Chapter 3

• Thomas:
• “So?” Mum
• asked looking at me the second I entered the house. I forced myself to breathe
• normally and gave her a calm smile as I nodded, I had to make her believe that
• I didn’t care, that it didn’t make a difference to me.
• “It is done,
• you don’t need to worry about her calling anymore either” I said kissing her
• cheek before walking past her to my bedroom, it was a long day, then what
• happened this evening disrupted whatever sense of peace I believed that I
• wanted to have. Checking my phone for any calls, I glared at the thing for a
• second before throwing it on my bed, running my fingers through my hair. Who
• was I kidding? I was checking the phone to check if SHE called, but after what
• I said, how I had insulted her. Yeah, I doubt the girl would ever look at me
• again, let alone call me.
• My bedroom’s
• door was knocked and I glared at the door for a second before calling ‘come
• in’, my little brother entered the room with a soft smile on his face. He knew
• that the girl meant something to me, that I actually liked the girl rather than
• just wanted to spend the night with her for fun. Yet, I was forced to make her
• think that I simply wanted her for pleasure when I never looked at her that
• way. Sure, I knew that it was bound to happen, but it would be on different
• circumstances and in different conditions.
• “I take it
• you did what mum asked you to do?” Daniel asked and I sighed nodding at him to
• walk inside, the two of us sat on the edge of the bed as he waited for me to
• explain what happened.
• “Unfortunately,
• yes. The girl probably hates the day she met me after what I told her, but
• there’s no going back from this now” I said running my fingers through my
• blonde hair, Daniel nodded at me and put a hand on my knee squeezing it gently.
• Him and I were the only two siblings that were of the same mother and father in
• this family, father being known for his constant marriages in the future has
• two daughters, our older step sisters. Them not being of the same mother didn’t
• effect our relationship, no, not in the slightest. Our eldest sister, Jasmine,
• doesn’t even see her mum, the woman left the girl without a fight when she was
• five and hasn’t asked about her until the girl turned twenty and SHE was
• curious to know who her mum was. Lilian’s, father’s second daughter, mum kept
• her friendship with father despite their divorce. They were both business
• partners and knew that their divorce shouldn’t cause an issue between them,
• sure, there was the heat of the beginning of their divorce. But they were fine
• a while after that. Finally, there’s mum, she’s the one woman that managed to
• hold a marriage with father for more than six years, she’s been married to him
• for the past twenty-five years. Me being her eldest son, I was born three
• months after they were married.
• Not wanting
• to lose me, she kept the fact that she was pregnant from father for six months
• until she was sure that she was pregnant with a boy and that there was no way
• father would tell her to lose the child, the two had no more than a secretary
• and CEO affair back then, which ended up as a marriage when I came along,
• Daniel was born eight years later. According to mum and dad it was an
• ‘accident’ since father’s eldest daughter, it was a bit of a surprise to us as
• their relationship was hitting rock bottom back then, not like it was doing any
• better now, but anyway. Dani was the most spoiled in the house, and for a
• reason, he was the youngest. However, we made sure to tell mum and dad NOT to
• bring us anymore children when Jasmine was thirty and the two of them wanted to
• try and fix their marriage. Mum’s way of holding a marriage was ‘bring him
• babies’ he’d forget he was angry a few months later. But that wasn’t the case
• this time.
• Mum and
• dad’s marriage had hit rock bottom years ago and if they were married now, it
• was for two reasons. One, me and Daniel, father would end up losing us
• instantly as we wouldn’t leave our mum with nothing on the streets like he did
• to his first wife, or how he had treated Lilian’s mum before leaving her, the
• woman was rich when she married dad. Her brother owns companies, her father was
• my dad’s business partner when he first started, she and her brother had
• inherited their shares in the company after the man passed away. Therefore, she
• didn’t end up as Jasmine’s mum as she already had what supported her, she
• didn’t need father to do so.
• The case
• would be different now, I had noticed mum and dad on a verge of divorce when I
• was eighteen the first time. Having threatened father that he would lose both
• me and Dani if thought of it, he never mentioned it again, or at least mum
• hasn’t told me about anything. Their marriage was nothing but a contract which
• was on a piece of paper, and of course, media.
• Their
• wedding was the perfect love story for the media. Everyone envied them for it,
• everyone saw them as the loving couple who had no problems, father got mum
• countless presents and they would show them off to media and to anyone who had
• eyes to look at them, which was mostly everyone. They made sure that they were
• the center of attention, it gave them both publicity and investors for father’s
• business, mum had her foundations to take care of, which were also on the media,
• she was their ambassador in those foundations, and father took care of the
• businesses, the women who were part of the foundation were always eager to have
• their husbands having shares with father’s business and work. It was a simple
• social media cycle.
• “What are
• you going to do now?” Daniel asked and I shook my head, I didn’t know what I’d
• do. With mum’s issue, I refused to end up marrying someone that they chose for
• me as to ensure that their businesses ran properly, which is what I knew was
• what they expected, more specifically, mum expected, father couldn’t care less.
• I could marry whoever I wanted, if she didn’t know something, she’d simply have
• to learn how to do it, he didn’t find it as a big deal as long as I was happy,
• the girl didn’t give a hard time, and most importantly, wasn’t a thief.
• It was known
• among rich men that their wives sometimes tended to pretend that they were
• buying things from expensive outlets, only for their husbands to soon find out
• that his wife and the outlet salesman or woman had a deal, a business
• partnership to be more specific. The salesman would get shares of anything that
• was sold, therefore, he benefitted in pretending that the woman had bought
• something and she would be taking money in CASH which was something that no
• woman married to a billionaire or millionaire generally carried. She had a
• credit card and the accountant usually calculated whatever was and wasn’t
• spent. It was to ensure that no extreme high budgets were sold and to know
• where the money was going if needed.
• “I honestly
• don’t know, a part of me regrets what I did, a huge one. But I also know mum,
• if I didn’t do it, she would’ve made the girl’s life hell and I can’t afford
• that” I said pulling on the roots of my hair. Daniel nodded and sighed, he had
• school tomorrow and it was already late and the kid was here with me rather
• than getting ready for bed “Dani, you need to get some sleep, you have school
• tomorrow as well as an exam”
• “You
• remember my exam schedule more than I even do” Daniel commented and I chuckled
• standing up and nodding at him. He sighed but nodded getting up as well, I pat
• his back and smiled at him. The education that this boy had, how polite and
• innocent he was, I was amazed by it, the kid never, and I mean NEVER caused
• trouble for mum or dad. He was the most disciplined between us all, Lilian too.
• Her mum and uncle had made sure that she remains in her best behavior, unlike
• Jasmine who had a bit of a drinking habit, and me. Well, when it came to me,
• the number of times dad had to pay to get news out of the media or to keep me
• off media were countless. Though I didn’t really care, I was basically being my
• age, but explaining that to mum and dad who cared about their media figure was
• somewhat impossible.
• “I’m your
• big brother for a reason. Now, go and get some rest, we’ll talk tomorrow” I
• said softly and Daniel nodded, I hugged him before he walked out of my room
• leaving me alone with my thoughts. I didn’t really know what to do or say, but
• I knew one thing, I had lost something beautiful. Mum knew what she cost me,
• and she knew that it broke me, but the woman had her own perspective and I
• wasn’t going to come and change it now.
• Checking my
• phone one more time, I shook my head at myself at the false hope that I gave
• myself. It was pointless, I knew that, but I couldn’t help it. However, I
• wasn’t surprise with the result.
• No calls, or
• messages.