FIVE

Miss Brooke should be here any minute, he thought. Her sudden change was both surprising and expected. Surprising because he had assumed her to be an adamant person, and when she refused his proposal he had concluded based on that assumption it was possibly a dead end. 

He expected this because he understood the urgency of Miss Brooke's grandma's need for better treatment. He also knew how much she loved her grandmother. He had done a background check on her and he found out about her parents. The mother is dead and the father is off the radar.  She was brought up by her grandma, the mother of her dad. So he understood she loved her grandma. And Adam is familiar with sacrifice for loved ones. 

Everything has been sorted out. The grandma is under the care of the best doctor for her cancer. The agreed 2 million dollar payment is ongoing, and one million has been sent to her account the rest would be after she fulfills her responsibility of the contract. 

As proposed by his lawyer, Miss Brooke's fashion style has been tweaked to Amanda's style. Miss Brooke suggested her hair be straightened to make her look like Amanda's hair. He thought it was a splendid idea. 

He hadn't seen these changes, but he was sure she would look nothing less than beautiful. 

His landline ran, and one of his staff announced that Miss Brooke was around. 

 He scurried to the living room where she was waiting. He noticed the twist of excitement he was feeling at every step of getting closer to her. This wasn't the first time but he concluded it was because of the joy of his brother getting better by their plan that Miss Brooke would be playing a significant role in it. 

She stood up as she saw him extending her hands to him to greet him. 

"Hello Miss Brookes, please sit." He took his seat as well, facing her. 

She was wearing a pink short dress, slightly above her thigh revealing a glimpse of a dotted black mark on her fresh thigh. The excitement he felt earlier increased with a body reaction he couldn't explain but found strange. 

"Afternoon sir," 

she replied with her left hand brushing her now-straightened hair to the back.  There's something more appealing about her. Adam could not deny that the lady was breathtaking. He has always believed that she was more beautiful than Amanda. The now similar style made it obvious to him she was indeed more stunning than her. 

"How is your granny, hope you were able to spend some time with her?"  

he asked her, trying to divert his mind from the thought of her attractiveness. 

"Yes, I did, she's doing better."  a dash of smile appeared on her face. 

"thank you, sir, she told me she feels better than before." her face gleamed with a smile that reflected her sincerity. 

"I'm glad she's feeling better." she beamed more trying to open her mouth to utter something. 

"but you do not need to thank me, you did this for her. It was your choice that got her the care she needed Miss Brooke."

She nodded her head. "Miss Brooke, before I introduce you to Nathaniel, I'd like us to discuss some things"

"Okay sir,"  she replied, her face now in a serious glare. 

"As you know, Nat would expect your name to be Amanda, to make this whole thing convincing and not slip around Nat, I would be calling you Amanda as well."

He paused for her to digest it and to read her face which is strangely easy for him to study. The lady's face gives out her emotions or internal reactions to things easily. 

"The staff have been instructed to refer to you as that, especially when Nat is around you."

"Do you understand Miss Brooke?"

"Yes sir I do, if I may ask you a question?" 

"Please go ahead." 

She leaned forward and asked.  "Does the staff understand my job here, I am asking because you mentioned in the proposal that under no circumstances should anyone else know why I'm staying in this house."

Adam smirks, "Yes I did state that. But, every person working in this house has to sign confidentiality to not disclose whatever is happening in this family, especially anything about Nathaniel just as you." 

She nodded as divulged the information to her. 

"you have nothing to worry about, no one would know what you do here. Do you have any questions for clarity before we proceed?"

"Yes sir, I do." 

"Go ahead please." 

"I read in the contract that, I am not allowed a visitor in the house, can I meet outside?"

Curious to know if the visitor she wants to visit is a man or a boyfriend. The thought of a boyfriend pricks his skin. 

"Why the question Miss Brooke, is there someone you can't do without for some months?" 

