a ni-ght w!th him đ·đ
đ Chapter 38
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Harold and Irene rushed into Doc Fernâs hospital and was led into his office by the two nurses.
âWhere are they?â Harold asked,not seeing the specialists they c@mÂŁ them for.
âThey are cleaning up, theyâll be out soonâ one of the nurses said before walking out.
âNola was right when she said we donât know what might have gone wrong with themâ Harold said.
âYeahâ Irene nodded, still startled by the fact that the specialists were kidnapped.
Another ro-mantic, action, thri-ller or family stories @:- Pizarena.com
âHiiâ They heard,and turned to see two ladies walking out of Doc Fernâs personal restroom.
Irene never thought the specialists would be ladies and they look so beautiful,she rarely see Indians.
âIâm Sunilâ
âIâm Shreedahâ The ladies stretched out the hands and Harold and Irene gladly took it.
âWeâre so sorry about what happened to you bothâ Irene said and Harold nodded in affirmative.
âOhh..my. Arenât you Harold Marshall?â The lady called Sunil asked and Harold nodded.
âCan i hvg you?â Sunil asked expectantly.
âYeahâ Harold smiled and Sunil pu-ll-ed him into a hvg.
Shreedah smiled and took a seat.
She was tired from the stress and all,they never thought theyâd have this experience on their first day in San Francisco.
They had been looking so forward to the surgeries not until they were wayla-id and kidnapped. Her ears still hurt from the sl@ps she had received.
âI like you so much, youâre one of the few billionaires that as-sists people in every way they can ,if i had known it was your mother we were coming to perform surgery on,i would have fought those kidnappers with all my strengthâ Sunil said and Harold laughed.
Their English was obviously different from theirs, theirs sounded funny to the ears.
âSoâŠhow did it all.. happened?â Irene asked curiously.
âWe were just few minutes away from this hospital when a car crossed ours and took over the wheels,we were blindfolded throu-ghout the journey and even when we got to wherever they took us to,we only heard voices without even seeing anyoneâ Shreedah said.
âWow!â Harold exclaimed.
âShreedah was sl@pped severally cause she refused to cooperateâ Sunil said.
âOhh..my no wonder her cheeks looks so red. Sorry Shreedahâ Irene said.
âSorry Shreedahâ Harold said.
âThank youâ Shreedah said.
âWe should involve the copsâ Harold said.
âNo!â They both exclaimed, startling Harold and Irene.
âWhy? We should involve the copsâ Irene said.
âThey threatened to come after us if we do. They know i have a child and they threatened to kill her if we ever go to the cops.â Shreedah blinked ra-pidly.
âOhhhâ Irene and Harold sighed.
â Moreover,they didnât hurt us.â Sunil said,still being clingy to Harold and Irene doesnât know why it upsets her so much.
âDo you probably know the reason you both were kidnapped or could it be mistaken identity?â Harold asked.
âI donât think soâŠi remembered what they said when Shreedah said we have a life to saveâ Sunil said.
âWhat did they say?â Irene asked curiously.
âThey saidâŠwe were kidnapped because of the life we want to saveâŠâ Shreedah answered.
âWhat!!â Harold and Irene exclaimed.
âAnd sheâll be confirmed dead before weâre re-leased.â Sunil said and Irene felt sick to the stomach.
âI guess they re-leased us after knowing the woman had been flown to Indiaâ Shreedah said.
âI..m..my mum, they were after my mumâ Irene said shockingly..
âOhh..sheâs your mum?â Sunil said,kind of disappointed.
âYeahâ Harold said and turned to Irene.
âW.. why?â Irene frowned.
âWhy would anyone want my mum dead?â She added.
âWow..â Sunil sighed.
âJust chill, weâll get back to it. Letâs get Sunil and Shreedah to the h0tel,so they can rest and leave by tomorrow morningâ Harold said.
âOkayâ Irene said, de-eply worried.
âI.. donât think weâll be safe at the h0tel. Your house would be betterâ Sunil smiled,hand brushing her long silky hair.
