When You Have Everything But Love

Everyone looked towards the entrance and Mason set his eyes on Jackson, followed by his wife, Maya.

"Sorry to come in uninvited but we had to on this fine day." Jackson said. No one seemed to be offended by it,so he continued. "My wife would like to say something."

"You're Tessy,right?" She asked and Tessy nodded, slowly. She was trying to analyse the situation.

'Isn't she the lady at grandma's funeral?" She thought. "What do you want?"

"I... I don't know how to put it but, can you forgive me?" She asked and Tessy immediately guessed who she was. She immediately frowned.

"It's you! You're her!" She stated already getting angry. She didn't wait for a response before she continued, "What do you want? Why are you here?"

"Easy, Tessy." He tried to calm her down.

"Why is she here?" She asked Mason.

"Why are you here?" Mason asked.

"I know you won't forgive me and I won't force... "

"Why are you here?" Rain asked from the side. "No long story, ma'am. Just state your business."

"Can I see my grandchildren?" She requested and Tessy snapped at her.

"Sure you can but that's all you'll be doing." Tessy said with an annoyed tone and threw her face away.

Maya had a heavy heart. Although she had expected it, the pain was more than she had anticipated.

Mason carried the boy towards her and handed him over to her gently. As soon as she set her eyes on him, she could tell that he was Tessys'.

She glanced at the girl and smiled.

Seeing it for herself, she nodded to herself. She was indeed her daughter's daughter.

"Aren't you don't looking?" Tessy snapped. "You can leave now, can't you?'

The bitterness in Tessys' words got to Maya and she bit her lip lightly. She was feeling guilty both in and out.

If only she hadn't given her up at the beginning. Maybe things would've been different between them. Maybe they would've had a fun mother daughter relationship.

Maybe she would've loved her.

The curse was to blame.

............

Maya's name used to be Mara.

She was a young and beautiful lady in her early 20's who decided that she no longer wanted to be part of her family's curse but it wasn't up to her.

Her family, back to the age where cars and phones had not been invented, had been cursed due to a mistake of one of their ancestors.

On a night when the night shone beautifully, a shaman's daughter went out to pick some flowers. She needed it as part of the decorations on her wedding dress.

Her wedding was the next day and she was looking forward to it more than anything.

Gabriel, Mara's ancestor, was returning to the inn which he had booked to stay at during his stay in Korea. He stumbled on this beautiful lady on the flower field and was driven by lust.

He had his way with her and thus, ruined her life. Her wedding was cancelled as she was no longer pure. It was also later discovered that she was pregnant.

Struke with despair, she hanged herself. But before that, she cursed Gabriel's entire generation to face the exact same thing she did. She cursed all his offspring to be girls and filled with unhappiness and loneliness.

Due to this, the once wealthy Gabriel family fell to ruin as the curse took away everything from them.

Since all children were girls, the lineage reduced gradually but the curse kept spreading and no one was able to break it, till date.

Mara feared that she would suffer the same thing and decided to run away. She didn't believe that the curse could stop her if she decided not to get married, but it did.

It stopped her at a time she thought she was okay and it was a time when she thought she needed no one but herself.

Mara eventually fell in love and was proposed to but the week before her wedding, she was raped.

This of course led to her cancelling the wedding and breaking ties with the man as she knew what would come next.

Just as she predicted, she got pregnant. Just like the others in her family but her case seemed to be a bit different.

On the day of her delivery, a rich tycoon's wife died while giving birth. Seeing her for the first time, Jackson, the rich tycoon, fell for her beauty.

Since his wife was deceased, he thought of taking her as his wife and being the mother of his newborn son, as well as carrying his unborn children but...

It was impossible for him to keep another man's child with him. After discovering she was unmarried, he approached her.

As soon as Mara woke up, she saw a stranger standing so dashingly with an aura of dominance before her. Unaware of who he was, she inquired.

