Chapter 33: Having a talk with Raymond

Christina walked in so helpless as she held her heels, bag and phone on her hand.

She did not notice the two men in the sitting room as she walked in and went straight to the stair case and then to her room, what that mattered to her right now was the fact that she needed a bath.

" Gavriel, who is the that young lady who just walked into your apartment without saying a word? " Raymond asked

" Well that is my secretary you were asking of few minutes ago " Gavriel said as he loosened his tie.

" Gavriel, did she not see us here? " Raymond asked.

" How do you expect me to know that, I am very sure that with what you have seen you would now understand why I chastise her? She is such a dumb ass! " Mr Gavriel replied and of cause he lied, he knew that she was like that because of what he did to her on the road but he did not care at all because he believes that she deserves it, WHY??

Raymond could not get the point, she was the same lady he saw crying at the roadside, his eyes could not deceive him, not now, not ever. He was so sure that she was the one and if that was true then Gavriel must have had a hand in it or probably did that to her, he needed to speak with Christina.

" What are you thinking about? " Mr Gavriel asked when he noticed Raymond staring at him without saying anything.

" Why is your secretary with a long face? and she looked stressed out too? or is she not your secretary " Raymond intentionally asked.

" Of course she is my secretary, please forget about her for now, let me go upstairs, have a shower and relax, remember to have your rest " Mr Gavriel said as he walked towards the stair case avoiding the question asked him.

" Hell no, he did not even give an answer to my question, I think I would have to see the lady first " Raymond said as he got up from where he was sitting and went upstairs to freshen up since he was feeling so hot.

He had a room on the third floor where Mr Gavriel's room was also located, Mr Gavriel gave him a room there because he saw Raymond as brother, he was more than a friend to him.

Tina, who had finished taking her bath, she walked to the mirror and stared at herself as tears fell off her eyes and her fingers ran around the injury she had sustained in the morning, she looked lean and that was as a result of the stress which resulted to her loosing weight, since she signed that contract she had never had peace of mind.

' God, it is obvious that my situation has become worse than before, did I make a mistake by looking for a job?, did I offend anyone?, did I do the wrong thing by going to the club that day?, did I make a mistake by getting drunk?, God, I have a lot of questions and I obviously do not know how to answer these questions, I am so tired that I do not think I can go on anymore but I can not quit... what type of fate is this? I have just stayed in this house for twenty two hours and it already seems like I have been here for twenty two years, I can not believe that a lot has happened in less that twenty four hours' Tina asked herself numerous question she could barely answer, the tears kept on falling freely from her eyes to her cheeks and some fell on her hands, chest, rolled down her neck and the rest on the floor as she tightened up her grip on the bathrobe she was wearing.

She just hope something bad could happen to her so she could just die and her existence on earth would be wiped off, she hope that a car would just run her over, she kept wishing death for herself but that will never come.

When she was through with crying out her pains she cleaned up her tears and washed her face, put on some home clothes and since it was time to prepare lunch.

As Raymond walked through the stair case, he heard a silent sob and he decided to know where it was coming from and to his greatest surprise the sound was coming from the second floor, he walked through the hallway and stopped in front of the door where he was sure the sound came from, actually he did not mean to eavesdrop but he had to clear his confusion, because he definitely knew that Gavriel would never go easy on his secretary, Raymond could not just understand why Gavriel was so harsh to an extent of maltreating a young lady who had a lot that awaited her in the future and his actions could lead the lady to think about death or suicide. He was sure that his friend had gone insane.

He heard everything the young lady said while she cried and it really touched him, it was high time Gavriel stops this because according to what she said, she said she has just been in this house for twenty two hours and that is not even up to a day and she was already crying saying she wanted to give up.

Raymond sighed and went back to the sitting room, he needed to find a way to have a talk with her without Gavriel finding out.

Tina, who was not aware someone was standing in front of her door eavesdropping while she cried, quietly walked out of her room as she walked down the stair case and made her way to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

She just wanted to prepare something simple so she could go back to her room and rest her head in order to ease her pains.

She opened the fridge and brought out three chicken laps, tomatoes, carrots, green peas, green peppers and red meat and five eggs then she went into the food store and took enough packets of noodles.

" Hey " Raymond said as he walked into the kitchen and Tina who quickly turned as a result of shock because of the unknown voice she just heard.

" Hi, I am sorry but I have not seen you in this house before " Tina said because she did not know how the handsome man got into the house.

