Chapter 34

The silence shattered. All around me, I could hear tires screeching and motorcycle engine revving. The echoes, shadows, and bottles thrown on the floor filled the room.
      Turning to my right, I noticed the paper stamped on the wall. Morning, dutiful wife. You just woke up, right? I know it's past 10. You're doing an amazing job. Jsyk, I was being sarcastic. You failed. I read the paper, rubbing my tired eyes. Liam Smith. He's impossible.
       "Morning sunshine," Alexa greeted. "How do you feel today?"
       "Bad." As I got down from bed, I bumped into the table and let out a soft sigh. What a bad way to start my morning. Day 1 and things ain't working in my favor.
       "Do you want me to tell you a joke?" She inquired again.
       As my head shook in response, I realized it wasn't a human being I was talking to. "Nah. Play me a song instead. I haven't eaten yet. If you tell me a joke, I might laugh my abdomen out of my body. We can't risk that."
       "Sure. I'll play you, Perfect by Ed Sheeran."
       "No!" My response was as swift as a speeding vehicle. Hearing soft romantic songs would be a bad idea when trying to impress my husband. It would only make me yearn for him more. "Play Me, SG by DJ Snake ft Ozuna, Megan, and Lisa." I picked up Liam's water bottle and quickly gulped down some water before turning to the calendar and marking the first date. Day 1. I have to cook for them. But what can I cook? It was already the first day and Diana was ahead of me. I could hear her voice from upstairs. If she was doing that intentionally to upset me, it was none of my concern. Maybe I shouldn't have agreed to this challenge. How could I possibly cook when I knew nothing about it?
       Alexa played the song. I wondered why it took her forever to play it. Was she having an emotional breakdown as well? Often I wished I could be an AI. How amazing it is to know how to do a lot of things.
       Wearing my hair bonnet on my hair, my hands reached for my robe and flung it on the bed before stepping into the bathroom. Incredible! The bathroom wasn't as big as Liam's but it was as if it was made for royalties. The bathtub was made of gold. Everything in there, the sink, tap, tiles, and walls were made of gold. It was like I walked into a gold mine. If there was a word outside filthy rich, that was what would have been used to describe Liam's friend. Someone legit wasted millions of dollars to build a bathroom. It felt surreal to me. If I hadn't gone there, I wouldn't have believed if someone told me. My mouth dropped almost to my feet, staring at the bundle of cash forgotten by the window.
       Is this real life? If I had misplaced a dollar, my mum and neighbors would have heard my whining but someone actually left so much money in a guest room and he ain't bothered. Is this Earth or did I jump into space? A lot of people complain of poverty but people are sitting on millions of cash!!! Feeling my excited palms on the money, my eyes flickered. My smile was indeed bigger than the sun. It was as though I had won a lottery.
       You came here for Liam. Focus, Hannah. You can do this. These things are temptations. You can get through it. There ain't no temptation that isn't common to man. I assured myself, my hands still feeling the weight of the cash.
       "You can take it. I won't tell."
       That voice. It sounded so familiar like I had heard it before but where? Turning my head in the direction of the voice, my lips parted ways subconsciously and screamed Liam's name.
       "Easy girl. I ain't gonna hurt you."
       As I covered my breasts with my hands, I ran into the shower and pulled the curtain which was practically useless because it was transparent. "Get out now! I said get out!"
       "Hannah, chill."
       "Jeremy?" The stiffness in Liam's voice shook me off my feet. I clutched the curtain, glaring at both of them. "What are you doing here?" His eyes blazed with intense rage, one that could set a building on fire. "Don't you have any respect?"
       "Chill, Bro. I don't play dirty." he raised both hands in defense. "I came here to get my jacket. I had no idea you guys crashed the night in the guest room. I mean, it's your brother's house. Why would you sleep in the guest room?"
       It's Max's house? I exclaimed. That wasn't important. Liam's disgusting cousin had just seen my nakedness. In a million years, I couldn't say that day would be forgotten. It was a hideous and terrible day that any girl in my shoes wished to erase.
       "Sir, I told him that Ma'am Anna was there." The maid trembled. She hid her hands under her uniform, tilting her head in every direction. She was scared of what might happen to her job. Her face revealed how uneasy it was for her to speak the truth and also how apologetic she felt. "I told him but he insisted on going into the room."
       "Why are you acting like I committed a crime?" Jeremy scoffed. He adjusted his wristwatch and then raised his head to look at me. A deceptive grin spread across his lips. "It's only a mistake. Even you have made that mistake in the past."
       What is he talking about?
       "Jeremy Smith!" He grabbed his shirt and before anyone could get a grip on the situation, Jeremy was lying on the floor. His legs were in the bathroom and the other half of his body was outside. "That girl is my wife!"
