Chapter 20

Things were getting heated up and Max was not finding her way to talk to him pleasantly, so with anger in him, he slapped her with the back of her left hand and Crystal fell to the ground with blood gushing out of her mouth.
" Don't you ever dare to talk to me in that tone again, you spoiled brat", Max yelled out as he lost himself.
He was beginning to show his real self and he told Crystal that if she was not ready to bring the balance to him, then she should consider herself knocked over as she was not going to leave the house till she makes up her mind to do what he wants.
Listening to this, Crystal rose to her feet and ran out of his office in the direction of her room, weeping like never before.
"You will still do what I want because I am the only family you have left", Max yelled out from his office, panting like a person who was engaged in a fists fight.
Walking back to his seat, he was certain that a man was to buy off his niece for him to remain at the head of everything that his brother had left.
Sipping from his glass of Whiskey, he thought of the episode that had just come to pass, and out of too much anger, he threw the glass against the wall and it came down shattered into the pieces.
Breathing in so hard he thought of the possibility of losing everything he had ever worked for, and that made his head hurt as he stamped the table with his hands on his table raving with anger.
Crystal was in her room and she had closed it up crying out her eyes as she thought of the spank that her uncle had just given her downstairs.
" Why did she have to do this to me, has he always been like this or did he just change the cause of my recent failure?", she wondered in her mind as hot tears ran down her cheeks.
Confused about what to do, she took up her bag in search of her phone to call Georgia but mother thought held her from doing so as she could not do the right words to explain what was happening to her friend.
Taking a deep breath, she was about to rise to her feet when she heard her phone vibrating, taking it out and identifying the caller as being her friend, Crystal breath in and out, and with a courageous spirit, she picked up the call.
"Hello, Crystal are you home already?", Georgia inquired as she was worried about what had happened.
Staying silent for some minutes, she wiped out the tears that were dropping from her eyes and gathering herself, and arranged her voice, she responded,
" I am home now Georgia you need not worry".
Georgia at the other end of the call could feel that her friend was not fine and that she was lying to her so she further raised a question,
"Are you sure that you are okay because it seems to me that you are going through a rough time but you do not want to talk", Georgia spoke out all concerned.
Crystal feeling that the conversation was getting to on deep, gave an account of the things she had to do that night before going to bed so telling her friend not to bother and that she will be with her tomorrow.
Crystal hung to the call unexpectedly and all that we said, did not make any sense to Georgia who had noticed for some time that she had been sad and moody.
Crystal crying some more and running through everything that Gina was trying to say to her, wondered what it was as it was not clear.
" Could uncle Max be a bad person?", Crystal had so many unanswered questions but she dared not confront her uncle again after the slap that she had received that night.
Taking herself up and heading to the bathroom, she stopped inform of the mirror and caught a glimpse of how red her cheek was, she wept again and Blaze's image came flashing to her like a relaxation image that could melt all her problems away.
Holding her head, and later speculating on everything he had told her back in his office, she said to herself,
"I do not think he will want to help me, besides I tried to steal from him so why will her help me out?".
An image of her came out in the mirror saying,
" He will help you out because he loves you and you know it".
"Love me?, but how when all I see in his eyes is hatred", Crystal spoke to her reflection.
The image told her to trust what she was feeling inside and only she could tell how she feels whenever she was in front of him.
Holding her heart, she could feel it beating just at the thought of him.
Hitting her head with her hands, she felt like she had become crazy, and looking at the mirror, she could not see anything anymore.
Convincing herself that what happened that night was all a misunderstanding because she distracted her uncle, she walked into the lavatory to take her bath hoping that by tomorrow when she wakes up, everything just has been a nightmare.
She finished from the bathroom and walked into her room drying her hair as she rubbed herself with her lotion.
Skipping into her nightwear, she climbed on her bed and decided not to think of all the awful things that had happened during the day.
The sweetness of sleep was irresistible and the tiredness from the day made her doze off.
Beep beep!
Crystal was woken up by the alarm in her room who wakes her up every morning.
