Strong affection

DAY 13 CONTINUES

Sara was conversing with his mother when Patrick returned to the living room. They are having a serious discussion. His mother was also upset.

Sara gave him a quick hello before dropping him off with his mother.

He greeted them, saying, "Good morning mom." He tried to kiss her cheek, but she stopped him by extending her hand.

"Mom, what is it?" he inquired. She was upset with him.

"What happened between you and Phina this morning?"

His tone was casual, "It's nothing, Mom. We will settle it." He'd prefer not to discuss it at all.

"You will settle it. You were both yelling at each other, and I saw her walking up the stairs and crying. For God's sake, Patrick, what do you do to the lady?" She demanded with rage.

"Mom, why are you always blaming me? I apologized to her last night; she was angry at something unnecessary this morning. What do you want me to do? She won't give me peace of mind. I can't necessarily give her everything she wants." He replied. He then sat down, clearly incensed that his mother was siding with Phina without knowing the circumstances.

It's not like he can tell her.

"Patrick, she is your girlfriend. At least try to be considerate. You've not had a girlfriend for some time now, and you've finally gotten one, and you want to chase her away. That girl is not bad. I don't know what your problem is."

"You know that is not true, Mom. I had other girlfriends before her. And she can't give me a heart attack." He was lying.

She yelled, "Will you shut up, Patrick?" Her son's attitude had grown old to her. Sara had grudgingly informed her about his and Phina's ongoing arguments. She added that he constantly exudes a haughty demeanor.

"What is your problem, Patrick? Do you want to remain a bachelor for life? I want to have grandchildren, Patrick. And what you are doing is not helping. Look at your best friend. He is married and already has a child. You are wealthier than him. What do you want me to do to make you understand that you are not a kid anymore? What has the woman done to wrong you?" She complained. And he glances at her. For what reason did she say that?

"You keep pushing them away. And now you want to do that with Phina. What wrong had the girl done? She left her work, family, and life just to be close to you and spend time with you, and this is how you repay her love."

He said quietly, "Mom, you don't know anything about our relationship."

"Then tell me, Patrick. Tell me. Do you think I don't know about your pride and arrogant attitude toward people?"

"That's not true, mom. Who told you that?"

"So what is the truth? That you are only arrogant to women who are your girlfriends. I have asked you times without numbers if you were straight, and you told me yes. So why the attitude, Patrick? Don't let me get angrier than I am right now. You won't like it." She warned him." Make sure you swallow that stupid pride of yours and apologize to that lady, or you won't like what I will do." She said.

And she turned and headed for the stairs. Patrick was expecting her visit to Phina's room.

His mother had started to learn things about him that he did not want her to know. He needed to act appropriately. He detests worrying about his mother and being upset with her. Though it happens infrequently, she detests her behavior toward him when it does. Her rage can also cause him to despise himself.

He'll have to apologize to Phina if doing so will allow his mother to forgive him. It's not like he committed any crimes. It's Phina who is to blame. She loses sight of his past and the harm he could cause to her and her family. He can easily back out of the agreement and terminate her father for being his driver. He would also force her to discover who he is by hardship—considering that she had even threatened and yelled at him. This was not within her authority. When it comes to him, she is nothing. He could also inform her of that.

But he'll overlook it for the sake of his mother. To win his mother over, he will apologize. He wishes for her to know only what she already knows. If she discovers the truth about him and Phina, she might become suspicious, and things won't work out well for him.

The woman is a huge hassle. He would never have offered her the deal if he had known.

However, what had Phina done to earn his mother's such strong affection? He didn't think anything particularly unique about her other than her beauty. However, whenever his mother gets upset with him, she won't give him any breathing room. She also made the snap decision that he was at fault. It was his mother's first refusal to hear him try to explain something. She never hesitated to chastise him for the woman, who wasn't even his girlfriend.

He hopes she is aware. She is ignorant, though. She must also be unaware. This would all be over in a few days. And things would return to normal in his life. He would regain his mother's focus because Phina started stealing his mother from him. And he hates it.

