Compounding debts

2 Compounding debts

“Just what I said,” Aaron said, his face solemn.

It actually took a few seconds before Zara’s brain kick-started again. She’d never had a bomb shell dropped on her in such a sudden manner and by…a member of the Sebastian family! Was it a joke? It had to be.

Zara heaved a sigh of relief and laughed, slapping her knees to effect. “That was hilarious and I freaked out! Good one there, Mr Sebastian!”

“That wasn’t a joke,” the woman said, raising an eyebrow. “What Aaron is trying to say is that we want to hire you to get pregnant for someone.”

“What?” she gasped, shocked.

“That’s right,” Aaron said. “Your job will be to seduce this person and get pregnant for him. As payment, we will give you a million dollars. Half once you sign the contract and the remaining once the job is done.”

Zara glanced from man to woman, noting the seriousness on their faces. She was shaken. God, it wasn’t a joke. It was serious and the way they looked at her…she shivered.

“Why?” she asked, her heart thumping in her chest.

“Why what?” Aaron asked.

“Why me?” she asked. It was a question that now burned through her mind. “Of all the women in the country, why pick me? Why?”

“Like I said,” Aaron said, tapping his chin. “You look ‘take-away’—and that means you look gorgeous…”

“She knows what that means!” the woman snapped.

“Right, right,” Aaron said, then cleared his throat. “You have what it takes to do this job. I just feel it.”

Zara chuckled then stood. She tried her best to put on a condescending look. “Is this the job you had for me? Was this why you approached me at the restaurant and said you had a job offer? Is that why I’m here?”

“Technically, yes.”

“News flash,” she said, poking Aaron in the chest. Never would she have thought she’d have the confidence to do such a thing to a man who could have her locked with a snap of the finger. “I might be desperate for money but not to this degree. Go look for whore or better still, do some sort of test tube baby!”

Zara stormed out, leaving them behind. She felt her eyes sting, the tears threatening to fall. Behind her, she heard the woman say, “I told you she wouldn’t agree!”

Aaron sighed and said, “she’ll be back soon.”

Zara scoffed. Fat chance she’d be back. She shoved her way through the door, uncaring of its elegance. The whole place now looked dull to her. She’d received the biggest insult in her life in there and it hurt her. How could he do that to her? How could he think of her as a whore?

She was a lot of things, true, but not a whore. Never a whore!

Was that why they were so secretive about the job? Was that why they’d demanded she sign an agreement of silence? Such people!

As she left, the servants gave her a look of mockery but Zara held her head high. Only God knew what those girls had to do before being allowed to work in here.

She glanced once more at the gigantic elephant mansion that seemed like it was glaring at her. She shuddered and put her hand against the security scanner and it confirmed her exit.

She left.

….

By the time she got home, exhaustion had put a toll on her.

The mental and physical fatigue made her feel like a load of crap that had been fed shit all day. She unlocked the door and shut it again after entering. The familiar décor and scent of her run-down apartment hugged her in a welcoming embrace.

What a fool she’d been to think she could leave her life behind. She was never getting out of the net of her old life, was she?

She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and put the bag of grocery she’d bought on the table.

Her brother shuttled towards her from the bedroom, excited. He hugged her firmly. “Dominic,” she said, giggling. “You’ll trip me if you push so hard!”

The boy let go of her but kept his smile. Daisi limped up towards Zara too and gave her a little hug. Zara patted her cheek. “Are you alright, Daisi? Has she eaten?”

“I even gave her a portion of my lunch!” Dominic said, grunting. “Now my stomach is threatening to go on strike again!”

Zara laughed when she heard his stomach grumble in agreement. The last time Dominic’s stomach had gone on a ‘strike’, he had serious cramps. That hadn’t been good at all. But, if it was for Daisi, they’d both have cramps willingly. The girl needed food and lots of it.

“Sorry, Dominic,” she said, sighing. “You know Daisi isn’t well.”

“I feel fine,” she said and tried to walk but grimaced. “I just feel a little tipsy.”

“Here,” Dominic offered her a hand and she took it. “Lean on me.”

Zara smiled. “I’ll get dinner ready. Also, I bought some chocolate!”

“Sweet!” Dominic chuckled. “That’s like Christmas here!”

Daisi shrieked but that only hurt Zara’s feelings the more. She was trying so hard yet whenever she heard her siblings say such things, she felt like a useless lump of flesh. There were some foods they only ate once in a blue moon—that included chocolate. She hoped it would get better.

Daisi limped to take the bag. “I’ll get this to the kitchen. I’m helping today!”

Zara forced a smile and watched her go, limping awkwardly to the kitchen. The moment she was gone, Zara turned to Dominic. “How has she been? I haven’t been home enough lately.”

“She’s fine, I guess,” he said, shrugging. “she eats, she laughs, she plays and she can walk a bit better than last year. It’s good, if you ask me.”

Zara sighed and crouched to his height. “I’m trying, you know? I wish things could get easier for us, but it’s life. So unfair.”

Dominic nodded. “I know you’re trying. Daisi knows too. You see that chocolate, we’ll thank you for it!”

Zara laughed, a little part of her relaxing. “You’re a good boy.”

He nodded, then said, “he came again today, though.”

“Who?” she asked. “Festus?”

He nodded. “He was yelling really hard today and Daisi even joked that his throat was going to burn out. He said we had to pay or be thrown out.”

Zara sighed. That was going to be a problem. “Go help Daisi. I’ll handle Festus for now.”

Dominic nodded and dashed to the kitchen, leaving Zara to herself and her rapidly thumping heart. If Festus had taken the initiative to come see them, it didn’t spell anything good. She knew how the landlord was. Nothing could calm his rage.

She left the room again and ventured out towards the main building. She, however, stopped when she saw Festus lounged beside the wall of her apartment. When he saw her, he clapped. “Someone pointed out that you were back, Mara.”

Zara cringed at the name he called her. It was her name but it sounded so alien, so oppressing and so…ill. “Dominic said you came,” she said, putting aside her nausea for the name. “If it’s about the rent—”

“You’re damn right it’s about the rent!” he said, voice rising. Zara glanced around to make sure no one else was listening. The neighbourhood wasn’t particularly that friendly. “When are you paying up?”

“Give me a little more time, please!”

“That’s what you said three months ago,” he said, counting off on his fingers. “That’s what you said two months ago. That’s what you said last month and this month too?”

“I know it looks bad but I’ll pay the rent,” she said, pleading. “I’ll pay up!”

Festus snorted and pushed himself off the wall. “You better pay me this month or you’ll come back one day to find your two, little siblings hugging the pole right out the street, Mara!”

She nodded eagerly. “I’ll pay!”

Festus glared at her, then left. She held her breath, watching him go. Now what? She had no money—she’d used the last bit she had for Daisi’s therapy and all her hope had been on that job that Aaron had offered her.

Regardless, it wasn’t Festus she was worried about. She was much worried about the money she owed Ethan. God knew Ethan wasn’t to be trifled with.