The driver pulled up in front of a fancy restaurant. I pulled out my phone to call Danielle to let her know that I had arrived. This was also me giving the other women who were with her time to get their act together.
I was not new to the whole society wives club. I’ve never been part of one, but I had a good idea of what happened in circles like that. That’s how I knew I would be the topic of their gossip as the new member and Atticus’ sudden wife.
Danielle would obviously have told them that there was going to be a new member, and it was no other than the most eligible bachelor who was no longer a bachelor’s wife.
The media was still buzzing with the news that Atticus Hayland was married, and I had made sure to keep off my social media for the time being.
I was not in the mood to deal with any negativity, and I was not willing to let some dreamers spoil my mood with their sorry excuse of what they thought were perfectly structured insults that would aim to attack my person.
I made sure to post an earth-shattering photo of myself which I got from a friendly photographer before I hibernated all my social media apps and I hadn’t gone online since.
Danielle picked up the call on the third ring and her cheery voice filled my ears.
“Hey Hazel, are you here already?” she asked
“Yes. I wanted to give you a heads up” She was quiet for a little while and I did not know if she was able to grasp what I meant to say instead.
“That’s fine, you didn’t have to call. Just tell the lady at the front desk my name and she will lead you to us”
“Okay. you’ll see me soon” I informed her before I ended the call.
“You can go back home. I don’t know how long I will be here, and I don’t want to keep you waiting” I told Justin who was sitting up front with the driver.
“We can’t do that. We’ll be here when you exit” he answered with a firm voice.
“But I don’t even know how long it’s going to take. I could be here all day” I argued out of genuine concern
“And we’ll be here all day. That’s our job. It’s too risky to leave you all alone.”
I didn’t understand why Atticus felt the need to have so many guards follow me around. I understood that he was an important man and may have a few enemies, but this was a little bit overwhelming for me.
I was certain that there were other guards stationed around the restaurant as well that were separate from the four in the car parked beside us. I had tried to get used to having myself shadowed but it was proving to be a very difficult task.
“I can’t change your mind, can I?” I asked him.
“Nope. You should head in and not keep them waiting. That would be rude” He mused, and I rolled my eyes at his playfulness.
As much as I hated being followed around, I had gotten used to having Justin around since he was the only security I was allowed to talk directly to.
I climbed down from the car and made my way to the entrance of the restaurant. From the corner of my eyes, I could see my bodyguards exit the car as well. They all dispatched probably to situate themselves in various corners of the restaurant.
The lady at the front desk appeared nice and I would have believed she was if it wasn’t for the fake smile that looked like it had been sewed on her. That had to be the fakest smile I had ever seen in my entire life.
I followed her as she led me to the back of the restaurant to a section that was a little bit hidden. I could already hear obnoxious laughter before I could see them. I had hoped they were all nice like Danielle but that was like praying unicorns exist.
I tapped the lady in front of me and told her I could approach them on my own, so she was free to go back to her duty post. She told me thank you and scurried off.
I studied my simple outfits as I caught a glimpse of the women and how fancily dressed, they were. I guessed I got the memo wrong when Danielle told me it was a simple lunch date.
I was wearing a pair of jean trousers, a little white top and a varsity jacket. This was my version of a lunch outfit, but it wasn’t to these women.
Danielle noticed me first and walked up to me to pull me into a hug. I could hear some snickers from behind her and they didn’t know how big of a mistake they just made.
“Hey beautiful, you made it. You look amazing too. I miss being able to pull off something like this” She was a little drama queen too. She was definitely not too old to rock this outfit. She would be about five years older than me if not less.
“You know that’s not right. You look stunning in this dress; it brings out your eyes” There was something about Danielle that made me want to keep complimenting her.
“Thank you, my love. Come, let me introduce you to the ladies of the elite club” She pulled me towards the table, and I stopped in my tracks as I saw the familiar face smirking at me.
Danielle was pulled to a stop as well and she looked at me with confusion. She followed by gaze and widened her eyes as she saw who I was looking at.
Samantha sat confidently with an annoying smug look as she stared at me. I thought the social club was for elite wives only so why was she here if she wasn’t married or was she?
“I thought the club was for wives only, I didn’t know that side hoes were allowed too,” I told Danielle.
