Novel & Cerita Favor For A Favor

"And he said he had a habit of paying in favors instead of money, because favors are harder to trace and far more dangerous to refuse when the time comes to collect." I told myself the danger was still outside our walls, some distant thing circling at the edges of the family rather than inside it, and even as I thought it, some quieter part of me understood it had likely been sitting inside them the entire time, patient and unseen, waiting for the right hand to finally reach for it. "Then we start there," I said, pushing my own untouched coffee aside. "We look at every favor this family has ever accepted and never had to repay."

I sent a single text, hoping it didn’t sound like he owed me anything, but I needed this to be done. Me: I need a favor.

Am I really that worthless to you? Every word I said was filled with pain. The relatives' expressions toward Mom shifted from suspicion to pure contempt and disgust. "That's despicable… absolutely despicable!" someone muttered. "Even the cruelest animals wouldn't hurt their own child. Is she really her mother?" another asked. "She always acted so fair, but it turns out she was playing favorites the whole time! She even gave a dead person's coat to her daughter. Isn't she afraid of karma?" a relative remarked.

BARBECUE AMONG FRIENDS There were many things to think about. She suddenly knew that her friend not only loved her but also had immense gratitude towards her. Dália had touched her heart deeply by expressing how grateful she was for helping her with Gerard, her abusive ex-husband. She spoke about how she had touched so many people, and now she had her own house, in an upscale condominium no less!

I was about to hang up, I didn’t want any more back and forths. “Yeah. You can’t do that. You can’t skip this dinner no matter how busy you are. You can always give your assistant or some worker or even move the work, listen you know you owe him a big favor, the least you can do is just honor his presence, who knows when next we will see him again. Okay? Just do this. I rolled my eyes and massaged the top of my head. I had completely forgotten about the favor that I was owing him. Gracing him with my presence didn’t seem so bad after all.

“Yeah, I need a favor.” His brows furrowed, expecting her to proceed with whatever she might want to say to him. ‘A FAVOR’ His inner voice pronounced the words because the last time he checked, he didn't have anything valuable or anything to offer her. “Sure, I'm all ears.” “A friend invites me to a party and I don't want to attend the party alone. I want to ask if you'd like to come with me to the party.” Without giving it a thought. “No.” Just like that, he dashed her hope with just a word.

The two embraced, telling me they were more than friends, closer like a family. A favor? And what flavor is it? Why do I feel it’s not a good one?

I say trying my luck again. “I said I do not need your help, pity or favor Miss.” He repeats the same statement from before. “It’s not a favor.” l say. “Then what is it if it's not a favor or pity?” He asks and wait on the excuse l was going give. “l don't know but think of it like this, one day I will be or someone else will be short of money and who knows you might pay for them as well.” I say trying not to use the word help although him and l both know that I was trying to help him.

"Dante's leg was a gift from me, Ms. Leone. Consider it an advance.” "If that's not enough, I can arrange another."

Why would someone like him be in such a position to provide answers to me? He was feeling like a god already and it wasn't helping. “You expect me to agree to something when I don’t even know what it is?” I asked, already losing my cool. “That’s exactly what I expect,” he said, his grin widening. “I want a favor. A big one. And I want you to promise you will do it when I ask. I don't want any questions and any arguments.” I swallowed hard knowing fully well what I have found myself in. A favor from Kael?