A king, a queen

"Mr Derrick"?

I said and he started laughing. He was obviously making fun of how he startled me.

"You... You should have seen your face".

He said still laughing and pointing at me.

"Ha ha ha, very funny".

I said but it felt like I just made his laughter much louder. I could not stand it anymore so I began walking away.

"Okay fine, I'm sorry... I'm sorry".

He said as he followed me.

"Damn, you sure do have a temper".

He said and I smirked.

"You make it sound like you've seen me get angry before".

I said making him raise his shoulder.

"I don't think I have to see it to know".

"Whatever".

I said and began walking away.

"Where are you going"?

He asked but I didn't answer as even I didn't know.

"You don't know where you are going do you"?

He said and I could not hide it anymore since he had obviously caught me.

"Do you even know where you are"?

He asked and that was when I finally looked at my surroundings. I finally realized I was in a maze.

"How... how did I..."

"Get here"?

He asked and I turned to look at him. He had his hands in his pocket as he walked closer to me.

"That's how grandfather's words work. They taunt you till you don't even know what it is that you are doing".

He said and he was right. I was walking aimlessly because of what I had heard earlier.

"My grandfather can be the sweetest man in the whole world. In fact, growing up, I and Jason liked him much more than we liked our dad. But all that love can diminish when he sees that you don't have anything to offer".

I looked at him and it looked like he had been in that situation before.

"When he makes you feel so little, you begin to try so hard to please him that you get so scared and eventually make mistakes you could have easily avoided".

I wanted to say something to him, but I didn't know what to say. He sounded like he had so much on his mind and I didn't understand why because it felt like he had the world under his feet. I mean, he is the popular ladies' man.

"I've spent all my life trying to live up to my grandfathers' standards. I've tried so hard to be just half as good as Jason. But then..."

He scoffed painfully.

"As Grandpa said, no matter how wealthy a man is, he might never be meant to be King".

I was beginning to get worried. I know that most of these rich brothers go against each other but seeing how close they were, I thought maybe, just maybe, they'd be different.

"Don't get me wrong, I love my elder brother very much. At least, the elders have not been able to destroy our bond".

He said with clarity and I smiled. He began walking away but I spoke which made him stop.

"You might not know it, but you are a king".

He looked at me for a while and then bent his head to the floor and smiled. He then looked at me again and spoke.

"You don't have to say that".

I moved closer this time around and spoke.

"I'm not just saying this because I want to talk. I'm saying it because it's what I see. You don't just look like a king, you have the spirit of a king and that, is not something just anyone can have".

I then smiled lightly.

"I know I might not be worthy enough to say this to you, but you are you, and that... is good enough. You don't have to be half like your brother when you are a whole you. Well, I don't know if what I just said makes any sense to you but you can start finding the king in you, by finding your own part".

I believed I had said enough so I turned back around and began walking away. I had gotten a bit far when I heard him speak.

"Wait!!"

He yelled so loud I turned immediately.

"That way is a dead end".

He said and my mouth made an oh sign as I went back to meet him.

"Come on, I'll lead you out".

He said politely and I smiled as I followed him. The journey out of the maze was quiet but not uncomfortable. It just showed two people walking out of a place after getting to know a little bit more about the other person.

Derrick kept thinking about what Nadia said and somehow, deep within him, he had a settling feeling. It felt like he had been telling himself what Nadia said to him all his life but she finally affirmed to it.

For the first time in his entire life, someone else's word overshadowed his grandfather's word and that was when he finally concluded deep inside of him that not only was he a king, but today, he got to meet a queen more higher than a king.

He looked at her as she was looking at her phone and he smiled.

'I guess Jason has nothing to worry about, she grew up well'.

He said deep within himself.

We were finally out of the maze and though it did take some time, I didn't know it would end so quickly. We finally got to the house and parted ways. I got to realize that not only is Derrick nice and jovial, but he is also pretty fragile and warm. He needs a lot of love and affirmation.

It was time for lunch but I was not hungry so I went upstairs. When I got to the room, I saw Jason working on something with his laptop on his lap and a document in his hand. He had his glasses on and he looked at me through them. He definitely had different shades of sexy.

"What are you doing"?

"Work".

He replied shortly but soon after, he dropped his laptop and documents on the side stool and tapped on the side of the bed he was sitting. I assumed he wanted me to sit so I went ahead.

"Are you nervous"?