Two days later
Gwen was returning to their class from the playground after recess with Susan and they were talking animatedly about the new cartoon that was soon to be released in Cinemas when she accidentally bumped into Freda Thompson the queen bee of the school and the owner’s daughter.
“Are you blind?”. Freda’s eyes flashed as she stared down at her shoe and saw Gwen’s footprint on her beautiful white sneakers. It was Friday so it was sportswear day in school.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.” Gwen apologized. She moved to clean Freda’s shoe when the girl angrily shoved her in the chest hard and she fell to the ground.
“Don’t touch me!”. Freda snarled.
“Hey! That’s not nice!”. Susan chided and bent to help Gwen up.
Freda glared at the two of them and flounced off.
“Are you okay Gwen?”. Susan inquired as she dusted off the dirt on Gwen’s clothes.
Gwen put her hand on her chest and rubbed as her heart raced in her chest. “I’m fine.” She replied breathlessly.
“Your heart?”. Susan looked concerned as Gwen rubbed that spot.
“It’s fine.” She assured her. “I need just a minute.”
Susan looked around and realized that they were the only one on the playground and she became scared.
“Get on my back.” She crouched down in front of Gwen. “I’ll carry you.”
“There’s no need for that.” She sidestepped Susan. “Let’s go.”
Susan searched her face to be sure she was really fine then she nodded and they continued on their way.
“What are you two still doing outside?”. The assistant head master Mr Gregory demanded glaring at the two of them.
“Er… Gwen was having trouble breathing so we had to slow down. We’re sorry Mr Greg.” Susan apologized.
Mr Gregory was very mean and all the pupils hated him. He didn’t like children all that much so the children knew to steer clear of him because he was trouble with a capital T.
“Do you also have the same problem?”. He asked Susan.
“No sir.”
“I’m in a good mood today if not I’d have punished both of you for being tardy.” He told them. “Now run to your class.”
“Sir?”. Their eyes widened.
“I said run to your class!”. He snapped.
The girls yelped and took off running. They got to their class and met their teacher already teaching so they knelt down at the door as per the rules of lateness and waited until she turned to look at them with her beady little eyes.
“Recess ended almost ten minutes ago.” Miss Ursula said. “Where have you two been?”.
“We…”
“Shush.” She cut them off. “Go to your seat Susan.”
“Thank you ma.” Susan scrambled up and rushed to her seat.
“You are always using your fake heart problem to get out of punishments well you’ve entered my trap today.” Ursula told Gwen. “Raise up your hands and close your eyes.”
“Ma she really has…” The class representative Cole began but a glare from her silenced him. “Sorry ma.” He apologized.
Gwen did as the teacher ordered and willed her heart to slow down. It was thumping wildly in her chest and she was beginning to feel dizzy.
Susan kept one eye on Gwen and the other on Miss Ursula. It was known within the inner circle that Miss Ursula had once lusted after Gwen’s father after his divorce but he’d politely rejected her so she was going after his little girl like a shark after blood in water.
Gwen’s vision became blurry as time went on and it felt like hours instead of just two minutes. She shook her head to clear it and her hands fell limply to her side as she stood up.
“What are you…”
“Susan.” Gwen whispered before she slumped to the floor.
“Gwen!”. Susan shot up from her seat at the same time Cole did and they both rushed to meet her.
“She’s hardly breathing!”. Cole exclaimed. “We have to take her to the hospital!”.
“Her heart problem is real?!”. Ursula’s eyes widened in fear. “Hey Jesus.” She put her hands on her head.
“Somebody help!”. Susan screamed.
It was all a flurry of activity as teachers arrived wondering what was happening and they went to call the school doctor who thankfully was still around.
“Her pulse rate is low. She needs to be hospitalized.” The doctor told them. “Now.”
A male teacher quickly lifted Gwen in his arms and rushed downstairs while the doctor followed behind him. They put Gwen in the car, got in and the doctor drove off.
“Does anyone have her father’s phone number?”. Mr Greg asked.
“I know it.” Susan spoke up.
Greg pulled out his phone. “Tell me.”
