21 The Terrace

The tired woman looked up at the white ceiling and wondered where she was. It was a while before the memories flooded back. They did not come back unhindered but accompanied the pain she felt in her head. She reached up an arm fitted with tubes and drips to find a bandage that covered most of her head. But that wasn't the only discomfort she felt. She looked around trying to make sense of where she was. There were clear indications that she was in a hospital, one of them being the constant beeping of the machines that were attached to her skin by an array of wires. The room smelt of disinfectant as she tried to get down from the bed. She knew it was a fruitless effort as she found the innumerable wires tangling to her limbs. A nurse rushed towards her as the heart monitor beeped erratically at her attempt to escape.

"You are awake. I shall inform the doctor. Please lie down. You are in no condition to be up or about. If you insist to move we will have to sedate you." the nurse warned.

Mallory could not find her voice. Her throat felt as if it were jammed with sawdust. She only managed a croaky sound which the nurse however understood as her asking what had happened to her.

"Do you remember that you were in an accident? You were run over by a car. You were in a coma for over a week." she told her.

"My husband?" Mallory managed to creak.

"I am sorry to say but your husband wasn't able to come. We found your details from your purse and tried to contact him. However, he was in police custody at that point in time. I am not sure that he has been released. Your closest kin was Ms Daisy Durant. We contacted her husband who made all the arrangements. You did not have much of an insurance and so that became important." The nurse explained.

"Her husband? Daisy doesn't have a husband. Daisy is a spinster."

"Well, when we called your sister it was her husband who received the call and he said that he would rather not bother Daisy on their honeymoon with this news. His men would get in touch with the hospital on his behalf and they did. They have taken care of everything." the nurse informed her.

"Is my child alright. I was pregnant." Mallory suddenly remembered.

"We are sorry but you lost the child." All colour receded from Mallory's face.

"You are lying. I can't lose my child. Jon can't be in jail. This isn't my life. How can Daisy be married? She can't be married. She is the loser. She is the scum. I get what I want. I must." Mallory had started to ramble.

Realizing that Mallory was not in the correct state of mind the nurse called for the doctor who came forward to sedate her. Malloy did not protest but kept mumbling on how she would destroy Daisy.

***

It had been six weeks since the wedding and Tom and Daisy were about to inaugurate Melinda International. Their tests had come out normal and Andrew expected them to share a good news any day now. The party at the end of the inauguration was anyone's envy. It was a private affair and Tom was having the time of his life.

"Why do all of your hotels have a woman's name starting with M?" Daisy asked her husband.

"My mother always introduced herself to her clients with a name starting with M. She told me her name was Mary." Tom whispered in her years.

Daisy realized the practicality of giving a false name given what her profession was. "Maybe her name was Mary. You weren't her client after all. Why would she give you a false name?" she asked.

A sudden sorrow clouded Tom's eyes. "Let's go to the terrace Daisy. There is something I want to tell you."

Daisy nodded and followed her husband to the terrace. "What is it that you want to tell me?"

"I was her client," Tom stated. Daisy continued to look at him blankly. Tom gave her a pointed look. "She was the first woman I slept with. I lost my 'virginity' to my mother." he emphasized.

"But why would you do that?" Daisy asked.

"I didn't know her. I had only seen her picture once. She didn't know me from the next bloke. It was my sixteenth birthday. I went with a different crowd then. They had seen the photograph. They didn't know who she was. One of them saw her in a brothel and decided to fix me up with her. They got me drunk enough so that I would be brave enough to approach her. I blacked out. I didn't know what I was doing and she took charge. The following morning I woke up with a headache with her stroking my erection. When I realized what was happening I told her who I really was, showed her the picture she had left with me. The next day's newspaper had the news that she committed suicide. She was doing her job. Maybe I was a bit too hard on her. I killed my mother." Tom finished.

Daisy had her arms wrapped around him. She knew that this was one of the demons that Tom's friends keep warning her about. "It wasn't your fault. You were a kid. You were distraught. You were underage. Prostitute or not your mother had no right to do that. It was statutory rape. She killed herself because she repented her actions. It is not your fault Tom."

Daisy felt her hair dampen as Tom's tears flowed freely. "I wish I had a mother like you," Tom said.

Though it sounded strange Daisy knew exactly what he meant. "That is why you are giving your children the mother you didn't have."

"I can't wait to have children with you, Daisy," Tom confessed.

"Well, there is something I have to tell you," Daisy said.

"What?" Tom asked when they both turned to the sound of footsteps on the terrace. They expected Fred or Rupert but the figure before them was one they didn't expect. Tom stepped in front of Daisy shielding her.

"How did you get in?" Tom asked.

"It helps to be part of the security team." the man standing before them informed. Daisy recognized the voice and panicked.

"I know who you are," Tom stated.

"Of course you do. You have to know me to get me blacklisted from my job. I just kept wondering why would the Chairman of the largest hospitality business bother to get an ordinary software technician blacklisted. Now I know that the Chairman is basically enjoying my sloppy seconds." the man mocked.

Daisy visibly flinched, shielded by Tom. "What you did was rape," Tom said. "You deserve a harsher punishment. I took pity on you because of your sick mother." Tom confessed.

"No, I don't think I did. But I am going to punish both of you," said the man, stepping forward.