A Wife for the Billionaire
Chapter 91: RICHARD

Chapter 91: RICHARD

"Hello, shit face," Aaron said as Chad took a seat beside his sister.

They sat opposite me and Aaron while Mrs Helen sat at the head.

He wasn’t lying, Chadwick looked like shit. He was wearing a black silk pyjamas and it didn’t look like he had gotten ready for bed before we arrived. I think he had been wearing that pyjamas for days now. Possibly since the day, Aaron brought him home.

"And he smells like shit too," Mrs Helen added.

Again it wasn’t a lie, he may have tried to hide it behind that cloud of cologne, but the smell of weed, sweat and laying in bed too long punctured through.

His eyes were red, and rimmed with a

purplish hint. He had been crying and smoking weed too, and such a combo was a serious disaster for the eyes.

"Very subtle, mom. Very subtle" Chad groaned, taking a spoonful of the mashed potatoes.

"Another spoon and I swear to God, I will whoop your ass without giving a damn of how hard you’ve been crying lately" Mrs Helen reprimanded.

Karen chuckled, earning herself a glare from her brother who said,

"Yeah mom, tell my friends that I’ve been crying, how motherly of you."

"Maybe if you had behaved like the child I raised I wouldn’t have had any cause to act so ’motherly’ " his mom hissed.

The tension in the room was palpable. And before Chad could quip a rejoinder, I said immediately,

"Mrs Helen, once again you’ve outdone yourself. Everything looks spectacular and the smells... mmmmm"

It wasn’t just a ploy to reduce the tension between son and mother, everything did look spectacular.

Mrs Helen always hosted us like we were VIPs. She always brought out the good stuff. Before me, on top of the crisp, white linen tablecloth was fine bone china rimmed delicately with gold. On its sides held by a delicate beaded napkin ring in soft shimmering silver, was silverware, elegant with intricate viny design.

A stunning floral arrangement featuring roses, lilies and other exotic flowers in shades of crimson, white, cream and pale pink stood as the centerpiece. While tall, white scented candles in mercury glass holders were placed at intervals along the table adding to the decor and glow of the silver crockery holding the meals.

Crystal glassware, including wine glasses, water glasses, and champagne flutes, completed the setting.

"Thanks, Rich, but you know for you boys, I always go all out. Too bad we won’t be drinking this rare vintage wine, my dear Aaron," she touched Aaron as emphasis, "brought because someone has been drinking so much that we have to stay sober on his behalf. Besides, this is far too rare for such a shitty night"

Exasperated and eager to not be the subject of discussion for the night, Chad said,

"Can we start eating already"

Flashing him a glare, Mrs Helen added,

"Suffice to say gents, sparkling champagne cider will do for now." At her signal, Karen rose and filled our flutes, before joining her mom to serve us.

For entrée, we had - heirloom tomato salad, which Mrs Helen explained thus, fresh heirloom tomatoes, sliced and layered with creamy burrata cheese, basil, and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

For the main course, it was herbed crusted chicken: tender chicken breasts coated with a fragrant mixture of chopped fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, parsley), garlic, and breadcrumbs, roasted to perfection. Then, roasted vegetable medley: a colorful medley of roasted vegetables, including Brussels sprouts, carrots, red bell peppers, and red potatoes, tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Mrs Helen was an exceptional chef, her homemade meal was one of the things we looked forward to each time she invited us for dinner.

For sides, there were garlic and rosemary mashed potatoes: creamy mashed potatoes infused with the aroma of garlic and rosemary. And green beans almondine: blanched green beans sautéed with sliced almonds, garlic, and a hint of lemon zest.

Though we learnt it the hard way, but right from when we were kids, the Ramsey household had a rule... a table rule,

"No talking during meals, whether it’s starters or main dish, except in between desserts"

It came about after a five year old Chad, almost choked on a dice of carrot from his salad, when he had been telling his father about the fight he got into at

school.

Naughty Chad never told us about it or the rule for that matter even when we were invited for dinner for the very first time.

