8:15am, Heather was sitting on a stool beside the door while her back leaned and rested on the wall. She wiped off the few tears crawling down her cheeks with her left back palm and sobbed imperceptibly. A tall white doctor walked out from the room, wearing a pity gaze on his aging face. Heather rose up from the stool immediately, staring anxiously at the wry looking doctor. She kept staring at the doctor, speechless.
"Are you the only companion?" The doctor asked, staring at the slim and exhausted Heather.
"My Dad is late and I'm her only child."
"I have step family though but please how is she? Is she recovering?"
"No!" The doctor replied immediately and Heather felt some chills run down her spine.
"Wha-what do you mean?" Her voice was low and scared.
"You can't do this alone Heather. Someone has to help you. Have you considered asking your steps for help?"
"What do you mean 'No'? Why are you not treating her yet?" Heather scoffed, staring angrily at the doctor.
"Money!" The doctor mentioned and sighed heavily.
"We discussed it, Doctor. I said I'm gonna pay you as soon as possible. I'm working on it and I will get your money."
"It's not done that way Heather. You haven't even paid an advance."
"An advance could have been helpful for you and to her." the doctor sighed again.
"You can't do this alone, ask for help." He added
"I will bring you the money please. Once I get my salary, I'm giving it all to you. Please just start the treatment." She begged, staring into the doctor's eyes.
"How much is it?"
"1500 dollars." She replied and the doctor chuckled lightly.
"Out of 100k bucks? It's very void Heather, just ask for help and come back."
"Your mother's life is in your hands right now and you don't wanna be late about it." He smiled weirdly to her and continued down the hallway. Heather stared at him for a while and rushed into the ward.
She got to the bed her mom was lying on and sat beside her after grabbing her sleeping mother's right palm. She stared at her unconscious mother for a while, raised the palm closer to her mouth and pecked it slowly. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she wiped them off with her left palm, sobbed imperceptibly and sniffed in.
"You are gonna be okay Mom, I promise." a few drops of tears crawled down her cheeks again.
"I'm almost there and I'm gonna get you out of here soon." She added, sniffed again and let the ward.
The moment she walked out of the hospital, she looked to her right and saw Helena walking towards her. She exhaled heavily and faked a smile on her pretty face.
"Hey Heather!" Helena approached her and simpered slowly.
"Where are you coming from?" Heather continued the smile.
"You mean going to? Tara invited me to be her bridesmaid. We are running the boutique today." She smiled happily, stared behind Heather and paused with a heavy sigh.
"How is she?"
"The doctor won't work until I pay something and I'm literally broke."
"Helena I can't lose her, I can't." Heather sobbed slowly.
"I gave you an opportunity to save your mom."
"I can't have sex with a stranger. It's very intimidating."
"Then you don't want to save your mother!" Helena responded immediately and some seconds of silence flew up.
"Look Heather, we don't have 100k bucks now. This is a risky moment or situation you really have to involve yourself into if you really want to save your mother." Helena paused and sighed.
"There is no other way Heather. He might ejaculate in just few pumps and you take your money."
"You know the address right?" She concluded and headed her way.
"Fuck!" Heather groaned and sniffed in after a splutter.
10am, Heather arrived room 15 of Pine hotel. She was wearing a black short gown and a blue hill sandals. She stood in front of the door, exhaled heavily and and knocked twice. The door opened slowly till Heather saw a very handsome and muscular man standing and smiling in front of her. She was overwhelmed and psyched by the man's handsomeness but she tried to ignore the charming part of him.
"Hi!" he continued smiling.
"Are you Killian?" She asked slowly, her voice was breaking. Killian shifted out of the door and Heather walked inside slowly.
Heather tucked the hairs on her face behind her ears and sat on the bed, staring at Killian. She was expecting him to make the first move.
"You seem desperate enough for this."
"Are you gonna give me 100,000 dollars?"
"Since Helena recommended you for the sex job...."
"Recommended me? What do you mean?" Heather interrupted and asked.
"I hope she's not gonna tell you everything, so neither will I."
"Are you gonna give me 100,000 bucks?"
