her shoes.

After a moment, she put on the sunglasses she was holding. He closed his eyes as she walked ahead, leaving her brother and the thin young woman behind. Oh my God! What bad luck had befallen him? He wanted to hide and escape the obligation to Marimar. He was completely shocked by her appearance.

As she entered the restaurant, everyone looked at her. She walked in with an affected sway, constantly glancing around. That's when he fully confirmed that she looked exactly like Whitney Tyson! It was as if that Black comedian from the early '90s had been reincarnated as Marimar; only she wasn't cross-eyed like Whitney. She had the nerve to wear a lemon yellow tube blouse.

“There! There's Rex! Rex! Rex!”

He felt like he would faint when he heard Dante's voice. In his shock at Marimar, he hadn't noticed that Dante had also entered the restaurant. He instinctively touched his throat, feeling like he was about to vomit.

When Rex arrived at his apartment, he felt utterly exhausted. His energy seemed drained from intense overthinking. From the restaurant to driving Dante to the airport and back to his apartment in Sta. Cruz, all he did was think of ways to deal with Marimar and her assistant, whose gender he couldn't figure out.

He wanted to ask Dante why his sister had an assistant, but Dante had preempted him by saying that Riri was their ward. She wouldn't be staying with them for long, as she would be finding her own place once she got a job.

He was already thinking about going abroad just to avoid the obligation he'd agreed to with Dante. It was fortunate that Marimar had her own car, so he didn't have to squeeze her and her assistant into his vehicle.

He still couldn't understand how Dante had convinced him that his sister was incredibly beautiful and sexy. He was so eager to see Marimar. But even more puzzling was how Dante and his family had convinced themselves that their youngest sister was a goddess of allure.

He sighed, his shoulders slumping. He was tired of avoiding and distancing himself from Marimar. She kept brushing and rubbing her body and arms against him. If it were contagious, he would have been covered in soot hours ago.

If Marimar looked like that, it meant Dante's father had a Black child. And she had even brought the child home to the family. But it seemed Marimar was dearly loved by Dante's mother when she was still alive, as well as her father's siblings.

After they left the airport, Marimar's brothers called her several times to make sure she had arrived and was with Rex. She hurried out of her car. Marimar's car had also stopped in front of his apartment. He approached her because she didn't seem to be planning to get out of the car.

“Where should I park?” she asked cutely. “Maybe here. There are no available parking spaces inside. Only one car is allowed per renter here.”

Her expression seemed incredulous. “My car doesn’t have a garage?”

“I’ll just ask someone who doesn’t have a car inside if I can rent their space to park my car.”

“Can you do it now?” She looked at him as if she were Kris Aquino.

He exercised extreme self-control to avoid punching this annoying woman who was pretending to be beautiful.

“Can Mr. Rex do that right now?” Riri said. She got out of the car and stood in front of Marimar. “He still has to ask and convince the renters here, right? It's only temporary, Marimar. Come on, let's carry our things inside.”

“You carry them, no! You’re the one with a lot of luggage.” Marimar pouted before opening her door and then stood poised on the sidewalk next to Rex.

Riri went around and opened the trunk. From there, she started taking out the large and heavy suitcases.

Marimar stood with her hands on her hips, her handbag slung over her shoulder, scanning the area. “To be fair, this is a quiet neighborhood,” she said, ignoring the people who were looking at her.

A tricycle driven by someone Rex knew—Ompong—passed by. He looked at Rex. Rex hardened his face and quickly looked away after nodding at him. Then he pretended to be busy and stepped away from Marimar. He didn't like the way Ompong grinned mischievously.

“Just a moment, Marimar,” he said. “I’ll help Riri so we can bring your things inside together. Go inside and wait for us there. It’s too hot here.”

“Okay. Is the apartment in front of your car your unit?” she asked. He really felt like she was Whitney Tyson pretending to be Kris Aquino.

“Yes, that’s it,” he said, his voice slightly hurried.

