***
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN HIGH SCHOOL***
Immediately the bell rang for closing, some students carried their bags and rushed out of the class, giggling to themselves.
Jaime faced Lilian who was asleep beside him, her head was on his shoulder.
“Lilian,” he called softly.
Lilian opened her eyes slowly and raised her head from his shoulder.
“Time to go home already?” She asked and he nodded.
She stretched her body and yawned softly.
“Thanks to you, I slept like a baby” she smiled.
Jaime ruffled her hair in return.
“Just keep being happy, okay?”
“You too,” she mouthed.
He smiled.
“Are you both ready?” Mickey ased.
“You guys should go ahead, I’ll like to go somewhere else” Jaime said
“To Layla’s?” Mickey asked.
“Yes, I need to know if she’s fine,” Jaime replied.
“My regards to her,” Lilian muttered.
Jaime smiled before nodding his head. He carried his bag and left the class.
“Are you fine now?” Mickey asked Lilian.
“Yes, I am,” she said.
***
Jaime got to Layla’s house and exhaled deeply before knocking on the gate.
The gate was opened by the security man and he greeted him.
“Good afternoon I’m Jaime, Layla’s friend from school” he introduced.
“Oh, evening. How may I help you?” The security man asked.
“I just want to see her for some minutes”
“She’s not in right now. She’s…”
“Joel” May called as she joined them.
“Who’s he?” She asked, referring to Jaime.
“I’m Jaime, Layla’s friend from school. I’d like to see her. She has not been in school for two days now and I’m deeply worried about her” Jaime said.
“You can’t right now, because she’s currently at the hospital”
Jaime staggered back in shock.
“What?”
****
HOWARD UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL***
Jaime rushed into the hospital with May beside him. He insisted on following her because she was bringing some stuffs to Mrs. Rogers
They entered the recovery room and his eyes widened when he saw the state she was in.
“Layla” he whispered, walking to the bed.
Mrs. Rogers glanced at May with a questioning look on her face.
“He’s Jaime, Layla’s friend from school,” May said.
Mrs. Rogers was surprised. Her daughter had never brought a friend to her home, not even once.
“What happened? Why are you lying here this way?” Jaime muttered, holding Layla’s hand
“How did this happen?” Tears fell from his eyes.
“It was an accident,” Mrs. Rogers said beside him.
He glanced at her.
“I’m her Mom,” Mrs. Rogers said.
“Do you know how long Layla has been wishing to hear this from you? She has always been a lonely girl whose every wish was her Mom could acknowledge her as her daughter” he whispered.
“I was at fault, I shouldn’t have treated her that way, I shouldn’t have. I’m a bad mother, I’m a disgrace to motherhood” Mrs. Rogers cried.
Jaime sniffed and stared at Layla. He caressed her hand softly before kissing it.
Though he doesn’t know the cause of the accident, all he wished was for her to be okay.
“Be fine Layla, please” he whispered.
****
MONTERIO’S INVESTMENT***
Hailey smiled happily as she stared at the report in her file. The news about their company being framed for bribery had been cleared out.
“Wow! This is great! Charles will be so happy about this” she smiled, rushing to his office immediately.
“Charles! There’s great news!” She screamed happily but her face fell when she saw the office empty. It was at that moment she realized they weren’t together anymore.
She bit her lips.
“I momentarily forgot” she mumbled to herself.
She placed her hand on her chest and rubbed it gently.
“Why does this hurt?” She whispered, blinking back her tears.
She went out of the office and she came to face Jace.
“We need to talk,” Jace said to her.
****
RUSSIA***
Robert opened his eyes with a groan and sat up, rubbing his eyes. He looked at the room to find Cecilia’s absence which was odd because Cecilia doesn’t leave the room.
He went to check the bathroom but she wasn’t there. He left the room and went downstairs, to his dismay, he found the maids on the floor, snoring loudly.
“What the f-__-k is this?!” He roared.
The maids opened their eyes and sprang up, bowing their heads in fear.
“What are y’all doing here?!” He shouted.
“We slept off Master after eating our lunch” a maid spoke out.
“Who’s in charge of the meal?”
“Alexa” the maids looked around themselves to discover Alexa was not with them.
“She’s absent sir, please forgive us” they fell on their knees.
Robert rushed outside and found the guards sleeping in their post.
“Wake up, you bunch of fools!” He snarled.
“Find Cecilia and that maid for me, right now!” He shouted.
He should have known something was amiss when she refused to eat the same lunch with him.
“I’ll never forgive you for this,” he growled.
****
WASHINGTON DC***
HOWARD UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, AT NIGHT***
Mrs. Rogers placed the quilt on Layla’s body well and sat on the bed beside her. Jaime left that evening and May already returned home.
“My baby, when are you going to wake up? Mommy is missing you badly” she whispered.
She stood up in an attempt to leave the room when she saw a sudden movement from Layla. She quickly snapped her head towards her direction.
Slowly, Layla opened her eyes and it fell on Mrs. Rogers.
“Oh my goodness! My baby!” Mrs. Rogers exclaimed happily, staring at her daughter.
