Jaden drove through the gate of his house, in a reckless manner. He came out and threw the car key at the gateman.
He stormed into the house and headed straight to where he knew he would find his father at that time; in his study.
“This should be the last time you ever set me up on a date with someone, Father. I am not interested!” Jaden raged at his father.
“Young man, that is not how to greet one's father” Mr Brooks said in a rather calm manner, as he got up from his chair while holding his walking stick.
Jaden responded with a regretful tone.
“I am sorry father, it wasn't my intention to speak in such a terrible way. I'm just tired of the fact that you keep setting…”
“It’s what I have to do as your father,” Mr Brooks interrupted him.
“I promised your mother on her sick bed, may her soul rest in peace, that I'll make sure you get married and give birth to children that will carry on the name of this family and inherit the company”.
Remembering his mother at that moment, Jaden bit his cheek to hide his hurt. His memories of her were still fresh in his mind and soul, he missed her.
“Can you not speak about mother now?”
Jaden spoke through his teeth, holding his fist by his side.
Mr Brooks placed his hands on Jaden's shoulder, “I do all these because I love you, son. Tiana is quite different from all the ladies you've met, just give it a try”.
“No father, I do not like Tiana and I never will” . Jaden snapped back, as he shoved his father's hands off his shoulder.
“Goodnight dad”.
He said and turned to walk away to his room, Mr Brooks watched him as he walked out on him.
Jaden slumped into his bed, and put a pillow over his face as his mother's memories continued to linger through his mind.
***********
“I need to see my brother”. The nurse was taken aback by Matilda's outburst, as she did not notice Matilda running into the hospital.
“You need to be calm ma'am. Please, tell me your name and your brother's name”. She replied Matilda as calmly as she could, trying to put her at ease.
Matilda was still panting and breathing heavily due to her running.
“My name is Mati…my name is Matilda Blair” she managed to speak as she placed her hands on her chest, to confirm she was the one.
“And your brother's name ma'am?”
“Niki Blair”.
The nurse began to input some words into the system, as Matilda stood watching her, her eyes going from the nurse to her computer.
“Please ma'am, you have to take a sit while I help you locate where your brother is” the nurse spoke to Matilda with a warm smile spread across her face.
Matilda was not herself, she just wanted to know Niki was alright.
“I need to see my brother, I just want to see his face, to confirm…to confirm he is okay”. Tears began to gather is her eyes, as they fell uncontrollably.
The nurse gave Matilda's hand a gentle squeeze, from across the counter.
“Your brother is stable, I can assure you that. The doctor is still attending to him. Just please take a sit, and relax. He will be fine”.
The nurse's words managed to put Matilda at ease, as she headed to go take a sit.
Matilda sat and waited earnestly, one minute felt like a 100 years to her. She was eventually called upon, after waiting for 30 minutes.
Her heart started to pound rapidly, as the doctor walked up to where she was sitting.
“Are you Matilda Blair?”
Matilda nodded in affirmation.
“Please come with me”.
Matilda didn't know what to expect, as she walked into the doctor's office and he ushered her to sit.
“Your brother is stable now”. Matilda let out a long breath, as the news calmed her.
“But, we need to act fast”. Her joy did not last for long, as the doctor began to speak.
The doctor looked at her with a serious face, and Matilda knew at that instant that, there was no good news.
“Your brother needs to undergo a coronary artery bypass graft surgery as soon as possible. He needs this surgery before the end of next month, if it's later than that…”
The doctor did not need to finish his sentence, he could read Matilda's face.
Matilda became pale all of a sudden, it felt like an arrow pierced through her heart. She forgot how to breathe for a few seconds.
“How…how much will the surgery cost?”
She asked in almost a whisper.
“The cashier will put you through that” he said pointing to the desk across his office.
Matilda managed to put a faint smile across her face.
“Can I please see my brother now?”
“Sure”.
**********
“My little pumpkin”
Matilda placed her hand on his head, caressing his hair. She planted a kiss on his forehead, as hot tears streamed down her face.
She closed her eyes and cried with all the strength left in her.
“I'm so sorry you have to go through all these, if I could trade places with you my little pumpkin, I definitely would”.
Matilda watched her brother sleep, with her bloodshot eyes, waiting for him to wake up.
The rumbling from her stomach reminded her that she had not had anything to eat throughout the day, aside from the cold coffee from work.
