Ch. 16..20: The Wife I Never Met chapter 16-20
Chapter 16
Seeing that Liam was not about to let her in on what happened to her, Ciara started wracking her brain trying to think of the events of that day.
‘I was slapped by Boity theeen… Ohw right! LAURA,!!’
Although she was thinking and didn’t say that out loud , her anger was visible to the person in the room with her as she had started grinding her teeth.
” It was Laura, wasn’t it?.” That might just be a question, but it contained a lot of certainty in it.
Liam who was now laying in bed with her and currently brushing her back smoothly was stunned so much so that when he heard the question his body stiffened for a split second and the injured Ciara did not notice that.
“Do not worry yourself about these things,
I’ll take care of it”
“Liam is that a confirmation cause I really want to know.” Ciara did not back down in wanting to know the truth, she needed to know the person who wants to hurt her. Although she had Laura in mind, she still wanted to be sure.
This woman was sure stubborn like a bull.
” well not entirely, she claims that she had only used a paint balloon to make fun of you. Someone must have changed it to that tin that hit you. So until we find that person you’ll have to be careful and you are not going back.”
“but how will we find the culprit, if I don’t go back.”
Liam never answered that question, but with a frosty attitude, he got up fixed his clothes and was ready to leave.
As Ciara watched him get ready to leave, she got frustrated, how could she not know. With so much resources at his disposal Liam would definitely be able to find the culprit. He doesn’t need her, even if she did go to the site and assisted with the investigation, she wouldn’t be of any help.
Just as he reached the door, Liam suddenly turned around asked.
“what would you like to eat, are you craving anything?” although he still looked frosty his voice was as gentle and soothing as a lullaby. But not wanting to inconvenience him as he was with her the whole day, surely he had a lot of work to do, she thought.
” No that’s OK, I’m sure the hospital will prepare something.”
“But I’m hungry, and I will not eat hospital food.”
“_”
With that Liam strode out of ward.
On the other side of Town in a hotel room, Laura was fuming, pacing up and down while Boity was sitting on a sofa opposite the anxious Laura. She had an I don’t care attitude written all over her face.
” Hey, we had a plan which we were supposed to stick to, noooo you chose to do your thing. Do you have any idea what you have done? You’ve ruined all the chances I had with Mr Jones”.
“we were supposed to humiliate her not hurt her, now everyone thinks I did it.”
Laura was very angry not because Ciara was injured but because of the results they got. She was was hoping that by humiliating Ciara, Liam will loose interest and focus on Laura instead.
Well who would want a dirty person anyway, especially one with paint all over their body. She felt that her plan was nothing but fool proof, it had to work. But what she got at the end said otherwise. It ended with someone almost losing her life and an angry Liam who looked at her with contempt and hatred.
Boity nonchalantly took out a nail filer and started filing her nails, it was like she couldn’t be bothered by the things Laura was saying.
“Ciara almost losing her life has got nothing to do with me, it’s not my fault that she could not handle a mere two litre tin.” to Boity Ciara had it coming she had always had the best things since young even granny’s attention was all given to her, she had the best boyfriend which she almost married. But now was Boity’ a turn. It was her turn to take everything Ciara had, her turn to enjoy the love and care Ciara received. She was determined to take it all, even if it meant killing someone, she was more than willing to pay that price.
“relax no one will ever find out it was us who changed the paint balloon.”
“you.. You are the one who changed it, not us.”
…
It wasn’t long till Liam came back, he had a few boxes with him. He wasn’t sure what to buy so he figured it would be best to buy a little of everything and knowing that his wife like pork ribs, he got a larger box of that.
He placed the food on the side table and then helped her to wash her hands in the bathroom. When they came back she noticed the variety of foods on the table, and smiled in satisfaction. The little foodie in her was woken up as soon as she saw food.
They then ate in silence, someone didn’t mind that at all especially since she was enjoying every dish her husband bought. Once they were done, she looked at him happily and said.
“I better be sick all the time so that I can enjoy all these yummy food”.
. “well if you don’t mind being fat, your husband will treat you to it. But you will have to reward me.”
