Chapter 2: Surprise, surprise...

Shawn's POV

I never liked cemeteries, it reminded me of the worst time of my life, when the person I cherished the most was taken away from me  and as I stood there watching the funeral of the Pauls I could not help but feel genuinely sad for them. 

Freddie's mum was like a mother to me. She was always so kind and loving and never quick to judge. She worked with us even after my mum died and I was grateful to have someone like her in my life. 

However when dad remarried, the new wife, Angela, did not get along well with her and made her leave. I was angry when she left but there was very little I could do to stop it, I was just a child after all. 

Still I managed to form a bond with Freddie, her younger child and we have been close since then. He was like the brother I never had and I really cherished our relationship. He was quite mature for his age but I would never tell him that, I preferred to taunt his very existence every time I saw him. 

I was surprised at the overwhelming sadness that I felt when I heard of his parents death. I haven't seen them for a while now but I know that they didn't have it easy after their mum stopped working for us.  

It was unfortunate that bad things happen to such good people while my gold digging step mother continued to look even better as she aged. I didn't really have anything against my step mom. I wanted my dad to be happy and if she made him happy then that was okay for me, but I just could not fully accept her even after all these years. 

She was at least 15 years younger than my dad and just a few years older than I was but my dad didn't care, this town didn't care either, he was extremely rich and powerful and that was enough for him to rule this town and do whatever he liked with no questions being asked. 

When she newly married my dad she tried to act all caring and loving. She wanted to change every single thing and remove any trace of my mother, but I couldn't allow that. She didn't try so long though, after a short while she gave up completely and left me to myself. I wasn't expecting much from her anyways. No one could give me the love my mother gave to me and no one on earth could ever replace her.  

From then I learned to look outside my home for people that truly cared about me. Dad was never around so I could not really count on him to give me the attention I needed as a child. Yes, I craved attention, but don't we all? 

My friends became my family but soon enough I learnt that a lot of the people I hang out with were just with me because of my family name and my looks. 

The guys wanted to be my friend because I was wealthy and was always ready to throw a party or at least fund it. The girls were always around me for the same reasons too and it didn't hurt that I was good looking. 

After a while I just started to see everyone as opportunists and I have never been proven wrong. Given the right incentive people would do the most unimaginable things and call it reasonable. 

However I didn't withdraw from these so-called friends even though I knew these things. I used it all to my advantage to rule wherever I was. I craved attention after all and they gave me more than I needed. After a while I got to understand that this was how the world worked and it wasn't going to stop any time from now. 

The only person that didn't worship my feet just because I was wealthy was Freddie. He was a stubborn one and extremely proud as some poor guy, but he had principles and even though he was struggling, he never accepted my help. 

So I knew it was important when he told me about his sister's situation a few days after his parents died. The whole town knew that money was tight for the Paul family, but not many knew how bad it was.

They were in so much debt that she was even considering dropping out of college to get a job and support the both of them. 

I couldn't let that happen, not when she was so close to graduating and I had more than enough funds to make things easier for them. 

It must have taken a lot for Freddie to come to me and reveal their struggles with his pride and all that. I wished he had come to me sooner though, he was someone that I was always glad to help. 

I couldn't go close to the funeral service going on, I didn't want to be triggered with the remembrance of the death of a loved one so I stayed a distance and watched the whole thing. 

From here I could clearly see his sister and then our eyes met. I remember her. Katherine Paul, the girl that wrote me a love letter. 

I didn't really read it, my friends grabbed it from me before I got past the first line and did as they seemed pleased with it. I remember it ending up in the school hallway and I forgot about her pretty fast. 

She didn't look the same as she did those years ago. She looked like a real woman now, with a very nice shape even in that hideous black dress she was wearing. 

Her brown hair was packed in a neat bun and she wasn't wearing any makeup at all. She was not so tall but she looked gorgeous anyways. I could just wrap her in my arms

and cuddle her to sleep. 

Her eyes looked tired but the spark was still there, deeply hidden in grieving. She looked away after a while and whispered something to her brother. 

He looked up and gave me a nod and I waved at him. He knew I didn't want to be here, but I came because of them anyways. Maybe it was time I stopped hating this place so much, still deep down I knew that would take a very long time to achieve. 

Not long after the service ended, I could see people going back to their various cars. Freddie and Katherine were walking side by side towards me and I moved a little forward to meet them halfway. 

"My condolences," I told them as I gave Freddie a hug and shook Katherine's hands. 

Her hands weren't as soft as I imagined. It was strong but still the feminine kind of strong and she had a firm handshake. 

"Thank you, and thanks for coming, it really means a lot to us," Freddie said. 

"No need to thank me Freddie, it's the least I could do," I told him. 

"Still, we're grateful," he said. 

"Anytime," I told him and I meant it…. To a certain extent. 

"Alright we had better get going now," he said as he made to leave. 

I could let him leave though, I had important matters to discuss with Katherine but I didn't want to hurt his pride by letting him know what I planned to do. He could find out later, when the deed had already been done and concluded but not now. 

"Katherine, wait, I need to speak to you in private," I said. 