"I'll give you 150,000 bucks." he said slowly and grabbed a glass of wine on the table. Heather stood up from the bed, got closer to him and took the glass of wine from him. She stared at him, poured the wine into her mouth at once and dropped the glass back on the table.
"Are you sure you can take me? I might be too dangerous on you." He stared into her eyes but she looked off and began to unbutton his shirt.
10:30am, Heather arrived at the hospital and headed towards her mother's ward. Arriving at the ward, she saw two nurses rolling a patient covered with white cloak on a patient bed. Heather paused, stared at the covered person and stopped the nurses before they could pass her. With force, she removed the cloak and to her shock, it was her mother.
"We are sorry, we couldn't do anything." one of the nurses said, covered the body and continued out. Heather trembled in shock, leaned on the wall and wept uncontrollably. The doctor came out and saw her weeping by the hallway. He stared at her for a while and headed towards her.
"I'm sorry Heather, she got into a shock and we really tried every means possible to save her. I'm really sorry." He said to her and left.
Few days later after the funeral, Heather was in her room packing some clothes into her backpack when she heard a knock on the door.
"Come on in." she said loudly and Helena walked into the room.
"Are you leaving?"
"I can't stay here with you guys."
"Why?" Helena scoffed.
"I mean, it's not like we are gonna chase you out of the house."
"My reason for sticking here is gone. I should just move around for a bit." Heather chuckled softly and continued packing. Helena saw a pregnancy test stripe on top of the cupboard. Helena stared at Heather and scoffed imperceptibly.
"Are you pregnant Heather?" She asked but Heather continued packing.
"Did Killian get you pregnant?"
"It's none of your business."
"You should have protected yourself. How could you just let him get you pregnant?"
"You framed me Helena didn't you? So that you could be a part of his company right?"
"Framed? Are you kidding me?"
"I was trying to help." Helena scoffed.
"Thanks for the help." She concluded, hanged her bag on her back, grabbed her passport on the bed and left the room. Helena chuckled unbelievably.
Five years later, Heather, now a professional wedding dress designer, returned to Beijing with her handsome five years old cute son named Harry. When they dropped by the airport, a short chubby lady came to pick them.
"You must be Miss Heather? Am glad to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." Heather smiled.
"Hi there, welcome to Beijing." The lady smiled at Harry and he smiled back.
"He's your son?" The lady asked and Heather nodded in with a smile.
"His face looks familiar with me. Is his father from Beijing?"
"When am I starting work?" Heather asked, dragging her traveling bag along.
"Sorry, you will start as soon as possible. I can't wait to work with a successful designer from Europe."
"My brother has prepared everything for the job."
"Materials, vendors and everything needed for the clothing." The young lady said quickly and sighed.
"We are even planning to make you manager of our company after this particular event. We are well pleased with your beautiful works." The lady chuckled.
"I only came for the job."
"I'm sure my brother will be able to convince you. He's good at that."
"Your brother?" Heather asked slowly when they got to the car, ready to hop inside.
"Yes! My brother owns the clothing company that invited you for this event."
"This is his card." The lady added, handing a card to Heather. Heather stared at her and took the card. She stared at the card and saw something that scared her immediately. By the end of the card, she noticed that the owner of the clothing company she came to work for is owned by a man called Killian. Heather stared at Harry with shock.
"Okay let me get this straight, you mean you can't..."
"What's your name please?" Heather interrupted the lady.
"It's Sophia," she said and smiled weirdly.
"Sophia I know how this sounds but trust me, I am not interested in any co-company stuff."
"I have my own company in Russia and I can't abandon it or my sweats in it in order to become part of yours or your brother's." Heather said to her and the driver stared at her through the rear mirror.
"Miss Heather, I know much well that you are already successful but this is not just an opportunity, it's a dream come true."
"For who exactly? I have already achieved my dream. I'm only proving it right now."
"I imagine you as someone who has always dreamt of being part of a clothing company like ours."
"Sophia I only came for the making of the wedding dress of the daughter of the Governor of Beijing, that's all." Heather blurted. Sophia sensed a mood of anger on her.