Sprawling her arms as she reach out to the alarm, she halted the alarm and woke up from her bed, she saw a new day that was to bring a lot of good things.
Catching a glimpse of her parent's portrait, she smiled and closed her both hands, praying for their protection and guidance for the day.
"Mommy and daddy, I miss you both so much and I promise to always make you proud in everything I do", she let out with a smile though her eyes were filled with tears.
Her attention was turned to her vibrating phone, and she walked to it noticing that, Georgia was the person calling.
Picking up her call she told her friend that she was just waking up and she was about to take her bath to come to meet her.
"Can you please tell Mirabelle to make a plate of sandwiches for me?", she asked with an innocent voice that could make her get anything she wanted.
Georgia laughing at her said she will have the whole sandwich in the house.
Crystal was delighted to have such a friend that was willing to make her happy anytime so she asked Georgia how she was coping with not being anyone's girlfriend and Georgia at the other side of the phone, let out a huge sigh and replied,
" I will be fine bestie".
"Do not worry about a thing, we will go cruising in some minutes okay?", Crystal cheered up her friend.
Georgia was super happy to know that her friend was going to spoil her and she could not wait.
Crystal who had not yet seen the state of her face walked past the mirror in her room and threw a sight on it, she could not believe what the right side of her face looks like.
In a state of shock, Crystal screamed so hard that Gina who was downstairs could hear her shout out and she immediately ran to her Mistresses room.
Knocking on the door so hard, she called out ok Crystal asking whether she was okay but Crystal could not answer as the sight of her face left her in pain.
The slap she received last night, had damaged her face so bad as it was swollen.
Crying and asking Gina to go away, she lamented in her sorrow and did not feel like going out anymore.
" I am here for you Ms. Crystal, please open the door for me to come in", Gina felt her pain, and knowing how connected they have become, she saw Crystal as a younger sister.
Crystal taking herself up and reaching for the door unlocked it and Gina on seeing her face shook in fright.
"Oh my goodness ma'am what happened to your skin? she raised a question as she told her to wait for a few minutes for her to go get the drug box.
Crystal went back to her room and sat on her bed, she thought of the program she had fixed with her friend and now she could not go out.
Gina was already back with the medications and a bowl of hot water with a towel.
She told her not to scream as it was going to hurt a little.
Soaking the towel and squeezing it out, she placed it on Crystal's face holding her hands not to move so much from the pain.
Crystal grinding her teeth and tightening her grip on her dress, moaned out in pain, and tears running down her cheeks, expressed how exactly she was feeling.
Gina was done with the massaging and she applied the rub on her.
Gina was feeling concerned about what was happening to her but there was nothing she could do herself as she feared Max with everything I'm her.
"I told you to leave this house but you did not listen, your uncle is not who you think he is?", Gina spoke out with her head lowered.
Crystal was starting to understand what Gina was talking about but she felt like, her uncle was been a judge for nothing ad he could not be that bad.
" You need to leave this house now, take some few things and leave now", she insisted.
"But what about you, if he is that bad come with me", she felt for her maid.
Crystal could not think of anywhere to go to except for her friend's house Georgia but she had to get to the bottom of things.
Gina, taking off to check out of Crystal's room, made her wonder what she was doing but she felt like Gina was overdoing things. Rising to her feet as thanking her for the massage, she went into her bathroom to take a shower and get ready to face whatever obstacle she will be faced with.
Little did she know that the battle had just begun and she was going to be shocked by the things she will later discover. Gina went down to the kitchen, leaving Crystal in her room to get herself together and leave.
crystal picked up her phone to place a call to her friend in fright, as she did not know what to do anymore, felt her heat holding up in her chest as though it wanted to pop out. Ringing Georgia's phone, she picked up, and Crystal panicking, told her to listen to her carefully as she had something to say to her.
Georgia held her chest as she was scared of what her friend was about to let out ask her what the matter was but Crystal crying out for Georgia to sit quietly a minute and listen to her told her that she thinks that she was in great trouble.
Taking a deep breath, she asked Georgia whether she has some money on her and also found out whether she could stay in her house for some time and Georgia accepted wholeheartedly but still asked what was going on with her, but all she could tell her was to wait for her as she was going to come soon.
