CHAPTER 12About a week after the visit of the social worker, Christian seemed to be in a dilemma, and he needed help with it. He was seated in the dining room when Olivia came around and saw him.Olivia saw him deep in thought, so she went and sat in front of him.“Mr. Mason, I’ve been noticing that you have been stressed since the visit of the social worker last week. Did she say something that caused you to be like this? Will they take Eunice out of your care?" Olivia asked him firmly.Christian sighed. “They are not going to remove Eunice from my care. Don’t worry. But they said they had a recommendation for me to help Eunice grow up like every normal child.Olivia was surprised and curious. “Oh. What was the recommendation?“The board said I needed a marriage. They said that apart from me being a father figure, Eunice needed a mother figure, since a nanny is usually temporary”.Olivia sighed before asking, “Can I tell you what I think about this?" Christian looked at her and nodd
Chapter 13Christian sat at the head of the long, polished boardroom table, reading the report he’d received earlier. However, he could not focus on it. His mind kept replaying the conversation he had with Olivia the previous night. He was not giving up on convincing her, but how to go about it was also very confusing.“Mr. Mason”, one of the older board members, Mr. Stuart called, pulling his attention to the meeting.“The reports are fine so far. If we continue this way, we would be leading the country in no time”, Christian replied, thinking they wanted his feedback on their report.Mr Stuart cleared his throat. “We have something else to discuss with you, sir." As soon as he heard that, Christian looked up to see Mr. Stuart staring at him intently, and the other board members murmuring to one another.“What is the matter? Is it about the company?” Christian asked as he shifted in his seat.Mr. Stuart shook his head. "Well...It is not exactly about the company, but it is related to
"Can we confirm that these are indeed the bodies of Matthew and Rosemary Mason?" the morgue attendant inquired of the young man standing before him. "Yes," the young man affirmed with a heavy heart. "Mr. Mason," another man called out as he entered the room. "There’s a social worker outside. She's here regarding Eunice."The young man hurriedly exited to meet the social worker. "Good afternoon. I’m Izzy Parker, the social worker assigned to Miss Eunice Mason," she introduced herself."Good morning. I’m Christian Mason, Eunice’s uncle," he replied tersely. "The family records indicate that you are Eunice's sole remaining relative. I just needed to confirm this with you," the social worker stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "Yes, that's correct. But where is Eunice?" Christian inquired urgently."I will be bringing Eunice on the day of the funeral, once you have set a date," she assured him."The funeral will take place in two days. Will I be able to see her then?" Christian pressed. "Yes,
“Mr. Mason, you came in to work today? You should have just stayed at home, at least until after the funeral”, one of the members of the executives stated as soon as he saw Christian enter the conference room.“Our share prices are dropping fast. Something needs to be done as soon as possible. If you were competent in your jobs, you would have found a way to at least stop the drop for now”, Christian said grimly as he got into his regular seat.Christian quickly discussed measures that would help the share prices hold up for the moment before leaving the company to go be with his niece at home. “Close the company for the rest of the week," he announced before leaving the company.————————————————————————————————————————————————-Olivia stood outside Mason’s mansion, her heartbeat increasing with every step she took. “This is a fresh start, a chance to leave the past behind and begin a new life”, she said trying to fill herself with determination before she went on to ring the bell.S
Before leaving the kitchen, he turned to her and said, “If you need anything, I’ll be in my office and tell me or John if she has any issues at all.” Naturally, Olivia answered. Olivia couldn’t get rid of the impression that Christian was more than just the aloof, cold façade he put on when he departed. She had caught a glimpse of a deep pool of feelings that he kept tightly bottled up, a vulnerability. It left her wondering about the true nature of the man behind the surface. She silently made it her new mission to bring uncle and niece closer to each other.In the evening, Olivia helped Eunice get to bed. The little girl moved slowly, had a pale complexion, and appeared exhausted. After pulling the blanket up to her chin, Olivia tucked her into the bed. Olivia muttered, “Goodnight, Eunice,” as she brushed a lock of hair off the girl’s forehead.Eunice’s eyes were wide open, looking at Olivia before quietly saying, “My mom used to kiss me on my forehead before bed." Olivia did not ha
A stifling silence fell over the room as the seriousness of Eunice’s words sank in. Christian’s face was filled with concern. His face darted between Olivia and Eunice. Olivia’s heart pounded in her chest, indicating fear running through her body.“Eunice, honey, are you sure about this?” Olivia asked gently, trying to keep her voice steady. Eunice nodded, her eyes looking into Olivia’s with fear. “I saw someone, Olivia. They were tall.”Christian’s expression turned serious. “We need to get to the bottom of this. Olivia, can you take Eunice to her room while I check security footage? “Sure thing, Mr. Mason”, Olivia nodded as she held Eunice. As they walked to Eunice’s room, Olivia turned to Olivia trying to reassure her, “Don’t worry, sweetie, we’ll find out who it was”.Eunice looked up to Olivia with her big eyes, “Do you think it was a ghost?” Olivia chuckled, “Well, I don’t think ghosts can open doors, but we’ll make sure to check for ghosts too, okay?”Meanwhile, Christian was
The arrival of Josh seemed to have brought a burst of energy into the gloomy mansion, that even Eunice’s face lit up so much. Christian’s cold face also had a small smile as he hugged Josh.“Hey, Josh. What brings you here?" Christian asked, his tone neutral.“I came here to see my baby girl. I also heard she now had a live-in nanny. "Good job," Josh answered in a somewhat playful manner.“This is my live-in nanny, Olivia. Olivia, this is Josh, Matthew’s best friend”, Christian introduced them to each other. Olivia noticed Josh’s sad expression as soon as Matthew was mentioned.“Hi. Nice to meet you," Olivia greeted. Josh quickly recovered his expression as he smiled at Olivia. “Oh, you’re very pretty!”“Thank you”, Olivia's cheeks turned bright red after his sudden compliment.The way you look, I don't think you're nosy like he said you were. Olivia glanced at Christian who was looking away inadvertently when she heard Josh's words.Josh’s arrival removed their attention from the sec
CHAPTER 6Josh looked around before smiling at Christian who was already standing in front of him. “I was patting Matthew. Just wanted to see if I’d feel his presence, but it looks like he’s not around."Christian turned to look at his brother’s grave, before putting on a sad smile.“You know, I keep regretting rejecting his offer to go to Ireland with me. He said he wanted to help out”, Josh said as his teary eyes looked at Christian pitifully. “I told him to stay back and let me manage my company matters by myself for once”.At this point, Josh had already burst into tears. Christian also could not hold on, so he pulled him for a hug as they both shed tears together.The two men returned to the mansion around lunch time. Olivia was in the dining room, feeding some chicken nuggets to Eunice.“Do you like them?" Olivia asked Eunice, who was happily nibbling on her chicken nuggets. “Yes, Olivia."Christian and Josh entered the dining room to find Eunice and Olivia eating their nuggets.