CHAPTER NINE

~~Edward~~

“Uncle!” Lily screeched, running towards me.

Her clothes are almost drenched, stained plus her hair and face covered in white patches. What the hell is going on here. What is this woman doing to my niece.

“Lily, what happened” I asked bending to face her

“Nothing, Katherine and I are making cookies” she said happily

“What? You need to take your bath and change princess”

“No!” She pouted “I want to see the cookies”

“Katherine will get the cookies to your room ….”

“No! I want to see it we made it together” she insisted with a determined look on her face.

Not knowing what else to say I looked to Katherine.

“I need to have a word with your uncle Lily, I promise I’ll call you once it’s ready”Katherine said glaring at me.

“Promise?” Lily asked happily

“Of course I promise” she responded with a warm smile

“Okay” Lily said before rushing out happily

“What are you doing?” I sneered the moment Lily left

“What am I doing?” Katherine responded in an angry tone. Does she even have the right to be angry right now?

“I left a child in your care, you only had one job, and you couldn’t do it?” I yelled angrily

“If I remember correctly Mr Howard that job is to take care of your niece, is she hurt or unhappy?” She asked unmoved

“Why is she looking so dirty and drenched?, in a kitchen and where the hell did you take her tó earlier today?”

“I was doing what she loves, didn’t you see she’s happy?” She yelled

“Lily is a child, a child that needs to be guided into what is right or wrong and you’re in no position to teach a child that. The only reason I left her with you was because I was desperate but I made myself clear, watch her and make sure she doesn’t hurt herself”

“She’s not hurt now is she?” She yelled. The nerve of this woman to think she could yell at me like that.

“What are you doing in the kitchen?” I glared

“I was just teaching her how to bake…”

“I specifically said no teaching of anything. I don’t want her learning your slutty loose ways”

“How dare you?!” She barked landing me an unexpected slap across the face.

“The fuck?!?”

“How dare you think you can judge me because of one night? And just in case you have selective memory syndrome, you’re also as guilty as I am. If you think I’m loose then you’re worse so stop the hypocrisy and get out of my fucking way” she yelled before stomping out of the kitchen.

The nerve of this woman! My anger grew worse by the second, no one has ever ever dared to talk to me like and especially not a woman. She even had the audacity to hit me?

I was about to leave the kitchen when Lily ran in.

“It's More than 10 min now Katherine….”she paused seeing that she wasn’t in here

“Uncle, where's Katherine?” She asked looking up at me

“She… she left princess”

“Why did you make her leave?”she let out with tears welling up in her eyes

“She has to go anyw…” I began to explain but she cut me short

“She’s the only one that understands me and now you sent her away” tears dropped on her pretty face.

I tried to pull her into a hug but she just took a step back and ran straight out.

“Lily!” I called out but she never answered

What the fuck did Katherine do to her.

****

I had left Lily earlier, knowing how stubborn she is I knew talking to her immediately would be futile. I had my bath and went to sleep. It was late evening and I had the longest of days.

Now I’m up and was informed that Lily had locked herself in her bedroom since last night.

“You can go Amelia, I will go talk to her” I said after her explanation

“Alright mr Edward, is there anything I can do for you?” She said in her usual slutty tone.

Amelia has been like that for long time now, wearing appropriate clothings around me, arching her body in seductive angles, over revealing her boobs and making this annoying tone whenever she’s around me alone.

The only reason I was yet to fire her was because of how good she was at her job plus her mother had served my family well before she fell ill.

“Nothing Amelia.I believe your shift has ended?” I asked

“Yes but I don’t mind helping you with anything” she said staring down at my pants

“Your sick mother needs that help more so leave” I said sternly

“Yes sir” she said dejected before leaving with a sad look.

Ignoring her, I went up the stairs to Lily’s room and knocked on the door despite the “do not disturb” sign she hanged on her door.

“Lily” I called when I didn’t get a response.

“Lily, come on talk to uncle” I persuaded

“I don’t want to talk to you” she finally responded

“But why?” I asked

“I’m still still mad at you uncle!”

“We’re a team remember, you can’t be mad at your patner forever right?” I tried to coarse her, and it worked because the door opened after a minute.

“Good morning uncle” she greeted looking away

“Good morning princess” I picked her up and moved inside trying not burst out laughing at her failed attempt to keep a straight face.

“Why did you send her away?” She asked once I placed her on her bed

“Princess, she isn’t good for you”

“Why would you say that, she’s cool”

“She’s cool? You didn’t even want a nanny right”

“I didn’t but I want her, she’s super cool unlike the other nannies” an ugly thought pop up on my mind the moment she said that, super cool? Doe it mean I was right? Did Katherine really take my niece to a club or gave her alcohol? Because as a kid, alcohol, smoke and women were our definition of cool. My heart almost shattered into a million pieces at the thought of what might have happened yesterday.

“Lily princess, I want to sk you something and you have to say the truth okay”

“Okay”

“Tell me where Katherine took you tó yesterday, every single detail and don’t lie to uncle okay?” I said in the most gentle tone I could muster.

“Uncle, it’s my fault we sneaked out of the house without bodyguards and the driver”she started

“How so?” I asked confused because I believed Katherine sneaked out because of her sick plan to abuse Lily.

“I told her they wouldn’t let us go, and she wanted to visit her brother in the hospital” she explained

“Her brother?”

“Yes, we went to visit him, though he was sleeping all through our stay, Katherine said he’s been sleeping for months, is that even possible?” She asked with furrowed eyebrows

“Yes princess it means the person is in a coma”I replied

“What’s a coma uncle?” She asked

“That’s when someone over sleeps because of some kind of serious sickness” i explained

“Ohh!”

“So where else did you two go?” I asked curiously

“Well we had gone to bank before the hospital, she got money there and then gave it to the doctors. Then I asked her to take me to the Besearch park to get ice-cream”

“Was that all?”

“Well I met Shasha at the park and she was being bad as usual at but Katherine made sure she and her bad mom wouldn’t bully me anymore”

“Wait what?” I almost yelled. Bully? Was she being bullied?

“Urrrrhm”

“Lily was someone bullying you?”I asked but she turned her face away.

“Why didn’t you tell me princess?” I asked. I felt so stupid at that moment

“You’re always so busy caring for me, I didn’t want you to worry”

“Hey, next time something like this happens I need you to tell me immediately okay?”

“Yes uncle”

“Now tell me all about the bully” I said

After the conversation with Lily I couldn’t help the feeling of guilt at the way I treated Katherine. Maybe she wasn’t the woman I had thought her to be… maybe she just needs money to treat her sick brother. But the bigger problem was how to apologize since Lily made me promise I would.