The night soon gave way to the brightness of the day. Hera's bright blue eyes fluttered open. She blinked them severally as she looked around her. She had no idea where she was but judging from the monitor, she got to know that she was in a hospital. Then it suddenly dawned on her what happened last night as the memories flooded back like a river and clashed against each other like swords on a battlefield. She felt a headache coming and she hissed.
Her son. He must have been scared when she didn't come home last night and her nightmare wasn't good because it was all about him so she lifted her stressed body from the bed and looked around her only to meet a strange pair of light brown eyes staring at her. She seemed confused at first but because of the motherly instinct in her, she just wanted to go home.
" Good morning. Here, have a cup of water. " Zach gave her a warm glass of water which she collected and drank at a go. Zach was about to start explaining why she was in the hospital but his words changed when Hera started removing the drips connected to her body.
" What are you doing? " He asked.
" I need to go home. " Hera replied.
" Home? But you are not stable yet, how can you decide to leave? " Zach was confused. Hera didn't reply as she focused on what she was doing. She stood up from the bed. Due to her weakness, she bent slightly as if to fall but Zach caught her in his arms quickly and looked at her with creased brows.
" Will you at least just think of your health before doing something stupid? " Zach scolded. Hera, with the little strength left in her, pushed Zach away.
" Let me be. I don't need your help, okay? It's my body and my soul, I can do and undo anything positive or negative to it so don't bother with your facade. It's useless. " Hera snapped at him.
" Thanks for your help. " Hera said before leaving hastily. Zach just stood in a place, shocked at the reaction he managed to get out of her. Was there anything wrong with what he said? He wondered. Didn't she say that she didn't need his help and now she was thanking him for the help? Zach became furious after he thought about her behavior.
" That was quite rude of her. I only helped her but she had to vent her anger on her helper? Very rude! " He spoke and left the ward to talk with the doctor. On his way, he dialed Ben's number.
In the downstairs part of the Young mansion, among the rooms located there was Ben's bedroom. He was on his bed, shirtless. He was clinging hard to his pillow, over cuddling the poor inanimate thing. His snores were a bit loud as he continued to drown in the river of sleep until his phone rang. He rolled to the other side of the bed, completely ignoring the call, and continued sleeping. The phone rang again for the second time. He picked up the call and put the phone on his ear.
" Hello. " He spoke with a raspy voice.
" Ben, if you don't get to the hospital in the next ten minutes when I drop this call, you are getting fired and being sent to army school. " Zach's command tone sounded.
" Wait...what! " Ben's eyes flew open and he jumped out of bed immediately.
" Boss, just give me thirty minutes. I need to still take my bath. "
" Do that after you pick me up! " Zach disconnected the call. Ben grunted as he ran to the bathroom for a quick freshie.
Where Zach was standing, he decided to see if he had any money left with him. He searched every pocket but he found nothing. He was sure that he kept some change there last night and even this morning, he still found the little amount so where was it? It didn't fall to the ground so who could have picked it or stolen it from him unaware? Was it that woman? His thoughts ran wild at this point. How dare she!
Hera paid the cab driver out of the money she had stolen from Zach's pocket and the driver left. She had calculated everything, she had no money with her, and not even her purse was with her so Zach was the available option. From his looks, he was the rich one... stealing a little cash was definitely nothing to him. She stared at the gate of her home...pft, her mind cracked into miserable laughter. Home? This was no longer the home she was born into. This was just a house...a building meant to shelter her and her son.She moved closer and the gateman opened the gate for her to enter. She walked into the small mansion eagerly. The first thing she noticed was her so-called family having breakfast while her son just sat at a corner with a piece of bread watching them eat. There were no words to describe how she felt about this. She ran towards her son whose face was now lifted a little bit after seeing his mum. " Mom? " He spoke, getting the attention of the family members. " Aus
Zach met the family having breakfast when he arrived. Delilah stood up to welcome him with a hug and a huge smile on her face. " Welcome home, Zach. " She greeted. " Thanks. Good morning, everyone. " He greeted. " Morning. " They chorused. " So, are you done with the business now? " Jennie asked as she puts a piece of meat into her mouth using a fork. " I am not done with business and I will never be as long as I am alive. You didn't let me enjoy my stay and meeting there as if I was gone for a year, mum. " Zach spoke as he pulled out a chair and sat on it. He wasn't going to eat breakfast in his state, he just wanted to have a chat with the family. " I am your mother of course, what do you expect? " Jennie glared at him and Zach chuckled. " How was the business trip? " Ezekiel asked his son. " It went well. The contract was sealed and they proposed to invest more in the business. " Zach replied with a smile. Everyone was happy at the news and made a t
