Daughter's Revenge

Henry smiled as he watched the sky. Angel would arrive at any moment. Why shouldn't he smile? He remembered their last conversation.......he wanted to experience it again. They had planned to meet at JJ shop at 10:00am but it was just 9:33am. He was too impatient....but for her,it was worth it.

After waiting for a few minutes, he checked his wristwatch. Goodness! It was 9:38am! The time was too slow. His patience was already reaching its limits but who could he blame? It was all his fault for being so anxious.

Then, he saw an Angel-like figure from afar. He guessed that it was Angel and was very glad. The figure became clearer and he was disappointed when he realized that it was not Angel - it was Bridget!

He remembered that during his second year in the university, Bridget had made several advances to him but he had ignored them. Out of frustration, she confessed her love to him but he couldn't accept it. After much persuasion, he revealed to her that he loves Angel.

**********

"What!" Bridget exclaimed. "How could you fall in love with a girl like her?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Henry demanded, irritated.

"Angel would never accept you as her boyfriend.... you know how big of a church girl she is." She emphasized.

"That shouldn't bother you. It's my business to handle." He said, unconvinced.

"Why stress yourself Henry..... " She paused and moved closer to him. "When you have me." She added as she tried to touch him. "I'm all yours."

"Stop it!" He screamed. "I'll advise you to let me be. It's for your own good." He said with an air of finality.

Henry found himself laughing when he remembered Bridget's words.

"Angel would never accept you as her boyfriend.....you know how big of a church girl she is."

Indeed,time flies. He recalled that a few days after that incident, Bridget had gone to meet him.

++++++

"Henry" Bridget called softly. "I understand that you don't love me but I love you so much...... "

"Listen..... " Henry interrupted.

"No,no,no" she also interrupted him. "I am not going to force you to accept my love." She paused and watched his reaction. He seemed to calm down.

"So what do you want?" He asked.

"A date" she said and Henry widened his eyes. "Just a date for one night and I won't bother you again." She saw Henry shrug. He did not seem to agree.

"Please Henry..... I want to have a memory of you and I spending time together."

Henry was not satisfied with her answer. He sensed deception. What on earth was she up to? He wondered.

"Wait a sec....do you consider me an enemy?" Bridget asked with a serious look on her face.

"No, I don't," Henry replied.

"Then...."

"Fine!..... just a date" Henry agreed reluctantly. "And after that you won't bother me again." He added.

"Sure!" Bridget chuckled. "I'm certain it's gonna be wonderful."

"Just remember your words." Henry told her.

On D-Day, he took Bridget to a restaurant. They ordered delicious meals and ate it. The meals were probably the only things Henry enjoyed on his date with Bridget. Anytime Bridget tried to bring up a topic to discuss, Henry would give her cold answers.

The date was very boring and Bridget didn't like it. She ordered drinks and urged Henry to join her in drinking. Initially, Henry refused. But he remembered that after that day, she would let him be so he decided to give it a shot. Too bad for him, he wasn't good at drinking. A few shots were enough to get him drunk, then unconscious.

In the next few minutes, he woke up and saw himself in Bridget's room. She had taken him to her house and it annoyed him.

"What the hell am I doing here?" He demanded and Bridget made a face meaning that she did not understand his words.

"Why am I here?" He asked, trying to be as calm as possible.

"Well....I had no idea that you are such a lightweight." She said sarcastically. "You passed out, then I brought you here......is that a bad thing?"

"Besides..." She continued. "Bringing you here was not an easy task....yet all I get is you shouting at me" she added feigning annoyance.

Just then Bridget's little sister walked up into the room. "Is he your boyfriend?" She asked innocently and Bridget smiled. "You look great together." The little girl added.

Henry felt extremely irritated. He just left the house in anger.

++++++

Ever since that incident, he had not spoken to Bridget. He avoided her and ignored her calls. Now the Bridget he had been avoiding was walking towards him when he was expecting Angel. Such ill-luck! Finally, she got to him and smiled.

"Hello Henry" she greeted.

Henry ignored her greeting. He hated her and did not want to have anything to do with her. He did not want Angel to see him with her especially now that he has a chance to win her (Angel) heart completely.

"What do you want?" He demanded.

"Henry, I'm pregnant.." she announced.

"So how is that my busi....."

"For you" she completed her statement and Henry stared at her in disbelief.

"You must be joking. I think you are out of your mind." He said with much skepticism.

