The Billionaire’s Playmate

After ten minutes, I saw the organizer approaching me. I opened the car door and stepped out. Many photographers were taking pictures as I walked.

“Ma’am, it’s your turn to enter,” the organizer told me.

I nodded and thanked her. When I stood in front of the church door, I took a deep breath.

As the door slowly opened, I tightly held my bouquet. Everyone inside the church was standing. All their attention was on me as I walked slowly.

I looked at the aisle and saw Rozzean. He looked handsome in his black tuxedo. He was smiling at me, biting his lower lip. I also noticed him adjusting his suit, though it seemed fine to me. Is he nervous?

When I reached the middle, my parents greeted me, and I kissed their cheeks. My father was crying again!

“Dad…” I said.

We continued walking down the aisle.

“I-I’m just happy… so happy, Tangi.”

“I love you, Daddy…” I said to him and looked at Mommy, “I love you, Mommy, thank you so much.”

As I walked slowly, I glanced around the people inside the church. My employees from all branches were here too. On the left side, I also saw Manang. She was smiling at me, wiping her eyes, showing she was teary-eyed.

Manang… we’ll be together again in Rozzean’s house!

I took a deep breath and looked at Rozzean. He’s looking at me, accompanied by his parents and Luther. Luther even patted his shoulder.

When we reached the front, they approached us, and Rozzean greeted my parents with a traditional gesture. I, on the other hand, kissed Uncle Royce and Aunt Cynthia on their cheeks. Our parents exchanged pleasantries with a handshake. When Luther was about to kiss my cheek, Rozzean pulled him by the arm.

“Jealous,” Luther teased, earning laughter from everyone.

Typical!

“Rozzean,” my Dad said, taking my hand and raising it.

“Take care of my daughter,” I heard Dad’s deep sigh.

“Mr. Dela Vezca–”

“Dad, I am your father now, Rozzean,” Daddy interrupted, taking Rozzean’s hand to connect it with mine.

Rozzean nodded and greeted my parents. When he faced me, I saw the triumphant smile on his face. Smooth!

“I love you…” he whispered, and then we stood in front of the priest.

The mass began. We listened quietly to the priest. When it was time for the lighting of candles, I couldn’t help but look back at our guests.

They were all smiling, some wiping tears from their eyes as they watched Rozzean and me. I couldn’t stop my tears either. Since I saw Rozzean in front of the altar, waiting for me, I’ve been emotional.

“Baby…”

I looked at him when he whispered to me. The priest was still speaking before us.

“Ferline said it’s okay even if you’re pregnant with triplets. And your belly won’t be squished; it’s in a different position.”

I nearly choked on my saliva because of what he said.

“R-Rozzean, we’re in the church; we can talk about that later, right?” I whispered to him.

“Why? It’s okay. I asked Ferline. Later, you can ask her too. We can still do it even if you’re pregnant–”

“Hmm… it seems the groom can’t wait for the honeymoon.”

Both Rozzean and I looked at the priest when he spoke. I felt embarrassed because it seemed like he overheard our conversation! I gave Rozzean a disapproving look, and he avoided eye contact with me. He suppressed a laugh.

“Father heard us! This is all your fault!” I whispered.

“The groom can’t wait,” Father repeated, making everyone laugh.

We heard laughter from the audience because of the priest’s comment. I took a deep breath and pinched Rozzean on his side.

“Ouch…” he grunted.

“Be quiet.”

He nodded slowly, trying to hold back his laughter, but his shoulders kept shaking.

He’s really something!

The mass continued, and I was grateful that Rozzean didn’t bring up the honeymoon again. He just listened quietly to the priest.

“And for the wedding vows.”

The priest handed me the mic, and I tightly held it while looking at Rozzean. I took a deep breath before speaking.

“Rozzean, I know we met in an unexpected way. You first knew me as Tali, the playful girl who entered your house, pretending to be poor, and applied as a maid. Your sassy maid who answers back to the boss. The maid who moves her mole spontaneously.”

I heard laughter from the audience at my remarks. It’s not a secret anymore. Almost everyone knows about the mischief I pulled.

“Baby…” Rozzean groaned, but he had a wide smile on his face. He undoubtedly remembered the story of my mole. He noticed it several times.

“I did that because I wanted to see the bad sides of the man my father wanted me to marry. I didn’t want to be tied down back then. I hated the idea of marriage. Why did I need to get married and be with a man in my life when I could live alone happily with my pets? I was happy and content with my life back then, but everything changed when I met you.”

“I will never forget that afternoon when I saw you in your room, and how your hotd–”

“Baby, stop,” Rozzean interrupted, knowing that I was about to say Hotdog. I smiled and bit my lip.

“It was a hotdog! Jumbo hotdog!” I heard Thes say behind me.

When I turned to her, I gave her a thumbs up, making the people inside the church burst into laughter.

“Rozzean! From the very first day, huh!” my brother Grand shouted.

“I didn’t expect her to be in my room, though,” my groom chuckled.

I shrugged and continued with my speech.

“It was just my first day in your house, but I saw a weak and lonely person trying to survive illness by himself. Since that night, I wanted to make sure that you would get everything you need. I didn’t know that the few days of taking care of you had a different reason. I didn’t know that I was slowly falling for you.”

“Love is indeed the sweetest when you least expect it, and that’s what happened to me. Love struck me hard. While I was in your house, I realized I was wrong in judging you. You also proved to me that I need someone in my life, and that someone is you.”

Rozzean shifted his gaze away from me, and I saw his eyes closed with tears forming.