âNo, i donât really allow people in my house. Youâll be fine at the h0tel. Itâs my h0tel actually and youâll have b©dyguards surrounding the whole placeâ Harold said.
âOhh⊠thatâs fine thenâ Sunil said, slightly embarras-sed and Irene would have laughed if not because of the situation.
âWeâre so sorry about everything. You guys wouldnât have gotten into this mess if we hadnât asked you to come overâŠâ Harold said.
âNo, thatâs our job. To save lives, youâre not to blame for itâ Sunil said.
âCan we move to the h0tel plea-se, my b©dyâŠis aching and Iâll really like to eatâ Shreedah said.
âOf course, i messaged the chauffeur alre-ady,he would be here soonâ Harold said.
âits
getting darkâ Irene thought after peering out of the window..
âwill Damien be fine?â she thought worriedly.
He must be feeling so lonely,she wish she can just go be with him till their mum is back but she canât leave her work,she know Harold will definitely allow her go but she canât take advantage of that, itâs not so fair.
Damien would be fineâŠ
âHey, whatâs wrong?â Harold asked Irene, moving beside her..
âNothingâŠâ She let out a small smile.
âCâmon, i can tell youâre very worried about something and i un-derstand cause thereâs so much going on at the moment but just know and believe everything will be fine okay?â Harold as-sured and Irene nodded.
âThank youâ She said.
âOkay so, donât you think we should take legal actions,itâs so obvious those kidnappers wanted your mum dead! Iâm pretty sure thatâs what youâre so bothered aboutâ Harold said.
âNo, i was thinking about Damien actually. And yeah, knowing there is someone out there who wants my mum dead is enough to worry about but right now Iâm just so worried about mumâs health more than anything.â Irene said.
âOf course,you should be. We all are. But donât you think we should involve the cops now so they wonât come after her when sheâs fully wellâ
âInvolving the cops will worsÂŁn the situation Harold, Iâll make sure i get a new ap@rtment for mum and Damien if she survivesâ
âIrene, getting a new ap@rtment for her doesnât st©p the bad guys from coming after herâ Harold said.
âI know but she nee-ds to survive first and we have to consider Shreedahâs daughterâ Irene said.
Haroldâs
phone beeped and he stared at the screen.
âThe chauffeur is hereâ He said to Sunil and Shreedah who were discussing.
âOhh.. okayâ they both picked their bags.
They all walked out of Doc Fernâs office.
âIrene, getting a new ap@rtment for her doesnât st©p the bad guys from coming after herâ Haroldâs words rang in her ears as the walked.
Why does she feel itâs because of her they want her mum dead and why is her mind pointing at Ethan Weston ?
She blew out a breath and watched Harold talked to the chauffeur, Sunil and Shreedah had gotten into the car alre-ady with two b©dyguards with them.
Irene was irritated with how Sunil kept tou-ching Harold..
What a clingy thing!
Harold waved them bye and watched the car drive off before joining Irene.
He let out a breathâŠ
Irene opened the limo door and got in, Harold got in after her and ordered his driver to start driving.
âYou upset about something?â Harold asked, noticing the frown on her face.
âUh?..nothingâ She said.
âDont freaking tell me this is jealousy Irene!â her mind scolded her.
***
âWeâve been waiting for agesâ Ivory complained as Harold and Irene walked into the dining room.
She and Nola have been waiting for them before having their dinner.
âWeâre sorryâ Irene smiled.
âFor ages? Take it easy with the exaggeration Vâ Harold said and they laughed.
âYou both should go wash your hands first before joining us hereâ ivory said.
âOf course we willâ Harold said.
âHowâs your mum Irene?â Nola asked.
âThe surgeryâs still ongoing,we havenât heard anything yetâ Irene said.
âIâm going to pray to God to make her survive because she made me a sweater i love so muchâ Ivory said and Irene smiled.
âYou donât have to re-ad me be-dtime stories tonight,you must be so tired from the stress youâve gone throu-gh todayâ She added.
âWowâŠâ Irene laughed.
âThanks ivoryâ She said.
âGo
wash your hands letâs eat plea-seâ Nola said.
