Holding of secrets

The call

Alex woke up on Wednesday morning, happy and energetic. 

He was about to start his morning devotion when his phone rang all of a sudden. 

He picked up his phone from a small desk close to his bed to check the caller ID. 

PRIVATE NUMBER 

He neglected the call and continued with his prayer instead. Unfortunately, all his attention was on his phone as it was continuously vibrating.

“Who the hell is this person calling my number at this early hours of the morning!” Alex says loudly with furrowed eyebrows before he finally decides to pick up the call. 

“Hello !” He says, then he pauses for a while before he finally continues “Who are you? Who the hell are you calling my number at this early hours of the morning ?” He said, angry. 

“I'm very sorry for disturbing you. Just a few seconds, I need your time,” the stranger said to him calmly. 

“How can I help you ?” 

“I’m calling you from Huston University of Science and Technology from your department of chemical engineering faculty,” The stranger said and paused for a while before she continued “Are you Alex Meyer?” She asked. 

“Yes, I am” Alex replied calmly as he noticed the caller was from the University of Houston where he was schooling. And he didn't know the exact reason that made her call him at this early hour in the room. 

He has been at Houston University of Science and Technology for the past five years. Next, tomorrow was his final exam and his project submission. 

Since he was at Houston University, no one has ever called him directly from the university board before. 

He has just some days left to stay at university and he will become a graduate. Now someone from the school called him all of a sudden. 

“I'm here to inform you that we have not received your tuition f*e for this semester and last semester without payment. You cannot write your final year exam-you only have twenty-four hours left. After twenty-four hours, you will be expelled from university!” she said.

Before Alex could say a word she had already hung up the call from her end. 

“What the hell did I just hear right now !” 

“They haven't paid my school for two academy sections. How? What exactly happened to Mrs. Loveth? How did they expect me to graduate without paying my school f*e”, he said to himself, with a bit of emotion showing in his voice as he spoke.

“I have nothing to do right now than to go to Mrs. Loveth's house and ask her the reason why she hasn't paid my tuition for the last two semesters!” 

Loveth was her stepmother who got married to her father after the death of his mother in a plane crash on her way to a business summit in California. Two years later, his father also died at the age of sixty-five as a result of stroke and diabetes which he had been battling with six months after the death of his wife, Mrs. Meyer, who was Alex's mother. 

His father is a billionaire who owns many businesses. He is one of the richest men in Houston city. He owns two luxurious nine-star hotels in California and four major real estate emperors in Houston City. A petroleum refinery and a consulting firm in Los Angeles. 

He had different luxury cars, including Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, Maybach Benz, Ferrari and exotic cars with two private jets before he died. 

Before the death of his father, Alex was studying chemical engineering at the best engineering center in the world, Maschrysthy University of Science and Technology in the United Kingdom. 

After the death of his father, he was informed by his father's friend who was the Head of his department at the same university, to drop out of school and move back to Huston to continue his education, since his father had died, and he continued to afford the tuition and other expenses no longer. 

When he arrived back in Houston City, Mrs. Loveth promised to feed him, and even send him to one of the best private universities in Houston City for science and technology, but instead, she tricked him in order to her converting all his father's assets into her own and enjoyed a good life with her two daughters, Sofia and Lena. 

Since his father died he has been in a constant struggle. He moved from a guy who lives in a luxurious estate, who arrived with two different cars and security personnel to a guy who now lives in a mini Duplex in a local area. He works a different menial job just to suffer from Mrs. Loveth had sent him out of his father's house. 

Alex continuously stays in his hand after he gets a surprise call from a lady who called him from Houston University, which came as a surprise to him. 

He didn't expect this to happen to him two days before his final year's exam. 

“All the promises Mr. Loveth made in front of the Barrister. Dean and other families are all lies!” 

“I have nothing to do then than to meet her and ask her the reason why she hasn't paid tuition fees for the last two semesters!” He said angrily with his fist clenched as he stood up from his bed and moved out of his house straight to Mrs. Loveth's house. 

Mrs. Loveth's house is four kilometers away from where Alex stays. Immediately, he left his house and searched through his pocket to see if maybe he had some money with him so that he could order an Uber or take a cab straight to Mrs. Loveth's house. 

Unfortunately, as he searched through his pocket, all he could find was a piece of paper which was a receipt given to him at the supermarket last night. 

Then, he decides to trek to the estate since he has no money with him. 

Fifty minutes later, he finally arrived at the king's villa where Mrs. Loveth and her two daughters were staying. This estate was the same estate Alex had stayed on two years before the death of his mother. But after the death of his mother, he was sent out of the house when his father was in the hospital. 

