Justin's car stopped on front of a majestic mansion at the rich and wealthy area at the center of the city. An inch of hand here costs gold, so imagine just how much this mansion that seemed so long you couldn't see the end costs.
The chauffeur looked at the man who had his eyes closed respectfully through the side mirror, he was in a dilemma on whether to wake him up or not.
Just like everyone, he was also worried about the state his boss was so he was reluctant to wake him up.
But the man probably sensing the car had stopped opened his slightly bloodshot eyes.
"We are here, sir"
"Um.." He answered tiredly and closed his eyes again.
The chauffeur got silently out of the car.
The door of the mansion opened wide and Todd, the butler came out. Todd was a kindly looking man who still looked quite energetic for a middle aged man.
He had been working for the Walters since Justin's father time so he was not treated as a servant but family. After the premature death of Justin's father, he had helped to helm the household for a while for Justin's mother who couldn't quite come out of her grief.
He walked towards the car and bowed slightly and called out warmly.
"Master, you are back"
The chauffeur signalled at him that Justin was sleeping. Todd nodded understandably and was about to go back inside to report to Mrs Walters when someone opened the car's door and stepped out.
"Todd" Justin called out with some warmth in his voice.
Todd bowed slightly and welcomed him,
"Welcome home, master. Your mother is waiting for you inside"
Justin nodded slightly at his words and took long strides into the mansion.
* * * * *
A middle-aged woman sat inside the house. Even the passage of time couldn't cover the beauty of the woman. She still looked beautiful and noble at first glance. It was obvious she maintained her beauty rather well.
"Mom" Justin called out affectionately.
"You finally remembered to come home? I thought you had now grew your own wings and did not put me in your eyes anymore." Mrs Walters raised her eyebrows and asked him coldly.
As he was walking in, she had been secretly watching him from the side. His sallow cheeks, pale skin and bloodshot eyes completely broke her heart. He was her only son so she had always been worried about him overworking himself as she knew his sister was not interested in the company matters.
His father had died in a plane crash on his way to an international meeting when he was 16 and his sister, Sophia, 13. She had managed the company until he was 18 and handed it over to him.
She had been worried the company would put too much strain on him but she didn't get the chance to say anything before as he always knew his limits. She knew that Nina made him know his limits. She would call him to tell him to remember to eat, to go home on time and so on.
And now that the person who set the limits was no longer with him, he overdid himself.
Justin felt guilty when he heard his mum's words, he realised he had neglected his mother while trying to numb himself with work.
"I am sorry, mom. You know it isn't like that"
"It isn't like what? It isn't like you are overworking yourself? That your body would soon break down? That you are also overworking the employees? And that you are a coward, someone who runs away from his problems?" Mrs Walters fired at him furiously.
"Mom...."
"Do not mom me, Justin! Do you think you have an indestructible body? Are you not afraid of running yourself to the ground? You are a grown up, why can't you take proper care of yourself and make me worry so much" Mrs Walters said as her eyes turned red at the rim and tears pooled at her eyes even though she refused to let them fall.
Justin tenderly hugged his mother inwardly cursing himself for making his widowed mother cry.
"I will listen to you. I will do everything you want me to, okay?"
Mrs Walters lightly pushed him out of her embrace and looked fiercely at him,
"You better do and always remember you are my only son. Me and your sister both depend on you. If you overwork yourself to death, who do you think will pay for it? Me and your sister! We already lost your father, do you want me to lose a son and your sister, a brother. Do not just think about your pain, spare a thought for us too. And if you want to get her back, does overworking yourself solve it?"
"I got it, mum."
"From today onwards, you are going to be living here with me. I gave freedom because I thought you were old enough to take care of yourself but you proved me wrong."
"But mom..."
"No buts and I almost forgot, your sister called me to tell me she's coming back to introduce her fiance to us."
"Sophie has a fiance?" He looked bewildered. " Why did I never knew anything about that? Did you?"
Mrs Walters rolled her eyes at him,
"She is 29 already. It's only right that she prepares to settle down."
"Okay then, It's high time she gets married and put an end to all those escapades of hers." Justin almost wanted to slap his own mouth after realising what he just said.
'Why did I have to play the role of a good older brother by saying that? Now i am going to be lectured.'
Mrs Walters rolled her eyes again at his words making Justin think,
'If mom keeps rolling her eyes this way. Ism am worried they are going to come out of their sockets'
"And it isn't high time for YOU to get married, yes?"
"Mom...I.."
