12

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"Don't tell me that Carrle!" Ethan barked.

They were in their room,set to sleep when Carrle brought up Harold's matter.

She had overhead him planning for Harold again!

"Ethan it's high time you let go of Harold please!" Carrle half yelled.

"I won't!" Ethan said.

"Why? He didn't offend you in any way and the last time I checked, you offended him instead. You took his wife!" Carrle said.

"Just shut up Carrle,it's not like you've let go of him. you still have feelings for him!" Ethan said angrily, getting up from the bed.

"Harold was my husband for years and i loved him, he was so good to me" Carrle said.

"If he was so good to you,you wouldn't have come to me"

"I.. i wasn't thinking straight then" Carrle defended.

"You think i don't know you still love Harold, you only came to me for my money!" Ethan said, pouring himself some wine .

"And you think i don't know you married me just to hurt Harold, what the hell did he do to you? I can still remember the bad things you made me do just to hurt him. I stole his most cherished treasure for you" Carrle said, feeling so bad.

"I compensated you for everything you did! It's not like you did those things for nothing. You collected millions of dollars Carrle"

"Well...i did, i needed to boost my business" Carrle claimed.

"It's fair, we did business and i paid you okay? Don't talk like you did it cause you loved me, i know you don't love me,you love my money more" Ethan said.

"If it was for money, i would have stuck to Harold,he's richer than you and you know it but he just act too cool, he act almost like a poor person, i needed someone who shows off his wealth,i needed that for my business." Carrle said.

"That's it! And you're still asking me why i hate him so much?" Ethan said, gritting his teeth.

"Ethan! You hate Harold just cause he's richer?"

"He's not only richer, almost everyone prefers him to me! It's just so annoying" Ethan said gulping the whole of the wine in the glass cup.

Carrle sighed. "Ethan, Harold is just someone who carries a special grace, people just love his personality. "

"And what's wrong with my own personality? He's a philanthropist and I'm one too, i try to do everything he does yet he receives more love!"

"Ethan, you won't always get everything you want. You should be glad you are wealthy enough. People don't have to like you" Carrle said.

"He's always getting the award for the richest man in San Francisco every year and I've never gotten any" Ethan said tightening his grip on the glass cup.

"That's because he's richer than you. Just accept that and move on. Stop hurting him please. It's enough" Carrle said.

"You will want to hurt him more if you were in my shoes"

"No! I'd rather step up my game. Work harder and try to bring the award i so much cherish home" Carrle said.

"Are you saying that to mock me? You know there's no how i try to work hard that I'd be richer than Harold. He's not only a billionaire. His parents are too!" Ethan said and Carrle nodded, knowing that was true .

"Can you please release your hold on that poor glass cup" Carrle said knowing the cup might break any moment from now.

His grip is too tight on it.

Ethan slowly released his grip,he dropped it on the table and faced Carrle.

"You still love Harold right?" He asked Carrle who folded in her lips and stared at him.

"Be sincere" Ethan urged.

"Maybe" Carrle answered.

"And you still want him back?" Ethan asked.

"Maybe" Carrle said but her heart screamed "yes!"

"I know your maybe means Yes Carrle. You still want Harold back and i can help you get him back" Ethan said.

"Really?"

"Yes but we will need to work together"

"I'm ready" Carrle said.

"According to Alex feedback, seems Harold is starting to like the new nanny" Ethan said.

"What!" Carrle panicked.

"Yes, the first night she resumed,she spent hours with Harold in his library"

"Really?" Carrle sat up on the bed.

"Yeah, he even made her dine in his personal dining room"

"What the fuck!" Carrle cursed.

She knew damn well that Harold doesn't allow any worker in his dining room except if he really likes the damn person!

Is the nanny more beautiful than she is?

"What's your plan?" Carrle asked.

"If he get to like her more, then you will stand no chance anymore, so what we're gonna do is to stop that from happening" Ethan said.

"How?" Carrle asked anxiously and Ethan smiled inwardly.

Carrle thought he only wants to help her get Harold back but he has his reasons too.

He's glad he now have her cooperation,it'll make things easier.

___🍂

Its past midnight and Harold tossed in his bed.

His eyes are wide opened,glued to the wall.

He couldn't sleep, thoughts of Helena couldn't let him sleep.

The fact that he couldn't get justice for her keeps hunting him.

Yeah...she has been dead for years now but he never stopped thinking about her.

She has died unjustly.

She had been murdered and he couldn't even do anything about it.

She's too good not to get justice but the detectives really tried their best for years and they couldn't even find a clue.

He remembered the agony she had gone through in her last minutes and tears filled his eyes.

Only if they hadn't taken her to the hospital a bit late.

She was poisoned in the night and she had struggled till morning just so she could see him for the last time.

By the time they found her, it was late and she died as soon as she was wheeled into the hospital.

His world shattered at that moment that his wife's delivery hadn't even excited until he saw the beautiful tiny baby girl and fell in love with her immediately.

He knew that Helena had come back to him but her death hurt him so much,even till this moment.

"Harold, do wear this whenever you go into my room,that way you'll feel my presence. " She had told him weakly on their way to the hospital and then handed him the necklace she cherished most in the world.

Her grandmother had given it to her mother,her mother had given it to her and it was to be passed that way but she gave it to Harold even when she had a child.

That made the necklace Harold's most cherished treasure, and even after her death, whenever he wore that necklace, he do feel her presence.

