NICKLAUS THE MASTER
Chapter 21
Written by: Racheal Dennis
Anastasia’s pov ?
My eyes open as I turn on my bed, the reflected ray of the morning sun flashes through my eyes.. which makes me snap them shut.
I sit up and release a yawn as I rub my eyes.. I stretch my stiff limbs and combs my fingers through my hair.
My phone starts ringing and I reach for it on my bedside table… Marcus’s name flashing on the screen.
I saved his number last night.
“Hi, good morning, Marcus!” I receives the call.
“Good morning, Anna…” He said.
There’s a pause from him and I hear keys dangling, maybe he’s trying to open a door.
“Ah… I know it’s early but I just wanna check in with you.. if you saw my message?” He asked.
I quickly turn my phone and saw a message.
“Yeah! I saw it”
“Ok, please be prompt for our meeting, I have a very important client to visit later!” He said.
I nod but remembers he can’t see me.
“I will, I should go get ready!”
“Alright, bye!” He hangs up.
I keep my phone back on my bedside table, my eyes meets a photo of Jack, Matilda and I on the table.
We’re smiling, I can vividly remember the day we took this photo…
We had gone out to celebrate Matilda’s birthday, but we later turned her birthday party into a high school reunion!
I laugh as pictures of Matilda’s expression throughout that day looked like… she was so angry.
I sighed.. I just hope Jack didn’t lie to me.. I just hope he really did take loan from his bank!
Well, I’ll soon find out the truth, I better go brush my teeth first.
“Is Tasia dead in that room? Or she’s still alive?!” Matilda asked from the living room.
Or maybe dinning room, I can’t tell where exactly she is.
“She’s still alive!” I replied her.
“Then she should get her ass her let’s eat breakfast!”
I smile and hop off my bed.
“Give me a sec!” I said and headed towards my bathroom.
*******
“Matilda, you really outdone yourself this time!”
I compliment her while drinking the soup she made, she smiles proudly.
“Of course, I’m gonna be the number one chef in LA after I graduate!” She said cockily.
“For a young undergraduate who haven’t even started her business yet.. you’re being remarkably cocky!”
She flips her hair and wipes the corner of her lip gently.. she sits properly.. in a more graceful manner.
“Yeah, I’m quite confident in my skills!”
I nod, she’s right..her cooking skills are second to none.
My eyes move towards the window, it’s dark outside, the sky is so cloudy… I hate month of July.
“Don’t forget to take your umbrella with you… looks like it’s gonna rain!” Tilda said.
“Eish! I was thinking it’s gonna be a sunny day today.. but nature has a mind of its own!”
Dmn me for not checking the weather today. Matilda nods, she puts a bread on my plate.
“I don’t need bread”
“Tell that to your skinny body!” She said.
I wanted to argue but my phone beeps, I check it and sees a message from Marcus.
*Are you coming now?*
Dropping my spoon, I pick my bag and phone.. I get up.
“Tilda, I should go, Marc is waiting for me!”
She frowns slightly.
“Who’s Marc?”
“Mr Statham’s friend!”
“Oh!”
I rushes to the door and grab the handle, but before I could open it and step out.. Matilda stops me.
She gets up and rushes towards my room, she didn’t spend 2 minutes inside before she comes back.. with my umbrella in her hand.
“Here, it might rain!”
“Thanks!”
She simply hums and goes back to her food.
I open the door and step out, just as I took a step.. I felt something wet drop on my face
Before I knew, it’s started raining.. I quickly open my umbrella and continue my journey.
*********
Finally, I arrived at our meeting place… Angel’s cafe.
I rushed inside to take shelter from the rain, I looked down at myself and realized I’m partially soaked.
Although, I have an umbrella, but it was too small to defeat the might rain.
My eyes scan the place until they land on Marcus, he’s sipping his coffee while looking outside.
I take quick step towards him, I pull out a chair and sit down.. he turns his gaze away from the window.
“Anna, you’re here!” He said.
“Yeah…” I trail off and calls for a waiter.
The waiter came and I ordered a cup of hot chocolate.. he nods and leaves.
“Sorry that I called you out so early in the morning!” He apologised.
“It’s fine, I’m a jobless human anyway!” I said.
He laughs at my statement and shakes his head, sipping his coffee.
“Well, I called you because…”
He cuts himself off when he sees the waiter coming back with my chocolate.
“Thank you!” I said to the waiter.
“You’re welcome, please enjoy!” He replied and left.
I quickly take a few gulps.
“So… Nicklaus told me what happened between you two!” Marcus said.
I nod, I already know he wants to talk to me about my fight with Nicklaus.
“Anna, you were a little too harsh on Nicky, you hurt him so deeply!”
I scoff.
“There’s nothing on earth that can hurt him, he look like he’s invincible!”
“Yeah, nothing can hurt him but you…do you know what it feels like for someone to take your good for granted?”
