Hello, Kenzo

A Secret Billionaire

"Who told you that?" I asked her. My body seemed to get frozen to where I was standing, and my breath stuck in my throat like a piece of ice.

I felt a cold breeze surrounding the dark living area of the house and felt how empty it was while only the light coming from the fences outside lit up the area.

"So it was true?" My mom heaved in despair. I could see her clutch on her chest as she slowly sat on the sofa with her trembling hands. "It is true! How dare you!"

"Mom! Please! It's not what you think! It's now how that person told you; I'm sure of it!"

"Then what?! Tell me because I am dying to know what you had been going through during the times we could not contact you or reach you at any form of communication while we worried about your daughter when she badly needed a mother!" My mother was sobbing, her eyes filled with pain and confusion, and the tears streaming down her face were enough for me to feel guilty.

Whoever told her, somehow my worries about how my parents would react to Kenzo were resolved. They would not be welcoming about it, nor would they understand my situation. My heart ached for Kenzo and how badly I wanted to introduce him to them so we wouldn't be hiding our relationship anymore because I love him no matter who he is.

At that moment, I wanted to kneel and beg for them to let me be, but knowing them, they wouldn't let me, and I could not afford to handle Vri on my own while I did business and my work as a teacher.

And because I was not willing to give up anyone from them, I was left with no choice but to lie and finish this battle.

"His name is Kenzo, and yes, I am dating him. Mom, I know he's young, and I always told him that people would judge us if we got serious, but he wouldn't leave. So, I am trying to get to know him. Mom, I wanted to get married and settle down, and I trust that you understand me that," I said softly, looking away from my mother's face, which looked more painful with every second. I had to be calm and convincing. I would lie, but not everything.

"Oh, you are getting to know him? For god sake! You cannot lie to me, Stella. I am glad you stopped seeing Dein, but I think seeing someone younger than you, still in college, was way worse than having Dein! I know how you are with men; you are weak! You are as dumb as those without a college degree! You cannot live without a p***s?! HA! You are the worst!" My mom was really mad now; her voice was high pitched, and even though she was right with everything, including how great Kenzo was in bed and his massive soldier, I am not going to admit it.

And though I am used to her harsh words when she was ranting and her uncontrolled emotions, I am hurt! I am f-king torn.

She and her painful ways of belittling me were enough reason for me not to tell her everything. Not now, or maybe never.

"I am not asking you to believe me."

"I am not, and I'll never believe you when it comes to men! Don't you ever let me know that you are already living with that boy, or you will see yourself out of this family and out of our lives? If you ever get pregnant, don't come crawling back at us, and we will never let you have Vri!"

"Just watch me, Ma! I'll prove to you I am not as weak as you say I am. And when I prove you wrong, you'll see what real strength looks like!" My voice cracked, but I could not let her see me breaking. I came to explain, and somehow, a little part of me prayed she would spare me a shred of concern, but I should not have hoped so much.

She had been too harsh with me; even if they didn't allow it, she should understand that I can be mature enough to deal with things myself.

With that, I turned around before walking towards the door. I couldn't stay here after that! After all, my mother just said I was not ready to accept it.

My restless tears once again fell on my face as I closed the door behind me with a hard thud. As I walked away, I heard a few muffled thuds and a soft cry, followed by silence. I knew my mother was angry and that she was hurt by my choices, but I am not giving up Kenzo.

I trekked our small yard with my blurry vision. My legs were feeling heavy as I tried my best not to pass out under the pressure of trying to walk so fast through the dark and the emotions I had been battling this whole day. I had not yet eaten enough today, so I guess the hunger was finally taking effect. I felt nauseous and tired. I just want to lay down somewhere.

The cold wind blew against me, and my skin tingled from goosebumps that started to spread across it. My stomach was rumbling, and I am pissed off about it. I could not die of hunger now!

After several minutes of struggle, I finally reached the gate and was determined to hail a taxi, when a light chuckle disrupted my thoughts.

"You done? Want to grab some food?" Tim appeared in front of me, and his smile was wide. His hand was already open, waiting for mine to hold it.

"You waited." My lips quivered as I fought not to break down into tears. Tim had done so much for me these past few days, and it hurt how little I did to return the favor. "I'm hungry!"

"Yeah, I know!" He ended up giggling, his eyes turning into crescents with mirth. "You must be! Come on, let's get something to eat, then I'll bring you to Kenzo! He must be worried about you."

I smiled and took his hands before hopping on his motorcycle. "I badly want to see him now!"

"That's it, Stella! Learn to hurt others so you can fight for your happiness," Tim told me as he pulled out of the driveway. His voice was gentle, enough to soothe my wearyness and pain.

It was a long drive after we stopped by a drive-thru to my apartment back in the city.

"We're here! Take some rest, then we'll prepare for the fight!" Tim helped me down his motorcycle and removed the helmet.

"Are you referring to the argument I had with my mother? Tim, you had done..."

"No, Stella! You got a bigger fight here." Tim's facial expression turned grim into one of seriousness when he saw my confused expression. His hands were clenched, and I could see he was not happy.

I gulped but asked anyway, "What is it? Is Kenzo okay?"

"Not for long! You see when you left the room, my father was enraged, even my sister when Kenzo left to chase you. And just tonight, one of my informants told me that someone was hacking the internet to leak the news about your issue and they could not do anything to counterstop it. It was probably Kate. She is a genius when it comes to computers. What's worse, just tonight, I received news about brands pulling out of your business. I wanted to help you as much as I could, but please do tell me other secrets you still have that Kate might dig against you, or else you'll lose everything!"

My body felt numb for a moment as reality struck me that everything I worked hard for, everything I tried to establish silently without having to announce it to the world, would slowly be fading away because I chose to be with Kenzo.

"I am a secret billionaire," I sighed as I looked up at my apartment.

"You're what?!"