Anne, Lisa and Carol's past(3)

Henry was annoyed because of the differences between Lisa's family and his. Also, the way Lisa had said it, made him feel more inferior than before and he felt like she was mocking him and his family, but Lisa didn't mean it that way.

On the other hand, during the afternoon when Lisa's parents were driving back to their home, there was a deafening silence in the car. They were all drowned in their thoughts and couldn't stop sighing all the way. The moment they got to their house no one said anything to anyone, they all headed to their rooms and met later at the dinner table. There was no small chit-chat as usual at the table, everyone seemed to be focused on the food but the truth is they were trying to digest the shock that they had witnessed earlier. The environment was so tense and cold that when they were all done eating, they didn't even say good night to each other as they used to, they just went back to their rooms one after another with no word.

The following day, the story that had happened the previous day between Lisa and her family began to trend online. The story was in different versions, with many exaggerations and hate comments. It didn't take time for Lisa's relatives from both sides to call her parents. They began to receive one call after another early in the morning. Some relatives were asking what transpired, some would ask silly questions like 'how did she get pregnant, why did she fall pregnant, so she is pregnant for an old man?' Some were asking out of curiosity, some were concerned and worried, some wanted to just hear it from the horse's mouth and some were asking to have something to talk about when they laugh at the fall of the high and mighty Stevens. The calls were too much such that Lisa's parents ended up switching off their cell phones.

(Sitting straight) "Now what's next," asked Lisa's mum looking at her husband who was lying beside her.

"What?" Asked Lisa's dad facing the opposite side.

"What, what, your daughter has dragged all of us into the mud with her and you are here asking me what?"

"I am very much aware of that, in case you forgot, I am the one that drove you to that place where we found Luiza. Besides, it's already done, what has happened has happened and there is nothing we can do to change that. We have already disowned Luiza so what more do you want?"

"You are the man of the house think of something, why should you ask me questions, tell me how you plan to take care of the trending news?"

"Something like what exactly? If only you didn't make a scene in public we wouldn't be where we are right now…"

"So, you want to play the blame game? Is that why you were just staring at Luiza like a confused zombie without saying or doing anything yesterday? Go on, go ahead, blame me for all that I have done, and that which I haven't even done. You can even blame me for impregnating Luiza also I don't mind. I am just trying to follow protocol, since you are the head of the family, I thought we would put our heads together to come up with something that can save us some dignity…"

"My wife, you are an educated woman and I am sure you know that some things cannot be fixed and the situation we are in right now is one of them…"

"So, you are useless after all…?"

"Watch your mouth, Susan…"

"Hehehe, why should I watch my mouth, did I touch where it pains the most?"

"If you had looked after your child properly as what a mother should do, you and I wouldn't be having this kind of conversation right now."

"James, you are a good-for-nothing old man who is just good at pointing fingers…"

Lisa's dad didn't want to hear more, his anger was rising, and if he had spent another minute listening to his wife, he was going to slap her. He woke up from the bed and stormed out of the bedroom heading to another room to freshen up. Fortunately, that room also had his clothes so he was able to avoid his wife. He then decided to head to his office, where he had his breakfast. His employees were surprised to see him having food at the company's canteen so early. Normally he would come 2 hours late and it was also rare to see him in the canteen. It didn't take time for the employees to gossip about what could have transpired at their boss's place since almost everyone had seen the most trending news.

Lisa's parents owned a real estate company that was doing so well which earned them quite a good reputation. It even got them the opportunity to mix and mingle with wealthy and high-class people, and to some of them, they wanted to extend their relations through marriage (as in marrying Carol and Lisa to the wealthiest families). As for Lisa and Carol, most people knew the Stevens' older daughter (Luiza) because of her lively personality, when it came to the younger one it was different. Carol never liked crowds or being among people she didn't know, mostly she enjoyed being alone. In a worst-case scenario, she would rather spend the whole day bickering with Lisa than entertaining anyone even her own relatives' children (her cousins). She would just meet them at gatherings or functions that her parents would have to force her to attend, and she would just greet them and pass. This is why it was so easy for the news to go viral quickly since quite a number knew Luiza (Lisa).

As for Lisa's mum, after her husband left, she was so much angry because he had left just like that without resolving anything. She couldn't stop clicking her tongue, sighing, and also swearing in her heart. After calming herself a little, she then took her personal computer and logged in online with another account that wasn't known to a lot of people. What she found was more than she had expected, the number of shares and comments had escalated as if someone was working behind the scenes adding more fuel to the already blazing fire. Which led to some stories that were not known to the public being brought to light, for example how they couldn't take proper care of Anne and yet they were so rich. As she was scrolling down in the comment section, that's when she saw another picture that was shared several times. In the picture were Lisa and Henry holding hands, and both seemed like they were taking a walk, the photo was so clear and one could tell that the two were having a good time. That's how Lisa's mum learned that the culprit's name was Henry Roberts. With how things were advancing Lisa's mum couldn't wait to have another discussion with her husband any longer, with a PC in her hand, she rushed to Carol's room.

"Hey, Carol wake up," she said removing the blankets that were covering Carol's body.

(Carol didn't answer but just turned to the other side)

(Tapping her back) "Hey I said wake up," she said sounding irritated.

(Sleepy) "Mmmh, mum (turning to the other side) please, give me a few more minutes…"

"Stop wasting my time wake up right now!" She said splashing some water, that was in a glass on the dressing table on Carol's face.

"Mum!" Shouted Carol as she quickly woke up, and also wiping the water from her face. "What's all this," said Carol with an angry tone.

(Agitated) "Who is Henry Roberts?"

"Huh?" Said Carol, confused and also irritated.

"I said who is this Henry Scumbag Roberts?" She said, sounding agitated and also pointing to the picture that was zoomed on her PC screen.

(Squinting her eyes) "If I'm not mistaken, he is the school's ex-famous volleyball player."

Lisa's mum was expecting Carol, to say more but it seemed she was done talking.

"And?" Asked Lisa's mum very expectant.

"That's all I know…"

(Angry) "Indeed an apple doesn't fall far from the tree, another useless fool, someone like you with how stupid you are, you might fall pregnant and give birth without even knowing. After I'm done with your sister, I am coming to you." She said and left Carol's room without saying anything more.

Carol was left stunned and confused, she was still sleepy and also everything that her mum had said wasn't making any sense. She then decided to let what had happened slide with a novel, that she was reading. If her mum had asked her about books and arts, Carol would have explained everything eloquently to her from A up to Z, because she was a bookworm, she didn't care much about anything except books and creative writing.

When Lisa's mum left Carol's room she went back to her bedroom and checked for her small cell phone that she always used whenever emergencies would arise. She dialed her private investigator's number and informed him what she needed to be done. Around 4 pm she received an email that had all the information about Henry Roberts and his family.