I took a deep breath and continued.

“My plan of looking for bad sides was ruined when I fell for you. My only complaint back then was that you always walked around your house half-naked, no wonder your housemaids fell for you. You even fired them because they were too enamored with your body.”

Laughter erupted from the people inside the church at my statement. I also heard Rozzean’s laughter, even though he was already teary-eyed. His laughter was hearty, as if he didn’t expect me to say that.

“But that’s not the reason why I fell for you. I saw the real Rozzean while in your house. You are a hardworking man, a man with a kind heart. A man who loves his family deeply. As I said, my Daddy was right. You are a great man, and I believe you will take care of me and love me.”

“Baby…” he said, wiping his tears.

“Rozzean, I won’t promise anything as your wife. But I’ll do my best to take care of you and make you feel how much I love you. I’ll be your number one supporter, your cheerleader. I’ll cook you delicious food, make you coffee… I’ll ensure that everything you need is done on time.”

“You are all that I need, baby…” he said. I smiled at him, keeping my gaze fixed on him.

I took a deep breath and continued.

“I won’t leave you again, I won’t go away without letting you know.”

I tried not to stutter while speaking, but I failed when I remembered how he trembled that night when he thought I left him again. I know that my leaving had a huge impact, which was evident in his reaction.

One of Rozzean’s fears is waking up without me by his side.

“Now, you’ll wake up every morning with me by your side… as your wife. I’ll wake you up with morning kisses that you really like.”

“I love you, baby… t-thank you because you fought hard for me. You n-never gave up after what happened to us. Y-You waited long enough until we could finally be happy in each other’s arms again. I love you so much.”

I heard a loud applause inside the church after my statement, but I heard Rozzean’s response louder.

“I love you… I love you too, baby.”

I wiped away my tears and looked at those present. My parents were crying, Mommy’s shoulders shook as she cried. I also saw Thes and Manang shedding tears.

When the priest handed the mic to Rozzean, I heard him clear his voice.

“I… always dreamt of this scene,” he looked around and stopped when our eyes met, “You walking down the aisle while looking at me. Now… I am not dreaming. This is real, and together with our family and friends, we witness our wedding.”

Yes, this is not a dream even if it feels like a dream for us. I can’t believe that we’re here now after everything that happened.

“Baby, I never thought that this would happen in my life. I… getting married. Before, I was focused on my work. The only things that mattered to me were my job and RCV. I had nothing else in mind except the welfare of my company and how to grow my businesses. But everything changed when that simple woman-Tali, who wanted to apply as my maid-came.”

“It happened so fast, and I didn’t realize I was falling… so hard. Looking back, you came out of the blue as Tali, my maid who talks back at me. You weren’t afraid to answer back, and you were the only one who could do that. You even questioned my topless appearances and scolded me. You were also the one with a mole that seemed to be everywhere, and your reasons were actually… funny. I, on the other hand, didn’t notice that it was just an excuse because I believed it wholeheartedly. You played your part so well, baby.”

Once again, the people inside the church laughed because of what Rozzean said. Indeed, we have a painful, funny, and weird love story!

“Your cute, talkative, and caring side caught my attention. I just found myself thinking about you even when I was in the office working. I wondered what you were doing with Manang. And when my work was done, I was always excited to go home, see you, and hear you greet me. I would go to my room to watch you on CCTV to know what you did for the whole day.”

So, he’s always watching me on the CCTV! Rozzean was really head over heels for me, even when I was just Tali!

“Also, I always found myself smiling while looking at you. I always watched you whenever you cleaned or cooked. And with that… I realized that I fell for my maid. I didn’t avoid you because I liked the feeling of being in love with you. The feeling was great. Even on days when I was so tired because of work, just seeing your face and hearing your voice eased the feeling of tiredness.”

“You are my rest after a tiring day.”Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

Our moments together in his house were only for a month, but the love we have for each other feels like it’s been years. I felt the sincerity in his words as he looked directly into my eyes.

Rozzean…

I am so lucky to have him in my life.

“I wanted you to know, and I wanted everyone here to know how you changed my life for the better.”

I pressed my lips together tightly and wiped away the tears that escaped my eyes when he paused, trying to hold back his tears and convey what he wanted to say to me.

“Thaliana, you made me feel the love I wanted to feel for a long time. You took care of me, which made me fall in love with you. You made a big change in me. Before, my life was in a storm, but when you came, you showed me the rainbow.”

I let out a sob at his words. I wiped the sides of my eyes with a tissue. I couldn’t stop the tears, and when I looked at Rozzean again, he was blurry in my vision.

“Thank you so much for coming into my life as Tali. I would be forever thankful because of your plan. We may have hurt each other, but what happened just made our love for each other stronger.”

I mouthed, “I love you,” while my lips trembled because I was still crying.

“Thaliana, at the end of the day, even when problems tested our love, I will always choose and stay by your side. I can’t bear to be far from you because you’re my constant. You’re always what my eyes are searching for. Your voice is what my ears always want to hear. Your smile always brightens my day, and your laughter is music to my ears.”

“I can’t wait to wake up every morning with you by my side. I can’t wait to see you in every corner of my house. You, as the mother of my children, my wife, and my home. And that will happen after this day… our day.”

I thought he was done speaking because he stopped, but he took a deep breath and rested his forehead against mine.

“Now, you can play with me all you want, not as my maid but as my wife.”

My lips quivered at his words. I smiled broadly.

“I love you, Thaliana… I love you so much.”