Susan quickly recited the number for him and he clicked on the call button, put the phone to his ear and waited as the phone rang. It rang and rang but Jesse didn’t pick.
“No answer.” Greg said.
“There’s a no phone policy during working hours at the factory.” Susan muttered. “Can I call my mother sir? She’ll be able to get through to his supervisor at work.”
“Take my phone.” Ursula handed Susan her IPhone. “Call her.”
Susan took the phone in surprise and dialed her mother’s number, clicked the answer button and put the phone to her ear.
“Hello?”. Abby picked on the second ring. “Hi Miss Ursula.”
“Mommy, it’s Susan.”
“Susan? Are you okay?”.
“I’m fine. It’s Gwen.”
“What happened to my baby?”. Abby sounded panicked.
“She fainted in school. She was having trouble breathing so the doctor took her to the hospital in his car. We tried reaching uncle Jesse but he didn’t pick up.” Susan said.
“Don’t worry I’ll let him know. Do you know the name of the hospital she was taken to?”. Abby inquired.
“No.”
“Okay. I’ll call Jesse now.” Abby said and hung up. She called Jesse but he didn’t pick as Susan said so she called his supervisor at the factory who was a friend of hers and it went through.
“Abby hi. What’s up?”.
“I’ve been trying to reach Jesse but he’s not picking his phone. Can you find him and tell him that Gwen is in the hospital? I don’t know where yet.”
“No problem.”
“Thank you.” Abby hung up. “Oh God please let her be fine.” She prayed. Jesse would be devastated if anything happened to Gwen.
Jesse rushed into The Floral hospital with Abby and they hurried over to the nurses station but there was no one there.
“Where are they?”. Jesse demanded.
“Can I help you sir, madam?”. A nurse walked up to them.
“Yes. My daughter Guinevere Billion was rushed here sometime ago. I want to know where she is.” Jesse said.
“I’ll check.” She skirted the counter and began to type on the computer for a few minutes before she looked up at Jesse. “She’s in the emergency room and the attending doctor would like to speak with you.” She informed him.
“Sure.” Jesse nodded.
“Come with me sir.” The nurse went ahead.
“I’ll wait here.” Abby told him.
“Thanks.” He smiled and hurried after the nurse.
They stopped in front of a door with a nameplate that read Dr Alexander Peters, cardiologist. The nurse knocked on the door and a voice from inside told her to come in which she did.
“Doctor, the little girl’s father is here.” The nurse informed him.
“Oh good let him in please.” Dr Alexander said.
Jesse stepped into the office and the nurse closed the door. He walked up to the doctor’s desk and shook his hand then sat when the doctor told him to.
“I ran some tests on your daughter and the results didn’t come out good Mr Billion.” Dr Alex informed him somberly. “With a heart condition as severe as hers, she should have been homeschooled instead.”
“I know.” Jesse sighed. “It’s just… I don’t have money to get her a private teacher and when I suggested homeschool to her… she didn’t talk to me for days.”
“You’ve been buying her drugs right?”.
“Yeah but it’s finished. I was sourcing for more money to buy her new drugs. I didn’t think… this would happen.” He shook his head sadly. “Please tell me she’ll be fine until I can get some money for her drugs.”
“I’m sorry Mr Billion but from what I saw… She has a couple of days before her heart gives out.” Dr Alex said.
“I can’t lose her. She’s all I have.” Jesse protested. “Is there anything we can do?”.
“Of course there is. What she needs to survive is a new heart. Once she gets that then she will be fine.”
“A new heart.” Jesse repeated. “How much will that cost?”.
“Well for starters, she’ll have to be flown abroad for surgery and you know very well that some organs are more expensive than others.” Dr Alex took a deep breath. “I’ll just give you an estimate for your travel expenses, hospital bills… It should cost you about three to four million naira.”
Jesse felt like his world had just ended when he heard the outrageous amount.
“Four million?”.
“Approximately four million and it depends on whether she’d get the heart on time. I have a friend abroad who is also a cardiologist like me, I can refer you to him.”
“Um… Sure.” Jesse nodded still dazed. “And you’re sure she won’t have any more problems with her heart if she gets a new one?”.
“Yes, at least ninety nine point nine percent sure.”
