He Gave Me the Things His Mistress Didn't Want

Around noon, Donald suddenly sent me a message, "I’m bringing some friends home for dinner tonight. So, you'd better cook something nice.”

I hesitated for a moment. I did not want to get more entangled with him, but I also did not want to cause any trouble in front of his friends. So, I prepared the dinner that he asked for.

While I was still busy in the kitchen, making the soup I heard voices of unfamiliar men and women coming from the entrance.

I rushed over to check only to see Olivia enter my house with a group of strangers.

Seeing me wearing an apron, one of the women asked, "Olivia, is this your housekeeper? She is so young!"

Another person asked as if it were the most natural thing in the world, “Hey, where are the shoe covers? Hurry up and get them. These gifts are heavy. Come and bring them inside.”

"Really lack of manner!"

I was about to ask them to leave, but Olivia quickly intervened. “Isabela, we’re expecting guests today. Mr. Hernandez must have mentioned it to you, right? So, hurry up and bring these things inside, otherwise, if Mr. Hernandez knows about this, he might get upset."

I was not sure if these few people were the friends that Donald had met recently, so I held back my temper and took their gifts inside.

I vaguely heard someone behind me say, “Olivia, your housekeeper has a high temper. Anyone would think she’s the lady of the house.”

Olivia’s face was lit up with smugness as she raised her voice, “Don’t say that! What if she refuses to cook again?”

When I returned to the kitchen, Olivia followed me in, "Isabela, I brought some friends over to your house today. I hope you don't mind, do you?"

I looked at the smug smile on Olivia's and everything clicked in my mind.

"So, they are your friends, huh?" I asked.

Olivia casually flicked her hair. "Yes. Mr. Hernandez said that I had been wronged last night, so he wanted to bring you to apologize to me."

"He even bought me breakfast this morning and he asked me out for dinner. However, I had already made plans with my friends. How could I stand them up? So, Mr. Hernandez proposed to bring my friends with me here to taste your cooking skills as a way for you to apologize to me."

Seeing her triumphant expression, my grip on the soup ladle tightened.

After getting her fill of my pained expression, Olivia asked, “Where’s the fruit? Oh, you’ve already prepared it? Then I’ll go ahead and serve it.”

As she walked past, she whispered into my ear, “Thank you for the hard work, old woman.”

The moment she left, I slammed the ladle to the floor and pulled out my phone to call Donald.

Just as I dialed his number he walked in from the front door.

He ended the call before it even rang, asking, “You’re all here already? Didn’t you say you'd come half an hour later?”

Olivia smiled sweetly. “As guests, we shouldn’t arrive late, so we came a bit early.”

Donald responded with a gentle smile and said, "Birds of a feather flock together. Your friends are just like you. They are considerate and thoughtful."

One of them greeted him, “You must be Mr. Hernandez, right? Olivia, you’re so lucky!”

He did not deny it and, after exchanging a few pleasantries with them, he joined me in the kitchen.

Calmly, he picked up the ladle I had thrown to the floor. “Why are you so careless? There are guests at home, don’t embarrass yourself.”

Through gritted teeth, I retorted, "If I want to embarrass myself, it would have happened a long time ago. Why do I have to wait until tonight? What are you doing here in the kitchen? Are you watching me, the housekeeper, to cook? Shouldn't you as the man of the house be entertaining guests with the lady of the house?"

His brow furrowed. “What nonsense are you spouting? Olivia and I are innocent!”

“Ha!” I sneered.

"You're both so innocent enough to be sharing the same bed? Do you think I am an idiot?"

He turned on his heel to leave. “I don’t want to argue with you now. You’d better behave and treat our guests well tonight.”

After I finished cooking, Donald asked me to join them at the table.

Everyone looked surprised and Olivia’s expression changed instantly. She quickly added, “Isabel, you’ve been busy all afternoon. Please, join us for dinner.”

She was calm and natural, playing the part of a gracious hostess, inviting the grumpy housekeeper to sit down for a meal.

Donald seemed to know that I was just about to make a sarcastic remark because he quickly intervened, “Yes, you’ve really gone out of your way today. These are Olivia's friends, so they’re my friends now too. From now on, let’s all get to know each other.”

Olivia raised her glass, smiling brightly at me. “I’m grateful to Mr. Hernandez for inviting me to his home and I also want to thank Isabel for preparing this lovely dinner.”

"The first toast is for you, Isabela. I hope you’ll do me the honor.”

From the moment she walked in, she’d been dripping with hostility and her words carried a double meaning.

Without looking up, I said, “No need. I don’t drink.”

Donald’s expression instantly darkened at my refusal.