âOh..my World best chef is starving seriouslyâ Harold joked and they all laughed.
___đ
âGood night Ivoryâ Irene pe-cked her cheek.
âGoodnight Ireneâ Ivory said sleepily.
Irene gently left the room and walked towards the stairs.
Harold had told her to come to the living once sheâs done with ivory.
She descended the stairs slowly.
Her gaze met with Alexâs who was standing by the end of the stairs.
She wasnât in the mood to return his glare,she just walked on.
She got to the living room and instead of meeting Harold,she met Damien.
âWhat!â She exclaimed, walking to him.
âWhatâs wrong? What are you doing here?â She asked.
âI sÂŁnt a driver to go pick himâ Harold said walking into the living.
Irene turned.
âCause starting from now, heâll be staying here till your mumâs returnâ
âHuh?â
âYeahâ Damien grinned.
đ·đa ni-ght w!th him đ·đ
Chapter 39đ
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âCause starting from now, heâll be staying here till your mumâs returnâ
âHuh?â
âYeahâ Damien grinned.
âI know youâre so worried about him being alone in the house, itâs not safeâ Harold said.
âYeah, thank youâŠthank you so muchâ Irene said.
She feels so relieved, now she wonât have to worry anymore about Damien cause sheâll be seeing him everyday!
She glanced at her brother who was grinning happily and she smiled too.
âThank you Mr Harold, Iâm so gratefulâ Damien said.
âItâs fine, boy! Have you had dinner?â Harold asked.
âYesâ
âOkay, Marie will show you to your roomâ Harold said and it was then Damien and Irene noticed Marie was in the living room.
âWe can share my roomâ Irene said.
âNo, i alre-ady made them prepare his room,there are enough rooms hereâ Harold said.
âOhh..okayâ Irene said.
âDo not cause any trouble here and just shower and go to be-d immediately you get to your room. Weâll talk tomorrowâ Irene said to Damien as he followed Marie.
âOkay sisâ He win-ked and pla-yfully dragged her cheeks.
She smiled and watched him leave.
âGeez! His luggage made it seem like heâll be spending years hereâ Irene said and Harold laughed.
âThank you so muchâ She said to him again.
âArrrghâ He gro-an edâŠâEnough of that Ireneâ
âNo, allow me thank you. Thatâs the only way that shows how grateful i amâ
âOkay fineâŠIâm going to the libr@ry,care to join me?â Harold asked.
âI donât mind, i wonât be able to get any sleep if i should return to my room nowâ Irene said.
___đđ
âNoâ Harold said when Irene picked a novel to re-ad.
They just finished litting the fireplace.
âWhat?â Irene asked.
âLetâs not re-ad, letâs just discussâ He said.
âOhhâŠfine thenâ Irene dropped the novel.
They both sat in front of the fireplace, no one spoke up.
âHey! Arenât you the one supposed to speak up. You wanted to discuss!â Irene said inwardly.
âIâm sure Nola would have told you not to enter the room beside the poolâ Harold broke the silence.
âOhh..yes! She did when she was showing me around the house and i wondered what was in thereâ
âNothing is in there,itâs just a normal room that belonged to Helena,who was my godmotherâŠcare to listen to some stories?â Harold asked.
âOf courseâ Irene said eagerly.
âOkayâŠi loved Helena so much. She t©pped the list of people who helped me become successful,her words and advises groomed me into the man i am today. She told me not to depend on my parents wealth but work ha-rd for mine, âHustle like youâre poorest man on Earthâ She always told me,our bond was unbreakable and a lot of people do mistake her for my motherâ
âWowâ Irene smiled.
âYou should know my parents are billionaires and they were re-ady to spoil me but Helena prevented that. She was nolaâs close friend and they do stay in the kitchen together. I should tell you this,the reason Nola never want to leave the kitchen is because thatâs where most of her memories with Helena are. Itâs been years now but none of us have gotten over her deathâ
âIâm so sorry about thatâ Irene said sadly.
