The Tyrant's Wife

“Mother, what are you doing here?” She asked, as an indirect way of letting Zaria know she did not plan this.

Ava looked frazzled by her question but she scanned Zaria, finally understanding. “I came to talk to you. It looks like I should be asking her the same question.” Her gaze rested on Zaria. “What are you doing here?”

“It doesn’t matter. Can we talk tomorrow?” Natalie pleaded, hoping her mother would leave without causing a scene. She had no such luck.

“I want to know wha she is doing here after everything that has happened. Do you know who her mother is?” Moments after asking the question, realization dawned on her. “Of course you do. Yet you are still her friend. She is more cunning than I gave her credit for.”

“I’m still here, you know.” Zaria reminded her.

“I’ll let you two talk.” She started, only for Natalie to tighten her grip around her arm pleadingly.

“Mother, I know you are upset but please, let’s talk about it tomorrow. I need tonight to recharge after everything that has unfolded in the last few days.”

Ava looked displeased but she brushed past them and into the elevator nonetheless. “Call me if you need anything.”

.....

Natalie hated to think about it right now, but her mind floated back to the time when she actually needed her parents, when they ignored her and Zaria came to her rescue. She had mixed feelings. She would have been happy if Ava said the same words a few months ago but now, it meant nothing more than words.

“Take care,” she smiled. “Tell dad I’ll drop by tomorrow to check on him.”

Once she was gone, Zaria finally pulled her hand away. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Nothing could ever happen that I’m not used to. Come on, we have a lot to discuss.” She opened the door as if nothing had happened and threw her purse onto the couch.

“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll join you after taking off my makeup.” She disappeared to the hallway, letting Zaria pour herself a drink.

She was not in the mood to drink anything, so she looked around the living room instead. The house was neat for the most part, except the magazines strewn all over the coffee table and on the floor beside it. She picked one of them and her brows shot up at the cover. It was not surprising for Devonte’s to grace the cover picture of a women’s magazine. On the contrary, no woman would pass up the opportunity to buy a magazine with a man as handsome as him on the cover.

He was wearing a button down shirt with all the top half buttons undone, and had his head tilted to the side, looking like the ultimate snack. She was certain he was the male lead in many women’s erotic dreams, and the thought of it made her realize how patient Natalie was. She would never be able to take it if Desmond’s abs were on display for so many women to fawn over. It was already driving her crazy that so many women wanted him

She skimmed the major titles and flipped through to kill time, stopping abruptly when she caught sight of Desmond’s picture on a column she would never expect.

“Eligible Bachelors?” She frowned. What the hell?

“That’s one of the things I wanted to talk to you about.” Natalie spoke up behind her. She turned around with the magazine still in hand. “Eligible Bachelors.”

“The media is insane.” She remarked.

Zaria rolled her eyes. She had been part of it before but the last thing she would ever do was publish the picture of an engaged man under a column like that.

“At least he is the most sought one.” Natalie chuckled to make light of the situation.

WHen she sat down, Zaria studied the picture again and glanced at her. “You said you wanted to talk about this. You don’t think it’s just one of the media’s insane methods of selling copies, do you?”

“I did at first. But then I realized this is today’s issue.”

“And?” She didn’t understand how that was related to anything.

“And the explosion only happened a few days ago.” Seeing that Zaria didn’t understand yet—or was trying not to believe it—she nudged the magazine out of her hands. “My parents may have been at fault years ago when they tried to kill Lucy, but they are not letting things slide.”

“So you think they are going to seek trouble with me?” She asked, trying not to believe it. She did not have time for more battles.

“They have already started to do so. They made you nonexistent in the media’s eyes. Soon, everyone will start asking you what happened between you and Des. If you do step out and explain that nothing is wrong and the pictures were published without his consent, they will make up something else.”

She shrugged. “Whatever. I don’t have the strength to deal with them. What could they possibly do?”

“Just be careful, okay?” Natalie kissed her cheek and picked up several magazines. “I need your help planning something.”

“What?”

“A proposal.”

Zaria’s eyes went wide. “You are going to propose to Devonte?”

She smiled adoringly. “We have been together for long enough to know that we want to spend the rest of our lives together.”

“I have a million questions.” Zaria squinted her eyes, to which Natalie laughed.

“I know. I have one answer to all of them. If I wait for Devonte Lemaigre to propose, I will be his girlfriend until we are in our seventies.”

Zaria burst into laughter. “Why would you say that?”

“Don’t you find it odd that he is yet to pop the question for all these years?” Natalie looked annoyed. “Anyway. What do you think of tattooing ‘Will you marry me’ across my torso and wearing lacy lingerie so he vaguely sees the words but they only make sense when it’s completely off?”

Zaria was laughing so hard she was out of breath. “Are you serious?”

“Not good enough?” Natalie frowned. “What about the words and the ring in my hair? He likes pulling it.”

Seeing how serious she was, Zaria facepalmed. “What happens when he says yes? Do you keep the words on your torso forever so every time you are naked before him, he thinks you are popping the big question?”

“I didn’t think that far ahead.” Natalie scrunched her face. “What should I do?”

“Get a temporary tattoo if you must get one.” Zaria suggested.

“That’s a good idea.” Natalie grabbed a notepad and scribbled something then added, “Maybe instead of proposing, I should suggest it. Write Natalie on one of my boobs and Lemaigre on the other so he sees ‘Natalie Lemaigre’ the next time I’m shirtless.” That will make him realize what I want.”

Zaria cracked up. Was she serious? Seeing that she was really considering it, she smiled. “You do realize your proposal doesn’t have to be dramatic, right? You can simply ask him to marry you.”

Natalie ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “I guess you’re right.”