DUTY OR DEATH

STILL ON COLIN'S POV

I looked around feeling tensed, 'what if she finds me standing at her door? I would feel so embarrassed. Just as I was to leave I heard her voice.

"Sir, anything the matter? Do you need my help with something?" I turned around to see her wide gray eyes looking curiously at me. I've never come to her door before, I never had to, how was I going to explain myself?" I scratched my head anxiously.

"Are you alright sir?" She asked I could sense panic creeping in on her tone.

"I'm okay Pen, I just need someone to talk with, are you available?"

"Hmm?" She stared at me with curious eyes.

"I…said I need…I need someone to talk with," I stuttered. "It's okay if you aren't available, you have work to do I guess I should leave you to it." I hurried away eager to disappear from my present predicament. I was feeling so embarrassed and wanted to rush off.

"Mr. Graham…" I heard her call, I gently turned back to her to see what she had to say. "I'm not busy now, I've got some time to spare." She smiled warmly, I almost felt my heart somersaulting.

"Thanks." I somehow felt some kind of relief I haven't felt for as long as I could remember.

"Come on in," she opened her door letting me into her room. As I stepped in I felt a warm welcome, her room smelt of vanilla and it felt very feminine.

"Hmm, your room looks nice," I looked around letting my gaze fall on every corner. "Is that Roger Pines?!" I stared at the picture of her and a man smiling affectionately at each other if I'm not mistaken.

"Yeah… he is." I felt her countenance went down.

"I guess he was a very good friend to you?" I tried to maintain a formal tone.

"Yeah, even more than a friend. We promised to marry each other, hmm, but I guess Mother Nature had other plans for us." She smiled wearily.

"Oh, I'm sorry. When he died I vowed never to drink any other company's pineapple juice." I made a smile laugh trying to cheer her up.

"He was so good at what he does." She forced a smile.

"Sorry to intrude into your private life, but… I never knew his girlfriend but, I heard he bought her a very expensive boutique where most wealthy English ladies and gentlemen shopped. How…come…?" 

"Yeah he did," she laughed. " I gave it to my sister to manage while I'm away."

"Hmm, you gave out your business worth millions to become a maid in my house? It really is unimaginable!"

"Well… I never knew the agent were going to send me here?" She laughed sarcastically.

'She isn't just a maid!' I said to myself remembering how I treated her earlier. 'She's just a maid,' I had said, but she isn't just a maid! But a millionaire maid.

"Are you still with me, Mr. Graham?" She tapped my shoulder drawing me back to reality.

"Yeah I am, I guess… why ?" 

"Why what, Mr.Graham?"

"Why did you decided to runaway from society and come hide yourself here as a maid…?!" 

"Like you said, I ran away from society to hide, very true. I need time to heal, and I cannot do it with their talks, so that's why I did it. I hope you're offended?"

"Hmm, I don't know if I am really, it's really surprising, you could have just travelled out, ti some place no one can easily identify you, probably you should have gone to Africa, you surely wouldn't be identified easily there."

"Well… I guess this is the only way I could think of, and I kind of enjoyed the ride I must confess." She laughed lightly. "Now enough of me, why don't you sit over there and tell me about your troubles," she pointed at a blue sofa close to her bed. "I can be pretty good with the job of a therapist." She chuckled.

"Yeah," I sat down trying to think on how to present my words. "Tina lied about having my child, Isabella is mad at me for some reason I really can't fathom, but… there's one thing I dare anyone finding out, I want her forgiveness but if I tell her about it… she would never forgive me." I blurted with my eyes on the ground.

"I guess Tina is the lady who came earlier, yes?" 

"Yeah."

"Well… you've found out eventually, that's all that matters. You were got up on her web, but you're now free, you're lucky and should be thankful she haven't fully accomplished her wicked motives, you aren't completely ruined."

"I don't know if I should be happy or offended, I always dared having a child in my twenties but I had to accept my responsibility. Whenever I try to owe up to my responsibility I'm always hurt!" I noticed my voice was almost sounding husky, I cleared my throat so I wouldn't offend her.

"Mr. Graham, you need to know that owing up to your responsibility doesn't have to be enjoyable at the end, it mostly injures you in a way or an other. I do believe that Miss. Perkins will forgive you of whatever wrong you've done to her; she's a nice and easy going person judging from the few times I spent with her."

"She is good towards others but she hates me like hell!" I bit my lips in frustration.

"You both acted like you hate each other, Mr. Graham, but I noticed you were just angry with each due to the by force marriage."

I laughed in a sarcastic way, "You think so…? I've known her since we were kids, she never spares me a glance, not until our wedding day, I've never had a good conversation with her, especially when she's at her grandma's, she's ever always with that orphan who abandoned her on their wedding day." I felt guilt pricking me like needles.

"Well, maybe you've never really been nice to her, I never heard you talking to her in a friendly manner, you were either yelling or grumbling, ladies don't like that, they want to always feel loved and secured. I guess that's the way she felt towards Nate, she used to tell me a lot about him, but in all she never talked about you in a hateful manner. That shows she doesn't hate you, but doesn't love you neither."

"You really are a nice fella," I smiled warmly at her. "Thanks for having this conversation with me, I really needed someone to share my thoughts with, I hope I'll always be welcomed some other time." I stood up signifying my leave.

"Yeah, sure." She also stood up.

"Bye for now," I stretched my out my arms for a hug.

"Yeah…" she giggled childishly and entered into my arms.

"Hmm, you smell so nice," I buried my head into her hair.

"Thanks…" she chuckled. "Mr. Graham…" she attempted to withdraw from the hug.

Then I realized I had forgotten to withdraw from the hug.

"I'm sorry, I just got carried away," my cheek turned red with embarrassment. "I will be taking my leave now." I said and hurried away.

 'God! What was I thinking?' I pounced around anxiously. "Should I apologize? God! I don't even know what a gentleman would do in such situation." Just as I pounded on what to do my phone rang. "Jay… what's so urgent that he's calling me this time, I looked at the wall clock it said 9:00pm. I curiously picked up the phone hoping it wasn't something bad.

"Hello! Colin, you need to come to your mom's right now!" He said with an end note of command.