Matilda did not want Niki to wake up and not see her there, but she knew she had to get something to eat.
She dragged herself up and walked towards the hospital cafeteria. The smell of the hospital made her nauseous.
Matilda's phone rang, and the caller's name displayed on her phone's screen made her smile.
“Hello Matilda. How are you? If you need me to fly down there right now, I will. Just say the word”.
Matilda chuckled happily, Diane was one of her stress relievers, hearing her voice always comforted her and put her at ease.
“I am fine Diane, hearing your voice made me feel much better”.
“Baby girl, I'm always here for you, remember that. How is Niki doing?” Diane inquired.
Remembering the doctor's words, Matilda sighed.
“He needs surgery, Diane, and if he does not get it before the end of next month, Niki might…”
Matilda couldn't bring herself to say the word, her voice cracked. She tried to hold back the tears, but she could not.
“Matilda, I can give you out of my savings and also take out a loan here in my office for you…”
“No no Diane, you just got that job and I will not let you jeopardise it because of me”.
Diane let out a sigh, she knew Matilda and how adamant she was.
“What will you do then?”. Diane asked with worry in her tone.
“I will figure it out okay? Do not worry too much”.
There was silence for a few seconds, when Diane responded with a dry “okay”.
Matilda tried to relieve the tensed air.
“Enough about me, how does it feel to be a certified nurse now ?”
Diane let out a happy laughter.
************
The sun shone on Matilda's face, which made her wake up. She immediately checked on her brother and noticed he was still sleeping.
She reached for her phone to check the time, 20 missed calls was what she saw.
They were from Jaden, who also sent her text messages.
“Just forget about your job, come down to the office and pack your things”.
“Oh my God, oh my God”.Matilda hurriedly grabbed her bag from her brother's hospital bed stand, took her shoes then gave Niki a quick kiss before dashing out of the clinic.She waved down many cabs, but no one was stopping for her.The chilly morning wind did not even have any mercy on her, as it blew particles of sand into her eyes.Eventually, she got a cab and headed back home to freshen up.Matilda prayed silently for a miracle as she walked towards Jaden's office. There was no use running, she was hours late already.“Come in”.Jaden's voice jolted her back to reality that, she was actually in a deep mess.“Good morning sir”“And what is so good about the morning?”. Jaden looked up from his desk, and gave her a stern look.“I'm so sorry sir, what happened was that…”“I do not need any explanation!”Matilda shivered and jerked from the angry tone of Jaden's voice. She cannot afford to lose her job now.She immediately knelt down on both knees, Jaden's eye widen because he was not
“Yes, good morning Mr James…oh you sent it to my email already? Alright, thank you for helping out in such a short notice…have a nice day”.Jaden hung up the phone and placed it on his desk. He stood up and walked towards the printer in his office, he printed out a few copies of paper.He went back to his desk, cleared his throat and picked up the intercom.“Matilda come to my office, now”.Knock“Come in”.“Good morning sir”. Matilda greeted politely.“We already saw each other this morning, why greet me again? Sit”.Jaden said with his commanding voice, ushering Matilda to sit.“I thought about your request from yesterday, and I put one and two together and I figured I can't just help you without collecting anything in return”.Jaden paused to study Matilda's face.She looked pale, and anxious. Matilda was anticipating the condition her boss was going to throw at her.So many thoughts ran through her mind, she bit her lower lip out of anxiety.“Here”. Jaden flipped the printed paper
Matilda immediately withdrew her hands from Jaden's, as Tiana walked towards them.Matilda scanned Tiana from head to toe and did a quick check. She looked so pretty in the off shoulder gown she wore, exposing her flawless skin and collar bone.From the way she walked and carried herself, Matilda knew she was from a wealthy family.“Relax, alright. I don't bite”.Tiana laughed as she stood beside Jaden, she began to rub his shoulders.“Take your hands off me woman”.Jaden pushed her hands off his shoulder, his eyes becoming bloodshot from anger. Tiana held her hands up in defence“Okay okay, I will back off. At least, you should offer your guest a seat”.She drew a chair out for herself and sat, heaving a sigh.“You are not my guest, I did not invite you here. By the way, what do you even want here, in my office?”Jaden asked with his face in an irritating form, mashed up together like someone that just ate a bad fruit.“Well, I'm a shareholder of your company so…”“Point of correcti
