19 Mama

Months passed by quickly and before Azriel knew it, it's already December and nearing Christmas Day. He didn't exactly have plans but his grandmother insisted for a family event, meaning he had to face his father and step-mother again.

The last time they saw each other was that time where he went home to the mansion and his father woke him up.

Asteria insisted on having a family dinner in her mansion for this Christmas and so far he's reluctant to go. He loves his grandmother but this would be putting it into the test.

He let out a sigh that didn't go unnoticed by Nesryn, they were in the middle of discussing things in his office when he zoned out. She tapped his hand to gain back his attention but it was no use, he was so deep in thought.

Nesryn sighed and closed her iPad, giving up on getting her boss's attention. She just let him do what he wanted, she could tell it was bothering him because he's getting restless in his seat. Nesryn stood up and went to the pantry and made tea for him to calm his nerves.

She placed the teacup on a tray with a small bowl filled with apple cookies and went back to his desk, she placed it in front of him and decided to snap him off of his thoughts.

Azriel apologized and took a sip of his tea, she excused herself and left the room and went back to her desk, grabbing a couple of thick folders and leaving their floor.

She visited some departments, handing them folders that are addressed to them and just observed their working conditions.

Every department had already started to set up Christmas decors in the office, making the office livelier than it used to be. She went back to the top floor with a satisfied smile on her face.

Azriel welcomed her back from the window by the pantry. She peered in and saw him washing the dishes he used.

She went inside the office and walked straight to the pantry to see him finishing up and drying his hand with a tissue. The two went back to talking and Nesryn finally got his attention and they started talking business.

They were joined by a possible investor for lunch and so far the important talk was favoring them. Nesryn did her best to support Azriel as much as possible, if he stopped talking she'll take over and vice versa. Nesryn mostly answered the investor's questions while Azriel showcased what the company can do.

If they land this deal, they'll be able to branch out to South Asia, mainly Japan and Korea. The meeting lasted for 3 hours and ended up with a contract between companies.

With that meeting done, his appointments for the day are done.

Before going home he decided to walk around the company, visiting each department and then checking their results.

Nesryn followed him in all of this like his shadow, when an employee doesn't understand what Azriel said, she will clarify it to them and ask for the revised copy to be placed on her desk the very next day.

This method will challenge the employee, but she's confident they can do it, they wouldn't be hired if they couldn't handle this much pressure.

Using the opportunity, Azriel announced an important event "On December 22nd, the company will host its annual Christmas party, Nesryn will provide further details about the subject once it's finalized" with that said, the two left.

Employees cheered once they knew he would never be able to hear them.

Once Azriel was satisfied, he dismissed his driver and the two went home "Sir, may I ask something?" she fidgeted on her seat while looking down. Azriel pulled over to the side and looked at her "I'll answer it if you stopped calling me Sir"

"Bu-"

"That's my condition"

"Fine, Azriel. I have a question" a wide smile appeared on his face upon hearing his name roll out of her mouth, he raised his eyebrow as if asking what she wanted to know.

"Has there been progress on the blackmailing case? I want to go home, to my apartment" she said, looking at him with her twinkling hazel eyes. He looked away and sadly smiled, he started the car again and hit the road "I'll call my friend and let him talk to you" he said, his voice sad and in pain.

Nesryn didn't notice this when she nodded and just stared outside the window on their way home.

As promised, Azriel let her talk to his friend after they had dinner "Hello, Detective Zane, how are you?"

"I am fine, Ms. Nesryn. Why did you call?"

"I just wanted to know the progress regarding the blackmail case"

"Oh yeah, we finally found a lead but we couldn't track them yet"

"Is it safe to go back to my apartment?"

"I would suggest staying with Mr. Azriel for now since he has his personal guards and we're still monitoring the area around your home, some of your neighbors reported a stranger, hanging around your apartment building"

"Oh, alright. Thank you for your hard work"

"It's nothing, bye"

Nesryn hung up the call and returned the phone to Azriel with sad eyes. "This is why I wasn't mentioning it to you, cause they are still on it" he softly said and she nodded.

"I just really need something from my apartment, something very important to me"

Nesryn excused herself and just went back to her room, locking it behind her. She walked to her bag and fished out a small, empty glass bottle. She sat down on the floor and leaned back on her bed, staring at the object on her hand.