"Who...who are you?" She asked. The weakness from the delivery seemed to have held her down a bit.

"Who am I?" He grinned. "I'm the man who's gonna give you a comfortable life." He said with a lot of confidence.

Mara stared at him in disbelief.

'Is he for real? Am I dreaming or already dead?' she thought. "I don't understand!" She said, "How are you going to make my life comfortable? And where ..." She searched the room with her eyes. "...where's my baby?"

"Before I answer any of your questions, hear me out!" He said but she still stared with disbelief. "My name is Jackson Wesley!" He introduced "My wife just died during delivery and I'm here to propose an offer." He took a step closer. "Be the mother of my son and unborn children and I'll give you a comfortable life." He offered.

Mara blinked in disbelief. She couldn't help but chuckle.

"You're joking, right?" She laughed. "What man in his right sense would willingly marry a cursed girl?"

"Oh, you're no longer cursed." He said. "According to my sources, the curse transfers to the first born, which is always a girl so," he leaned in "... you're curse free."

"You know only so little because it's not from your family. Nobody knows but I do. The curse of unhappiness and loneliness will never leave!" She pointed out.

"Don't worry about that." Jackson said. "With what I'm going to do for you, you won't have any cause to be lonely or unhappy!"

His confidence made her wonder. Well, she had nothing to lose anyway. But it was still unbelievable to say 'that' was his only term.

"Okay," She raised her hands in surrender and dropped them. "...let's say all this is real and you want to give me a comfortable life, what's it to you?" She asked. "I mean, you don't just want me to raise your children and be your life partner all willy-nilly, right? You want me to give up something, am I right?"

Jackson suddenly felt amused and laughed.

"Wow! Beautiful and smart! Now, I like you more." He said "You're right! I want you to give up something and that is your daughter. I don't want her in my family!"

Mara scoffed and shook her head.

"Of course that's it! She now has the curse and you don't want to raise a cursed daughter in your family. And it's even worse as she's the product of another man." She looked up at the ceiling.

If she said she didn't want her daughter, that would've been a lie. It was too hard to give her up to the world that was full of cruelty and evil. She couldn't let that happen.

"Alright, I accept your offer." She came up with a solution and smiled.

Jackson thought Mara was blinded by his proposal of a comfortable life and smirked.

"After careful consideration, she decided to give up on her..."

"I'm not done talking!" Mara interrupted. He looked at her, wondering what else she had in mind.

"Then, go ahead!"

"My daughter will not be a part of my life, nor yours but, she can't be a part of someone else's either." She stated. "If anything were to happen to her and she dies, the curse will bounce back to me."

"So, what are you saying?" He asked.

"I'm saying that, with your help, I'm going to take care of her in the best possible way but not in the family way." Mara professed. "She can be as far away as possible but will receive everything life has to offer from you and me. Is that alright?"

Jackson thought for a while, weighing the pros and cons. It wasn't such a bad idea. He nodded and Mara sighed with relief

"It's settled then!" Jackson announced. "You just have to do one more thing before we get married."

"That is...?"

"Change your name from Mara to Maya!" He exclaimed. "Mara is just too bitter for a girl like you." He said.

The nurses brought in the two babies. The baby girl on the left was Mara's daughter while the boy on the right was Jackson's son.

The nurse holding the girl wanted to take the baby to Mara but she declined. She simply took a glance at the baby and looked away.

"I'm not depriving you of a chance to carry her. It might be the first and last time, you know!" Jackson said on seeing her rejection.

"I know! It's just that," she lowered her head. "...I think it's best if I don't hold her and sink into the feeling. I would just end up missing her warmth." She sighed. "Just a look will do."

"Are you sure? You two may never see each other for the rest of your lives." He pointed out and she bit her bottom lip.

Tears welled up in her eyes. It was already hard as it was. He shouldn't push her anymore.

"Just...take her away!" She said and Jackson sighed.

"I just hope you don't regret it later." He snapped his fingers and the nurse drew back with the girl.

