Chapter 3 Three

Lily's whole life flashes before her eyes. She couldn't imagine life without her mother. The news that the doctor broke to her lingers in her thoughts.

She sat by the bedside where her mother lay, supported by an oxygen mask.

"You need to keep fighting, mother." Lily silently utters these words. She held her mother's hands gently, yet with great grip, as if not to let go.

The doctor earlier told her, "Miss Lily, your mother won't be able to live for more than 3 months." "Her condition has worsened, and there's nothing we can do," the doctor said to Lily, feeling sorry for her.

The door opened, and a doctor and two nurses came in. Lily quickly wiped away her tears and stood up.

"Hello, Miss Lily, How are you doing?" the doctor asked. "I am fine." Lily affirms, sniffing her nose and wiping away the little tears on her face.

"Okay, let's see how your mother is doing," said the doctor, moving towards the oxygen machine. He checked her vitals and murmured something while reading the machine.

"Nurse, make sure you give her the dose and record her heart rate," the doctor ordered one of the nurses.

Victoria drove down to MacArthur Elementary School. She parks just outside the school and looks at her phone to be certain she is in the right place.

She stepped down and walked straight to the head teacher's office. "Good morning, Mr. Edward," Victoria greeted, looking at the name tag on the head teacher's desk.

"Good morning, ma'am," replied the head teacher.

"I am here to see my son, David," says Victoria.

"And who are you again?" The head teacher asked with curiosity.

Victoria took a deep breath and sighed, gently leaning forward toward the desk. "I am his mother," she said.

"Do you have any ID cards or anything to identify yourself?" he asked.

Victoria looked at the head teacher in shock and surprise. She was about to say something, but the head teacher quickly added, "I have not seen you around here." "I hope you und..."

Victoria quickly responded, "I understand, Mr. Edward." Victoria leans back in her chair, putting her right hand on the armchair.

"I am the ID; call him and let him identify for himself," Victoria confidently told the head teacher, smiling at him.

The head teacher was taken aback and chuckled a little. He stood up and went out to get David.

The head teacher came back to the office with David.

"My little boy," Victoria said, standing up from her seat and rushing to hug David.

David stood still and didn't reciprocate the hug. He wasn't sure what to do currently-to hug her or to yell at her. She left him and went away when he needed her the most.

And after 3 years, she is now back. "Why did you leave me?" David asked, trying to move away from Victoria.

"I am sorry, my son," she apologized. "I didn't leave you," Victoria stammered as she tried to hold David.

"You left me when I required you the most. I would rather not see you anymore," David says as he attempts to walk away from Victoria.

Victoria endeavored to hold him back, but he quickly walked away from her. The head teacher also set out to stop her from holding him back.

"Mrs. Victoria..." the head teacher says, showing a sign of stopping with his hand.

Victoria stood up and picked up her hand. She walked out of the office feeling bitter and sad.

At exactly 5 p.m. later in the day. Lily pressed the doorbell, waiting patiently for an answer. But there was no response. She pressed the button again and again. As she was about to press it again, the door opened wide. It was Andrew.

He looked at Lily from top to bottom like a robot scanning for contraband. "Good evening, Mr. Andrew," Lily greeted.

"Come in," he responded. Lily walked into the house. She uttered silently, "Wow.". She is already thinking to herself that Mr. Andrew must have inherited this big mansion, or maybe this is just one of his big fancy houses, among others.

"Let me show you to your room. And later, I will show you around the house," Andrew said to Lily as he sipped from the glass of wine in his hand.

Lily went into her room and dropped her luggage. She scans the room slowly. This is her first time setting foot in a big mansion like this, let alone having to spend a night in it.

As she sat on the soft mattress, the image of her mother flashed before her eyes. Lily took a deep breath and thought about the condition of her mother.

A knock interrupted her thoughts, and the door was open. David went in to meet his new nanny, Lily. "Are you the new nanny?" he asked.

"Yes, I will be the one to take care of you from now on," Lily answered as she put her hands on David's shoulders.

"I think I like you," says David.

"Wow, really! Tell me, what do you like about me?" Lily asked.

"Your eyes look like those of a kind person. And I know my dad makes only the best choice for me," said David.

Lily smiled and nodded her head in acceptance. "You must be proud of your dad!" said Lily.

"Will you read my bedtime story for me too?" David asked, trying to be sure if Lily would really take good care of him.

"Of course I will," Lily answered. "In fact, I will sing you lullaby until you fall asleep," she reassured him.

Mr. Andrew was standing right by the door, peeping into the room. He saw and heard everything Lily and his son said. He smiled and left.

Lily came out of her room and saw Andrew sitting in the living room watching television. "You have a good son," she said.

Andrew looked back at her and nodded his head. He resumed watching the news broadcast on television.

"So are you going to show me around the house?" Lily asked, trying to get Andrew's attention again.

"Sure, I will," he said. Andrew stood up from the sofa and led Lily through the open space that led to the kitchen.

"Here is the kitchen. Everything you need is in here." "And if there's any other thing you need, just let me know," Andrew said while showing her the kitchen.

He led her out of the kitchen and straight to the cinema room. It is dim with blue light and decorated with soft cinema chairs.

"Wow!" Lily exclaimed softly. Andrew gently led her as they walked to the courtyard. Lily's eyes were filled with beauty. The flowers planted filled the air with their heavenly scent.

The air is so refreshing, and the swimming pool is as clean as white. Lily couldn't believe her eyes. She never imagined standing in a courtyard as beautiful as this. She hasn't seen one after all. And it won't be bad to take a deep breath and inhale the clean air full of a sweet scent.

As Lily took a deep breath and released it, she opened her eyes and saw Andrew stand 2 inches (5.08 cm) from her. His handsome face was well adored by his blue eyes. Lily could feel a little heat rising within her body.

"Mr. Andrew..." she said. Andrew came closer to her, and she could hear his breath. Lily tried to swallow her saliva. She couldn't resist the aura of Andrew.

Andrew reached out to her neck with his hand, pushing back her blond hair. His hands wrap around her neck.

"I have a gift for you!" He said.

Andrew placed a gold necklace around Lily's neck.

"It's a token of appreciation for accepting to babysit my son," said Andrew.

"Wow! Thank you," Lily appreciated as she looked at the necklace and smiled back at Andrew.

Lily was surprised; rather, she never expected this from him. But what could make Andrew gift her such a gift just after meeting her for a few days?

Andrew is such a playboy. He knows how to lure any lady perfectly to bed or to get anything he wants from her. His intentions were to break any objections Lily may have when the right time came for him to propose the contract of marriage. But little does he know.

Victoria sat at the bar, drinking and feeling helpless. She thought about her son and how he refused to listen to her back in school. She took the glass of wine and was about to gulp it when a hand stopped her.

Furthermore, she raises her head to see who it is. A tall figure was standing in front of her with an envelope in his left hand.

"If you want to get your son back, I will help you. Everything is inside the envelope," the figure said, dropping the envelope in front of Victoria.

Victoria was surprised. She took the envelope and opened it; her eyes were wide, and she was shocked at what she saw.