Chapter five

Lillian’s heartbeat increased when she heard him pronounce her name, it was almost as if he was caressing her skin with his voice. Don’t, don’t, what the hell is wrong with her, what is she thinking about? She wondered, but she still looked up at him and answered, “yes sir?”

Shane scanned her face with his eyes but at the end, he shook his head softly with a soft smile, “never mind. You remind of someone.”

Her heart was ecstatic at the thought that he might be remembering her, she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “who?”

Shane looked at her briefly, “not to worry. I’m sure they are looking for you now downstairs, close the door after you,” he walked passed her as he spoke.

Lilly couldn’t hide her disappointment, she thought he remembered her, she must have been stupid. She should be happy that he didn’t even get angry at her for standing, lost in thought in his room. Thinking to that, she concealed her hurt feeling and nodded curtly, “yes sir,” she curtsied before leaving the room, closing the door gently behind her.

Shane turned then and looked at the door she left through, he was lost in thought for a second before he started undressing. If it’s up to him, he would prefer eating and then resting but his mother still has to throw a welcome home party for him, upon he called her on his way to the airport last night to avoid it. He took off his blazer and shirt, then down to his pants. He just have to put up with it for a while, that’s all.

Lilly went into the kitchen only to be snatched by Nora on the hallway, “where have you been?” She asked.

“I-I-I was just...em...arranging the room, there...there was some dirt’s in the wardrobe.”

Nora gave her a look that she doesn’t believe her but she left it go, “come on, Mrs. Paulina has been looking for you.”

They both entered the kitchen to the ordering voice of Paulina, “finally you two are back, set the table will you, you heard Mrs. Lockwood didn’t you?”

“Yes Mrs. Paulina” they both answered and got themselves busy.

Shane came down the stairs after freshening up, he met his mother in the living room who seemed to be talking with someone on the phone, she nodded at the sight of him before speaking into the phone.

Shane made himself comfortable on the single sofa, he casually picked a magazine as he flipped through the pages, a shattering sound behind him got him to look back immediately only to be met with the sight of Lilly bending in front of some shattered plates.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” Margaret’s voice rang behind him and he was on his feet immediately, “what were you thinking that you have to break those plates!”

Margaret’s angry voice had already got a lot of the servants to the living room. Lilly was standing with her head bowed, she looked so guilty that her figure tugged at people’s heartstrings, “I’m sorry ma’am, it was a mistake, it won’t happen again.”

“Do you know how much those plates cost that you have to break them like that and tell me you are sorry?” Margaret was furious.

“Mom calm down, it’s just plates,” Shane commented, “the important thing is that no one got hurt.”

“I don’t care if she got hurt,” Margaret rolled her eyes.

Shane was shocked at her words, “mom!” He called, his eyes not leaving her face.

Margaret waved at her hand to die off the matter, “whatever. Just make sure you clean everywhere, I don’t want to see a single piece, is that understood?”

“Yes ma’am,” Lilly bowed before bending down to pack the broken pieces.

Shane watched as she did so with her naked hands and he was tempted to tell her to wear gloves but at the end he didn’t, he couldn’t tell why he was compelled to be gentle with her; he was just meeting her for the first time! He sat down and opened his magazine again, willing himself not to look back at her even when two of the maids joined her in packing the broken pieces.

“We will be going to the company tomorrow. The boards want to meet you and you can join in the meeting on providing strategy for the bridge thing I told you about,” his mother’s voice rang in his thought and he nodded in response, “how is mom lately?”

“She is getting better. Although she refused going to any old care and she wanted me to pass her refusal to you in person,” Shane replied.

“I don’t get it, she doesn’t have to depend on you to take care of her, for goodness sake Shane, you should have been back five years ago.”

“She was sick mom. I couldn’t leave her in that state,” he replied.

“And after the years did she get better?” She looked smug.

Shane looked at her, “mom, she is old, it’s understandable if she gets sick once in a while.”

“And you should have been here to take over the company a long time ago.”

“Am I not here now?”

“Finally she let you off her clutches, the old witch. How did you manage to leave her then?”

“I hired a caretaker. Besides, this is your mother we are talking about here, your mother and my grandmother.”

“Well isn’t she a witch?” Margaret was adamant.

Shane pitched the bridge of his nose and sighed in exasperation, “I have just got back mom, shouldn’t you at least give me some time before you start your nagging?”

“I don’t nag, I merely speaks the truth, why did my father leave her in the first place?”

“Why did dad leave you?” Shane challenged.

A flint of anger flickered in Margaret’s eyes but she composed herself immediately, “your father didn’t leave me, I left him.”

“Yes, that was what you told me.”

“Do you doubt me son? Since when do you doubt mommy?”

“I don’t doubt you mom,” he sighed, “I just don’t want to talk about this anymore, especially now. So can you drop it?”

“Fine,” she sat on the couch and sipped her orange juice, “did he contact you again?”

“For Christ sake Mom, enough, why do you always bombard me with questions about him if you so claim you left him?”

“I just want to know.”

“He didn’t, happy now? I haven’t heard from him in years, not that you even care or ever let me talk to him,” he stood up and left the living room. Margaret watched him leave and silently sipped her juice, looking as elegant as she can be without a single worry in the world.

