Trapped By The Wicked Billionaire

Chapter 8: Your Secret Is Safe With Me

RIVA POV:

The sharp ringing of the doorbell startled me out of sleep. For a split second, I was unsure of where I was. The room looked too grey and desolate to be my own. And none of the furniture looked familiar either. My eyes instinctively fell on the digital clock beside the bed which read 8PM.

I heard noises and rustling coming from around the house.

Ethaniel had mentioned that we were supposed to have dinner and all the other meals in-between together. But the commotion in the apartment was more than what was required to prepare dinner. I took a cleansing breath and mustered up the courage to peer outside and see what was happening.

I stumbled across the scene of Ethaniel hugging someone in the huge hallway. A little girl.

‘This must be Snow.’

Ethaniel had mentioned that the little girl would come back home tonight. After a long time too, judging from the condition of her room.

Their reunion was sweet to watch, but I would rather disappear than be caught peeking by them. But it was too late to retreat.

Snow caught me spying like a creep from the c***k of my door and turned her head to ask Ethaniel, “Daddy, who is that?” Her voice was sweet and low.

Next thing I knew,both the adult and child were staring at me. Ethaniel arched his brow, judging me silently.

I took a deep breath and opened the door further.

Snow looked nervous. At her age, she was probably shy when meeting strangers.

And no matter how much anger and resentment I held for Ethaniel, I didn’t need to take it out on the innocent little girl. She had done nothing wrong.

“Sweeite, remember I wanted to introduce you to someone special last time we spoke?” he started. “Well, this is Riva. She will be staying with us from now on.” Ethaniel smoothed the introductions, obviously addressing Snow first.

I could tell from the small action that he prioritized her opinion over everything else.

The man who took away all my choices, lavished them on his daughter. How curious for someone so cold.

“Like a sleepover?” Snow murmured slowly.

We laughed simultaneously. The tension in the air eased a bit.

“Not really, sweetie. Riva will be here with us for a little longer than a night,” her father replied.

“Will she sleep in your room like Mommy?” Snow asked slowly. There was a spiteful lilt to her voice.

It was the first time I heard the name ‘Mommy’ mentioned. I wondered what age Snow was when her mother passed away. Or if the little girl had any memory of her. The thought made my heart throb for no reason.

“No, she has her own room…”

That eased Snow’s worries. She perked up.

“Like Tilly?”

She turned her attention to the woman who was around my age. The other woman eyed me with the same interest. As far as I knew, this was the live-in nanny and she was not happy to see me.

I had to wonder: Was this out of worry for the little girl? Or was she bothered that the position of lover that she had been eyeing had been stolen by me?

I decided to intervene. “Hi, Snow. Your Dad told me a lot about you.”

It was not a lot, but he certainly set the standards. Taking into consideration that I was basically on house arrest, it would be easier to play along and pretend to be nice to the little girl. At least, it would offer me some freedom as a reward.

The little girl was more cautious than her father. She didn’t open up easily but offered me a shy smile. It was probably to appease her Dad.

“Since introductions are over, we can have dinner. Then you can check your presents.” Ethaniel winked at Snow.

The girl jumped with joy. I could see she worshipped the ground Ethaniel walked on and that she was the light of his eyes. It was hard to reconcile this image of him with the calculating man who had put my back to the wall.

What did he expect from me? Looking up from the father and daughter, I locked eyes with Tilly. Her face mirrored the same question.

Dinner went by in quiet scrutiny of one another. The only chatter made by Snow as she went through her adventures abroad lightened the room. Ethaniel intervened when needed, and asked all the right questions, but he allowed her to lead the conversation.

I didn’t have much to add on the matter. But the whole situation was awkward. From the outside, we probably looked like a happy family: talking about the day, smiling and eating together. But to me, it was annoyingly deceitful. I had done my fair share of stupid things in the past, but somehow, lying to this little girl’s face was the worst.