“I’ll get the money. Today or tomorrow.” Jesse promised. “Can I go see her?”.
“Of course.” He nodded.
“Thank you doctor.” Jesse shook hands with him and left.
Jesse went to see Gwen with Abby and though they weren’t allowed to stay long but they were able to pray for her before they left.
“What did the doctor say?”. Abby inquired.
“She needs a new heart and to travel abroad for her surgery, I’ll need about four million naira for all the expenses.” Jesse replied in a hoarse voice.
“Four million? Where will you get that kind of money from?”. Abby asked.
Jesse let out a sigh. “I’ll go and meet my father.” He said. “I’ll grovel if I have to.”
“I’m very sorry all these things are coming at you at once Jesse. I wish there was something I could do to help.” Abby said.
“You’re doing it. Can you stay with her please? I’ll try to come back soon.”
“Sure, take your time.” She said.
Jesse hugged her then turned and left.
It had been over eight years since he last saw his parents and he hoped that the years would have softened their hearts towards him because he had no one to turn to.
Nine years agoJesse walked into the sitting room and met his parents watching TV. His father had given him an ultimatum; choose Helena Johnson and be disowned or do without her and become CEO of his father’s bank.At the time he’d been madly in love with Helena and of course knew what his decision would be before his father even finished talking but he’d pretended to think about it and now he had an answer for them.“I’ve made up my mind Mom, dad.” Jesse spoke up making them turn to look at him.“Which is?”. James Billion asked.“Helena.” Jesse replied. “I love her very much and I can’t bear to lose her.”“Jesse!”. His mother had been appalled. “Don’t do something you’ll regret later.”“Are you sure son?”. James questioned. “If you walk out that door… you’re dead to me. You’ll no longer be a part of my family.”“I understand.” He had said. “Thank you for everything Mom, dad. I’ll take my leave now.” He turned and walked away without looking back.Now… Nine years later he was back – n
Jesse paced to and fro in the hallway of the hospital outside the children’s female ward holding the card in his hand. He was suddenly nervous to call the numbers on the card. What would he say? He couldn’t possibly tell her assistant that he was Aviva’s godson!.“Just call puss!”. His subconscious snapped. “Time’s a wasting.”“Right.” Jesse nodded, pulled out his phone from his pocket and quickly dialed the first number then clicked on the call button and put the phone to his ear before he could chicken out again.“Hello.” A male voice said.“Good evening.” Jesse greeted. “Am I speaking with uh… Aviva Arroyo’s assistant?”.“Yes, this is he.” Paul replied. “How may I help you?”.“My name is Jesse Billion and I need Mrs Arroyo’s help.” Jesse replied. “Jesse Billion? Of Monument bank?”.Jesse shrugged. “Yes but not anymore.”“I see.” Paul muttered. “What’s your problem?”.“My daughter is sick and she needs to have a heart transplant as soon as possible or she dies.” Jesse told him. “I
Isabella was not able to get away during the weekend but she made sure to leave Sunday evening and landed in Nigeria early hours of the morning around seven am.“I hope you enjoy your stay here in Nigeria.” Her father’s pilot Jennette smiled at Bella.“Thank you Jen.” She hugged the woman then descended down the stairs of the plane.The back door opened and her mother’s nephew Paul alighted from the car with a smile on his face.“Hi Paul!”. She waved and rushed to hug him. “Look at you!”.“Look at you too Aunt Izzy.” He said and turned her around for inspection. “You look fabulous!”.“Thank you.” She chuckled. “You don’t look bad yourself.”Paul watched as the bodyguards brought down Isabella’s bags and put them in the trunk of the car. There were so many bags of different sizes.“Are you relocating here?”. Paul looked amused.“No but I’m staying for at least three months.” She grinned.“Aunt Aviva is going to reach the skies.”Isabella laughed. “I can’t wait to see her. You didn’t te