“Who are you?” Layla asked which shocked her to the bone.
“Baby,,,” she tried to touch her but a glare from Layla stopped her.
“Don’t touch me,” Layla said, staring at her with hatred.
****
BROOKLYN’S RESIDENCE***
Hailey came out of the bathroom in her nightie, she walked dejectedly to the bed and sat on it. She rested her head on the pillow and a lone tear escaped her eyes.
Charles never returned to the office which made her sad and unhappy.
“I miss him,” she whispered.
There was a gentle knock on the door and both Leah and Sebastian entered the room.
Hailey sat up and dried her tears but it was too late, they saw it all.
“Why are you both here?” She asked.
Sebastian sat on the bed and held her hand.
“You look pale, have you been crying?” He asked softly.
“What are you saying? I’m perfectly fine” Hailey faked a smile.
“You don’t have to pretend to me Hailey, your mom told me everything,” Sebastian said.
Hailey looked at Leah who smiled at her in return.
“You even skipped both your breakfast and dinner, isn’t that enough proof that you’re not okay?” Leah asked.
“Your Mom and I already discussed it, though I was against it but all I ever wished for is your happiness. You’ve sacrificed your whole happiness to us and now that you finally found someone who made you happy, I don’t want to become a barrier to it” Sebastian said.
“I know you’re trying to give up on your love because of us, don’t do that, Hailey. Your Mom and I are both fine, you have to be fine too. I’ll speak to Charles’ Dad if there’s a need to, but do what you know is right”
“Dad..” Hailey whispered. She was beginning to get emotional.
“Your Dad is right baby, we won’t be an obstacle to your love life. You’re our joy, and we’ll always do what makes you happy” Leah smiled.
“Mom” Hailey whispered in tears
“See? I told you she was a crybaby” Leah said to Sebastian.
Sebastian laughed.
“I can’t do without him, I want Charles alone” Leah mimicked Hailey.
“Mom!” Hailey half yells before hugging them at once.
“I love you both so much,” she cries.
“Oh my baby, huhu” Leah smiled as she rocked her like a baby.
“Sorry daughter if Dad made life unbearable for you” Sebastian said.
***
A WHILE LATER***
Hailey laid on the bed with a smile on her face. The fact that her parents approved her relationship with Charles made her happy a lot. She never knew it was gonna be easier that way.
Of course she knew it was her Mom’s doing, no one needs to tell her that.
“Charles would be so happy to hear this” she mumbled.
At the mention of Charles, her mind went to her conversation with Jace.
****
“I heard about your break up from Charles” Jace said to Hailey. They’re in a restaurant.
“Oh…” Hailey mouthed.
“Is that what you truly want?” He asked.
“You shouldn’t be hurting yourself Hailey, you need to fight for your love if there’s a need to. Charles’ father is only looking out for him because of the past but he’s only doing it in a wrong way” Jace said.
“Charles’ heart was broken once and this the second time shattered his heart a lot” he brought out a paper and a pen, he scribbled something into it.
He passed the paper to Hailey.
“That’s Charles’ house address in case you have a change of mind. I really hope you do so you both don’t get hurt”
***
Hailey stood up from the bed and opened her bag, she brought the paper out and stared at it for a moment.
“I miss him,” she whispered.
“I love him”
“I can’t live without him”
Without giving it a second thought, she dashed out of her room forgetting that she was in her nightie. No one was in the living room and she didn’t even bother to tell anyone where she was going.
She got outside and flagged a taxi down.
“Silver bell estate please” she said to the driver.
***
Hailey got to the house, she knocked on the gate loudly and it was opened by the security.
“Good evening, ma’am” the security greeted and opened the gate widely for her to enter.
Hailey was confused but she didn’t even have the time to ask questions.
“The first room upstairs is his room” the security said and walked away.
Without thinking much about it, she dashed into the house. She didn’t even have the time to admire his house.
She ascended the staircase and opened the first room she came across according to the security.
At that time, Charles came out of the bathroom in just his towel. He was looking like a demigod but his face kinda looked pale.
“Cara,,” Charles whispered, staring at Hailey in shock. How did she get to know his house?
Hailey stared at him and tears started streaming down her cheeks.
She rushed to his arms, hugging him like her life depended on him.
“I don’t want to leave you, Charles. I love you, I love you so much” she whispered in tears.
Charles smiled and wrapped his arms around her.
“I’m never leaving you too, Cara Mia. Not now, not ever” he whispered back.
Hailey broke the hug, staring at his eyes with deep affection.
“I can’t do without you, Charles. I’m addicted to you” she whispered and slammed her lips on his, kissing him hungrily.
Charles responded to the kiss immediately, pulling her to him as the seconds passed by.
Their tongues tangled and went to war in their locked mouths, battling madly for dominance.
She sighed against his lips and murmured his name, and she could feel him smile.
Her hands moved into his hair, that hair that she’d been wanting to touch all night, and he kissed her harder.
His hand cupped her cheek, and the gentle touch on her skin as she felt the heat of his mouth had her nerve endings on fire.
“Stay with me tonight, Cara” Charles whispered into her mouth, moving his hands into her nightie.
TBC