She was on a video call with her so-called daddy, and to my greatest shock, I discovered he was my runaway husband.
"I hope my company is doing well, and you are taking good care of my house and car?"
My runaway husband asked proudly.
She adjusted herself and replied with so much sweetness, "Yes daddy, but it's our assets . Are you no longer going to marry me?"
He laughed lightly. "Remember I told you I was married before. Though you never saw my wife. I told you I didn't even have her picture. You were the one who advised me to sell all her properties and travel abroad so we could settle and get married properly. Your plan worked perfectly. Our agreement was for me to pretend to love her, marry her, gain her full trust, and take control of everything she inherited from her dad before relocating."
My body went cold.
She pouted on the screen. "What about the divorce? You know how I stayed alone every night while you were there pretending to be her loving husband."
He sighed. "I can't show my face to her again. She will definitely take legal action against me. We are still legally married. For now, I have to stay far away until I find a way to completely remove her from my life so we can finally be together without any trouble."
When I heard that, my heart started beating so fast I thought it would jump out of my chest. My runaway husband was more wicked than I imagined. My shock made me mistakenly stamp my feet on the floor.
Immediately, my madam noticed my presence.
"Why didn't you knock?" she snapped.
"I knocked gently as you always instructed, madam. Maybe you didn't hear me," I said quietly.
"What is it?" she barked.
"I am about to go to sleep, madam."
"Have you locked all the doors and switched off the lights?"
"Yes, madam."
"Then get out of here!" she shouted, waving her hand dismissively. "Can I not have peace in my own room?"
"I'm sorry, madam. Goodnight."
"Just go and sleep and let me rest," she added impatiently.
As I walked out, I heard my runaway husband ask her over the phone, "Who was that?"
"She is the new housemaid," she replied casually.
"Hope she is doing her work properly in my house?"
"Yes, she is trying. Just that she is too beautiful for my liking."
He chuckled. "But I'm not even there."
"I don't care," she said. "When you're coming back to Cameroon, I will dismiss her. I don't want you looking at her the way you look at me."
"I love you. That's why we are here today," he responded boldly. "Remember, I took another woman's money just because you told me I needed to make it in life before marrying you."
Those words pierced my heart like a sharp knife.
I walked slowly to my small room. That night, sleep refused to visit my eyes. Not even for one second. I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling, tears rolling down quietly. I was angry, heartbroken, confused, and ashamed all at once. The man I once trusted with my whole life had reduced me to a housemaid in another woman's house. And she didn't even know I was the wife he betrayed.
Morning came too quickly.
I washed my face and pretended like everything was normal. But inside me, a storm was raging.
While I was arranging the sitting room, Lailam, my madam's boyfriend, walked in. He looked at me closely.
"You look exhausted and sleepy," he observed.
"I am fine, sir," I replied softly.
"Is it your madam stressing you?"
"No sir."
"Then what is the problem?"
"Nothing, sir. I'm okay."
He stepped closer and lowered his voice. "There is something special about you. One day I will tell you what it is. If you ever need any help, just let me know. But don't tell your madam."
I managed to respond carefully. "I am not a child, sir. I understand her very well."
He smiled. "Beautiful girl."
For the first time in many days, I smiled a little.
He was the only person in that house who spoke to me like I mattered. The only one who looked at me and saw more than just a housemaid.
But I knew I had to be careful. Very careful.
Because in that house, nothing was as simple as it looked.
From a beautiful beggar, I had now turned into a beautiful house girl in his house. Life has a way of changing scenes without warning. One minute you are on the street hustling to survive, the next minute you are inside a mansion, hiding your real identity.
He hurried up to leave for work while M.J. was still fast asleep. I followed him to the door.
"Are you not having breakfast, sir?" I asked politely.
"Don't you see your madam is still sleeping? She doesn't even care whether I am here or not. I only came to spend the night with her," he replied, adjusting his suit.
"You know she is a big woman, now," I said carefully.
"Whether big or small, I am the man here," he answered with pride.
"Have a nice day, sir."
He paused and looked at me in a way that made my heart skip. "But I will always be coming here, not to see her, but because I want to see you."
"See me for what?" I asked, pretending not to understand.
"Your smile… your beauty. Anyway, let me rush. And don't tell her I said all these to you."
"I am a big girl," I replied calmly.
"Not only big, you are very, very beautiful."
I won't lie, I liked the attention. And somehow, I felt he could help me stage my revenge when the time was right.
Just then, Ngwang the gateman walked up to me and started his own drama. "Fine girl, I don de tell you say madam go vex if she see you laugh with her man like that."
"Which her man? They are not married?" I replied.
"But you know say I like you, Why you no de laugh with me like him?" he said in Pidgin, trying to woo me. "Be my girlfriend, na."
"I don always tell you," I reminded him, "I am not your class."
"What is the difference between house girl and gateman? We de same level."
"The difference is that I am educated and just trying to survive, while you are doing the job you applied for, gateman."
"Wetin be the difference between you and me?" he insisted.
"The difference is that you carry only water for your coconut head, while I carry butter and sense," I fired back.
"You don insult me with your big English. Okay, I go report you to madam."
"Report me for what?"
"That you de laugh with her boyfriend."
I quickly changed tone. "I am sorry now. I will prepare a nice breakfast for you."
He smiled immediately. "You sure?"
"I am sure."
About an hour later, madam stepped out of her room with her phone glued to her ear, arguing sweetly with my runaway husband.
"I have told you I call you daddy because you are my love, my everything. My provider, my bushfaller, my world," she said softly.
"Call me sweetheart or something nice like my darling," he replied from the other end.
"Okay, my sweetheart," she said.
She only spoke like that because Lailam was not around. This house was full of secrets. What she didn't know was that I was the legal wife of the man who owned all the properties she claimed as CEO. Even this house was built with money and property he took from me before traveling abroad.
The conspiracy had just begun to unfold, and my own plan was loading slowly. First, I had to hide my real identity until I came up with the perfect move.
But there was one serious problem; how long could I hide in this house when she was always making video calls?