Chapter 17
The following day at the shooting site every one was present except for Ciara but none commented on that. Although people acted like nothing happened the previous day, in this day age of social media, a group chat was soon opened among the crew members. Immediately after it was created people started gossiping about Laura and Boity.
“those two are just vicious, were they just pulling a joke or attempting murder?”
“I don’t know but I heard a certain someone was angry because her current boyfriend was showing interest in our screen writer.”
” Noo but I thought she had captivated our CEO.”
They then warned each other to be extra careful and not fall victim to the vicious two women.
….
Ciara was finally released from the hospital, so they decided to spend the day at the hotel before heading back home, so when they reached their penthouse, the only thing that Ciara wanted to do was take a nap. With that in mind she headed straight for their room. All this while Liam was following behind her, he wanted to make sure that she wouldn’t fall and heart herself. Once he was sure that she was securely tucked in, he then left the room and headed to the study to do his work.
It was a very layed day for the two as Ciara was sleeping for half the time and Liam working. When Ciara finally woke up, they decided on getting some fresh air. It was said that it’s not healthy for one to lock themselves indoors all the time.
So they went to the mall, they wanted to do some shopping before grabbing a bite.
It is true when they say diamonds are a woman’s best friend, While walking around the mall Ciara spotted a jewelery shop and immediately pulled Liam toward that direction with excitement.
When they entered the shop, Ciara surveyed it for quite a while before a pair of gold matching watches with small diamonds caught her eyes. She studied the watches for some time, but when she saw the price she was caught in a dilemma. They were so expensive that if she bought them, it would take up her entire savings from the previous years. But she loved those watches, they didn’t have anything that represented their union plus she couldn’t buy rings as they had decided to take things slow and their relationship was still not public.
So she made up her mind, it didn’t matter that the watches were expensive. She was buying them and would start saving from her next paycheck.
With that she asked the sales lady present
, to help her wrap up the watches as she was taking them. She did not use the secondary black card that Liam had given her but instead took out her personal bank card to make the purchase. But what surprised her was the sales lady’s response. The sales lady smiled as she responded.
“I’m afraid I can’t take your card ma’am, as it has already been paid for” when she said ‘it was already been paid for,’ she said that while looking at the direction where Liam was at. So it was then when it clicked to Ciara that they must have seen her when she was still deciding whether to by or not.
But she still had to maintain her dignity in front of the sales lady, so with her head held high she exited the store. When they were finally out Ciara spoke up.
” Hey why did you do that for…. That was supposed to be a gift from me.”
Still Liam did not want to expose her, plus to him those watches weren’t expensive at all. The watches he owned, each could buy a house somewhere.
” what difference does it make, you chose them so as the man I’ll naturally pay, plus it’s our money so take it as you are the one who paid OK.”
Ciara pouted out her cheeks cutely, like a child would .
“ay it’s not the same”.
“well, you can always thank me tonight.. How about you demonstrate your new yoga posture.”
“aah shameless.”
They continued walking around the mall with all eyes on them, most women who saw them were envious of her. They actually wished to be in her place. Others wondered about their identity but fortunately for the couple, no one knew them as they were in a foreign land.
By the time they were finally done with everything it was already time for dinner, so they chose a very simple diner and ordered some simple dishes there, most of which were Liam’s first time trying them. He found that some were edible and others were quite average and could not be compared to the gourmet meals he’s used to. This explains why he didn’t enjoy his meal,. He didn’t show his dissatisfaction to Ciara though but instead he chose to enjoy the company of his wife. He watched her as she buried herself in food it was quite a laughable sight but like a gentleman that he is, he held it all in.
After paying for the bill, they went back to the hotel and started packing up their clothes getting ready for their trip ahead.
The following day after getting ready, they had their breakfast and once they were done they headed straight to the airport.
The private jet was ready when they got there, so at the appointed time it departed. It was a smooth trip back home, it was so peaceful that one would even forget all the horrible things that had occurred in the past few days.
Immediately when they landed Liam received a text from his mom inviting him to a gathering at home, although it was a casual event, she still didn’t give him a chance to decline.
