C1 Chapter 1

I can't believe you added sugar to my coffee! You all must be stupid. Do you think I get my money from trees? Whoever added sugar to my coffee better pack their stuff and consider herself sacked. Get out of my face. You disgust me. As the head cook, you should have supervised this. Looks like you have another job waiting for you. I cannot condone all this. I give every one of you nine months to find another job and get out of my house.

"Sir you requested for sugar to be added to your coffee. Isabelle made sure she asked. She needs this job. Her mother is seriously ill and the pay she gets from working here is her little way of helping her mother."

"Are you saying I'm a liar or I have lost my mind or maybe the fire burnt a part of my head which has affected my brain? Who gave you the right to reply to me in such a manner with no regard? You have no respect for me anymore. You have quickly forgotten that I feed you. Ever heard of the proverb that says "never bite the hands that feed you". Well, you just bit it. Pack your load and get out of my house alongside with the so-called Isabella." he said.

"You are despicable. All I ever did was love you. For Godsake I am old enough to be your mother. Your mother trained you better than this and your wife will turn in her grave with this disgusting attitude of yours. We all quit. We have been meaning to tell you this for a long time. Enjoy your miserable life in loneliness. We all tried our best."

He picks up a tall ceramic vase and throws it at the wall causing it to shatter into pieces.

"You will not mention my wife." He says as visible bulging forehead veins start to show on his head. "You all can leave for all I care!"

"What happened in here? Was there a hurricane disaster close by? The house is so much in disarray. Hello? Where is everyone?" Rachel questioned.

A loud glass shattering sound from upstairs indicated just one thing which has become a familiar occurrence lately. Rachel runs upstairs flying two steps each in a bid to stop Mr James from whatever havoc he is rendering to himself or the house which has become a usual pattern. Just as she's about to enter his room, a piece of sharp glass connects with her upper arm penetrating her skin. She screams at the top of her voice due to the impact of pain caused by the glass.

"I told you all to get out. What are you still looking for her... " he stops mid-sentence as soon as he realises what he has done and rushes towards Rachel who takes some few steps back trying to avoid him.

"My God. What have I done? I am so sorry it wasn't my intention to hurt you. I will never hurt you. I mean, I thought you went out. Can I please just see it? I promise I won't harm you. I just want to take a look at it if it is something I can handle. I promise to be a gentleman." Rachel out of fear for what he could do next dashes out his room and out of his house and run as fast as her thin legs could carry her without even looking back.

It's a few minutes past six and Rachel is nowhere to be found. He has placed a call through to every hospital he can think of in the area and none of them seems to have taken in any Rachel Smith. Her mother would be disappointed at what he had become. She was there for him during the fresh months of the fire incidence. She was his shoulder to cry on despite the times that he went too far by lashing hurtful words at her, she still stood by him and stayed up till she was sure he was fast asleep and all he could do was repay her by hurting her daughter. He just knew that the one person he was supposed to watch over, would never return to him. That leaves only him in this gigantic house because all the household agencies have bitterly turned down their services.

It's a shame that as common as her number he didn't have it. He had been so blinded by rage. Once upon a time he used to look after her and scare off bad boys because her mother was usually busy she had no time for her and the remaining years she was supposed to look after her daughter, she spent them looking out for him before cancer creped into her blood and death finally took her away. They had both been through a lot and she still had this ever-smiling face. He wishes she could share her strength with him. She was just twenty-one and in her semi-final year in college and she could handle her emotion way better than he could. A twenty-eight-year-old man for that matter. He should bow his head in shame.

Their quarters were just right behind his house so there was no way she would have entered that he wouldn't have noticed. He could virtually see everything going on just from where he stood. He had once seen her naked from his balcony. She had grown into a woman. All it took was one stir deep down that made him completely distance himself from her. She worked for him during the evenings so they saw less of each other.

He had no idea why she still stuck around even after her mothers' death but he was sure she needed the pay. He would never forget that one time his wife questioned his love for her. " Do you love me at all or you just married me because I was pregnant with your child? Because I see the way you look at Rachel." She had said. He would have sworn that his heart stopped for a second when she had asked him. He had always tried to bury such thoughts of anything emotions towards Rachel.

She didn't wait for him to answer the question because she ran off and later came back saying she didn't want to know the answer but he was sure to clear the air. He loved his wife so dearly. It hurts that his beloved wife and son died from inhaling excess carbon dioxide. They went on a vacation to one of his houses by the beach. That very night, Sabrina had dismissed all the workers saying she wanted alone time with her family. She had prepared dinner and forgot to tighten the gas. Investigators had detected. All she said last was that she wanted to heat the baby's food and that's when he noticed the strong smell of something burning. He tried to save them. He called the fire department and rushed into the kitchen but he couldn't see properly. The kitchen was covered in flames and smoke. The last thing he remembered was Jason's screams in between sobs before a large stick of wood knocked him out. Till this very moment, he is constantly haunted by those screams in his sleep.