       "Ouch. That hurts." Jeremy jumped to his feet, smiling condescendingly. "She's your wife." He rephrased. "Oh my, is this my blood or did I trip on someone else's blood?" He pulled out his phone and checked his face. "I haven't visited Grandpa in a long time."
       "Jeremy!"
       "Calm down. It's not because of you. I just want to visit my old man. I promise we won't talk for that long."
       "Guys!" I called out angrily, still holding the useless curtain. When I was sure I had their attention, I said, "If you're going to keep arguing or fighting, do it outside. I'm naked. I'm not some model in a commercial or a porn star in a movie."
       "I could make you either of the two." Jeremy teased. "You are really sexy. Yes, Liam." He affirmed when Liam shot him the questioning gaze. "I'm in love with your wife. When I see something I want, I stop at nothing until I get it. I want her. You should be glad. I ain't interested in your company like everyone else. I just want your wife."
       Disgusting. I'm shocked that I'm hearing this. It's not everything you think, you should say. But that rule didn't apply to Jeremy.
       "You haven't learned your lesson yet. I won't spare you!" Liam's fist didn't make it to his face when someone called his name from the bedroom.
       The young man made his way to the bathroom with a blindfold on. Searching around, his hands reached for their wrists and pulled them out after apologizing.
       This is humiliating. Why did I even convince him to bring me along? How do I face all these people after this romantic scene we just filmed? At that point, if magic had existed, that would have been a great time to make use of my camouflage power.
       It didn't take me an hour to bathe as usual. I stepped out of the bathroom and rolled my eyes at the towel sitting on the wall. Where had it been the entire time? If only my eyes had sighted it. Grabbing the towel angrily, I wrapped it around my chest, opened the bathroom door slowly, and surveyed the room to be certain Jeremy wasn't there.
       "You can come out. He's gone." Liam's husky voice resounded.
       He is here? Is he keeping an eye on me to be sure Jeremy doesn't show up? Regardless of his actual intention, my heart was at ease knowing he cared. Tiptoeing out of the bathroom, I went for the wardrobe and pulled out a pair of jeans, a white shirt, and of course my bra. "Thanks for earlier."
       "Why didn't you lock the door?"
       Is he serious? He's the one who left the bedroom without alerting me and I'm to blame?
       "I left the bedroom several hours ago." His reply made me shudder. "And you know very well that when I leave the room, I don't return until noon. Plus, this isn't our house where nobody can just walk into our room. Hannah, do you know how many guys live under this roof?"
       "Is it my fault? Your cousin clearly has no manners,"
       "But you do." He interrupted. Getting out of bed, he walked up to me and said, "Hannah, the first time you met him, I'm sure you could tell that he has no manners."
       "Yeah. I didn't expect him to be here."
       "I'm going out with my friends and family." He repeated his last statement before we left home. "What did you expect?"
       True. What was I thinking? Or what wasn't I thinking? I had forgotten about Jeremy because he never showed up after that day. Who knew he would just pop out of nowhere? But do people actually pop out of nowhere? I sound crazy right now. "I'm sorry."
       "It's fine. It's embarrassing though. You must have felt scared. I'm sorry."
       He just said he's sorry! Calm down, Hannah. It isn't time yet. I'm sorry ain't the same as I love you. We're getting there soon. "Sure," I replied as I roared with laughter. I removed the hair bonnet and brushed my hair. "Day 1,"
       "And you woke up late. It's obvious that you can't do it. Give up already. It ain't gonna work."
       And we are back to the old annoying Liam. Does he have a personality disorder or what? "I haven't cooked yet and to be fair, today isn't over. There's still enough time to impress you."
       "What would you be cooking today, Mrs. Hannah Smith?" I could read the criticism in his question. He had a thing for pestering someone.
       Now I'm thinking about it. What would I be cooking today and how do I get help? Nanny Mai and Max aren't here. "Mac And Cheese," I uttered without thinking it through. In my head, it sounded like an easy meal. One that didn't need too much stress but for a weird reason I felt like I had made a terrible mistake. I should have just gone with simple snacks like cinnamon rolls. "I'll be making that." What am I still saying? What's wrong with you, Hannah? I shut my eyes and opened them.
       He didn't say a word for what seemed like a million years until his phone rang. "Sure. Just don't burn down Max's kitchen. He can be very sweet but he has a devil in him locked up somewhere which you definitely don't want to release. He spent a lot of money on this house, especially his kitchen. All the best, Ma'am."
      Ma'am? "Why would you call me...and he's gone." He's impossible. You won't call me sweet names but you'll gladly address me by names used for older ladies. I'm 21! Arranging the room wasn't a problem as the staff had already done that. Liam's family just derived joy in stressing me. Max's house was different. The only thing one did in his house was wake up, bathe, and sleep again. There were staff assigned to different jobs. Who would believe there was a staff for changing the drinking water in our room every four hours? I could understand why. Unlike Liam who was very successful and had a lot of people depending on him, Max was younger. He was two years older than me and didn't have any responsibility aside from his fiancee which I hadn't seen since the first time we met.
