“We’ll be scanning your dad’s brain for a second time,” the doctor announced over the phone.
I let out a low sigh, feeling a bit tense. They were going to scan dad’s brain again? But, why?
“Is there a problem now? Should I come over?” I asked.
“No, no. Not at all.” Since she didn’t sound tired or worried, I guessed there was no need for me to be worried. “Because of last night’s treatment, we have to do another scan. It’s completely fine. There’s nothing to worry about.”
I sighed in relief. “Oh, that’s good then. So, I’ll be visiting the hospital tomorrow. Once I’m done working, I’ll send you a call.”
“Good,” she remarked. “Take care, okay? And ensure Vicki’s good.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
As soon as she hung up the call, I walked into the kitchen of James’ mansion. Vicki and about two other maids were in there, cleaning the dishes, and wiping off the dirts on the kitchen surfaces. I walked to Mrs. Anika, the boss of all the maids, then stood in front of her.
“Ma’am, what should I do next? I’ve got two hours left,” I informed her.
She sucked her teeth, her big eyes squinting at me. “Oh, yeah!” She snapped her fingers as if she had just remembered something. “Mr. James and his father are in the mini living room. You’ll have to go there to clean up the place.”
“What?” I dropped my jaw. Not again. I didn’t want to see that man. “No, no. I can’t. I mean, they’re in there. We shouldn’t disturb them in any way.”
She cocked a brow at me, her arms wrapped around her chest. “Don’t get you. What do you mean?”
I sighed hard. “Ma’am, you don’t understand this. Please, don’t make me go there. I-I don’t wanna clean the place.”
She glared a little, her hands moving to her waist. “Are you the boss here? Uh? Who’s to decide who cleans the house?”
“Ma’am—”
“Don’t make me furious, my dear.” She cleared her throat. “No maid disobeys my orders. If you continue to argue with me, you’ll definitely piss me off.”
I lowered my head after taking a gulp. “Okay, ma’am.”
“Good.” With that, she walked past me.
I bit my lower lip. Taking a glance at Vicki, I spotted her laughing with the other maids. I wanted to ask her to help me out, but I didn’t think it would be fine to disturb her. I guessed I would have to face this all by myself.
Frustrated, I stormed out of the kitchen, and walked into the hallway. Trying to be calm, I headed to the mini living room. Only a few steps away from the room, I halted when I heard the loud cry of an oldie. It seemed like James’ father was yelling at him. Though I knew it was wrong to peek in on someone’s conversation, I couldn’t resist the urge to listen to what he was saying. After all, I had been sent to clean the place up.
“You’re thirty already! Do you wanna keep doing this? How can you keep on being irresponsible? Huh?!” The old man yelled.
“Dad, that’s enough.” James’ voice sounded from the room. He was obviously angry, and maybe exhausted. “You keep saying this. I’ve heard what I need to. Repeating it would actually change nothing.”
“Don’t you think it’s high time you settled down?” His dad continued. “It took a while for your mom and I to have you. We waited for ten years to have a child. When we got you, we were really glad. And, you ended up being our only child. Now that we need a grandchild, you have nothing to offer?”
“Fine then!” James snarled. “In that case, I can just have someone to have a baby for me. Or, I can just adopt a child.”
“Are you crazy? If you do that, what’s gonna happen to your reputation? To our family’s reputation. James, you’re getting married, and that’s it. We’ve given you enough time to enjoy yourself. At this point, we have to interfere in your life. Since you don’t have anyone in your life, we’ll find you a decent girl that suits your taste.”
“But I’m—”
“Someone has to inherit Rab-fire. Someone has to continue the family business. Someone has to hold our name. We need a grandchild from you,” James’ dad continued to lament.
“Alright. Go on. Find me a wife. But, here’s the thing. I’m definitely not going to marry anyone.”
“And, here’s the thing,” the old man retorted. “If you don’t get married, I’ll be donating my property, business and every other thing to charity.”
“But, you—”
“Mark my words.”
Observing that one of them was about to step out of the room, I quickly walked into the room, so he wouldn’t know I had been eavesdropping on their conversation.
“Who’re you?” The old man, tall, possessing cognac brown eyes and a pointed nose, wearing casual sweatpants and a sweatshirt, asked me that.
I cleared my throat, and lowered my head to show some respect. “I’ve come to clean the room.”
He snorted, and just walked away.
Stepping in further, my heart raced fast when my eyes caught James. His hands were rolled in a fist, and the moment he saw me, he stopped frowning. He twitched his neck sideways, scoffed as if he was embarrassed, and walked to me.
“You heard everything, right?” He questioned me.
I looked away. “I-I d—”
“You don’t have to lie. I’m not gonna fire you for it.” He kept his hands in the pocket of his Chino pants. The way his throat moved, made it obvious that he had swallowed hard. “You wanna take the offer?”