Knowing his mom, he knew that this was another attempt of introducing a new woman to him. So he felt it was important for him to tell Ciara about it, than for her to hear about it from someone else.
Chapter 18
While Ciara appreciated how Liam had her in mind, she could not help but feel sad. She was still trying to get to know Liam so she wasn’t aware of the position she had in Liam’s heart. What she feard the most was the possibility of Liam finding a more compatible candidate than her, what if he did the same thing Dex did deciding to leave her.
Noticing her doubts he decided to assure her, without the least irritation in his voice.
“Stop doing that, all those women are nothing compared to you. I’ve seen them all and would never sway to their direction. Pretentious women aren’t my favorite.” although he was hoping to comfort her, for a man who has never been in a relationship he fumbled.
” so what if they brought you new stock, with less pretentious ones, would you leave me for them?”
” No don’t say that, to me you are the best and no one come any where close to what you are. Besides I like exploring this relationship of ours, there’s still a lot to uncover in those layers . ” he said that while gently pulling her clothes. And that seemed to have done the trick as she had calmed down.
Liam insisted on dropping her off at home before driving back to the Jones residence.
When they got home, Liam organized someone to help Ciara with her meals as she was still an injured person who still needed care. Once everything was settled, he k**s her goodbye.
Ciara on the other hand did not forget to warn him.
“remember not to be in any kind of intimate position with those women,”.
He smiled showing that he had understood loud and clear.
With that Liam left the villa with his driver. It was a scenic drive to the Jones residence, as they traveled along the ocean, with pine-trees lined up in a row on the side of the road. As peaceful as it looked, he knew very well that there was still a hurricane waiting for him when he arrived at the destination.
With that thought in mind, his mood was definitely ruined and his frosty cold expression was plastered all over his face. Gone was the gentle looking man from moments ago.
As they drove toward the Jones residents, soon they were greeted by the sight of a beautifully decorated and lively house. One did not need to ask for them to know that there was a party happening.
As they parked the car, Liam’s suspicions were confirmed. All the guests were females and the only males present were all family members and two of Liam’s best friends. They are the ones who welcomed him as he got out of the car.
Their names were Finnick and Matthew, they all grew up together and formed a strong friendship since then. People came in and out of Liam’s life but these two proved to be loyal. They know his ruthless side as well as his not so gentle side.
They were with him as he took over many of his companies. They stuck together through thick and thin. That’s the reason why they called themselves the b***d Brothers.
They were all successful in their careers, with Matthew running a successful law firm, which specializes in both business law and criminal law. The Oliphant attorneys was one of the best law firms in the country and has won almost ninety-nine percent of their cases. Although he now rarely take any cases Matthew himself has never, not even once lose a case, that’s how good he was, And of course Liam enjoyed this benefit the most. Matthew was the bubbly and most lively one of the bunch.
Coming from a military background and his family also being influential within the Government, Finnick chose his career within the police department and was currently working as a chief officer in his station. He was the most reserved man in the bunch. He rarely went to clubs and would rather prefer a lounge with a private suite, that way he can relax and let loose.
Although these men were different in many ways, what they had in common though was their love for one another. Ohw right! And the fact that they were all single. This is exactly what Matthew and Finnick thought as they were still in the dark about Ciara and Liam being a couple even worse being married.
“yoh man! I see your mom put in a lot of effort this time to make sure his son gets a girlfriend”.
This came out from the ever so lively Matthew as he was looking at those beautiful women filling the party tent. Although these women were composed, they just couldn’t hide, the greed, infatuation and competition that they had. And all of this was very much visible to the three men not far from them.
“Sadly all her hard work will go to waste, I can find someone I like on my own and of course don’t need all of this “. Still maintaining his poker face, he showed his disinterest in the whole event. He then decided to just enjoy the company of his friends through some drinks while waiting for food to be served.
They talked about the girls present for a short while, and got bored so they changed the to topic to the current news. Right then when their conversation was heated, the voice of a middle aged woman was heard not far from where they were.
