Billionaire choice

Juliet's Point Of View

"Have you taken your drugs today Mum?" I asked my mum who was coming out of her room as we met in the corridor.

"No dear. I just woke up not quite long ago, and I haven't even eaten anything." Mum replied to me sharply.

"Mum! Not again! I told you to always take your drugs on time to avoid any complications or problems with your health." I said with a sigh.

"Juliet, it's not like that, you know it."

"Here you go again, mum. You want to explain again, you keep explaining and creating excuses, mum." I interrupted,

"Juliet. It's not like that, ever since this sickness started it has not been easy to walk about, from the room to the kitchen to use my drugs. My legs and body are not as agile as yours as a youth." Mum explained to me.

Touched by her words and her tone, I walked from the doorsteps to meet her where she was standing and gave her a hug and a radiant smile.

"I know mum. It's because I care about you and I want you to heal totally without having to be afraid of what might happen to you anyway. I cherish you mum."

I said to her, with my voice barely above a whisper.

"Thank you so much Juliet. You make me feel loved and appreciated." Mum said, with her eyes looking emotional.

"You're welcome mama. Now let's go and get those drugs so you can drink them." I said to her sharply.

"Thank you, my daughter."

We walked to the kitchen where I took a glass of water and proceeded to the sitting room where I took the drug that was in a sachet and gave it to my mother as she drank the drug effortlessly and coughed afterward.

"What's the matter? Sorry!" I said, patting her back with my hands.

"I'm fine dear, I rushed the water, that's why," Mum said, as she gulped the last bit of the water in the cup down her throat and she dropped the glass cup afterward.

"What's happening here?" A voice thundered from behind.

The eyes of Mum and I jammed each other, as we both turned and looked back to see who was talking, and it was my father who just walked into the sitting room while Mum and I were talking.

"Dad! You're awake!! How are you doing?" I said, with my teeth wide open.

"I'm good. I was hearing some noises from the room and I thought it was just proper for me to come and check what was going on in my house." Dad said.

"Your house or our house?" Mum asked sharply out of jealousy.

"Oh no! Not again! You both started this morning." I said, laughing.

Everyone burst into laughter, the atmosphere was filled with love and happiness even though we were poor.

"What are we going to eat today honey?" Dad asked sharply.

"It's just 6:30 in the morning, and you're asking what to eat Alex!" Mum yelled.

"Yes. Is it bad?" Dad asked.

"No it's not, but actually there's no food currently."

"Why?"

"Alex, we exhausted everything yesterday and have no money to get another batch." Mum explained to him.

I watched the sadness in my father's eyes, the pain and grief of not being able to provide for his family as a man.

"Dad, it's alright, please don't think about anything at all, things will be fine, and it's just a matter of time." I said, trying to motivate him, so he wouldn't feel bad.

"I really hope so." Dad replied to me.

"Mum, Dad. Please just hang on, let me get to work. If I can see any customers to give me tips during work hours, I will buy some food on my way back from work. We have not been paid yet because it's not yet the end of the month." I explained to my parents out of sincerity and truthfulness.

"No, don't worry." Dad said sharply. Obviously, it was his masculine ego that was revealing itself.

"Alex, we don't have any other option, and it would be nice if you just allowed Juliet to help us if she can." Mum said.

Dad looked downward, he was feeling ashamed and timid, but immediately I noticed, I had to make him feel better.

"Mum, Dad! Let me go and dress up so that I won't be late for work."

I said, as I quickly ran into my room and went to take my bath. It was a very fast one because I couldn't afford to waste any time so that I wouldn't annoy my boss, and he would sack me. He was hot-tempered and wouldn't hesitate to sack me if I made any mistakes at work despite the peanuts that he was paying me.

After I finished bathing, I picked up my dress from the broken wardrobe and I saw my clothes were rumpled and not ironed because we could not afford to buy a pressing iron in our house.

Nevertheless, I wore my clothes without any other option. I felt somehow, but then I just had to wear it and hurry to the office.

"Bye mum, bye dad. I love you" I said, waving off at them in the sitting room.

I walked through the bustling streets in our area, the noise and sounds of the little children filled the atmosphere. The gigantic buildings and little houses that differentiated the poor from the rich became so obvious.

I didn't have enough money to take a public bus to my place of work, and then I made use of my legs and walked as fast as I could. I had not eaten yet. I was walking miles early in the morning.

My legs were aching, my stomach was hurting me due to hunger, and then I started sweating profusely, breathing heavily, all signs showing how tired I was at that particular moment. I felt like stopping, but then I couldn't stop because I had to be at work as early as possible before the boss.

