He rose up and walked to her with a "gentle" smile. Reaching her, he hugged her shoulders and flashed a brighter smile that looked real to the servants but only Olaedo knew that it was the epitome of fake!
"Good morning Mrs Arinze. Gosh I waited for so long to call you that. You are shocked to see my face, aren't you? Isn't it because of you that I did not get enough sleep last night?"
As he said this, everyone had a look of realisation on their faces. How could they forget, last night they both seemed to have stayed up quite late!
Many of them especially the older servants smiled happily knowing that a little young master or young mistress was on the way.
While everyone was celebrating silently, Olaedo could not help with cover her bright red face with her palms and allowed Chibuzor to lead her to the seat beside the one he was sitting on.
With a satisfied grin, Chibuzor picked up his newspaper, clearly enjoying the sight of her flustered expression, something he had not seen from her until now.
The maids served breakfast with a smile. Some of them who were bold and had started developing some levels of friendship with Olaedo secretly nudged her and whispered to her to make sure she eat well to nourish herself.
Olaedo's face turned several shades of pink as they did, but she did not resist. She noticed a particular maid blocking her from Chibuzor's sight and felt better that he couldn't see her embarrassment any longer.
Silently, she bit into her sandwich and sipped her tea, feeling the weight of their teasing yet unable to escape the playful embarrassment of the moment.
But then, Olaedo suddenly paused, her hands moving to her face as she started scratching furiously. Her cheeks turned an alarming shade of red.
At first, everyone, including Chibuzor, thought she was just feeling shy. But when she began gasping for air, panic set in.
The servants froze in their tracks, their earlier calm shattered. Whispers of worry filled the room as their gazes darted toward the Young Madam.
Was something happening to her and their potential young heir? They didn't dare act without instructions but stood poised, ready to help if called upon.
Chibuzor noticed something was wrong. "What's wrong, Olaedo?" he asked, rising from his seat and moving closer to her.
Amidst her allergic reaction, Olaedo couldn't respond. Her breaths came in gasps, her hands clutching at her throat as her face swelled.
Chibuzor, at a complete loss, handed her some water and reluctantly patted her back, thinking she might be choking. When it became clear that wasn't the issue, his jaw tightened. Without wasting another second, he picked up his phone and dialed his friend who had studied medicine.
"Olisa, could you come over as soon as possible? It's urgent!"
On the other end of the line, Olisa chuckled. "Urgent? You mean.."
"Just listen to me!" Chibuzor interrupted, panic creeping into his tone. "Swollen airways, sudden itching, redness, and bumps on the face, what do these symptoms point to?"
"What?" Olisa's voice turned serious. "That's an allergic reaction, you dummy! Where's the person's epipen? Inject it in the middle of their outer thigh! Hurry, man! And you made me rush out for this? Since when do you make such jokes? I'm going back home biko!"
Chibuzor didn't bother replying. Instead, he rushed upstairs to the third floor to find her epipen.
His mood darkened as he tore through her room, throwing things left and right. 'This woman is so disorganized, it's infuriating! Something as important as an EpiPen, and she doesn't even keep it in an obvious place!'
Finally, in her walk-in closet, he spotted it tucked beside her shoe rack. Grabbing it, he bolted to the elevator, his fingers drumming impatiently against the wall as it descended.
Once back downstairs, he knelt beside her and administered the injection swiftly into the middle of her outer thigh. 'She better not accuse me of breaching clause 12 in the contract. I haven't even achieved my goals yet, and now she's trying to die in my house? How troublesome.'
After five to ten minutes, her breathing began to even out. Olaedo closed her eyes, leaning back in her chair to rest. She tried to make sense of the situation. 'How did this happen? I haven't had an allergic reaction in years… Wait... I'm not at home anymore. Someone must have given me something I'm allergic to.'
The servants were relieved to see their Young Madam recovering, but exchanged worried glances. They all shared the same thought: 'Who made the mistake?' None of them wanted to imagine the consequences, knowing how much the Young Master seemed to care for her. It seems like someone would be fired this early morning.
Chibuzor stood up and picked up his still connected phone. "Olisa, I've administered the epipen, but don't go back just yet. I need to make sure my wife is completely fine."
Olisa wanted to complain in anger, but then he heard the last sentence 'Wait....Wife?!'
Olisa's incredulous shout came through the line. "Chibuzor, did you just say wife? You traitor! You betrayed our Association of Single Men?! How could—"
Tu tu tu
Chibuzor cut the call, rolling his eyes. 'I don't remember ever joining your ASM. And it's not like I had a choice in this wife situation!'
Once he confirmed Olaedo was stabilizing, his expression turned cold as he called for all the chefs and cooks. "Gather here immediately," he ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I want to know who tried to kill my wife in her own house!"
No one dared to speak for the first few minutes, their trembling forms reflecting the weight of Chibuzor's icy aura. Finally, Chef Ezinne, the team leader, stepped forward. She glanced at her frightened staff, then took a deep breath and faced him. Silence, after all, would only make things worse.
"Sir, we are not sure how this happened," she began, her voice shaking. "One of my girls reported that Young Madam requested a simple sandwich and tea, so that's what we prepared for her."
Olaedo froze mid-sip, the glass of water poised at her lips. A flicker of doubt crossed her mind. 'When did I ask for a sandwich and tea? I thought they had just been preparing my food, unaware of my preferences.'
Chibuzor, too, looked surprised. Thinking back to the past three months, she had indeed only been eating a sandwich and tea or a simple dish during meal times. His brows furrowed as he thought, 'She only asked for a sandwich and tea again? Then doesn't that mean everything else on this table was prepared for me alone once again?'
He turned his piercing gaze to Olaedo, suspicion and curiosity flickering in his eyes. "Did you really only ask for a sandwich and tea again?"
At this, Olaedo began to piece together that something was amiss. She decided to remain composed and observe how he handled the situation.
If Chibuzor failed to accord her the respect she deserved, they would need to have a serious conversation. And if, after that, he did not change, then this contract would end, no matter what it cost her.
'Living with a man who doesn't respect me?' she thought bitterly. 'No way! I'm not signing up for Maduabuchi Part 2: The Sequel. The CEO I married to stabilize my business betrays me as well? Not happening. Let's see how he handles this first.'
Feigning confusion, she shook her head and replied, "I never request for anything specific because no one has ever asked me. Sandwich and tea is not a bad choice, though, so I just went with it."
Chibuzor's expression darkened as his sharp gaze landed on the housekeeper. His voice was like a whip. "You have never once forgotten to ask me what I want to eat at any part of the day. But you have been skipping such an important task of asking your Young Madam? What? you don't recognize her? Do you think she is not worthy?"
His words struck like a hammer, and the housekeeper flinched under his intense glare. But deep down, Chibuzor knew this situation was partly his fault. The housekeeper likely assumed that because of how he had chosen this wife, practically at random, she didn't matter to him.
But they could not have been more wrong.
Fake marriage or not, she was still his legal wife. And no one, not even himself, had the right to disrespect her.
'She's mine to protect, and I will not let anyone forget it.'
Chibuzor's guess was spot-on. The housekeeper had deliberately assigned the task to one of the cooks, prioritizing the young master alone. After all, this young madam didn't seem to matter much in her husband's eyes, or so he believed.
Sweating profusely, the housekeeper finally spoke, his voice shaky. "Young Master, I just thought she wouldn't mind..."