'I...already do!' Mara thought.

"Then, give her a name at least." Jackson suggested and she opened her mouth.

"Tessy!" It was as if the name had been ringing in her head since the moment the baby was born. It was too bad she wouldn't be able to call her that. 'Im sorry baby!' she apologised within and a tear rolled down her cheek.

Jackson signalled the nurse to take Tessy away. He was completely oblivious as to how to console her. Losing a child wasn't easy! He could tell.

He turned to the nurse holding his son and took him from her. He stared at the child. Its resemblance to him was very pronounced. He smiled.

Jackson carried the baby towards Mara, hoping it would heal her heart.

"Take a look at him." He said and Mara raised her head. On seeing the baby boy, her heart melted. It didn't ease her guilt much but it helped.

"Can I...can I hold him?" She requested.

"Of course!" He handed her the baby. "Cause from now on, he's your responsibility." He said.

Mara smiled warmly. The baby in her grasp was so pure and innocent. It almost felt like she didn't lose anything.

"What's his name?" She asked.

"Casper!" Jackson said. "His name is Casper!"

"Casper!" She repeated softly and lowered her head to touch his. "From now on, I'm your mummy!"

(THIS STORY IS ACTUALLY ABOUT TESSY AND NOT MAYA)

"Nanny Celine, when can I see my mummy?" Two years old Tessy asked.

"Don't worry Tessy, your mummy will come see you once she no longer has to work, okay?" Nanny Celine assured.

"I hope so. I haven't seen mummy before, I wonder what she looks like." Tessy just couldn't help but wonder while she swinged her little legs.

"You'll know soon. Now, are you done with your homework?" she asked and Tessy nodded.

"Tessy, your history teacher is here." Nanny Zoe announced from the door.

"Ok!" Tessy got up and walked towards her. Nanny Celine couldn't help but stare at her before simply shaking her head.

"This child is just too pitiful." She remarked. "But it's amazing how she is so sensible at such a young age. She's just two years old."

Just as Jackson promised, he bought a house in the woods where wild animals didn't lurk around.

The fence was really high and the house was of good quality. He hired a lot of guards, maids and 5 nannies just for Tessy. Nanny Cana, Nanny Tracy, Nanny Rose, Nanny Zoe and Nanny Celine.

Tessy was given everything a child could ask for. She ate good food, slept in the most comfortable bed, wore the most beautiful dresses, even if she wasn't going anywhere. She was taught by the best teachers from all over the world.

Her life was great, it just had one thing missing.

Tessy was discovered to be a child genius when she said her first sentence. She said;

"Nanny Zoe is shorter than Nanny Cana but Nanny Cana doesn't know that Nanny Zoe has a fairer skin than her"

Everyone was completely amazed and immediately phoned Jackson, from there, her learning began.

By the time Tessy turned two, Maya gave birth to a boy, now having two boys to take care of. But the guilt of giving up Tessy still followed her because of the curse. Jackson tried his best to take her mind off of things.

He bought her a huge mall, a restaurant and even a boutique. Although she didn't ask for any of it, he just kept buying them, as well as numerous dresses and jewellery.

He went ahead to introduce her to many of his friends and it got to a point where she started falling for him but she wasn't sure if she was actually falling for him or his wealth.

She just felt empty and that all he was doing for her was for nothing. She tried to convince herself that she was happy but she knew clearly that it was impossible.

Mara walked past a toy shop and her eyes landed on a very alluring doll. It somehow reminded her of Tessy even if it was just a glance.

'What harm would it do to send her just one doll?' she thought

Unlike Tessy who was a girl, Casper didn't play with toys. He had the same nature as his father, who was arrogant. But just like Tessy, he was also homeschooled with the same teachers but different schedules.

When Tessy received the doll, she was happy. So happy that she couldn't contain her joy. This was the one thing she would treasure for the rest of her life because it was from her mother.

