Dirty Secrets of the Billionaire's Wife

“Come on, George. He is only pulling your legs. I’m only meeting him for the first time. I guess he must have overheard me reuniting with one of my old-time friends. She practically yelled my name a hundred times.” I forced a laugh, giving Theo a warning side glance.

“Oh. I was wondering,” George mulled, nodding genuinely in understanding.

I was about to take a deep breath and walk away when my son, Ted, suddenly came hopping to my side.

“Mum, where have you been? I need you to come say hi to my new friends from school I told you about.”

From the corner of my eye, I noticed the way Theo ran his gaze over Ted. No doubt they both had striking similarities, should anyone bother to pay close attention. Same nose. Same hair colour.

“This is my boy, Ted,” George said proudly to Theo, gesturing. “Ted, come say hi to Daddy’s friend first.”

“Hi,” Ted muttered as Theo stretched out his hand for a handshake.

“Such a fine lad you are. I think we look alike,” Theo murmured jokingly, loud enough to be heard. “Right?” He glanced at George, who stared blankly for approval.

Good Lord. Was Theo actually sent as the devil himself to ruin things for me?

“Come on, Teddy, let’s go. We shouldn’t keep your friends waiting,” I said quickly before anyone could respond, hurrying off with him.

“Who is that guy, Mum? I think he is cool,” Ted began.

“Yeah, I think all your dad’s friends are cool,” I responded casually.

“But he is not wrong, huh? We look alike, don’t we?”

I forced a scoff. “Where did you say your friends are? I don’t see them.”

“Really? Can’t you see them taking photos by the pool?” he pointed ahead.

Of course, I had seen them the whole time.

My brain was in several splits for the rest of the party, no matter how hard I tried to pull myself together. Worse still, each time George called on me to greet a guest, Theo was always there, feeding his eyes on me as though I were some special treasure.

Once, after greeting one of the guests, a fine young gentleman slipped a card in between my fingers.

“Excuse me?” I said, giving him a condescending glare. I was used to being respected by all because I was George’s wife, so I hadn’t expected this.

The guy simply nodded toward Theo, where he sat, and I held my peace at once.

“Are you okay? What’s that?” George demanded, observing me closely.

“I’m good. I just need to use the restroom.”

“I thought I saw that guy give you something just now.”

I forced a smile. “Don’t mind me. I was careless. He only helped me pick up a card that fell out of my purse.”

I was quite amazed at how quickly and easily I wove the lie. It was a very good thing George didn’t seem to notice anything, and his attention soon got diverted.

That night, after the party, while lying on the bed, I contemplated texting Theo using the number on the business card, but a part of me resisted. Ten years had passed. There was no point in him coming to raise dust, neither was there any point in fueling his pride. He should know his place and start his own family. Paternal rights shouldn’t be limited to merely donating sperm.

George soon emerged from the bathroom, but I didn’t notice because I was lost in my thoughts.

“Are you thinking about him?”

I turned to him sharply. “Thinking about who?” I could barely hide the quiver in my voice.

George gave me a lopsided grin as he approached the bed slowly. “You think I’m a fool and don’t know, right?”

I grew tense but managed to mask my feelings. “I sincerely don’t understand what you are talking about.”

He sluggishly dried his body with his expensive white towel. “I overheard Ted telling you he wants to go see the rodeo show at Theo's Park, but you refused and have no intention of telling me, right?”

I was immensely relieved. George was indeed a fool. Good thing he was.

I forced a smile. Of course, I had refused. No way I would take my ex’s son to him in the name of going to his park for a kids’ show.

“Don’t tell me you hate Theo. He is a nice guy, isn’t he? Got a lot of humour too. He might be my junior, but I think he is way more mature and sensible for his age,” George remarked, putting on his pyjamas. “Compared to the other jerks I deal with, I think he is a smart ass.”

I'm pretty sure he was indirectly referring to Adam.

“What exactly does he do?” I asked out of curiosity.

George threw himself onto the bed first. “Real estate investment and stuff. Owns a park and several shopping malls.”

Quite impressive. So Theo, the once broke, poverty-stricken kid, was now making it real big. Well, back to my problem. Ted was a big fan of horses, and horse riding was his thing. Moreover, rodeo shows like these were a rare privilege, and I had no concrete excuse to deny him.

“Whatever you do, Tori, just make sure my boy doesn’t miss the rodeo,” George muttered, turning off the bedside lamp as he shifted his attention to his phone.

I rolled my eyes in irritation in the dark. “Your boy indeed,” I mouthed.

“I have a very important business deal I need to strike with Theo, and we need to play really nice with him, don’t you think?”

I said nothing in response and rose from the bed instead, slipping Theo’s business card into my nightie. I needed to check on Teddy.

“You will respond when I talk to you, Victoria!” George suddenly yelled, slamming a fist hard on the bed.

I inhaled deeply first. “I heard you quite well,” I answered as calmly as I could. Here was his real self, yelling my name like a maid in private, and yet out in public he dared call me sweet names.

“And where are you off to?” he fired.

“I need to check on Ted,” I murmured, shutting the door before he could say anything in response.

Ted was wide awake on his bed when I entered his room, busy with his phone. He gave me his usual sweet smile, but my stomach dipped this time because the smile was strikingly similar to Theo’s.

“Hey, birthday banana, isn’t it bedtime yet? Look at the time.”

“Don’t you think you should stop calling me that now? I’m no longer a kid,” he protested.

I wasn’t listening as I peered at his phone. “What are you doing?” I craned my neck.

He brought the phone closer to me. “You wanna see? You know Bobby, my best friend? He thinks Theo is cool and that we look alike.”

I bit my lower lip and dug my toes into his soft Persian rug.

No way in the world was he falling for Theo now.