Chapter 1 The life of Halle

Halle's POV

"Sometimes I wish I never took that wrong turn, it's funny how one turn can alter the course of your entire life"

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Life has never been easy for me, I learned to take up responsibility ever since I was a kid. It has mostly been me and my mom, my father isn't dead, quite the contrary he is alive and locked up for twenty years.

My dad is a good man, he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Growing up, I have heard stories of people wrongfully incarcerated and I sometimes felt they were nothing more than tales, how do you go to jail for a crime you are innocent of, then when the judge at the court who looked Canadian read the verdict from the jury.

"On the count of illegal possession of firearms, assault, and battery, and involuntary manslaughter, the jury thereby find Mr. Cameron Jackson guilty and sentenced him to 20years in prison with no parole"

Those were the words that changed my life forever. I was just fourteen when my dad was unlawfully convicted and I saw my mother break down and lose touch with who she was. My father was the love of her life-he still is and as they say; love changes people.

It changed my mother, we weren't rich but we were contended and we made an honest living. My mum worked as a cleaner at one of the richest billionaires in town, house. We were so happy when she got the job through a friend because it would help me concentrate more in school and I would only take a weekend part-time job. I had just gotten admitted into the university and I needed a lot of money to pay for my tuition fees and course materials. We used all the money my mom got from her job to pay for my tuition and the money I got from my part-time job to feed-we barely had any money to spare.

"Halle, are you sure you should miss class today," my mother said coughing, she had been having the flu for days and had missed work two days in a row.

"Mum if I don't go you will be fired and where else do we get the money to pay for my fee to go to school," I replied, biting my lips slightly. I was tense because I didn't know the first thing about being a cleaner. But Mrs. Clara, my mum's colleague and fellow housekeeper at the cruise mansion had called us yesterday and warned us if my mum didn't come in today, she would be fired, informing us that the head housekeeper was already asking about her whereabouts. I tried to explain to her how my mum's health has tremendously declined over the last three days and wouldn't make it to the bus station if she even tried.

"Then fill in for her," Mrs. Clara had suggested.

Now here I was dressed up to go for a cleaning job I had no idea whatsoever about.

"Remember, you need to__"

"Mum I am not a kid, I know how to clean a house" I interrupted her saying, "Just focus on getting better so that you can resume work and I do not have to miss class again"

"Okay darling I would, would Seth be dropping you there?" She asked.

"No mum, I haven't seen him this week, he has been busy with football practice" I replied, with a smile, obviously proud at the thought of my future athlete, talented boyfriend.

Seth is my college boyfriend, he is a total hottie, 6ft 4 inches tall, joc, blonde curly hair with blue eyes and let's not forget, he is the captain of the football team. When a high league college quarterback set his sights on a college freshman like me, I felt lucky-privileged.

I picked up my backpack, my mum nodded her head. "What about the lawyer?"

I thought I would escape before she asked me.

"I am yet to talk to him, Seth is yet to set the meeting"

I lied.

I lied, I had seen him but the price he had called out was outrageously high, I didn't want to tell my mum because I knew her; she would move heaven and earth to get the money if it meant getting my father out of jail. She nodded again with a familiar sadness hovering over her face. I hate lying to my mum, but she was all I got, and I can't bear to see her suffer-especially when that suffering had to do with love. Even if that love was my father, I would do anything to protect her.

I felt bad leaving my mum alone, especially at that state but what good was I to her if she got fired. I got into the subways and later took a cab to the cruise mansion. It was in a secluded area of town, and they asked for my Id card before I could enter the estate.

I stood in front of the mansion.

"What the__" I almost cussed out. This has to be the most beautiful and biggest mansion I have ever seen in my life. I used my mother's Identification card again to get in and I was escorted to the kitchen where I met Mrs. Clara who told me the area I would be cleaning and gave me my job description.

I felt a little bit overdressed for just cleaning, I wore a navy blue spaghetti strap top with black velvet trousers and blue loafers. I dragged the vacuum cleaner and mops upstairs and I was already tired. In such a big house, one can easily get tired moving around or even lost. I had been cleaning for thirty minutes and with every minute I appreciated my mum's strength.

"This house is fucking big" I cussed out loud this time. I wasn't even sure where I was supposed to clean. I picked up the housekeeping guide to study again when I heard a voice from behind me.

"What the hell are you doing here" the voice called out in fury, I turned back to meet his furious gaze.

"I ask again, what the hell are you doing here"

I trembled, as fear gripped me, I had been discovered and my mum would be fired.