"I'm not joking," She said.

Henry noticed that she sounded serious. He saw her bring out some papers from her bag, then stretched it towards him.

"Have a look," she told him but he refused to take a look.

Henry could still not recover from the shock. Suddenly, he remembered his father's words.

"One more nonsense from you and I'm going to disown you. Trust me son, this time I mean it. I've had enough!"

Henry's father, Mark, was a rich business mogul. He was the founder and owner of the popular RICHARD DON EMPIRE. As a successful person, he had lots of competitors.... Perhaps you could call some of them enemies. They were willing to do anything to bring him down.

Mark ensured that he gave them no room for that. He was very careful but he was blessed with such a careless son.

Henry was the direct opposite of his father.

Henry never liked business. He dreamed of being an artist but his father would never permit that. He was forced to study business administration. That way, he would be able to take over his father's business when he grows old. But Henry never seemed to get out of trouble. The last time he got arrested along with other young guys as suspects of robbery. The press took that as an opportunity to write stories.

THE OF SON RICHARD MARK WAS ARRESTED BY THE POLICE AS A SUSPECT OF ARMED ROBBERY. People wondered if he had the ability to take over his father's company. WILL RICHARD DON EMPIRE CRUSH AT HENRY'S TAKEOVER? Different stories and rumors spread. Mark was annoyed and gave Henry a warning for the last time. What was he going to do? He wondered. His father would definitely disown him if Bridget's words were true.

"Henry?..." Bridget's voice brought him back to reality. "Back then, after our date, I had an affair with you." she confessed.

"What!..... aren't you ashamed?" Henry asked in disgust.

"No, I'm not," she replied shamelessly.

"Your father is rich....why should I be ashamed?" She asked without any emotion. "Henry....I don't have plans to continue schooling... it's expensive.... let's just get married...." She was cut short by Henry's sudden laughter.

"You're crazy Brie" he said as he laughed harder. "I don't believe a word from you." he added and began to walk away from her.

"Henry!" She screamed. "I'm not joking."

Henry refused to listen to her. He continued working until he was out of her sight. Then he sighted Angel walking towards him. He tried to look cheerful like before but it was difficult. Bridget had ruined his good mood.

Angel got closer and finally reached him. He forced a smile.

"Hi Henry" she said smiling.

"Hello Angel" he responded, trying to keep his tone neutral.

"I'm sorry I'm late." Angel apologized. "By the way, this isn't where we were supposed to meet." She added and noticed the worried look on his face.

"Is everything alright?" She asked.

"Yeah" he forced another smile but Angel wasn't fooled.

"What's wrong?" She asked disturbed.

She touched his chin and made him look at her. "Talk to me." she added with much concern.

"Nothing..... I just had a misunderstanding with my friend and he asked me to leave his shop." He lied.

"That's not good." She said, "Let's go back and meet him. Tell me what happened on our way back and I'll think of a way to sort it out." She suggested.

"No.... it's alright." He refused politely. "I came here to take you out and nothing else."

"But...."

"No 'but' " he insisted. "It's not the first time my friend and I have had a misunderstanding. We'll settle it later." He assured her and she gave in.

They walked until they got to a restaurant known as HOTSPOT RESTAURANT. It was a popular restaurant and was well known for its good services and tasty meals. Anyone who had eaten in that restaurant always had one or two good things to say about it. Most guys take their girlfriends to the restaurant to enjoy themselves. Henry did not want to be left out although Angel wasn't officially his girlfriend.......yet.

Henry and Angel entered the restaurant and sat down. Lots of people were having fun and Henry wondered how much money the owner would be making. Before Henry could order for anything, his phone started ringing. He brought out his phone from his pocket and saw that the caller was his father, Mark.

Henry wondered why his father was calling him. Why was everyone trying to ruin his date with Angel? First it was his little sister, Stella. She refused to let him leave the house but luckily, he outsmarted her and left. Then it was Bridget and now his father was trying to disturb his day. He sighed before picking the call.

"Hello Dad," he said.

"Henry!" Mark's voice roared. "Where are you?"

"In a restaurant" Henry replied, trying to think of the mistake he had made again.

"Come home quickly," Mark commanded.

"But...."

"I said come home! It's very important!"

Mark screamed angrily and cut the call.

Henry felt terrible. Today was supposed to be his most memorable day with Angel. Why are all these things happening? He wondered.

