Underrated Secret Billionaire

Chapter 1: A Floor Too Clean for Love

“Take this, gold-digger!” Nina said with finality. “Sign them and get the hell out of our house!”

Jalen Adesina knelt quietly in the centre of the expansive living room, a damp mop in hand, his brows pulled together in focused concentration.

The marble tiles beneath him shimmered under the sunlight pouring in from the large glass windows. He moved carefully, making sure not to miss a single corner. This wasn’t just cleaning for him; it was pride. After all, he had promised himself that no matter what, their home would always reflect peace and order.

The house was silent, the kind of silence that brings comfort when everything feels right. But that peace was short-lived.

The sudden click of high heels echoed through the corridor, growing louder and closer. Jalen’s head snapped up instinctively. He had just finished cleaning that side of the room, and the last thing he wanted was muddy prints ruining his work.

But it wasn’t the shoes that unsettled him; it was the person wearing them.

Nina Brooks. His wife’s younger sister.

She was hardly seeing at home since her return from school. A second-year student at Prescod Business School, she had always believed her opinions were law. Despite Jalen assisting her by offering her home tutorials till she was able to pass her entrance exams, she still harbored that feeling of disgust whenever her gaze met with Jalen.

She stood tall in the doorway, elegant and commanding, dressed in one of her usual tailored suits, her face calm but unreadable.

The tightness in her posture, the faint tension around her mouth; something was not right.

Jalen slowly stood up, still holding the mop. He was about to ask if everything was alright when the doorbell rang.

Without a word, Nina glanced at the door, then back at him.

He walked across the freshly mopped floor like she was walking into a courtroom she had already won. A manila envelope was clutched in her perfectly manicured hand, and her gaze held no warmth. Her chin was raised, eyes hard and proud, and the air around her crackled with superiority.

She once told Tiana that marrying a man like Jalen; a man without pedigree or wealth was a mistake their family would never recover from.

If her eyes could turn to bullets, Jalen knew she would have emptied the chamber on him a long time ago.

But nothing could have prepared him for what she said next.

She marched straight towards Jalen, holding up the envelope like it was some sacred document. “I came on my sister’s behalf,” she announced, her voice firm and almost theatrical. “These are divorce papers. She no longer wishes to be married to you.”

The words settled in the room like thick smoke.

Jalen froze.

His fingers loosened around the mop, and it clattered to the floor.

For a long moment, he just stared at Nina, then back at the envelope.

It felt unreal.

Before he could even begin to process the betrayal, another footsteps approached the living room from the stairs.

Evelyn Brooks—Tiana and Nina’s mother. She strolled in, dressed in one of her usual satin robes, her silver earrings dangling as she took her place beside her daughter like a general inspecting her troops.

Her eyes held no sympathy. Her smirk carried an unsettling satisfaction.

So this was an ambush. And he was the prey.

Jalen’s chest tightened.

“I warned her,” Nina continued, her voice sharp. “I told her not to marry a man with no future. But she did not listen. Now that she has risen, she must also rise above you.”

Evelyn chuckled quietly. “She has outgrown you, Jalen. Let us not pretend. You are nothing but a poor bastard who had the fortune of standing beside a woman with vision. But that luck ends today.”

Jalen stood still, but his mind was turning. His ears heard the words, but his heart could not accept them.

Was this a prank? Were they drunk? Did they smoke weed? Was this some twisted family drama he had been dragged into?

But their faces were serious. Especially Nina’s.

“She’s now the CEO of one of the most respected companies in the whole of Georgia,” Nina said proudly. “That kind of woman does not belong to a man who spends his afternoons with a mop.”

Evelyn folded her arms, her smile smug. “She has finally arrived. And you, Jalen, should be grateful she gave you even this much time.”

Jalen’s body remained still, but inside, anger began to stir.

He had been with Tiana when everything was falling apart. When the family’s business was drowning, and Evelyn couldn’t even pay house staff regularly. He had cooked, cleaned, managed the accounts, and even helped Nina with her university entrance exams. He stayed up many nights helping her study, giving her tutorials, encouraging her when she wanted to give up.

And now she looked at him like dirt on the sole of her shoe.

The years of holding his tongue, of ignoring the mockery and disrespect for the sake of peace, began to rise inside him like fire.

His hands clenched.

He cleared his throat and said, with as much calm as he could muster, “Behind every successful woman is a man who believed in her before anyone else did. Tiana may have grown, but I was the one who watered the soil.”

Evelyn scoffed. “Watered what? You were a servant in this house, Jalen. And now your time has expired.”

Nina’s face twisted with irritation. “You’re embarrassing yourself, young man. She wants a divorce. That’s final.”

Young man? She now called him that?

But Jalen shook his head slowly. “I need to hear it from her mouth. Not from you, not from her mother. From Tiana.”

The room went silent again. The front door creaked slightly as the wind brushed against it. Then, as if on cue, the door opened.

Tiana entered.

Her eyes were unreadable. Her shoulders were back, chin slightly lifted, the same posture she always had when facing the press or presenting before board members. Except this time, she was presenting her final verdict to her husband.

“Yes, Jalen,” she said, her voice low and firm. “I want a divorce.”

Jalen took a step towards her, his eyes searching hers desperately. Maybe there was still something left. Maybe the woman who once danced with him in the rain and whispered dreams into his ear still lived behind that expression.

But he found nothing.

Nina and Evelyn stood behind her, watching, victorious.

As if to stamp the final seal, Tiana pulled out a check from her purse. She extended it towards him.

“Three million dollars,” she said. “For everything.”

Evelyn’s lips curled with disapproval. She clearly thought Jalen deserved nothing. Not even a goodbye.

Nina’s eyes followed the scene with quiet calculation.

Tiana reached for her finger, slid off the wedding band, and tossed it toward him like it meant nothing.

Jalen stood frozen.