7 days later, it's a bright Monday filled with warmness.
"Hey! Mrs Yumaa!" Bryan ran down the stairs panting, warning the Maid at the door.
"What is it?" Mrs Yumaa who was just about to pick up a box, packed by Bryan to load in the van outside, hesitated.
"Wait! I will carry my stuff please." Bryan rushed to pick up the heavy card box.
"What's in the box?" Mrs Yumaa asked surprised by his behaviour. Ever since Mae left for the US, Bryan had changed to be a whole different person. His mental illness had long been subdued and his health had grown back to normal.
"It's just my toy," Bryan answered as he lifted the box weighing it on his belly as he carried it out and into the van.
"And why should I not check what kind of toy it is?" Mrs Yumaa asked as she tried to chuckle. 'Don't tell me he now uses sex toys?' For the first time, Mrs Yumaa had a nasty thought. 'A Samantha or something. Why would he want to hide even it anyway?'
"I'm going to see what kind of toy you have hidden in that box." Mrs Yumaa threatened as Bryan came along to carry some other stuff back to the van.
"Please, don't. I beg please." Bryan pleaded. He knew he couldn't fight miss Yumaa in a one-on-one fight and if he kept resisting it will just end in the worst for him, his grandma would just side with her maid and get the card box down to pieces revealing what was in. "Please, just don't mind." Bryan pleaded as Mrs Yumaa laughed her lungs out at the boy. 'So am right! He has some hidden toys!' She looked at his face, now all kitty as he humbly held his hands.
"Please."
"Haha ok, Mister... I won't bother." Mrs Yumaa left with a smile, back inside the mansion.
Miss Old Gindi watched from up in her room. She stood by the window overseeing the front, she had no clue why Bryan stood in a begging position in front of her maid who was laughing sick dead.
"Is good he is back to normal." She smiled as her phone vibrated.
"Hello there." Her sweet voice answered the call. This day was the day she had decided to let Bryan go to the US, for a three-day vacation in Memphis. She knew how hard it was for the two to live separately, and she liked Mae too, she didn't want Bryan to lose his love to someone else. Girls were always girls, easily deceived, and weak emotionally.
Though there was the other girl too, more mature and responsible, Abigail Houston. She once wished them the best, back when her grandson was on campus. But the girl had disappeared with the emergence of Mae, and she wondered where she had left to, not that she liked her soo much, but she just cared for her.
"Hao Ge, were you not going to pick Bryan this morning?" Miss Old Gindi asked over the phone.
"What do you mean?" The conversation turned her face into confusion as they talked. She walked around the room to finally stand by the window sill, Bryan had long packed what he needed in the van.
"What do we do now?" She asked.
She had to leave immediately for the capital, for Bryan, will just have to be patient the next time.
"Bryan, I got bad news for you." Miss Old Gindi found him chatting with Mrs Yumaa in the living room as she was preparing to leave.
"What?" Bryan asked as he tensed. Don't say there is nowhere I'm leaving to, he prayed inwardly.
"I'm sorry you won't be leaving today," miss Old Gindi who didn't know how to fix it more politely said.
"What! Why?" Bryan exclaimed. He couldn't believe, he had woken so early to get his things ready only to hear a postponed journey! No way.
"Listen first. This is serious, Inspector Joe Ken just cracked a 15-year-old case, it's about your parent's death." Miss Old Gindi informed Bryan who had gone attentive at the mention of his parents.
"Though the case is cracked, and Katumo has already been sentenced, the life of Mae is in danger." She looked at Mrs Yumaa and back to Bryan, "you can't leave at this moment."
"I don't understand, why should Mae be in danger?" Bryan asked.
"Because she is your girlfriend. Berick reported an anonymous death threat the day they left for the US, the call was made through your lost phone." Miss Old Gindi didn't have to explain this but she did. "Someone wants Mae dead, over some money believed to be hidden among her or her brother."
"Is Jake in danger too?" Bryan asked.
"Oh, Jake left for Spain five days ago. He is well-guarded as a top judge of the International Court. Nothing to worry about him."
"And why has the government not taken action?" Bryan complained, he feared for his life and Mae's more. It had been over the news a fortnight ago, reports of abduction broadcasted by Mac Hugh, everyone in the country knew of this Gindi Saga.
