Married To The Secret Billionaire

CHAPTER 1: DINNER WITH THE FAMILY.

Driving through the bustling streets of the city that never sleeps, New York City, Jack sat quietly in the car, with his wife, Jessica, beside him. Despite the swell time they seemed to have had at where they came from, Jessica suddenly switched mood when they got into the car. 

Of course, she was exuberant and all smiles at the party, which was all an act. She had to, and had gotten quite good at it. 

The couple attended the birthday party of Gordon Quaid, a retired CEO of a hedge fund, and there were other men and women of notoriety present at the party. 

Like Jekyll and Hyde, the "Hyde" part of Jessica emerged the moment they left the party. And as usual, Jack was expecting to receive the most obnoxious of complaints thrown at him. And true to his expectation, Jessica did.

"What was that for?" Jessica asked, looking away. 

"What was what for?" Jack asked, furrowing his brow slightly as he looked at his wife. She scoffed derogatorily and turned toward him. 

"You just had one task to do, one simple task: stand there, smile, and nod. But you had to open your mouth and make a fool of me, didn't you?" Jessica asked, her eyes blazing with hate.

The atmosphere got tense. The chauffeur threw a quick glance via the rearview mirror, but dared not stick his nose in what didn't concern him. That wasn't what he was being paid for anyway.

"Well, technically, that's three things you just mentioned," he joked, trying to de-escalate things.

"Did what I said sound like some joke to you?" Jessica fumed. 

"Come on, babe. I was just trying to be-"

"What? Huh? Trying to be what? Trying to show how dumb you are?" Jessica interrupted. Gritting his teeth, Jack tried his best not to let himself flare up in anger.

For a while now, he has had to put up with his wife's disdainful attitude toward him. But no matter how hard he tried to ignore how disrespectful she had gotten, he couldn't just get used to it. One gets used to such. 

Most who witnessed her outrage toward him would assume he was some spineless dude who couldn't stand up to his wife. 

"You hate that I'm successful. Don't you? Because you're trying real hard to put a dent in my reputation by any means." 

"How can you even think such a thing, Jess? I simply made an input, even crediting it all to you and the company. I did that for you. What's wrong with that? What's wrong with showing some support for my wife?" Jack replied.

"You made me look stupid in the presence of Mr Leo. It is my company, so I'll be the one talking or pitching ideas for the company to anyone, and not you. What does a mere salesman know about running a company? Jeez!" Jessica snorted, rolling her eyes as she looked away. 

Jack sighed exhaustedly, looking away as well. The rest of the drive home was awkwardly silent. The chauffeur stared briefly at Jack through the rearview mirror. He felt bad for him. 

Not long after, they got home. Jessica owned one of the luxury apartments at the Rosker Towers in Soho. The tower housed only the cream of the crop. 

Jessica headed straight to her bedroom while Jack went to his. They didn't share the same bedroom. They hadn't for the past three and a half years of the five years that they had been married. 

He went to his bathroom and washed his face in the sink, wiping it off with the towel beside him. Leaning on the vanity, he looked at himself in the mirror, leaving the water running. Part of his dark shoulder-length hair draped down in front of his face. A lot of thoughts ran through his head. 

Running his fingers through his hair, he sighed and adjusted his suit. Then, he headed to the living room and met Jessica also heading out of her bedroom. 

'That was fast,' he thought to himself. She changed into something different from what she wore to the party. Jack, on the other hand, didn't. He didn't see the need to. Well, he wasn't in the mood to go have dinner with Jessica's family, but he tagged along anyway. 

About fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the Sean's residence. Jessica rang the doorbell, and the housekeeper answered the door swiftly, letting them in. 

"Jessica," Mrs Sean called excitedly, and snuggly hugged her.

"Quit hugging me so tight, Mom. We saw each other yesterday," Jessica said, breaking the hug. 

"But it still feels like it's been forever since I last saw you," Mrs Sean replied. 

"Hello, Mrs Sean," Jack greeted with a smile. 

"Oh. You came," she responded, looking irked at Jack's presence. She walked away with her daughter.

Just then, the doorbell rang again, and the housekeeper rushed and answered the door. Seeing who walked in caused Jack to furrow his brow.

"Hey, Jack." 

"Michael? What are you doing here?" I asked. 

"I was passing through the neighborhood, so I decided to drop by and say hello," he replied, smiling. 

"Oh. I see," Jack shrugged. 

"Michael, darling. It's so good to see you," Mrs Sean said excitedly, returning to the door. Michael bent down and gave her a peck on the cheek. 

"I got you something." He went ahead to offer Mrs Sean a box of different varieties and flavors of cupcakes. 

"You spoil me every time, Michael," she replied with a smile. "Come on. Let's go have dinner." 

The two of them walked to the dining table while I looked at them. 

'But he said he was passing by,' Jack thought within myself, wondering what was going on. But once again, he shrugged it off, not making a big deal of it. 

Moreover, Michael was Jack's wife's business partner, the acting CEO of Trent Industries, and the son of the multimillionaire Morgan Trent. 

He has held that position for the past four years since his father had a health challenge, and couldn't actively run the company, for the time being. 

Getting to the dining table, Jack met the most unfriendly of faces. As always, he knew wasn't welcome there. The only available seat was the one far away from his wife, the chair beside Jessica's cousin. 

Michael was the one sitting right next to Jessica.

Not making a fuss, Jack went ahead to sit down, and then they all started eating, everyone helping themselves to what was served on the table.

"So, how are things at the dealership, Jack?" Michael asked. 

"It's been going great. We've had more sales this quarter than the previous," he replied. 

"Amazing," Michael replied with his mouth stuffed. "You know, you're quite good at what you do. You're passionate about it. God knows I could use a man like you in my company." 

"He'd be of zero value to you, leeching off of you," Mrs Sean commented, making Michael laugh. Jessica chuckled softly, gulping some wine. 

"You best believe what my wife just said. He'll suck you dry," Mr Sean said. 

"I don't think Jack would do such a thing. Or would you, Jack?" Michael turned and asked, maintaining a somewhat quirky smile. 

Jack looked at them and chuckled softly, then he looked down saying nothing in response. He playfully tossed the food on his plate gently with a fork.

"He probably wouldn't." Michael chuckled, and they all continued eating. But Jack lost his appetite at that point.

"Anywho, in the spirit of togetherness, I think it is fitting I do this now," Michael said, standing up as he moved the chair that he sat on aside.

"Do what?" Mrs Sean asked. Everyone looked at him curiously, especially Jack. 

Michael reached into his suit pocket and brought out a little box. He got on one knee as he opened it. Jack's eyes widened but his brows were still furrowed. His heart raced slightly but he kept his cool. 

He couldn't make out if this was some joke, or a prank, a really expensive one at that. 

"What's going on?" Jack asked, not realizing that he was already on his feet.