Chapter 19
“Liam you naughty boy, how dare you come here and not greet your elders. Your dad and I have been waiting for lord knows how long and here you are enjoying yourself.” It was as if Maggie Liam’s mom was reprimanding a young boy and not the president of Jones group, the man who had brought a lot of wealth to the family. To her he’d always be her precious little boy.
” Hello mom”.
“too late for that now, come with me I want to introduce you to some people”. She then looked at Finnick and Matthew with a smile on her face and said.
“you boys continue with your chat, he’ll be back in no time.” she then pulled Liam toward the banquet tent and introduced him to each and every lady inside that tent, he had to endure making small talk with these women.
He felt like some had left their brains at home, as some of the things they said did not make sense.
One even went as far as offering herself, and said Liam could do anything with her as long as the tittle of Mrs Jones belonged to her. She will be the most obedient wife ever. She felt that this was a perfect deal especially for Liam, as he won’t have to deal a challenging wife.
Of course she was just spouting nonsense, to Liam this was just mediocre. How can he ever marry a stupid woman like her.
They finally walked out of the tent and Maggie was holding his arm.
“I know this may seem a bit too much, but you aren’t getting any younger. You say you don’t like Missy’s daughter, fine, but you’ll have to choose of these ladies and get to know them, they were all carefully selected and are from good families. Now listen to me carefully my son, you don’t have to marry them now, but at least open yourself to knowing them. OK? ” the last part was said while Maggie was patting Liam’s shoulder.
” Right there’s one more, I forgot to introduce you to. She’s the Mayor’s daughter, beautiful and well mannered. I’m sure you will like her.”
With that she brought him to the main house, and there seated on one of the bar stools was a young beautiful lady. Almond colours skin, semi afro textured hair and a pair of sparkling eyes . She was wearing a long greenish dress with high heels. What sealed the look was definitely her genuine smile . Not waiting for them to reach her she stood and greeted them instead.
“Mrs Jones, Liam, thank you for the invite.”
Maggie laughed as she approved of the girl’s manners.
“oh dear, don’t mention it. Now I’ll leave you two youngsters to chat.” she then winked at her son, signaling him to take the lead and act like a gentleman.
Liam on the other hand was not even the least interested in conversing with her, but what choice did he have. So he went to the bar area in the house poured himself a glass of whiskey, and then sat himself down on a barstools no too far from the mayor’s daughter, but far enough to keep a distance.
He was still wearing his ever so frosty expression, blocking any possible attempts of trying anything inappropriate or her possibly throwing herself at him.
Noticing this the girl laughed out heartily it was so loud that she immediately lost all her nobility. The elegant woman he met earlier was no where to be seen. At this Liam was instantly dumfounded. He intensely looked at the you woman, with brows raised up. He was trying to figure out what exactly was going on in this woman’s brain.
“hahaha…. Hi…hihi really Liam do you really think I’d do something to you. Gosh you are not even my type.” Liam sighed in relief, at least he won’t be ducking some desperate woman throwing themselves at him. But wait what did she mean he was not her type.
He then relaxed himself by lazily leaning back on the back rest, then supported his head with his hand and the elbow on the counter.
He was the most eligible bachelor in town, most wanted by all the single ladies. He watched her with an inquisitive look, as if asking her to explain herself.
“what, you don’t believe me? Actually if it wasn’t because of my father, I wouldn’t have come. You are not what I’d go for in a partner, you don’t have the kind of beauty I need.” she then stopped and looked at him maybe she was trying to provoke him. She was attacking the man’s pride. But after noticing that the man’s expression had hardly changed, she figured there was no point in pushing it further, so she spoke up again.
” Hey don’t be so boring, I too like what you like. I prefer women which means I’m gay. So maybe I can help deal with your mom, while you help make my time here bearable, what do you think?”
“gay you say, huh.” he then went silent it was like he was contemplating something.
“yeah, I am, so you sir are safe with me. I won’t touch you, I swear.” she then raised her hand up as if she was swearing for real. Not forgetting her careless laugh.
“if that’s the case, it would be better if we joined my buddies over there.” Liam still felt it would be wise to have other people around although the lady had assured him. To him Ciara was more important.
