12. Opening up

"Two years ago", he began," After my father's death, I did not want to take over the company. So I had initially refused. But then his lawyer gave me a letter which he had turned to me.

In that he had said that I had to take over the company as his last wish and also because he knew that I was better at business dealings than my mother. My mother is someone skilled in design but not in business, so he asked me to do so.

Because of this I had to change my decision. She somehow misunderstood it that I wanted to challenge her by taking over."

" Both of us started arguing. Every time we came across each other I would think of telling her the truth. But we start arguing the minute we set our eyes on each other and hence I end up losing my mood to tell the truth.

Then it went into silent treatment. She stopped talking to me. I thought it was just the anger of that moment and it would go after sometime.

My sister is the glue that is holding us together. I have been and still am waiting for a chance to tell the truth to her.", he finished with a sad smile.

He felt as though a weight was lifted off his chest after speaking to her. She was listening to him intently. After listening she was left in deep thought.

' Seriously man. This is the reason why you are not speaking to your mother. God… Save me. Here I was thinking it was some world changing issue.'

She even wanted to voice her thoughts but she restrained herself.

'He is your boss Lara. Remember…. Don't cross the line.' She then turned the recorder off.

There was only a simple solution for this misunderstanding. Both of their thoughts have to reach each other. She decided to contact his mother and speak to her.

" I'll try my best to find a solution boss. How does it feel? Opening up?", she said after an awkward silence."

Thanks a lot for listening. You were right, I do feel like a weight is lifted off my chest. Thanks again.", he replied with a soft smile.

" You are always welcome boss", she replied and smiled.

He felt a weird warmth in his heart while looking at her smile.

"Boss I think taking a shower will do you good. It will help you freshen up your mind and keep you relaxed.

But use warm water. I just have to head out to meet a friend, but I will return to make the Ravioli I promised.", she said. He nodded and headed to shower.

He never listened to anybody, everybody listened to him. This is what he thought until recently. But since he met her, he found himself becoming like an obedient puppy, following everything that she was asking him to do. He was quite surprised. She seemed to be having a strong impact on him.

After he went in, Lara took her phone and called Lina.

" Hey Lina, its me Lara. Hoping that you and your baby are doing fine.", she said.

" Hi Lara. The baby and I are doing great. Thanks for asking. So what made you call me?", she asked curiously.

" Well this is an urgent matter. Can I meet your mother and you at Gray's coffee shop in 30 minutes?", she asked." Sure. Why? What happened?", she asked in confusion.

" I'll tell when we meet. See you there.", she said and hung up. She picked her bag and left.

Lina was quite surprised by what Lara said. She called Emily and told her everything. Emily at once agreed because she was the woman who saved her beloved daughter's and grandson's life.

They quickly left for the coffee shop. When they reached, they saw that Lara had already reached and had selected a private booth for them and had ordered fruit juices for them.

They went and sat and exchanged greetings." So what do you want to tell us Lara?", Lina asked eagerly.

" Today morning boss hadn't come to the office and wasn't answering any calls, so I went to check on him. He had fainted due to high fever. But that is not why I called you. I believe you have the right to listen to this", she said in a slightly troubled tone.

She then played the recording of Liam's confession. Emily's eyes started tearing up. She realised that she had misunderstood her son.

Even Lina was shocked. She didn't think that her brother had hid all of this and dealt with everything on his own. All alone....

After hearing the whole thing, tears were streaming down Emily's cheeks and she kept blaming herself.