I held my phone in my hand, I was just about to give Natalie a call, to tell her that I would not be tutoring Evelyn any longer when all of a sudden, my phone lit up and started ringing in my hands.
I answered on the first ring.
"Mum?" I greeted, a puzzled expression masked my features, confused as to why she would be calling me early on a Sunday morning.
"I'm feeling a little faint," she said, her voice appearing weak. "I'm running out of my meds, could you help me grab some and bring them to Lloyd's mansion?"
"Mum, I-"
Before I could even finish my sentence, all I heard echoing in my ear was the soft beeping tone that signalled the end of the call. A loud sigh escaped my parted lips. We may not have the best relationship but she was still my mumm afterall. Deep down in the hollow of my heart, I still cared for her despite everything.
And that was why I found myself standing at the front gate of the Lloyd's mansion with a bag of medicines in my hand.
"Tutoring Evelyn again?" The guard asked.
"Nah, just here to deliver some medicine to my mum," I answered with a smile before he opened the gates to let me in.
I dashed into the living hall, my eyes darting around in a panic as I looked for my mother, but instead, I found myself staring at Evelyn who was standing between her parents with a smug look etched onto her face.
"Good morning, Mr and Mrs Lloyd," I greeted in a hurry, ready to walk off when a voice reached my ears.
"What brings you here today, Aurelia?" Evelyn questioned as she raised her perfectly groomed brow at me, a slight smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. She didn't look surprised to see me at all. Instead, a knowing look was twinkling in her eyes, it was almost as if she knew I would show up here today.
"I'm looking for my mum," I replied casually, barely sparing her another glance.
As I turned around, Jame's loud voice reverberated in the living hall, bouncing off the newly painted walls.
"How dare you show up here and act like nothing happened?!" He questioned, his voice carrying a sharp edge to it as he glared at me with a fiery blaze swirling in the depths of his eyes. "I heard everything from my daughter."
I whipped my head around to meet his intense gaze. Not going to lie, he looked intimidating to say the very least and I could certainly feel my heart thumping loudly against my chest, threatening to burst out at any given second now and my palms were starting to sweat.
Despite it all, I forced my lips to curl upwards into a small smile. "Mr Lloyd, I'm not too sure what you may be referring to."
He scoffed loudly, as he clenched his jaw tightly. He stepped forward, closing the distance between us while I watched as Natalie tried to hold him back but to no avail. "What do you think you are trying to do? Are you trying to play dumb with me? I don't fall for that bullshit," he spat with a disdainful scorn.
"I wasn't," I said, my voice remained firm and a look of certainty crossed my face. "I just wanted to be sure."
"You seduced and stole my daughter's boyfriend!" He shouted in my face. He was now dangerously close to me as he placed a hand over his chest, sucking in deep breaths to calm his racing heart. "I will never forgive you," he uttered as his voice shook with rage and anger.
"James…" His name left Natalie's lips in desperation. A small frown was resting between her brows as she looked up at her husband while she tugged at his arm, trying to calm him down.
At this moment, Evelyn also ran up next to her father, looking up at him with her seemingly innocent wide green eyes. In his eyes, she could never do any wrong. After all, she was his only daughter. I watched as she wrapped her arm around her father, leaning into him.
"Daddy," her voice came out soft and gentle as tears started to glisten in her eyes and a pitiful look was plastered across her face. "Don't yell anymore, it's bad for your health," she urged in concern, her brows knitted together to form a deep crease on her forehead.
"I want to be clear," I began this time, finally mustering up the courage to speak as thoughts continued to buzz in my head. "I didn't seduce or steal Evelyn's boyfriend. They have broken up long ago," I reiterated as my voice remained unwavering and I maintained eye contact even though my heart was pounding so loudly inside of my chest.
James brushed them off, taking another step towards me, forcing me to step back. His body loomed above mine as he looked down at me.
"I don't care," he sneered. "You made my daughter cry, you made her upset. You owe her an apology," he demanded through gritted teeth.
A brief moment of silence lapsed between us and tension continued to hang in the air, like a thick blanket. Both Natalie and Evelyn looked at me with an expectant look hanging on their faces.
"No," I finally said.
"No?" He questioned with an arched brow, shock flashed past his eyes for a mere second at my unexpected defiance.
"I don't owe her anything."
"Aurelia!" A familiar voice pierced through the air at this moment, and I snapped my head around to see my mother running towards me. I wonder how long she has been standing there and watching the whole time. "Have you lost your mind? How dare you talk back to Mr Lloyd?!" She questioned me with wide eyes.
"I was just defending myself. Is that wrong?" I retorted sharply, causing the frown on her face to deepen.
"Is this how you teach your daughter, Jennifer?" James interrupted as he turned to question my mother fiercely. "Look at her! Rebellious and defiant!" He snarled with contempt as he pulled Evelyn closer to him, wrapping his arm around her in a protective stance.
"So just because I speak up for myself, suddenly I'm rebellious and defiant?" I snapped back only to be met with a slap across my face. I turned to look at my mother, betrayal swimming in my eyes while a smirk appeared on Evelyn's lips as she watched with satisfaction. "Did you just slap me because I wanted to defend myself?" I questioned, my eyes swimming with hurt and betrayal despite the anger in my voice.
"You don't speak to Mr Lloyd like this, Aurelia.You should be thankful and grateful that Mr Lloyd is only asking for an apology, would that hurt you? I didn't teach you to be disrespectful and rude!"
A cold chuckle left my parted lips as I looked at her. "No, you didn't teach me anything at all, mother," I spat the last word out of my mouth like it was poison and I watched the way the look of anger masked her features in an instant.
"You-!" She raised her hand again but I caught it this time, my fingers digging into her wrist as I tightened my grip around her arm and stared into her eyes.
"I'm leaving," I declared as my voice trembled with rage. "Take your medicine," I snarled, throwing the bag of medicine onto the floor impulsively in a fit of anger before turning around to leave.
But things didn't go as planned.
I only took one step out when my head felt light and my body swayed from side to side as I tried to take another step. I heard someone call out to me but everything started to become a blur. All of a sudden, it all went dark and without a single warning, I collapsed onto the ground.