âShe died of food poisoning,she was poisoned right in this house and till d@tÂŁ, the culprit have not been apprehended. Detectives tried all they could but they couldnât fish out the person, investigations went on for years until they finally washed their hands off the case.
She died on the same day my daughter arrived the world. She didnât get to see Ivory whom she had prepared so much to meetâ Harold said.
Irene took his palm in hers, seeing how ha-rd he was restraining his tears.
She wanted to cry too.
She didnât say anything and allowed him go on.
âI was more sad than happy but the belief that Helena c@mÂŁ back to me throu-gh Ivory consoled me a bit. âBring her up like i brou-ght you upâ She had told me,like she knew she wasnât going to be there .
She was poisoned in the night and she had struggled till morning just so she could see me for the last time.
By the time we found her, it was late and she died as soon as she was wheeled into the hospital. My world shattered at that momentâ Harold finally let out his tears.
Irene felt her throat ti-ght£ñ, she know sheâs gonna start crying any moment from now knowing how it feels to lose someone so dear and close to you.
âAnd do you know my worst regret?â Harold asked.
âWhat?â Irene asked, blinking ha-rd to st©p her tears.
âFew minutes before her death..she gave me the nÂŁÂąklace 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 pas-sed that way but she gave it to me even when she had a daughter and i fu-cking misplaced it! I was so careless!â Harold said, and Irene wiped his tears with her palm.
She ru-bbe-d his back and had to resist the urge of hvgging him ti-ghtly.
She badly want to, she had never seen him this way and she felt the nee-d to protect and console him.
â -Harold, do wear this whenever you go into my room,that way youâll feel my presÂŁnce- She had told me and Indeed,after her death,i do feel her presÂŁnce whenever i wear the nÂŁÂąklace, i cherished it so much until one night, i got drun!k,i rarely get drun!k. I wonder how it happened. Then the next morning,Iâm sure it was stolen cause i had searched every nooks and crannies in this house but couldnât find it â
âWho was with you when you got drun!k?â Irene asked.
âCarrleâ Harold said.
âOhhâ
âShe and Helena never got along and she had denied taking the nÂŁÂąklace and it was after she got married to Ethan that she told me to my face that she took it. â
âWhat! What did you do?â Irene asked.
âNothing, i couldnât do anything cause there was not enough evidence to back it up. Helena warned me about her, she warned me not to trust Carrle but i never listened, if only i had knownâ Harold said.
âDamn!â Irene shook her head slowly.
âAnd knowing the only thing that kind of connected me to Helena was gone, knowing i was so careless with what Helena cherished most made me so angry and i ordered everyone to stay away from her room.
I do feel bad when i go into her room without her n£¹klace,i realised i do not feel her pres£nce anymore without the n£¹klace so i st©pped going into her room.
If thereâs anything i ever wish for,itâs for me to get the nÂŁÂąklace back. I miss Helena so muchâ Harold smiled sadly.
Irene sighed â What a sad story, Now i un-derstand the reason no one is allowed into that roomâ
âYeah,i wonder what Helena would think of you if she had met youâ Harold said and Irene smiled.
âIâm planning on visiting her room soon,will you come with me?â Harold asked.
âOf course,just tell me whenever you want toâ Irene said.
âOkay, i feel so embarras-sed to have cried in front of youâ Harold said.
âComâon, Iâm glad you trusted me enough to tell me this, thank youâ
âI feel relieved, i feel free letting out what has been bottled inside me for yearsâ
âCome hereâ Irene stretched opened her arms for a hvg and Harold happily hvgged her.
đđ
âGood morning Ivoryâ Irene said walking into ivoryâs room throu-gh the adjoining door,she just finished bathing and dressing up.
She wondered where ivory was when she couldnât find her on the be-d and the shower wasnât running eitherâŠ
She might be pooping.
She opened ivoryâs wardrobe and started selecting her school wears.
She had gone to see Damien alre-ady,he was getting re-ady for school and he was so excited when Harold told him heâll be getting dropped in school every morning and heâll be picked up too.
The door opened and she thought it was Harold that walked in,but it was Ivory. She entered the room grinning.