Shane walked out to the lawn, he stood staring at the statues, fountains and animal shaped flowers. He had missed this place, a lot. The house holds all of his childhood memories but he couldn’t stay anymore after his parents’ divorce and now he is back, but a grown man now. He has finally accepted his parents’ divorce although it was very hard for him to do.

His father had contacted him during the first three years, asking him to give him a listening ear about what happened but what his mother said and all the pictures, he couldn’t bear to listen to the disgrace of a father. He was angry, he was the one that ruined his perfect home, how could he listen to him? Moreover, his mother forbade him to ever talk to him and so, he hung up every time he hears his voice and his father always call him with different lines, each time hoping for him to talk to him but he was always disappointed because he never did.

But then, seven years ago he just stopped calling. At first he was glad that finally he stopped bugging him, but with time, he started getting worried and when he asked his mother, she told him that his mistress finally gave birth to a son for him, that it’s possible that he has been replaced.

His calming anger rose again and he wished his father would burn in hell, he never bothered again to call him or even ask of him and his father never called him ever again but his mom always gets on his nerves by asking about him every single time they see, he hates it because she reminds him of the one man he wishes to forget.

“Sir, ma’am asked me to call you. Lunch is ready,” he heard a gentle voice say behind him and turned to see Abigail, he smiled to her, taking his time now to study her. Her deep brown hair that her daughter took and that has never left his memory, but what he missed more about her was her honey eyes which she took after George, her father, “Abigail, how are you?”

“I’m fine sir. It’s really good to have you back. There was a time I thought I will never see you again,” she smiled.

Shane returned the smile and sighed after a while, “this place, it holds happy memories for me, those I don’t even want to remember.”

“I understand. No child can handle his happy home shattering with a happy smile on his face.”

“Indeed,” he let out a deep breath and looked around him, after some seconds he couldn’t hold himself anymore, he looked at Abigail who was still looking at him and asked, “how is she, your daughter?”

Abigail smiled; she knew he would ask that, she has been expecting it, “she is fine. Thank you for asking sir.”

Shane nodded; he glanced back at the house, “the girl inside, Lillian. She has her best feature.”

“Which is?”

“Her eyes,” he looked at her slightly shocked face and confirmed his thought, “she is your Lillian isn’t she?”

Abigail sighed before nodding softly, “yes sir, she is one and the same.”

Shane smiled, “I figured. But I wasn’t so sure, she was so little when I last saw her and now she is...grown.”

“It’s been thirteen years.”

“Yes,” he heaved a deep sigh, “alright, let’s go have that lunch before it gets cold,” he smiled.

“Yes. I hope you enjoy your lunch sir.”

“I will. I have missed Paulina’s cooking,” they both chuckled and walked silently to the house. When they got in, Abigail walked straight to the kitchen and Shane joined his mother on the dining table. He settled himself to eat and Margaret paid no mind to him as she picked up her cutleries.

His eyes first landed on the girl standing not so far from the dining, waiting to attend to any of their orders. He couldn’t believe it, how could she have grown to be so beautiful? He had always known she would be a beauty when she grows up but not so beautiful. When he got down from the car, her eyes had been the first thing that captivated him. It always seemed like it was sucking out all the emotions in him. It was what attracted him to her as a child and what he fears was still attracting him to her.

“Pass the salt,” he said and she hurriedly bid his request, he took the jar from her and his long fingers mistakenly touched hers, a sudden bolt of electricity passed through him and with how she quickly let go of the jar, he knew she felt it too. Luckily, his fingers were already curled on the jar, if not, it would have fell and broken, thereby getting his mom to nag at her again. She immediately retreated from him, —or he should say the dining table—, he tried not to stare much at her since his mother was now looking at him. He ignored the twitching of his hand and added a little bit of salt in his food, acting as nonchalant as he could.

Finally, the dreadful lunch ended or so he would call it. Lilly rushed and started clearing the dishes just as he and his mother stood up. “They won’t be much guests tonight, just some get together party. I knew that’s what you were avoiding which was why you didn’t call a day before to tell me about your return,” Margaret said as they made their way to the living room.

“Since you knew, why did you still plan your ‘get together party’?” He opened air quote with his fingers.

“You can’t be gone for ten years and just return like that.”

“What if that was what I wanted to do?”

Margaret rolled her eyes, “people are watching everything we do. In case if you have forgotten, we are the Lockwood’s, the press is always on our tail. I don’t want a person reading that we are not in good terms which was why I couldn’t even throw you a party when you returned after ten years. I’m a public figure, people watch what I do. And now that you are back, they will be watching what you do too. If that woman had let you come back when I wanted you to, you would have been aware of this by now,” she hissed and walked on, leaving him behind.

Shane said nothing as he watched her climb the stairs, why is he not surprised? He rolled his eyes. Ever since he was a child, his mother has always been concerned of what people will say. To be honest, his dad doesn’t care much about what the damn people will say and neither does he. Those people that will talk, don’t they have the power to make decisions for their own lives without caring about what they will say? So why should they have to care about them when making their own decisions?

Grr, so much for being the Lockwood’s, he rolled his eyes and sat in the living room for a short while before going up the stairs to his room, waiting for the dreadful party.