       One of his workers walked in with an apron. She handed it to me. "Boss said I should give you."
       Boss! "Max is here! That's good news. He knows just when to come!" I felt like I was on cloud nine. I almost hugged her due to my boundless excitement before she said,
       "Not Max. I'm referring to Liam Smith."
       "Liam Smith?" Why did she call him boss? So he was the one who made my hormones explode. This guy. "This isn't his house. Just call him, Liam. It's confusing if you say, boss."
       "He is boss and Max is young master. Max prefers to be called that."
       Even in his house, he gives his brother a lot of respect. He's a clever guy. As I took the apron from the girl, she stepped out.
       Closing the door after me, I ran down the stairs, my heart pounding. Behind me, Jeremy hummed to the music playing on his headphone.
       Just keep walking, Hannah. Don't give him any attention. If he tries to touch you then report him for stalking.
       "I can't get this image out of my head. It keeps flashing again and again. What a hot sexy babe she is."
       When I turned back, his eyes were closed, his head moving around to the rhythm of the music. He noticed that the person in front of him wasn't moving, he brought down his headphone and winked at me.
       "Those lines,"
       "From my music." He wiggled his headphone. "I was singing along to my song. It's not about you." He chuckled. "Are you going to make food for your husband? I could help you. By the way, the apron looks good on you. I haven't seen any sexy cook in my life." 
       "Thanks and I don't need your help. I can cook." I'm not that desperate to take help from him. "Stay away from me."
       "Okay, Sweetie." He wore his headphone back and descended the stairs. "What a hot scene it was. I still see that hot girl standing in the bathroom, glaring at me from the corner of her eyes. What a romantic scene that was."
       There's no way that's from a song. I might not know a thing or two about writing songs but I know those lines ain't from a music. Don't listen to him. Don't think; Just cook. Wow? I gaped around the kitchen, eyes glimmering. Is this a kitchen or a library?
       "Hello Hannah, this is where you'll be cooking?"
       "Sure. Why is this place so big? This is the size of my house." How could someone's kitchen be the size of a house? Alarming.
       "Young Master loves being different. She pointed to her right. There was indeed a large bookshelf in the kitchen, a television, a couch, a fridge for only snacks and chocolates, a gaming TV, and a laptop. "Everything in here belongs to us."
       "Everything!" I twirled around. "Even the TV, laptop, bookshelf..." She nodded. "This is amazing. Having money at a young age is beautiful. It makes you spend on a lot of useless things." If there's a next world let me be born into a rich family. I promise I won't be selfish. I'll give to the poor.
       "I'll be going. If you need anything, call me."
       That was why Liam warned me. This is a house in a house. I dialed Nanny Mai's number. It ran for a while before she answered it.
       "Hannah! How's it going with your husband? Having fun, huh."
       I wish. After telling her about everything and the food I agreed to prepare, she laughed.
       "I'm still alive, Hannah. If you have problems, call me."
       And that made my day. it reminded me of my mum. Nanny Mai deserved a trophy for all that she had done for me. "Thanks." I smiled.
       "Let's start with bringing out a large pot, pour your water in and add salt then let it boil."
       "Sure." I did as instructed. Taking her advice into action, I poured the macaroni into the boiling water and stirred it occasionally.
       "Melt your butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add your flour, salt, and pepper and stir until it's smooth." She instructed.
       Rubbing the sweat off my forehead with the back of my palm, my hands set into action. Pouring the milk into it slowly and steadily, I stirred continuously until the mixture was smooth and bubbling.
       "Add in shredded cheeses, and stir well.
Combine cheese sauce with cooked pasta.
Transfer half of the mac and cheese to a baking dish, sprinkle with more shredded cheese." She said hastily as if someone was coming. I could see her looking up and down at the screen.
       After doing as instructed, I waited for her to say more but her attention was diverted. Whatever caught her attention must have been big enough to make her forget I needed her help desperately. Calling out her name repeatedly, one of the Cooks walked into the kitchen.
       "You're almost done. Just top with the rest of the mac and cheese, and add more shredded cheese."
       "Thanks."
       "Nay. It's a recipe online. I learned how to cook online as well. Don't be nervous."
       How do people learn how to cook online? I can't do that. It's confusing plus most of these people don't give us the full detail on how to cook. Once the Mac and Cheese were ready, she turned off the gas and assisted in dishing out the food.
       "You can go. I'll serve the food. The boss asked that I served the food to everyone including you."
       He doesn't want his wife to serve his cousins and friends. He's a good husband. "Thanks, um..."
       "Lizzy."
