The day Amber’s mother went missing due to the poisonous gas that made her collapse thanks to Joseph’s evil plan, Tom had gotten all expenses paid as a form of care and love towards Amber. He got to find out that she was suffering from kidney issue and her name was still down the waiting list so he pulled some strings to people he knows to help him find a compatible donor.
He had gone back to the hospital when Amber went back to Paris to check up on her regularly. They had the chance to talk very well and it was then he came out about his feelings for Amber.
“Do you like my daughter? I mean no boss has the time to look after their secretary’s mom like this” she questioned the third time he came back but he only scratched his head and that earned him a big scolding from her.
She slammed her hand on the room’s wall and her eyeballs went up in anger as she glared at Tom who was wondering what he did wrong. “If you plan to toil with my daughter and her emotions then you should stop all these and take me back to the general ward. I do not want to be indebted to a man who will only make my daughter cry because she’s the only thing I have in this entire world and I cannot let her experience sadness. She’s already experiencing enough sadness because she’s taking care of me and if you are going to hurt her, please don’t go near her or give her any false hope” she scolded him with sincerity evident in her voice.
He was hesitant to give a reply but at the move her hand, he spoke up because he thought she wanted to hit him.
“The truth is, although I like Amber, I am not sure if I deserve her” he confessed and her brows got raised at his reply. “What do you mean you are not sure if you deserve her? Is there any qualifications to measure loving a person?” she countered and he sat up to explain to her well.
“I have never been a warm person ever since she started working with me. We only had a relationship of a boss and an employee, nothing more and I was never interested in her or anyone at the office. When she quitted, I began to felt her impact at work. I started to miss her absence from the work first because the ones I hired were never competent then I began to miss her as a person because even though I was cold and heartless, she was always warm. She would make coffee and I would complain about the sugar level, whine about deadlines and other things. These things kept lingering in my head when she left and I couldn’t help but think of her. These things turned to longings and I went to see her from afar but she seemed to be doing well, I knew there was a problem with me and I was already lost in her world. I had to work extra hours and everything was jumbled up together with nothing going right for me but anytime I went in search of her, I would come home smiling” he narrated while she looked at him, trying hard not to snort.
She finally released the laugh and laughed to the point of crying before proceeding to talk. “This is the problem of men, you always know what you want but you hesitate every time. While you are here hesitating, what if she meets another man? She’s not a ghost that will know what you are thinking so it is best to speak up before it is too late and also you are not the one to judge if you are qualified but Amber. Tell her your mind, learn to be warm too. I don’t know how you grew up or what is going on with you but I know you can be warm if you allow yourself open up to the world, there are a lot of things attached to the world that you can’t afford to miss out on just because you are locking yourself out of the society” she advised calmly and he listened with rapt attention.
He finally agreed to do just as she had said and they discussed a lot more before the nurse came for another round of checkup. He went ahead to ask for her condition and when she would be able to receive a transplant but he was told that she still has a long way to go on the list.
“That’s bad, what if her health deteriorate before then?” he muttered and decided to pull some strings with the connections he had without telling both the mother or Amber so they wouldn’t feel bad.
He had planned to break the news to her after work but with the issue of Joseph who came to his office and dropped the bomb about his identity. Everything has been out of place ever since then so he couldn’t drop the news himself.
She happily announced to him what was passed across to her on the phone as soon as she picked the call “My mother just called me and told me she has found a donor at last. I don’t know if I am dreaming right now but I am very happy to the extent I might explode” she cried and jumped on him to express the level of her happiness.
He smiled and welcomed her into his arms to celebrate all she wants and she stood there for a while before remembering that they were actually in the middle of an important conversation.
“I am sorry for cutting you short but can we discuss this some other time? I have to visit my mother right now” she said apologetically and he shrugged. “Yours is more important for now so feel free to attend to it and also, I hope you will stop being mad at me now” he answered and she pouted.
“I was briefly angry for you not telling me sooner but I figured out that it must have been a part of you that is kept a secret for a reason and you would have told me at the right time. Also, it doesn’t change anything, it’s not as if I got to like you for your position anyways” she explained and he was finally relieved.
“Thank you for being so understanding and I promise not to hide anything from you anymore” he assured and she pecked his lips cutely.
“Let’s go, I will drop you at the hospital” he told her and they both moved out of the house.
****
They got to the hospital and he watched her hug her mother happily as they both cried over the news. It has been a long wait for the both of them and now that it was finally happening, they couldn’t help but be so happy and thankful at the same time.
He finally had the chance to greet her and left for his house after spending a little amount of time because he also had some things to attend to.
He got home to see Anita stretching herself on the yoga mat. He greeted her and proceeded to his room before he changed his mind and asked if his mother was open for a chat. Before he could finish the request, she bounced off the mat with immediate effect and placed her hands on her waist.
“Of course! I am very open for a chat! We can talk all night if you want” she almost yelled, catching up on her breath. He stared at her with confusion and wondered why she was behaving that way over a chat.
“It’s only a chat, why are you so excited?” he questioned and she slammed him immediately with “This is the first time in sixteen years that you have ever asked for a chat” and that made him feel bad.
He would not lie that he didn’t resent his mother for being the one who made him stop his dream. He had to leave Lawrence behind, although his studio at Boston was small and crappy, he was still happy there because no one opposed his dream. His mother got remarried to another man without his permission and he suddenly had to accept strangers as his father and brother. He grew cold over the turnout of events when he realized that both he and his mother were just used by his stepfather.
Scratching his head and lowering his head a bit, he questioned “Has it been really that long?” and Anita nodded her head vigorously. “It has been really that long you shut me out of your life” she answered, almost on the verge of tears and he felt the more.
“I am sorry for doing that” he apologized but she told him not to, “What matters is that this time has finally come” she said with a happy smile.
“You said you wanted to have a chat, what is it about?” she asked, rolling up the mat
“I got myself a girlfriend” he revealed and the mat dropped out of her hold as her mouth hung open.