CHAPTER 6Matilda picked up the books from the floor and stood up from where Tiana threw her.Squeezing her eyes shut, she winced from the pain. She had a cut on the back of her left hand, it was caused by Tiana's push.She looked left and right, to see if anyone had witnessed what happened. The last thing she wanted right now, was to be the talk of the office.Matilda raised her head to prevent tears from falling, it's still working hours, and no one should see her crying.She sat on her seat and logged into her laptop to continue working. She tried to drown herself into work, to take her mind off everything that just played off.The intercom on her desk rang, it was Jaden.“Come to my office”.Matilda buried her head in her hands, hoping Jaden did not call her to lash out at her too. She had had enough for today.She stood up and adjusted her clothes, she used a little napkin to take dust off her clothes.She proceeded to Jaden's office.Matilda knocked thrice and there was no respo
“Good evening sir”“Good evening Matilda, I'm sure you know why I'm here”. The landlord adjusted his glasses as he spoke, squinting his eyes through them to have a proper look at Matilda.Matilda held onto the door handle very tightly, she looked down at her feet to avoid his intense gaze.“You promised to pay this week, Matilda, I have not seen anything from you yet”.“I'm sorry sir, I…I will definitely pay before the end of this week, please just give me a little more time”.Matilda pleaded with her bright eyes shining in the dark, she pouted her mouth in expectation of what the landlord might say.“Well, the end of this week then. Do not let it get past this week”.He raised his finger in a warning sign, and stared at Matilda for a while before heading down the stairs.“Thank you Mr Wells, I'll definitely pay before next week! Have a good night!”Matilda yelled back at the landlord as he headed back to his quarters. He waved his hands at her without looking back.She locked the do
“This is…this is wrong sir”Matilda forcefully pulled away from his tight grip, wriggling her hands with so much power.Jaden scoffed and pushed her off of him, using the back of his hands to dust his shirt like she had stained him of dirt.“Do not flatter yourself, nothing will ever happen between us”. Jaden spoke like he was giving her stern warning, sizing her up and down with a look of disgust.Matilda felt a sharp pin was poking her all over her body, she wanted the ground to swallow her up and escape this embarrassment.Jaden puts his hands in his pockets and begins to pace about that basement.“I have played my part, you got your money. Now it's time for your first mission”.Matilda watched him as he blew off dust from the shelf he was standing next to.“What could that be if I may ask sir?”His eyes moved from the shelf back to Matilda, he cleaned his hands.“Meeting my father, this Saturday to be precise”.Matilda's heart almost came out of her chest, the thought of meeting
“You've got to put that down Tiana, don't do this”.Mr Brooks pleaded with Tiana, and started to move closer to her.“Do not come any closer, else my blood will be all over the floor here”. Tiana threatened, her eyes red tearing up with tears, she held out her hand, the broken glass in the other.Jaden ran and took Tiana's hand, he threw the glass away. She fell into his arms and started to cry.“Please Jaden, don't leave me…please”.Tiana looked up and met Jaden's gaze, he pushed her gently off his body, and made her stand straight in front of him.“Look Tiana, you're a great woman, but I do not love you okay?”Jaden tapped on her shoulders lightly, and looked at her for a few seconds before leaving for his room.Tiana fell to the floor and wept profusely, holding her chest tightly as she screamed her lungs out.Mr Brooks went over to where Tiana was and hugged her.“Please Tiana, please. Let me tell the driver to send you home. I'm sorry”.Tiana kept screaming and kicking the floor
Matilda placed her hand on his chest and tried to push him away, his grip was stronger.She could taste him, he tasted like mint. He kissed her so gently, allowing his tongue to move swiftly in her mouth. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy it.The feeling did not last long as Jaden pulled away from her, fastened his seat belt and put on the ignition.Matilda touched her lips and looked at Jaden, he was acting like nothing happened. She felt like she was being taken advantage of.“Sir why…why did you do that?"Jaden was focused on the road ahead of him, he acted like Matilda was not there. Her words fell on deaf ears.“I already told you there were some things we needed to practise, so stop making a fuss about the situation”.Jaden changed the gear as he spoke, with his gaze still fixed on the road.Matilda hugged herself, as she looked out the window. The last thing she wanted to look at now was Jaden's face.Jaden swerved and put the car to rest, which made Matilda's ga