I frown, what is he talking about?
I agreed that I was a little harsh on him…but why is Marcus talking as if Klaus done something for me and I should be thankful to him?
“Well, the truth is Nicklaus.. he is the anonymous donor!”
My eyes grows wide as I spill my chocolate all over the place, surprised written on my face.
“He’s the anonymous donor?!” I yelled, drawing attention to our table.
Marcus utter small sorries to them and they turn back to their various tables.
“Bring your voice down, Anna”
“Why didn’t he tell me earlier?” I asked.
“Well, you didn’t let him explain himself.. Nicky doesn’t go back on his words, he promised to help you and he did…”
Right, I didn’t let him speak, I didn’t listened to him yesterday because I was angry.
So he’s the donor?! Oh my God! Oh my God this is bad! I just dug my own grave!
What if he angrily withdraw his donation?! Foolish Anastasia!
“… he initially paid 9million, but he realized that money won’t be enough.. so he asked Graham to 3million and told the doctor to tell you and your aunt it was donated by an anonymous!”
My mind flashes back to yesterday when he was telling me that Jack’s lying… He wanted to explain but I didn’t let him.
Matilda is right, Jack lied to me.. how could he?!
“Don’t you think you owe Nicky an apology?” Marcus asked.
I nod.
“Yes, I do owe him an apology but I don’t know if he’s gonna forgive me!”
“Why do you say that?!”
I pick my chocolate and gulps down the little remaining inside… Marcus is looking at me waiting for my response.
“I.. I.. said some very unkind words to him.. and.. he left angrily.. ” I trail off.
The image of him glaring at me before he walked away flash in my mind and I shudder.
“… It’s over for me!”
Marcus studies my expression and laughs.
“He’s not gonna stay mad at you for too long, just go to his office and give him a cute puppy eyes.. he’ll let you off the hook!”
“How sure are you?”
“100 percent sure, because he’s madly…. ”
I bang on our table gently, cutting him off.
“I’ll apologise to him, but first, I have something to deal with!”
I got up and grabbed my bag, then I head out.
*********
I angrily walked into Jack’s shop.
With anger curled hot and unstoppable in my gut, like a blazing inferno that wanted to burn me from the inside out.
“Jack!” I called Jack loudly.
Everyone in the shop turns towards us, but I didn’t care.. I must do what I came here for.
He gets up and smiles at me, expecting me to smile back but I didn’t…I kept my straight face.
I stop in front of him, raised my right hand up and lands it on his left cheek.
“Tasia…”
“Don’t say my name!” I backhanded his right cheek.
“Why….. ”
My hand land on his left cheek again…he opens his mouth to speak again but I didn’t even let a word out.
I backhanded his right cheek again.. I slapped him so hard that I can even feel the pain in my hand.
“How dare you lie to me?!”
He rubs his cheeks gently, he reaches his hand forward to touch me but I step back.
He clears his throat.
“I’m.. I’m sorry, Tasia.. I just wanted you to.. I didn’t want someone else…” He trails off.
“You can’t speak?” I asked angrily.
“I just wanted you to accept me, I love you and I’m scared you’d leave with whoever donated the money!”
“What?!”
I stare at him with an angry frown, my hand controlled itself and lands on Jack’s cheek again.
“How dare you?!”
“Tasia…”
“Shut up!” I cut him off. “I was a fool for even thinking I loved you!”
He shakes his head and takes a step forward, I glare at him and he stopped.
“So… in your heart, I’m a gold digger? Huh? All these years you’ve always seen me as someone who’s after wealth?!”
He keeps staring at me wordlessly, shaking his head.
“I have never seen you as a gold digger.. I have never even thought of it…”
“Listen, I might be poor but I’m not a gold digger.. what do you think you’d benefit from lying about something as big as this?”
I paused..I study his expression, he look so remorseful, but I didn’t mind his remorseful face.
I mean, because of his lie I have offended my helper.
“Even if I don’t love you, do you think you can make me love you by lying?”
“I made a mistake… ”
“You didn’t just make any mistake.. it’s a silly mistake! How can you stoop so low as to lie about something as big as this right in my face!”
“I did because I love and I didn’t wanna lose you”
I scoff unbelievably.
“Jack, you don’t love me… ”
“I do, I really do love you!'” he cuts me off.
I glare at him.
“If you love me, you wouldn’t lie to me.. because love don’t lie!”
“I’m sorry…. ”
I cut him off by raising my hand, I close my eyes and inhale deeply.
“Jack, we go way back, so I can’t make you my enemy… but don’t show your face in front of me ever again!”
“Tasia, I’m….”
I didn’t wait for him to speak, I turn around and walked out of his shop.
I board the first taxi I saw and head straight to Statham enterprise.
Time to apologise to Klaus, I only hope he’ll forgive me and not withdraw his donation!
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