When he informs her, at the end of the month, that he has broken up with her and she has left his life, he knows she will be upset with him. However, she will eventually adjust to it and come to terms with it.

The woman received nothing exceptional. He only chose to utilize her because he knew she wouldn't turn him down. He was aware of her extreme need for cash to assist her father in covering their bills. Additionally, he didn't like the woman when they first met and felt it was the best choice since there would be no emotional attachment.

He let out a disappointed groan.

********

The door of Phina's room is in front of Mrs. Betty. She softly taps on the door. She knocked again and has yet to receive a response.

"Phina, please open the door. It's me. Patrick's mom." She replied.

After a long moment of waiting, she heard footsteps approaching the door. The door opens when the doorknob is turned, unlocking the door.

Phina bows down to say hello.

She said, "Good morning, ma."

Morning, sweetie." she answered. And she gives the poor woman a look. She had sobbed uncontrollably. Her eyes were red and swollen. Her cheeks were swollen from crying as well.

She said, "Come in, ma." and stepped aside to open the door for the woman.

Mrs. Betty made her way inside. The room smelled like Phina and was tidy. There's something about her smell, strange as it may sound. Both her perfume and her aroma permeated the room.

She turned to Phina and said, "Let's sit down." She nodded as well. They then proceeded to take a seat on the room's little couch.

"Phina."

"Mom."

To avoid upsetting her or giving the impression that she was backing her son, she asked, "What happened? What happened between you and Patrick?" as coolly as possible.

"Ma, I don't understand Patrick. He doesn't know how to talk to people. He is verbally abusive, and I wouldn't say I like it. He needs to give me back my respect just as I respect him. But never, he won't." She continued to cry.

"Don't be angry. I'm so sorry. Please, I apologize on his behalf. I understand he can be rude sometimes, but he does not mean everything he says. Sometimes, he means to make it sound the way you think. So, my dear, I'm sorry for what my son did to you. I apologize." She pleaded on his behalf.

She gave Phina a back rub as she sulked.

She soothed the woman, saying, "Please don't be angry. It's okay. It's okay." She eventually stopped crying.

*********

Phina came downstairs to get a drink. Because of what transpired between her and Patrick that morning, she had skipped breakfast. She had so spent the entire day in her room.

She was relieved that Sara was the only one in the kitchen. She enters just as she would close the kitchen's back door.

"Phina, how are you?" she worriedly inquired.

"I'm fine. So what do we have for breakfast or lunch?" She inquired. Sara is not welcome to question her. She is unwilling to discuss the events of the previous morning.

She said, "It's cereal."

"Okay. Sorry, I couldn't help you to cook this morning."

She dismissed it with a wave. "Why do you need to be sorry? I'm the one who should be thanking you for always helping me with the chores."

"It's fine. I will need to make my cereal and take it upstairs."

"I will help you make it."

She was genuinely appreciative, saying, "Okay, thanks." She didn't want to see Patrick, so she didn't want to stay in the kitchen. And Sara seemed to have read her thoughts. "Just call me when you are done. I will come to pick it up."

Sara responded, "Alright," She consented even though she intended to assist Phina in bringing the food to her room after she finished preparing the papaya.

She is quite aware that she is avoiding Patrick. That morning, she eavesdropped on every chat they had. They began shrieking as she was tidying the TV and bookcases. He had sympathy for her. She is aware of how her employer handles her.

She said that when she first saw her, she didn't like her. She thought she might replace her in the house because she was jealous of her beauty. However, it also happened that she believed her boss would give her all of his love and care while she was in the house for another purpose. She used to have a thing for him.

But she had given up on it long ago since it was pointless. She is human, though. She can still not control the jealousy that surfaced when Phina entered the house. However, she wasn't the person she had anticipated. She even treated her nicely.

"Let me check on the man cleaning the windows." She said.

She grinned and said, "Okay, no problem," before reaching for a packet of biscuits from the refrigerator since she was hungry. She had yet to have dinner after arriving at the Patrick residence.

She felt someone's presence before her as she left the kitchen, her thoughts focused on the biscuits she was opening. She lifted her head to see who had come into the kitchen.