This was the first time I was speaking to her directly. She looked taken aback when I called her name. Probably she was shocked that I even knew someone like her still existed, let alone knowing her name. 

Of course I knew her, I still remember her, but I was selfish and self centred and chose to ignore her instead. Now though I didn't want to ignore her anymore. She was right in front of me and she looked beautifully troubled. 

I never knew someone could look so beautiful while looking this terrible. All the girls I was used to were always prim and proper, with makeup hiding any real beauty they possessed. 

There was never any hair out of place even when they had a dire crisis and there was always a fake smile plastered on their face even when they were angry. They were like dolls and after a while I always get bored of playing with them. 

Katherine Paul was nothing like the women I was used to. She was frowning at me now, probably wondering what on earth a rich kid like me would want to discuss with her. She had this look on her face like she didn't trust me, and she shouldn't, I was not particularly a good guy, but right now I wanted to be of help to this family. 

She looked at her brother Freddie, as if asking if this was okay. Of course Freddie gave her a reassuring look and didn't give her a chance to object before saying, 

"Okay, I'll be waiting by the car, " then he was gone. 

There was this awkward silence between us for a while, I didn't like it at all. 

"Let's walk a little," I told her, gesturing for her to walk me back to my car. 

"Okay," she said, as she followed my lead. 

I didn't like how we just stood in a spot in the middle of the cemetery and I imagined walking would make the conversation go smoother. 

"So what do you want to talk about?" She finally asked after we had taken a few steps. 

"Well I want to help you Katherine, and by you I mean Freddie also." 

"Who said we needed your help?" She asked defensively. 

So she also had the pride gene. Of course nobody said they needed my help, but everyone could tell that they needed help and I was ready to provide it. This should be simple but from the looks of things I doubt it'll be so easy to convince this family to finally accept the help they so dearly needed. 

"A big birdy told me you needed help," I told her.  

"And by a big birdy you're referring to….?"

"Freddie," I said. 

"I see," she said gently and looked away. 

I could tell she didn't like the idea of Freddie telling others their family struggles. She probably felt that it was her responsibility alone and she could handle it all by herself. 

She was stubborn alright and that intrigued me… alot. I took the chance to look at her, to study her features. She was trying very hard to look at anything else but me. She was a beautiful girl and I wondered why I never noticed that before. I knew if she had her way we would not be having this conversation. 

However, based on what Freddie told me, time was running out for her and the sooner she took my help the better for her. 

"So how do you plan on helping us?" She asked. 

She was looking at me, like she didn't know that I was filthy rich. Right there I decided to play a little game with her. Life was all about give and take after all and I wanted to rouse this pretty woman, even if it was just for a little while. 

"Well by giving you the one thing you don't have, money, lots of it, as much as you would need to settle everything that needs to be settled." 

I stared back at her. She had a blank expression. Well she could not say that she didn't see that coming. What else could I offer her if not money? Plus that was what she needed right now and she could not deny it, I hope she did not, I hope her pride lost this very war. 

"Why would you want to help me? Or are you secretly in love with me?" She asked with a smirk. 

"Whoa, slow down, I don't love you at all. I just want to help….for Freddie," I told her. 

She had a certain kind of look on her face after I said that but I couldn't really decipher it. I could not tell if she was angry, sad or disappointed. All I did was speak my mind so why was I feeling so guilty? 

I knew throwing her brother's welfare into the conversation would greatly influence her decision. He was the only family she had left and that ought to mean something to her, I just wasn't sure how much it meant to her. 

She didn't have that smirk on her face anymore. I knew she was seriously considering this offer and I hope she allows me to help her out. 

"So how come you're just doing this out of the goodness of your heart, no strings attached?" She asked. 

"Oh there are strings attached, just one actually, if I do this you owe me, big time," I said. 

"And what do you want in return?" She asked. 

"A favour that you can not refuse, just one request and that's all, I don't know what it will be yet but I'll let you know when I need that favour," I told her. 

Truth be told I had no idea what I wanted from her. I could not think of a way that someone like her could help me. I had everything and she practically had nothing. 

Still I know that she wouldn't just take my help if she didn't feel there was a way she was paying back. This way it looked like we both had something to offer each other and her pride could take this.  

Also I wanted to play with her a little bit without making it so obvious. I mean she just lost the two most important persons in her life and I could not imagine what she was going through right now. 

I just lost a mum but it felt like I lost both my parents. Dad was never the same, I was never the same, nothing was the same. Everything changed and it definitely wasn't for the better, even a trophy wife couldn't fix that. 

"Okay, it's a deal," she stated. 

She offered me her hand to shake and I took it. Whatever makes her happy right? 

"Alright, I'll need your number to get in contact with you and get your bank details for the transfer," I told her. 

We quickly exchanged contacts and my hands were already itching to finalise the details for the transfer, but not now. I had to give her a little time to process all this. 

"So how much exactly are we talking about here?" She asked with a skeptical look. 

"Well you'll just have to wait and see Katherine, have a nice day," I told her. 

With a smirk plastered on my face I waved her goodbye and got into my car. The look on her face right now was priceless and I wouldn't forget it in a hurry. 

She stood there, watching me drive off. I planned to surprise her, in an extremely grand way.