"No, if you're asking if it's a boyfriend, yes if you're asking me if I can't do without seeing my granny sir." 

"Uh, I see. You can use your free day every week to see her." surprisingly glad it was her granny. 

He could see a slightly dissatisfied look on her face. 

"Shall will miss Brooke." 

He stood up motioning her to follow his lead as he made his way to Nathaniel's apartment. 

Nat had been staying closer to him upstairs before but there was a day he wanted to jump the stairs because he saw Amanda telling him to jump to her. Some moved him downstairs and made the room cozy and danger-free for him, hence why he had installed a camera to monitor him. 

They got to Nathaniel's room and he stepped in to prepare her entry. She waited outside the door. 

Nat was in one of his calm moods, whenever he was in this mood he was a little bit mentally stable. 

"Nat Nat, how are you today?" he asked as he took a seat on the bed beside him. 

Nat, whose back was facing him, turned swiftly, his stuffed animal in his hand clinging to it hard."How are you Adam, how was work today." he smiled. Scratching His head he sat up, his back resting on the bed frame. 

"I needed to sleep, Adam, but Pumpum said I should wait for her to arrive today."

Nat continued talking to Adam excitedly. "I'll be leaving the house soon, she has a concert and I promised her I would take her on my bike there, I love that woman." 

Every time Adam hears him talk like this it breaks his heart to pieces because just like Sandy Nathaniel is his only family. Maybe his cousin Samuel. 

"Nat, I have a very big surprise for you." Nat didn't say anything but turned back to his previous position. 

"Come in please." motioning to Sandy to enter the room. 

Sandy slowly walked to the room standing beside him. He could sense her anxiousness and he looked at her reassuringly. He took a step back. 

"Go ahead," he said. 

She edged forward and bent a little. "Hello PumPum." The names Amanda and Nathaniel call themselves attracted Nat's attention. He veered around and caught Sandy's anxious smiling face. 

"Amanda Amanda is that you baby?" he stood up on his knees on the bed, his hands on Sandy's face, mapping it affectionately. Tears streamed from his eyes as he looked at her intently. He rimmed closer and hugged her tightly. 

"Yes pum pum, it's me."

Adam could have sworn he saw a tear drop from her face which was amazing to him but also confirmed to him she is an emotional person. 

This joy his brother is feeling right now is what made him finally realize his plan wasn't a mistake. For the first time in a long time, he knew he would sleep better. 

He and Nat are the only children of their parents. Their mom died when Nat was born. He was six. Their father was devastated for years. For some reason, he blamed Nat for his wife's death. 

He became an active older brother at a young age though they had a nanny he made sure he was responsible for him. 

Their father refused to remarry and eventually came around to love Nat and him. He ravished them with attention and love that made their growing up filled with immense happiness. 

He was twenty-one when their dad died. He immediately took over the company. While he was rational, business-minded, and focused, Nat was a carefree, spirited, and in-the-moment kind of man. He categorically told him he wasn't interested in corporate work and had gotten a degree in art. 

He was good at it, he turned the walls of their house into a painting board and painted the walls with pictures and illustrations of their family history. He loved it. However, he never supported the idea as a long-term thing for Nat, it led to a lot of fights and arguments. 

 When he had inherited the company, he inherited a lot of debt and the company was on the bricks of collapsing. So he invested his all into it and after years of rigorous hard work, the company, an agricultural product company, has branches in twenty-five countries with their product a worldwide favorite. Last year he started his own tech company which has been successfully growing, currently with an investment of 5 billion dollars. 

 The joy and fulfillment he's feeling right now surpass all these achievements. All he wanted was for his brother to return to his senses and be his happy self again. 

"Nat, I'm glad you're happy, I'll be in my study if you need me, Amanda." 

Nat nodded at him smiling, his head on Sandy's chest, he lay beside her. 

The sight of nat head on Sandys's breast itched him. He couldn't understand the strange emotional reactions towards this lady. He thought as he stepped out.