“You are not my son anymore. Don’t ever call yourself that again!…..” Judith yelled through the transparent shield as she glared at James.
James sat in front of the woman who was supposed to be a mother to him….
But who had never been. Not even for once.
You would think that locking her up in here would break her back but no! She was made of steel.
Staring at her fuming angrily, he realized that he didn’t have a lot of good memories of her. From a young age, she made his life miserable but he had to take it all because that’s what children do, right?
They take all the nonsense because they have nowhere else to go.
He still remembered everything clearly….
How she had frightened him as a child, threatening to kill George if she saw him playing with him again.
He had been so afraid of losing his dear brother that he stayed away for so long until they were grown-up and there was no longer any bond between him and George.
He remembered the countless slaps and beatings she would give him if he didn’t do what she wanted or if he had a different plan for himself and refused to go on with her own plan.
Or how she always used him as a tool to manipulate Morris whenever she wanted anything and Morris was not giving it to her.
She didn’t care about anybody. Everybody was just a tool or object to her.
Coming here to see her had taken him a lot of courage because he already knew what to expect from her but he showed up anyway.
“So what am I now?…” James asked her, his face lacking any emotion.
“How could you turn against your own mother? How could you choose our enemies over your own family? And you have the guts to show up here after what you have done! I did so much for you. I loved you as my son.”
James almost spat at her ‘I loved you as my son’. He chuckled instead.
“We both know that you never regarded me as your son, you never cared about my life. You just wanted to take over Mrs Patricia’s position in the company. So you kept on insisting that I become the CEO because you knew that was the only way to become the chairwoman.”
“Everything I did was for you!” Judith insisted, glaring at him in anger. “Everything I laid my life to build, you destroyed it. You were supposed to stand with me! But you turned your back against me.”
“This is not about you! This is about why you chose to turn everything upside down! Why did you seduce Mr Morris years ago? The husband of Mrs Patricia to be precise. Why did you insist on getting access to live in the villa? Why did you choose to compete with Mrs Patricia all the days of your life? Why did you try to kill George?” James yelled at her, irritated by her stubbornness. “These are the questions you should be answering…..”
“How dare you say this to me?”
James sighed. “I am so ashamed to call you mother. I don’t know how on earth I ended up with a parent like you. I have gone to see father in his prison section and guess what? He sounds exactly like you. Denying everything, acting like you are the victim, refusing to admit you are wrong…..”
He gulped and continued. “… Both of you are very similar. No remorse, no change of heart.”
“I did nothing wrong. Was it wrong of me to want something more in life?”
“At the expense of another person? Of course, it was wrong! You monitored her life right from when you used to work for her. Doesn’t that sound creepy to you? You were ready to kill anybody to get what you wanted?”
“It was the only way. If not, she wouldn’t easily let go!”
James rubbed his forehead. This woman was hell-bent on giving him a headache and annoying answers to his questions.
“So you wanted to just come into her life and take everything that belonged to her? You didn’t work a single day for anything in that villa yet you wanted the money of those that worked hard?”
Judith rolled her eyes. “Patricia didn’t work for anything either! Her parents gave her everything she owned”
“She was given those things. You were not given those things! At the end of the day, it belonged to her. What is so hard to understand?!”
“I see you have picked your side. I will no longer entertain this irritating conversation”
James was done with her. “I really hope you understand that you will be staying here for a very long time-”
“It’s better than seeing your face anyway!” She cut him off. “Who cares how long it is? It does not change anything!”
James stood up, preparing to leave. “Anyway, I am traveling soon with no intention of coming back. You have refused to accept your wrongdoings so I know you will never change. Since you no longer have a son, you will have to spend the next twenty five years of your life alone. Goodbye.”
~~~~~*~~~~~
George poured clean water from a jug into a glass cup and passed it to his mother. He almost laughed watching her squeeze her face in disgust as she tried swallowing her drugs.
“Laugh if you want…” Patricia eyed him playfully. She gulped a mouthful of water quickly and scrunched her face in disgust. Ugh! She couldn’t wait to be done with these drugs. What were they made of anyway?
