Since it was Tom’s birthday, Anita had cooked different foods to celebrate his day. She texted him, wishing him a happy birthday as usual and that was the first time he would reply her for the past sixteen years.
Her phone flew off her hand in surprise when his reply of “Thank you mum” dropped on her phone. She could not believe something like that was happening to her, she had to keep on checking over and over to make sure she’s not dreaming but she wasn’t no matter how many times she rechecked.
Her mood in the house was extraordinary because she kept humming and giggling at every minute’s interval making the maids around wonder what was happening to her to cause this reaction but their guesses was the fact that her son’s birthday was that day.
She finished all the preparations, snapped them and sent it over to Tom who was closing up at the office with “I prepared your favorite” caption. He only smiled and headed down to his car where he met Amber waiting for him.
Her sudden request of “Do you want to stay with me today?” caused conflicts in his heart since he already had a previous plan. He knew he shouldn’t turn either of them down so he just sighed a bit and responded, “Do you want to stay with me instead?”.
Without thinking twice, she accepted since either way he will get to be with her but she was sad that she won’t be able to cook for him like she had intended to.
“Sure, as long as I get to be with you” she accepted with a smile and he returned it warmly, picking up her hand and squeezing it slowly with a little “Thank you”.
He drove all the way home but Amber’s chest was beating hard because she would have to face his mother as his girlfriend this time around and not the secretary. She started to feel bad when how she didn’t confess to her at the mall that she was the person her mother was dying to know.
Immediately the car pulled into the compound, one of the guards outside quickly went to open her door for her and she waited for Tom to come over to her side to take her in.
“Are you nervous?” he asked, sensing her fear as her eyes wandered round the compound then back to him. A little “yes” escaped her lips and the way it sounded made her smile too because it was tiny and funny.
“You don’t have to worry about my father, he’s not around so it will be my mother and us” he assured her and she nodded in approval before he took her hand and they proceeded into the house.
Every emotions in her body rushed with every steps she took, hoping that his mother would be considerate enough to let her off the hook. As soon as the door opened for them and he led her inside, someone familiar appeared and rushed to their face with a cake, it was Stephanie.
“Happy Birthday Tom! I prepared this” she shouted but the shout diminished as she saw the both of them.
A look of disgust mixed with confusion settled on her face as she scanned Amber but it got worse when Tom took hold of her hand just in front of Stephanie, her head rang hard! Although he did told her before that he has a girlfriend, she didn’t believe it and thought he said that to chase her away.
“Isn’t she your secretary?” she questioned but he ignored her, holding Amber’s hand tighter and pulling her closer “Meet my girlfriend, this Amber” he introduced and faced Amber, “This is Stephanie, she’s like a sister to me but a very good friend” he stated and Stephanie’s shoulders dropped.
She was pained to the bones, tears welling up in her eyes but she did her best to fight them so she wouldn’t look more pathetic to them. A painful smile appeared on her face as she welcomed her, she didn’t have any choice after all.
“Welcome, you should have your seat” she motioned to Amber who slowly walked with Tom to have her seat on the sofa.
She had been at the house once but it was for an assignment, she was coming as a visitor this time around so the nervousness was understandable. Anita showed up just as she took her seat and rushed closer to greet her when he sighted her.
She had thought Amber accompanied her son to celebrate his birthday and was oblivious to what was going on until Tom introduced her, “I told you about my girlfriend the last time. Meet Amber, you probably know her as my secretary but she’s here as my girlfriend today”. Her jaws dropped in surprise, she didn’t even guess that something like that was going on with them and never thought about Amber being the possible lady he was talking about.
Before she could even respond, Amber quickly stepped in and apologized for deceiving her back at the mall. She made her understand that it was not her intention to fool her, she just felt it was not right for her to reveal it herself when Tom haven’t but Anita told her not to worry about all that, she understands her intention after all.
“You need not to worry about that, I understand! I wouldn’t reveal it too if I were the one” Anita commented and Amber could finally breathe in relief.
Anita didn’t have any reason to come against her because she loves Amber, she had good impressions of her in every occasions they met and Amber had always been very nice to her whenever they met. With open arms, she welcomed her and thanked her for being by her son’s side, changing to him to a better version of himself and doing things she could not do even as his mother.
“There is no need to thank me ma’am, we only helped each other grow” she said shyly and they all laughed before Anita ushered them to the dining table for the meal.
Stephanie was wise enough to give them some privacy by leaving for her house with the excuse that she has to take care of something urgent at the office. Amber as a fellow woman understood every emotion she showed, even the ones she was suppressing but what could she do? It’s not as if she was the one that chose herself, Tom did.
The dinner was a nice one as they talked about many things with Tom being the source of topic. His mother made sure to reveal many secrets and memories of when he was a kid that he had no choice but to laugh along. He couldn’t remember the time he had laughed that hard, it was a nice time for everybody. Anita also asked about her family and learnt about her mother who was recovering at the hospital, she decided it would be best to visit her so they picked a suitable date to go together.
The dinner finished and Amber insisted on helping her with the cleanup but she told her to stay with Tom instead. Tom took her to his room and they began to talk about random things till her eyes landed on a picture of young Tom and Joseph.
“I haven’t seen him for a while, is he not living here with you?” she asked pointing to Joseph.
“I heard he’s on a business trip” he answered flipping through the page of a paper he wanted to put in his office bag.
She kept quiet for a while, looking around his room the more but the curiosity got the best of her and she had no choice than just to voice out. A swift turn and few steps, she went closer to him by the desk and leaned on the desk, “I am curious as to why you and your brother don’t get along. I mean you can be step-brothers but still get along. Why is he trying hard to tear you down when you are not even dealing with the affairs of the main company. Shellhouse mall is a subsidiary that everyone had abandoned and you took it up, built it with your sweat and hard work to where it is right now” she questioned.
“Shellhouse mall is a powerhouse on its own so there is no need for coveting the company or wanting to be the owner of Holland Group at large and you are not even taking any threatening steps. You just love to do your thing and also look for ways to make Shellhouse grow larger so what is with the deep hatred?” she added and he smiled briefly.
He turned to face her and folded his arms, “Was that the impression you had of me? You must have been mistaken. Well you are right to some extent, I never coveted Holland Group and was satisfied with Shellhouse mall alone but that plan has changed. I want everything now” he declared, his eyes turning cold and Amber’s mouth dropped open slowly.
What happened to the Tom she knew? What is making him change?