Mrs Walters waved her hands impatiently,
" Yes I know I know. You still can't get the girl yet. How useless." She strutted to her room leaving Justin alone.
"Ouch mom. Are you sure you are my real mom?" He muttered under his breath as he strided into his room.
Nina looked sideways at her reflection in the mirror in her bedroom. She stroked her slim waist and turned to Selena who had her eyes glued to her phone and asked, "Lena, do you think my waist got thicker?" Without even bothering to raise her head, Selena answered unhurriedly, "It would be weird if it didn't get thicker, your appetite have been quite voracious in the past month. As a model, though you have a physique that doesn't allow you to get fat no matter what you eat, you should pay more attention to your figure or Charlie is gonna blame me for it!" The Charlie that Selena is referring to is Nina's ace agent. He was the one who discovered Nina in the first place and later groomed her into who she was right now. Nina started out as a model in high school when she was 18 and to be honest, her journey as a model wasn't always this smooth, at least not until she met Justin. Before she met Justin, she had experienced a lot of unspoken rules, both overt and covert in the industry a
Globe Entertainment <President's office> Nina sat lazily on the sofa and observed as he Charlie worked She never really took a look at him before. She had to admit that Charlie was a very handsome man even though he was in his forties, he had the air of a matured man when working and his crooked tid added a bit of unruliness to his charm. He was like fine wine that had matured and gotten better with age. "Looked enough?" Nina didn't know when finished his work but he was now watching her with an amused tinkle in his charming grey eyes. Nina rolled her eyes at him and said mockingly,
The Walters' Mansion A maid rushed in towards the elegant woman who was sitting in the living room and said respectfully but excitedly "Madam, Miss Sophie is back!" The elegant woman blanked out for a while and looked lost. She turned and asked the maid again, "Sophie is back?" "Yes, madam! She is just outside and about to come in" The maid confirmed. The woman stood up agitatedly and rushed towards the door but before she got to the door, an excited and sweet looking girl ram towards her and screamed,
Nina's and Selena's apartment The abrupt ringing of a cell phone sounded in the living room. Selena who was busy watching a K-drama turned to check if it was her phone ringing. When she realised it was not hers but Nina's, she raised her voice towards the kitchen and called out, "Nina, you have a call!" Nina shouted from the kitchen asking who it was. Selena went to pick up the phone but paused when she saw the caller ID. Realising there was no response after a while, Nina walked out from the kitchen and looked towards Selena who was behaving weirdly
Nina and Selena were the one who arrived first at the Walters' mansion. The maid excitedly brought them inside the house. "Madam, miss Nina and miss Selena is here", She announced happily the moment they were at the door. "Nina is here?" Sophie's excited voice asked from the living room. Before Nina could even make sense if what is happening, she came barreling towards her and hugged her tightly. "I missed you so much!" Nina looked helplessly at Selena who also shrugged indifferently. Her expression which seemed to say, 'Its your problem, not mine' Nina turned to look at the woman in her arms who still can't stop acting like a child and said helpl
"Your sister?" Justin asked incredulously. "Yes, Nina and Selena are my sworn sisters. We came from the same orphanage but we are closer than real brothers and sisters anyway." Brian replied calmly. "Seems like she didn't tell you. You are not that close after all." He sounded happy at the end. Justin turned to look at Nina and asked incredulously, "You didn't cheat?" Selena rolled her eyes at him and said furiously, "Of course, little darling would never cheat. I was the one who came up with that plan to mislead you to think she cheated. She only agreed because of how much she was hurt. YOU are the one who cheated, not her!"
Three months had gone by in a blink of an eye since Nina started living with the Walters. She was now six months along, her stomach had swollen to a considerable size although she still looked almost the same. The difference was only in her bosom which were obviously fuller, swollen stomach and waist that had gotten thicker. After vomiting for the third time that morning, she weakly trudged to the living room and plopped down under the watchful eyes of Selena and Sophie. "How do you feel now?" Selena asked worriedly. "Terrible. There is nothing in my stomach so I have been vomiting bile. Ah! being pregnant is such a chore" "It must be the baby. Do
Walters Mansion It was already afternoon when the ringtone of a phone broke the peaceful atmosphere in the living room. "Nina, it seems like it's your phone ringing", Selena looked up from the TV series she was watching and pointed Nina's cell phone on the couch. Nina's head snapped up from the TV series, impatience clear on her face. She snatched up the phone and looked at the caller only to see it was an unsaved number. "Who is it?", Sophie asked curiously. "I don't know. It is an unsaved number." "Answer it, darling. It might be important", Mrs Walters pointed out. &nb