Chapter Fifteen

“Good evening Emily”, Nora was finally back home. 

“ Good evening too Nora, Welcome back”.

“Thanks, so tell me, did you get for Mia a school”, Nora asked. 

“Nora, before I answer that, I have something to tell you, you won't believe what happened today”.

“ Tell me, what happened “, Nora asked, with a voice full of curiosity. 

“ Last time I didn't get to tell you what happened to me. As I had gone out to town for a walk, I happened to save a girl   who had been kidnapped by some goons”

“Whaaaat… .! Emily, why are you telling me this now, did you get hurt in anyway”, Nora asked as she examined my body in search of any bruises. 

“No am fine, don't worry, and thats not all”.

“So there is more”.

“ Yes I met his father too, we ran into each other again today, and he treated us to lunch, Mia even made a new friend, Mia tell Auntie about your friend”.

“Auntie Nora, I have my friend, she's called Riley”, Mia said excitedly. 

“ Riley, Oh! wow, that's such a nice name. Let me hope she was nice to you”, Nora said as she rubbed her hands in Mia's hair. 

“Yes auntie, she's soo nice, we are even going to the same school”.

“ Really, that's awesome, am really happy for you Mia, Nora said as she turned her gaze and looked at me. 

“Was the money enough? Nora asked in a totally serious tone. 

I slipped my hands into my purse and picked out the money and handed it over to Nora. 

“ What's this”, Nora asked, her voice tingling with a hint of curiosity, her gaze was intense, like she was trying to see right through me. 

“I didn't spend any”.

“Then how did you manage to get her admission at school”, Nora asked, with a look of confusion. 

“Mr.Liam offered to help with Mia's tuition”.

Nora shook her head, looking baffled, “Liam, who is Liam?, she asked, utterly confused. 

“ He is the father of Riley, the girl I had saved. As a way of saying thank you, he has offered to help with Mia's tuition”.

“Woow, I think he is such a nice man, he must be really kind”.

“Yes he is”, I replied, with a calm and soft voice. “But I only accepted his offer on the condition that I will have to pay back his money, he shall only do it as a loan”.

“ Emily, how could you do that, we haven't even got you a job yet, how will you pay back”.

“By the way, did you get any information about the job you had told me about”. I asked.

Nora went silent, her expression changed in an instant, her expression revealed a hint of turmoil, her face said it all - something was wrong. 

“Emily, actually, I wanted to tell you about that, our boss called this evening to say that he has already got a nanny for her daughter, sorry Emily”, Nora said as she placed her hands on my lap. 

“ It's okay Nora, we shall get another opportunity”, I replied, you could hear the worry in my voice. 

Our conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door, Nora quickly rushed to see who it was. “Emily, you have a visitor”, Nora called out, a hint of surprise was evident in her voice. 

I stood up and walked towards the door, “Mr. Liam”, I exclaimed in surprise, I turned my gaze and looked at Nora, she stood up straight, her posture rigid with shock. 

“Nora”, I called her out in a hushed tone. 

“Huh”, she snapped out, as if recalled from a distant world of her own. Her face reflected a mixture of confusion and inquiry. 

“ Please come in Mr. Liam”, my stunned expression softened to a warm smile. 

*********

After we were seated, Nora kept staring at me without saying a word, but her expression spoke volumes. “Why are you here Mr. Liam”, I asked politely. 

“ Am sorry to have come this soon, but we hadn't concluded our conversation, that's the reason i'm here”.

“That's my boss, the CEO of the company I work for”, Nora whispered to me, barely audible. 

I frowned, clearly puzzled, “Is everything okay”, Liam asked, noticing the expression on our faces. 

“Huh, yeah”, I stammered. 

“ I would like to offer you a job, I was initially looking for someone who could take care of my daughter Riley, and I think you could be the best candidate”, he said. 

I stared at him in shock, then managed a weak smile, “What, really?”, I said. With a tone of astonishment tingling with a bit of emotion, I raised my hands and covered my mouth in shock. 

Nora's eyes widened in shock as she extended her hand to Mr. Liam for a hand shake, “Thank you so much sir, may God bless you”, Nora said as she shook Liam's hand. Liam just smiled, an indication of how kind and down to earth he was even though he was wealthy. 

“If it's okay with you, can you start to work on Monday? I am sorry if it's fast but the job is really urgent”.

“Oh, no…, no… , it's okay, " my voice bubbled with excitement as I said. 

“I have also handled Mia's admission”, he continued, “ The school bus will drop by to get her early Monday morning”, he put his hands in his pocket and handed me a card. “Come to that address on Monday so that we finalize the contract”.

Gazing at Liam, I felt my heart overflow with appreciation, I smiled and couldn't help but think, “How did I get so lucky”, Just weeks ago I was so miserable and didn't have any hope in life, and today, for the first time, I have hope. 

I thought back at the small village I left behind, where my story began, coming to the city had never crossed my mind, not even in my dreams, but here I am, feeling a deep sense of peace. After a long time, I finally felt like I was valued, someone saw my worth, it was Liam, the first person to ever show me kindness.