"Hey Audrey. Are you here yet?"

I'm tempted to run in the opposite direction if it wouldn't be so obvious. Emily stops right In front of me.

"Hey", she greets and I nod in response.

"Hi. What are you doing here?". Her cousins walks away just as I finish my question.

Emily sighs, smiling apologetically. I smile back, hating that she always has to apologize on his behalf when he's the obnoxious prick he's always been.

"I had to sort out a few things here. How are you?"

"Great. How have you been you know, coping?"

"I mean, how else do you cope when you lose a person?", she asks with a sad smile.

"I'm sorry", I reply shamefully.

"It's fine. I'm done with my business here. Do you want to go for a walk? You look like you need it" I nod, because she's right, I do need it.

For the next hour, Emily and I walk around the hospital premises. Not too far, so l can still get to Keila in time. We talk about her, her son before he died and her life after she lost him. She tells me how it's been difficult accepting that his death wasn't her fault and the mortality rate for his condition was very high. His chances of surviving was low from the very beginning. She asks me why l'm at the hospital and I tell her about Keila. I guess l've been looking for someone to talk to because I find it difficult to stop as I start talking about Keila, the bills, the job, and the time I certainly do not have to gather enough resources to save my daughter.

"Audrey, that's a lot. What do you plan to do?"

"Sell my organs", I reply seriously. Emily stops short, shocked at how serious I am. I already made up my mind though, so she cant change my mind.

"That's not necessary. You don't have to go that far"

"It's my daughter’s life so yes, I do have to go that far if I want to save her" Emily shakes her head frantically, handing me a card.

"I watched my son die because I couldn't do anything to save him. We had money but money was never truly going to stop his death. I can’t sit back and have peace knowing that I could try to stop another mother from experiencing the pain of losing their child"

I look at the card and back up at her.

"Emily, what's the card for?", I ask curiously. She takes my free hand in hers.

"That's my card. There's a job opening for a caretaker. Think about it and call me whenever you're ready"

"What?..l", I want to tell her I cant take this but then I think about how I cant let n pride get in the way, not if there's even remotely a chance that I can save my daughter.

"Thankyou", I say instead, with tears in my eyes. "Thankyou so much for this. It means a lot to me"

"It's fine. It's the least I can do. Just promise me you'd think about it? The pay is really good. It might not cover all the bills but it'd go a long way" I smile gratefully at her, promising to think about the job.

***************************

When I get home the next day, I find Louis seated on the sofa.

"Hey baby", he greets with a sweet smile.

"Hey", I greet back. "Didn't know you'd be home today"

"Yeah. I dropped by the hospital earlier. Went to see Keila. Was surpised you weren't there"

"Uhm, yeah". I hang my bag and drop my keys, then I go him. "I left the hospital. Katie and I spent some time with Keila before we went out for a bit"

I sit beside him on the sofa. His arm immediately going around my waist as I lean into him. He kisses my hair.

"Yeah? How'd it go?"

"Well, we did some catching up. Talked a bit about Keila. And then she told me about a job opening at a bank her colleague told her about"

"Are you going to take it?", he asks.

"I'm thinking about it"

"Well, it would be really nice if you take it. Keila needs all the help she can get at this moment"

"Yeah", I reply quietly, lost in my thoughts. He's right, Keila needs all the help she can get. Now I have two opportunities to help my daughter. I can't take both jobs at once, since both are full time commitments but I can take the one that can provide the money quicker. I may not like the idea of getting help from a stranger over my best friend, but if it's for my daughter, I would do anything.

"Yeah, you're right. Thank you', I say as I turn to kiss Louis.

Later that evening, I call Emily to inform her of my decision. She seems relieved to hear I'm taking the job and she immediately gives me the address to come to the next day. I ask her if I need any special requirements or even my CV and she says | shouldn't worry about it. I'm worried but I don't let it bother me for long as I make plans to leave early the next day for my appointment.

*******

I look at the address Emily gave me again for the fifth time, trying to make sure I'm at the right place. I am, but I still doubt it.

The house, no, the mansion in front of me looks like a palace and as much as Emily looks like she comes from money, I don't think I'm at the right place. The palace in front of me is a living dream.

I call Emily.

"Hey Audrey. Are you here yet?"

"Uhm, yeah, but I don't know if I'm at the right place. The mansio- uh, building looks kinda..." She laughs lightly.

"I guess you're in the right place after all. I'll send someone down to come bring you in. Hold on". She cuts the call before I get a chance to ask any further questions. I'm about to call her back when the gate automatically opens and I stumble backwards, surprised. There's a man that looks strangely like a butler waiting for me a few steps away. Do people still use butlers?

He walks up to me and meets me halfway. Upon closer inspection, I realize that he is in fact a butler. "Good day ma'am. I'm Salud. Allow me to lead you in"

"Oh, thank you I guess", I answer, following him in.

I take in the scenery, marveled by such exquisite grandeur. He opens the heavy oak doors that lead to the main building and I discover that it looks even grander inside.

I'm awestruck as he leads me deeper in, taking in every carefully carved detail.

"Wait here please", he says, walking away. I don't stop him, too lost in the paintings on the ceiling to take any note of anything else. I don't know how much time passes, but I hear a voice that vaguely sounds like Emily’s. It takes a lot of effort to pull myself out of my admiration enough to face her. She's smiling warmly at me, even if it looks like she's been trying to catch my attention for a while. That's not what makes my heart freeze though, it's the

intimidating sight of Luther a few steps away from her, glaring at me. Shit.