A collection of gasps rang through the air, and I watched with great satisfaction as her eyes widened in shock. There was no way she thought I would hang my head in shame at seeing my husband’s mistress in public
“You know?” Danielle asked me in shock.
“What do you mean by I know? Was it public knowledge that my husband was fucking her on the side?” I asked in amusement. It was so much fun to watch their reaction.
I sat down opposite Samantha so I could watch her reaction. There was no way she was going to go through this dinner sane.
“No... I mean yes but it’s not what you think” Danielle stuttered.
“Dani, what are you saying? We all know Samantha was the woman in Atticus’s life before this thing came and snatched him away” The black-haired woman sitting next to Samantha spoke up. She even reached forward to grasp Samantha’s hands in hers like she was giving her some sort of comfort. I could not help but scoff at how foolish she was.
“Yes, Dani. It’s not Sammy’s fault that Atticus can’t let her go” Another lady spoke up.
“I don’t know what you are trying to achieve by telling me these pathetic tales. I don’t care who came first but what I do know is that I am married to Atticus now, I am the one who is now called Mrs Hayland, and you are just an outsider who he fucks for pleasure and would remain just that as long as I am present”
“How dare you refer to Sammy in that way when you were the one who came to take a spot that rightfully belongs to her” The second lady screeched.
I was studying Samantha the whole time as she had her head bowed, pretending to be hurt by the words I threw her way but I could see the little smirks she had as her so-called friends fought for her. They were so stupid.
“I don’t know you so why are you even talking to me?” I asked her and she sputtered in shock, at a loss for words.
“Jessica, Miranda, please stop. We didn’t come here for this” Danielle snapped at the two ladies.
“How could you talk to Miranda, and I like that for someone you just met?” The black-haired lady spoke.
“I told you all before to behave. We have to accept she is his wife now and doing all this would change nothing, so I suggest you let it go. If Samantha wants to fight her own battle, she has a mouth of her own, so you don’t need to do it for her” Danielle snapped at Jessica.
“You don’t have to accept it either, but it wouldn't change the fact that I am the legitimate wife, and your friend is the outsider sleeping with another’s husband”
“You are so confident calling yourself his wife, yet you have no idea how he feels against you, how much of a passionate lover he is in bed so how can you brag about holding the title of his wife so confidently” Samantha mocked.
She finally spoke up and it was so amusing to see her think she was doing something great
with the words she just uttered.
“Are you proud that all you have from a man is his dick? That he fucks you at night but goes back to his wife during the day?” I mocked her with fake surprise.
“Oh my God, you are bragging about him fucking you and not me, yet I am the only one he would present to the world as his partner and not you, Honey you can keep the dick, and I’ll keep the man” I heard Danielle let out a little laughter that she was trying to hold back.
“You think you can talk to me like this and get away with it? I will have Atticus throw you out, just watch and see” Samantha suddenly declared. Her friends too knew she just made the worst decision that she could have ever made in her life.
“Oh really? You would have my husband throw me out? Honey, I think the only person who would be thrown out is you. My stay is permanent, you know? I would have let you have him at night in peace, but you caused this for yourself”
“You can never throw me out of Atticus' life Hazel, we’ve been together far too long for you to come between us” She bragged. Deep down I doubted that I could do it, but I would rather die than let her humiliate me like this.
“Let’s see then. Which of us would be thrown out like an unwanted sack of good” It was war, and I was ready to fight till there was blood. Okay, that may have been a little too much.
"Please let's stop it. I understand that the situation is a bit tense but let's not spoil our outing" the third lady who had not spoken a word since finally spoke up. I was even a little bit shocked when she spoke up because I had not even noticed that she was there.
"Please, Elizabeth, if you don't have anything good to say, you better keep quiet just like you have been doing" Miranda snapped at her
"Will you shut up, why would you talk to her like that? Did we come here to fight and yell like barbarians? You two better keep quiet or leave" Danielle snapped at us. She had finally reached her limit, and I felt bad for causing a scene because of that person.
"I'm sorry Dani, I shouldn't have made such a scene. you are right, this is not the right place for this." I apologized to her.
"No, you shouldn't have to apologize. you did nothing wrong" Danielle told me. Jessica was about to protest when Danielle shot her a glare that had her shut up.
"Okay. Let's order some food. I am starving" I said with glee. I could feel Samantha's glare on me, but I ignored her like the unimportant fly that she was for the rest of the lunch date.