The Billionaire's Wife Read online

  door bell. I was startled by it, since the doorman always let us know when someone was here. I went over and looked out the peephole and imagine my surprise when I saw the woman from the café…the one who had caused the accident. I wondered if she’d gotten the address from Rose and came to apologize.

  As soon as I opened the door, I knew that wasn’t the case. She had a strange look on her face, as if she were trying to look surprised that it was my door she’d knocked on. She wasn’t quite pulling it off.

  “Hi,” she said. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and looked down next to her. I saw that she had a little boy with her. He looked to be around six or seven.

  “Hi?” I said making sure to emphasize it was more of a question than a greeting. One that asked what she was doing ringing my doorbell and then acting surprised that it was me when I answered the door.

  “I’m sorry to bother you,” she said with another fake smile. “Wow! This is a strange coincidence isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, strange,” I said. “Is there something I can do for you?” I asked her, not interested in playing any silly games. I wasn’t trying to hide my annoyance with her either. I still had a bone to pick with her for spilling coffee on my baby and then lecturing me about how I should be caring for him.

  “I was looking for Aiden,” she said, surprising me.

  “Why would you be looking for Aiden?” I asked her, confused. How did some stranger I’d met because she tripped over my table at the café know my husband?

  Instead of answering the question, she said, “Oh my goodness, you must be Aiden’s wife, Holly.”

  “Yes, and you still haven’t told me who you are, or what you want with my husband,” I said. I hadn’t meant for that to come out sounding so territorial. There was something about this woman that I just really didn’t like. I didn’t want her to think she was getting to me though because somehow I thought that’s what she was looking to do. The fact that she burnt Eric and didn’t seem sorry about it was also making me intensely dislike her.

  “Oh goodness, I’m sorry. I’m Cecile, Aiden’s ex-wife. This is Mark, Aiden’s other son.”

  I looked at the shy little boy, hiding behind his mother’s leg. I really wished that he couldn’t hear me, because I wanted to tell her that I knew he wasn’t Aiden’s son. None of that was his fault though and I for one was not interested in harming a child. Instead I smiled at him and then looked back at her.

  “Why are you looking for Aiden? You know how to get ahold of him at his office, I’m sure. Why didn’t you just call him instead of showing up on our doorstep?”

  She smiled a patronizing kind of smile but before she could speak, Eric screamed behind me. I turned to go to him and saw that he had just dropped his binky. I bent down to pick it up and I heard the front door close. When I turned around, Cecile and Mark were standing inside and she was pulling off his coat.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, “I don’t recall inviting you in.” It was hard, but I was still trying to keep my tone even and calm so as not to upset the little boy.

  “Oh, well since you left your child unattended…again, I didn’t want to interrupt you to ask.”

  “I beg your pardon? I did not leave my child unattended. I would have been right here with him if you weren’t ringing my doorbell. I’m not sure who you think you are. How dare you come into my home and start slinging insults at me?” I don’t believe I’d ever met anyone who could make me so angry.

  “I didn’t mean it as an insult, sweetie. It was just more of an…observation. Mark, why don’t you go watch some television, honey? Right through that door baby and it will be the first door on your left. Unless Holly has changed things?”

  I know it was silly, but it made me furious that this woman knew where our television was. I was having the place re-decorated as soon as she left. Really, who did she think she was? I waited until the little boy had gone and then I said, “I really don’t know what you think you’re doing, but Aiden won’t be happy to come home and find that you’ve barged your way in here. He’s really not going to be happy to find out you were the one who burnt his son.”

  She smirked and said, “Aiden said it was fine for us to come by any time, if we needed anything. Mark goes to private school, and I’m in the middle of a messy divorce. I don’t have the funds to pay for his tuition this month, I’m a little strapped for cash. I knew Aiden would want to help. I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to use the Amex card for the school tuition or not. As far as “burning his son,” I think Aiden is a little more annoyed with you about that. It was your job to look after him, wasn’t it?”

  My head felt like it would explode. She knew Aiden would want to help? She somehow knew Aiden was annoyed with me? How could she possibly know that? Aiden hadn’t seen her or Mark for almost four years, had he? What the hell did she mean by use the Amex card? I was so angry that I felt hot all over, like my blood was boiling. I was too shocked and confused to even try to hide it. Cecile flashed another of her fake smiles as she walked over to one of the chairs and sat down in it, as if she had a right.

  “Aiden didn’t tell you that we’d been in contact, did he?” She tried to look sympathetic when she said it but again, she wasn’t pulling it off.