"I'm sorry Miss Heather. Of course I shouldn't force you to do what you don't wanna do. Just that it seems to me that you have a little traumatizing past stuff in Beijing." Sophia concluded and Heather stared at her for a while and faced the front.
"I guess I have some rough traumatizing past in Beijing and I'm sure you will be speechless when you find out." Heather sighed.
Thirty minutes later, the cab dropped them in front of a very big clothing company named 'Strings Clothing. Heather was marveled by the size of the building, customers trooping in and out and different cloth designs her eyes could reach.
"Wow!" she exhaled heavily, smiling.
"Follow me Miss Heather." Sophia said, heading into the building and dragging Heather's bag along.
"Come on baby." Heather smiled to Harry and they followed Sophia.
Inside the clothing mall, a young black guy met Heather where she was busy staring at the beautiful dresses on the glass hangers and praising them in her heart.
"Hello Miss, welcome to Strings collection or should I say welcome to Beijing first?" he said with a smile plastered on his handsome face.
"Oh! Hi!" Heather smiled back.
"You look like a designer. What's your favorite collection?" African Ankara or preferably high custom designs with sweet lines?"
"I-I only do wedding dresses." Heather Stammered politely and he gasped softly.
"Oh!"
"Yeah!"
"Good. That's very good because we do that here too and we really need a professional wedding dress designer here."
"Cut it off Ben, she's not here for you." Sophia interrupted.
"My bad, my bad." he raised his hand and headed back. Heather chuckled happily at him.
"Welcome to Beijing once again." he added and left them.
"Come on Miss Heather, don't fall for him. My brother's office is upstairs." Sophia said and they headed up the stairs.
"He's really cool and friendly."
"All managers are cool and friendly. Some might not be cool but they are all friendly."
"Wait, he's the manager of strings clothing?"
"He doesn't look like a manager right? What does he look like?" Sophia turned and stared at Heather, still heading up the stairs.
"If he is the manager, then I should be seeing him and not Killian." Heather said quickly and got Sophia staring steadily at her.
"I mean Mr. Killian." Heather looked at Sophia and looked off immediately.
"Shit!" Sophia arrived a door and knocked twice. Heather was trembling slowly. She is scared, not knowing whether Killian will still recognize her as the whore he had sex with and threw a 100,000 dollars on her sorrowful face. Her heart was beating faster than usual. She looked at Harry who was standing beside her, held him on his shoulder tightly and breathed out heavily.
The door opened slowly and a young boy showed up, holding some disposable pieces of paper.
"What are you doing in here? Where's Killian?"
"The boss is out. I was cleaning his office." He replied quickly and left them.
"I'm sorry Miss Heather but I think you are gonna wait a little bit for the proprietor." Sophia said and gasped.
"I told him that we are gonna be here in any minute."
"I still don't know why he had to leave after knowing that we are gonna be here." Sophia complained.
"Why don't we just go and meet Ben?"
"Ben? Why would we just go and meet Ben?"
"He's the manager and I'm sure he can interview me very well."
"He got a nice taste on designs and clothing as well." Heather said, staring at Sophia.
"No he doesn't. Nobody knows clothing taste more that Killian, trust me." Sophia said and they went into the office.
"Grab a seat, I'm sure he will be here very soon." Heather sighed, sat beside the big round glass table and carried Harry on her laps. She looked at Sophia and smiled weirdly.
"You look weird."
"Travel stress."
"Really? I will get you some coffee or cold water instead."
"You wanna leave me here?"
"I'm not leaving, I'm gonna go get you some coffee which also means that I will be back." Sophia stared confusedly at Heather and headed out of the office.
"Just be fast please!" she added and continued smiling weirdly.
"Yeah I will." Sophia left the office.
Few minutes later, the door opened and a tall white handsome man walked in. he was carrying a contained disposable bag on both hands. Heather's heart flipped down her stomach the moment she saw Killian walking towards them. With her right hand, she held Harry tightly and was staring at Killian.
"He hasn't changed a bit after five years?" She asked rhetorically in her mind.
"I'm sure he must have forgotten about me all this while." she thought, still staring at him.
"Hi Miss Heather, welcome to Beijing." he smiled broadly a her and she looked away from the charming face immediately.