"Something very important to me" she whispered as a tear slid down from her eyes.

She stripped her top and just stared at herself in the mirror, black and blue bruises ran across her entire body, a very noticeable contrast from her pale complexion. Nesryn sadly smiled at her reflection and stood up then hopping into the bathroom.

After taking a shower, she got dressed and sat down, to complete the task on her desk. She was 2 hours in, holding a scissor on one hand and a paper on the other when she accidentally cut herself.

She hissed from the pain and tried to stop the bleeding, but so far it kept on going. She took the first aid kit from the bathroom and tried her best to bandage her finger with one hand.

Nesryn let out a relief when she successfully did the job and went back to whatever she was doing.

A knock broke the peaceful silence in the room, she closed her laptop and went to the door, opening it to reveal Azriel on the other side "Dinner is ready" he simply said, she went out of her room, closing the door behind her as the two went to the dining hall.

The maids served their dinner and they started eating in silence. Azriel took a glance in Nesryn's direction and instantly noticed her bandaged hand, his eyebrows furrowed "What happened to your hand?" he asked, putting down his fork.

Nesryn looked at him and back to her hand, she let go of the knife and hid her hand but Azriel just grabbed it from under the table and examined it. She tried to pry his hands away but he gripped her wrist a little tighter, putting on a light pressure.

She winced when a pain run through her arm "I am fine, I was cutting a paper earlier and accidentally cut myself instead" she reasoned out, Azriel stared at her, looking at her eyes for any sign if she was lying, and found none.

He let her go and they went back to eating dinner "Please be careful next time" he whispered then left her alone in the room. Nesryn stared at her bandaged hand and her now bruising wrist.

He didn't grab her too hard, not even enough to turn it white but because of her...sensitive skin, it instantly bruised.

After finishing her dinner, she thanked the maid and retired back to her room and immediately to bed, her right hand clutching her bruised left.

The sun rose the next day and the light woke up Azriel from his sleep, he changed to her gym shorts and a shirt. He left his room after putting on running shoes.

He stared at Nesryn's door sadly, he was truly apologetic how he acted last night but he couldn't take the sight of her hurt.

With a sigh, he went to the house gym and ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes. His long hair swaying behind him as he ran faster. After the treadmill, he worked on his core and started doing his push ups and crunches.

After 1 and half hours of morning exercise he went back to his room, to see his clothes already placed nicely on his bed. With a wide smile on his face he took a bath, feeling satisfied to remove the sweat from his toned body.

He grabbed a towel and started drying himself, putting on a robe, he got out of the bathroom while drying his hair. He stared at himself in the mirror and stripped of his robe and immediately got dressed.

Once done, he left his room, phone and bag on hand and went straight to the dining hall where Nesryn stood straight, waiting for him. She flashed him a smile and gestured for him to sit and eat breakfast.

Maids stood on the side quietly as they watched the two eat, the awkward silence in the room was deafening. They were only able to let out the deep breath they didn't know they were holding when their boss and secretary left.

Something was different and Azriel could feel it, First, was Nesryn paler than usual, her smile didn't reach her eyes earlier. Second, the car was already prepared with a driver on it, meaning he wouldn't be the one driving them to the office and Third, she was more silent than usual.

Normally, she would be talking about his schedule for today but she just handed him the iPad for him to check himself. This struck him odd cause Nesryn doesn't usually do that. She would only do it if she was busy talking to someone on the phone.

Azriel stared at her from behind with his eyebrows furrowed. The driver saw him from the rear-view mirror and gave Nesryn a side-glance. To break the awkward atmosphere he raised the volume of the radio playing a song.

Nesryn thanked the man once they arrived at the company and got out of the car, the driver opened Azriel's car door and he stepped out, buttoning his navy blue coat. She went behind him and they walked in, employees immediately bowing their head in welcome.

"Nesryn!" a voice called out, she stopped and turned around, spotting a woman walking over to her. Nesryn's eyes widened, Azriel stopped on his tracks and just stared at his secretary and followed her gaze, landing on a woman in her late 40's, dressed in formal clothes.

He returned his gaze to Nesryn, who stared at the woman in disbelief. He was about to ask if she knew the woman when she spoke a single word "Mama?".

{!!READ AUTHOR'S NOTE!!!}