Chapter 4

Thomas:

“Love? Where are you going?” Mum asked smiling at me. Her eyebrow raised at me, I was leaving the house without breakfast. Mum, dad, Daniel, Jasmine, and Lilian were sitting on the dining table. However, I wasn’t going to join them. Having not processed what mum made me do last night, I was still annoyed and I worried about sitting with them as not to say something that might cause mum and issue with dad or not to hurt her feelings.

“I’m going out for a bit, the lads are waiting for me. We’ve got work to do” I answered and mum raised an eyebrow but nodded.

“Aren’t you going to join us to breakfast at least? You skipped dinner with us last night” dad said gently and I smiled walking toward him. I kissed the crown of his head and took a piece of toast making him chuckle and shake his head at me.

Walking out of the house, I sighed taking a deep breath before walking to my car, in reality no one was waiting for me. I was just simply annoyed and I wanted to stay alone, knowing that Kiara left the café, I couldn’t go and see her and J didn’t even know where she’d be working as to go and see her if I wanted to.

“Mr. Thomas?” Igor, my father’s driver asked and I raised an eyebrow at him waiting for him to tell me what he wanted. But he shook his head making me frown in confusion only to find mum standing by the house’s door waiting for me. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she kept her eyes on me as she watched my every reaction, studying my expression. Nodding at Igor, I walked toward mum who kept her eyebrow raised at me.

“Need I ask what you’re doing?” Mum asked angrily.

“Going out?” I answered though it somewhat sounded like a question, her tone revealed annoyance and anger and I understood why. Dad might have asked her why I was refusing to sit on the same table with them, he was a man of morals, we had to sit with one another for meals or he had his own rules which he wants us to follow as to keep a certain order in the house. Of course, me being me, I broke every rule he ever put in the house that he no longer bothers speaking to me about them.

“You are refusing to sit on the table with us, you have been secluding yourself in your bedroom since last night and when you do get out of that room, it is to go out…”

“Mum, if you came here to give me a hard time, I am not in the mood” I said stopping mum whose eyes widened at my words.

“You’re doing this because of the girl” mum stated sarcastically.

“Mum, I am leaving, you can work your schemes and leave me be” I said taking a step back and heading to my car. Mum stood by the door, her arms crossed over her chest as she looked at me, she nodded before walking back inside when our eyes met. I knew that she got annoyed and that I’d hear of it when she got the chance but I wasn’t in the mood to think of that right now.

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“Gustave, come on. All you have to do is give me her address, I’ll tell her that I followed her here or something” I told Gustave who sighed and shook his head at me.

“I apologize, Mr. Thomas. But your mother has prevented me from giving you any information about the girl’s whereabouts. She would be sure that I would be fired and that I wouldn’t be getting another job elsewhere, I can’t…”

“I understand” I said stopping the man who looked down at his feet avoiding my eyes. I should have expected this from mum, though I had hoped otherwise. I knew mum’s ways and methods, she was a woman of her word and when she didn’t want me or Daniel around anyone. She’d be sure to do everything and I mean everything to make sure that we didn’t approach, speak, or even see that someone “I would appreciate that she doesn’t find out about this”

“That I don’t find out about what?” Mum asked from behind me, I sighed and turned around finding my mother standing behind me with a raised eyebrow. Her eyes hard as she looked at me, she nodded at Gustave who went to serve his costumers “need I ask what you’re doing, Thomas?”

“Are you following me?” I asked mum angrily.

“Yes, I am following you. I am your mother and it is my duty to keep you safe…”

“I am twenty-five, mother. What are you going to protect me from?” I asked angrily not caring that I was drawing attention to us. Mum glared at me and looked at the costumers who turned to look at us with, mum’s eyes flared with anger and she looked at the people who were looking at us. She nodded at me, anger drawn in her crystal blue eyes.

Mum didn’t answer me, she turned around and walked toward the door. Glaring at the people, I turned toward mum and I followed her walking out of the restaurant but mum wouldn’t look at me, anger was clear in the way she walked and the way she looked me in the eye “if you wish to follow the girl, then go on ahead. But you can forget your inheritance, you can forget money, and you can forget your seat in that company”

“The company belongs to father, mother” I said from behind her, mum turned to face me. She took a step toward me, her eyes meeting mine in a challenging manner, I raised an eyebrow at her but didn’t bother speaking as I waited for her to tell me what she wanted.

“You can consider it a challenge, Thomas. I am your mother, your father’s wife, and YOU are underestimating me” mum said raising an eyebrow.

“Am I now?” I asked raising an eyebrow “alright, love. Do your best”

Winking, I turned around and walked toward my car, starting it, I headed to the gym not knowing where else I would go. I didn’t know where else to go, I didn’t want to go to my apartment. Me staying there now would not be good or healthy for me. I knew that for fact, I knew that I would end up taking out my anger on the apartment by breaking everything inside it. Therefore, going to the gym was the best option right now.

Actually, it was the ONLY option right now.

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“Did you get into a fight with your mum?” Dad asked the second I picked up the phone. I was at the gym and the only reason I answered the phone was because his call interrupted my music and despite me ignoring the first call, he called a second time.

“Yes, did she tell you about it already?” I asked in a mocking manner.

“No, the media is talking about you two yelling at one another in the restaurant. I had to shut them up about it again…” dad said and I removed the phone from my ear not wanting to hear his pointless scolding. It was always like this, I would somehow get into some trouble that would be caught by paparazzi or people who would be dying to sell some picture or information to the media about me, father would take it down then call to scold me for an hour.

“What was I to do, dad? She keeps following me wherever I go. Mum doesn’t seem to understand that I am no longer a child, I cannot keep accepting that” I said stopping dad who was still taking his anger out on me for whatever news was spread in the media.

“Then prove to her that you’re an adult. Prove to her that you are no longer a child, and stop acting as reckless as you are” dad said and I glared at the boxing bag which was in front of me, the red color tempting me to punch it.

“And how am I to prove it to her? In case you haven’t noticed that you and mum are on my heel, not allowing me to carry any responsibility and when I did ask for one, you two would never allow it” I said casually, I knew that I was playing with fire right now. But it was mum who put the idea in my mind, I never thought of taking any responsibility in any of dad’s businesses, I had my shares. I knew how everything went and what happened when it came to the companies having studied business at university. But I never bothered wanting anything with my dad’s work, I would have done with starting my own.

“Fine, if it responsibility that you’re after then prove it to me. I’ll give you a task to do every day, a few more if I see you capable, and if I see that you’re able to handle them all. Then you can take responsibility of My department’s head office” dad said and I raised an eyebrow though dad couldn’t technically see me. I was not expecting this.

“Are you going to give me the head department?”

“Yes, I have worked there for a long while, if I see that you’re capable. Then you’re in charge of the WHOLE head department” dad said and I smirked glad that I got things my way, actually, I got a lot more than I actually expected. But mum was going to learn that I’m no longer a child and that she can’t threaten me with whatever power she thought she had. Father could easily let her go like he did with the other women he was married to, the one thing stopping him from filing a divorce was me and Daniel.

“Don’t worry, dad. I won’t let you down”