LOVING THE REJECTED BILLIONAIRE

“WAS! She was my wife. Not anymore. That ended three years ago.” Andy corrects her, wrapping his arm around my frozen self.

She was? Was? What fucking discrepancy does it make, huh? His words would have soothed me if it was someone else rather than the latter. This is Maria, for freaking sake, my very own cousin! What kind of a disastrous joke is this?

“Wait, wait.” I mumble, glancing at Andy, and he looks at me. “Babe, tell me it’s not true. She… Maria… She can’t be your wife.” My heart is so heavy, and my legs are becoming too weak to support my body.

“Hun.” He holds my shoulders in his hands, keeping his eyes on mine. “Love, listen. She, was, my wife. Past tense. That’s it.” He cups my face, wiping away the tears falling from my eyes.

If only things were just that simple, Andy! Why is he even taking this so lightly, huh?

“Whether you like it or not, Adrian, you and I can never be over. We have a child together, and Angel binds us forever.””A child?” I feel Andy’s hands on my cheeks clench into fists. “A child you say? You have no place in my daughter’s life. Get that in your thick skull as early as this minute.” He states.

“I am her mother! You can not take that right away from me, Adrian.””A mother? A careless irresponsible who*e like you can never be a mother to anyone, much less my own daughter! You denounced that right the moment you turned your fucked up back on us, Maria.”Hell is about to break loose! I have never seen Andy this enraged, much less, shouting like this. He is acting like a lunatic. His eyes are smoking fire. He looks like he can murder someone right now, and since I don’t want to be the one to suffer the fate of his wrath, I step aside to watch their fight from a safe distance, just like Mark and the watchman are doing.Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

“What the fuck did I tell you that day after signing the papers inside my office, Marai? Can you remember?” The bitch remains mute, but refuses to even blink. This is the Maria I know. She is a bitch who doesn’t get shaken by anything. She always keeps her emotions at bay no matter what. “No? Yeah, I get it. The only thing you cared about was money, money, and money.” He pauses to take a deep breath to calm himself down, and then he speaks, with a very low soft voice. “What the fuck are you doing here?””I’m sorry for what I did three years ago, Adrian. Believe me, it has been so difficult for me to stay away from my daughter an….” Andy cuts her off.

“One last time. What the fuck are you doing here?” He is losing it, and I pray she doesn’t piss him further.

“I came back. To… you, and… Angel.”

She came back for who again? I snap at her direction.

For the first time, I have seen Maria tremble in front of someone. And for the first time, she sounds unsure or ashamed of something. Back then, she could go all bitchy and still walk with her head held high like she won a trophy. She could do something so nasty and still be proud of it as if it was the most right thing she had ever done. But today, this game she is playing is well-planned and calculated. I wonder what she is up to because she sure has a mission here to accomplish.

“You have no place here. You have no daughter here. Do yourself a favour and get the hell out of here.””Adrian…”

“Get out!” She looks at me with disgust, as if I am the one responsible for her predicaments.

“I have all the rights to be with my daughter, more than you and this rug you collected from the dumping site to take my place.””What did you just say?” Andy speaks.

I intend to keep out of their fights for now until I fully process this nightmare.

“Exactly what you heard, Adrian. Angel is still a minor. Her place is with her mother. I have more rights than…””Shut up…”

“She is supposed to be with me, not you..”

Ouch!

she is shut up with a resounding slap that reverberated in the whole compound, making me walk to Andy. She screams as she hits the cold terrazzos. Not even the two men behind her dare say a word. Andy looks like a beast right now, a beast that even I am scared to stand in front of. I understand him though, she crossed the line. Telling Andy that he doesn’t deserve his daughter is like telling a ruthless king that he doesn’t deserve his crown. You dig your own grave, just like this crazy bitch here did. Now she is groaning in agony. Serves her right!

Is she even serious? Where was she all this while to be with her daughter? How dare she insinuate that she has more rights to be with her daughter than Andy? How cliche is that?

“Andy? Let it go. Don’t let her craziness get into you?” I try to calm him down.

Truth is, more than him, I need to calm down because I am squirming. I knew he can get furious at times, but to the point of hitting someone that hard? And a woman? I didn’t know it could get to that extent. Then again, can I blame him?

Maria stands up from the ground, tears running down her cheeks. The redness on her cheek that received the slap can be noticed with ease, together with the finger marks. That’s what you get for crossing boundaries. I am not even sorry for her one bit.

“Is it so wrong to want to be with my daughter, Adrian? You must think that I am the worst mother there is in the world, but the bottom line is, I am still a mother, Andy. I am not perfect, no one is. I just want a chance to be with my daughter.”Someone wake me up. Is that Maria begging? The same Maria Rodgers? The world is about to end, I suppose. I would love to continue watching her sympathetic charade that doesn’t suit her, by the way, but something just baffles me. Something just doesn’t make sense.

“Why now, Maria?” I implore, looking her in the eye and the look that I see sells her off.

“Stay out of this. You have no right to meddle.” She retorts, and I was about to shoot back but Andy beat me it.

“As my wife-to-be in a few hours, she has every right. And I suggest you show some respect while talking to her. I also want to know why you remembered you have a daughter just now.”She looks down, and I know deep down she has cursed me a thousand times.

“I never forgot I had a daughter, okay? I just was not ready to face you, Adrian. I didn’t leave in a good way, so, it took me a long time to gather the courage to come back.”Yeah, right. Heck! Who is she kidding?

“That still doesn’t answer my question. Why exactly now? Can you even recognize your own daughter if you ran into her somewhere? Do you even have an idea what she looks like right now? How old is she? You forgot about her for three good years and now you appear like a ghost expecting to be let in her life? What kind of a mother are you?” I fire.

“Don’t you dare insult me, you bitch!” Andy jerks beside me, but I hold his hand. I need this bitch to speak up already. One slip of the tongue, and she is busted. “What kind of a mother am I? I am the kind of mother who has a clear picture of her daughter even if I haven’t seen her in three years. I know she turned four a week ago.””Of course. Because you have been keeping taps on her, stupid bitch! Or should I say, you have been watching us?” I retort, earning a confused look from Andy.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” She defends, but with her look, she can’t deceive me. “Did you see me anywhere following you?””No.” I say. And she relaxes. Then I hit her. “Because you had someone do it for you. DAMIAN.” She didn’t see that coming.

“What? Wait a minute.” Andy says, standing between us, his eyes are stern on me. I knew that name alone will make his blood boil. “What Damian? Wait, what’s the connection between Maria and this Damian? And babe, where do you know bitch from?””Well, this B. I. T. C. H, is my cousin. The one I told you Damian cheated on me with. And yes, I am talking about the same Damian Almenda you met at the park a few days ago. Last I checked, they were living together here in the city, Hurlingham, to be precise.” I turn to Maria. “So how and when did you end up becoming Andy’s wife? Strange, but, forget that. What I want to know is, what games are you and Damian playing with me? And don’t you dare say you two are not together because I am not some dumb ass to not know that this is too much of a coincidence. What do you and Damian want from us?”