Love, Lies and Billionaires

“Ma’am, you have a visitor,” a voice called from the other side of her room door.

“Is it Louise?” She asked, not taking her eyes off from what she was doing on her laptop.

“No, ma’am,” the voice said and paused. “She says her name is Nella…”

“What?” She was at the door before the maid could finish the name. “Did you let her in?” Maren asked as they both made their way down the stairs.

“Yes ma’am. She seems like a lady of great affluence. I couldn’t let her remain outside.”

Maren didn’t reply. She was fixing her hair in a bun just right enough to make her look like a mom.

“And what’s this little Cutie’s name?”

“Mom?” Maren called as she stopped at the entrance of the sitting room. All eyes turned to Maren. Her mom was crouched in front of a little boy, making the cringiest of sounds which were supposed to flatter the boy.

“What do you want?” Maren asked, facing the lady.

“Maren! That’s no way to welcome a guest”

“I’m…I’m sorry.” she rubbed her temples as her mom stood upright and threw her a scowl.

“Oh, it’s fine,” Nella said with a smile. “I just came over to apologise for the other day. I really didn’t mean to upset you”

Maren sized her up as she spoke. It was like Maren hadn’t seen her clearly that day at the park. Her once yellow looking hair was actually golden- dyed or not. Her clothes looked like they were sown, especially for her. And those accessories… let’s not go there.

In summary, she was exquisitely beautiful.

“I really hope there’s a way I could make it up to you,” Nella added.

“Oh, there’s…”

“Zack?” Nathan’s tiny voice came from behind Maren. He walked out further and stood beside Maren, but kept his eyes on the little boy who stood with Nella.

“Nathan!” the boy chuckled heartily. All eyes were now focused on the excitement both boys felt at seeing each other. But Maren’s mom seemed to feel it more than others.

“Well, I guess I have no other choice then. Nathan has chosen his stand,” Maren said and gave a brief smile.

“Get comfy, my dear, while I make them get you something,” Maren’s mom said as she dashed out of the sitting room, making Nella swallow her protest.

“Mummy, can I go play with Zack in my room?”

Maren paused for a while, as if searching for what to say. She looked at Nella, whose smiling face seemed to be fixed that way. “Sure, Nathan. I and Zack’s mom kind of have to talk, anyway”

“Yay!” both children exclaimed as they rushed to meet each other. Zack’s yellow hair seemed to shine as he leaped happily into Nathan. Rose, who had been watching everything from behind, came and led them up the stairs.

“Well, you seem really hell bent on being here, don’t you?” Maren asked. They were sitting opposite each other in the sitting room. A glass of fruit wine rested on the table in front of Nella

Nella chuckled quietly, “Well, I’m here mostly because of Zack. He’s never been that child to make friends. You know, he grew up to only know four walls and a caretaker that never actually knew how to make friends.” She said,

“So when he asked if he could see Nathan again…”

“He asked to see Nathan?” Maren asked, suddenly washed by guilt.

Nella nodded and smiled. Maren’s eyes softened. “I guess he wasn’t happy with the way he left the other day and wanted to see him again. Then I knew this was my chance to apologise.”

The room was quiet after that. Maren just watched her visitor intently as she lifted the glass to her lips.

“Do you want to go out sometime? Maybe we can talk?” Maren finally asked.

“That’ll be really nice,” she smiled. “And I have the perfect place in mind. ”

*****

“So tell me about yourself. You don’t seem like someone who fights for hierarchy in the business world”

They were seated in a private booth at a classic bar in which Nella had booked. There weren’t many people in it despite the fact that it was midday, and the tempo of the music was just enough for people to hear each other speak.

“Oh no, my great grandfather was a duke and so was my grandfather. My dad was the civilised one, and he didn’t accept the duke title but he did accept the money though” they both chuckled. “You can call it old money”

“So your father is…”

“Oh, he put that money into food use alright. He’s a multimillionaire and he won’t let me work, so I feed off his hands.” Her expression dropped

“Oh, that’s not so bad,” Maren said, trying to lighten the mood. “Left for me, I’d choose that life, girl. ”

Nella chuckled, her honey coloured eyes brightened a little. “Trust me, it’s not as nice as it sounds.”

“So, what about Zack’s dad? Why did he decide to file for a divorce?”

“Well, he gave reasons like he was tired and wanted to be with someone else. Even before the divorce, I knew he was cheating, but I kept up with it.” she paused and took a sip of the coffee in front of her. Which, by the way, is so inappropriate to take by that time of the day.

Maren just stared. Half wishing her case was like that instead of William jerking off with Irene on their wedding day.

“But I guess he made a better choice than William, right?” Nella commented, half hoping she’d get the humour.

Maren scoffed, “Definitely. He was an asshole” the women chuckled at their past as they proceeded to know more details about each other. But the more she stayed there, the more people began to recognize her and stare.

This made her uncomfortable and reminded her why she never actually went out in a long time.

“Could you excuse me for a second? I’ve got to use the bathroom,” she said and Nella nodded in excuse. Maren took her purse and made her way to the bathroom, avoiding the eyes which seemed to attach to her body as she walked past.

She turned on the tap above the sink, while staring at her reflection in the mirror. She’d never actually felt William should have gotten a divorce instead of cheating until she heard Nella’s story.

The thought of it choked her. She bent down and splashed some water on her face. Arms wrapped around her waist.