       "Thanks, Lizzy." Taking off the apron, I passed it to her and stepped out of the kitchen. Another pointed outside, in the garden. I couldn't tell Liam's cousins from his friends but some of them stood out. How could I forget them after that painful incident? The ones who called me destitute and the ones that tried to rape me a day after Liam and I returned from honeymoon. Must I go out there? This isn't right. I don't think I can stand either one of them. If only Liam mentioned the names of people coming.
       "Morning, Hannah." Diana's heels were the only noise my ears were sensitive to until she approached me. "It's in the past. You've forgiven Liam so just forgive them."
       "You've been living with us for almost a year and I haven't forgiven you. How do I let go and forget everything these guys did?"
       She agreed, taking my hand in hers as people did at a ball. "You came here for Liam so just forget everyone and everything else. Focus on him alone."
       Focus on him alone. Sounds like she's up to something. Has she actually changed or am I the one just not willing to believe her? When the Chef stepped out of the kitchen with two large trays, Diana and I followed after her until we got to the garden.
       The food was served to each person. Jeremy was the first to have a bite. For some reason, I expected an answer from him but his eyes were shut. He munched slowly as if he was in a commercial.
       "Don't be scared. Everyone makes mistakes." The chef comforted and then carried the trays inside.
       Just eat and tell me. I'm scared already. This feels like a Deja Vu right now. I can't believe I'm faced with the same thing again. Is this what it's like to be in a cooking competition? My new journey to being a good wife was teaching me a lot of things didn't know.
       "The milk was slightly overcooked." One of Liam's friends said cautiously.
       "That's Liam's older cousin, Alexander." Diana pointed. She already knew all of them. I was up against a very tough competitor. She pointed at each person, calling their names and their relationship to Liam.
       My eyes blinked away the boredom. Why do we even introduce ourselves when we knew it was impossible to remember everyone's names? "How's the food?" I yawned. I haven't even eaten. "Ain't you going to eat, Diana?"
       "Yeah. But while you were asleep, I made bannock and hot chocolate tea for everyone." Another Chef stepped out with the trays and placed a plate of bannock and a cup of chocolate drink in front of each person.
       I glared at her in bewilderment. She knew why I was here and she did this. Some of them jubilated. "Well played, Diana."
       "I'm sorry, gal. It isn't personal. You were asleep and everyone was getting hungry. I didn't want to wake you so I went to cook for them. I've been doing this for years before you came into Liam's life."
       "Let's eat. Hannah doesn't have an issue with it." One of his friends whispered. "She allows them to hang out together. I'm sure she's okay with Diana."
       "Oh. I was scared for nothing." Another replied and took a bite from the bread.
       "Before I came into his life? I'm here now!" I screamed. Everyone had their eyes on us. My voice was so loud that even the employees stopped to see what was going on. "Diana, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. One moment you act like you've changed and when I try to trust you, you show me reasons why I shouldn't."
       "Hannah, I..."
       "That's enough. Don't try to give me that bullshit. I know who you are and what you're up to. Liam Smith is my husband and my responsibility. Only I have the right to see to it that he eats and goes to work on time. And that nonsense you do every morning, it has to stop. From today going forth, Diana, I don't want to ever see you in our room unless I give you that permission."
       "Hannah, you're overreacting. I didn't cook to insult you."
       "But you did." She's such a good actress. "I don't care about your reasons. But there are rules you would have to follow if you still want to work at my man's office. Got it?"
       "Sure." Her response was as innocent and soft as an angel. She looked helpless.
       Is this the same Diana I've known? She wore the same gloomy look Lisa usually had when scolded by our teachers. Jeremy had stopped eating and was staring at me. Liam's friends and family dropped their plates of bannock and picked up the place of Mac and cheese.
       Jeremy raised his thumb and dig into the food again. He didn't know how to give up.
       Liam? I don't care what he says to me. I'm glad I showed this girl her place. She observed him from the corner of my eyes. He took a sip out of the chocolate drink but didn't touch the bannock. It wasn't his fault. The Chef forgot to bring a glass of water for him.
       When his phone rang again, he got up and signaled to Alex to come alone. I could tell they were really close. They walked past me without a word. Alex patted me on .y shoulder and smiled before walking away.
       Is he upset because I yelled at his friend? He's unbelievable. As my legs were about to storm out angrily, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out, opened the message, and read, "Good job. I'll give you a food review once I get back, baby doll. Jsyk, I won't call you this name in person. You have to earn it as well. But I'll do well to save your name as Baby Doll on my phone." Baby doll. It's a cute name. Oh my gosh! Good job!!! My entire body was about to explode because of one man. I gasped for air, turning around. I didn't care if anyone was watching me. But wait. What did he save my number as in his phone? "Liam Smith!" I ran back into the house. "Liam,"