Billionaire's Admirable Bride

CHAPTER 3

Olima stopped at the kitchen door and begged, "Please, Ma, I need to write the exam so I can gain admission into the university."

"And who will sponsor your fees, Olima? Do you want to tell me that you're blind and that you didn't know how your loving father cast me and Mia away? Well, if you've forgotten, let me remind you and note that the money that I am using to feed you now is the money I'm supposed to be paying to the old maid, because there's no money in this house, and I cannot take my business money to sponsor your university fee. Why am I even explaining all this to you? Just get lost away from here now before I break your empty head!" Gina shouted, and Olima sobbed and went back into the kitchen.

Mia was through eating her breakfast, and Nathan knocked and walked into the living room.

Nathan is the gateman of the house; he came to inform Gina that the school bus had arrived to take Mia to school.

"Good morning, madam," Nathan greeted Gina. He knew that Gina wasn't the madam of the mansion before. But after his former madam's death, Gina took over the white mansion and became the new madam of the house.

"Yes, what do you want, Nathan?" Gina asked as she stepped away from the dining room and walked into the living room to meet him after dismissing Olima away.

"The school bus has arrived to take Mia to school," Nathan informed.

Mia stood up from her dining chair as she was through with the delicious noodles and fried eggs. She turned, carried her schoolbag, and said, "I'm off to school, Mom; take care of yourself."

Mia walked away from the dining room while Gina responded, "Yeah, take care too, my baby."

Gina watched as Mia left the house and sighed, as she stared back at the dining table that Mia had used. She saw the empty, dirty plate still left on top of the table.

Gina walked back into the kitchen to find out what Olima was doing inside the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Olima stood beside the sink and cried as she washed her face and sobbed.

Olima thought to prepare her breakfast, but hearing the sound of the kitchen door being pushed open, she turned backward and stared at her stepmother, who walked into the kitchen.

Gina's eyes narrowed with disdain at Olima.

Olima was very pretty for her age, having a bigger bust and a nice, seductive shape than Mia. Olima was taller too.

Gina asked, "What do you stand there by the sink doing?"

Olima shuddered and replied, "I want to prepare my own breakfast, Ma, and cook another noodle."

"Hmm," Gina walked toward the carton of noodles that she had bought the previous week and inspected it.

"How many noodles did you cook for Mia today?" Gina asked as she checked the noodle carton. The noodle packets were smaller-sized noodles.

"Two," Olima replied, as she was visibly shaking and saw her stepmother stand beside her.

"And how many noodles am I seeing on top of the cabinet that you want to cook for yourself alone?" Gina glared at Olima; she shivered away and replied, "The—three."

"Three noodles! Just for you! My goodness! Do you intend turning me into a thief overnight?" Gina questioned in shock, and Olima quickly shook her head and replied sadly, "No, ma."

"Hmm. Then how can you finish three noodles just this morning? What about Mia? What will Mia eat to school tomorrow morning and until this week and the entire month is over?" Gina queried.

"No wonder you're looking so fresh and chubby every week even after killing your parents." Gina glared at Olima, who took more steps backward in fear.

Gina walked closer to the cabinet top where Olima had dropped the three noodles that she wanted to cook. She picked them up and said, "Only one noodle is enough for you. I will count this carton of noodles now to know how many are remaining. If I notice that you cook more than one noodle for yourself per day, then you will see the other side of me."

Gina warned and counted the remaining noodles in the carton and said, "There are just 10 noodles. So automatically, you and Mia have eaten 30 noodle packets this week. I am sure that you ate the most. Return those two packets now into this carton to make it twelve, and you cook just one noodle and one egg for yourself. But before that, prepare my tea and bring it out to the dining table."

Gina dropped the noodles carton and walked out of the kitchen, leaving only Olima inside the kitchen.

Olima sobbed and quickly prepared her stepmother's tea the way she knew that her stepmother would like it. She stepped out, walked to the dining table, and served it where Gina sat waiting.

After Olima was through serving Gina her tea, she returned to the kitchen to prepare the single noodle and one egg for herself. She sat on a stool in the kitchen and ate her noodles quietly.

Olima's father was a billionaire, and she had not thought of applying for her high school scholarship examination into the university. When she was still in school, she felt that her father might not be pleased with the preferred choice of the university that her school had offered for their best graduating student.

Olima continued to sob as neither her maternal nor paternal relatives cared to ask about her again, even after her parents were gone. They were rather concerned about who would inherit her late father's oil company and his properties too.

They only wanted to know who would take over the CEO position. But as her stepmother was alive and around, none of her uncles dared to interrogate Gina.

Gina had threatened to have them arrested again if any of them came to visit.

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Olima finished eating her noodles and stood up from the kitchen stool as she stepped out to the dining room to clear her stepmother's used teacup. She saw that her stepmother had left the house.

Walking up to the dining room window, Olima gazed outside and saw that one of the cars that Gina drove had left the mansion premises. The car was one of her late father's latest-year new cars.

Olima sighed and walked back into the kitchen to wash all the dirty plates and cups there.

After she was through, she went upstairs to her bedroom and wondered how she would overcome her stepmother's torture daily.

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Later in the evening, Gina returned home from her shop and drove the expensive black Jeep into the garage and parked.

There were about five exotic cars parked. Gina could vividly remember that her late husband had only agreed to buy a small black car for her after Mia grew up to 5 years old and complained that Olima's mother had a car, and her own mother also needed a car too.

That was when Leo decided to buy her a small car.

Parking the black Lexus Jeep that was previously used by the late Mr. Leo, Gina got down from the car and locked the doors with the car remote in her hand.

She walked toward the main mansion, and Nathan greeted her as she walked away from the garage: "Welcome back, Madam."

"Yes, well done," Gina replied before she walked back into the house.

Gina saw both Olima and Mia seated on the living room's black couches and watching the huge flat-screen television that was displaying a romance movie in the living room.

Olima stood up quickly on seeing her stepmother walk into the living room. She didn't even hear the sound of the car due to the noise from the romance movie that she and Mia were watching.

"Good evening, Ma," Olima quickly greeted Gina, but she didn't respond. Her black eyes shifted to look at the living room wall clock's time, and she saw it was 7 p.m.

"Hmm," Gina hummed and glared at Olima irritably, while Mia stood up and greeted her too: "Good evening, Mom."

"Evening, Mia. Have you done your homework?" Gina asked Mia, and she responded, "Yes, Mom."

Gina walked toward the living room stairs and paused, while Olima shifted away to the dining room area.

Gina stared at Olima, asking her, "Olima, have you prepared dinner yet?"

Gina knew that there weren't any foodstuffs in the house, but she asked, wanting to be sure.