My Secretive Wife

HIS USED CLOTHES

The next day, Marco went to work already when she woke up. She can't remember how long Marco dried her hair. Her only recollection was sitting on the chair and watching him. 'Ugh, Athena! How come you fell asleep!' She murmured to herself. 

She had just changed her clothes when the landline in their room rang. She picks it up and knows that it must be from the mansion.

"Madam, your breakfast is ready. Where do you want to eat it?" It was Nana Maria's distant niece. 

"I'll go over there," she replied in a low voice. She doesn't want to bother them to bring the food to the cabin. Sometimes, she let them do that, only if she was too tired to walk back and forth from the cottage to the mansion. 

She tied her hair up and put a casual sneaker on. Athena is wearing black leggings and a loose blue t-shirt. 

The shirt is Marco's. Athena saw it when she went to the mansion. She followed Nana Maria into the storage room when she said she would clean it. Nana Maria told her that Marco always donated his clothes to the orphanage he sponsored and his cousin. Marco and his cousin will go to the orphanage every year on a particular month to secretly donate used and new things.

A week ago

According to Nana Maria, his cousin opened a*****e that sells used high-end clothes, shoes, bags, furniture, and a lot more. The money from the store is for the orphanage and foundation that they are supporting. 

Nana Maria never named Marco's cousin, and she did not mention the gender, too. She's not nosy, so she did not ask further. 

The storage room was on the first floor, and it was three rooms connecting each other. The first room was for all the clothes, shoes, and all kinds of men's bags. The second and third rooms ranged from appliances to different types of furniture. She was dumbfounded when she saw the things stored in the storage. 

'OMG! seriously, these are used?' She said to herself. 'It can pass as new!' Athena walked to the closet and opened it. She felt like her jaw almost fell to the ground when she saw that it was full of clothes. 'Wow! How many times does Marco wear clothes every day? These clothes should be more than three hundred sixty-five!' She scanned all of them and saw his t-shirts hanging in one area. 

"Nana, can I have these?" She asks while she grabs one to show it to Nana Maria. 

"Bea, you can tell Sir Marco to buy you a new one," she said with a smile. It's only them in the storage room, so Nana Maria called her in her name as she requested before. 

"But, I want the one that he already wore," she pouted. She's like a brat wanting her mom to buy something for her.

"Tsk, tsk, okay, if you insist." Nana Maria found her cute and funny when she pouted. She doesn't have a daughter, and it was nice having a daughter like her, she thought. 

"Thank you, Nana! You're the best!" She giggled and continued to grab more t-shirts in the closet. If only she could get it all, she would! Call her greedy, but it's her husband's clothes! 

Present-day

Instead of walking to the sands, Athena followed the cemented path to reach the mansion. It's barely eight o'clock in the morning, and the sun is beautifully shining in the east. The road has trees on both sides. The sunshine passed through the empty spaces between the trees and their leaves. It makes her walk to the mansion a little colder because of the wind and not the full sunlight to warm her up. 

Nana Maria was waiting for her at the side gate to welcome her. She's like a mom who stays outside to wait for her daughter to go home after school. She always does that each time she goes to the mansion.

She shook her head, reliving the sad memories of losing her mom when she was younger. Her bittersweet smile did not escape Nana Maria's eyes. She looked at her with concern.

"Is there anything wrong, Bea?" She asked worriedly. "Did you fight with Sir Marco?" She inquired. She thought the only thing that would make Bea sad was a fight with her husband.

"No, Nana," she denied. "I just remembered my mom," she paused, heaved a deep sigh, and said, "She always welcomes me home each time after school."

"Oh, dear!" Nana Maria reached for her wrist and gave her a motherly hug. "Sorry, I'm sure she missed you too." She said, trying to comfort her.

"She would, but she's gone," she can't control the tears constantly falling from her eyes, so she just let them fall, making Nana Maria's shoulder become soaked with her tears.

"Dear, I'm so sorry for your loss," Nana Maria was tempted to tell her that she could be her mom if she wanted to, but she thought it was insensitive to say it at this moment. 

Athena gently pulled herself away from Nana Maria and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

"I'm okay, Nana. Thank you." Athena said, trying to make her voice sound like she was alright.

"Okay, let's head inside so you can have your breakfast. I'm sure you're hungry." Nana Maria did not let go of her hand and led her to the dining room. 

Athena smiles with appreciation when she sees the food they prepared for her. There's fried rice with mixed vegetables, sunny-side-up eggs, sausages, bacon, and of course a hot coffee. 

"Thank you, Nana!" Athena's face lit up with the sight. She pulled a chair and started eating. 

Nana Maria smiled. She loves to see her eat. She always has a good appetite, especially if the food in front of her is to her liking. 

MC Group

Marco was reading the documents when a knock disrupted him.

"Come in," he said in a low voice, enough to be heard by whoever is outside.

Anthony Perez opened the door and walked in. "Sir, I found someone who can analyze the videos," he said proudly. He was so frustrated last night on who to find to analyze the videos. It's the first time his boss has given him such a task. 

Since Sir Marco entrusted him with finding a capable man for the job, it means he doesn't want to bother to think of any of his contacts. He is sure that he has many different kinds of people on his list, but he doesn't want to bother himself to think about who might be the perfect candidate. He thought of Mr. Chavez's friend, Dr. Francis Guzman. 

"Send whoever that person is as soon as possible," he said without sparing him a glance. 

"Ahm, Sir Marco, he said he will come if the price is right," he swallowed his saliva as soon as he said that. He is nervous that his boss might throw something at him if he isn't satisfied.

Marco paused and glared at him. 'How dare he,' he thought. "Who is it?" He has someone in his mind that has a gut to talk to him like that.

"It's..." Before Anthony mentioned the name, the door flung open behind him.

Francis Guzman entered Marco's office with a grin on his face. "Long time, no see, my friend!" He said while walking to the couch. He sat down, spread his arms on top of the back pillows, and crossed his legs.