C17 Chapter Seventeen

The new young master, Mc took a walk around the Milburn mansion which had become his home since the celebrations, though John's jealousy ruined most of the day, the rest of the family found a way of getting together and welcoming him just as they should, "I know I've been absent all your life my son, but I want you to know that you've always been in my heart and I've always loved you." The voice of his father played again in his head as he admired the beautiful flowers perfectly placed on the long passage to the kitchen. He had no specific place in mind as he walked around, he just wanted to explore the house and get to know things better.

"Hey my friend, you are looking happy this morning." Arjun Khan said to the sight of Mc sniffing the flowers in the verse. "Oh Khan, of course I'm happy, I have no worries. I've spent most of my life being worried but since I moved in here, everything's changed."

"Good one my friend, I hope you have a good time, cos you'll be here forever, it is your home now." The friendly man walked away leaving Mc with his happy face as he continued his house tour.

Mc moved further and found himself close to the kitchen and he could see Emily the cook through the glass door, he paused to observe how she enjoyed cutting the carrots while dancing to some music, how she moved from one side of the kitchen to another knowing exactly where to get whatever she needed. And after a while, Mc discovered he wasn't just observing the young cook who saved all of their lives some days ago, he was rather admiring her rich, warm complexion, radiating a deep and beautiful tone that enhanced her striking features. He liked her and he didn't notice he had gone closer, close enough for her to notice and immediately stop her dancing to get on with the cooking more seriously as cooks in a big house were expected to do.

"You didn't have to stop," Mc said in the most friendly way possible and she wasn't really sure how to respond.

"My apologies sir, I just got taken away, it won't happen again." She hoped she said it the right way and this wouldn't become a big deal.

"Apologies? For dancing and having a good time? Nah you've got to enjoy doing what you earn from."

"What? Oh sorry I mean..." She was speechless because she never expected that, all her stay In the Milburn house and no one had ever been so nice to her or cared about what she enjoyed or not. She was used to being treated poorly by John while he was still there.

"You must like dancing, yeah?" Mc came closer

"Yes, I do, I used to attend Barley classes as a child but my dad died and things got harder so uhm..."

"Yeah I get it, I lost my mum as a child too."

There was silence after they both realised their childhood story had a similarity, "you mind if I pick one?" Mc pointed to the carrots she had neatly cut into small pieces, and she just smiled, answering "Yes sir."

"Emily, would you do me a favour?"

"I think I would."

"Just call me by my name alright?"

"Alright sir... Oh sorry I meant Mc, alright Mc." She quickly corrected herself and they laughed it off.

"I think I'll have to come here frequently to steal more carrots." Mc reached for more of the sliced carrots.

"It's cool, I eat them all the time."

"Nice, from now on, whenever I need ‘em carrots, I'm running right here in your office to get them."

"Oh my," why was this guy so good at making her laugh? "My office? This is a kitchen, this is where I work." She was still giggling.

"Yeah it's where you work, it's your office then."

"Okay you win, you can come get carrots in my office, Mc."

"Alright." He then threw a piece in his mouth and walked out leaving her in the light hearted environment he'd just created.

*****

Love is a powerful thing, it changes minds, it turns black to white, washes the dirt of the mind, blinds people and turns the bad people to good ones. But not in the case of Anderson, his love for Cara who'd been Melissa all the while wasn't going to change anything, he rather felt stupid for being fooled and tricked by her all this time. "How could I have fallen for the one person my boss needs to capture?" He lay in his bed covered in sweat, and he found himself sleeping indoors since he found out that Cara was Melissa. "She fucking lied! She lied to me! She lied to me!" he slapped his pillow in anger and stood up to approach his mirror, he looked at himself and spoke to the man looking back at him in that mirror. "Listen to yourself Anderson, that bitch lied to you, she made you fall for the wrong identity and you know what you gonna do?" He beat his chest roughly and continued "you're gonna call your boss and tell her everything exactly how it is. You're gonna tell her that you've found Melissa, she's not dead and she's close by." He punched the mirror and turned to look at his bleeding hands as pieces of the shattered mirror fell to the ground, " you're gonna pay for fooling me, who knows, you just lied about the whole blackmail shit so you could make some cash off me." He finally said to himself.

