Chapter 5 5

"Mr. Walton, Kayla called to quit" Pamela says from her own end. Pamela is Daryl's housekeeper and she makes sure every other person does their job. She's like the overseer.

Daryl blows out some air "she did? Did she give a reason?" He enquires.

"She says it's for school and she can't keep up with the work" she tells him.

"Okay. No problem. There'll be a replacement" he tells the woman.

"Okay master. I don't mind doing the rest of the work till you find a replacement" she offers him and Daryl nods his head as if Pamela can see him.

"You'll be duly compensated Pamela" he says and drops the call after that.

Hours later, Daryl finishes his work and gets ready to leave. When he wears his jacket, a knock comes at the door and Ben, his friend, walks in before Daryl can respond.

"Are you leaving?" Ben asks.

"Yes. I have dinner with my family" Daryl tells Ben who nods his head in affirmation.

"I was even thinking we'd go to Grace's party together"

"Nah. But I'll meet you guys there. I'll just be at my mom's very briefly" Daryl tells his friend as he walks out from his desk.

They both walk out of his office floor. Once they are down, Daryl and Ben part ways as Ben goes into his car and Daryl goes into his.

"Let's go to the boutique first. I need to change this shirt. Then we can drive to my mom's house" he tells his driver who immediately starts the car and the engine purrs out softly.

At the boutique, Daryl changes to a light blue shirt and they continue their journey.

Seconds into their drive, a lady just suddenly walks across the road. She's not looking, she's just on her phone.

"Watch out!!!" Daryl screams at his driver as he comes to a total halt and the lady reaches the ground.

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After work, Ana goes back home. On her way, her phone starts to ring. She takes the phone from her jean pocket to pick the call. Seeing that it's an unknown caller, she hesitates a little. When she picks the call, she waits for the person on the other end to speak first.

"Hello baby," the feminine voice says on the phone.

"Mother?" Ana recognizes her mother's voice instantly.

"Why are you calling me? I thought I changed my number. How did you get my number?" her mood is immediately affected as she questions the woman.

"Listen to me my child, don't hang up the call please" the woman begs ignoring Ana's questions. Ana is honestly not interested in hearing her mother's voice let alone listening to what she has to say even though a part of her wants to hear her mother's voice-she misses the woman.

For that reason, Ana doesn't end the call; she allows the call to read while she listens to what her mother has to say.

"I'm sorry" her mother starts talking "I should have done better, and taken more responsibility. Baby I'm sorry, come back home"

Ana knows her mother very well. This could be a prank to lure her back home for doom so she doubted the apology no matter how real it sounds. She knows better than to trust her mother.

"Why did you actually call? To know if I'm still alive? Well as you can see I'm still alive" Ana says.

"I called to say I'm sorry honestly" the woman says, stops and clears her throat. "Have you been well?" she asks Ana.

Ana doesn't want to reply. She is tired of the call and wants to end the call.

"Yes. I told you I'm alive didn't I?'' but Ana responds, not minding if she's been rude.

It has been ages since her mother asked her that question; a question she has always wanted her mother to ask. Except now, no matter how honest she is with her apology, Ana is not interested in making amends right now.

Before she knows what's happening, tears start slipping down from her eyes.

But Ana wipes her eyes as realization starts dawning on her. No way. she shouldn't cry, not now, not anytime. She has made the right decision to leave and she has made a conclusion that she won't go back there again no matter what happens. Ana is determined within her.

"I'm fine mother, thank you but I have to go. Bye" Ana says and hangs up the call immediately before her mother can proceed to say anything else. The idea of calling her mom started weirding her out so that's why Ana calls her mom mother instead.

How did her mom get her number? Ana questions herself as she steps off the curb to cross over to the other side of the road, she's distracted, she doesn't check the road first before crossing. The street seems very quiet enough, and she barely glances up as she's suddenly trapped in her phone.

