Lucy's expression stiffened immediately she tasted the food and this act of hers turned my face sour.
She said nothing and passed the plate to someone who I supposed was the head chef. My palms became sweaty and I felt heat all of a sudden.
The woman who looked like she was in her late thirties gave Lucy a questioning look but Lucy said nothing and the woman had no other option but to take a taste.
Many reactions did not come from her as she only slightly arched her brow. She walked towards the kitchen counter and dropped the plate there then turned to me.
I was already feeling sorry because it looked like I messed up the entire meal and now they would have to get another ingredient and start all over again.
I didn't even know what the food tasted like because I have the habit of cooking without tasting it.
After a long expressionless stare, she turned to look at Lucy and nodded. I have no idea what is the problem with all the staff in the house as none of them seemed that be vocal except Lucy who spoke today. And they looked like it would cost them billions to utter a word. Little did they know that this act of theirs gets me tensed all the time.
There was unheard communication between the two of them and Lucy then turned to the other staff.
"What are you waiting for? Serve the food already." I didn't know whether this was supposed to be a relief or if I was supposed to get even tenser. If they serve this food, it means Gerard would eat from it and if it isn't pleasing to him, the kitchen staff would suffer.
I pursed my lips and contemplated whether or not to stop them from serving the food but my words stuck to my mouth as three staff slowly rolled the three tire mobile serving tray out of the kitchen.
I felt a pat on my back and turned to look. It was the head chef. She smiled at me before walking out of the kitchen.
I was still in surprise when Lucy walked up to me and told me to go and change my clothes before joining Gerard for lunch.
I instinctively nodded and hurried to my room through another door since I didn't want him to see me coming out of the kitchen.
I initially wanted to avoid him for the rest of today but now, I earnestly want to see his reaction to the food.
Getting dressed in a black casual cloth, I rushed downstairs and walked to the dining room but to my horror, we weren't the only ones eating on the table today.
There was an old woman in her late sixties and the same girl I saw earlier today. They were both seated there and had yet to start eating. Gerard was not there yet so I decided to turn back and leave the dining room but I was called back.
"Who are you?" the woman's bold voice flew into my ears like the wind. She didn't sound welcoming but I didn't want to join into conclusion already.
I turned around and bowed slightly.
"Good morning ma." I greeted politely even though my heart was beating like crazy. She looked like Gerard's relative or could this be his mother? I wondered.
"Who are you?" she asked again and didn't even bother answering my greetings.
The girl looked at me cheekily before turning to look at the old woman. "Grandma, she's the one I told you about this morning. The same girl who told me to get out of the kitchen."
My brow furrowed when I heard this barbaric statement from this unknown rotten potatoes. Still yet, I said nothing and maintained a straight face.
"So you are the one who had the effrontery to send the Mistress of this house out of the kitchen?" immediately her word came out, I felt a pang on my head.
'Mistress of this house?' Gerard is married? Or is it that he had another sibling? But he is the master of this house and I have never seen any other superior male in this house. So that can only mean that she is indeed his wife.
"Mistress?" I didn't know when the word left my mouth. And the disbelief I felt was obvious as I uttered that word.
"What? Hasn't anyone given you the proper orientation of how to talk to people? Haven you been told about the dos and don'ts of the Jarek empire? Let me tell you this young lady. You should look at people before you speak nonsense. You are not in her league and certainly, not a girl of class."
As this woman said all these hurtful things to me, my heart broke but all she said was true. I should never have spoken back to her when she said she wanted to take the drink and I shouldn't even be here.
I had had enough for one day and wanted to return to my room as quickly as possible but I felt a strong arms grip my waist and I instinctively turned to my side to see who it was even though I already knew who it would be.
Gerard. He was downed in an all-black outfit which matched beautifully with mine. It looked like we had planned to wear the same cloth and somehow, this made me feel like we were a couple. 'Oh snap out of it! The Mistress of the house is here and here I am busy admiring the master. How dare I? But wait, why is he holding me like this in front of his wife?'
The duo stood up immediately they saw Gerard and the young girl had an angry expression when she saw Gerard's hands around my waist.
Noticing her dark face, I tried to move away from Gerard's clutch but he held me in place and in front of the both of them, he kissed my forehead.
I was surprised and this was evident on my face but he didn't stop there and held my hand tightly. "Come wife, let's eat together."
Huh? Wife? Why is he calling me wife in front of his wife? Isn't this wrong? But I sat down nothing and simply followed him. Instead of sitting on his normal seat, he sat far away from the duo and I sat by his left, close to his heart.
Soon, the staff began to serve the food and an awkward silence filled the air. After the staff were done, the old woman was the first to talk.
"Wife? What do you mean Gerard?" she showed her displeasure and looked at me like a home wreaking conniving b*tch.
"Is there another definition for wife?" was Gerard's simple reply. He didn't look up at the woman and simply fixed the towel on his thigh in preparation to eat.
"How can that be? I told you Anastasia would be coming with me. Don't you have any respect for her? Why did you have to bring in another woman?" the woman was obviously furious and from the tone of her voice, it was obvious that she saw me as just the other woman.
"I never asked you to bring her here."
"But..." the woman wanted to protest further but Gerard looked up at her and although his head expression was solemn, he had a fierce aura causing the woman to hush.
"Grandma, you wouldn't want me to lose my temper."