A rival

That day, I couldn't walk down to dinner so I requested that Darcy and I should be served upstairs in our room, "Could I maybe get a painkiller or something? My head hurts terribly." I asked the worker who had come upstairs to call us to dinner."

"Alright madam." She replied and left. Shortly after, she returned with a stroller containing dinner for Darcy and I. There was a pack of pills on the tray as well.

"Thank you very much." I said with a smile and she smiled back at me.

"Get well soon, madam." She said and walked out of the bedroom.

Darcy was on the rug at the foot of the bed, doodling into her drawing book when I called out to her, "Darcy sweetie, come eat your food."

"Momy, I'm drawing you and daddy." She said. I curiously got up from the bed and abandoned the tray of food to go meet her, "Who is mommy here, sweetie?" I asked when I saw the stick figures she was drawing on paper.

She innocently pointed to the figure on the right and said it was me, while the one on the left was her father; Damien Jaeger.

"It's beautiful darling." "We just need to add a little more colours and maybe give mommy some hair."

She liked my suggestion but I instructed her to continue after dinner, which she happily agreed to.

"Mommy, why aren't we having dinner with daddy at the table?" She asked after taking a spoon from her bowl of beef soup.

"Because, mommy wants us to eat together today. Just the two of us- like we used to." My answer seemed to have satisfied her because she didn't ask any more questions. After dinner, I remained awake for a while with Darcy, who was adding the finishing touches on her drawing. Eventually, I dragged her to bed, feeling sorry about not telling her a bedtime story because 'mommy wasn't feeling too good'.

Of course Damien Jaeger couldn't care less about my absence over dinner. He sat down the next morning, munching on some assorted meat when Darcy and I walked into the hall. His baby's mother sat down very close to him. This was something I could never muster the courage to do. Next to her was her daughter, Anna. They were both still dressed in their pyjamas while Darcy and I were already dressed up for the day.

I pulled a seat for Darcy before pulling one out for myself. Breakfast was sumptuous as usual but I barely had an appetite. Why wasn't today a weekday? I wished I could go to the office. However I thought of the scene at the office and it made me renounce my wish. My office life and personal life were both a mess!

"Damien, how did the meeting go?" Ella asked. I took a spoon from my pudding and I waited to hear what Damien would say but he gave no answer. Ella chuckled in embarrassment, "It must have been hectic, huh?"

"Where do you work?" "I'm talking to you, Mélie." I raised my head to look at her. She looked quite different now that she wasn't wearing any make-up. And I must confess that she didn't look in the least ugly.
Why was she suddenly interested in starting a conversation?

"StancInk." I simply replied. Damien Jaeger moved in his seat and my eyes wandered curiously to him. But as usual, he held the usual indifferent look he always carried.

"Never heard of it. I doubt it's one of the big companies like Damien's. I mean, I saw your car parked outside. I must say, you aren't so rich, are you?" Her voice was mocking and a mischievous smirk formed at the corner of her mouth. Was she deliberately trying to piss me off?

"You can take any car you wish to, Mélie. You don't have to move around the city in that box of yours." Damien said and I felt a sting in my chest when Ella's smirk grew into a scornful smile.

"The car was given to me by the company for my efforts. I didn't have a problem driving it before I moved here. There's nothing wrong with it." He shrugged at my reply but said nothing.

I knew he had a lot of luxurious cars, but I felt very offended that he had called the car I earned for my hardwork 'a box'. I mean, since when did a Toyota yaris even resemble a box?

After breakfast, I took Darcy by the hand and we went for a stroll around the mansion. We settled into one of the gazebos in the garden. It was serene. Darcy didn't say much and I was thankful for her silence. I needed to have a proper conversation with Damien Jaeger now more than ever. If he already has another baby mama who had his 6 year old daughter, why did he marry me? And since we were already married, what was she doing in his house?

A voice interrupted my thoughts. It was Ella. I cussed under my breath. The mischievous look on her face told me that she was here to disturb my peace, "Hello Mélie. I was looking for you, you know."

I had to ask the obvious question, "Why?"

She laughed too fake laughter and sat down beside me, "To talk to you, silly! I mean why else would I look for you?"

"Look, It's not really as serious as you think, okay?" She said when she noticed the confused look on my face. Her face changed as she continued, "I'm just here to warn you."

"Warn me?"

"Yes. I am here to warn you to stay away from my man. Damien is mine and mine alone!"

I looked at her with a bleak expression on my face and said nothing. My silence seemed to annoy her and she snapped, "Don't try to act smart, Mélie. I know your kind!"

"And what kind is my kind?"

"Witches!" She yelled, raising to her feet. Her burst of outrage frightened Darcy, who bolted to my side for safety.

My lips dragged into a frown, "Ella, I would really appreciate it if you would take your nonsense somewhere else because you are scaring my daughter."

"Might be yours, but I doubt she's Damien's." Her words striked my chest and I felt anger building up inside of me. She looked at me keenly, glad to see the effect her words had on me.

"At least I'm not the uncertified baby mama because Damien Jaeger and I are married."

Confusion crept into her face as she swallowed my words. She moved back in awe. Then in a stammer, she asked, "What do you mean you and Damien are married?"

"You heard me, Ella. Damien Jaeger and I are married."

Her face squeezed with emotions as though she had just been betrayed. Her hand moved to nurse her chest, but she did the exact opposite of what you would expect anyone to do in such a state. She roared with laughter!

"Oh...you...Just...have….to...stop being...so funny." She said in between laughs. Her reaction made my certainty to take a leap and successfully make an escape, with doubts taking its place.

"What is so funny, Ella?"

She took time to wipe the tears from the corner of her eyes before answering my question, "Don't tell me he tricked you into signing that dumb contract."

"What are you talking about?"

Her eyes lit up at my question, "Oh, he did, didn't he? Oh well. Poor you." She said and walked away with a trail of laughter, leaving me with Darcy in the gazebo.

What did she mean by Damien Jaeger deceived me into signing the contract?