Billionaire Pretends to Be a Bricklayer to Test His Future Wife—But Her Father Discovers His Secret First…
PART 2 — The Secret Behind Patricia’s Door
The moment Patricia stepped inside, she froze.
Her eyes landed on the old man sitting quietly in the corner of the room.
“Daddy?”
The man slowly raised his head.
“Who brought you home?”
Patricia placed the gallon down.
“A stranger. His motorcycle stopped on the road, so I gave him some water.”
Her father stared toward the doorway.
“A stranger?”
“Yes. He said he was a bricklayer looking for work around here.”
The old man was silent for several seconds.
Then something in his expression changed.
“Did you get his name?”
Patricia shook her head.
“No. I didn’t think to ask.”
Her father looked uneasy.
“Patricia, be careful with strangers. This community isn’t what it used to be.”
She smiled gently.
“He seemed harmless, Daddy.”
Outside, Greg had already started walking away.
But he hadn’t gone far.
He stood behind a mango tree, looking at the small house.
The address his father had given him was exactly the same.
This was the home of the girl he had been searching for.
Patricia was the daughter of the man who had saved his father’s life.
Greg slowly pulled the piece of paper from his pocket.
He looked at the name written beneath the address.
Patricia Nwosu.
He whispered to himself,
“So it’s really you.”
For the first time since arriving in Umueke, Greg felt nervous.
He had expected to find someone spoiled, arrogant, or desperate for money.
Instead, the first thing she had done was give water to a complete stranger without asking for anything in return.
And that bothered him.
Because his father’s warning suddenly seemed less important.
Perhaps Patricia wasn’t the problem.
Perhaps he was.
Greg returned to the village the next morning wearing the same faded clothes.
He carried a small toolbox and introduced himself to the local contractor.
“My name is Greg. I’m looking for bricklaying work.”
The contractor looked him up and down.
“You know how to lay blocks?”
“I’ll learn.”
The man laughed.
“Young man, this isn’t a game.”
Greg nodded.
“I know.”
By noon, he was carrying cement under the burning sun.
His hands began to ache.
His expensive watch was hidden at home.
His soft palms were quickly covered in dust.
But he refused to complain.
Then Patricia appeared.
She was carrying a basket of food.
She stopped when she saw him.
“You?”
Greg smiled.
“Looks like we work in the same place now.”
Patricia laughed.
“You’re a bricklayer?”
“Trying to be.”
She shook her head.
“You don’t look like one.”
Greg’s heart skipped.
“Why?”
“Your hands.”
She looked at his fingers.
“They don’t look like the hands of someone who has done this for years.”
Greg quickly pulled his gloves on.
“Maybe I’m new.”
Patricia smiled.
“Then you’ll have a lot to learn.”
She walked away.
Greg watched her go.
For some reason, he smiled.
But neither of them noticed the black SUV parked at the far end of the road.
Inside sat Gregory’s assistant, Michael.
He had been searching for Greg for two days.
His boss was supposed to be attending meetings in Abuja.
Instead, he had disappeared into a village pretending to be a poor laborer.
Michael finally called him.
“Sir, the board is asking where you are.”
Greg answered quietly.
“Tell them I’m unavailable.”
“And your father?”
A pause.
“Don’t tell him anything yet.”
Michael sighed.
“Sir, how long are you planning to continue this?”
Greg looked toward Patricia.
“Until I know whether she’s marrying me for who I am…”
He stopped.
Then corrected himself.
“Until I know whether she would choose me if I had nothing.”
Michael was silent.
Then he asked,
“And what happens if she passes your test?”
Greg smiled.
“Then I’ll tell her the truth.”
Across the construction site, Patricia suddenly turned around.
Their eyes met.
Neither looked away.
She had no idea that the man covered in dust standing in front of her was actually a billionaire.
And Greg had no idea that Patricia was about to discover a secret about his family that could destroy the entire marriage arrangement.
Because that evening, her father called her into his room.
“Patricia,” he said quietly.
“Yes, Daddy?”
“There is something I should have told you a long time ago.”
She sat beside him.
“What is it?”
The old man reached beneath his mattress and pulled out an old photograph.
Patricia looked at it.
Her face changed instantly.
It was a picture of her father standing beside a much younger Gregory’s father.
And written on the back were five words:
“My debt must be repaid.”
Patricia looked up.
“Daddy… who is this man?”
Her father took a deep breath.
“He is the father of the man you’re supposed to marry.”
Patricia’s eyes widened.
“What?”
“And the man you met yesterday…”
Her father’s voice trembled.
“He isn’t a bricklayer.”
Patricia stood up.
“Then who is he?”
Her father looked directly into her eyes.
“His name is Gregory.”
She froze.
Because that was the same name the stranger had given her.
The man she had just started trusting had been lying to her from the very beginning.
