CHAPTER 6: RUNNING AWAY

Nathan dragged Olima outside from the mansion, and she sobbed and begged him, "Please, sir, do not send me out. I do not have anywhere to go, please, Nathan..."

Olima cried, and Nathan replied, "I'm sorry, small madam, but I cannot help you now. You have to leave this house."

Nathan was also worried as he did not know what Olima did.

Nathan had seen Olima when she returned home from the market and ran back speedily into the house. Now she was sobbing heavily, and Mrs. Gina ordered him to throw her outside.

Olima begged, "Please do not send me outside. It's late. This is my father's house. I do not have anywhere else to go, please."

Nathan let go of Olima's hands and raked his short black hair on his head in frustration.

He is a dark-skinned man and was of average height too.

Mrs. Gina stepped out of the mansion and questioned, "Nathan! Is that witch still outside there?"

Nathan stared at Olima in fright and pulled the black gate open as he replied, "No, Madam. I have sent her outside."

Nathan was not ready to lose his job, and he opened the gate and told Olima to leave.

Mia stepped out of the mansion too and followed her mother to the gate.

Mrs. Gina asked, "Then who am I seeing there at the gate that is still standing there with you, Nathan? I said throw her outside now!"

Mrs. Gina rushed out of the mansion balcony and rushed up to the gate to meet Olima.

She met Olima and Nathan at the gate, and she used both her hands to push Olima outside of the house gate and yelled, "Get out! And do not let me see you here again. Else, I will kill you myself for daring to poison my daughter and I. Leave!"

Nathan frustratingly stood in silence and watched them.

Tears flooded down Olima's cheeks, as she knelt and begged her stepmother, "Please, Ma, I do not have anywhere else to go. You cannot throw me out this night. It's late..."

Olima cried, even as she knew the estate was heavily guarded with security men. She was still scared for the bad boys lurking around not to defile her privacy.

Mrs. Gina asked, "And how is that my concern? Why didn't you think of the bad boys living around when you dared to poison my daughter and I? Nathan!" Mrs. Gina called.

Nathan immediately appeared by her side, "Yes, Madam."

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

Nathan immediately shut the gate closed on Olima, and she stood up from the floor and rushed to the gate and banged on it heavily, screaming out, "Nathan! Open this gate!! Please!.. I do not have anywhere to go. Don't lock me out! No!."

Olima sobbed as she banged heavily on the gate, but Nathan had already locked it from within.

Mrs. Gina said, "Nonsense!.. Nathan, do not ever open this gate for Olima again or let her into this compound ever again! Is that understood?"

Nathan shakily replied, "Yes, Madam!"

Nathan was a 35-year-old black man and really needed his gateman job to take care of his family and new wife at home, as he could not risk losing his job either, even as he pitied Olima.

He had a pregnant wife at home with two kids, and he sighed and walked back to the gate-house while Mrs. Gina and Mia went back into the mansion.

Mia asked her mother, "Mom, what are we going to eat this night?"

Mia knew that she was the one that had ruined the soup by adding too much salt into the delicious soup that Olima had suffered and prepared.

Mia was aware that her mother would not question her if what Olima had said was true, as her mother would always pick on her side and flog Olima mercilessly.

Mrs. Gina scolded, "Why did you spoil the soup? I know Olima did not add too much salt into that soup? Do you know how much the soup ingredients cost in the market now?"

Mia frowned as she had not expected that her mother would scold her.

Mrs. Gina said, "You will be the one cooking from today onwards as your punishment. Now follow me into the kitchen. You won't waste all the meat in that soup that Olima had cooked. After you've finished removing all the meats one-by-one from the soup pot, then you will wash it out thoroughly and re-cook it this night. Silly girl."

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

On getting into the kitchen, Mrs. Gina was slightly nervous for throwing Olima outside as it was already 10 pm.

Mrs. Gina knew that the estate security agent would question her the following day once they got to see Olima outside by that late hour, and knew that she threw Olima out.

Mrs. Gina yelled, "Remove all the meats quickly!"

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

Mrs. Gina stood aside and watched Mia take out all the meats carefully and away from the pot of soup, until Mia was through. She re-washed the meat again and started cooking it as their dinner.

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Olima cried and banged on the gate of her late father's mansion heavily, but Nathan did not pull the gate open for her.

Olima was still in her light blue gown and had been wearing the light blue gown since morning.

She shivered and felt the cold night wind blowing on her smooth, soft, delicate skin, sending shivers down her spine.

Her eyes were already red and filled with hot tears, and she thought to walk up to the estate gate and report her stepmother to the four security men standing there.

Olima knew that even though she reported her stepmother to the estate security men, it would not make her stepmother change in her wicked attitude towards her. And she wrapped both her arms around her chest as she walked up towards the estate gate.

Olima saw two young men walking along the other side of the road and calling after her.

"Hey, pretty lady. Where are you going?"

Olima stared at the two men and saw them crossing the road as one of them called her, "Hey pretty lady, what's up with you?"

Olima ran away and took to her heels, even as she was barefooted. She ran faster as fast as her slim legs could carry her body weight.

One of the two guys screamed out after her, "Wait, pretty! Where are you running to?"

Olima did not stop nor turn backward to stare at the two young men as she ran faster towards the estate gate, even as the estate gate was still far ahead of her and it was already late night.

Olima continued running and seeing a red car approaching her, she slowed down and thought to beg the car driver to take her to the estate gate. As she believed that the car owner would be living around inside their estate too, and maybe a good samaritan.

***

Earlier, Justin Robert had gone to one of his favorite hangout places, the club in Lemonhill town, to flex with the hot young ladies there, but none of them seemed to catch his attention.

Justin was so annoyed for wasting much of his time there by sitting handsomely and watching the strip-club ladies dancing seductively and swirling around the pole.

He frustratingly stood up and left the club as all he could think of was about the pretty young lady that he had seen in the afternoon, and finally had the courage to approach her.

Justin had been admiring Olima for a long time, and his blood boiled hot to claim her and make sweet love to her, but she ran away from him like he was a beast.

Justin was angry as ever since he had been seeing a lot of pretty young ladies. None of them has ever dared to reject him, nor his advances towards them, but the pretty young lady really insulted him and bruised his ego.

Justin is a bad guy, although he was gentle at home and listening to all his parents' requests and bidding, even though what his parents usually asked him to do was not what he wanted to do. He still obeys his parents and took over his father's real estate business as he's their only child.

Justin made a few friends with Jesse Andrew, whom was his driver, even though Jesse was far older than him and also respected him too.

Justin was still friendly with Jesse as he sees Jesse like an elder brother that he never had, and also someone to confide in when he was totally pissed off.

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

Jesse knew that whenever Justin told him that he was bored, it simply meant that something is seriously troubling Justin's mind.

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

Justin stopped and contemplated if to tell Jesse the truth or not. On what was troubling his heart, and what his heart truly wanted at the moment.