Chapter Forty - Eight

Eva decided to watch out for John. She kept wandering around in the house looking for him. Luckily for her, she caught sight of him, heading towards a shade in the compound. She rushed after him, calling out his name but he turned deaf to her calls. Eva was frustrated when she couldn’t meet up with him. He was quite away from her and wouldn’t stop even when she kept shouting out his name amidst strange looks and whispers from the servants. She increased her pace and met up with him.

She dragged hIs polo on reaching to him as she panted heavily. John walked so fast so that he could stay somewhere distanced from the view of most maids and guards.

“ W..w..what, Didn’t you hear me calling you? “ Eva asked him, with her back bent and her hand still holding the polo. 

John made no reply and continued staring at her. She looked at him and after a while began to feel guilty.

“ I’m sorry. “ She apologized in a shaky tone. John felt his heart melt. But still did not want to give in to his heart’s desire. He folded his arms and watched Eva with a dimmed face.

For Eva, she had gone extra miles in doing this. She wasn’t used to been totally submissive to a man, apart from Albert and Smith whom she served as her masters. She felt so uncomfortable and embarrassed apologizing to him. ( John).

When she saw John still acting all up and high, she apologized again and turned to leave but was brought back by a pull. Before she knew what was happening, she already in John’s embrace. He kissed her forehead and pushed her into him the more as he whispered some few words to her. Eva involuntarily began to cry.

“ Stop crying. “ John said. He dipped his hands in his pocket and brought out a handkerchief which he used to dab her face, dry. He then took her inside the house to a silent corner. “ I don’t want you to shed tears like this for me. No matter what happened. “ John said to her and she nodded in agreement. 

“ So, what do we do? It’s obvious that nothing has been done. Let’s go and meet Sir Andy. “ The duo walked off to Andy’s office which is just before Smith’s attendance room.

They came in after knocking. Andy looked at the duo with astonishment. He hadn’t seen them together and in his office, apart from when he had called them for their duties.

John reported the issue of Sofia and the rest to Andy and Andy promised a feedback later on. John and Eva left the room afterwards with joy. 

It was getting towards evening, yet no positive results. Nothing was heard. John and Eva went back to meet Andy but his reply wasn’t satisfying. He told them that his Master will decide when they will leave. Even after making him understand that it was a three-day punishment, nothing was done about it.

The duo left Andy’s office heartbroken. After giving the trio in prison the morale to wait patiently for their release, they (John and Eva) were disappointed. Thank goodness that they dropped some cheese and water with Sofia, lady Lily and Mira.

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…

Valerie waited impatiently for the time. She kept glancing at the wall clock in her room. As soon as it clocked 4:30, she undressed and went into the bathroom. After taking her bath, she got dressed for the meeting. She looked at her full view in the mirror. She wore a red long  sleeve top and a grey midi skirt paired with booties to match. When she was satisfied with her looks, she grabbed her bag and went to meet Andy to seek permission to leave the house by 5: 30pm. She left earlier than the normal time because the Smiths usually warn against late-time outings. And if one must go, he or she must be protected by guards. Valerie refused to leave with any guard. 

She decided to drop by a coffee shop after which she left for Ectactcy restaurant. She settled down at a corner and requested for a chilled glass of juice which she drank to ease her deepest fears. She didn’t want to be Intimidated so she concealed her fears. 

It was about 7: 10 pm, when the man walked into the restaurant. He wore a pair of black jeans with a navy collared shirt and shoes to fit the colours. He also had a fredo heart, on and a dark eyeglasses.

“ Valerie Adams .“ The man called as soon as he joined her. Valerie glanced at the man who looked perfect in his physique.

“ You are ten minutes late. Moreover I am a very busy person. So, I’ll appreciate if you would make this snappy. “ Valerie said straight-faced.

The man smiled lightly as he watched the lady sitting in front of him with both interest and disdain. “ Ok.  For now you’ll call me Master. Then, I was looking for people in the same boat with me and luckily I found one. “ The man told her. Valerie looked at the weirdo as she thought about him.

“ It’s  been long, you wanted to know who Sofia was. I’ll tell you now. Sofia is the wife of Albert. Her dad couldn’t pay his debts and he married her off to the Smiths. Albert already picked interest when he first saw her, and so they got married. But, Smith never regarded her. “  He exhaled and continued. “ I’m an enemy to the Smiths. Let’s do this. You’ll work for me. I’ll make you Albert’s wife and I’ll help you get rid of Sofia. So, we’ll work together and gain the properties of the Smiths including his company. How do you see this? “  The man asked her.