Hearing that Tessy was happy about the doll, Mara felt warm and delighted inside. It was good. Just good.

Three years passed and Tessy grew wiser. She understood things better and knew exactly what kind of situation she was in. Abandoned!

"Nanny Celine, my mother abandoned me, didn't she?" Tessy asked with her head down. She clutched onto her doll, not wanting to let go.

Ever since she received it three years ago, it had been her companion. She carried it everywhere except for the bathroom because she didn't want it to get ruined.

Now, she had more reason to hold on to the doll, as it was all that was left of her mother's care.

Nanny Celine was finding it hard to respond. It was true but how to make it seem false, how to lie to her?

"She doesn't love me. She kept me here because she doesn't want to see me, am I right?" Tessy spat out coldly.

"Dear, she loves you. It's..."

"That's a lie!" Tessy interrupted harshly. "I'm a nuisance because of the curse. No one wants to keep a cursed girl around and that's why she locked me here, am I right, Nanny Celine?" Her words got to Nanny Celine.

Tessy's gaze was just so terrifying at the moment and she didn't have the spine to lie. No one could.

"It's all for your own good child."

"Ha! Hahaha!" Tessy laughed but it didn't sound like the laughter of a five year old at all.

She understood everything clearly. She knew what was right and wrong. She knew what was white and what was black. She understood her situation better than anyone.

"Just as I thought!" She muttered softly. "Tell the language teacher that I won't attend classes today. I...don't want to see anyone." With that, she walked out of the room.

Nanny Celine felt sad and worried. Tessy was too smart to deceive so, there was no way she could lie to her for long. The curse was to blame.

Tessy had been told about the curse at the age of four in order to prepare her for whatever would happen in the future.

It might've looked like the right thing to do but seeing such a development, it no longer seems like a wise choice.

Tessy walked towards the back fence and looked up. It was very high. She saw a bench close to a dog hole, so she sat there and started thinking.

For a little girl, she had a lot of things in her mind and tried not to cry but her soft baby emotions ruined it. Tears started flowing down her cheeks and she began to sob quietly.

After a while, she stopped crying and cleaned her face, wiping every trace that would lead people to know that she was crying but her expression remained sullen.

"Stupid curse!" She muttered.

Just then, a little boy crawled in through the dog hole from the other side of the fence. He looked up to see this little girl looking sad.

At first, he was stunned at how pretty she looked. She looked just like a princess doll but had such a sad expression.

"What would make a lovely girl like you sad?" He asked.

Tessy woke up from her thoughts and turned to look at him but had an indifferent expression. She quickly looked away, completely ignoring his presence.

"Hey, don't ignore me." He walked to her front but she didn't lift her head. "Why the long face, princess?"

She looked up with a glare which frightened him. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped. She looked away and said;

"None of your business!"

"Sure it's not my business but, let me tell you this." He stepped backwards. "I... " He pointed his thumb at his chest "...am your prince that's going to save you, the princess, from this castle." He concluded and put his hands on his waist.

"You're joking!" Tessy stared blankly. She wasn't finding his gesture serious or hilarious at all.

"Come on, you're sad which means you don't like it here. Come, I'll take you to a place that you'll like." He stretched his hand to hold on to hers but she evaded it.

"Mind your business!" She simply stated and got down from the bench, making an attempt to leave.

"Hey, wait a minute." He grabbed onto her doll and took it. Seeing that he took her doll, she stopped.

"Give it back." She demanded. He looked at the doll and then at her. An idea!

"If you want it, come and get it." With that, he ran towards the hole and crawled out.

Tessy couldn't quite comprehend what just happened. It all happened in a flash. This boy had taken her doll, the one her mother bought her and ran through the dog hole, out to the world she had never seen.

What was she going to do? She had never gone out before, what if she got lost? No! Now wasn't the time to think, it was time to catch the doll thief.

So what if she had never gone out, there's a first time for everything.