Bang.
Shocked would be an understatement when it came to how the medical practitioner felt as John barged into his office. For the first time in a long time, he saw a smile on John's face.'That's unusual!' He thought.John has never entered his office with a smile, it was either he comes begging for the treatment to be done and he pays later, or he becomes an employee in the hospital so his labor could pay for her bills but not this time. The man in his presence was damn happy."I… I have the money, please commence the treatment."Again, another surprise from John. The doctor knew the amount of money that was involved, there was no way John would have raised such an amount of money.No… no way, it wasn't possible, not even a lottery would give him such an amount of money within a short time. Curiosity took over, shocked and eager, the doctor took off his eyeglasses. "You mean £11,000?" He asked, giving John an intense and suspicious look but John cared less. His mother's life was in danger, he didn't have that luxury for chit-chat."Yes, didn't your finance department ask for £11,000 for her surgery? You have to come with us so we can do the basic requirements and documentation."Speechless, the doctor let out a cough. There was nothing to say. This was god damn outright good news. If he said he had the money, then he saw no reason for not collecting the money and doing the needful.The doctor got off his seat in an instant after those words. He gestured that John came after him. He led John to the hospital's finance department and just like the doctor, they were all surprised to hear the news.Somehow, this hungry-looking, pale but surprisingly handsome man managed to pull this off. If they hadn't transferred the money themselves from John's account to the hospital's, they wouldn't have believed."When does the treatment start?" John asked, not willing to hide how impatient he was."We will have to call our specialist, the treatment will commence as soon as all parties are in agreement."Though he was not satisfied with what he heard, John had to settle for it.The doctor gestured for John to follow him back to his office but that mission was greatly cut short by the presence that stood right in front of the doctor's office.John cursed, he knew that he would have to set his eyes on the one man he despised but didn't expect it to be this soon."So John, I didn't realize you would be so desperate to the extent of signing a contract with me. I hope you know what that means."Of course, he knew, he was no fool… maybe he was. He should have read the contract before signing but there was no way he would regret it now. His mother's treatment has been paid for and that was all that mattered, nothing else.Just before the doctor could say anything, a group of well-built men surrounded him and he understood the situation in an instant which made him cooperate by leaving the scene.Amid the noise that reigned in the hospital hallways, John felt like he had been pulled into a void where it was only he and his father that existed."Thanks to you, you couldn't just let my life flow easily. Don't think I didn't realize you were the one that made me result into a man with no name." John uttered as he extended the distance between him and his father.Mr. Sebastian let out a sigh and chose to ignore his son's words. "Son, so we finally met after fifteen good years, don't you think I deserve something better than that?""Yeah." He muttered with full sarcasm which did not escape Mr. Sebastian's ears."Look, John, you left a perfectly good life for this? You… Do you love wearing rags? Staying in a detached house? Feeding from hand to mouth? Just what is wrong with you? If I didn't know better, I would have guessed that you like suffering."Giving his father a hurtful gaze, John couldn't comprehend his father's words. He hated the fact that his father was playing the victim. This was the same man that was so blinded by the desire he had for his second wife that he failed to realize that John's real mother was killed by his second wife."It was much better than staying with you. I got to find a woman that treated me just like my mother would. She was the damn reason I chose to crawl back to you."Mr. Sebastian could only sigh. He had no time for an exchange of words. John had signed the contract and that was all that mattered."But I will honor my words. I will become your heir, at least for mother's sake. I can't let any woman reap her sweat." John trailed off while trying to avoid eye contact with his father.A smile reigned on Mr. Sebastian's face. That was all he wanted to hear. "You are to start living in the mansion immediately." He said, exposing his thirty-two sets of teeth into view.John's forehead creased. He saw this coming, his father was and will never be a patient man. "Okay, I need to see my moth–""She is not your mother, Jonathan Sebastian. She can never be. Don't call her your mother. My late wife, your mother is dead, no one would ever replace her."What followed next was the gnashed sounds of John's teeth. Why was his father acting like this? His father was never the person that would talk so passionately about his mother. From what he had seen in the past, his father never loved his mother– probably the reason why he took a second wife.John decided to remain mute. It would be such a waste to give a response to his father."Anyways, you know that you have to leave her side, right? She will be in harm's way if you keep her by your side." Mr. Sebastian continued.John sighed, of course, he knew that, which was why he needed to say his goodbye. "I am going to her anyway before I follow your ass anywhere." He said."Then, I will come with you. I want to see this woman that made you so desperate."He wished to say no but he couldn't. Maybe it was better that his father sees the woman that took care of him and gave him everything that he could ever ask for, no matter how little it may seem."Sure, come see her," John uttered with full sarcasm.With no words left to say, John led his father to his foster mother's ward which was a few meters away from the doctor's office. There, the old butler was still available, clearly waiting for John's and his master's arrival."Butler Chad, you may leave now. My son will move into the mansion today, make preparations for that." With those words, the butler gave a slight nod and left.A wave of silence followed suit as Mr. Sebastian stared at the sickly woman on the bed. It was worse than he imagined. At that point, he asked himself, how could his son settle for something less? Everything about John's foster mother irritated him, her skinny face, her pale body, her financial status– they all gave him some sort of irritable feeling. How could