A month laterFor about a few weeks, Bella corresponded with Jesse about Gwen's modeling gig after he gave his approval to let Gwen model for her winter collection and Bella could safely say that she and Jesse were becoming fast friends.He had an insane sense of humor that always made her laugh long after the conversation was over and Aviva saw this as a good thing which was why she made a call to Vincenzo the day before Jesse's and Gwen's arrival to tell him about her plan."You what?". Vincenzo sputtered. "You want to marry our daughter off? Why?"."I'm not marrying her off." Aviva refuted. "I'm just… looking out for her that's all.""How well do you know this guy?". Vince inquired. "For all you know,he might be a serial killer in disguise.""Don't be silly Vince." She admonished. "He's my godson.""The last time you saw him in person was almost thirty years ago. You didn't watch him grow up." Vince said. "What if he's a wife beater?".Aviva grunted in exasperation. "I wouldn't tel
The next morning Bella got out of bed, walked to the bathroom to do her morning routine then came out and quickly changed into her workout clothes, slipped her feet into her shoes and left her room.She carefully went downstairs so as not to wake anyone and straight to the kitchen to get a bottle of water. She shrieked when she turned on the lights and saw Jesse bare chested standing by the refrigerator guzzling down water."I'm sorry, did I scare you?". Jesse fought a smile when he noticed her averting her eyes. "It's... I didn't expect anyone else to be awake that's all." She walked to the fridge. She could see the sweat dripping down his neck and all the way down to the waistband of his sweatpants which made her mouth dry up."I've been awake since five." He told her. "heading to the gym?"."Yeah. And you?"."I'm just coming from there. That room is a dream." He sighed. "I can live there all my life and never get tired."Bella chuckled. "You're funny." She shook her head, opened t
"Going somewhere Mr Billion?". Godwin asked from behind Jesse. Jesse turned to look at the landlord with a smile. He'd asked his wife where her husband was but the woman had not known her husband's whereabouts. "I was going to see you Mr Godwin." Jesse said. "Can we go somewhere to talk?". "If it's money talk then sure." Godwin shrugged. "How's Guwen?". "She's fine now." Jesse said. They went to the man's shop and Godwin offered him a drink but Jesse declined it and sat on the bench instead. "So... what do you have to tell me?". Godwin inquired. "I'm staying at my godmother's house for a few days so we won't be here at all." Jesse informed him. "Oh? You have a godmother?". Godwin looked very interested. "Who is she?". "Mrs Arroyo." "Really?!." Godwin's eyes widened. "That woman is very rich o." "I have brought the money I'm owing you." Jesse took out a brown envelope from his suit jacket and passed it to Godwin. Godwin took out the money from the envelope, counted it an
Jesse stared at Aviva in surprise. "Hire me?". "Yes and in turn, everything I own will belong to you. I have shares in different companies in this country and abroad. One company especially that I'm sure you'd like to go back to as the CEO this time." Aviva grinned. "Standard Flour Mills Limited?". Jesse raised a brow. "It's owned by Harrison Allen." "Was owned by Harrison Allen." Aviva corrected. "Last year, Harrison's company suffered a huge loss that cost him billions so he came to me for help. I offered to help him with his company in exchange for being a major shareholder there and he agreed. So now I own at least more than sixty percent of the shares in the company which makes me the boss." "Wow. And no one knew about this?". He asked. "He didn't want his board members to know." Aviva shrugged. Jesse leaned forward in his chair, rested his elbows on his knees and laced his fingers together under his chin in thought. It was a huge tempting proposal and he'd be stupid not to
"Bella dear, are you busy?". Aviva asked joining her in her temporary home office."No Mom. What do you need?"."I want to talk to you... about what we discussed the other day." Aviva said. "About your refusal to get married."Bella threw her head back. "Mom! I told you to leave it alone." She complained. "Who did you talk to now? Abuela?"."I might but no." She shook her head. "I talked to Jesse last night.""What?". She couldn't believe her ears. "You talked to him about me?"."He was horrified that you've refused to get married. He said and I quote; The world won't be able to survive without mini Isabellas running around."Bella arched a brow in surprise. "He really said that?". She sounded skeptical."Yes."Bella smiled. "So what did you tell him?"."He's agreed to marry you but only if you say yes." Aviva shrugged."Mother!". Bella shrieked in horror."Look mi bebé, I've seen you look at him with longing in your eyes. I know you want to be with him and be a mother to his daughter