CHAPTER 32

It was the level of trust and respect that had unfolded between me and my family that I didn't react rudely to Patricia's nauseous statement.
      Nanny Mai walked into the kitchen quietly. What right did she have to get involved in family matters? Max and I sat beside Mrs. Smith as she tried to dissuade Patricia from carrying out her initial plan.
       This is just alarming. I sighed.
       Patricia's bored look indicated she wasn't paying much attention to Mrs. Smith's plea. She tossed the last cookies into her mouth and then turned to reply to whatever Mr. Smith's younger sister whispered into her ear. Their annoying laughter filled the room as Mr. Smith joined in the conversation.
       "Aunt, mum's speaking to you." Max's expression hardened. I could say with confidence, that was the first time I saw such seriousness on his face. "Mum's speaking."
       "Oh, my boy. I didn't notice." She wiped her mouth with the napkin and continued, "Mrs. Smith, you should have spoken loud enough for me to hear. You do know age is no longer on my side, right? I'm so sorry, my boy. What were you saying, Mrs. Smith?" She raised her head high and then waved at me. "Oh, we were just talking about you, dear."
       Dear? What a sly woman she is. I rolled my eyes in agitation. "I figured."
       "I thought you had no conscience but seeing as you've taken the responsibility of becoming a mum to these amazing and beautiful girls, I'm flattered."
       So amicable. Why don't you just get straight to the point? I already know what you're planning. "Thanks. I appreciate you recognizing my efforts. Getting such an incredible remark from you just made my day. It's just like having dinner on a boat with the President of America."
       "What a genuine sense of humor she has." She laughed, revealing her missing front tooth. "So beautiful. I used to love Jacob so much. He was so naive and competent. How could life have been so vicious to such an amazing soul? I hope Jasmine's soul never finds peace."
       Jasmine's soul? Liam and I didn't tell the Press about what happened to Jacob so how could she have known Jasmine was involved? "You are so detailed. You must have loved him so much to have such dreams about Jasmine. What a love." My last statement made me giggle. Liam was rubbing off on me unintentionally.
       Nanny Mai stood by the kitchen door, eavesdropping on our conversation. She blinked away the misery and discontent she felt. What could she have heard that made her that way?
       As if Patricia could read my mind, she repeated, "You are young and gorgeous and you just got married. I don't think you should raise these kids at such young age."
       "You had your first child at the age of sixteen." Nobody told me that, and neither did I read about it. Looking at the young man sitting opposite her, I could tell he was her son. They had the same greedy looks in their eyes and I forgot to mention earlier that when Patricia and I had our dispute, he was the most offended. I just didn't give any attention to him. If he hated it then he shouldn't let his mum tear people down. "I'm 21 years. I'm pretty sure I can take care of Victoria and Lauren. And I have Nanny Mai and Mrs. Smith to assist me." Nanny Mai felt threatened because of that. She had grown fond of the kids and couldn't imagine a day without them. I wouldn't say I understood what she felt but I did know a thing or two about being alone at home with nobody to talk to. Victoria and Lauren kept her company. "I appreciate your concern but I can handle my family."
       "I disagree." She snapped. Her eyebrows dilated. "What would people say about our family? I care for Liam so much. This is a time when you two should be spending quality time and growing together as one."
       "I've been doing both for a long time now. I can still do it and to be fair, I don't need your opinion on my marital life."
       "But you do need my opinion." Mr. Smith got up. He walked around the sofas and then got to where I stood. His strong fragrance nearly made me collapse. Standing face to face with him jeered me to realize he was indeed a handsome young man. Liam and Max probably got their good looks from him. He was slightly taller than me, burly, and had a deep voice. His voice sounded like that of an Angel when he was happy but like a devil in cartoons when he was upset. Feeling his breath against my nose was an achievement that needed to be marked on my to-do list. Glaring into his eyes, I could see the burning desire to be more successful than he already is. He coughed then continued, "I agree with everything Patricia's said. I only allowed those kids to stay here because Liam vowed to find a respected family who would adopt them. And yes, I liked Jacob a lot."
       "But, Mr. Smith,"
       "Patricia's agreed to find a good family. I trust her a lot."
       "But I don't." She's only doing this to hurt me.
       "Hannah!"
       "I'll talk to her." Mrs. Smith stood in between us. She had become a defendant of the universe for me that day. "She doesn't understand these things. I'll explain everything to her."
       "Also make her understand that if she's going to stay in this house as my son's wife then she needs to show my sister some respect." With that said, he sat beside Patricia as she turned to justify her decision. She deserved an award for being the best actress in the world. I used to think Diana was the worst until I met Patricia.