"Hi Sir!" Heather said broadly, peeping at his face and forcing a smile her pretty face.
"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, I only went to a shopping mall to grab you some stuffs."
"It's alright. I'm totally cool." She chuckled weirdly.
"Thank you for accepting the offer. It really mean a lot to me and this company." He smiled and dropped the bags on the glass table.
"Oh thank God, he didn't recognize me." Heather breathed out heavily when Killian was grabbing a seat.
"Is he our son?" Killiian whispered slowly and stared at Harry.
"Excuse me?"
"Helena told me you were pregnant before you left for Europe."
"That means that he must be our son." he added and smiled at Harry.
"I don't, I don't get what you are saying." Heather scoffed angrily.
"You must be mistaken me for someone else Sir. I came for the design offer." Heather added, chuckled and sighed out imperceptibly.
"I know this is really a lot to take in but trust me, I really searched for you."
"Searched for me? Why-why would you search? Oh for the job right?"
"When Helena told me about your pregnancy, I searched for you bt you were gone."
"What are you saying Sir? I don't think you know what you are saying." Heather tried to distract him from where he was getting to.
"Heather Evans, we had an unprotected sex on the morning of the 16th day of October 2017. I gave you 150, 000 bucks for the sex. It was an accidental sex." Killian narrated and there was silence in the room for few seconds. They were both staring into each other's eyes.
"Look I really..."
"So that's it huh!?
"That's exactly why you invited me here right? Because you found out about me on social media."
"After five years of our accidental stuff and you still remember me, so what? Kudos to your smart brain?" Heather chuckled angrily.
"Fuck social media and mind you, he's not your son because I have had more sex and sex and sex after our accidental sex." she bawled.
"I'm not after the boy or you, it's just..."
"Oh really? And you want me to believe that?"
"You didn't invite me for the dress design did you? You only invited me so I can became your slave who you can easily have sex with any time you want and pay her off with some dollars? Well I'm rich now and my libido is dead." she bawled again.
"I am rich too and trust me, you are not taking this boy away from me."
"No! No! Yeah that's it" Killian stammered.
"That's what?"
"I want us to start all over." he said and Heather chuckled.
"No! I mean, the job is entirely yours but I want us to start all over."
"Start all over? We never even had a thing. It was just a sex job I did. Helena should be the one that should have something to do with you." Heather blurted and the door opened.
Sophia walked inside and saw Heather and Killian staring at each other, eye ball to eye ball.
"Uhmm! Excuse me, is this supposed to be the interview? Is this how an interview works or am I missing something?" Sophia was startled.
"Brother, are you begging her for something?" Sophia asked Killian, trying to understand what was really going on in the environment. Killian sighed heavily and sat well on the sofa, staring at Sophia.
"Okay." Sophia breathed heavily too.
"Umm! This is the coffee Miss Heather."
Heather stood up from the sofa immediately and headed towards the door angrily.
"Miss Heather?"
"You shouldn't have gone for that coffee. I never requested for a coffee."
"At least take the stuffs I bought please, he will probably need them." Killian said but she ignored him and left with Harry. Sophia stared at the door and then to Killian.
"What was that Killian?"
"I bought her some chips, cereals and crisps."
"Why would you buy her some chips, cereals and crisps?"
"She has a kid." Killian shrugged.
"Yeah and she's rich. I'm sure she travels with her credit card." Sophia kept staring at him.
"What is it Killian?"
"She's my wife." Killian said and Sophia laughed for a while and frowned.
"Are you insane Killian?"
"Yes I am Sophia."
"Why would you be insane seeing her and why was she staring at you like you are already her husband? She probably has a husband in Russia."
"No she doesn't. I'm very sure she's still a single mother."
"Killian, what went on here while I was away?" She continued.
"I have a past with Heather. It was five years ago and I'm sure I'm not supposed to be telling you this."
"Shit!"
"Yeah."
"You own that boy?"
"Accidentally? Yes I own that kid"
"So this proves it all. This proves why she saw scared to meet you. I should have stopped her if I knew this earlier."
"Thank God you don't."
"You are an asshole Killian."
"So what do you think about it?"