It was all too much for John to handle. No! This cannot be, he had expected his stepmother to have a kid as her child due to the year she got married to his father but here she was, holding a man's hands like he meant the world to her– a man that for some reason stared at John like he was the only thing that should be hated.John had somewhat expected this. There was no way his step-family would welcome him with open arms and neither was he planning to do the same but there was nothing they could do about his arrival.He was there to stay. There was no going back. He was there to stop whatever plans they had for the legacy his parents built. "Why bring him back? He is of no use here, James. You have Luke to take over your legacy in the newest future. This was not part of the deal." At that moment, John felt some sort of self-achieved feeling. Although he wasn't so pleased to come back to his father, now, his mind was made up on setting his gaze on this gold digger… this money sucker
Dressed into the fine young man that he had always pictured himself as, John was made to think of how his life was going to play out from that moment. He sighed a deal with the devil, now he would have to dance to the devil's tune. Right when the butler was putting on the finishing touches, M.. Sebastian walked into John's room but wait… with a mask? John's face suddenly went into a frown. He understood that whatever his father had planned wouldn't be a nice one that he would be comfortable with. But at the same time, he also acknowledged the fact that this was all done in his favor. Anything this father was doing now, it was all done to preserve their family's treasures."What's that in your hand?" John asked while secretly praying that his reasoning was wrong. "You heard the last time, it's gonna be a masked gathering. With our kind of business, we should be careful especially when it comes to exposing our faces to the public. That's why I deliberately called for a masked gatheri
'What the heck?' John exclaimed inwardly.Without wasting a second, John turned to confirm his suspicions. He cursed again. This can't be, how was it possible? What connection did she have with his father? Can she recognize him? Who was this man she was holding so tightly? The question kept coming but there was only one way they could be answered- he needed to comfort her.Even with that mask on her face, he found it so easy to recognize her.He remained mute, waiting for her to make the first initiative. He wanted her to recognize him. He wanted her to say something that would make him know that indeed, she recognized him.Damn, she even had a smile on her face."Good day sir, I am Mrs. Grey." "Sir?" He muttered without realizing that his voice was loud enough for both his mother-in-law and the man beside her to hear. "And I am Mr. Kendrick, one of your father's business associates." Again, John was shocked. Of course, with an immediate effect, he recognized who the fuck this man
"What's wrong with me, why am I not fit for this job?" John grunted, wanting to hit his boss' office table in frustration. He placed his left hand on the side of his hip while he used his other hand to massage his temple. There was no way this could happen to him, at least not now that he was desperately in need of money. His eyes flickered as he stared at his boss, he had shown nothing but loyalty and dedication, even as a personal assistant, then why should this befall him? John frowned and turned his gaze over to his close associate, Alex, who was ready to defend him and then, he turned his gaze back to his boss. "Mr. Balowe, what about those things that you said about my hard work, are you going to throw all that away?"Mr. Balowe sighed. He wished to tell John why he was getting fired but he just couldn't. He was scared, scared of the consequences that would follow suit. All he needed to do was to fire John and be free from the threats that had been directed at his company."
"How dare you ask me to do that to Beatrice, is she in support of this?" John yelled, gazing down at the woman who had deemed it necessary that he left his wife.Immediately he yelled those words, Mrs. Grey dipped her hand in her bag and brought out a sheet but one look at it and the way she had handled it, one would easily know that it contained something huge. Wordless, she threw the paper at John like the miserable man she had always seen him to be. With the anticipation that it was something that could solve his problem, he desperately studied the content of the paper, which the next moment, made his eyes momentarily go wide open. "You made me spend the last penny on me, the money I could have used on my mother to come to see you at this goddamn restaurant. I was hoping that you had changed your mind to help me, but instead, you chose to ridicule me?!" He paused as he gave his mother-in-law a disappointing look but she cared less, all she wanted was for him to sign the f*cking
With no money left with him, John had to run a great distance to the only well-renowned hospital in the city without care of the prying eyes and whispers that roamed the streets. As he stared at his mother, John didn't realize the tears that had threatened to fall from his eyes. This was not how he had planned his life to turn out. He was on the brink of divorce with his wife who had told him to his face that he was a wretched man. To add to his already existing misfortune, he was also on the brink of losing the one woman that really cared for him genuinely.His mother just had a few days if the necessary surgery was not conducted on her but things didn't go smoothly. Whenever there was anything surgery, there was also something called bills which needed money, and this was something that he didn't have. His gaze traveled to her body. The hospital gown that she had worn did some justice to her by covering her skinny body but her arm was not fortunate enough to be unseen. Her feedin