"What's wrong?" Angel asked. "Did something happen between you and your dad?"

"No.......but he wants me home" he informed her and looked at her expecting to see a negative reaction from her but she gave him a reassuring smile.

"It's okay, just go home. We can go out some other time." She told him as she stood up.

"Thank you so much for understanding." He said and he stood up as well. "Do you mind walking me home?" He asked.

"No....not at all"

Angel escorted Henry to his house and bade him goodbye when they got to his gate. He watched her as she left until she was out of sight. Then he took a deep breath and turned to face the gate. He knocked but noticed that the gate was unlocked.

That was unusual. It seemed that his father unlocked it for him. What could be so urgent? He could not help but wonder. He entered through the gate and began to think of why his father had called him so urgently. Before he got to the door of his main house, his younger sister, Stella came out of the house to meet him, crying.

"Henry, Dad is really mad at you." She cried as more tears trickled down her eyes.

"What's going on?" Henry inquired with a worried look. "Why are you crying?"

"Dad wants to disown you" she disclosed.

"Does that mean I'll never see you again?" She asked as she hiccupped on her tears.

Henry was shocked and dumbfounded. Why would his father do that? What has he done wrong this time?

How worse could today be, Henry? His instincts mocked him.

"Disown me.....for what?" He asked, still confused.

"For trying to ruin my reputation" Mark responded as he moved towards Henry.

In the next few seconds, Helen, Henry's mother and his other two sisters (Maria and Gloria) joined them.

"Listen Mark" Helen intervened. "You can't do that to Henry. He's our only son for Christ's sake!"

"And he thinks he's untouchable because of that. He thinks he can misbehave the way he likes.... right?" Mark asked, unconvinced.

"There must be a misunderstanding" Helen maintained. "Let's give him a chance to explain."

"And that is the only reason why I haven't thrown him out.... yet. But I will soon because I'm certain that nothing good can come out of this boy" He assured her.

"Let us ask him first..... before you judge him, please?"

Mark shrugged and kept quiet. Helen understood that it was his sign of approval and was relieved. She turned to face Henry.

"Henry, the child in Bridget's womb..... is it yours?"

Henry was dumbstruck. Bridget had informed his parents about her pregnancy.

What was she thinking? That he would marry her? He had never seen such a fool. At that moment, he hated her. He hated her more than anything in the whole world. Henry could not answer his mother's question. He only kept quiet.

"You see?" Mark said, not surprised. "He can't admit the bitter truth"

"Henry!" Helen cried. "Please give us an explanation. We trust you son. There must be a mistake........"

"There is no mistake," Mark interrupted.

"From this moment onwards, Henry is no longer part of this family and I don't want any of you to have anything to do with him." He strictly warned.

"No, you can't do that...... I'm begging you" Helen pleaded.

"I've made up my mind." Mark said firmly. "I've tolerated enough insults from this boy." He added as he pointed to Henry.

"Do you have any last words?" He asked but Henry kept quiet. "I see you have nothing to say......then leave my house and never come back" he ordered as he pointed to the gate.

Henry obeyed and left the house. Before leaving, he turned to look at Stella and smiled at her. "Goodbye" he muttered. Then he left.

"How could you be so heartless, Mark?"Helen wept but Mark ignored her.

He ordered the gateman to lock the gate then he went to his room. Helen continued weeping while her daughters surrounded her - they wept and comforted her.

***********

That morning was bright and sunny. Stella foretold herself that it was going to be a good day. She sat on the bed and looked at her sisters who were still sleeping. Gloria was snoring at her left while Maria was sleeping like a log at her right. The three sisters shared a very gigantic bed. It had been that way ever since they were little kids.

Their parents ensured that they change the size of their bed as they grew bigger, to ensure that they were comfortable. The sisters loved it and never complained. Stella came down from the bed slowly in order to not wake her sisters. She went to the parlor and sat down. Then, she stood up again. It was very early and she felt extremely bored. She decided to take a stroll in the garden.

As she moved, she stepped on something. She squatted to pick it and saw that it was a ring. She took a closer look and realized that it was Henry's ring. Impossible! It's been four years since Henry left the house and her father made sure that he got rid of everything related to Henry - but the ring.

Stella smiled and held the ring tightly, close to her chest. It was Henry's last item and she wanted to keep it safe. She looked at it again and memories of Henry flashed into her head. She closed her eyes to reminisce her sweet memories with Henry but was interrupted by a sound.

