CHAPTER 17

Just as I thought I couldn't cry anymore, Mrs. Jenkins, our loyal housekeeper, appeared by my side. She knelt beside me, her face etched with concern and compassion.

"Oh, Aries, my dear child," she whispered, her voice soft and soothing. "Let me help you up, sweetie. You don't have to go through this alone."

But before she could even touch me, Mrs Victoria, my dad's new wife, stepped forward, her eyes flashing with a hint of annoyance.

"No, dear Mrs. Jenkins," she said, her voice firm but polite.

"I think Aries needs to learn to stand on her own two feet. You're a nanny, not a crutch. When she's done crying, she can stand up and compose herself."

Mrs Jenkins looked taken aback by Mrs Victoria's words, but she nodded respectfully and stood up, her eyes never leaving mine.

I continued to sob, my body shaking with uncontrollable grief. But as the minutes passed, my cries slowly began to subside, replaced by a dull ache in my chest.

With a newfound determination, I slowly got to my feet, my legs trembling beneath me. I took a deep breath, wiping my tears away with the back of my hand.

I looked up to see Mrs. Victoria watching me, a mixture of satisfaction and happiness on her face she seemed to be happy to see me suffer.

"Good," she said, her voice dripping with approval.

"I see you're learning to stand up for yourself. That's the first step towards healing, Aries."

I walked up the stairs my leg shaking I was weak and confused, I did not know how to start putting my thoughts together, and tears rolled down my eyes.

"What am I going to do now? I murmured.

"Mom, why do you have to leave me?" I tried to hold my tiers but I couldn't.

I gently walked to my room, sat on my bed and noticed my phone screen was on, I took my phone, and I saw seven mixed calls from an unknown number.

"Who has this number, it must be very important the person had to call me seven good times" l murmured as I gazed at my phone.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!" I dialled the number and it was ringing. Immediately the owner of the number picked up the phone on the other side of the line.

"Hello! Hello!, Is this Miss Aries Reginald" the voice asked.

I kept quiet to see if I could grab the voice of who was on the line.

"Yes! Hello, good morning who is on the line?" I asked.

"Good morning, Miss Aries Reginald," the voice said, sounding professional and courteous.

"My name is Mr. Jack, and I am your mother's secret lawyer."

I was taken aback, my mind racing with questions. "My mother's secret lawyer?" I repeated, trying to process this new information.

"Yes, Miss Reginald," Mr. Jack continued.

"Your mother and I had a long-standing relationship, and she entrusted me with certain... matters. I'm sure you're aware that your mother was a very private person, and she wanted to keep certain things confidential, even from your father."

I felt a surge of curiosity and intrigue. What could my mother have been hiding? And why did she need a secret lawyer?

"What kind of matters?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Miss Reginald, your mother left a will, and I am the executor of her estate," Mr. Jack explained.

"But there's more to it than that. Your mother had certain... arrangements in place, and I need to discuss them with you in person." He said.

I felt a shiver run down my spine. What arrangements could my mother have made? And why did they need to be kept secret?

"When can we meet?" I asked, my mind racing with possibilities.

"I'm available to meet with you today, Miss Reginald," Mr. Jack replied.

"Would you be available to come to my office at, say, 2 o'clock this afternoon?"

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. "Yes, I'll be there."

"Excellent," Mr. Jack said. "I'll see you then, Miss Reginald. And please, come alone."

"Miss Reginald, my office is located at 345 Elm Street, in the heart of the city," Mr. Jack explained.

"It's a tall, grey building with a distinctive clock tower on top. You can't miss it. Just take the elevator to the 10th floor, and my receptionist will show you to my office."

He paused, then added, "And please, Miss Reginald, be careful. Your father...ah...may not take kindly to you meeting with me. Let's just keep this between us for now, shall we?"

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me, and jotted down the address and instructions on a piece of paper. "Got it," I said. "345 Elm Street, 10th floor. I'll be there at 2 o'clock."

"Excellent," Mr. Jack replied. "I'll see you then, Miss Reginald. And remember, come alone." He repeated.

With that, the line went dead, and I was left staring at the phone in my hand, wondering what secrets Mr. Jack held.

"Aries open this door" a voice called out from behind.

I turned to the direction of the voice and the person was seriously banging on my door, I slowly walked to the door and opened it. to my greatest surprise, it was Sofia.

"What is it" I asked as she quickly barged Into my room.

"What do you think you are doing barging into my room like that" I furiously drew her out of my room.

"I asked a question Sofia, what do you want?" I said in anger as I was already boiling.

"Why are you holding me like that don't you know am your senior" she smirked.

"How dare you" landing a resounding slap on my cheek.

"What did you just do" I returned the slap and I gave it to her harder.

Sofia's eyes widened in shock as my hand connected with her cheek.

She stumbled backwards, her legs buckling beneath her, and fell to the floor with a thud. She landed on her bottom, her eyes welling up with tears as she let out a loud wail.

"Mom! Mom!" she screamed, her voice echoing through the hallway. "Mommy!"

She curled up into a ball, her body shaking with sobs as she continued to cry out for her mother.

I stood over her, my chest heaving with anger and adrenaline, my hand still stinging from the slap.

Mrs. Victoria appeared in the doorway, a look of shock and disapproval on her face. "Aries, what's going on here?" she demanded, her voice firm but controlled.

Sofia continued to wail, her cries growing louder and more hysterical. I stood my ground, my arms crossed and my eyes flashing with anger.

"She barged into my room and disrespected me," I spat, my voice venomous. "I won't be bullied by her or anyone else."

Mrs. Victoria's expression turned cold, her eyes narrowing as she looked at me.

"Aries, you need to learn to control your temper," she said, her voice dripping with disdain. "Sofia, darling, come here."

Sofia slowly got to her feet, her face streaked with tears and her eyes red from crying. She ran to Mrs. Victoria, who enveloped her in a warm hug.

"It's okay, sweetie," Mrs Victoria cooed. "Mommy's here."

I rolled my eyes, my anger and resentment boiling over. This was just another example of how Mrs. Victoria played favourites, always coddling Sofia and disciplining me.

I turned and walked away, leaving them to their little drama.