CHAPTER 20

The driver quickly alighted and beckoned me to come out of the car, I had to bulge, not as if I had a choice. I walked briskly to Adrian's car accompanied by his bouncers and bodyguards. Why exactly didn't he just ask me to use the other cars in his convoy?

The backseat door was opened and I sat inside cautiously. I felt Adrian's gaze on me but I tried to avoid looking back at him.

“My home is just a stone's throw from here; I can walk down there”. I muttered.

“We are heading to the office; enough of this going home nonsense.” He replied firmly.

“You can't do this to me. I really need to visit home, it's very important”. I cried.

“Driver, move this car!” Adrian ordered ignoring my pleas.

I sank back into the car seat frustrated. Why was he just so difficult? My tear glands were alerted and so on tears began trickling down my face. Adrian kept a straight face all through and refused to have a change of heart.

Suddenly, our car pulled up again. When I sat up to find out what happened, we saw a roadblock with “men at work”.

“What the fuck is going on?”. Adrian yelled.

“Boss, I think a helicopter just crashed on that spot a few minutes ago. This should be the reason for that loud thud we heard earlier”. The driver replied.

“Is this not just too much for one day?” Adrian mumbled with a wave of frustration in his voice. I had never heard him sound like that before.

“Oh Lord, thank you for saving us. If ma'am Jenny's car didn't break down and cause a delay, maybe we would have been crushed by now”.

“Shut up you fool”. Adrian yelled.

The words of the driver actually touched me. I literally saved Adrian's life, but his ego wouldn't let him admit it. Well, I shoved it aside and focused on my predicament.

I looked outside the window and spotted my house a few poles away from where our car was parked. I didn't know what got into me but I just flew out of the car and ran towards my house. I could hear Adrian shouting at me but my mind was made up. I didn't stop running until I reached our gate; once there, I started banging hard on it, hoping it would be opened before Adrian did his worst.

Luckily for me, the gate was opened in no time and I hurried inside, snatched the keys from the security, and locked it. My heart was pounding against my chest, how did I get so exhausted from a short race? My eyes quickly scanned around the compound, and fortunately for me, Samuel's car wasn't in the garage, which meant he was not at home. I heaved a sigh of relief and walked into the house cautiously. The moment I twisted the main entrance door knob, the door opened, showering me with that familiar sensation I have missed for so long.

“Home, sweet home”. I whispered.

I walked past the living room into the hallways and met a few maids who greeted me in awe. I shoved them aside and trudged ahead to Mom's room. When I got there, the door wasn't shut properly so a little push with my index finger flung it open.

My eyes wandered to Mom's face instantly and my heart froze. She was as pale as ever, her skin that once gleamed like the sun was looking so worn out and rough, and her hair that was once golden brown had turned white. I stood beside her and slipped my left palm into her, grasping it tight. I glared at her face filled with wrinkles, and gradually, tears started to cloud my eyes, blurring my vision. My mum, who was barely 45 years old, was already looking in her eighties.

Tears slowly cascaded down my cheeks making me break down into loud sobs. My legs became weak and I had to go on my knees and cry.

“What exactly is holding you, Mom? Why can't you break free and wake up to me? I'm tired of seeing you like this; our life is ruined because of your condition; everything we have ever worked for is going down the drain, slipping off our palms like magic. I'm tired”.

I soiled my clothes with tears but I cared less. This was the only way I could express my bitterness. Life was truly unfair to me but what would I do? I had to dance to the sad music it was playing for me. When everything was going smoothly in my life, I was a very good motivational speaker. My social media handles were filled with “do not give up,” “no condition is permanent,” “after rain comes shine,” and related content. But now that I am experiencing it, it feels impossible to advise myself. But I had to anyway.

“It is well, Mom, we will pull through all of this. As long as there is life, there is hope. I have already come too far to give up, I have sacrificed too much to give up; we'll just have to stick around and see what the future holds. Whether good or bad, we will have to accept it with good faith. I missed you so much Mom, to the point that I saw you in my dream. I had to defy all odds to be here today, not minding the circumstances. Thank you, Mom, for staying alive for me”.

With those words, I dried my eyes and wiped my face clean with the hem of my jacket. I stood up from the ground and sat beside Mom on her bed. Slowly I brought my face down and leaned it on hers, feeling her faint breath warm my cheek. My hands were still locked with hers and I remained in that position for a few seconds.

Suddenly the door flung open, startling me.

“Samuel!” I exclaimed.