Chapter 43

Receiving a call from Anya he drops al l that he was doing and runs to her aid.

"Holy shit Anya who did this to you?" her condition is worse than he had expected.

He helps her stand up but her legs are wobbly left with no option he helps her to the bathroom. He had always

wanted to do this to her but not under such circumstances.

Lathering her body with soap ,he folds his trousers and takes off his shirt to bath her.

she looks worn out as though she is carrying the world's weight on her shoulders.

"Were you involved in a physical brawl my dear?" He cannot help but enquire .

she shakes her head.

"Just as I had thought . This was caused by a man. You let him do all this to you? Anya when will you learn, see

how pitiful you are looking  and the nerve of him to leave you in this state".

Tired of hearing him run his mouth  Miss.Rou covers her ears  that are already ringing with all the noise.

"Shut up !shut the fuck up!" she cannot take it anymore, he is like a leaking roof.

He freezes

"It wasn't a man"

"what!" He drops the clothes 

"Were you gang raped?"

she feels like biting his ear off ."Nooo that's not what I meant .It was Aina?"

its like a bombshell had been dropped on him. "You mean Aina, your friend?"

She nods.

"Hey I don't understand this, elaborate some more, since when did you two start rolling under the sheets?"

"Unbelievable! and here I was thinking you were straight?"

what baffles him is why Cleve's fiancé would jeopardize her marriage for all this ? Is she into women too and if so does Cleve know.

Looking at him Anya knows he is up to no good.

"Chris ,Aina is mine to deal with so whatever you are planning you better hold your horses".

It's more of a threat than a statement.

Diverging her attention ",Did you get what you were after?" he asks.

At the thought of it her facial expression relaxes but the glint of malice in her eyes doesn't go unnoticed by him

***

As she descends down the stairs the side profile of Mr. Taylor makes her stop in her tracks.

Hand on her chest she prays it is all but a dream.

"It cannot be possible .it has been over fifteen years with no word from him how can he appear out of the blues."

Brushing the thought aside she maintains a straight face.

"Cleve dear it has been long since I last saw you, what brings you around?"

"Aunt nice to see you too" he rises up kissing both of her cheeks .

"I learnt about your predicament son , I am deeply sorry I pray you find the person behind it all .As always you have my family's support and blessings".

he smiles although he can understand what she means.

Out of pure courtesy she turns her attention to the other man.

"Hello.." her voice is shaky ,she tries to mask it but her emotions are written all over her face

"Hello.." its an awkward moment for both of them.

Staring at each other without uttering a word never had it crossed their minds that they would meet under such

circumstances .

As much as they try to maintain a calm demeanor Cleve cannot be fooled, he can sense the tense air between

them and smell their unsettled feelings from a far.

Its like a block of ice has been cast on them causing them to freeze.

Clearing his throat he tries to dissipate the tension between them , "uumm Mr .Taylor meet Mrs. Rou-Anya's

mother ,the friend of Aina ".

The silence continues to ensue between them ,making him feel stupid and out of place. Maybe he shouldn't

have taken the initiative its obvious the two are acquittances.

the silence is unbearable to him ,so he makes himself busy by admiring the family portraits. One particular

photo stands. He would have stashed it to his pocket but it would be too obvious.

Left alone with Mrs.Rou he tries to strike a conversation but she seems lost.

she stands their glued to the ground while staring vacantly.

Following the direction of her eyes, he sees the back of Mr. Taylor walking with huge strides one would think he

has been chased out.

"Ma'am are you alright" her color drained face makes him concerned .She looks likes she had seen a ghost.

"Yes..yes" she responds but her voice betrays her .

She is trembling and she cannot hide it.

"Cleve was that Mr .Taylor?" she stutters.

Seeing him nod that's the last straw.

Trying to maintain balance she staggers if not for Cleve's quick reflexes she would have would have lost

balance.

In his hands her body shivers and has gone cold.

"Mrs .Rou should I call a doctor ?' God forbid if anything happens to her he will be the first suspect.

Getting no response from her scares the hell out of him. He has never been in such a situation.

Clasping her hands tightly they are icy cold . Worried  he calls the housekeeper .

It has been long since she last saw Mrs. Rou in such a state. Dialing the doctor they help her to the bedroom as

they wait for the good old doctor anxiously. He said he be there in ten minutes but it looks like a lifetime filled with anxiety.

She seems to be in shock that is doctor Wells' diagnosis.

"In shock but how?" cleve asks 

"she suffered from emotional shock .Its a reaction caused or triggered by  an unexpected event or traumatic

incident that upset her and made it harder for her to function." doctor well explains in a simple and precise way.

