Oh,” Natalia auntie says before she goes silent.“You’re right. He is doing pretty well with himself, just like you’re doing,” she says.“Sure, aunt,” I tell her.“That reminds me, now that you’re staying back, what do you intend to do?”“I have no idea. I need a job. I’ll have to put my job hunt in New York on hold,” I realize my slip too late.“You are job hunting?” Auntie Mary says with wide eyes. I sigh because there is no use keeping this from her anymore.“Yes, I am. I’ve been out of a job for a while. I’m trying to get by, but the bills and Goerge schooling won’t take care of themselves,” I explain.“I’m so sorry about this. Why didn’t you tell me this earlier? What happened to your previous job? You were an excellent interior decorator. One of the best I know, so why are you out of a job?” She asks with a frown. Her compliment makes me smile. She is one of the few people I know who won’t hesitate to sing praises of me even when I don’t deserve it.“We didn’t really have the ch
, I’m sorry I missed that,” I tell her with a smile.“It’s alright; I was just saying, do you mind joining my family and me this Saturday,” she asks.“We have this little get-together we do every two weeks. I’d love for you to join,” she says.“I’m not sure what my schedule looks like, but I’ll see what I can come up with.”“I know you’re busy, but I would really love it if you could join us sometime, not necessarily this weekend” she says. I smile at her persistence.“I’ll see what I can do about it. I’ll keep it in mind,” I tell her.“Thank you,” she says. Stella , my assistant, chooses that time to walk in.“I forwarded the emails like you instructed Nathan ” she says, and I smile.“Thank you,”“You’re welcome,” she replies.“Please, I’d like you to show Mrs. Wilson our latest collections. She can choose any one of her choices, and the bill is on the house,” I relay to Stella. She nods as I give her the instructions.“Okay.”“Mrs. Wilson , please, Stella will take care of the rest,
Monday sounds fine. I’ll just get my stuff here,” I tell him.“That’s not a problem. I’ll just get a few things moved around and arrange for my things to be shipped here. I’ll just ask my friend Bekah to arrange something for me,” I tell him.“Perfect We will have to clear a bigger room for you,” I twirl around when I hear my aunt’s voice. A smile lights up my face when I see her approaching with a tray of juice. I stand up eagerly and hurry to assist her.“Thank you, my dear,” she says with all smiles. It’s clear she has been eavesdropping on our conversation. It amuses me that she still wants me around her like I’m the little girl from all those years ago.“You’re welcome, aunt,” I smile before placing the tray on the table. I hand each cup to everyone and take one for myself.“I’m so happy you agreed to stay. We have a lot to catch up on. It’s even better you will be staying here,” she says excitedly. That’s when my uncle’s previous words dawn on me. Surely, they don’t think I’ll s
Married?”“Yes, married. I heard about his engagement some years ago. I assumed he would be happily married with kids by now,” I say.“Oh, dear, you didn’t hear?” She says, and I give her a puzzled look.“Rosalina, his ex-fiancé, called off the wedding,” she says, and I gape in shock.“What?” I ask in utter surprise.“Yes, she did. It was big news around here.”“Why?” I ask while my mind is racing. Why did I not hear about the broken engagement?“No one knows. There are rumors that Rosalina broke it off with him with claims that he isn’t the man for such commitment,” she says. I frown. That doesn’t sound like Nathan . I recall how we would always talk about getting married and raising kids.“Wow, I had no idea. It must have been devastating for him,” I say.“That’s what we all thought, but Nathan took it in stride. It didn’t even seem like his engagement was broken. In fact, that year, he started breaking more records with his art. It’s an amazing thing that someone like Nathan is sti
Aunt Maryann?” He asks.“Do you have any other one?” I ask in amusement.“Please, give the phone to her,” he says excitedly. I hand over the phone to Aunt Maryann.“My darling. It’s so good to hear from you again,” Aunt Maryann says. I shake my head in amusement and leave the room. I need to start making arrangements to get my things. Aunt Maryann returns to my room some minutes later with my phone.“He says I can send my special cookies to him,” Aunt Maryann says with absolute delight. I shake my head in amusement.“Is that so pumpkin?” I ask, chuckling, as I take the phone from her.“Yes, as a matter of fact, I’ll love to spend my holidays with her, Mom,” he says. I glance at Aunt Maryann; it seems she is eager to know what my response will be. Evidently, they’ve discussed this.“Sure, you can,” I say with a smile.“Yay! My baby will be visiting me soon,” Aunt Maryann yells excitedly before leaving the room. I chuckle at her reaction before returning my attention to Goerge .“You ar
“I’m not sure. I was thinking of calling Bekah to see if she can have the important things shipped. We can put the rest up for sale,” I tell him.“Oh, I can handle that,” Goerge says.“No, I don’t want you missing your classes for this,” I tell him.“I won’t. Even if Aunt Bekah will sort it, I want to assist. Besides, I’ll be able to tell what we can and cannot keep,” he is right about this; besides, it will mean less work for Bekah.“Okay, if you insist,” I tell him.“Sure, Mom. I’ll be free from Friday all through to Tuesday. I can travel to New York Friday morning and return Sunday morning,” he says.“Sure, that sounds like a plan. I’ll just see if Mabel is free so we don’t ruin her schedule,”“Okay, Mom. I’ll be expecting to hear from you,” he says, and I smile.“Thank you, son,” I tell him.“You’re welcome, Mom. I have to go now. Talk to you later,” he says.“Talk to you soon,” I reply.I release a sigh the minute the call ends. I quickly dial Bekah’s number. All I get is the ans
“You don’t need to cry, Aunt. I’m fine now,” I comfort her, embracing her warmly. I had always feared revealing the truth to her, but I couldn’t bear the thought of burdening her with my past.“Oh, it could have been avoided. I feel like I failed my sister,” she says with teary eyes.“No, you didn’t. You and Uncle Tyler have taken care of me as your own, something John neglected to do for me and for that, I’ll forever be grateful,”I reassure her.“Why would he do such a despicable thing, marrying you off like that? Is this some sort of medieval times? Why didn’t you call me? I would have come back to stop the madness,” she says with anger.“There wasn’t enough time, and there was too much at stake. I couldn’t risk it,” I explain. I had feared that if I involved her, it would have only made things worse for Nathan with my father.“Aunt Maryann, it’s nothing for you to worry about now. I just wanted you to know the truth. Can we not resist the past anymore?” I ask, hoping for a fresh st
few minutes later, I am standing in front of a beautiful glass building. I’m awestruck as I take everything in. Even from the outside, I can already appreciate the artwork displayed. No doubt, the owner of this place has excellent taste.The name LENS is prominently displayed at the top. Clutching the file tightly, I make my way toward the entrance. The moment I step inside, I let out a gasp., LENS was already beautiful from the outside, but from the inside, it’s breathtaking. My eyes are immediately drawn to the array of paintings adorning the space.“Good afternoon, ma’am. Welcome to LENS. How may I help you?” I spin around at the sound of the voice behind me. The voice belongs to a beautiful lady. I assume she is the artist Uncle Tyler was talking about.“Hi, my name is Natalia . I have an appointment with you for 2pm. I’m here on behalf of Mr. Tyler Wilson,” I explain.“Oh, you’re the interior decorator,” she remarks.“Yes,” I reply with a smile.“Follow me, please,” she instructs