Probably metal and poop.
George watched as she emptied the glass of water. He was surprised that he managed to even laugh…..
He had been struggling to sleep well for the past two days, ever since his last conversation with Rachel about divorcing her.
Focusing on any business related activity had become so hard. He finally decided to put Mr Anderson and Tony in charge for a while until he got back fully.
Rachel….
Just two days without her and his body system was down. How would he survive for months and even years? He wondered how she was doing. She must have cried herself to sleep….
Or maybe she didn’t. Maybe her parents talked some sense into her and now, she could see things from their perspective. Maybe she would really not want him back this time.
Patricia placed the glass cup on a table and turned to George’s direction to say something. She paused when she saw him.
He was staring into the empty space, looking at nothing in particular. His eyes had grown misty and he had a sad smile on his lips.
He had the look of someone who was ‘yearning for his lover’. Yes, that was it! Patricia noted.
She rolled her eyes. If he was missing Rachel so much, then why did he file for a divorce? Stubborn man!
He was going this far for what exactly? Patricia wondered.
She knew George was not the type of man that would hurt his wife on purpose for whatever reason. So if he brought up a divorce, it meant he was serious about it. But what would have made him go that far?
Patricia cleared her throat, making George look at her. “What is this I hear about you divorcing Rachel?”
George blinked twice. He was not expecting her to know about that. Where did she hear that from? He had not mentioned it to her even mistakenly. Rachel had not been around since the day of their argument, it was definitely not her. So who-?
Tony!!….
George closed his eyes briefly. He was going to break Tony’s legs when next he saw him.
“Why are you not answering me? Is it true you processed divorce papers and told her to sign it?”
George laid back on the sofa and exhaled “It was not my intention. I just wanted to reduce the guilt I feel whenever I see her father…”
“I don’t understand. What do you mean?”
“Haven’t you noticed Mr Arthur Reeves has been keeping his distance from us? I know it’s too early to jump into conclusion since it’s not been up to three weeks since he was released. But haven’t you noticed he isn’t really interested in anything that has to do with us or this company?”
Patricia smiled. “So I wasn’t overthinking. You are right, I thought I was the only one that noticed. Even when he followed me to see Morris in prison, he looked like he couldn’t wait to go home and be done with anything related to our family. I don’t blame him, I understand.”
“Yea, that’s what I’m trying to say. He might not say it directly but I have noticed he wants Rachel out of here if possible. Even her mother, Amanda, feels the same way.”
“But isn’t divorcing her going too far? She must be hurting badly” Patricia asked.
George sighed. “I-I know. I don’t know what to say. I thought I was making it easy for her parents to get what they want, a better man for their daughter.”
“She doesn’t need ‘better’. She already has you. Both of you are perfect for each other and that is the way it should be.”
“I-I am not sure about that. I could never understand why she even fell in love with me in the first place. There are better men out there…”
“Of course, there are better men out there…” Patricia eyed him playfully
“Mom…” George whined, taking a hurt expression.
Patricia chuckled. “Okay, let’s be serious. Let me tell you something. George, you need to be aware of what you have. A lot of women would have never given you a chance to get to know you because of your scars but Rachel did that….”
“And not only that, she actually fell in love with you and is adamant about staying by your side. In her case, we can see she is not here for the money you have. She was never here for that in the first place. What point am I trying to make? You’re probably wondering that”
George sat quietly, looking at his mother.
“If only you knew what I would have given years ago for the one I loved to love me back…if only you knew how many people would do anything to be with the person that can love them so deeply. If you knew these things, you wouldn’t be acting the way you are.”
Patricia continued. “You love Rachel and she loves you too. That should be all that matters for now. Instead of cutting off so quickly, wouldn’t it be better to take things slowly and hear what her parents have to say too?”
George glanced at her “What am I supposed to do from here? I really don’t want to let her go”
“Do the right thing. If you miss this opportunity with Rachel, you will regret it for the rest of your life”