Billionaire's Admirable Bride

Chapter 3

Olima paused at the kitchen door, as she didn't want to give up on trying to beg her stepmother.

She had graduated as the best in her school, and if she had known, she could have accepted the school scholarship that was offered to her then. But she thought her father had better plans for her.

Olima turned and begged again, "Please, Ma, I really need to write the university entrance examination to gain admission into any university."

Mrs. Gina growled, "And who will sponsor your school fees, Olima? Did you forget how your loving father cast me away? Well, in case you've forgotten, let me remind you that the money that I'm using to feed you now is the money that I'm supposed to use in paying the previous old maids that were sent away. And there's no money in this house, and I cannot take my business money to sponsor your education fees into any university."

"Why am I even explaining all these to you? Just get out from my sight now before I break your head!" Mrs. Gina yelled, and Olima sadly went back into the kitchen.

Nathan, the gate man of the mansion, knocked and entered the living room. He came to inform Mrs. Gina that the school bus had arrived to take Mia to school.

Nathan knew that Mrs. Gina wasn't the madam of the house before, but after his late madam was gone, Mrs. Gina took over the mansion.

"Good morning, ma," Nathan greeted Mrs. Gina, informing her, "The school bus has arrived to take Mia to school."

"It's okay, Nathan. You can leave us and inform the driver that Mia will be outside soon," Mrs. Gina sighed and replied.

"Okay, Madam," Nathan bowed and left the living room. He was a 35-year-old man, and he went to the gate to inform the school bus driver to wait.

Mia was through with her breakfast, as she enjoyed the delicious noodles and fried eggs that Olima had cooked.

Mia rose from her chair and grasped her school bag. She carried it away from the next chair and spoke to her mother, "Mom, I'm off to school."

"Okay, my baby. Take care," Mrs. Gina replied, watching her daughter leave the house. She stared back at the dining table and went to pick up the dirty plate and tray that Mia had used.

Mrs. Gina wondered what Olima was still doing in the kitchen. She went into the kitchen to find out by herself, instead of calling Olima outside.

In the kitchen, Olima stood beside the sink and was washing her face, as her big brown eyes had turned pure red, and her head ached.

Olima heard the sound of the kitchen door slide open, and she stared backward and saw her stepmother walk into the kitchen.

Mrs. Gina glared at Olima, asking her, "What do you stand there beside the kitchen sink doing?"

Olima hastily replied, "Nothing, Ma. I was just washing my face."

"Hmmm," Mrs. Gina hummed and silently walked toward the sink to drop the dirty tray and plate that Mia had used for Olima to wash.

Mrs. Gina looked at the carton of noodles that she purchased the previous week. The carton was placed on top of the kitchen cabinet and was open.

Mrs. Gina moved towards it and inspected it. She saw the three noodles packets and two eggs that Olima had carefully placed on the cabinet top to cook for herself.

Mrs. Gina's eyes narrowed seeing the three noodles, and she asked Olima, "Why did you place the three noodles and eggs there?"

Olima nervously replied, "I want to cook it, ma."

"Hmm," Mrs. Gina hummed and walked towards the carton of noodles that she had bought the previous week. She gazed at it as the noodles were the smaller sized packets.

"How many noodles did you cook for Mia today?" Mrs. Gina demanded as she continued gazing at the noodles carton.

"Two noodles, Ma," Olima shakily replied.

"Two noodles? And how many noodles am I seeing here that you want to cook for yourself alone?" Mrs. Gina asked, staring inside the noodles carton and seeing that it was almost empty.

Olima shuddered and replied, "Three noodles, Ma."

"Three noodles! Just for you alone! My goodness!" Mrs. Gina gasped, staring at Olima with shock.

Olima shuddered and moved backward.

Mrs. Gina asked, "Did you plan to turn me into a thief overnight? How can only you finish just three noodles and two eggs at once? No wonder you still look beautiful and fresh, even after killing your late parents..." Mrs. Gina's eyes burned coals at Olima, who was shivering in fright.

Mrs. Gina then stared back into the carton and counted it. She said, "Only one noodle and one egg is enough for you from today henceforth. If I get to find out that you cook more than one noodle and egg per day for yourself alone, then you will see the other side of me. As it's just remaining 10 packets of noodles inside this carton. And when I bought it last week, it was 40 packets. So automatically, you and Mia have eaten 30 noodles packets just under one week. And I am sure that you ate the most. Now return those two packets back into this carton to make it twelve, and you cook just one noodle and one egg for yourself per day. Before that, prepare my tea and bring it out to the dining table now."

Mrs. Gina let go of the noodles carton and walked out of the kitchen, going to the dining table to have her seat.

