A sleek black car drove into the compound of the villa of one of the most influential moguls in the capital, Clara Yates. The arrival caused the villa to bustle with activity like never before. This event had been anticipated by the many servants of the villa for many weeks. After all, the only son of their mistress was finally returning home after being away for many years.
The whole place was more spick and span than it already was usually, specially supervised by Clara herself. Many dishes had been prepared, and his room had been cleaned and decorated with utmost attention. The maids wore their uniforms meant for special occasion, and a room was remodeled into a study for him. The lady of the Rose villa even took a break from work herself, which came as a surprise to many of the employees as she had not voluntarily taken a break in a long time.
As the younger and newer maids chattered and gossiped excitedly among themselves about the mysterious son of their mistress and his appearance, the older maids remembered the young sickly boy who remained holed up in his room, ignored by his mother and utterly rejected by his extended family members. The Yates family was full of powerful people after all, and such a glaring weakness was not tolerated. That was one of the reasons he was sent away after all.
As a result, the older maids did not know how to treat him. This was especially the case for the senior maid of Clara. It was easier to ignore him as a child because he was either forgotten or ignored by everyone, but he was an adult now, and had some level of influence as he was the son of Clara Yates. He could also have less influence than his cousins, but that was very inconsequential to someone of their status. Power was power, and the influence of Clara Yates in her family could not be ignored. She was the eldest of her two siblings, and a formidable businesswoman, meaning that he could not be taken advantage of easily, especially not on the watch of Clara herself.
The other question on her mind was what her mistress felt towards that boy. She knew she resented him a lot because of how her marriage to his father went in the end, and his striking similarity to his father did not help matters much. It was all very confusing, she refused to abort him, yet ignored and openly resented him and even eventually sent him away. There was probably a reason beyond her simple understanding, in that her mistress never did anything just for the sake of it, but she could not help but be nervous. Chaos would definitely follow the arrival of that boy, and she was not sure she was ready for whatever was going to happen.
At the announcement of the arrival of her son, Clara Yates left her study with her butler to welcome her son home. She was dressed in less formal clothes, and her mood seemed lighter. Clara had always been an attractive woman, but she even looked a little younger now. It surprised some of them who had been there for years, and thought she did not care about her son. Now however, it seemed like a very wrong assumption to make now. She had never personally spent her effort for anything not worth her time, but she took time off to be there for his arrival. The head maid watched with complicated emotions as her personal assistant followed behind her quietly as she walked towards the entrance of her home, wondering who the young boy sent away years ago had become.
* * *
Lawrence had always wondered what it would have felt like the moment he came back to his family home. This was the place he spent his childhood after all, and he had not been here in many years. He however found himself feeling nothing. As he watched his mother's villa from his car at a distance, all he felt was the emptiness that had filled his heart as a child. His strange mood and apprehension he felt today just worsened. He had no good memories of this place, and all the memories from his childhood he managed to push back rushed at him with the force of a charged bull. He didn't want to be back here, and he had lost all hope of being cared for by his family years back. But why was he so upset then? It made no sense to him at all.
He instantly sat up and straightened his back. He could not allow his sentiments to get the better of him. He had a goal to accomplish after all, and letting his past resentment get in the way of that was stupid.
He turned his gaze to the entrance of the villa and saw his mother, along with a younger man of about thirty years. He recognized her the moment his eyes landed on her. From what he could see, she had not changed much at all. The only notable difference was that her dark hair was shorter, and she looked a bit older. She stood at the front door with a poised and calm countenance looking in the direction of his car.
That was clearly his cue to get out of the car. He did not linger on his thoughts for a second longer. He fluidly got out of his car, and looked directly at her face. He was still too far away to read her expression, so he took a step forward. After that step, it grew easier to walk, and his dark thoughts from mere minutes had simply vanished momentarily.
When he got to the door, he looked at her face again. Her face was nearly expressionless, and it was hard to tell whether she was pleased to see him or not. Not that it mattered anymore.
"I have arrived, mother." He said with a polite bow.
Clara looked him over, and gave a curt nod, as if she was satisfied with what she saw. Then, a faint smile formed on her lips.
"Welcome home, my son. There is much for us to discuss today. But let us have some lunch first."
Her calm voice rolled like fine silk, but it was firm, it as if there was no room for refusal.
Hiding his disappointment, he smiled elatedly.
"After you, mother."
With that, she turned to the door and entered the villa, with Lawrence following behind her quietly.