"The men who murdered your parents won't spare you too." Miss Old Gindi said coldly, "That's why I employed Mrs Yumaa as a maid in disguise, to look after you."
This kind of News sent goosebumps down his spine. He had been soo careless lately. "You should show more respect to Mrs Yumaa." Old Miss Gindi advised her grandson. "If you want to leave for the US I fear it won't be today." Bryan just kept silent. He had nothing to say, why was his life against his wishes?
"Are you leaving?" Bryan asked as he noticed his grandma looking anxiously at her wristwatch.
"Yea, I have some important issue to solve." She didn't deny it as she gave Mrs Yumaa the order to look after Bryan.
"I will be back soon." She said as Mrs Yumaa walked her to her SUV.
"Do you need me to drive you?" Mrs Yumaa asked.
"No, your husband will." Old Gindi smiled as Mr Yumaa who had been seated in the car all time surprised his wife.
"You so bad! You can't even tell me you are in here? When did you come in?" Mrs Yumaa felt wronged. She had left her husband at their home, but he had followed her back, without notifying her.
"I just came in, five minutes ago." Mr Yumaa told her. "I will be back once Miss Gindi is done."
The Yumaa were a barren married couple, both highly trained in gun kata from Japan.
"Don't ever spy on me again!" Mrs Yumaa warned her husband who laughed softly.
"Hehe my love Tsukiyomi, I will never play the spy on you."
"I don't know what is funny here!" Mrs Yumaa said annoyed.
"Ok, calm down both of you, I just called him in some minutes ago." Old Miss Gindi released the tension as she hugged her Maid.
"Take care Missus." Mrs Yumaa wished her farewell as they drove away, ignoring her husband who was waving from the window.
"I shouldn't have married you." She regretted as she walked back.
Back at Angel City.
Detective Jane sat on her bed in a rental building opposite the station. In her left hand, she held a pregnancy test while her right dialled Erick's number.
The call went unanswered three times before Erick picked it up and echoed through. "Hello, my sweetness."
"Hello too," Jane answered relieved that he had picked up the call. "What are you doing?" She asked as she could hear the background noise getting louder.
"Uhm nothing, just hanging out with friends, they are fixing the door," Erick replied as he walked away from the noise.
"Ok then...." Jane just agreed as she went silent thinking of what to say.
"Is there something wrong? You sound unusual." Erick noticed her tone and mood were peculiar.
"I'm pregnant Erick." She blurted out after lacking other phrases to describe the situation.
"What!" Erick shouted in disbelief from the other end. "When did you get pregnant?" His voice was full of want rust.
"I'm serious this time." Jane almost cried out.
"Didn't you want to be pregnant?" Erick asked as he heard Jane's voice tremble.
"What do you mean? eh?" Jane asked. Was he going to deny his responsibility?
"Don't you want the child?" Erick asked again more clearly.
His question was unanswerable, she had called to inform him but he spoke as if she had called to say she didn't want to be pregnant.
"Erick, just tell me if you are happy or not. I want the baby of course..." Jane couldn't stop imagining that Erick was going to deny his duty.
"That's nice, I'm kind of busy at the moment let's talk later." Erick sounded blank.
"Are you not happy?" Jane asked before the phone got cut off.
"Jane is better we abort it. I'm coming over tomorrow." Erick was sincere with his wish. He didn't want a baby with Jane, he never wished to have a baby and he still didn't wish to have one.
"But I want to keep it." Jane softly rejected his will. She too had not planned for it but it had already happened. There was no way they could collect spilt milk.
"You can keep it but away from me." The voice was heartbreaking, tearing her trust in him.
"Please, don't leave me alone." Jane pleaded but Erick had long hung up.
She couldn't believe that all their dreams were fantasies. All his wishes to live with her, have babies and bla bla bla was just to have more of her sweetness between.
"I won't abort you." Jane whispered holding her belly as tears filled her eyes.
Erick hung up the call with a click of his tongue. 'Now you want me to be a father?' He remembered he had been born of a bitch, grew up in an orphanage and later lost everything after being expelled from the home to live in the street after his repeated ill manners. His wish since then was never to have children.