Ash froze. If Ivan ever found out that Katty was helping him, that another Landers was aiding him, then it was going to be very disastrous.
“What?” Ash asked, still trying to remain cool.
*What do you have there…I mean what is that amount of cash doing on you?” Ivan asked, pointing to the money Katty left on his body before fleeing.
Phew! Ash was relieved. He thought Ivan had seen the scarf which belonged to Daisy. Now he had to look for a way to ensure that Ivan never gets to see it. But how would he do it? He was so afraid to move. The two bodyguards that Ivan brought along with him might straighten him out if he did so.
Ash didn’t want to get hurt and most importantly, he didn’t want Ash to see the scarf belonging to Katty. Just as Ash was contemplating what his next move would be, Ivan received a call from Katty. He had to move a bit away from Ash so he could take his call. Ivan’s bodyguards moved along with him too. Ash used this opportunity to pick up the scarf, he rolled it and finally, he concealed it under his shirt.
Ash then paid for the drinks but as soon as he was about to leave, Ivan hung up the phone in annoyance.
“Damn Katty! I’ve told her never to call if she has nothing meaningful to say!” Ivan expressed frustration. He looked at Ash –
“Were you planning to leave without saying goodbye to me?”
“I think I’ve got a stomach upset so I need to hurry home…please.”
Ivan laughed as he took a seat beside Ash at the bar table. “There is only one thing that I need from you. And I promise that you’ll be rewarded if you comply, if you don’t, I can assure you that you’re in for a very long streak of suffering at my hands…Where is Nelly?”
“Are you going to hurt me in front of all these people?” Ash asked.
“No, not today. But I promise you that I will…eventually.”
Ash looked deep into Ivan’s eyes as he spoke to him. He could see that Ivan meant every single word he said to him. Ash could see that Ivan was no joker or wasn’t just trying to frighten him, Ivan was a doer.
“Before I leave, I’d like to say this to you for the very last time – ‘I do not know where Nelly is.’ She didn’t even tell me where she was going and I respected that because she deserves some peace.”
Ash left Ivan’s presence. His bodyguards wanted to go after Ash, but Ivan stopped them. No one ever tried to walk out on Ivan or any Landers without severe consequences but Ivan was ready to let this one go, he had to.
Ash got home and found Vivian yelling at someone on the phone. She appeared to be really upset, he could tell from the tone of her voice as he unlocked the door. Immediately Vivian heard him come in, she immediately hung up the phone.
“Is anything wrong?” Ash asked her.
“Wrong? Are you seriously asking me if anything is wrong? Where have you been for the past four hours?”
How could he have let it slip his mind. Ash was supposed to take Vivian out on a date that evening. He suddenly forgot because of the meeting he had with Katty. It was going to be a very long night for Ash, he himself fixed the date. Vivian wanted it to be on another day but he told her to request permission to be off duty. And now, he was the one who returned home very late, who ditched their date after making Vivian absent for nothing.
“I can explain, Vivian…”
“Explain? Alright, you can start by telling me where you’ve been all night. I thought it was only Nelly but it seems like you’ve got other women I know nothing about.”
“I don’t, Vivian. I promise you, I don’t. I was out at a business meeting.”
“You are a very terrible liar, Ash! You yourself told me that you wouldn’t be working today, that your schedule was free!”
Vivian broke down in tears. She claimed Ash didn’t love her anymore. She made a lot of emotional statements that Ash couldn’t stand. He hugged her so tight and reassured her of how much love he had for her.
It was tough, but Ash was finally able to get Vivian to stop crying. For a while, he thought she’d never stop crying. When he asked her who it was she was yelling at on the phone, she said she was only reporting him to her mum.
“I was hurt, I just needed to speak to someone so I’d feel better.”
Ash was cool with it. He knew he had messed up and he promised never to do it again. The only thing he was concerned about was how to keep away Katty’s scarf from Vivian. She might see it and become agitated. She might make claims that Ash was cheating on her.
Nelly on the other hand was getting used to life in Munich, Germany. She had a hectic but successful first day at work. After the day’s job, Sandra invited her to have a coffee at her favorite tea shop. They made very good tea. Nelly was now in her third month of pregnancy and everything was becoming a bit stressful to her. That was one of the things Sandra wanted to talk about. She asked Nelly if she wasn’t a bit stressed out, she knew that cleaning could be hard.
“Do you need someone to be employed alongside you? I promise you, it’s not going to in any way shorten your salary.”
Nelly had someone in mind, it was Amanda.
As Nelly got dropped off by Sandra, age walked towards her apartment with a wild smile, untamed. She was ready to break the good news to Amanda who had been searching for a job for a while.
“Nelly! Nelly!”
She heard someone call her name.