THE BILLIONAIRE'S UNCONVENTIONAL BRIDES

A huge banner that read "Welcome, Ms. Archeologist!" was hung up in the village at the most eye-catching spot.

There was also a huge group of people waiting under the banner. Standing at the frontmost spot of the group was my ex-husband, Eugene Doyle.

Janice Lockhart, his current wife, stood next to him, along with the other village officials. They looked all around them, anxiously waiting for the arrival of said archeologist.

"Hey, look! Mr. Doyle, isn't that your ex-wife, Maria Johnston?" one of the people in the group asked, suddenly elbowing Eugene.

Eugene's face lit up when he caught sight of me. However, the smile vanished almost immediately.

"I told you that she was just a village girl who'd never be able to survive out there on her own, especially after suffering a miscarriage like that. It's been five years since she ran away from home. It's about time she came back."

The group of people began to laugh.

"Hey, Maria!" one shouted. "Did you come back because you heard that Mr. Doyle had been promoted to manager at our factory and regretted leaving him years ago? Are you back to try and lick his boots or something?"

"Look at you!" another said with a sneer. "You should have taken better care of yourself, even if you'd been divorced by him back then. What kind of stupid, ragged clothing are you wearing?"

"I bet she must have been pinching pennies after leaving Mr. Doyle," a woman added. "She can't even afford a proper, decent-looking shirt. Otherwise, she would have known to put some makeup on!"

In the past, no matter how poor we were, I would still save up every penny we had to splurge a little on some skincare and makeup.

I would get up before the sun had even risen just to take care of my appearance because I didn't want to embarrass Eugene and make him upset.

But now, there was no need for that anymore.

My husband didn't care if I dolled myself up prettily or maintained my appearance for him. He only cared about my happiness.

Judging from the condescending looks the villagers were giving me, I knew at once that they had no idea that the archeologist they were supposed to be welcoming and celebrating was me.

My old neighbor, Penny Nielson, tried to break the tension when she realized that I still hadn't said a word in return.

"Maria! You're finally back! Did you know that Mr. Doyle kept coming back to this village for the past five years to look for you? He'd been waiting for you to come home!"

Eugene had an unnatural look on his face. He looked at me solemnly and said, "I was only looking for her because I needed a nanny to take care of Janice and the baby after she gave birth."

He sounded very arrogant and condescending as he talked to me, obviously still treating me like his villager wife from years back.

However, I wasn't the old Maria Johnston who had nothing and nobody but Eugene in my mind anymore. I stared off toward the hills in the background and began mentally planning my work for the day.

Just as I was about to reveal my identity, Janice suddenly spoke up. "Maria, I know that you must be very sad that you lost your baby back then. I'm going to be a mother too, and I know how terrible that must have felt for you.

"But don't worry about it. If you're willing to work as my nanny, I'll let my son acknowledge you as his godmother after he's born, if you want.

"I think it's a pretty good deal for someone like you, seeing that you're doing so poorly in life and know nothing about civilized society. You'd make a good nanny.

"Also, Eugene is the factory manager now. It wouldn't be embarrassing for you to be our nanny at all."

I looked at Eugene and Janice coldly.

Five years had passed, and yet, Janice was still as pompous and conceited as ever. She made it really easy for people to dislike her.

Still, there was something I didn't quite understand. I had terminated my pregnancy back then. Why did the villagers all think that I'd miscarried instead?

Eugene mistook my silence for embarrassment and shame. His ego swelled as he said, "Alright, alright. Since you can't even take care of yourself and are living worse off than a beggar on the streets, just be good and come home to me!

"That old hut is still around. I've kept it for you. That should be more than enough for you to feel grateful. All you have to do is make yourself useful as Janice's nanny, and I'll be good to you as well."