THE BILLIONAIRE’S PERFECT MATE

Richard???” Allison exclaimed, upon sighting her son and ran in the direction of where he was standing. Edward, who hadn’t seen Richard for years, was glad to see him and couldn’t hide his excitement. He also dashed out to give Richard a hug. Sophia couldn’t move, as she knew her nightmare had just appeared. She held onto her dress tightly and she began to shiver.

“My dear son, I have missed you a lot. Where have you been? You got everyone worried, including your dad” Allison said, hugging her son tightly. She was so happy and excited to see her son, but her son felt otherwise, as he pushed her away from him. Allison was shocked by her son’s action and she stood still, looking at Richard, as if she was seeing a different version of her son in front of her.

“Missed me? Worried about me? Have you ever been worried about me? Spare me the lies as I am not in for it. I am not here to spoil anybody’s mood, I am just here to celebrate with my precious nephew” Richard said, with a fierce look on his face. By this time, everybody’s gaze was on him, surprised by the turn of event. Edward, upon hearing the exchange of words between Allison and Richard, halted in his steps and wondered what was going on.

“Why is Allison so happy to see Richard? What did she mean by I and your dad are worried about you? Why was Richard so harsh towards her?” Edward thought silently, getting more confused.

“Sorry for the disturbance everyone. I apologize for creating a scene just now. Let’s carry on with the celebration” Richard apologized, when he noticed everyone’s gaze was on him. When everyone seemed to have resumed back to their celebration mood, Richard moved towards Edward, who seemed to be lost in his thoughts. Upon seeing them standing in front of each other, Sophia became uneasy and hurried down the stage, walking hurriedly to where the duo were standing.

“Bro, it has been a long time” Richard, who was now standing in front Edward said, hugging him, pulling Edward out of his thoughts.

“Yes, it has been. Where have you been? I have been worried sick about your disappearance. I woke up on the hospital bed and you were nowhere to be found, only to be told you had travelled for a business purpose. I have missed you a lot guy” Edward said, beaming with joy and wanting to pull him in for another hug, but was stopped by Richard, who burst out into laughter. Edward was confused by his laughter and couldn’t figure out what was so funny about what he had said.

“I went on a business trip? Who told you such a lie?” Richard asked, still laughing like a mad man.

“Sophia and my family told me that” Edward answered and which got Richard laughing the more.

“Guy, are you sure you are fine?” Edward asked, when Richard wouldn’t stop laughing.

“Yes, I am bro. It’s just funny as I never went on any business trip. That aside, you said something about waking up on the hospital bed. What do you mean by that? Did anything happen to you?” Richard, who had stopped laughing, asked with a serious expression on his face.

“You didn’t know? I was involved in a car accident and was in coma for months, before finally waking up. After waking up, I discovered I had lost some part of my memory” Edward explained.

“Oh!!!! That explains the reason you forgot totally about her and you are still with that wench” Richard said, nodding his head, as if he had finally solved a puzzle he had been finding difficult to solve.

“Forgot about her? Who are you talking about?” Edward queried, with his confusion, turning into desperation. But before Richard could respond, Sophia appeared beside them.

“Talking of the devil” Richard said, upon sighting her.

“Hello, Richard. It has been a long time. How have you been? It’s good to see you again” Sophia said, forcing a smile.

“Hi, devil. It has truly been a long time. I have been great but are you sure you are happy to see me?” Richard said with a serious voice, creating a tensed moment. Sophia became more anxious with Richard’s face close up to hers and she was finding it difficult to breathe and swallow her spit. Edward took note of the tensed moment between the two and noticed how anxious Sophia was, upon setting her eyes on Richard.

“What could be going on? Why do I feel I am missing something? Why do I feel everyone is hiding something from me?” Edward questioned himself, inside of his head.

“Yes, I am. Why won’t I be?” Sophia managed to say, after relieving herself of her anxiety.

“Glad you are but there is a question you are yet to ask me” Richard said.

“And what’s that?”Sophia queried, with her anxiety gradually returning back to her body, as she had thought Richard was about talking of the past.

“You didn’t ask me how my business trip went” Richard responded.

“Business trip? What business trip are you talking about?” Sophia asked, feeling lost.

“I just heard from Edward that he was told by you, that I went on a business trip, which I myself didn’t have an idea of. Isn’t that funny?” Richard asked, trying to corner Sophia.

“I did?” Sophia asked, facing confused Edward.

“Yes, you did. You remember the day I woke up from com ………” Edward said, but before he could finish his statement, Sophia cut him short.

“Oh!!!! Yes, I do now. Weren’t you on a business trip?” Sophia asked, feigning ignorance.

“No, I wasn’t” Richard responded.

“Then, I must have been mistaken. I thought you told me that” Sophia said.

“Yes, you must have been. And there is no need to hide the fact that, he was involved in a car accident and he lost his memory. He already told me that’ Richard said, just to make Sophia realize he noticed how she had stopped Edward from spilling the beans.

“Oh, didn’t know he told you” Sophia reluctantly said, when she realized Richard had cornered her.

