Edrick
Within an hour, Moana and I were nervously walking up the front steps to my parents’ mansion.
We left Ella with Selina just in case we walked in on anything sinister. The house was mostly dark, which was out of the ordinary. As I slowly opened the front door, I felt my heart catch in my throat.
“Hello?” I called out, holding Moana’s hand as I stepped into the large foyer. “Mom?”
There was no answer. Moana and I exchanged nervous glances and walked in a little further.
“Verona?” Moana called, cupping her hands around her mouth to make her voice travel further. “Are you there?!”
Still no answer. We decided to head into the sitting room, where my mother often liked to be during her free time, but it was dark and empty. At this point, I was starting to get even more nervous.
“I swear, if that bastard did anything to her…” I growled, “I’ll—”
Moana gasped. “Look!” she said, pointing behind me. I followed her finger to see what looked like a small fire outside.
The two of us quickly ran out the patio door toward the fire, then across the garden. As we ran, we saw a lone figure standing by the fire.
It was my mother. She was standing by the fire pit, in her dressing gown, and was tossing what looked like pieces of paper into the flames.
“Mom!” I exclaimed, running up to her. “You’re alright!”
“Oh, darling!” my mother replied. She grabbed my face and kissed my cheeks, then did the same to Moana. “I was so worried about you…”
“What happened?” I asked. “And what are you doing?” I glanced down at the papers in her hand, only to see that they weren’t papers at all. She was holding photographs. I snatched the stack out of her hand and flipped through them. They were all pictures of my dad.
My mother simply shrugged and poked the fire with a long rod. “I’ve been wanting to do that for ages, darling,” she said, flashing a vibrant smile as she watched the photos burn. “It feels good to do it.”
I let out a sigh and tossed one of the photographs into the fire myself. It did actually feel good to see my father’s face burn to a crisp.
“Did he hurt you?” Moana asked, taking a step forward with concern written across her face.
My mother shook her head. “No. Although he did threaten to hurt you two, as well as Ella. He tossed my phone right in the fountain, if you’ll believe it! And then he just took the car and drove off without a word!”
My eyes widened. “So when I called you—”
“He heard me,” she replied with a nod. “That was when he took my phone. Said that I should learn to mind my own business for once. Hah! As if I’d ever do that.”
I couldn’t help but smile at seeing my mom still being as witty as ever despite what had happened. She tossed the rest of the photographs into the fire all at once, and the three of us watched in silence as the flames jumped up into the sky, devouring the paper within seconds.
“Well then…” My mother turned to face the two of us. “Tea?”
Moana and I followed my mother inside, where she put the kettle on the stove. “Where are the servants?” I asked.
My mother simply shrugged. “Your father sent them away not too long ago. It was a shame, really. I don’t know exactly what he was up to, although I think I have a pretty good idea.” She paused and looked over at Moana with nothing but sympathy in her eyes. “Once I can get my phone and my things in order, I’ll call them back and give them all raises for the trouble. It has been nice having the place to myself, though, I must say.”
While the kettle started to heat up, the three of us sat around the kitchen counter. Finally, I started to explain everything to my mother… From the very beginning.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: His Nanny Mate (Moana and Edrick Morgan)
@Eveabovestory is this story over?...