       "I'm not a bad person, Hannah." She said tearfully. "I'm doing this for my family. I would never do anything that would hurt anyone. I care for Liam?" She paused.
       I traced her gaze to the stairs. Liam and Diana stood opposite sides. He stepped down after her then sauntered over to the table, poured himself a cup of lemonade then strolled back to us. "Aunt,"
       "Liam. I was just telling your wife,"
       "I don't care what's going on." He glared at his dad harshly. "But this is my house and my wife. I wouldn't put up with anyone degrading her, especially in her house. I am nothing like some man I know who can't defend his wife from toxic people."
       Did I really put so much love into the food? He stood up for me in public and against his family! I must have made that food with a lot of affection. I beamed. I had forgotten about my anger and was now admiring my husband.
       "Toxic people? Liam, are you saying your family is toxic?"
       "Look in the mirror, aunt, and ask that question again."
       "You've never spoken to me in such a tone before." She glanced up to the ceiling and pressed her lips together. "You must love your wife a lot. They say love is a precarious thing."
       "I don't."
       Did he have to be candid? I fumed. She had gotten what she wanted after all. I was certain Patricia was going to use that against me for the rest of my life. "I should go check on Nanny Mai."
       "I'll come along." Max jumped up.
       Patricia echoed Nanny Mai's name twice and smiled. "I've been thinking lately, Ronald, I could really use Nanny Mai in my house. Can I take her along?"
       "Sure."
       Now she's threatening me. How low is she willing to stoop to hurt me? And Mr. Smith agreed without giving it a thought. "Nanny Mai? There are other nannies out there. Why must she go with you? It's not like she's a medal that you can just carry around whenever you want. She's human. It's up to her to decide if she wants to go with you or not."
       "Fine. Let's call her out and ask if she's willing to come along."
       "That's not necessary." Mrs. Smith intervened. Patricia and Mr. Smith had more tea while Mrs. Smith stood like a lonely dog. Studying my face she said, "Let Patricia take Lauren and Victoria or you won't get to see Nanny Mai ever again. I'm sure by now you understand my family. I don't need to explain it to you again.
       Patricia observed us from the corner of her eyes. "Aunt, how could I do that?" I played with the key in my hand. "Patricia's obviously taking them away because she resents me."
       Mrs. Smith made a soft sound as she grabbed my hand and took me into the kitchen. Once we got inside, she shut the door and said, "Do you think that's why she's doing this? It's not because of that."
       "Huh?"
       Nanny Mai washed out the dishes, wiped her hands, and added, "It's not because she resents you. Victoria and Lauren pose big threats to her. Giving Liam an heir would only put you and your baby's lives in danger. Ma'am Patricia still has her eyes on New Generation Restaurant. Not just she but every of Mr. Smith's siblings. If you adopt Victoria and Lauren then it would indicate that the kids are you and Liam's first children."
       "What's wrong with that?"
       "Are you that slow in understanding?" Mrs. Smith asked in exasperation. "Liam's first child is the next heir to New Generation Restaurant. Having kids now would only imply their odds of snatching the company from Liam will flunk. Patricia wouldn't sit on her hands and legs and watch you do that. Victoria and Lauren's lives would be in danger. Is that what you desire?"
       "I'm sure she isn't taking them to any nice family. She's probably going to dump them in an orphanage or pay a family to take them." That wasn't the kind of life I wished for Jacob and Jasmine's kids. They had to lose both their parents at a young age and now they were entangled in a drama neither of them knew about. "I can't let her do that to them. Jasmine begged me to care for her kids."
       Max and Liam pushed the kitchen door and stepped in alongside. Max pulled out two chairs and sat on the one closest to me and said, "Mum has a lot of contacts. I'm sure one of her friends would be grateful to have Victoria and Lauren."
       "That's true. I didn't think of that." Mrs. Smith said with surprise. "I could find a family that's happy to adopt the twins and also let Nanny Mai spend time with them. I'll talk to Patricia about it. Hannah, until then stay away from my husband's family."
       My cheeks glowered pink in excitement. She cared for me that much. I felt depressed that I wasn't going to see the twins again but elated that Mrs. Smith wasn't yelling or cursing at me. "I'm sorry. I'm the reason Anna is no more."
       "You ain't. Your delinquency was the reason. It's all in the past now. Don't come out until I say so."
       "Morning, aunt." Diana stepped in. For the first time in forever, the five of us sat around the table discussing. Nobody was screaming or feeling jealous of the other. We shared our views and also mimicked Liam's family. Diana played Patricia better than Max. She aced it when it came to imitating people. Nanny Mai dropped her specially baked chicken on the table as we ate heartily. 
       "Excuse me," Liam answered his ringing phone and stepped out while Diana followed after him.