She opened her eyes, annoyed. She wondered who interfered with her thoughts. She turned and looked at the table, the telephone was ringing. Stella became angry. She was certain that it was one of her Dad's friends. She decided to ignore it to teach the caller a lesson. Then, she heard her father's stern voice.

"Who's in the parlor?" Mark's voice coming from the bathroom was heard. "Answer the phone!"

Stella reluctantly obeyed. "Hello" she said, not in a friendly manner as she clogged her right ear with the telephone.

"Hello......Stella" the caller replied.

Stella could not believe what she was hearing. It was not her Dad's friend, it was Henry!

Her elder brother whom she missed so much was calling her. All of a sudden, she remembered her father's warning. Her father had made it clear to her and her sisters that they should have nothing to do with Henry but at that moment she did not care. She had no intention of disobeying her Dad but she missed her brother so much. She can't always make everyone happy.

"Hello.... Henry" Stella said, almost crying.

"Stella, are you alright?" He seemed to have noticed her crying tone.

"Yes..... I'm fine" Stella said as she wiped her tears. "It's been four years Henry.......four years! I miss you so much. How are you doing? How have you been faring? Henry you have no........."

"Stella, who are you talking to?" Mark cut her off as he walked towards her with a wrapper tied around his waist. She attempted to hang up but her father stopped her.

"Don't you dare!" Mark screamed as he finally got to her.

"Dad.......I was actually......em"

Mark ignored her words and took the telephone from her hands. He placed it on his ear to begin a conversation.

"Hello, who is this?" Mark asked but got no response.

"Hello?....hello?!" He asked again but louder this time, still he got no response. He looked at the telephone and realized that the caller had cut the call.

He stared at his daughter sternly and asked, "Who was that?"

"Dad.....it was...."

"Answer me!"

"It.....was..... Henry" She stammered.

"What!" Mark screamed in disbelief.

At that moment, the remaining people in the house came to the parlor to find out what amiss. Helen was not happy to see Mark shouting at Stella - especially that early morning.

"What is going on?" Helen asked no one in particular. She saw Mark staring at her, frowning.

"Do you know that this daughter of yours was speaking to Henry?" He asked.

Helen was taken aback. "What do you mean by 'this daughter of yours' , she's our daughter!"

"Don't try to change the topic Helen. Stella disobeyed my instructions." He said angrily.

Helen kept quiet. She had disagreed with the idea of Mark disowning Henry but her opinions were overlooked. Mark never cared, he was the boss and everyone must listen to him.

You could voice out your opinion if you wanted but it's up to Mark to decide if they were important or not. If he didn't like them, he would just ignore them. Helen reasoned that arguing with Mark would do more harm than good. Mark was a man with great pride and ego. He felt he was always right.

"Calm down Mark, just calm....."

"What do you mean by calm down?" Mark asked Helen who just looked at him, confused at the turns of event. "By the look of things, it's your fault." He accused.

"What! What are you trying to say?"

"It's because they feel you've got their backs, that's why they keep on disobeying my orders. It's all your fault." He said.

"Stop accusing me falsely Mark. I understand that you are angry but that doesn't give you the right to accuse me." Helen said, trying not to get upset.

"How is it an accusation? It's clear that you are soft on them." He countered.

"I'm a mother, Mark. It's normal I'm soft on them but I also correct their mistakes." She defended.

"I understand that but you are too soft on them." He said, unconvinced.

Then, a noise was heard outside.Gloria moved towards the window to have a look. She saw the gateman talking to someone. The person was facing the gate so she could not see his face but she recognized his body. She returned and faced her father.

"Dad, Uncle Pete is here" she announced.

Mark stared at Stella in a way to tell her that she was lucky. He told his wife to welcome him, then he went to his room to dress up.

They heard the parlor doorbell ring, then Gloria went to open the door. She saw Pete and an unknown guy standing. He should be about Henry's age. Gloria wondered why she didn't notice him earlier.

"Good morning Uncle Pete'' she greeted and stared at the unknown guy. "Good morning sir" she also greeted him, looking at him weirdly.

Pete laughed, "David....call him Mr David. Don't worry dear, very soon, you'll be familiar with him."

"Good morning Mr David" Gloria greeted again.

David replied with a nod, and a smile. Helen and her two daughters approached them.

"Pete, it's so good to see you. Please come in. You haven't visited us for the past two weeks." Helen said and turned to David, "you are welcome as well"

"Good morning Uncle Pete, good morning sir" Stella and Maria greeted in unison.