Now, looking at Snow, she took the news of her father’s new girlfriend really well. That made me think that she had been in this situation before. Maybe Ethaniel changed girlfriends often since her mother left, or maybe she was a good actress at such an age.

For the time being, the little girl appeared happy to be with her father again, and was paying attention to every word coming from his mouth.

After dinner and a long hug, Tilly took Snow to bed. Ethaniel and I were left in an awkward silence.

“Now what? What am I supposed to do tomorrow?” I questioned resentfully.

“Whatever you wish to do. You can drop by my company, take a tour around the place. Or hit the gym. Maybe lay around in bed all day. It’s up to you. You are not a prisoner here.”

I laughed at this.

I scraped the chair back and went back to my room without saying goodnight.

I awoke in the middle of the night, agitated. My whole life was a mess and it was spiraling down a black hole with no end in sight.

Did I really back myself into a corner? Would I really be unable to escape this place until Ethaniel released me? What were the chances that he would let me go?

Whatever his spoken intentions were, no scenario in my mind led to a happy ending. By meeting Snow tonight, I realized that even if this crazy plan was executed, the little girl would be affected by it.

At the end of the year, how would she react?

She would know her mother was gone and that every girlfriend Ethaniel brought afterwards had meant trial and error to find someone to replace the mother she loved. When she turned into a teenager and no longer cared, she would find some way to ignore those women. But it would leave a mark on her.

My instinct to protect the girl arose, but I pushed it down.

Why would I get involved? And if I did, it would come back to bite me in the ass.

I went to the fully equipped kitchen to grab a glass of milk. To my surprise, there was a little shadow sitting on the kitchen counter, swinging her legs as she enjoyed a glass of her own already. The shadow moved, startled by my appearance.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” I told her gently.

She hesitated. “I just came out for a glass of milk. Please don’t tell Tilly. She will get into trouble…”

I smiled at her protective nature. What a mature little girl.

“It’s okay. This will be a little secret between us… midnight milk drinkers.” I winked playfully.

I poured myself a cold glass of milk and sat down on the counter next to Snow.

“You’re probably jet lagged, too. You just returned from a trip, right?”

Snow hummed. “Yup. I went to see the Aurora.”

“I’ve never left the country. Did you like it there?” I asked, making conversation.

In response, Snow shrugged. I could see the little girl becoming teary so I changed the topic.

“Well, I don’t know about the outside world, but I know there is something at home that makes it all better!”

Snow turned to me, her eyes hopeful and glittering.

“Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, obviously!” I exclaimed.

I made a big show of searching through the pantry and finding all the ingredients. I made the easiest meal on the planet for the little girl, who looked at me like I was a Michelin star chef. She was even drooling.

“You’ve never had it before?” I whispered conspiratorially.

“Mmm, I have. Tilly makes it for me sometimes, but she told me not to have it too often. She is afraid of crabs!”

I snickered when I realized Snow meant ‘carbs.’

“Riva… could you please not tell Daddy I was here?”

“Don’t worry, sweetie. Your Daddy and I don’t tell each other everything…” I assured her with a wink. We smiled at each other, our secret midnight encounter kept a secret.

.

ETHANIEL:

I zoomed in on the image of Riva’s smiling face.

“Look at the little traitor. She will join hands with Riva to gang up on you,” Jax, my trusted bodyguard, commented.

“I’m not sure if I mind…” I replied.

Jax frowned. “I don’t understand what you are trying to achieve. Are you sure this is good for Snow?” He looked genuinely concerned.

He cared about Snow since the moment she was left in my care.

“I know you don’t agree with my method, but I have to take the risk. I wanted to see if they could get along. Now, look, it seems they will become friends…” Again, my eyes floated to the two girls sitting side by side, enjoying their snack.

“And you are sure it isn’t wishful thinking on your part?”

I shrugged. “Maybe. As long as they don’t kill each other… This is my chance.”