"Riley knows about this?"
"Riley?"
"You are currently dating Riley Chang. Did you forget again?"
"Oh! yeah Riley." Killian recalled and Sophia sighed unbelievably.
"Is she supposed to know about this? Is that really necessary at all?"
"You just called Heather your wife seconds ago. What will happen to Riley and this company if that really happens?"
"Remember that Riley and her Dad are the great source of this company and I wouldn't mess that up if I were you." Sophia mentioned and took a sip of the coffee.
"So what? I'll just let them walk away after finally getting them in my arms. It's been five years Sophia."
"Accidental stuff or the biggest company in the whole of Beijing, choose wisely." Sophia said and he was speechless.
"So this is actually why you wanted to make her your manager after the governor's daughter's wedding? Is this why you haven't married Riley after engaging her for four years?"
"I just can't let her go. I know we made mistakes but we can still make amendments and things will be great again."
"And then you'll marry her right?" Sophia said and chuckled lightly.
"Won't you want me to marry her? She's one of the best in making wedding dresses." Killian sat up from the couch and headed towards the door.
"Killian where do you think you are going right now?"
"I wanna know where she's gonna stay in Beijing."
"What do you mean, w-we booked an apartment for her stay here in Beijing."
"I don't think she's gonna stay there."
"Then you can just call her and ask her that."
"She's not gonna answer the phone call either." he replied and his phone on the glass table began to read. Sophia peeped at the screen and sighed.
"It's Riley."
"Just tell her that I'm not here. Say it politely please." he snubbed and left.
Heather met Ben at the clothing mall and smiled lightly to him.
"Hi!" a white pretty and slim lady spoke behind her and she turned immediately. The lady was wearing a pink track trouser and a baggy shirt.
"Hi, nice to meet ya."
"You look confused and new. Are you new here?" she stared at Heather and scoffed.
"I'm Riley."
"Hi Riley, I just dropped few minutes ago. I came for a special offer."
"Are you Miss Heather from Russia?"
"Oh my God!"
"Yeah you are the only special designer we are expecting for a special and quite expensive job." Riley said to Heather and chuckled broadly.
"Have you met the proprietor yet?" I heard he's not at his office"
"Yeah, No! I haven't met him yet." Heather lied, staring at her.
Suddenly, a little girl about Harry's age, came closer to Harry and grabbed his wrist.
"Hey!" Heather stared at the little girl and the girl stared at Heather with a smile on her innocent round face.
"I wanna play with him." the little girl said to Heather and Riley chuckled.
"Come on Molly, you play too much with almost kid that comes to this mall."
"That's cool though." Heather smiled to her.
"Killian and I love her so much. She's our daughter." Riley smiled.
"Daughter?"
"Yeah! Killian and I are engaged. We will get married soon." Riley added.
Killian rushed out from his office, down the stairs and met Riley and Heather standing opposite each other at the clothing mall. Riley smiled the moment she saw him while Heather forced a smile on her angry face.
"Sophia said you are not here." she continued smiling and grabbed his left arm. Killian stared at Heather but he looked away.
"Yeah I was with Ben at the stores. We were checking on the delivered materials."
"Oh my Killian, you don't have to be involving and stressing yourself on such things. You have people who can definitely do that for you."
"You are the boss here." Riley added
"I just needed to do something. I didn't touch anything though, I was only walking and talking." he faked a smile to her.
"So how was it?"
"It was stress free and the materials are all good."
"I ummm, I gotta go, I'm sorry for interrupting." Heather interrupted and they both looked at her.
"You are going?"
"Where are you gonna go? I thought you are gonna stay at the apartment the company booked for you for arrival?"
"I don't know about that but I'm gonna be back." Heather continued smiling weirdly at Riley and Killian. Killian was so gutted and speechless.
"I'm just gonna grab some stuff for my boy and head back here." she stated and left.
"She's weird." Riley looked at Killian.
Few minutes later, Sophia met Killian and Riley at the clothing mall and simpered slowly. She was carrying the two contained disposable bags.
"Oh you both already met?"
"Yeah he was in the store with Ben. They were checking on the delivered materials." Riley said, smiling happily to Sophia.