âI thought you were in the bathroom and when i didnât heard the shower running,i decided you were poopingâ Irene said.
âPooping? Noâ Ivory rolled her eyes.
âYou donât poop?â Irene tea-sed.
âI do butâŠarrrgh,st©p this poop talk alre-ady. Itâs embarras-singâ ivory said and Irene laughed.
âSo where did you go to?â She asked.
âDad took me to see Damienâ
âHuh?â
âYesâ Ivory grinned.
âIâm so glad heâll be with us for a while,he said heâll be helping me with my homework especially arithmeticsâ Ivory giggled and Irene smiled.
âWellâŠletâs get you re-ady for schoolâ
âArenât you guys eating?â Harold asked when he noticed Irene and Damien were not sitting with them for breakfast.
âWeâll eat inâŠthe kitchenâ Irene said.
âYeahâ Damien said.
âWhat? Why?â Harold asked.
âHuh.. Irene said itâs your pri-vate dining roomâ Damien said.
âIrene comâon!â Harold said.
âI..we wonât like us to overcrowd the dining roomâ Irene said.
âOvercrowd? Youâre just two!â Nola said.
âTruly,this is my pri-vate dining room but i donât mind Damien eating with us, have your seats and letâs eatâ Harold said.
âThank youâ Irene and Damien said and Harold gro-an ed.
___đ
đ Irene, i totally forgot Carrle will be coming to check on Ivory today. plea-se wherever she wants to take Ivory to,make sure you go with her okay?
đ Okay Harold.
đDress her up nicely, Carrle can be so⊠nevermind. Just take care.
đ Alright, bye.
***đ
âCarrle is here, i nee-d to go. You should continue with the dressâ Irene said to Damien who nodded.
Heâs back from school and they were both in her workshop, talking and working.
Damien had been so happy so see the workshop,he loved it and wouldnât st©p talking about how good Harold is.
âOkay Irene, donât be longâ Damien said,he was enjoying his time here andâŠhe had seen several maids eye him.
This is gonna be fun..
âAre you crazy? What do you mean youâre coming with us?â Carrle asked, irritated with Ireneâs sight.
âIâm her nanny and i was ordered to do so by my employerâ Irene said.
âNot in my car!â Carrle said.
âThatâs fine,Iâll go in another carâ Irene said and if looks could kill,she would have died by Carrleâs glares.
âMum, i want Irene to come with us plea-seâ Ivory said.
Carrle had changed ivoryâs dress to a more beautiful pink go-wn and glittery white shoes,her hair was packed in pigtails with pink hair band.
Ivory looked so uncomfortable and Irene was almost f0rç£d to tell Carrle.
âBaby girl, weâll be going to an ice cream parlor!â Carrle said to Ivory who didnât seem excited.
âWellâŠthe car youâll be coming with should be trailing behind ours.â Carrle scoffed at Irene.
âAnd is this how youâll be dressed, youâll be coming with me dressed that way?â Carrle asked, pretending to almost throw up.
The b©dyguards and maids with her laughed.
âHow do you want me to get dressed?â Irene questioned, refusing to be intimid@tÂŁd.
âGet into a ball go-wn with feathers because weâre going to an ice cream shop? You should better hurry, youâre allowed to spend just few hours with herâ Irene said and it took all Carrleâs might not to sl@p her in the face.
đŠđŠđŠ
âHere baby girl,have your ice creamâ Carrle said to Ivory stretching a vanilla ice cream to her, Irene sighed inwardly, knowing ivory doesnât take vanilla flavor.
The Ice cream parlor is a big and expensive one and Carrleâs entrance had caused stirs.
Carrle is a public figure.
âI canât take thisâ Ivory said.
âWhy?â Carrle asked.
âI donât want thisâ Ivory said.
âShe doesnât take any other flavor asides strawberryâ Irene said.
âWill you shut up! And do never interfere in our business!â Carrle said, slamming the vanilla ice cream on Ireneâs face.
There were loud g@sp and the next thing Irene heard was c@mÂŁra cli-cks.
What!!
TbcâŠ
Carrle is really crazy!đ€Šđż