“Well, let’s leave the story for another day. I am here to celebrate with my nephew today and I do not want anything to get in the way of the celebration. Let’s proceed to cutting of the cake” Richard said, making a move to head to the stage, where his little cute nephew was standing with his grandfather, whose gaze was on Richard.

“Wait, why have you been saying the word “My Nephew”? Why have you been referring to my son as your nephew?” Edward queried, which made Richard halt in his steps.

“You are not aware? Seems like you are the only one oblivious of the truth. Do not worry, you will understand everything soon. Let’s head onto the stage. We do not want to keep Austin and dad waiting” Richard said.

“Dad? Oblivious of the truth? What is going on here?” Edward thought, inside of him. Just as they all were about moving to the stage, Richard halted as if he had remembered something.

“And I heard the news. Accept my condolence, bro” Richard said, facing Edward, with Sophia standing beside him. Sophia, who already knew where he was heading to, quickly butted in.

“Darling, we can have this discussion later. We do not want to make Austin sad. Let’s hurry to the stage” Sophia said, wanting to pull Edward away but he didn’t budge.

“What news is that?” Edward asked, facing Richard and ignoring Sophia’s request.

“I heard she died, while trying to birth your child. She was such a sweet soul and a wonderful sister-in-law” Richard said, faking being sad.

“What are you talking about? Who died?” Edward said, getting frustrated and almost yelling at Richard. He was tired of being kept in the dark and no matter how hard he tried to recollect what had happened to him before he had the accident 6 years ago, he just couldn’t.

Before Richard could respond, Daniel, who was on stage and was holding the mic, called on them to hurry up to the stage, as time wasn’t on their side and they were keeping the guests waiting. That calling came in time, as Sophia, whose body had become stiff, heaved a sigh of relieve. They all went onto the stage and the birthday cake was cut. But all through the celebration, Edward’s mind trailed back to what Clinton and Richard had said.

“What woman are they talking about?” Edward kept on asking himself, over and over again. He was so engrossed in his thinking and was only brought back to reality, when he heard Richard addressing the guests.

“Hello, everyone. It’s nice to have you all here tonight and I truly appreciate you all for taking out of your precious time, to celebrate my cute nephew. I am sure you all aren’t quite familiar with my face and you are wondering who I am. I would like to introduce myself. I am Richard Lion, the second son of Daniel Lion and Edward Lion’s step-sibling” Richard declared in front of the whole guests, which made everyone gasp.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“He has another son?” whispers began to fly around the room. In no time, the room was filled with gossips and whispering of people.

“What are you doing, Richard?” Daniel asked, moving close to where Richard was.

“What? You do not like the surprise I have for you, dad? Don’t you want everyone to know I am your son? Are you ashamed of me?” Richard said, getting emotional and when Daniel realized he was about hurting his son emotionally, he let him had his way. He had missed Richard so much and had been wanting to have him in his embrace. Now that he was back, he didn’t want to do anything that would drive him away once again.

“You can carry on. They all will eventually know one day” Daniel said while nodding his head, telling Richard to carry on.

“Dad, what’s going on? What is he saying?” Edward, who had noticed his dad didn’t attempt to stop Richard asked, getting more and more confused.

“I am sorry son. I will explain to you once we get home” Daniel said, assuring his son.

“Yes, Daniel Lion is my father and we have been apart since my childhood. But now that I finally have the chance to be with him, I will make sure to create wonderful memories with him and the rest of my family. Also, I will like to add that, I will be getting married soon” Richard said and upon hearing this, Sophia felt jealous. She realized another woman was about taking Richard away from her.

“We both just came back from the state and she is also here with us” Richard continued.

“She is here? I wonder who she is” Sophia thought, looking at the hundreds of heads in the room, trying to figure out who the lady could be.

“If you do not mind Miss Hillary to be Mrs. Hillary Lion, will you join us on stage?” Richard said, with the guests, looking around to figure out who the lady was.

In no time, a lady, putting on a hat and who had been seated the whole time, stood up and began to walk up to the stage. All eyes were on her. She stepped forward with deliberate grace, her silhouette sharp against the light. The air seemed to shimmer with her presence. She was dressed in a stunning, floor-length gown made of deep emerald velvet that clung to her curves before flowing into a soft, regal train. The dress had an off-the-shoulder neckline, which revealed her delicate collarbones and shoulders, adorned with a simple but elegant diamond necklace that sparkled with every step she took. She was putting on a hat, which covered her beautiful face, with her curled long hair, dangling on her shoulders as she walked. She got onto the stage and upon getting there, she stood right in front of Daniel and the rest of his family. The family could barely see her face, as the hat had covered it, making it difficult for them to see who she was.

“It’s nice meeting, father-in-law” the lady, who was lowering her head said, while at the same time, slowly removing her hat to reveal her face. Upon removing the hat, she raised her head and the Lion’s family, except from Richard and Edward, were surprised to see who was standing in front of them. Daniel was shocked and so also, Allison. Sophia’s jaws dropped and her eyes widened in shock, as she thought she had seen a ghost.

Facing Sophia, Hillary said,

“Hello, sister-in-law. It’s nice to finally meet you”.