' Goodness, this man is handsome and looks familiar but where did I see him ' she said to herself as she ransacked her head trying to remember where she had seen him.

" Yeah, I am sorry for not introducing myself, I am Raymond, Gavriel's best friend " Raymond introduced himself and smiled.

" Oooh, wow, it is really nice meeting you " Tina said as an image flashed in her head, he was the man who was with Mr Gavriel that day at the bar but she could not find him after some seconds.

" You are Mr Gavriel's best friend?? " She asked.

" Yeah, why do you ask? " Raymond asked as he perceived a feeling of doubt in her voice.

" I am sorry but I have to be plain with you " Tina said as she broke the eggs in a bowl.

" Okay, go on " Raymond replied eagerly waiting to her what she wanted to say.

" Actually I have two questions, first how do you cope with Mr Gavriel been your best friend? And secondly I want to know if you just like your best friend who is a devil? sorry for saying that but I just want to know " Tina said as she moved to the sink and washed the chicken laps but suddenly turned to face Raymond who was currently laughing.

" What is funny? " Tina asked.

" I am so sorry for laughing but I have been friends with Gavriel for twelve years now and I do not see anything wrong with him and I am not like my best friend, we have different characters " Raymond said as he wondered how bold she was to ask him those questions.

" Are you trying to defend him because he is your best friend and I know that you are aware of you best friends character and way of life " Tina insisted that he knew Gavriel and she knew for a fact that he was covering him up.

" Eehhmm, can I know your name since you already know mine " Raymond asked.

" Christina but you can call me Tina " she replied.

" Nice name " Raymond complemented.

" Thank you " Tina appreciated as she washed the carrots, green peas, green peppers and tomatoes.

" I think I have something I need to apologize about " Raymond said as he walked towards the fridge.

" We are just meeting now and you already have something to apologize about, well at least you are not like your friend who can never apologize for doing something hurtful " Tina said as she could not believe that she was comparing the two friends.

" Yeah, I think I overheard you crying in your room, I am sorry but I am not a pervert but I just needed to clear my confusion " Raymond said as he took out a bottle of water from the fridge and Tina turned to face him.

" You heard me crying? " Tina asked with shock.

" Yes and I am sorry about that, I think I understand what you are going through here, it is just like hell and I also saw you crying by the roadside today when I was on my way here but I never knew you were the young lady Gavriel told me about " Raymond explained as he drank the water in his hands.

" It is okay, like you said I have been here for just less than a day but it seems like I have been here for ages " Tina said as she picked up a knife and started chopping the carrots, pepper, green peas and tomatoes.

" I understand, the fateful day you signed that contract I could not believe that Gavriel could do such a thing because when he told me I strongly objected to it, I was never in support of it up till this moment, Gavriel was not like this, he just happened to start creating hatred for people who threw up where he was or worse, those who threw up on him and when I noticed it, I thought it was just something he hated but I never knew it would get to this extent, I do not know if you have been told that this happened months ago when Natasha, his ex finance threw up on him, he never forgave her, he even called off the wedding and sent her out of this house, Natasha would sit by the gate crying day and night, begging him when he drove past but he never brought her back and her's is better compared to yours because she got the chance to live her life but you can not because you are bound to him, I understand you are really hurt and it pains me because I can not do anything about it even at the point where he is my best friend, I told him plainly that I would not want to sow what I would not want to reap but please endure him and when it gets to a point where you can not endure it again, I will advise you to face him, go hard on him, if you can not endure it anymore then show him you can't but for now just endure, please " Raymond explained and pleaded with her because he felt she should know, barely looking at her, he saw the light, kindness and love she beared but Gavriel was turning it into darkness, wickedness and hatred.

" I also want to endure but it is not as easy as it is said you know but if you say so I will do so, I just hope I live a long life during my stay here " Tina said as she fried the chicken laps and also the eggs.

" I know you will survive his wrath if you do as I say, so do not ever think about death " Raymond assured and Tina nodded at least she felt a bit of burden leave her and she was happy about it.

" Okay, I will leave you to finish up your cooking, I will be upstairs so I can freshen up " Raymond said as he walked towards the door.

" Wait " Tina called him back and he turned.

" Thank you for advising me, I really appreciate it and right now I feel like a burden has been raised off my shoulders " Tina appreciated.

" You are welcome, I will always be here in case you need any more advice " Raymond said.

" Sure. " Tina said and Raymond left as she went back to finish up her cooking.