Chapter 2: We lost him

"What a rude man," Julia thought as she continued walking down the street towards her home.

She walked down the pavement and entered the porch of a house built with wood and painted white. She looked inside the house from the window, trying to sneak in.

"Julia, come inside," came her mother's voice, "I know you are standing there.

Julia squeezed her eyes and pursed her lips. She opened the front door, which was not locked, and entered the house.

"Good morning, ma'am," Julia said with her hands behind her back.

Her mother was sitting on the sofa reading a book with her eyeglasses on. She didn't lift her head to look at Julia standing almost behind her.

"Where are you coming from?" Julia's mother asked, her eyes still fixated on the book she was reading.

"Er...ma'am, I... I," Julia stammered, scratching the back of her neck.

Her mother closed the book she was reading and, removing her glasses, turned halfway to look at Julia. She frowns and gets up to look at the dress Julia is wearing closely. She realized Julia was not wearing any shoes.

She checked the label and gasped. She frowned, looking at Julia. Julia was puzzled and was wondering why her mother was examining the dress she was wearing.

"Where did you get the money to buy this dress?" questioned her mother.

"I ...I ... didn't buy it, it's a gift from a friend," Julia said quickly.

"A gift from a friend. Which of your friends earns that much to get you this? Is it Tilly, your jobless friend or Michael the bread seller?" Julia's mother asked, with her hands on her waist and Julia was silent.

She couldn't bring herself to talk about the events of the morning.

"Where are the clothes you were wearing yesterday," Julia's mother questioned, "And why are you not in shoes?" she asked.

"I don't know," Julia said honestly.

"Are you sleeping with men now? The dress you are wearing is from a Louis Vuitton collection," Julia's mother pointed out.

"No," Julia replied immediately, "I am not, and I won't do that. It is just that last night was a mess and ...and ...please mum, let's not talk about it," she said and ran off to her room.

"What is she hiding?" Julia's mother thought, staring in the direction Julia had run through.

After dropping her off, Jason was on his way to the hospital. He sat quietly at the back trying to recall the last thing he remembered. He had been invited to a musical program as the guest of honour and he went with his dad.

He recalled the media taking pictures of him and his dad when they arrived before he was ushered through a private hall to the hall where the music festival was happening. That is all he remembers.

"Sir, we are here," the driver called out to Jason, interrupting his thoughts. Jason rolled down the glass and looked outside.

HCA Florida Westside Hospital, he read the sign. Yes, that is the name of the hospital his brother had sent to him. He got out of the car and walked towards the hospital accompanied by four formidable men.

"Is that Jason Haward?" a passerby asked her friend she was walking with.

"Yes, it is him. Is he coming to donate to this hospital?" the lady asked her friend, excited to see him.

"Quick, take a picture of me with him in the background. Hurry" the lady shrieked.

"Girl, unless you can make him stop walking, I don't know how that is possible. Those men walking with him will destroy your phone if you click any picture he didn't permit," the passerby pointed out to her friend before they walked away still admiring him from a distance.

With Jason's presence around the hospital, a few crowds began to gather outside the hospital compound just to catch a glimpse of him.

With his cold aura, he entered the hospital and was met by his brother. The medical staff, even though they were busy working, managed to steal some glances at him.

"What happened to Papa?" James questioned, looking at Jason's face with worry.

"What did the doctor say," Jason asked in a deep, calm voice.

"Nothing yet, Mother is with him now," James announced and led Jason to the ward where his father was lying in bed, wearing a hospital gown, with his eyes closed and hooked to so many machines.

Jason wanted to ask his father what had happened because he had been with him the previous night and didn't have any of his guards around except his father's guards. They would not say anything to him. His mother turned to look at him tear-eyed as soon as she heard the door open. Jason stood behind his mother, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"He got home almost at midnight and fainted before he could even climb the staircase to the bedroom. He has been like this since we brought him here," Mrs Haward said and sniffled.

Jason rubbed Mrs Haward's shoulders gently and she held Jason's hand. The doctor walked in seeing the entire family.

He said, "I need to speak to one of you," the doctor said, and looked at them.

James was the eldest, so he went with the doctor, leaving Jason with their mother. She held her husband's hand in hers, dropping kisses on the back of his hand in tears. Jason's phone buzzed, making him exit the ward. As soon as Mrs Haward was alone with her husband, she dropped his hand on the bed and leaned in closer to his ears.

"You think you are smart; you want to kick me and my son out of the house and leave us with nothing. Now I am going to manage all your property. It is so amazing how you did everything just so I get nothing, but now I am getting everything." Mrs Haward said smiling and running her fingers through her husband's hair.

"You know why I love the rules of your family so much. Unless that rude son of yours can find a woman to marry his rudeness this minute, I don't see how you win," Mrs Haward added, smiling, but quickly changed her demeanour and planted a kiss on his cheeks when he heard the door opening.

"Mum, you can't keep crying like this, you need to be strong for him," James said as soon as he entered.

"What did the doctor say," Mrs Haward questioned, her eyes red with tears.

James looked at her, not sure whether to tell her everything, "He would be fine," he managed to say.

"We just need to take good care of him," James added.

They both turned to look at him when they heard him mention Jason's name weakly, but then his body started jerking violently and the machine's alarms started going off. James pressed the button for the doctor and rushed out to get one but was met by three medical practitioners at the entrance who entered and quickly tried to attend to him, sending them out of the room. They did everything they could but, in the end, they lost him. The nurse unplugged the machine and started taking it off him. The two doctors proceeded out of the ward and were met by Jason, James and their mother.

"I am sorry," the doctor said and their mother froze in her spot.

She was about to fall to the ground but James caught her.

"What was wrong with him?" Jason asked James.

"He was battling colon cancer which had advanced to its final stage. There was not much they could do for him," James said.

"Colon cancer? How?" Jason questioned, surprised nobody knew about it.

"Let me take Mum home and inform the rest of the family," James said.

"I suppose Mirenda is back," Jason asked.

"Yes, she arrived this morning. This is going to be a shock. She doesn't know anything. I will hold on telling Grandpa," James replied.

"Leave grandpa to me," Jason said, and James left the hospital with their mother while Jason stayed behind and did the paperwork.