Juliet's Point of view

After some minutes, I finally got to my workplace after a lot of walking and stress that I had been through. I was thirsty like someone who was just coming from the desert after so many years.

My delicate legs were already red and paining me. I felt like getting a Spa treatment at that particular moment, but it was just a vivid imagination that could never come through because I was not in that position to spend such an amount of money. Well, it was just a fantasy that I wished could take place any moment from now, because the sufferings were too much for me, but I just had to endure and stay strong for the purpose of my future and my elderly parents, who depended on my strength and job.

Sometimes I thought of giving up on everything, but I just couldn't, especially not at that moment when my mother was sick and needed money to buy more drugs and go to the hospital for proper treatment so she could be hale and hearty and there would be no need for panic.

"Hey Juliet!!" A voice sounded, as it cut through my thoughts.

I was caught unaware because I didn't expect anyone to see me as I passed the back door to enter. I looked around and saw the frowning face of my boss looking at me in a disgusting manner.

"Good. Go, good morning sir." I greeted him, as I stammered.

"Nothing is good about morning, why are you just coming?" He yelled.

"I was, I am." I stammered, struggling to find the right words to use.

"That's it! You want to lie again?! Because I wonder what you want to use to exude again this time around!" My boss shouted at me angrily without hesitation.

"I'm sorry sir! It won't happen again." I quickly apologized, going down on my knees without any iota of pride.

My boss was a mean person that wouldn't bother to care whatever your reasons were. All he wanted was for his staff to be up and doing and diligent in whatever tasks he had assigned to them.

"Get away now and get to work with immediate effect! Before I sack you!"

Exactly what I thought he would do, sack me. But then I was lucky he didn't. That was the only thing that my family and I depended on, so it was our life. In as much as our existence was hanging around that particular place.

Our bar was luxurious and basically for the rich and affluent and not for the poor and less privileged. So, because of that, our mode of operation was different from that of the local bar that was in the neighborhood where I was staying.

We opened in the morning till night, so I worked from morning till night as the cleaner who cleaned every part of the bar, making sure that it was neat. It was not a bar that should be dirty due to the caliber of people that were coming there.

I resumed duty as expected, I cleaned all the floors, tables and everything that needed cleaning, including those that didn't need any form of cleaning. To fulfill all righteousness, as they say.

"Sir, can you please lend me some money?" I mustered courage and asked my boss after some hours of thorough cleaning.

"Money? Are you okay? Is this a bank? Or what?" My boss yelled.

"Sir, I need it for my mother. She.." I had not finished my statement when my heartless boss shunned me.

"This is not a place to discuss family matters at all! You have to respect the fact that you're at work and not in a money-borrowing bank thing. If you insist and keep mentioning you, I will fire you and won't give you any form of payment!" He threatened me.

Out of fear, I kept quiet because, after all, it was not time for payment, the month had not ended, and he was right, judging from his perspective that the bar was not a place to borrow money.

I honestly asked for the money because I was hungry, my parents at home were hungry, and we also needed money to buy the next set of drugs for my mother who was dealing with chronic ulcers.

Mr. Peter's insult sank deep into my heart and made me weak, but I was determined to be strong and not put it to mind. I was disappointed and disorganized for the rest of the hours that I worked in the bar cleaning the tables and floor, that some set of people messed up while they were intoxicated and drunk at the bar.

After a long period of time, it was dark already and the bar had closed. It was time to go home, a moment of relief and also a moment of fear.

I had mixed feelings. I was happy that I could rest from the stress. I was sad that I was unable to get anything for myself and my parents to eat. Despite my heavy heart, I still trekked back and endured the pains and agony I was facing at that particular moment. It felt like hell, but I kept believing that I would experience heaven on earth very soon.

"Why are they crying?!" I asked myself as I got to the frontage of the house.

I saw our neighbor and my dad crying profusely like a small child, they didn't even notice I was in their midst.

"Dad? What's going on? Why are you crying?" I asked out of curiosity.

Immediately, my dad saw me, he cleaned his eyes and pretended as if he wasn't crying at all.

Something was fishy, and I couldn't seem to understand what was happening.

"Juliet. Erm. I don't even know how to tell you." Dad stammered.

"Tell me what Dad?!"

My heartbeat increased and I wondered what was happening. I had never been so confused in my whole life, and I was really curious to know what was going on.

"I'm sorry Juliet, I didn't plan for it to happen like this, and I am sorry for not carrying you along. I just don't want to stress you or bother you with the happenings in the house," Dad said.

