At the Soren house, Nayah was sitting in front of her mother with a bowl of soup and trying to feed her.
"Mom, please eat something. You need to eat so you can take your medicine". Nayah tried to feed her mother her dinner but the latter refused to eat and even when she brought the spoonful to her mouth, she refused to open her mouth.
Nayah looked at her mother in distress and didn't know what to do. She looked at the clock and it was 9:50pm. Although it wasn't that late but to Nalani who arrives home before nine, it's pretty late.
"Ma, please you shouldn't worry about Nala. She was probably caught up with work and that's why she hasn't come home yet"
Nayah tried to assure her mother but her words failed to ease up Mrs Soren who was beside herself with worry. She has called Nalani's phone several times but it was switched off.
By the time Nalani reached home, it was quite late and her family was up waiting for her with worried expressions. When Nayah saw her sister appear, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Nalani quickly apologized to her and their mom, explaining how she was caught up with work and lost track of time and also her phone battery died, hence she couldn't call home to inform them that she'll be late.
Relieved, their mother finally allowed herself to be fed food and medicine. After that, the two tucked her in bed for the night.
Nalani could finally catch her breathe. She has had quite a rough day so she quickly went into the room for a hot bath She later came out of the bathroom wiping her wet hair with a towel and found Nayah engrossed in reading something on her laptop.
"What are you reading about? You look so diligent". Nalani asked, merely curious as to what could possibly pique her normally lazy sister's interest so much. Nayah raised her eyes to look at Nalani then beckoned her to come sit beside her on the couch. Nalani obliged and walked over to sit beside her.
"Sister, have you ever heard of Lancaster Group of Companies?" Nayah asked. Nalani frowned slightly, thought about it for a while and finally shook her head.
"Never heard of them before. Why are you asking?"
Nayah looked at her sister with a somewhat disapproving expression and chided, "Do you know anything else aside from taking photos all the time? Come to think of it, since we were kids you've never been interested in knowing anything about the world other than capturing moments through lenses. You're so not fun. No wonder you don't have any friends".
"Hey, are you looking down on me? See how I teach you a lesson". Nalani shouted, grabbing Nayah and flickering her forehead to teach her a lesson. Nayah groaned in pain, rubbing her forehead and pouting.
"You're so mean to me. Always bullying me". She grumbled.
"What's so great about know everything in the world. You'll only feel depressed. And in any case l don't need any friends. I have you and Ma with me. I like it that way" Nalani explained, defending herself but her eyes flashed with melancholy.
It wasn't that she didn't want friends. It just that growing up, the other kids always found reasons to bully and alienate her. Those that befriended her were also bullied so they stayed away from her.
In college, the only friend she managed to get also regarded her as an enemy in the end. It seems she was born to be friends with nature and she loved it.
"Now tell me what's this big deal with this company." She asked.
"Well, the Lancaster Group is the third largest conglomerate in the world based in Spain. They're into everything you could ever think of. Electronics, telecommunications construction, medicine and almost everything you could think of. The company is believed to earn an annual income of five trillion. Can you imagine that?. They're so wealthy that they probably sleep in money". Nayah explained, her eyes filled with admiration and excitement. Nalani was also surprised.
"They're really that powerful?".She asked.
Nayah nodded. She eyed her sister and shifted closer to Nalani, smiling sweetly at her. Nalani warily backed away from her seeing her devious expression.
"What's wrong with you? Stay away from me. I know that look of yours. It's means you're up to no good". She warned.
"Oh come on, sister. I just want to know all you know about brother-in-law. Like his family background. You know, like maybe he's connected to The Lancaster family that I just told you about. He has the same surname and he's also filthy rich. Maybe we struck gold this time ".
Taken aback for a second, Nalani stared at her sister in confusion before realization dawned on her.
"Don't talk nonsense. Who and who struck gold?" She barked.
Seeing her angry, Naya quickly apologized, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. Of course I know you're not that kind of person. I just think it's a bonus that your boyfriend is rich and he loves you so much. I think it'll be even better if he's from the famous Lancaster clan. I mean he doesn't have to be from the main branch, even a sub branch is fine. Every member of that family is destined to be rich for life." Nalani felt like slapping some sense into this girl.
Why was this girl so money minded?.
But come to think of it, she couldn't really blame her for being so money conscious. From the time she could remember things, their family never seem to have enough money for anything.
Their dad passed away early and their mom had to work multiple jobs to support the family. After their mother's accident, the responsibility fell on them, working multiple part time jobs to earn money to cover the hospital bills and cater for their needs.
Growing up under such circumstances, Naya learned the value of a penny and love money very much. To her, family and money were the two most important things to her in life.
"It's getting late, I'm going to bed first. Good night, Pumpkin" Nalani said, kissed Naya on the forehead and walked away to bed.
Once lying down in bed, she switched on her phone and saw a message that says,"I miss you too Beautiful. Let's get married. Think about it and tell me your answer when l return. Wait for me".
Reading this words, Nalani felt her heart skipped a beat as she broke into a shy buy joyful smile. Her eyes full of anticipation.
That night, she had a sweet dream of love.