Chapter 20
Ciara who was supposed to be relaxing at home and recuperating since she was still injured, was pacing up and down thinking of all possible scenarios where girls throwing themselves at Liam at the party and him accepting their advances. She tried her best trying to get rid of these negative thoughts, but her breakup with Dex has really messed her brain up. Deep down she trusted Liam, he has proven to be a decent guy thus far but her brain was telling her all these other negative things making her think Liam was Dexter.
“Aaahg” she screamed and took out her phone to make a call. It was a three way call to her friends.
“Hey where are you guys, I’m back.” she forced out a smile, pretending that all was well.
Lisa on the other side showed her the background of where she was before talking.
” we are at your place, we’ve been here the whole day waiting for your arrival, now tell us miss where are you? “
She had forgotten to tell them everything about her relationship with Liam, at first she didn’t want to confirm anything as she herself wasn’t sure how Liam felt about everything they did in their drunken state. But now she can tell them with confidence , so she decided to invite them to the villa where she was most comfortable. It was most private and no one will over hear them as they catch up. Plus she still needed their advice.
An hour later the two ladies arrived holding 2 bottles of white wine with a few snacks with them. They were so amazed at how huge and lavish the villa was. They felt that their friend had leveled up from zero to a hundred quite fast. They had not even greeted her yet but all they did was look around with their eyes wide open as the couldn’t get enough of this view. The ocean view was unobstructed, and they could also clearly see the row of pine trees.
“friend is this really your place, no you must be joking.”
Ciara on the other hand gave a mischievous smile which was somehow an answer, then also invited them in. As soon as they were inside the house, she noticed her friends exploring the house with their eyes roaming around. Seeing that they were not going to say anything, maybe from fear of imposing on Liam’s private space. Ciara took it to herself to give them a tour of the house.
Both Stacey and Lisa came from average households and were used to living in small houses. This villa though was so big that you can put Stacey’s whole house in just the living space.
“God I’m so envious of you right now… You have a good man, huge house and a promising career.” that was Lisa, throwing herself on the huge greyish L-shaped couch in the living room.
Ciara scoffed “as if you don’t have a loving man and a promising career.”
All three ladies worked for the same publishing company, with Ciara being a writer and the other two were editors. They all met in college, and also shared a room at the student residence which strengthened their bond. They knew she wasn’t from an average family like them, they could clearly see that she was from a relatively rich family but chose not to be bothered by it as Ciara had never carried herself as though she was better than them.
She never spoke about her family and would avoid questions that revolved around her family.
So they thought it would be wise not to touch that taboo, which explains why they are this close.
Currently they were seated in the living room, with a glass of white wine in their hands. Ciara was filling them in on what happened to her at the filming site when she was away.
All ladies expressed their thoughts not forgetting to show their anger towards Laura and Boity.
They talked about that for a while before changing the subject to more random stuff. After some time when they were a bit tipsy, Lisa noticed that Liam hasn’t been around all this time.
“Hey Cici, where’s your man?”
At that moment Ciara’s mood changed drastically, which everyone noticed. She looked very sad.
“well, he went back to his family residence.”
“aaaaah that’s not bad, it’s only a visit and will be coming back. Don’t be sad OK.”
“Well it’s not that, his mom has organized a banquet full of single women for him, I guess she they want him married as soon as possible. “
Stacey on the other hand was confused and voiced it out.
“But how can they organize dates for him when he’s already married.” “woooo wait and knowing all of this he still went?”
Ciara then explained to her friends that they had an agreement with Liam not to make their relationship public for now. And were gonna take things slow, plus Liam was only there to show face. He promised her not to look at any other woman that is not her.
Although that was the reason she told them, deep down she knew very well that the reason for keeping her relationship a secret was just out of fear. She was scared of suffering the same humiliation she had suffered when Dexter broke up with her. Although he wasn’t as well known as Liam, but a lot of people knew about them, plus alot was invited to the wedding.
After Dexter broke up with her almost every one she knew ridiculed her, putting all the blame on her.