And then the necklace was stolen! Or was it misplaced, all he knew was that he was drunk that night and the next morning,he couldn't find it again. He had combed the entire building with his workers and he had cried when he realized it was gone.

Knowing that the only thing that connected him to Helena was gone, knowing Helena had trusted him enough to give him the necklace instead of her daughter, knowing he was so careless made him angry with himself for years.

Ivory was three when the necklace was stolen and till now, he's still angry at himself.

Out of rage, he had ordered everyone to stay away from the room.

He always feels so bad whenever he goes into her room without the necklace.

Her presence was suddenly lost without the necklace and he stopped going to her room.

He feels so bad until now and if there's anything he ever wish for, it's to find that necklace. He missed Helena presence.

He missed her so much.

Harold got up from his bed, wiping his eyes.

He rarely cry but the tears just flow whenever he remembers Helena.

She brought him up to be hardworking and business minded,to always help the poor and be humble.

"Hustle like you're the poorest man on Earth" She always told him and those words was what made him successful.

Helena always told him not to rely on his parents wealth and struggle to get his own.

Helena words made him a billionaire on his own even without his parents wealth.

She made him have a life of his own .

She was his backbone,his motivator,his best adviser and he'll forever remain thankful to her.

Harold adjusted his robe and slide his feet into his footwear ,he walked to the small balcony which was outside his bedroom.

He rested his hands on the rails and stared at the sky.

It's a beautiful midnight and the silence is quite overwhelming.

Harold wished Helena had met Ivory.

There would have been no need to even employ any nanny.

Helena had planned on how she would take care of Ivory,she had spent most of her time making tiny dresses for his unborn daughter.

"Bring her up like i brought you up" Helena had told him,like she knew she wasn't going to be there .

He had laughed and told her she'll be the one to bring Ivory up.

He wondered what Helena would think of Irene if she was here.

He had waited for her to show up in the library but she didn't appeared and the library was suddenly boring to him, he couldn't read, he ended up leaving the library.

Helena would have liked Irene, she loved responsible ladies and she hadn't been happy when he married Carrle, she and Carrle quarreled most of the time.

"Harold, you shouldn't trust that lady" She always told him.

"Helena, she's my wife and i love her" He would reply.

"I shouldn't have trusted her like you said Helena. She left me, with the kid" Harold said, another round of tears building up in his eyes.

He wished Helena was still alive, he wouldn't have been that broken when Carrle left.

He's so glad he has Nola, she was there for him.

Harold furrowed his brow when he thought he heard someone scream.

But he shrugged it off knowing everyone is asleep.

___🍂

"Something...i..s in m..y room" ivory said and the hairs at the back of Irene's neck stood.

"Wh..what is in your room?" She asked,her heart beating fast.

"A ghost." ivory bursted out in tears.

Irene suddenly remembered what Tom had told her.

Her body shook in fear and she screamed hugging Ivory very close to her.

She quickly put a halt to her scream, knowing it might wake the entire building.

Ivory sobbed quietly in her arms.

Irene calmed her down even if she herself was restless and damn scared.

"But what if it's not a ghost?" She thought.

"Wh.. how did it happen? How did you know it's a ghost?" She asked ivory.

"I..it was knocking at my window" Ivory sniffed.

"Really?" Irene asked and the little girl nodded.

"Did it call out your name?" Irene asked.

"It didn't, you're scaring me!" Ivory cried.

"Ohh...I'm sorry" Irene said.

"Come help me check it out, it was really knocking at my window. What if it's a lost puppy" ivory said.

"But you said it was a ghost!" Irene said.

"Maybe it is" Ivory said.

"And do you really mean what you said that i should come help you check it out?" Irene asked in fear.

"Yes" ivory said.

Irene breathed in and out starting to get really scared.

"Aren't you brave enough? Then come with me,let's go get my dad" Ivory said.

"I'll do it" Irene said not wanting to disturb him,he have to go to work in the morning and he'll be sleeping by now .

She slowly stood up from the bed and held ivory's hand tightly,they both walked to the adjoining door and Irene swallowed hard, trying not to make her fear obvious.

"Yeah, I'm brave" she said inwardly reassuring herself.

It took so long before she finally opened the door.

They stepped into Ivory's room and Irene's heartbeat almost lost control.

The room was dark and she tried to find the switch with shaky hands, she found it and tried to turn it on but it wasn't working.

She breathed in and tried again with a more stable hand.

The lights weren't coming on! And then she heard the knocking sound on the window..

Her heart jumped in her chest and her feet was rooted to the spot.

She couldn't move and she badly wanted to scream.

Ivory clung to her legs, crying.

The knock continued and Irene noticed it wasn't sounding like a human knock.

Her fear rose and she started crying too.

They were both stuck to the spot, none of them could move.

She was loosing her mind.

"Help" Irene screamed loudly.

"Help us please" Ivory screamed in tears.

Soon, they heard footsteps and the door to Ivory's room opened.

"What happened?" Harold asked rushing in.

"M..my window. A ghost is knocking" Ivory cried.

Harold was so alarmed to see Irene in tears too.

Is it that serious?

"A ghost?" He asked and they both nodded.

He moved to the window and truly heard a knocking sound, he sighed before pulling the curtain.

Ivory and Irene screamed, clinging to each other like their lives depended on it and Harold suddenly started laughing hard..

No ghost was knocking.

It's the midnight breeze making the tree branch hit the window.