A gust of wind brushes past her, and then-screech-the violent sound of tires skidding on the pavement. Ana's heart leaps into her throat. The car is suddenly there, headlights glaring, just inches away from her. She freezes in place, her legs giving away as she collapses to the ground, knees hitting the rough asphalt. Time feels like it's moving in slow motion, everything around her muffled except for the sound of her own heartbeat which has become extremely loud.

The screeching sound of the car's brakes echoes in her head, and she looks up to see the driver's side door swing open. The man runs to where Ana is "are you okay? Oh my God!"

"I'm fine" she says, more to convince herself than him. She was so close...but she's fine. The driver, a slim elderly looking man comes close to try and examine her.

Ana pushes herself up from the ground, her hands shaking as she brushes the grit from her palms. She picks her phone and checks if the phone is in perfect condition and it is. Her heart races, pounding so loudly she can barely think. The screech of tires is still ringing in her ears, and when she looks up, she sees the back door open. A man steps out-tall, in a sharply cut suit, his expression shifting between worry and surprise.

He walks towards her.

"Hey," he calls, his voice steady yet confused. Then he walks closer to her.

She freezes, blinking rapidly through the haze of panic, her mind catching on the sound of his voice. Then, like a jolt, it hits her. It's him-the fine man from the coffee shop, Daryl. The one she had awkwardly spilled coffee on, an embarrassing whirlwind of clumsy nerves and stammered apologies. She'd tried to pretend it was nothing, but it felt like her most embarrassing moment of the month.

"You... you're the woman from the coffee shop," he says, as their eyes meet. "Are you okay? I didn't hit you, did I?"

Ana's cheeks flush crimson. She can't help but notice how tall he is. Of all the people who could have almost hit her with their car, it has to be him. "No, no, I'm fine," she stammers, embarrassed and eager to escape the awkwardness. "totally fine." She makes a thumbs up.

She tries to back away, but the moment she puts weight on her right ankle, pain shoots up her leg. Her breath hitches, and she stumbles as her body betrays her. Daryl's hand shoots out to steady her before she can fall again.

"You're not fine," he says, his tone is gentle but firm. "You're hurt."

"No, I just need to get home," she insists, her voice is a little too quick, and a little too high. She tries again to step away, but the pain is unbearable, like fire shooting up her leg. She grimaces, biting her lip hard to keep herself from screaming in pain.

Daryl tightens his grip on her arm "you can't walk. You are clearly hurt" he pauses "you need a doctor, I should call 911" he says looking her over.

"What? No!" Ana shakes her head quickly. The thought of an ambulance arriving, the sirens, and more attention is the last thing she wants. "It's just a sprain," she insists, though the pain tells her it could be worse. "I don't need an ambulance. Really." she tells him.

Before she can argue, he pulls out his phone and starts dialing 911. His voice is calm and efficient as he speaks. "Yes, I need an ambulance. A pedestrian's hurt-she may have a sprained or broken ankle. We're at the corner of Fifth and Maple... Yes, she's conscious."

After the call, he turns to Ana "do you have like a family member or someone you can call? The ambulance will be here soon" He asks her not having any interest to get to the hospital with her.

"yes," she nods her head. "I'll call my friend"

Daryl leads her to sit on the pavement as she starts working her phone to call her friend.

Daryl looks at his wrist watch. He's late for dinner with his mom and he's also late for Grace's party. He doesn't want to miss any of them. He planned to show his face briefly to his family and then end up at Grace's party.

He looks at the young lady as she makes a call. In his mind, he is caught between leaving her to go and staying till the ambulance comes. Daryl wants to go but he's also worried about her which somehow surprises him. Since when does he worry about females?

A minute later, he sees a young slim lady running towards them. When the lady reaches them, he recognizes her as his employee whom he had just promoted. Daryl is surprised but she's more surprised as she stammers a greeting to him.

"Sir? Emm...good evening sir" then she runs towards her friend.

"Are you okay?" Sloane asks, taking Ana's leg to examine her but Ana screams out in pain.

"Sorry" Sloane says. Daryl watches them in silence with one hand buried into his trouser pocket.

Maybe he should just leave them and go now that they are both together. He thinks to himself.