       I often wondered if she had a thing for getting me furious. I was still starting to put up with her and she had to do that. Couldn't she stay away from him for a second? I munched the last chicken loudly, allowing the crumbs to fall from the corner of my mouth. "Oh wait," I drank some water offered to me by Max. "Nanny Mai, if my food was that good why didn't you just tell me? Do you know how anxious I got because of that? If you had told me earlier, I wouldn't have had an altercation with Patricia and the twins wouldn't have been dragged into this mess."
       "I'm sorry. I just wanted you to hear that from your husband."
       "Oh yeah. Does Liam react this way when he eats your fish tacos? Was it my love or what? He just became hyper."
       "You didn't have any?"
       "I already said that."
       "Well," Max replied, carefully. "Nanny Mai told me that your food tasted like Liam's biological mother's food."
       Biological mother? I gasped. All this time I felt Mrs. Smith was his mum. She loved and cared for him like a real mum would. "How's that feasible?" Maybe I asked a lot of questions but that didn't matter at that point. "Isn't Mrs. Smith his mum? I mean, the world thinks that."
       "No, cutie. How do you think Liam and I are half brothers and I'm the younger one?"
       Okay. He was right. The truth was gliding around my eyes and I couldn't see it. "Nanny Mai, what's so special about a restaurant that everyone wants to be the President? I don't get it. I mean, it's just a restaurant."
       Nanny Mai stood and gave a rare smile. "It's not just a restaurant."
       "I'll explain!" Max raised a hand. He pulled out the kitchen board and cleaned it before drawing a line. "This is the boss."
       "Who is the boss?" I asked.
       "Grandfather. He has more than twenty different companies worldwide. There are supermarkets, malls, Car companies, inventory companies, Cosmetics, Hospitals, bakeries, the Automobile industry, Bookstores, Restaurants, and many more. If I keep mentioning, we might have to spend the rest of today in the kitchen." 
       Beautiful. Someone had so much money that he was able to build so many companies. I couldn't believe my ears. While I was working three times a day just to earn 20 dollars, someone had enough to feed an entire country. Hearing about Max's grandfather's achievement made me wish I could go back in time and create a history for myself. "If there are many companies why do they have eyes on Liam's Restaurant?"
       "New Generation Restaurant was formed in 1990- since then it had given birth to almost 70 restaurants worldwide. New Generation was the first business my Grandpa owned. It's known for its diversity and consistency. New Generation had in the past been seen in movies and songs. In April 2006, it received 10 awards for the best restaurant in the world and had a special spot on the Guinness Book of Records. It is the most flourishing business amongst other companies under The Boss."
       "Interesting." I was starting to get a hold of this billionaire thing. I couldn't understand all this time I was a successful lady and I was running after Diana and working at a coffee shop. My husband is stinkingly rich. I beamed. "Tell me more."
       "I don't know how true it is but there's a rumor going around my dad's family that in my Grandpa's will, the President of New Generation Restaurant would be the new Boss after he dies. Due to that biased rumor, everyone wanted to be the President. Aunt Patricia and the others immediately invested in the company as stockholders so they could keep an eye on the affairs. It's been a tough battle that's been going on for years. You've heard that saying, An enemy of my enemy is a friend?"
       "Yeah," I affirmed sharply.
       "That's what is going on. They don't like each other. But they are willing to work together just to bring down Liam. Everything that's happened so far in his life doesn't seem like a coincidence, does it?"
       Not really. Being 'The Boss' is equivalent to being a President of a country like America or Bill Gates. Grandpa had given them so much but they are still selfish for more power. Neither of the companies Max mentioned was doing poorly yet they weren't satisfied. "Now I'm certain I want to work at New Generation Restaurant. I need to expose all the lies and deceit there."
       "Working at New Generation is like going to the first lady's bedroom. You need to get an invitation first. It's not going to be easy convincing Liam."
       "She's not working at that place." Nanny Mai frowned. The terror overtook her face. "You saw what happened here between her and Ma'am Patricia. It's only going to be disastrous if she goes there. And your presence there would make them feel threatened. A naive horse is better than a ravaging dog. Once they see you're acting like the wife of the President, they won't hesitate to attack."
       "But, Nanny Mai,"
       "No buts. I've heard enough." She chopped off the veggies. There had never been a time I didn't see this lady prepare food.
      I stood behind her, determined to change her mind. "I also need to spend time with my husband. It's my duty right."
       "Hannah,"
       "I've made up my mind. I'll work there regardless."
       Max nodded in agreement.
       "You won't. You didn't even ask how Liam's mum died."
       What? Did it have something to do with New Generation? I blinked.