"Good morning my darlings, how are you all doing?" He asked them.

"We are fine." They chorused.

"Alright, alright" Helen said, "Don't just stand there, come in" she ushered and turned to Gloria, "Go and get our guests wine."

Gloria nodded and left the parlor while Helen gestured the guests into the living room.Maria and Stella were left standing at the door.

"Why did you do it?" Maria asked, suddenly.

"Do what?" Stella responded, surprised.

"You knew that Dad would be mad if any of us disobeyed him......so why did you speak to Henry?"

Stella sighed, "That is more like a rhetorical question. I mean.....I miss him so much. Can't I talk to him? Don't you miss him as well?"

"Don't misunderstand me Stella. I also miss him. My point is that we shouldn't talk to him whenever Dad is around."

"Well.....he called me. I couldn't ignore him."

"Then you could have told him to call you later."

"I wasn't expecting him to call me. It happened all of a sudden."

"I'm not blaming you Stella." Maria said calmly, " I'm only telling you in case there's a next time."

"Alright" Stella said, "I understand." She added and reached out for the door knob.

"Where are you going?" Maria asked.

"To take a stroll......in the garden" she replied as she opened the door.

Before she went out, she turned back and saw Maria going back to their room, probably to chatter with Gloria. She looked at the living room and saw her father talking to Pete. David kept quiet and admired their friendship, she noticed. Helen had gone to her room. She observed that her father only smiled whenever he was talking to Pete.

To her, Pete was her father's best friend.

Pete had been by her father's side and he had assisted him in building RICHARD DON EMPIRE. Her father was the CEO of the company while Pete was the second in authority but her father made it seem as if the company belonged to both of them.

He even went as far as naming the company RICHARD DON EMPIRE. Richard was her father's surname while Don was Pete's surname. She once eavesdropped on her father's conversation with her mother. She heard him talking about Pete's son, Mike.

Her father would sing his praises anytime he got a chance to do so.

During the university break, Mike would assist them in their business. The employees in the company praised him a lot and he would have been the next owner of the company if it had belonged to his father. That was the kind of responsiveness her father had expected from Henry, such a pity it didn't happen.

Stella stopped staring at them. She did not want to remember the scene of her father disowning Henry. The memory made her feel bad and she never wanted to think about it. She left the house and went to the garden. Something touched her left leg and she was startled. She looked at her leg only to see her little pet cuddling her.

"You scared me Miuky" she said to her cat who stopped to stare at her.

"It's okay Miuky" she chuckled, " no need to apologize" she said and gave her pet a pat.

She went closer to the flowers and Miuky followed her like a loyal pet. Stella smiled and knelt down to pick a flower.

"It's gonna be a great day."

She exhaled after inhaling the aroma of the flower.

The fact that she spoke to Henry gave her so much joy and she could no longer hide it. Especially when no one was with her -well, apart from Miuky.

She knelt down for a few minutes, admiring how beautiful the garden was.

Then, she stood up and decided to return to her room. On her way back, she saw Pete and David outside.

They seemed to be having a conversation. The fact that Pete and David decided to have a conversation outside instead of sitting comfortably in the living room puzzled her.

What were they talking about? Why was her father excluded from the conversation? Were they plotting something evil? Curiosity filled her thoughts. She wanted answers. Controlled by her instincts, she moved closer to them to eavesdrop.

"I'm going to ask you for the last time." Pete said firmly, just like her father. Stella was surprised. She never knew Pete to be a stern man. All the times he had visited them, he had never stopped smiling. Stella had always pictured him as the direct opposite of her father. Perhaps, it's because she had never seen him angry.....

"Have you studied it carefully?" Stella heard Pete asking David. Then she paid more attention.

"Yes sir," David replied with confidence.

"I want no mistakes," Pete said.

"And there would be none," David assured him.

"Alright" Pete said relieved, "make sure that nothing is left out. I want everything gone" he added and David nodded.

They were about to leave when Miuky mewed.

"Who's there?" David asked, harshly.

Goodness! Stella sighed noiselessly as she hid behind the flowers and furniture in front of her. Did Miuky really have to do this? Stella did not know why but she was afraid to come out.

Earlier, she had annoyed her father. She wanted no more trouble. What if Pete tells her father of her bad habit of eavesdropping? Her father would definitely kill her! She thought.

