Chapter 24

She nodded. "Okay. It will take a few minutes. I promise."

When she disappeared, he nodded and sat down in his chair. He looked around and swallowed. He was grateful for his break with Atiya . He needed time to calm his body and mind. He didn't have to show her that his feelings for her were growing. Pooh. That made him feel like a loser. Emotions. He had only known her for a few weeks. How ridiculous did he sound?

Desperate for distraction, he pulled out his phone and began reading the messages. The moment he pressed reply to his email, the phone rang. Here's a picture of Raquel . He clenched his teeth as he took a breath. It was never a good thing. "Hello?" he asked, putting the phone on speakerphone. "Aquila ? Are you? Where are you?" There was no comfort in his mother. I got the point each time. "Hello, Mom. I'm not home right now."

She took her breath away. "I know that. I'm standing in front of your penthouse, but Ceasar isn't here. The door is locked." Where are you? "

"I am waiting for my friend in the little bakery. I gave Ceasar an evening off. What do you need?"

Raquel was silent for a while. "Is that your girlfriend?"

Aquila reached out his hand and fiddled with the papers beside him. His mother wanted him to marry a duchess or heiress to a large fortune. As if marriage were just a business deal. She will not be satisfied with either Atiya or the worker's daughter. "Is it important?"

"Yes. Exactly. We talked about it, Aquila ." For Scott Investments to prepare you and your children for life, you must be married successfully. Messy women will take advantage of you," she clicked. He found her tone disgusting. "I'm an adult. I can make these decisions myself."

She sighed. A deep sigh of annoyance. "Well, have fun. Let's think about our goals. Your goals."

He shook his head. He was sick of hearing it. "If you don't want to say anything else, Mom, I'll let you go."

"Wait. I came to you for a reason. There are some issues with the Foundation and you seem to think that paying for everything is a good idea, I needed your approval."

Aquila stopped. "Why did they call you?"

She gasped. "Yes, you were in Dallas. I told your incompetent assistant to forward all your calls to me so as not to distract you. I received your message a few days ago. "

A fever crept up his back. "Mom, why are you doing this? You know how important this is to me. . . it's too far away ' He pushed his body out of the chair and began to walk. "I founded this foundation for Rose . They have almost given up on helping other families find a cure for MS. You gave up on making a difference." His voice turned into a whisper. Rose is gone. Raquel argued that no amount of money could bring her back. Why was he surprised that she was trying to take it away from him? It was Raquel . He always tries to control everything in his life. A sniffle could be heard on the other side. "I didn't mean to offend you."

He clenched his fists and tried to quiet his voice. "I'm not upset. I'm just frustrated."

The sobs grew louder. "I just… thought I was doing a good job. The deal with Dallas was very important. I didn't want you to bring up Rose at a time like this… It's so hard to deal with." She was crying out loud now. His stomach was tightened. Tightening his nerves, he exhaled. He was annoyed, but he didn't want to upset her. "Okay, Mom. You were just taking care of me. I'll call the Foundation in the morning."

Her sobs ended with a sniffle at her nose. "I'm just watching over you," she repeated. He gritted her teeth. "Okay. See you in the office in the morning."

"I won't get there until ten o'clock."

"Okay. Mom, I love you."

"you also."

The phone went silent. Aquila pulled it off his cheek and put it in his pocket. He tried to contain the emotions that were bubbling up in his chest. His mother was just broke. That's all. And if something broke, we fixed it. He just wanted to know how to fix them faster. He didn't know how much more he could take.