CHAPTER 3

Olima stopped at the kitchen door and begged, "Please, ma, I need to write the exam so I can gain admission into the university."

"And who will sponsor your fees? Do you want to tell me that you're blind and that you didn't know how your loving father cast me away? Well, if you've forgotten, let me remind you. Note that the money I am using to feed you now is the money I'm supposed to be paying to the old maid to take care of this mansion. There's no money in this house, and I cannot take my business money to sponsor your university fees. Why am I even explaining all this to you? Just get lost before I break your empty head!" Mrs. Gina shouted at Olima, who sobbed and went back into the kitchen, while Mia finished eating her breakfast. Nathan knocked and walked into the living room.

Nathan is the gateman of the house. He came to inform Mrs. Gina that the school bus had arrived to take Mia to school.

"Good morning, madam," Nathan greeted Mrs. Gina, knowing she wasn't the madam of the mansion before. But after the former madam's death, Mrs. Gina took over the mansion and became the new madam of the house.

"Yes, what do you want, Nathan?" Mrs. Gina asked as she stepped away from the dining room and walked into the living room to meet Nathan after dismissing Olima.

"The school bus has arrived to take Mia to school," Nathan informed, and just then, Mia stood up from her dining chair as she finished the delicious noodles and fried eggs. She turned and carried her school bag.

"I'm off to school, Mom. Take care," Mia said to her mother and walked away from the dining room, while Mrs. Gina responded, "Yeah, take care, too, my baby."

Mrs. Gina watched as Mia left the house and sighed as she looked back at the dining table Mia had used, seeing the empty dirty plate still left on top of the dining table.

Mrs. Gina walked back and picked up the plate. Then she took it into the kitchen to find out what Olima was doing inside.

Olima stood beside the kitchen sink, crying as she washed her face and sobbed. She thought to prepare her breakfast, but hearing the sound of the kitchen door being pushed open, she turned backward and stared at her stepmother, who walked into the kitchen.

Mrs. Gina's eyes burned with irritation at Olima, seeing Olima was very pretty for her age, with bigger boobs and a nice seductive shape than Mia. As Olima was also taller, too.

Mrs. Gina asked, "What are you standing there by the sink doing?"

Olima shuddered and replied, "I want to prepare my own breakfast, ma, and cook another noodles."

"Hmm," Mrs. Gina walked towards the carton of noodles she bought the previous week and inspected it.

"How many noodles did you cook for Mia today?" Mrs. Gina asked, as she checked the noodles carton on top of the cabinet. The noodle packets were smaller-sized and were 40 pieces when she bought them.

"Two," Olima replied, visibly shaking as she saw her stepmother standing beside her.

"And how many noodles am I seeing on the cabinet top that you want to cook for yourself alone?" Mrs. Gina glared at Olima. 

Olima shivered away and replied, "The—three."

"Three noodles! Just for you! My goodness! Do you intend turning me into a thief overnight?" Mrs. Gina questioned in shock, and Olima quickly shook her pretty head and replied sadly, "No, ma."

"Hmm, then how can you finish three noodles just this morning alone? What about Mia? What will Mia eat for school tomorrow morning and until this week and the entire month is over?"

"No wonder you're looking so fresh and chubby every week even after killing your parent," Mrs. Gina glared at Olima again, while Olima took more steps backward in fear.

Mrs. Gina walked closer to the cabinet top where Olima had dropped the three noodles she wanted to cook. She picked it up and said, "Only one noodle is enough for you. I will count this carton of noodles now to know how many are remaining. If I notice that you've cooked more than one noodle for yourself per day, then you will see the other side of me."

Mrs. Gina warned and counted the remaining noodles in the carton and said, "It's remaining just 10 noodles. So automatically, you and Mia have eaten 30 noodle packets already this week. And I am sure you ate the most. Now, return those two packets into this carton to make it twelve, and you cook just one noodle and one egg for yourself per day. But before that, prepare my tea first and bring it out to the dining table."

Mrs. Gina dropped the noodles carton and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Olima alone inside.

Olima sobbed and quickly prepared her stepmother's tea the way she knew her stepmother would like it, and she stepped out and walked to the dining room to serve it where Mrs. Gina sat waiting.

After Olima was through serving Mrs. Gina her tea, she returned to the kitchen to prepare the single noodle and one egg for herself, and she sat on a stool in the kitchen and ate her noodles quietly.

Olima's late father was a billionaire, and Olima had not thought of applying for her school scholarship examination when she was still in college. She felt that her father might not be pleased with the preferred choice of university that her college had offered for their best graduating student.

Olima continued to sob as none of her maternal nor paternal relatives cared to ask about her again, even after her parents were gone. They were more concerned about who would inherit her father's oil company and properties, too.

To know who would take over the CEO position. But as her stepmother was alive and around, none of her uncles dared to interrogate her stepmother. Mrs. Gina had threatened to have them arrested again if any of them came to visit.

Olima finished eating her noodles and stood up from the kitchen stool. She stepped out to the dining room to clear her stepmother's used teacup and saw that her stepmother had left the house.

Walking up to the dining room window, Olima saw that one of the cars Mrs. Gina drove had left the mansion premises. The car was one of Olima's late father's latest tear rubber expensive new cars, too.

Olima sighed and walked back into the kitchen to wash out all the dirty plates and cups there.

After she was through, she went upstairs to her bedroom to sleep, wondering how she would overcome her stepmother's torture daily.

Later in the evening, Mrs. Gina returned home from her shop, driving the expensive Jeep into the garage and parked.

There were about five exotic cars parked, and Mrs. Gina could vividly remember that her late husband had only agreed to buy a car for her after Mia grew up to 5 years old and complained that Olima's mother had a car, so her own mother needed one, too.

That was when Mr. Leo Adams finally decided to buy a small car for Mrs. Gina.

Parking the black exotic Lexus Jeep that was previously used by the late Mr. Leo, Mrs. Gina Adams stepped down from her ride and locked the Jeep doors with the car remote in her hand.

She walked towards the main mansion, and Nathan greeted her as she walked away from the garage.

"Welcome back, madam," said Nathan.

"Yes, well done," Mrs. Gina paused and replied before she walked back into the house.

She saw both Olima and Mia seated on the living room black couches watching the huge flat-screen television displaying a romance movie.

Olima stood up immediately on seeing her stepmother walk into the living room, as she didn't hear the sound of the car due to the noise from the romance movie she and Mia were watching.

"Good evening, ma," Olima quickly greeted Mrs. Gina, but she didn't respond, her black eyes shifting to look at the living room wall clock and seeing it was already past 7 p.m.

"Hmm," Mrs. Gina hummed and eyed Olima irritably, while Mia stood up and greeted her too, "Good evening, Mom."

"Evening, Mia. Have you done your homework?" Mrs. Gina asked Mia, and she responded, "Yes, Mom. Olima helped me to solve it."

"Hmph," Mrs. Gina walked toward the living room stairs and paused, while Olima shifted away to the dining room area.

Mrs. Gina asked Olima, "Olima, have you prepared dinner yet?"

Mrs. Gina knew there weren't any foodstuffs in the house, so she asked to be sure.

What do you think would happen next? Find out in the next chapter.