"Show yourself!" David's voice sounded more impatient and annoyed.

No! There's no way she would sell herself out. She looked at Miuky and smiled. It was its fault, so it had to settle the problem. She gestured to Miuky to move closer to them. The cat obeyed and came out of its hiding place. Pete and David looked at each other, then burst into laughter.

"It was just a cat." Pete chortled, "I thought it was something serious."

"Exactly" David supported, "this cat is really something else."

Pete stopped laughing and cleared his throat, "I'm going inside..... come after a few minutes" he instructed and moved towards the parlor door.

Stella noticed his ID card fall. David also noticed it. He picked it up and tried to return it to Pete but he had gone inside. He put the card in his pocket and waited for a few minutes before going inside as well.

Stella became relieved after they went inside.

She gave her cat a kiss and decided to go and share her thoughts with Maria. She felt Pete was up to no good and was uncomfortable about it. Perhaps, her elder sister would have a better way of reasoning. She entered the house through the back door. She did not want Pete or anyone to suspect her.

When she got to her room, she saw Maria chatting with Gloria. What were they always talking about? Something boring, no doubt. Stella thought.

But they were laughing. Perhaps, it was not as boring as she thought. On second thoughts, Stella had a change of mind.

Her sisters were in high spirits. She never wanted to bother them with what she wasn't sure of.

Exactly! She shouldn't let her suspicions get the better part of her. There was no proof so get the thought of your head Stella! She told herself. She heaved lightly. Everything would be alright. She assured herself and went into the bathroom to have a bath and start the day with a fresh mind.

**********

It was calm and quiet inside the parlor. Gloria sat on the sofa with her chin resting on her right hand, worried. Maria was reading a book while Stella sat down unfazed as if nothing was going on. Mark was sitting next to Gloria. He was sipping his drink quietly as he awaited his savior. Soon they heard the doorbell ring.

"Finally!" Gloria heaved a sigh of relief as she went to open the door.

"Mom.....what took you so long?" She asked rhetorically. She took the polythene bag from her mother and went back to the living room.

"Gosh! I'm so tired" Helen quetched as she sat down.

"Welcome Mom," Stella said.

"Mom, I'm starving" Maria complained as she dropped the book she was reading on the table.

Mark said nothing, he continued sipping his drink. Seconds later, he stood up and went to his room. Helen only looked at him with compassion. She knew that he wasn't happy because he was hungry.

Mark could have ordered for food if he wanted but he preferred Helen's food to any other food.

To him, Helen was the best cook in the world. Despite all their arguments and shortcomings, Mark would never physically abuse his wife no matter how angry he was. Helen guessed that it was probably because she was an excellent cook.

"Mom......." Gloria called, getting impatient, "Can we please go to the kitchen?"

"Exactly Mom" Maria agreed, "we are going to have a late supper tonight and I'm sure you don't want it to get worse."

"Okay, okay let's go" Helen said and her three daughters followed her to the kitchen.

Gloria emptied the items inside the polythene bag on a big tray. Maria lit the gas cylinder and put a pot containing water on it while Stella stood by the door, waiting for instructions.

"Stella, I want you to start picking the beans before the water boils." She instructed and Stella obeyed.

She brought out a small tray and collected the beans packaged in a small nylon, then she emptied the nylon on the small tray. She took the small tray close to the door and started picking the beans.

"Maria, I want you to grind the onions and peppers. Make sure you wash them thoroughly." Helen said and Maria obeyed.

Soon the water started boiling and Stella washed the beans. Then, she drained it and poured it inside the pot. She added a pinch of salt and covered it.

"Wait a sec" Helen said after realizing something, "Check the cupboard to see if there is any cube of Maggi".

Gloria opened the cupboard and brought out a plastic container. She opened it and shook her head negatively.

"None Mom"

"I knew it!" Helen exclaimed, disappointed. "I knew that I was forgetting something".

"It's not your fault Mom. You were in such a hurry." Maria said.

"Don't worry Mom, I will go and buy it." Stella volunteered.

"You know your father doesn't like it when you go out at night." Helen reminded them.

"Come on Mom, I'm nineteen already. Am I still a kid?" Stella asked.

"How about we go together?" Maria suggested, "Nothing bad will happen to us if we go together." She assured her mother.

"And besides, we can't cook this meal without Maggi," Stella added.

"Alright, you girls should hurry up and also be careful." Helen told them.