“Who are you looking for ? Who gave you permission to enter here ?” Sofie asked him multiple questions immediately she saw him in their sitting room. 

“I'm looking for Mrs. Loveth” Alex said to her politely. 

“What business do you have with my mother ?, You this little trash haven't, She warned you not to come to this house again”, Sofie roared. 

“I received a call this morning from Houston university that Mrs. Loveth hasn't paid for my school for two semesters!” Alex replied to her. 

“And so what ?, Was it her business to pay your tuition f*e ?” Sofie asked with a disdainful look on her face.

“Yes !, What else do you expect to pay my school if she doesn't?" After all, it wasn't her money she was using to pay my school tuition. The money belonged to both my parents before they died.” 

“Wait a minute ? What did you just say ? You must be stupid to say that to my mother !” Sofie was puzzled and stepped forward disdainfully and slapped Alex immediately across his face.  

She left a red mark on Alex’s face, but he had nothing to do, and he had no right to slap her back. All he needs right now is to see Mrs. Loveth and collect his tuition f*e and leave .

“How dare you slap me ?” 

“Yes !I slapped you, do you your worst if you don't end up in prison for this little trash !” Sofie said as she used her finger to push him back angrily. 

“I don't want to have a problem with you. All I want is my tuition f*e for the last two semesters and I will leave!” Daniel said to her with a broken voice as tears were about to roll down from his face. He used his left hand to clean it up immediately. He didn't want Sofie to know he was crying because of the slap, because if she knew, she would mock him bitterly and use that opportunity to boost her ego.

“Are……” Alex was about to say a word when Mrs. Loveth came out of her room with her second daughter Laila and interrupted him. 

“What invited you to my house ? Who the hell are you doing here at this early in the morning in my house? Haven't I warned you not to come closer to where I am again ?, Since you don't want to listen to simple instructions. I know what to do. I will call my boss to come and insert some sense into your head if you don't leave my house right!” Mrs. Loveth roared.

“Why haven't you paid my tuition f*e for the last two semesters?” Alex said to her disrespectfully.

“Do you know who you are talking to ?,” Mrs. Robert said, then she continued “I promise you I will pay your tuition f*e before, but right now. But when I think about it, I think you don't want to serve it!”

Laila buried forward and said “Last week was my mom's  fifty-fifth year's birthday. Other family members came to the party with a luxurious and expensive gift to celebrate her birthday. Linus, who was Sofie's boyfriend, bought my mother a new luxurious car worth three hundred and fifty million dollars as her birthday gift. Julius and Kenny with their friends gave my mom cash of five hundred thousand dollars. Even Daniel, who is just a twenty- two-year-old boy, was here to celebrate my mother's birthday and surprised her with a new BMW car worth seven million dollars. But you are here today thinking maybe you came to celebrate her birthday and surprise her with a gift, but instead you came here just to act like a beggar who always looks, always looking for where to steal from. Idiot ?Don't you have shame ?” Sofie snorted loudly. 

“Are you here to celebrate my birthday or to waste my time asking why I haven't paid your tuition f*e ?” Mrs. Loveth asked, but before Alex could talk Laila replied instead “Mom, This little trash cannot f*ed himself three times, in a day. Where do you expect him to get a thousand bucks to get you a gift ?” Laila said mockingly.

“I can't afford to get her a birthday gift, But with all the gifts she received from friends and family she still can't afford to pay for my school!” Daniel said angrily with furrowed eyebrows. 

“You this ungrateful human being! Why am I here to exchange words with you? What good is better if you do than being a loser? In ten seconds, I want this loser to be kicked out of my house ! You are not allowed to enter my company and I don't want to see your face again !” A dark stormy cloud instantly hovered beneath Mrs. Loveth's eyes. 

Alex stared at Mrs. Loveth and her two daughters, shocked. He didn't expect to hear such a harsh word from them. 

As Laila was about to say another word, he immediately composed himself from the trance and left immediately. 

Both Mrs. Loveth and her two daughters laughed behind him as he was leaving.

“Young man,I know as you are coming you cannot afford to order a bolt or an Uber. Will you go on the street and beg people for money so that you can pay your tuition? If you do so, you tarnish the image of the Meyer family ! Do this three hundred dollars with you, So that you can order an Uber or bolt back to your house !”

Sofie took out a three hundred dollar note from her handbag and squeezed it inside Alex's pocket. 

Both Mrs. Loveth and Laila laughed loudly as they saw what Laila had just done. 

Alex looked back at Mrs. Loveth, and her two daughters, in annoyance, with his fists clenched and grit his teeth and left the house looking back.