"A traumatic incident or unexpected event? she had been indoors the whole morning so how can she suffer

from this?" The old housekeeper asks. To her the madam is sick thus needs to go to the hospital and not some

home based care treatment.

Noticing her concern Doctor Wells has to make her understand what it means and the treatment plan for

Mrs.Rou to get better.

" emotional shock varies from one individual to the other ,for instance one person may land his dream job or

home and experience shock if the emotions are too big to handle at that particular moment however another

may encounter something bad like the death of a family member, crime ,abuse ,abandonment ,financial crisis

and etcetera .Unable to process the situation and In order to  protect your mind and body ,the brain freezes.

people react differently in such situations, while others will feel numb or cry or rage their are those who cannot

handle thus may faint ,remain in denial ,panic ,get nauseous, experience increased heart rate and are unable to

speak or move ,suffer from muscle tension or feel lightheaded as Mrs. Rou felt".

"my madam was alright until she met young master Cleve and his friend, would that have made her experience

all this?"

"We cannot rule that out but to help her get better ,he hands her a prescription, ensure that she takes her meds on time ".

pulling out a card from his wallet," if she needs more help give this to her ,but with what i have given her ,she

will be up in no time"

Bidding the sweet old maid goodbye, he shows the doctor out .

Settling in the car he takes a deep breath.

Mr .Taylor lost in thought doesn't even realize cleve' s arrival.

They didn't even get what they came for .Instead they left a problem behind.

"What happened in there? Cleve asks .All this while he has been in the dark but one thing is certain Mrs. rou

went into shock after meeting Taylor.

"I don't know what you are talking about", he denies with a straight face.

"Mr Taylor, Miss.Rou almost died from  shock after meeting you, she was shivering and her body went all cold

its like she had seen a ghost. You too seemed to be affected. see the way you walked out as though someone

was after your life. All this mystery makes me wonder, did  you guys have a history together. was she once your

girlfriend you promised to marry one another but ended up with different people,

Did you try to get her back but realized she was already pregnant with another man's child? "

"Cleve you know nothing so shut the fuck up. Where is Aina? He sounds worked up.

All this make Cleve certain that they must be hiding something.

" The situation didn't allow me to ask after you left her all messed up and hysterical. Mr .Taylor, man to man if

things aren't that simple you should ask for help, asking for help doesn't make you weak but rather gives you

more options" he throws his words back at him making sure that he wraps them on his face.

His patience is thinning. "You gossip too much ,if you could input such energy to your family's company I am

sure you would have taken it to new heights."

Its like a face slap to Cleve .Mr. Taylor does not forget to remind him of his situation .Every time he gets the

opportunity he makes sure to remind him that he is no longer the CEO.

The forty five minutes drive seems like a journey spent in silence and resentment.

Lost in their own  thoughts ,one is formulating his path plan while the other is wondering what they could be

hiding

****

Tired she throws the bag on the couch peeling off her cloths one by one .

She deeps her tired and overly spent self in the bathtub with a glass of red wine in hand its the best and most

relaxing time spent alone without external interference .Feeling rejuvenated its time she gets down to uncover

unknown lady's identity.

First things first she has to know what Maria's game plan is, what Dion was doing in the study and who the

diary belonged to? somehow she felt like the identity of the lady was within reach but shrouded in mysteries.

Still in her bag she digs it out. If she wants to derive into the past no better person can be as informative as

one's penned thoughts and experiences.

Compared to the human memory the written thoughts are more accurate and can give one a glimpse to a

person's deepest secrets and thoughts at that particular moment it was recorded.

continuing from where she stopped

,"Today I saw him at the soccer field. Smashing hot as usual. I notice his exposed arms that are more muscular and well toned ,it gives me goosebumps.

you see I am no soccer fan but love brought me here.

Love a feeling that can make you do the unimaginable.

My other friend makes fun of my presence  here.

Seeing him score adds to the points 

I love seeing him all sweaty.it makes him more outstanding and gives him this manly vibe

Just by looking at him I can feel butterflies in my stomach.

Noticing my presence in the pitch he waves to me as he smiles

I blush deeply as I blew him some kisses.

It was getting late but I hanged around some more.

With a bottle of water at hand and towel on  the other he strides to me

This are mine right? before I can answer he already grabbed the towel.

Smelling of his sweat and fragrance ,I folded it neatly before tacking it to my back pack.

What he did next caught me off-guard. As I am writing this I can still feel his heavy and hot breath fanning my neck.

Dear diary ,I don't know what to do to capture his attention.

They say men don't like flowers, giggling, I am already referring to him as a man ,my man.

pausing she takes a deep breath ,if her memory serves her right Cleve had never liked football. she had tried to take him to the pitch many a times but he would rather ran a marathon than watch a soccer game.