ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-ONE

ANISHA'S POV

On the following Sunday after Pete and Arianna's beautiful wedding, I had a lot of work to finish. My plan was to go to the university library and work on it, but I later on had to cancel that. Mrs Woodruff called me, asking me to babysit Liam, for she and her husband had a very important function that they just had to attend. Since the time that I had started university, I had shifted my visits to the Woodruffs from Sunday to Friday afternoon. It worked easier for me, and for them too. It suited both our schedules better. My Friday lectures were packed from 8AM until 3PM, so I always left the school and visit then, staying with Liam until around 6 or 7PM. Of course I visited Liam every Friday without fail, much to the surprise of the Woodruffs. They confessed to me that they had assumed that after a while I would give up and stop visiting. But I loved Liam a lot; I wanted to see him often. If there was anyone who understood the life of an orphan; it was me. Liam needed some love, and I was more than willing to show him some.

On that Sunday, since I had a lot of work, I asked the Woodruffs to bring Liam to Dylan's place. My idea was that, Mrs Silva could help me take care of him while I tried to cover up some of my assignments. Liam was playing happily in the room, running up and down. Two young ladies, the mansion staff, were in the same room, playing with him. Knowing that Liam had more than enough attention on him, I concentrated better at my work.

Suddenly Mrs Silva walked in and announced that I had a guest. I had not expected anyone, but all the same I stood up to go towards the door. Liam cried out for me to take him, and I quickly turned around and told him to follow me. The little boy blatantly refused to walk by himself, but raising his arms up said,

"Lift me up, Anishaaaa."

I just shook my head and, left with no option, picked the little man up. I went towards the front entrance, and slid open the huge heavy doors. Standing there, face to face with me, was none other than Mrs de Milo. I immediately felt cold and my feet froze, but still in that state, I forced a smile.

"Oh, please do come in, Mrs de Milo," I moved out of the way for her.

"Who is that? Whose child is that?" she demanded, still standing outside.

"Oh, his name is Liam. Liam la Martina. I used to…"

"You used to babysit him, who doesn't know that? And what is he doing here?" she marched into the house and looked around from the floor to the ceiling.

"Jeeeesus! Has Dylan turned this mansion into an orphanage? What are you and this boy doing here?" she looked at me.

I slowly walked towards the main lounge, and she followed me. She lazily pulled out a chair and slumped into it.

"Does this boy stay here? What's the name of this new orphanage which Dylan created? I visit my son at his place and at the gate I am greeted by two measly orphans." she sighed. I kept silent and watched her.

She rubbed her palms together and called out, "Graca Silva! Serve me something nice and cold. You know my tastes. Impress me."

"Of course ma'am de Milo!" Mrs Silva answered before she called out some maids to go and help her prepare something for the madam.

"Right Anisha, I will get straight to the point," Mrs de Milo started to speak. "First of all, you know that I don't want you in my son's life, and I have more than enough reasons! I hardly go on social media, but this week I had to, for I had received multiple calls from my friends, telling me that yourself and Dylan were trending on many sites. Tell me, why would you drag Dylan to such cheap, dirty places, where common and poor people gather? I raised my son to become a gentleman, not someone who just shops from some random ice cream shops crowded by smelly useless bastards.

Need I remind you, little miss, that Dylan is a billionaire who belongs in a billionaire family. We are the de Milos! None of us goes shopping in place such as the one you introduced my son to. Who are you…what do you want from us? I can't believe Dylan is so blinded by love…I don't even know if its love or infatuation….I would call it infatuation…Is my son so blinded by infatuation that he agreed to be taken to that filthy place to buy some poor quality ice cream? Did he crave for ice cream that much, that he had to go and buy from that old diminutive shop polluted by filthy peasants!! Anisha, if you are going to expose my son to such dirt, you will have to leave now! I raised my son for a lady, a proper lady who knows how to carry herself and from where to shop, not for some accidental orphan who believes in buying low quality food from no-name places!

And you dragged him there, for people to take all those photos of him hugging you, looking all pretty and rich, from the money that you continue to milk from my son! You're busy wearing designer clothes and having the media up in a frenzy, wondering which rich family you are from, yet you're just some useless gold digger who knows nothing but to take from the rich!

I have to warn you, Anisha! I just have to warn you! Stay out of my son's life! Right now my friends are asking about you, for they have all seen your pictures with Dylan, while you stood in that shameful ice cream shop. Tell me, how am I supposed to explain your identity to them? How do I tell them that you are just a discreditable girl who was picked at the gate of that old dirty orphanage? And you were raised by some old pitiable woman who knew not how to…."

