A Wife for the Billionaire
Chapter 81: RICHARD

Chapter 81: RICHARD

The pain I felt after my break up with Mel wasn’t exactly something that I wanted to experience twice.

My heart had ached so much that I almost died from the pain. It was too much. Too painful and too draining.

On top of it, Edward couldn’t even let me mourn what I lost, he kept insisting that I was pathetic, allowing a girl to have such an effect on me.

It made me wonder if he really loved Claire, or was it all a ruse? And if he indeed loved her, why couldn’t he wish the same for me?

I think I dared ask him during one of those stupid family dinners they insisted on having. The thing I hated most about these dinners was that, it’s usually enforced whenever the family is going

through something.

Like during the time of Claire’s unfaithfulness, during the failure of launching the brand on Italian shores, which till date the Lords had never allowed my father to forget. And in spite of the colossal amounts of progress my father’s incumbency as CEO brought, that one failure was like an ink dent on his spotless page of successes, spreading and difficult to remove.

What made it more degrading was that the Elders had warned him not to try the Italian expansion. Like the Dame Dynasty, the CEOs of the Wellington Empire also strive to leave a legacy project or change.

Edward had thought that a launch to Italian shores was his, but it turned out to be a failure. The Lords didn’t spare any time in swooping in with choruses of "I told you so" and "We warned you, didn’t we?"

The expansion failure was one of the reasons why the Elders didn’t argue much when my father decided to step down at such an early age to allow his young son man the wheels.

In fact, they had been very supportive of the idea, and I know they had thought that due to my youth and greenness, I would make a mistake or fumble things so that their long awaited plots to take over the mantle of head family would come to fruition much sooner.

I had proved them wrong with just a year of assuming power. My Wellington Edition launch shocked them speechless like the rest of the world. Before becoming the CEO and one of the most powerful men of the 21st century according to Forbes, I wasn’t really that

popular.

Let me rephrase that, people knew who I was, but not as they do now. Then I was just the pampered son of Edward Wellington, the billionaire heir, the son of Claire Wellington - the legendary actress, gang leader of the heartbreak trio and other irrelevant niches I was categorized under.

They didn’t know of my talents, not that it was hidden, like Belle at the Ball was painted even before I became the CEO. But it wasn’t really that acknowledged, I and everything about me always took the second priority, while Edward as the CEO then and affairs of the Wellington Fashion Empire always took first place.

I dare say his charity balls and fundraisers were more popular than I was. My father and his empire held the spotlight while I stayed further away in the shadows. I wasn’t even allowed close to the lights, whatever shot I had at being seen or noticed was taken by my mother - Claire and her iconic movies/series.

Another reason why I wasn’t really that popular was because people believed in the cliched notion that as the son of the billionaire, I could amount to no good. They believed I would be a disgrace with no knowledge of my father’s empire. A worthless heir that would inherit an empire that he couldn’t run, it was their belief that I would answer to the title of CEO only by default, without actually bearing the responsibility it came with.

When I assumed the mantle, everyone was expecting me to fail. They scoffed when I was recognized as one the youngest CEOs in the fashion industry and beyond.

But I had shocked them, all. I had turned out to be everything they didn’t think I would be. The complete opposite of their beliefs and notions.

I had made people forget the expansion failure in Italian shores which was hard even though we had made sure to disband the article and column on the subject.

With the launch of my Wellington Edition collection, I had set a pace that my predecessors would really struggle to match. There have been other collection launches, but Wellington Edition remains the most popular and the most recognized. It took our company from number two to the first place.

And those who were previously in the first place, Dame Dynasty, had to come to us for partnership inorder to save their reputation and image. So, in a way the two brands were somehow tied on first place, though it’s obvious who was ahead.

The partnership agreement between the two brands is believed by the Elders to be my own case of "I told you so" and "we warned you, didn’t we?". They are patiently waiting for it to backfire, for the Dame Dynasty to betray me and give them the opportunity to acquit me ’incapable’ of handling the mantle and without another heir to take over, they could seize control and make sure no other Wellington will ever sit on the CEO leather chair.

But that will never be possible. They have no idea what I’ve planned or the ideas I’m yet to bring to light.

As much as Wellington Edition II might not do well as the first, on the basis of little originality and not enough publicity, which I really hope Sofia would take care of. But I have a back up plan, and that’s what marks me different from the past leaders and an impossible opponent for the Elders, I always planned ahead, always ten paces ahead.

I know firsthand how disappointing it is to rely on others, so I wasn’t really counting on Sofia to get Bogue on board, the test was more like a punishment for her prideful personality. And adding Harry’s job as an incentive was just a ploy to see how well she would fare if she believes to have a man’s job banked on her result.

That she was yet to call or send any feedback could only mean one thing, she failed... just as I predicted. I will have to handle Bogue once I’m done with the venue technicalities.

As I was saying, we only ate together when the family was experiencing something, like when Papi died. That was one of those rare moments when I caught another glimpse of Edward, the emotional side of him.

During those days of mourning, he ignored me and my excesses and even when he was clear eyed to take notice of me, he treated me like a human, like a father would his son.

So, I wasn’t really surprised when the dinner bell rang during the days of my heartbreak. And another thing about these dinners was that attendance was strictly compulsory.

On that day, I had decided to ask especially after ’the small talk’ where we asked each other how the day went, commented on the weather and the food, before returning to silence.

Edward had asked me how I was faring and I told him that I was doing well. My voice had shook as I answered him. He had muttered ’pathetic’ before returning to his meal.

I knew I should have let it go, should’ve continued eating in silence, but I just had to ask.

"Do you love her?" I had blurted.

Claire had flashed me a warning glare to keep silent, but I couldn’t. Edward had pretended not to hear me, as he munched away on his steak.

I hated it when he did that, when he deliberately ignored me.

As my emotions were all over the place, I had slammed the table so hard that he was left with no choice but to focus on me.

Again, I asked,

"Do you love her?"

He didn’t answer immediately, he first dabbed a napkin to his lips, reclined in

his seat before saying,

"I love your mother, but it’s different. She is from a respected family, she’s doing well for herself and she doesn’t have any sort of misfortune tied to her. Besides, I didn’t fall for your mother as strongly and blindly as you did for that girl. We took things slow until what we had, grew to love."

"But_"

"I’m not finished," he had said, cutting me off, "the most important thing about me and your mother’s relationship was that we were adults when we began dating. We were mature and we knew exactly what we wanted, which is more than I can say about a certain 15 year old_"

"But I love her!" I stormed, interrupting him.

Slicing his steak, blood oozing from the meat, he said,

"My son, you would soon realize that it takes more than love to keep a relationship. And one day, I know you will thank me for saving you from that accursed girl"

I had abandoned my food after that, I didn’t even have an appetite, but I had forced myself to join in the charade.

Till date, I have never had any reason to thank him. I still regret breaking up with Mel. And I doubt she figured out the real reason why I did what I did.

It was hard seeing her the days that followed, and it was even worse that she handled herself more than I could. She went about her life as if nothing happened. She smiled and laughed more, and she never sat alone. Friends always surrounded her.

I may have broken up with her, but it seemed she was the one who did. The girl who had cried for me never surfaced, not once in all the three months after our breakup, before she returned to her former school.

Now that I even recall it, I feel a faint stab in my heart for the love I never got to experience to the fullest and regret for I don’t think I would ever experience it again because my weak heart just can’t bear another heartbreak.

Lanke veered hard to the right dodging a taxi that its driver had to be a madman. I was about to complain when Vera called.