"I almost sold us out?! It's your face that scared me so much I didn't even dare touch your clothes!" Chibuzor fired back, his expression darkening. "How are we going to convince our families and the whole world that we're in love with this terrible acting?!"
Seeing the tension, Olaedo backed down and offered a solution. "We need to practice some poses to perfect this fake love. I didn't think we needed it when I saw it in your contract, but I stand corrected."
Chibuzor nodded in agreement as they headed to the car. "I'll take you to your place to pick up some things, then we'll go to our home. Everything else is already arranged."
Our home.
Those two words weren't strange to Olaedo. They were Maduabuchi's favorite words, the ones that brought her peace whenever he said them.
But hearing Chibuzor say them, she couldn't help but tighten her defenses. She leaned closer to the window, staying silent throughout the journey.
'No man is going to deceive me with those words ever again!'
When they arrived at her house, they climbed two stairways before stopping in front of a door on the right.
'She lives in a rented house?'
Chibuzor was surprised, guessing it was likely a modest two room apartment with a living room, two toilets, a guest room, a kitchen, and a master bedroom. For a billionaire, she was remarkably frugal.
Olaedo opened the door absentmindedly and stepped inside. Chibuzor, however, froze in place, unable to enter.
The living room was a disaster!
Clothes were strewn across the sofa, dirty rugs lay haphazardly, and the television was bizarrely draped with a blanket. But none of that compared to what he saw next.
'What's with the pile of ashes by the bedroom door?!
He didn't dare to imagine what the kitchen and bedroom might look like.
'How can anyone live in this mess? Much less a woman! Aren't women supposed to be more organized than men? Wait... maybe she doesn't have cleaning tools and plans to buy them later. Yes, that must be it.'
Reassured by this thought, he carefully stepped inside, his shoes crunching over bits of trash. Reaching the sofa, he spotted a vacuum cleaner behind it and felt even more baffled.
'If it's right here and so accessible, why not just use it?!'
This was turning into a nightmare, one he desperately wanted to wake up from.
Olaedo noticed his behavior and looked down, her face flushing red with embarrassment. She tried to convince herself otherwise. 'It's my home. I'll keep it the way I want. There's no need to be ashamed.'
But seeing Chibuzor frozen in one place, she begrudgingly decided to clean up a little. Admittedly, the ashes were a bit much.
She grabbed the vacuum cleaner and started working on the pile of ashes. Chibuzor watched her flustered face and couldn't suppress a low chuckle. Shaking his head, he stepped forward. 'Even if this is a fake marriage, it's for better or for worse, right?'
He gingerly began picking up trash, holding each piece between his thumb and forefinger, trying his best not to let anything else touch him.
"Hey! What are you doing? Just wait outside. I'll be done soon," Olaedo protested.
Chibuzor glanced up, a teasing smile tugging at his lips. "If I wait for you, we might not leave here even after five days. How can your house be this dirty?"
Olaedo's face turned a deeper shade of red as she waved at him dismissively. "Sure, sure. Just do whatever you want."
To her amazement, he continued picking up trash with his two finger technique, surprisingly fast despite his hesitance. Soon, he moved on to the clothes piled on the sofa.
They managed to clean the entire living room in five hours, eventually tackling the kitchen, bedrooms, and even the toilets, though Olaedo handled the toilets and her bedroom herself. Afterall, Chibuzor's "two finger technique" had its limits.
Finally done, Chibuzor sank into the now clean sofa and pulled out his laptop to work while waiting for her to pack her things.
Meanwhile, Olaedo moved about silently, but a nagging question refused to leave her mind.
'Out of all the eligible women in the world, why did Chibuzor choose me?'
She wanted to ask but wasn't sure if it was appropriate. Then she remembered her mother's words. While she wasn't planning to fall in love again, she figured it wouldn't hurt to develop a friendly philia bond with her new husband. After all, that wouldn't violate the contract.
"CEO Arinze," she began hesitantly, "there's something I need to know."
Hearing her formal address, Chibuzor frowned. 'This is going to be a problem if anyone hears it.'
"Don't be so formal. In public, you should call me honey, dear, hubby, whatever fits the role. In private, just call me Chibuzor. It'll help you get used to it, and if you slip up in public, at least my name is still acceptable. But let's not overdo the cringy nicknames unless absolutely necessary. Now, what's your question?"
Olaedo rolled her eyes at his instructions but took note of the correction. "Alright... Chibuzor. Why did you pick me out of all the eligible women in the world?"
Chibuzor froze. 'Should I tell her the truth, that she wasn't even on my list? Would she get angry? Well, honesty is the best policy. She might as well know where she stands.'
"I made a list of women who fit my taste," he admitted. "You weren't on it. I asked my housekeeper to arrange meetings with them, but none of them showed up. Mostly because he didn't tell them who I was or what I wanted. If he had, I'm sure many would've come. With no other options, he saw your scandal, did some basic research on you, and contacted you. Surprisingly, you agreed to meet."
Olaedo stared at him, speechless. 'Who chooses a wife this way? Still, at least he was honest.' She had been worried she had fallen into some elaborate trap, that he had been secretly obsessed with her or something. His bluntness was oddly reassuring.