DYLAN'S POV
"Ok now talk! Dylan! You dare to accuse me of such a horrendous act, and you dare to oppose me as you take sides with that pathetic useless 0028?", my mother stared at me with red eyes. She was saying vicious words yet in a very calm tone.
It was surprising to see how in a few seconds, she had turned from being the crying victim to becoming this hostile interrogator.
"Why would Raelynn lie, anyway?" Arianna spoke up. Everyone was taken by surprise, and stared at her.
"Arianna, you better stay out of this!" mum pointed at Arianna with a shaky finger.
"But mum….."
"I won't hear any more words from you, Arianna! Actually, may you all excuse us. Sorry, please excuse us. Dylan and I will stay here."
The three of them stood up to leave, and when my mother and I were left there alone, I felt a cold air brushing at me, giving me the shivers. I hated that moment, but it was my only chance to stand up, speak out and see how exactly my mother was thinking.
I spoke calmly "I have evidence for all that I said, mum. The attempted rape, the note…"
"The note? What note? Oh, you mean the one that your dear Anisha received at the hospital? You asked Logan about it, didn't you? yes. I wrote it. So what do you have in mind? Are you going to call the police on me? To protect the number, 0028?"
"No mum. Her name is Anisha. Please use her name. And, I'm only saying, was it necessary for you to write that note? Why did you want to separate me from…"
"Well if you have a sharp memory, you must know that since the day you turned twelve, I have regretted ever taking you to that dirty place, Olga Children's home."
"Why do you hate her so much, mum? Why do you hate her that much?" my voice was shaking as I asked, my heart aching to know the real truth.
"Dylan, listen to me. I am your mother. I know what is best for you! Anisha is beautiful, that much I can admit. She is one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen, yes, but that does not make her worthy to become a part of this family.
We are the de Milos, Dylan!! We are the richest family in Lakeworld; and even the neighbouring countries know us! We can't just allow ourselves to mix and mingle with useless uneducated people!"
"Mum, I think…"
"Shh, don't interrupt me. Let me talk! 0028; that girl whom you choose to call Anisha Meyerton, is bad news! What do you want from her? I know you're in love with her, you have been for years now. What will she give you? Let me tell you today; now, why she is not good for you!
That girl will not do anything to help you grow the de Milo empire. If your dad and I die now, you are the heir to this empire; and that woman will do nothing but destroy everything! What does she know about running a business? You need a lady who can help you to run the business. A lady who can hold fort even when you travel to faraway places. You don't need someone who will collapse the whole business while you are away for just two days! And Anisha is that person."
"She can be taught, mum. I was…"
"I am not yet done! Let's talk about grandchildren…have you thought about me and Roderick? We need grandchildren, and we need children who come from decent blood. Who is Anisha? What is she? She comes to dilute us, to produce kids who may be beautiful and handsome, yes, but they will never have a bit of intelligence or decency! What kind of children will she raise, when she herself never felt the warmth of being raised in a proper family set up?
She grew up in a block of dormitories; sharing a single room with five or six other pitiable wretched girls who lived on nothing but donations! No wonder that hopeless pigsty place they called a home collapsed the day I called off my donations!"
"Mum!..."
" Shh…don't talk! I'm still talking! You want to go and take that girl, and bring her into my Clear Opal Manor, to do what? What does she know about our way of life? Can she even prepare a good meal?
You think because you splashed some money on her, and dolled her up for the dinner and the handover ceremony, you think that overnight she will become worthy? No! She cannot become worthy by just wearing an expensive dress; which she cannot even afford if she were to serve for a decade for it! The dress just enhances her physical appearance, which to me means nothing; for I want a daughter in law who thinks, who reasons, an educated lady who is not only beautiful but also comes from a good family."
"Mum please, may I say something? I…"
"Not until I am done! What should I say to my friends? How do I explain to them, that my only son is dating a number? She is a number; whether you choose to accept it or not! 0028 is who she is, ask anyone from Olga; they will tell you that! How do I tell my friends and family that my own dear son is dating some no-name girl who had to be at the mercy of her matron for her to get a surname? Meyerton? Who is Meyerton? What is Meyerton? Is it not that old dirty woman who used to play mother to those filthy kids? Pretending to love them when she couldn't even call them by their names! And she gave some of them her own cheap surname, for they had no surnames of their own! Do you hear me, Dylan!! They had nothing! That Anisha girl of yours; had nothing of her own!! Except for that number 0028, which was scribbled on a piece of paper and pined to her rags of clothes; she had absolutely nothing!
Her own mother threw her away! No one loves her! Children were being adopted from the orphanage day in, day out, yet she managed to stay stuck there until the place was shut down!! No one wanted her!!"
"Mum! Are you even listening to yourself?" I was shocked to know that my mother was capable of saying such filth. What I did not know was that she was far from ending her speech. She continued:
"She's not even educated, for crying out loud!!! And she became a celebrity overnight, for all the wrong reasons!! A disgraceful babysitter who kidnapped her own employer's son…."
"She was cleared, mum. The news…."
"No! Don't talk while I'm talking, Dylan! She was cleared, that much I know; but will people ever forget it? Each time people hear that name, Anisha Meyerton, what comes to their mind? The babysitter who kidnapped the la Martina' child! She wormed her way into a business man's house as a babysitter; and she ended up kidnapping that poor boy!
And need I remind you; she used to share a house with that man, Israel Bassard! So who knows? Who knows if it was not all planned! She definitely was part of the plan to kidnap the la Martina boy, and to get you involved. I'm sure the grain of intelligence in her showed her over the years that we used to visit, that you had a soft spot for her. And she used your weakness. She trapped you to fall for her, and you did! It was all planned! That kidnapping was planned!
And that's the girl you want to bring to me!! You want to humiliate me and reduce my status to nothing? How can I be expected to introduce an ex-convict as my future daughter in law?"
"Ex-convict, mum? Are you…."
"Listen Dylan, I have worked very hard to come to this level where I am, and I won't allow that girl to come in and reduce my standard! And yes, I have just called her that! What's wrong with you? What happened to you and Harper Hill, anyway? You want to take me back to the old ages; when mothers used to play match-making and choose a wife for their son? It's not in me to be playing match-making for you; but if you force me, I will! I will do it!
Haven't you seen your sister Ciera! Look, she brought home a very decent man; Keith Junior Octavia! Arianna is not in any relationship, but I can trust her to bring home someone good enough! But you! My only son! You disgrace me this much! You bring me that girl, who you don't even love…
"I love her!" I heard my voice thin and frail, trying hard to defend myself.
"You don't even love her! Instead, you feel sorry for her! Because she had it hard in life, you feel you need to be her savior; the one who pulls her out of the muddy life that her own mother threw her in! Who are you? A savior to all the orphans of the world?
She's a gold digger as well. How many dinner gowns and jewellery have you bought her? How many pairs of shoes? Huh? What else have you done for her? Or does she already secretly hold some of the precious shares to the de Milo Group? I wouldn't be surprised; with how mad she's driving you!
You are going to break that friendship with 0028, Dylan! if you don't, then you are not welcome in this manor! Don't call me. I won't call you. On the day that you stop all communication with the girl; then you will know where to find me! You shall call me only if you're calling to tell me that you're no longer in any form of contact whatsoever, with that gold digger! Don't talk back; just leave! I don't want to hear any word you say! You have heard me!! Now it's your turn to choose, between your mother who carried and raised you; and that orphan you met at a home, and allowed her beauty to bewitch you. You may leave now. Don't say anything, unless if you're going to tell me that you're ending that friendship now. Please leave now, Dylan! When you make up your mind, you know where to find me!"