Even though my father was speaking in English, everything he said sounded like Arabic to me because I didn't understand anything he said or understood what he was trying to communicate to me.

"Dad, what are you saying? Please explain because I don't even understand you at all, can you please go straight to the point?" I asked my father with my eyes wide open in confusion.

One of our neighbors called Mrs. Elma also came to meet me and patted my back to be a strong lady.

"Juliet, stuff like this is inevitable as humans, but we just have to keep up and be strong with whatever is happening to us so that it won't weigh us down." Mrs. Elma said to me.

"Why are you telling me that? Nothing is weighing me down ma." I replied to her, as my stomach made noise to show that I was hungry at that moment due to the fact that I hadn't eaten anything yet. Just like my parents, and then I remembered my mother since she wasn't with my dad and the neighbor who came to our place.

"Dad, what about Mum? Did she go out again?" I asked out of curiosity.

My dad looked at me and kept quiet. He scratched his head and looked at the floor.

"Dad?!" I yelled.

"We lost her Juliet!" Mrs. Elma replied as she came to hold me tight.

"Your mum died due to her chronic ulcer, it was in a deadly stage and coupled with the fact that she hadn't eaten since morning." Dad finally spoke to me.

Those words hit me like a thousand knives in my chest and I found it hard to believe the things I was hearing.

Out of the shock I got from the information I heard, I couldn't withstand it as I collapsed immediately.

"Juliet!! No! Please!" Dad shouted, as he rushed towards me and held me.

I was looking as if they had taken my sanity away, it all felt like a dream because my precious mother had been taken away from me by death.

"Mum! My mother!!" I screamed at the top of my voice, as tears rushed down my cheeks uncontrollably.

Mrs. Elma and Dad held me to prevent me from hitting my head on any object that would get me injured, but at that point, I didn't care about anything else except my precious mother.

"Why!! No!!" I shouted again, my voice became as loud as that of a speaker and the tears kept rushing like water coming from a running gap.

"Please calm down!" Mrs. Elma said.

"Don't tell me to calm down! You don't know how it feels! You're not in my shoes!" I replied rudely for the first time in my life to shout at someone.

"It's okay Juliet. Please take it easy with yourself." Dad interrupted me.

"Dad, Is Mum really gone? Or is this a prank or what? Please tell me if it's just a prank! Please!" I said to my father, as I continued to cry profusely.

"Yes. It's real Juliet, I really didn't wish for this, but it's real." Dad said to me with his voice barely above a whisper.

His words cut through my heart like a spear and I became weak like someone who was crushed by a car in an accident.

My precious mother was gone, she was a glimmer of hope, a comforter, my treasure and confidant. I was more pained because if I had enough money my mother wouldn't have died, and I would have taken her to a hospital where she would have gotten proper treatment.

Even though it was my father's responsibility, I would have taken it up as their only child, but I was less privileged due to the fact that I was paid peanuts by the end of the month, and after collecting the money it would be finished in a few days' time based on the fact that that's what my family was relying on to survive. And at the end of the day, I lost my mum due to poverty.

"Please, Dad, where is she? At least I can get to see her face?" I asked him.

Dad led me inside their room and I saw the lifeless body of my mum lying on the bed and covered with clothes. I removed the clothes and I couldn't see the smiling face of my mother that always gave me joy, but all I saw was a dead body who cannot laugh, smile or talk.

"Mum!!! Please!! Don't do this to me. Please say something, please talk!" I shouted, holding the hands of my mother.

I grabbed her hand and started shaking it with force and aggression because of the agony and pains I was going through. And when my father saw that things were going south, he pulled me away from my mother's corpse.

"Please calm down! Everything is going to be fine." Dad said, as he cautioned me.

"Fine? In the graveyard? Or what exactly are you talking about? I don't think anything is going to be fine. Mum is dead, and I think the best thing for me to do is to kill myself and follow her to the grave." I said, out of frustration and pain.

"No! You can't kill yourself Juliet!" Mrs. Elma shouted at me.

"Why can't I? I mean what's the essence of living anymore?" I asked her a rhetorical question that made her dumbfounded.

"When there is life there is hope, Juliet." Dad said, trying to console me as a man.

"Life? But mum doesn't have any life again, so there's no hope anywhere." I replied to him sharply.

"Please don't talk like that. I understand your pains, but I'm sure my wife will be praying that we get better and don't die untimely the way she died." My Dad said to me calmly as though an

Encouragement.