Chapter 6

Nathan had dragged Olima out of the mansion as she sobbed heavily and begged him, "Please don't throw me out. I don't have anywhere else to go. Please, Nathan." Olima cried.

"I'm sorry, small madam, but I cannot help you. You have to leave this house now," Nathan said frustratedly, as he didn't know what Olima had done either.

Nathan had seen Olima when she ran back speedily into the house upon her return, and now she was sobbing heavily and crying.

"Please, Nathan, don't throw me out. This is my father's house. I do not have anywhere else to go," Olima cried as she begged Nathan. He let go of her hands and raked his short black hair, scratching his head as he was a dark-skinned man of average height with black hair.

"Nathan! Is that witch still there?!" Gina stormed out of the house and glared at Nathan and Olima, while Nathan swiftly pulled the gate open.

"No, madam," Nathan replied, as he wasn't ready to lose his job yet.

Gina and Mia both stepped out of the mansion.

"Then who am I seeing standing at the gate with you? I said throw her out!" Gina roared as she stepped down from the mansion's frontage.

She rushed out to Olima and Nathan at the gate and used both hands to push Olima out of the house.

"Get out! And don't let me see you here again, or else I will kill you myself for daring to poison my daughter and me," Gina warned, while Nathan stood in frustrated silence, watching them.

Tears flooded out from Olima's eyes as she knelt and begged her stepmother.

"Please, ma, I don't have anywhere else to go. You cannot throw me out this night. It's late..." Olima cried, even as the estate was heavily guarded by security men. She was scared of the bad boys lurking around who might defile her.

"And how is that my concern? Why didn't you think of the bad boys when you dared to poison my daughter and me? Nathan!" Gina called again.

"Yes, madam!" Nathan hastily appeared by her side.

"Lock this gate, and if I see Olima inside this compound again, I will arrest you both and jail you for attempting to kill my daughter and me. Lock this gate now!" Gina commanded.

"Okay, madam," Nathan replied. He swiftly shut the gate closed on Olima.

Olima stood up from the ground and rushed to the gate, banging heavily on it.

"Open the gate! Please... don't lock me out! No!" Olima sobbed as she banged heavily on the gate, but Nathan had already locked it from within.

"Nonsense! And don't ever open this gate for Olima again or let her into this compound again! Is that understood?" Gina questioned Nathan, as she issued her warning.

"Understood, madam!" Nathan replied, trembling as well.

Nathan was a 40-year-old Black man, and he needed his gateman job to take care of his family and new wife at home. He couldn't risk losing his job, even though he pitied Olima. He had a pregnant wife and two kids at home.

Nathan sighed and walked back to his gatehouse while Gina and Mia walked back into the mansion.

"Mom, what are we going to eat now?" Mia asked, even though she knew she was the one who had added too much salt to the delicious soup. She knew her mother would not question her if what Olima had stated was true, as her mother had always taken her side and flogged Olima mercilessly.

"Why did you spoil the soup? I know Olima didn't add too much salt to that soup. Do you know how much the soup ingredients cost in the market?" Gina glared at her daughter, who frowned, as Mia hadn't expected her mother to scold her.

"You will be the one cooking from today onward as your punishment. Now follow me into the kitchen. You won't waste all the meat that Olima bought and added to that soup. After you've finished removing all the meat one by one, then you will wash it and recook it. Silly girl," Gina stated.

Mia frowned as she followed her mother back into the kitchen.

Upon getting into the kitchen, Gina was slightly nervous about throwing Olima outside, as it was already past 10 p.m.

She knew the estate security agents would question her once they saw Olima and realized she had indeed thrown her out.

"Remove the meat quickly!" Gina yelled at her 14-year-old daughter.

Mia shuddered in fright as she started removing the meat from the soup pot after washing her hands when she stepped into the kitchen with her mother.

Gina stood aside, watching Mia take out all the meat carefully from the pot of soup.

---

Olima cried and banged on her late father's gate heavily, but Nathan didn't pull the gate open for her.

Olima was still in her light blue gown that she had worn since morning. She shivered as the night wind blew against her smooth, delicate skin, sending shivers down her spine.

Her eyes were already flooded with tears, and she thought to walk up to the estate security gate to report her stepmother to them.

Olima knew that even if she reported her stepmother to the estate security agents, it wouldn't make her stepmother change. So, she wrapped her arms around her chest as she walked toward the gate.

"Hey, pretty, what's up?" Olima saw two men walking along the other side of the road, calling after her. As she stared at them and saw them crossing the road.

Olima hastily took to her heels and ran as fast as her slender legs could carry her.

"Wait, pretty! Where are you running to?" one of the two guys screamed out for Olima to hear, but she didn't turn back to stare at them, as she ran faster toward the gate that was still far ahead of her.

Seeing a red car approaching, Olima slowed down and thought to beg the driver to take her to the estate gate, as she believed the car owner lived around their estate and was probably a good Samaritan too.

~~~~~

Earlier... Justin Robert had gone to one of his favorite clubs in town to relax with the hot ladies there, but none of them caught his attention.

Annoyed at wasting so much of his time there by sitting and watching the strip-club ladies dancing and swirling around the pole. Justin stood up frustratingly and left the club, as all he could think about was the pretty young lady he had seen and finally approached after admiring her for a long time.

His blood boiled hot with the primal desire to claim her and make love to her, but she had run away from him like he was a beast.

Justin was angry, as ever since he had seen a lot of pretty ladies, none of them had dared to reject his advances. But the pretty young lady had really insulted him.

Justin was a bad boy. He was gentle at home and listened to all his parents' bidding, even though what his parents asked him to do went against his needs. He still obeyed his parents and took over his father's real estate business, because he was their only child.

Justin had made friends with Jesse Andrew, who was his driver, even though Jesse was far older than him and respected him.

Justin still saw Jesse as his elder brother and someone to confide in when he was totally pissed off.

Stepping out of the strip club, Justin ordered Jesse, "Let's go home. I'm bored."

Jesse knew that whenever Justin said he was bored, it simply meant something was troubling his mind.

"What could be the problem, young master?" Jesse asked.

Justin stopped and contemplated whether to tell Jesse what was troubling his heart and what his heart truly wanted at the moment.