*****

"Sonia, I really need to come live with you for a while. This place is no longer safe." Mellisa's voice cracked as she spoke to her best friend Sonia over the phone.

"What's wrong now? What happened?"

"Anderson, he found out I've been lying to him all this while!"

"What that's bad! How?"

"He saw my face and he was shocked, he already knows me from somewhere, he knows I'm Melissa."

"Oh my... It's alright you can come stay as long as it takes honey."

"Thank you Sonia, thank you so much."

"But are you sure you just have to run like that?"

"Yeah I do. I already agreed to go on a date with him in the past, I agreed to go to his house but I did all that because I was hoping he wouldn't be someone who already knows me. I was hoping that he wouldn't know me, but the moment he saw my face, he was shocked, disappointed and I don't know, he seemed so angry."

"Oh my God honey you need to leave."

"I know right, but honestly I'm just tired of running up and down, I'm tired of running every time. I'm tired." She started crying and Sonia could feel her pain even on call, "everything's gonna be alright soon Melissa, let's just give it time."

"I had a life, I had a life Sonia I ruined it, I gave it all away." The tears finally started falling down those eyes.

"Hey, hey you don't have to be so hard on yourself." Sonia tried to stop her from crying herself out.

"I had a husband Sonia, he loved me but I treated him like shit! He loved me but I cheated on him with someone who wasn't even worth it. Jeremy was a cheat, a playboy and that's who I lost my marriage to, and now why am I on the run? It's simply because I was suspected of killing Jeremy who cheated on me! Shit Sonia my life is shit, everything turned upside down since I pushed Mc out of my life."

"Why do you talk like you still want Mc back in your life?"

"I do, I really do need him back, I miss having someone who genuinely cares not because of my looks or not because they want me to spread my legs for them, but because they really do love me."

"I don't know what to say right now Melissa, because I'd always known Mc was a good man. But what's happened has happened, there's no going back."

"I think there's a going back on this one."

"What do you mean?"

"I want Mc back!"

"Mellisa you're my friend and I'll have to tell you this just the way it is, you cannot have Mc back. It's too late."

"What do you mean? Why do you say that?"

"With his status now, I think Mc will only want to date celebrities and other high profile women."

"What am I missing?"

"You know his full name is Mc Ethan right?"

"Are you asking me that question? He was my husband. For God's sake I know his full name!" Just get to the point."

"Well he just found out that his father didn't die at a young age, they found out that his father is Ethan Milburn."

"Oh my God! Are you kidding me? You better not be playing with me girl!" She was genuinely shocked to find out that the man she'd treated so badly in marriage was a son to such a wealthy family, and heir.

"I'm not kidding, he lives in the Milburn house now. There's no car he can't ride and no girl he can't win. I'll be honest, you blew your chances."

"My God! I'm gonna get him back, I don't care if he has a girlfriend, I'll lure my way back into his life with the help of old good memories, and with one little chance, I'll make sure I get pregnant for him."

"Isn't this the same guy you said you'll never have a baby with? You said he was only good at losing his job."

"Are you going to support me or you'll keep reminding me of the things I said?"

"I'm just being realistic here, you said you would get him back with help from old memories, but if you take a look back, you'll see that the memories are filled with your harsh words on him and your wrong treatment on him, I'm not sure he'll take you back."

"He's a kind man and I miss him, Sonia."

"Men never forget how badly you treated them at their worst. And besides, once you start acting so nice to him, he'll know you're there for the money because you were never a nice wife!"

"Sonia, when I come to your place, we'll talk better. But I want you to know that I will get my husband back!”