Delilah climbed each of the stairs with care so she wouldn't slip and fall. She got to Zach's room and knocked, when there wasn't any reply she opened the door and entered. The sound of rushing water could be heard from the bathroom which meant that he was taking his bath. She placed the tray containing his morning meal on one of the side tables and took her time looking at the room.Zach's bedroom wasn't just any bedroom, it had a mini sitting room, mini library, and kitchen. His closet was quite wide and just from standing in the room, one could view the beautiful lawn that added beauty to the Young Mansion. The room had several portraits of art and decorations. There were only a few pictures of his family and friends. Even though he was a male, he was the type who strongly believed that both genders should have the mindset to be clean and to keep their surroundings neat.While Delilah was still admiring the room, Zach came out of the bathroom and this got her attention. She turned
Hera was walking down the busy street with Austin. Her eyes were red and all swollen up. It was already afternoon and they still had no place to stay but Hera's hand never released Austin's. " Mum, where exactly are we going? " Austin asked. He was starting to get tired of walking to nowhere. Hera looked at home, trying to find the right words to say. " Don't... Don't worry, Austin. I will figure out something. " She assured him. She stood at a spot and looked around for any sign of a phonebooth which she found nearby. " Hi. " She greeted the aged woman who was attending to the customers at the booth. " Good afternoon, ma'am. You're here to make a call? " The attendant asked. " Yes. " Hera replied and gave her the fee. She was directed to where the telephone was fixed to the wall and pressed the number keys before placing the phone in her ear. It rang for a while and it was picked up from the other end. " Hello. " Anna, her best friend said immediately after the call connec
The tides of the day soon changed and it was dusk. Hera's eyes were now wide open and she glanced at the wall clock. It was 7 pm already. She was surprised she did sleep that late but concluded that it was normal since her body needed the rest. Austin was no longer in her arms. He sat opposite her while watching an ongoing cartoon, he looked relaxed and was even singing along with the cartoon characters. The doorbell rang and Hera stood up to open it. There was Anna, carrying a huge load of shopping bags. She was excited to see Hera but sad to also see the terrible state that she was in and this saddened her a lot. She entered and closed the door with her right leg. Anna dropped the bags and pulled her into a tight hug. " Hera...oh Hera, I missed you a lot. " Anna's eyes were beginning to weaken with tears as she held onto Hera firmly. " I also missed you, Anna. " She replied. They released each other and smiled. Austin used this opportunity to get in between them. " Godmo
Inside the Williams' Villa were the mother and daughter pair in the sitting room which was furnished and decorated, it had a taste, and sense alongside the feeling of being wealthy. Most of the things in the house were either gold or diamonds which showed how rich they were. Two maids came into view carrying different plates of snacks and classic wines of their choice. They served them and left the pair alone. " Mom, what is the meaning of this? How many times do I have to tell you that I am on diet? I need to watch my weight, I practically need to! " Delilah whined to her mother. "Come off it, Delilah. I won't because of your career see you starve to death. Just eat some snacks, it won't hurt that much or never hurt at all. " Her mother, the only wife of Cyril Williams, a famous business tycoon, Elizabeth Williams chided her daughter. Delilah rolled her eyes a bit at her mother's words. " Whatever. " She mumbled. Nevertheless, she opened the bottle of wine and poured herse
The next morning, Anna had already woken up as early as she could, to be precise, it was around 5 am. She went to the next room where Hera and her son were and knocked on the door. She would have preferred to call her on the phone but Hera had none so she went for this option. " Hera. " She called her name softly. " Hera, are you up? Can I talk with you for a few minutes? " She asked. " Coming. " Hera replied from within and went to open the door after stretching a bit. " Hi, good morning. " She greeted and came out fully so she could close the door. " Good morning. I am sorry if I disrupted your sleep but I couldn't let the thought slide past. " Anna looked at her pleadingly. " No problem, Anna. Let's sit and talk. " Hera suggested and they went to the sitting room. They sat opposite each other while Hera slightly opened her mouth to yawn. " I wanted to discuss this with you last night when we were talking but the time and situation couldn't allow it. It's
Hera and her son arrived at the school's gate and entered. She was holding his hand amidst the crowd which consisted of only the parents, pupils, and a few teachers who were arriving one after the other or moving around. The school was a public school and was quite huge. The buildings were painted in blue and white color as this was the students' uniform color as well. Hera couldn't afford a private school fee so she chose a government-owned institution of learning. As Hera walked closer to Austin's classroom, they met with the headmistress who stopped them from taking another step closer to the class. " Good morning, ma'am. " Hera greeted politely. " Good morning, Miss Hera. Why is Austin dressed like that when he ought to be in his school uniform? " The headmistress asked without taking much of their time. Hera tried to come up with a valid reason other than the real reason why he was in uniform like the others. When they were thrown out of the house, they were not given muc