"Oh was he? Really?" Sophia faked an angry smile to her.
"Yeah and I told him not to be involving himself in work activities. He's the boss of this whole thing."
"You should tell him that every day and promptly."
"See? Your sister also thinks that you are stressing yourself too." Riley looked at Killian and said.
"Yeah. Even a stress he did five years ago will probably bother him soon enough. Or maybe it's already bothering him." Sophia said and stared aggressively at Killian and he sighed disappointedly.
"What do you mean Sophia?" Riley was staring confusedly at Sophia.
"Who knows what I'm saying? Maybe I'm stressed too and don't know what I'm saying." Sophia laughed.
"That's weird!" Riley scoffed.
"Killian, why aren't you talking?"
"Oh I met our wedding dress expert. We talked for a while." Riley recalled and Sophia stared at Killian.
"Where the hell is she?"
"She'll be back soon."
"What do you mean 'She'll be back soon? Where is she?"
"She said she's gonna go grab something for her kid and head back." Riley responded lightly.
"Shit!" Sophia groaned and headed back upstairs, grabbing her phone from her purse. Riley and Killian kept staring at her while she was climbing the stairs hastily.
"She's weird too." Riley simpered.
Sophia got upstairs and dialed a number. A teenager picked up the call immediately.
"Hello Mum!" the teenager said through the phone.
"Sweetheart where are you at right now?"
"I'm home, why are you asking?"
"I need you to do something for me right now. Something very important and urgent. Can you do it for me?"
"What is it Mom?"
"Okay listen carefully. I want you to take my car and drive to the airport."
"Wow! Are you for real Mom or are kidding with me? You never allowed me to touch your car keys before."
"It's all yours today."
"What am I gonna do if I get there?"
"Look for a pretty lady on a long white gown, holding a cute little boy that looks like your uncle."
"Uncle Killian? He has a son?"
"When you find them, bring them back at all costs please."
"I love this request Mom."
"You should be on your way right now." She ended the call and turned after a heavy frustrated sigh. Killian was standing right behind her.
"Shouldn't we be the one doing that?"
"Yeah you should be the one doing that and not my daughter. You let her go Killian?"
"I didn't know she was actually gonna leave."
"Why? Because you offered her a lifetime opportunity?"
"Riley was there and I couldn't say or do anything."
"Cool. Now you are in trouble."
"She really abandoned the offer? The wedding is just in two weeks time."
"You broke her heart twice. I would kill you if I was in her shoes. I told you already, she's rich and doesn't care about the offer. I'm quite sure she came for something too just like you invited her for some other reason which is not exactly the job." Sophia scoffed and headed back downstairs. Killian followed her.
"Where's your fiancée by the way? What have you done to her?"
"Call Jane again and know where she's at."
"Call her yourself and know where she's at. You got her number, don't you?"
"I hate you Sophia."
"No you don't and you can't."
"You are supposed to be supporting my mistake and not blaspheming me for mistake I did when I was hungry."
"I should be correcting your mistakes not supporting them."
"Can I ask you a question Killian?" She said the moment she got down the last step of the stairs. Killian stood still, staring at her.
"What made you have..."
"Hey boss, it's almost the time for the shop N stare. New models and designers will be showcased tonight at the lobby." Ben interrupted.
"You never called me and ask about it ever since we talked about it."
"Oh!" Killian hushed down.
"Yeah. So I was thinking, since our wedding designer is in our world right now, why don't we invite her to the show tonight? I mean, she has a good clothing taste and will understand how every dress should be showcased." Ben smiled happily and stared at Sophia who was staring angrily at him.
"Wha-what? Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Go away Ben."
"You mean Miss Heather?"
"Of course."
"It's-it's really a great idea Ben. Let's do it at the lobby tonight." Killian responded
"Tonight?" Sophia stared at Killian and her phone ranged out.
"I'm sorry Mom, I couldn't find who you described."
"Did you search very well?"
"I'm sorry Mom!" Killian looked anxiously at his sister.
"It's fine sweetheart, you can..."
"Wait, is the kid wearing a blue shirt? I think I have seen them Mom."