Olima sobbed and swiftly rushed up to the teacup cabinet to prepare her stepmother's tea the way she knew that her stepmother would like it.

Olima then stepped out of the kitchen and walked to the dining room, carrying a tray of hot teacup in her hands.

She walked up nervously to the dining table and served her stepmother tea and bread on the dining table.

"You can leave," Mrs. Gina dismissed her, while Olima went back to the kitchen.

Mrs. Gina focused on finishing her tea and bread. Once she was through, she went to her room to have her bath and set to leave for her shop.

***

Meanwhile, Olima went back into the kitchen to prepare her own breakfast. She prepared the one noodle and egg for herself, as she didn't want her stepmother to punish her.

She cooked the noodle and fried the single egg. Once she finished, she served it on a plate and sat on a stool in the kitchen and ate it.

Olima cried, missing her parents. She knew that her late father was a billionaire and money was never a problem. Now, she was the poorest.

Tears streamed down from the corners of her eyes, knowing her stepmother hated her. Olima wondered who would speak to her stepmother on her behalf, as none of her relatives cared to ask of her. They left after her stepmother arrested them.

Olima knew that her uncles were only concerned about her late father's properties, his oil company, and mega houses in the Emerson's estate.

Olima finished eating her breakfast and rose from the stool. She went to keep her plate in the dirty sink to wash it. She went to the dining room to find out if her stepmother was through with her breakfast, so she could wash the teacup and tray too.

Olima saw that her stepmother was no longer there at the dining table, as the mansion felt silent.

Just then, Olima heard the sound of a car starting in the garage. She walked up to the dining window and peered out. She saw that her stepmother drove a red car out of the garage and exited the mansion.

It was one of Olima's late father's expensive new cars, as her late father had three brand new spotless cars with two Jeeps.

Olima sighed, going back to the kitchen to wash out all the dirty plates and teacups. Then she went upstairs to her bedroom to have her bath and sleep, as she was so tired and home alone.

After her bath, Olima wore a light blue gown, as blue was her favorite color. Then she laid on her bed and wondered how she would overcome her stepmother's brutality daily. The next few minutes, Olima fell asleep on the bed.

***

Later in the evening, Mrs. Gina arrived home from her boutique shop, where she sold feminine wear and shoes. She drove the red car into the driveway and parked it.

When she got out of the car, Mrs. Gina automatically locked up the red car door with the remote.

She remembered how her late husband had agreed to buy a car for her after Mia grew to a 5-year-old girl.

Mia complained that Olima's mother had a car. For that reason, her mother also needed a car too.

That was when Mr. Leo agreed to purchase a small black car for Mrs. Gina.

Mrs. Gina had been managing the small black car since then. She glanced at her small car that was still parked in the garage.

Mrs. Gina shook her head seeing the two cars Mrs. Zoe owned, while her late husband had three cars.

Mrs. Gina then walked up to the mansion frontage to go into the white duplex. A lovely fountain of water was situated at the center of the vast yard. The mansion had beautiful green plants and flowers as the late Mrs. Zoe was a floriculturist.

Nathan finished locking the huge black gate and rushed to greet Mrs. Gina again, "Welcome back, Madam." He saw her walking up to the mansion frontage.

"Yes, thank you, Nathan. Did anyone come to look for me?" Mrs. Gina paused and asked.

"No, Madam," Nathan replied.

"Alright," Mrs. Gina said and walked into the mansion. She entered the living room and saw Olima and Mia seated on the living room couch and watching the loud television.

Olima sprang up from the black couch as she saw her stepmother enter the living room. She didn't hear the sound of the car arriving because she was busy watching the interesting romance movie with Mia.

Mrs. Gina wore a blue gown and held her trusty black handbag in her hand as she glared at Olima.

Olima hastily greeted her stepmother, "Good evening, Ma."

Mrs. Gina glanced at Olima, not responding. She shifted her gaze to stare at the living room clock, seeing that the time was after 7pm in the evening. However, Olima didn't come to her shop in the afternoon to collect the money that she would use in preparing their dinners for the night.

Mia rose from the couch and greeted her mother, "Good evening, mom."

"Evening, Mia. How are you doing today? Have you done your assignments from school yet?" Mrs. Gina asked as she strolled toward the stairs.

"Yes, mom, I have done it. Olima helped me to do the school assignment," Mia replied with a smile as she went to hug her mother.

Mrs. Gina sighed and stared at Olima, seeing her walking away to the dining room. She asked, "Olima, have you prepared dinner yet?"

Mrs. Gina knew that there were no foodstuffs in the house, but she still had to ask Olima that troubling question.