I squeezed my face in confusion. “What offer? What’re you talking about?”
For the first time since I had known him, he looked very worried. He sighed hard. “Be my wife, and enjoy the luxury around here.” He raised his hands, and scrolled his eyes around the place. “This luxury. This wealth. This—”
“Are you crazy?” I cut him off. I scorned in disbelief, wondering if he had gone crazy.
He looked at me. “Millions. Millions of dollars is what you’ll get. You don’t have to struggle with Ryan. Ryan isn’t even as rich as I am.”
“H-He’s your friend.” I squinted my eyes at him. I really couldn’t understand what was going on. I wouldn’t have ever expected him to go this far. “Are you really as irresponsible as your dad says? Are you this stupid?”
“Call it whatever you want to. I need—”
“That’s enough.” I shunned him by raising my hand at him. “I’m done with this unnecessary conversation.”
To my surprise, he just nodded. He wasn’t even smirking. What was with him today? “Hopefully, you’ll consider this proposal. Have a nice time, okay?”
With that, he walked past me. As soon as he shut the door behind him, I walked to the three seater couch, and sat on it. I just had to meditate for a while.
I was so confused.
***
I waited patiently for Ryan to join me on his balcony. As I sat on the lip-shaped couch in here, I felt exhausted. First, I was tired from working a lot. And second, I felt terrible that I was still lying to Ryan about who I was working for.
“You’re good?” Ryan hopped on the space beside me, holding a small bottle of tigernut milk.
I feigned a smile, and nodded. “Yeah. The breeze is cool and refreshing.”
“Hm, good.” He sipped from the bottle. Dropping it beside his feet, he exhaled, his eyes fixing at me. “So sorry for not spending enough time with you. I’ve been working so hard these days. I-I know you need me so much right now, and I feel bad that I haven’t been there for you lately.”
I gave him a warm smile. Caressing his cheek with my index finger, I shifted close to him. “It’s fine. I really understand you. And, actually, we both need each other right now. Don’t feel bad. I also haven’t been fulfilling my responsibilities.”
For some reason, his eyes darkened. Gloom abruptly jerked to his facial feature, fear also swimming through it. It was as if he suddenly got bad news. He took my hands, squeezing them in his. His eyebrows were creased at me, a whole lot of emotions dashing through him.
“Serene,” he called. His voice was faint and shaky, which made me nervous. “I-I don’t know. Recently, I’ve been thinking that I’m not worthy of you. When you say I’m dominant, it hurts me to know that you don’t have enough freedom. Whenever I’m working, it hurts that I don’t spend enough time with you. I can’t help but feel like my obliviousness to our relationship may eventually make me lose you.”
“Ryan.” My face involuntarily wrinkled. A strange emotion lingered in my chest, guilty suddenly running through me. Why was I feeling this way? “Don’t say those. Why’d you think that way? I’m very happy to be with you. If I complain about you, it’s only a way of showing you your flaws. To be honest, I don’t see anything wrong in how you treat me.”
He gulped, putting his eyes down. “I don’t wanna seem overly protective. But, the truth is, I’m scared of losing you.”
“Aw…” I pulled my hand from his. Raising his jaw with my fingers, I gave him a peck on the lip. “You’re too much, sweetie. You’re never gonna lose me, I promise. The night we made love, I vowed to create an eternal bond between us. That night, I felt convinced that I was yours.”
He put some strands of my hair behind my ear, a weak smile plastering on his lips. “Thanks for the promise.” Putting his hand in the pocket of his pants, he pulled two gold lockets out of it, both of them having a love shape. He gave one to me, and held one. “Open it,” he instructed.
A bit excited, I opened the locket. To my surprise, it was a picture of him. After staring at it for a while, I turned to him. “Aw, wow. What’s with this?”
He smiled. That cute smile. “Whenever you miss me, just stare at my pic which is in the locket. And, whenever I miss you…” He raised the locket in his hand. “I’ll see your beautiful face from this locket.”
“You’re too much,” I remarked.
He leaned close, and pulled me closer to him. “You’re my love. In my entire life, I haven’t felt this good until I got you. I wish you could know how I feel. I love you very much.”
“I love you too.” I flushed. Big time.
His lips brushed against mine, and he kissed gently, kissed passionately, kissed as if he had never tasted my lips. Glad, I returned his beautiful kiss.
As we kissed, I felt on top of the world. But, being frank, I had a bit of dread in my heart. What if I wouldn’t be able to fulfill my promise to him? What if something eventually separated us? How would he feel? Would he be able to face a heart break? Was I really worth him?
I guessed I would just have to be positive, although a strange feeling was hanging in my chest.
***