Valerie kept on sipping her juice till she left the last content in the bottle. “ Not interested. “ Valerie said as she grabbed her bag and left the restaurant. She heard the man ask her to call him whenever she changed her mind.

Valerie kept on thinking about the man’s offer as she drove back home.

SMITHS RESIDENCE

Albert sat thinking in his room. He called Eva to come over.

It was John that opened the door for Eva to come in. He winked at her and she flushed with embarrassment. She walked into the room and bowed as she greeted Albert. 

“ I haven’t seen Sofia lately. Why is that? “ Albert enquired.

Eva exchanged glances with John and he nodded at her to tell him what happened to Sofia.

Eva bowed. “ Ma’am Sofia and her maids, Lady Lily and Mira were locked up in a room for four days now. “ Eva revealed. 

“ What! “  Albert was shocked to hear that. He looked at John who was remained steady in his facial expression. 

“ Why didn’t you tell me about this? What actually happened?” Albert asked again. He was already fuming mad.

Eva bowed and began to narrate all that happened that day. 

“ Are you sure about this? “  Albert asked her.

“ Yes, Young Master. “ Eva answered him.

Albert immediately stood up and left the room. The door slammed so hard that Eva felt her spirit left her. She held her chest as she tried to steady her breath. John moved swiftly to her side and hugged her. 

“ Ma’am will soon be released. “ Eva said happily.

 “ Yes she will. “ John affirmed. He grabbed the key to Albert’s room and left with Eva to watch the whole scene unfold.

The atmosphere in Smith’s attendant room was nothing compared to a war field. John and Eva watched father and son exchange words. Albert’s attitude infuriated his father so much. He felt that Albert was in love with Valerie but the sudden change in behaviour was unexpected.

“ Will you go and sit down! “ Smith yelled at Albert.

“ Dad, it’s  either you choose between satisfying Valerie or me. Because I’ll leave this house and you won’t see me again for long. “ Albert told him.

“ Are you threatening me? “  Smith asked in surprise.

“ Oh no Dad. I’m telling you what I’m going to do immediately. “ Albert replied and stormed out of the room. While he walked back to his room, a car honked outside. Albert stopped immediately. John and Eva glanced at each other as they walked off to the attendance room. 

Valerie parked her car at the garage and walked towards the entrance door oblivious of the what was happening inside the house. Valerie smiled as she sighted Albert. She felt he was waiting for her return. “What a romantic gesture.” She thought inwardly.

“ My Love, have you been waiting for so long? “ Valerie purposely addressed that Albert that way because of the eyes around. 

“ Does she want to show off? “ Eva whispered to John who shrugged his shoulders to her question.

The smile on Valerie’s face died when she saw the closer view of Albert. She continued the game as she didn’t want to be embarrassed before the servants. She extended her hands for a hug but was rejected by Albert.

Eva giggled when she saw that but was nudged back to composure by John. Valerie saw Eva’s reactions and anger grew in her heart.

“ Are you ok? “  Valerie asked him.

“ Why should I be? “ Albert questioned on top of his voice. His tone scared everyone present.

Valerie held her hand over her chest as she wasn’t expecting such a reaction from Albert. Before she could say anything else, Albert was already scolding her. Valerie was shocked to realize why Albert was upset.

“ Don’t talk to her in that manner! “ Smith yelled at his son.

Albert ignored his Dad and continued  talking to Valerie. Valerie felt embarrassed to be spoken to in such a manner before the maids and guards.

“ Enough! En-o-u-g-h! I don’t want to listen to you again! “ Everyone present in the sitting at that moment, held his hand over his ears. Some sticked their fingers into their ears when the heard Valerie’s scream.

“ Don’t disturb me. Suit yourself! “ Valerie yelled and stomped off to her room.

The room went eerie silent after that. Albert left and so did John and Eva. Smith went inside his room with Andy and slowly did the servants in the sitting room.

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…

The trio ( Sofia, Lady Lily and Mira ) sat in the room in hunger. Their eyes turned red and they looked pale. Then they heard the door being unlocked. They swept their gaze to the door. 

“ You’ve been released. “ A security guard said to them.