Chapter 43
CLAYTON.
I contacted Trent and a host of event planners concerning my birthday. I was going to spend a ton of cash for my birthday party, but that did not matter, what mattered was that my party was the most opulent and most popular. Natasha also got involved; I had her make contacts with some of the event planners. Since her arrival in the house, she had been very helpful. We’d grown closer, and she now spent the nights in my room, which I did deliberately to anger Nadine. My mother was also around, and she gave Nadine hell every time. I was at the office when I received a call from my elder brother, Enzo. It’s been a while since we spoke after his angry exit from my office.
Enzo is also a wealthy CEO of his company but I am way wealthier.
“Hello,” I said as I picked up the phone.
“Hey, man,” he said. “Long time no see. Or call, even.”
“I know, I know,” I said. “How’s business over there, man?”
“Wonderful, actually,” he replied. “Hit off a new project, signed some new contracts. Everything has been riding smoothly lately.”
“Ahh, that’s impressive,” I said. “I’ve not been doing too bad myself, you know.”
“I trust you, Clayton,” he said. “You’ve always been a shrewd businessman.”
I laughed.
“It’s my birthday soon, Enzo,” I said. “My thirty third birthday. I’m hosting a party, a big fucking party. Are you gonna make it?”
“Shit. I almost forgot about your birthday,” he said. “I’ve been busy, man, but I’ll ask my personal assistant to rework my schedule and see if she can move a couple of things forward so I can attend the party. You know I wouldn’t want to miss it for the world, eh?”
“Ahh, that will be great,” I said.
“I heard you got married,” he said. “You did so without telling your elder brother. Not far, bro.”
“I know, I know, I’m sorry,” I said. “But I did that in the middle of a whirlwind of work, so a lot of things escaped my mind. But when you come, we’ll catch up, alright?”
“Of course,” he said. “I’ll call later, okay.”
We hung up. Enzo and I had never been really close. When we were kids, we were unlike other sibling brothers; we did not play games together and mostly stayed by ourselves. Perhaps, this is the reason I grew up to be so independent. But even with the undeniable distance between us both, I always respected and admired my big brother. He did a lot for me, helping me grow my own business and company.
When I got home, Natasha had two other ladies inside of my bedroom. Like her, they were scantily clad. I knew what she was up to, but I feigned surprise. It had been a while since we did anything like that.
“What’s going on, Natasha?” I asked, my brows furrowed. “Who are these ladies?”
“Ugh, Clayton, don’t be such a spoilsport,” Natasha said in a seductive lilt. “You know what they’re here for.”
“No, I don’t,” I said, struggling to unknot my tie.
Natasha signaled to one of the girls who got up and walked slowly towards me. She was a slender girl with hair cropped short and tinted blue; she had a septum piercing. She kissed me directly on the lips before helping me loosen my tie. Then, she took her hand to my groin and I felt blood rush to that part of my body.
NADINE.
It became so tense in the house. With Clayton busy with organizing his party, and Natasha and Mrs. Rocco on my neck every time, it felt like I had a rope around my neck. Mrs. Rocco especially found fault with everything I did. She would criticize my lack of college education, subtly call me stupid, and call me poor. Once, over dinner, she suggested that I was a golddigger. Clayton, who had said nothing all through, opened his mouth wide in laughter and afterwards said, “oh, mother.” Strangely, I never had any problem with Natasha. She rarely spoke to me and mostly stayed out of my way.
Natasha spent the nights in Clayton’s room and they had sex and made so much noise it made me mad.
“Fucking idiots,” I said one night as Natasha’s voice filtered through the walls.
It might have been jealousy, or just pure resentment, but I didn’t like Natasha sleeping in Clayton’s room every night. I wish I could call someone to talk, but now that Naomi is gone, I have no one, so I decided to go see Anna. On my way out, I met Mrs. Rocco.
“Ohh, shit,” I said under my breath.
“Ahh, Nadine, going out are you?” She said in her usual faux benign manner. “Where, this time?”
“The clinic, ma’am,” I answered. “To see my sister.”
“The one who died?” She asked.
I gave her an askant look. I knew that she knew that my sister was still very much alive, I had only mentioned it a few days ago.
“What?” She asked, as if oblivious to what she had just said. I hated that about her, the ostensible innocence with which she spoke, but how snide her words were.
“My sister is still alive, ma’am,” I said, managing to quell the anger that had risen inside of me. “It’s my friend who died.”
“Ohh, okay,” she said. “Sorry. That was tactless of me. Do take care of her.”Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org
“Thank you,” I said as I exited the living room.
When I got to the hospital, Anna seemed to be in a better mood. There was this stark loneliness in her eyes and it was quite obvious that she was going through a loss. I hated to see her like that, but I knew that I had to be strong for her.
“I’m just so tired, Nadine,” she said to me as I pulled her into an embrace. “Just tired.”
“You’ll be fine, baby,” I said as I held her. “I’m here for you every time.”