His Legacy

The heart ponders

Mr Jones’s strange packages raised brows. They came in ten’s everyday making the servants busy. No one dared to check what were in the boxes. In fact, it remained mysterious for a long time.

“Where are they taking those?” Steven asked Anita as she supervised the packages.

“The basement.”

She turned to Caro.

“Are you done cleaning upstairs?”

“Sure!”

That was a response she wanted.

“Good! It should be spotless for visitors.” She noticed Caro stare at Steven flirtingly and looked away in embarrassment. She adjusted her bonded hair. “Be careful with those!”

“Hey,” Diana said to Steven. “Can we see?”

“Now?” Steven was shocked.

“Concentrate for once, please!” Anita snapped, interrupting both of them. “The work is getting intense. No room for discussions.”

“Sorry, I just wanted to speak to him.” Diana apologized.

“Then don’t do it here. Do it somewhere else. This is a work zone. I do not have to tell you everything. Damn! You two annoy me.” Anita walked away in rage. Steven bit his lips. He hasn’t thought of how to gain Anita’s trust yet. In fact, his mind barely worked straight.

“Steven!” Diana caught his attention. He forgot totally about her.

“What?” He asked.

“Do you have a response?”

“For what?”

“For tonight. Let us meet tonight.”

He rolled his eyes nonchalantly.

“No.”

“Are you avoiding me?”

“I am busy.”

“What’s wrong with you lately?”

Steven walked away from her. She irritated him.

“Anita….” He called his boss.

“What?” She was getting pissed.

“I want to talk to you.”

“About what?”

He was quiet for a while. The woman before him was his boss and not the vulnerable Anita he tried to seduce. His courage went out the window.

“Well, I…We….”

“You are wasting my time. Speak now or forever be silent.”

“We are not at a wedding.”

“What is it, Steven?”

Steven swallowed hard.

“Well…,” He began. “I want to tell you who I am,” he blurted out. “I want to tell you my story of how I got here.”

“I do not care.”

She tried leaving but Steven pulled her back.

“Trust me. You will change your perspective of who I am.”

Anita glanced at the other girls, before removing his hand from her wrist.

“Get lost.”

Steven was pissed. What sort of lady was she? No girl gave him this much problem.

“I will never share anything personal with you again.” He promised. “I just need someone to talk to.”

Anita eyed him.

“Fine then,” she agreed. “We will meet when the girls go shopping today. Share whatever you want with me then and make it worth it.”

Steven nodded. His crafty self came back as he watched her leave.

Yeah! He was back in the game! He would deceive her so much, she wouldn’t realize it. He would crush her till she was nothing. He would share very little with her and convince her to give him the key. If she doesn’t, he will steal it from her anyway. Evil enough!

He smirked.

Evening came. They were alone in the mansion, sorting fruits into the fridge.

“So, huh….”

Steven wasn’t sure of how to start.

“Was your childhood that bad?” She asked.

“Very bad. My father killed people in front of me,” he laughed and she empathized.

“That’s horrible. How does it make you feel?”

“Bad,” he avoided her gaze. “Very bad. He framed me and my sister died because of him….”

His eyes got heavy in tears.

That wasn’t the plan!

Why was he breaking down?

He cleared his tears promptly.

“I am sorry. I shouldn’t be crying….”

“It is fine,” she said nicely. “Tell me what happened after that.”

He nodded, grabbed an orange and placed it on the fruit tray.

“My dad framed me for killing my ex-girlfriend and her family. The police arrested me for it at the age of 17. I was kept at a Juvenile Detention Center for a year, before transferring to prison.”

“O!”

“I was there for 10 years. They recently released me on parole. The court didn’t believe I did it due to my father and the crimes he has committed. When I was released, I saved Mr Jones' life and he took me in.”

She smiled.

“I love men like you. You have a heart of gold.”

Steven scoffed at her naivety.

People change. He wanted to tell her, but he couldn’t risk his chances. She was too soft.

“What reputation does your father have?” She went on.

He was silent for a while before blurting it out.

“He is a Mafia Lord.”

Her mouth widened.

“No way! He must be a very dangerous man then.”

“Exactly my point. I know how dangerous these people are. Mr Jones is a Mafia Lord as well.”

She didn’t look surprised.

“He scares me. I try to do my job as perfectly as I can because he could kill me. He threatens my life so many times. There was a time he pointed a knife to my neck.”

Steven saw the fear in her eyes. She couldn’t hide her emotions.

“You are fine with me.” He took her hands.

“While the other girls slept with him, I couldn’t. I didn’t have the confidence to.”

“You do not have to be pressured….”

“I have always been pressured, Steven.”

She cleaned a tear that flowed down her cheek.

“I have always been pressured. The reason why I was hurt when you…,” she didn’t have the confidence to speak, “when you flirted with me was because I lose men easily.”

“How do you lose men easily?”

“I do not know!” She was mentally stressed. “When I tell them I cannot do what Caro does, they flinch. They lose interest and I do not see them anymore. This was why I was scared. I thought you would leave me too.”

Steven didn’t expect the conversation to get so deep. His plan to lay her down was dismissed from his conscience. He couldn’t do anything against her will. He couldn’t hurt her feelings.

“Do you have the basement keys?” He asked, dismissively.

She nodded.

“I always carry it on my key holder,” she showed him a large key which stood out from the rest hung to her waist. That was all he wanted. How would he get the key though?

“I am sorry the conversation got deep. I have to leave….” He turned to leave.

“I am ready!” She stopped him.

He didn’t understand what she meant.

“Ready for what?” he asked.

“For sex.”

He thought she was joking. He laughed it off and left. Her fast reflex grabbed his arm.

“I am serious,” she told him. “I trust you. I want to lose my virginity to you.”

“You are crazy!” He pushed her off. “Are you mad? You cannot just lay with anyone. You do not know me.”

“I feel like I know you enough. We connect with each other, can you not see?”

He hated that she pointed it out.

He saw it; the connection. It was scary and he hated how it felt.

“Look,” he held her arm. “You aren’t thinking straight right now.”

“I am, Steven,” she looked desperate. “I cannot bear the rejection anymore. Could you take me out of this misery?”

“No one rejected you, Anita. It is just an insecurity you have. Those who left were losers. They weren’t worthy of you.”

“I really want out….”

She wasn’t listening to him. He gazed at her for a while and sighed. He rneeded the key from her so bad. Distracting her with sex would be a perfect way to steal it. But he couldn’t do that to her. He would be no different from Sharon if he does it.

“Anita, do not let me do this….”

She attempted to pull her shirt up and he stopped her.

“Fine. We will meet later tonight. I need to buy a condom.”

She smiled.

“It will mean a lot to me.”

Steven has never seen a thing like that before. The poor girl was influenced by society. She could barely think straight. He knew she didn’t want it. She was just scared. He turned back to her as she arranged the fruits in the fruit trays. Her ponytail loosened and her hair kept getting in the way of her duty. She fidgeted with it for a while, before tying it again. He looked away promptly.

“What are you doing, Steven? Leave her alone!”

He slapped his forehead. His eyes unconsciously drifted back to her again.

She reminded him of his mother. The hardworking personality and concern. He looked away realizing he stared at her for too long.

“Focus, Steve! Focus!”