She went inside the compound. He noticed his neighbors looking at her. Some even came out of their houses to check who he was with. He didn't want anyone to see him settling Marimar in, so he approached Riri and helped her pull the large suitcases to the gate.

“You seem to have a lot of luggage,” he said to her.

“Oh, no. All of this is Marimar’s,” she replied, without even looking at him.

“Where’s yours?”

“There, in front of the car.”

He looked at the knapsack and golf bag she pointed to. “You have more luggage than Marimar,” he joked, chuckling.

She smiled. “It’s just that, but she’s harmless. I’m sorry for coming along. I won’t stay long. I’m just supposed to watch over Marimar until she adjusts, and then I can leave.”

“Are you her…maid…or…manny?”

“Manny,” she smiled again after saying that. She didn’t look like a woman because of her short, mushroom-style hair. But he couldn’t say she was a man either because her facial features were soft, unlike a man’s. He just thought she was a feminine man, hence the androgynous look. But when she effortlessly lifted the largest bag, he realized she was indeed a man.

He didn't speak to her again, even though she seemed kind. Of course, her loyalty was to Marimar, so it was better to just keep his mouth shut. He didn't want to say something wrong and have her report him; it was risky. He just helped her carry the luggage. When she locked the car, she only then got the things from the front seat.

They entered the compound together. “What took you so long? There’s not much!”

He almost punched Marimar when he heard her say that. One of her eyebrows was raised from behind her sunglasses. She clearly looked impatient waiting for them. She stood with her hands on her hips, her stomach and boobs—he couldn't decide which was bigger—protruding as she scolded Riri.

“If you helped, it would have been faster,” Riri replied.

“Whatever.” Marimar rolled her eyes. Rex didn't say anything. He opened the door to his apartment. Marimar immediately went inside. Upon seeing the apartment, she was clearly impressed. Even though he wasn’t expecting it, she went to his clean kitchen. After looking around, she went back to the living room and stopped at the foot of the stairs. “Where’s my room?” she asked him. “Upstairs, the room on the left. Mine is on the right, the master’s bedroom,” he replied.

“Then where will you let Riri sleep?”

“Won’t you two be sleeping together?”

"Of course not! Ewww!"

Riri cleared her throat and awkwardly stood between them. “I can sleep here in the living room. If you have a mat, I won’t lie on the sofa. The fabric looks expensive.”

He scratched the back of his neck. “Uh, there’s a maid’s room next to the kitchen.”

“That’s okay for her,” Marimar interjected. “She’s used to sleeping with our maids before Momsie let her live in the guesthouse in our backyard.”

He noticed Riri subtly raise an eyebrow, but she didn't comment. “I don’t have a maid here, so she won’t have anyone else to sleep with,” he simply said. “And while we're on the subject, I don't plan on hiring a maid for this house. I've managed it quite well for several years now, and since you're going to live here, I expect the same from you.”

The two didn't say anything.

“I'm going to write several rules and I'll post them on the kitchen board so you can both read them. If you have any questions, ask me now.”

“Tomorrow, I’ll pick up our maid from the bus station because I’m bringing her to live here too. I’m going to be honest with you, I’m not used to not having a helper,” Marimar said directly.

“I’m not going to pay for her services,” he said.

“I will. Regarding the expenses and bills, Kuya said I should split them since there are three of us here. I’ll also share in the rent.”

“Oh, rent. That won’t be necessary. I can manage that.”

“Well, okay.” She smiled at him. “Can I go to my room now? I’m a little tired because I stayed up late last night.”

“Sure,” he said.

She nodded and turned to Riri. “Take my things up to the room,” she said, then marched upstairs.

Oh my God! The Black Nazarene in Quiapo… Goosebumps erupted all over his body as the woman fully emerged, wearing a tube blouse—her navel exposed—and extremely short shorts. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, with loose strands falling by her face. He swallowed, noticing the toned muscles in her legs as she walked, due to the very high heels of her shoes.