  My husband didn’t tell me they’d been in contact. He didn’t tell me he’d given her a credit card to use…I was livid, but the last person I was going to admit that to was this bitch. I continued to just stare at her with my arms across my chest. I kept them there to keep from grabbing her by the hair and shaking her. I was so horrified by her behavior that I didn’t even know what to say.

  “Please don’t worry, Holly. This isn’t about you, or even me. Aiden missed his son, that’s all.”

  I couldn’t stop myself this time since the boy was no longer in the room. As if spitting venom, I said, “I seem to recall that Mark’s father was a man named Jake. What happened? Did he leave you and now you’re trying to take back my husband?”

  Cecile laughed and said, “Insecure much are you? No dear, this is about my son. I know it may be hard for you to understand, but some mothers do put their children first.”

  “You bitch! You don’t know anything about my parenting skills. At least I didn’t use an innocent child as a pawn in my games between two men.” I didn’t raise my voice, I didn’t want Mark to hear, but I did have my teeth gritted so she knew how angry I was.

  “Touché,” was all Cecile said to that. She seemed to delight in the fact that I was angry. It made me want to scratch her eyes out that much more.

  She continued to sit there, so I continued to go about my business with my son like she wasn’t there. I had a mind to call security and have her removed; nothing would make me happier than to see them carry her out kicking and screaming. The only thing that kept me from it was the innocent little boy in the next room. I put Eric in his playpen after I got his toys picked up from the floor and went into the kitchen to fix his supper. We only fed him organic fruits and vegetables, I had been told by the pediatrician that would help him later on in life to not develop so many food allergies. Aiden had done a lot of research on it too and thought it was a great idea. I chopped up his vegetables and put them in the processor and turned it on for the thirty seconds it took to puree them. When I turned it off, I heard Eric crying. I went to him right away and I stopped dead in my tracks when I came around the corner to see Cecile holding my son.

  “That noise scared him,” she said. “He fell backwards in the playpen. You really shouldn’t leave him sitting up like that. He could have hurt his neck.” She was just full of lectures when it came to my parenting skills. I held my arms out for him and as she handed him to me it was all I could do to keep myself from slapping her. I hugged Eric to my chest.

  “I really think you should go now.”

  “I’d rather wait for Aiden,” she said. “I’m truly sorry. I imagined Aiden marrying a strong woman who wouldn’t feel so threatened by me.”

  That was it. T
hat flipped the crazy switch in me. I sat my son back down in his playpen and I stepped up into her face.

  “You need to get out of my house, now!” Aiden walked in the door just then.

  Looking shocked and dismayed he said, “What’s going on?”

  Cecile pasted a smile on and turned towards him.

  “Hi Aiden,” she said, sweetly. “I’m so sorry, I think I may have upset your wife by stopping by.” She turned back to me then and in an even more sickeningly sweet voice she said, “Holly, dear. I’m only here because my son so desperately wanted to see Aiden. I told him no, I didn’t want to disturb you. The very last thing I want to do is cause you grief. I did need to ask you a little favor too,” she said, turning back to Aiden. “That can wait though.”

  I laughed. It wasn’t a happy laugh, or even a pretty one. It was just a sound I was making at that very moment to keep from screaming. I literally wanted to beat my own head against the wall. I couldn’t believe any of this was happening. I looked at Aiden.

  “You’re not buying this, are you? Please tell me you’re not.”

  He gave me a look that said he wished I weren’t being so rude. I wanted to scratch his eyes out too then.

  “Where is Mark? I hope the two of you haven’t been sniping at each other in front of him,” he said, instead of answering my question.

  “He’s watching television, I’ll get him,” Cecile said. “And you know me, Aiden. I would never raise my voice in front of Mark.” She looked at me as if to say I might do otherwise. When she had gone into the other room, I looked at my husband.

  “You’ve been seeing her?”

  “I’ve been seeing Mark,” he said.

  “It’s the same thing, Aiden. Why didn’t you tell me?” Before he answered, the little boy ran into the room and into Aiden’s arms. Aiden picked him up and hugged him.

  He swung him around and said, “I’m so happy to see you, Sport!” He hadn’t even looked at Eric.

  I took my own son and went back into the kitchen to finish dinner. A few minutes later, Aiden came in.

  “Hey Buddy! How’s daddy’s little man?” The baby squealed and smiled and reached out for him. I put him in Aiden’s arms reluctantly.

  “Are we going to talk about…that?” I pointed towards the other room.