We were high schoolers then and Daniel was still around. Chad, his dad and Karen watched as Mrs Helen whupped our asses for breaking that rule. She didn’t care if we were informed or not, according to her, any well raised teenager should know that ’talking while eating was a bad manner’

We were warned not to tell our parents about the ass whupping, more like a bribe actually with desserts. And till date, Aaron and I, never told our parents.

So we ate in silence, savoring Mrs Helen’s delicacies without complimenting on how delicious it was, which had been how we fell into the trap of breaking the ’no talking rule’.

Chad avoided making eye contact with me and Aaron, from the tightening of his jaw, I could tell that he was pissed. Not even when Aaron asked him how he was when he and Karen were clearing the table of the dishes we used for the entrée and the main course.

Desserts were served a few seconds later, warm apple crisp: tender apples topped with a crunchy oat and brown sugar crumble, served warm with vanilla ice cream, and our all time favorite, chocolate cake with coffee flavoring.

Mrs Helen wasn’t just an amazing cook, she was also big into eating healthy, and for the desserts, there was a refreshing pitcher of iced tea infused with slices of lemon and sprigs of fresh mint.

After a slice of cake, she announced,

"Now, feel free to tell me just how much you like my cooking, like they say one more time won’t hurt"

"It was fine, I guess," Chad said.

"Hater, join the line" Mrs Helen replied.

"It was amazing, mom. Just what I needed after my hectic day"

"Thanks, dove. You always know how to make Mama happy, though I would be happier if you actually learned how to cook like Mama"

"Alright, that’s it. I can’t have this conversation now. Mom, I’ve told you that I don’t think I would ever have time for cooking and stuff, especially with how busy I’ll be if this expansion happens and I know it will. And any man who desires to marry me must know that I’m not the homely type. I will finish my dessert in my room, besides I have some documents that need reviewing. Goodnight mom, and... you all."

"You’d be too busy, says the girl who runs a chain of Hotels, how can you approve menus when you can’t even cook yourself?!" Mrs Helen called to Karen as she made her way up the sweeping staircase, a tray of her desserts in hand.

"Jeez! Mom, why do we employ tasters?" She called back, before disappearing into the hall.

Turning to us, Mrs Helen said,

"I guess, I should be glad that she’s working so hard, unlike someone these days" she sipped her iced tea.

"Jesus Christ! Mom, my heart was just broken a few weeks ago, can you chill? Anyway, I think I would be retiring for the night as well," strapping his chair backwards with a squeak, he stood to leave.

"Chadwick, sit your ass back down!" his mom commanded, "Have you no respect, these boys left their homes to come check up on you and you are going to leave without talking to them, your friends for that matter. Your heart was broken, serves you right, now you know how all those girls you broke theirs felt afterwards"

Chad hissed, but sat back down, choosing the chair two chairs away from that of his mom.

"Like you knew that I was planning to twist those lips of yours. You’ve grown pubic hair and fucked girls, that’s why you think you are now man enough to hiss at me. Damn! Helen, you’ve seen some shit, the same boy I carried nine months in my womb, hissing at me after eating the food I was holed up in the kitchen all day making, the fuck!" She thundered, rising.

Nobody likes to see Mrs Helen agitated, she was already scary with a normal expression, but her face creased with rage? She became a monster.

No offense to her, Mrs Helen was beautiful. She had curly brown hair that was pulled into a bun today, eyes like autumn leaves, lips - two lines of umber and damask, glossed to lustrous shine and a caramel skin that glowed in agreement to "black girl magic".

Karen and Chad were half-castes and they were just as beautiful and handsome as their parents, though Helen’s traits were dominant in Chad.

"Sorry, Mrs Helen, I’m sure he didn’t mean it. You know with his condition, his emotions are probably all over the

place, or else he wouldn’t have forgotten how good you are at ass whooping" Aaron said.

"Right," I added, "which reminds me, I haven’t told you of how great the meal was, it was heavenly, even better than it had smelled"

"Yeah, sumptuous too" Aaron desperately augmented, as Mrs Helen glowered in rage.

Chad was right to be scared, it was plain on his face, but so were we and worse, Mrs Helen’s furious gaze has shifted to us.

Never have I almost peed my pants before.