Telling Crystal that she was waiting for her to come and put in that her friend should not bother as she is here for her anytime and anytime. Crystal took out her little bag and put a few pieces of stuff into it, together with her parent's album and dressing up, she left her room to go downstairs.
As she went downstairs, and out of the house, she was booked by a security agent that she had never seen before in the Estate. With a confused look, Crustal raised a question about who he is and what he wanted from her and his answer shock her as she stood there like a sculpture.
" What?", she questioned thinking that it was a joke and that the man was puttering but when he called her uncle and gave her the phone she understood that it was serious. Crystal could not believe that her uncle has turned her into a prisoner in her own house on climes that she was being stubborn.
"Uncle Max can't be serious about this, like when did all these start that he will ask you to stop me from going out and also seizing my car keys?", she asked the guard standing beside her after answering the call. She unlocked her doors with the unlock button on her car key and forced her way into her car, the guard stopped her and squeezing her hand and getting the key, pushed her into the house.
Crystal was still in shock over what was happening and thinking that it was all a joke, she called on the gate person to come help her but he too had received a strong warning from Max not to let her go out of the house.
Crystal cried out but there was no one to help her. Gina had been instructed too not to let her out and that was why she had told her to hurriedly pack up her things and leave the house.
Crystal thinking of taking out her phone from her Bag and calling Georgia again looked at the guard and saw that it was not a good idea, so she slowly took out her phone and out in her pocket whole, she went upstairs to her room.
The guard stood there and told her that she was only permitted to leave her room only when she wants to eat aside from that, she was to stay in her room, and failure to do so will amount to consequences.
Crystal sat in her room and cried her eyes out asking God why her life has to be like that and what she had done to deserve such monstrosity. Her heart was telling her to call her uncle and thinking of her phone in her pocket, she took it out and dialed her uncle's number.
Max who was in his office with one of the candidates who had applied for the job posted online, was present in Max's office, getting the terms and agreement of his contract as he was explained in detail what he had to do.
Blaze sitting in his office and imagining how splendid the evening will be in Crystals company, called up the restaurant again to ensure that everything was okay as he had instructed, and getting the confirmation he needed, he took it upon himself to forward the location to Crystal himself but unfortunately, her phone was already been seized by the lookout who was standing outside her room.
Max received a call from Crystal's cell phone, had called on the guard to take her phone from her before she could call anyone else with it. When her phone was been seized, only then did Crystal understand the gravity of what was happening to her and around her, but it was too tardily as she had become a jailbird with no one to call to come to her rescue.
Her mind went to Blaze in her monument of distress and she knew that if she could succeed to reach him, then he could be of help to her but she did not have his phone number offhand so how was she going to reach out to him.
Soothing herself out, she mumbled convincing herself that all will be fine and as soon as her uncle comes back, she was going to meet with him and apologize for the awful occurrence that had taken place last night, and after that things were going to be fine, not know that her problems had just begun and her uncle's real face was starting to be revealed to her.
Sitting on her bed, Gina knocked on her door and came inside with a platter of food, the guard was behind her to ensure that there were going to be no funny games between them both.
" Take some food dearly, and stop crying", Gina said as she dropped the tray of food on the table and left. Crystal sat there thinking about what she had done to deserve such a thing and crying so much, she fell asleep without knowing.
Blaze, waited for Crystal's reply to say that she had seen the message stating the venue but there was no word from her, so he arranged himself and thought that, it was one of her stubborn ways to behave and that she was going to be there no matter what.
Blaze finished from his office early, and thinking of something when he will be heading home so as to shower and dress up properly, he decided that he will have to stop by a flower shop in order to pay for a bouquet for Crystal, as he was anxious to meet with her again, and this time, he was going to tell her the truth about what had happened that night in his house.
Feeling all glad and optimistic that Crystal was a good person, he organized the files on his table and picked up his briefcase and cell phone, he locked up his office and told his secretary not to be late tomorrow, he went to get a lifter to go down.