"But she knew how to love! She knows how to love! Ms Meyerton loved me. She might be poor and old, but she raised me and showed me love!!" I failed to control myself when Mrs de Milo started slandering Ms Meyerton.

Hot tears stung my eyelids and when Liam saw me, he said,

"Anisha crying. Anisha, no no. Don't cry. Anisha, smile. Smile Anisha."

Mrs Silva, who was standing at the entrance with trolleys of food, along with three maids, looked on at the ongoing horror movie. Mrs Silva quickly came in and took Liam. She exited the room and closed the door behind her.

Mrs de Milo scanned me from head to toe before she let out the most mocking laugh I had ever heard.

"She raised you, you say? She raised you to become what? A leech? Didn't she ever teach you anything about staying in your lane? Who are you fooling? You are just a sex toy for Dylan. When he wants to settle, he knows from where to pick his girl. True gems who are worthy to join our family."

"What did I ever do to you, Mrs de Milo? Why do you hate me so much?" My whole body told me that what I needed at that time was uncontrolled crying; letting out all the pain and hurt. But my mind said no! If ever there was a time to be strong; it was then. I held the tears in, for I dared not expose my weakness in front of the ruthless woman who watched me in great satisfaction.

"I don't hate you. You're not even worth my hatred!" she stated firmly.

"Why then do you say all those hurtful words to me?" I asked.

She let out a highly sarcastic laughter, and looked at me. She allowed me to calm down, and while I wiped off the tears that had rolled out at their own will, she started talking,

"Hurtful words? They are not hurtful words; they're simply the truth! Are you not an orphan? Are you not a number? A number that someone just picked haphazardly and labeled on you! You don't know your parents and… "

"I know my mother and my father!" I stamped my foot in desperation.

She laughed out loud, "You know them? Since when? When did you get to know them? Didn't you meet your father in that warehouse where you and Israel planned to kidnap my son and…"

"I had nothing to do with the kidnapping, Mrs de Milo! I was also a victim…"

"You don't talk when I am talking!!" she screamed.

Her command was so sharp that my heart almost leapt out. I was truly terrified by the woman. After she saw that I was quiet and had no intention of interrupting her while she spoke, she continued to say,

"You met that dismal father of yours and you had no idea who he was to you, until that hairdresser mother of yours told you her disgraceful little story! They did not want you! Both of them wanted nothing to do with you! If they wanted you, why then were you stuck at Olga, waiting patiently for the first Thursday of each month; to receive donations from me, and to seduce my son?"

"Mrs de Milo please don't say that! We don't choose where to be born. We don't choose our parents….."

"But we can choose who to love! Open your eyes and choose someone from your own class! Dylan is definitely not in your class! He does not belong in your world! When will your thick head get that?" she came closer to me and poked me on the forehead. For a moment I thought she was going to slap me, so I cringed backwards and curled into a corner of the room.

The woman let out a loud sigh and marched out of the room. I let myself slide along the wall, moving from a standing position to sitting on the floor with my legs spread wide in front of me. I felt useless and unworthy of anything. My whole body shook, and my chest felt tight, with great pain. Physically and emotionally, the hurt was unbearable. Why, why, why did pastor Everdeen and Amelia ever choose to have me? If only Amelia had listened to the pastor, and aborted the pregnancy during the early days, then I would not have lived to be called all sorts of dirty names. Was it a crime to be an orphan?

Mrs Silva came in running. She knelt dutifully next to me and wiped off my tears, "it shall be well, miss Anisha. Mrs de Milo is tough, but if she gets to know you better, she will fall in love with you. She just wants the best for her son, but she has a weird way of doing things. Shh, don't cry now. I know she didn't mean any of those things she said. She probably is having rough days at work, and just letting it all out on you. Deep in her heart, she knows you are the best for sir Dylan, but she has to do all this to test you; to see how far you will go for him. Be strong, miss Anisha. Be strong and hold on to him, if you love him enough."

She sat on the floor right next to me and took my head to rest on her chest. Stroking my hair gently, she continued to talk to me, "Remember sir Dylan is the only person who can end this relationship; I mean it can either be him or you. No one else can stand in the way to end the relationship. And believe me, sir Dylan loves you. I have never seen him as happy as he is with you. Mrs de Milo will soon realise that you make her son happy, and slowly, she will begin to accept you. Be strong, miss Anisha. Just be strong…for the man that you love; you have to be strong….."