Ryan was exhausted due to the day's work, he's been working overtime the last few days, he felt he needed no time to lag behind and needed to fill in all the lapses as possibly as he can -any other things that come in as aid should just be an addition to his tireless hardworking.
He caused whatever ill fate that has befallen him, and he should be the one to bear the consequence of his mistakes and recklessness. Most times, he felt bad to see his staff too, working overtime and going home quite much later than they were supposed to.
None of them was reluctant nor say a word against him; not even did anyone think of resigning from work. During times, he did feel gratitude towards them, they had decided to stand by him during his hard times too -most especially Miriam, she never stops putting him on track whenever she felt he's losing his way.
Ryan knew he couldn't be more lucky than he was already -he got the kind of staff needed and the support too, they made sure he did not lack that either; they are mostly his strength for pushing on.
Without them and Miriam too, he felt there was nothing he would be able to do for himself. He might have given up and left things the way they tried out to be, coupled with the pang of guilt and trepidation that kept gnawing at him every day of his life... ******
He did not bother to knock, and he pushed the huge oak door open, as usual, it was open. Except for the pass code needed at the entrance gate, there is no other security in the whole of the mansion.
Ever since his mother had retired, she had dispatched all of her domestic workers, finding them something else to do in the outside world. She's been living all alone with no one else in the mansion, except, of course, for the butler who made her meal and which was rarely seen on most occasions.
Ryan could count the number of times he has seen the butler ever since he's been visiting his mother, sometimes, he does have the same thought that he was no longer working for his mother, but his mother had said otherwise.
"He has his life to live too, he won't die as a butler, right?" She had told him on one of the days he had brought the topic up to her. "I let him do his things as he pleases, he is only around when I need him the most -I'm not that old not to be able to do some certain things myself.."
Ryan did not find her idea pleasing, but he let it slide since that is what she wanted, she couldn't force her to do otherwise -she is more experienced and knowledgeable compared to him, who still find it hard to differentiate between duplicate and real.
"Mother..."He called out to announce his presence to his mother, his voice echoing in the spacious living with very few furniture and decors, but he got no response in return.
(This is weird...!' He muttered shabbily under his breath as he scanned around the vast living room, feeding his eyes with every of the room's corners in sight, but it had no trace of human -not even a silhouette.
He wondered where this mother might have gone to, this was very much unexpected. Each of his visits, it's either she's sitting in her favorite seat or standing near the fireplace. She's used to welcoming his presence with two phrases, "Ah -you are here." or sometimes, "Welcome, son." She always sounds like she's been expecting his visit before his arrival.
Ryan knows he can never get used to not being ushered in by his mother, whose presence was always awaiting him in the living room. His heart skipped a million times, 'What if something unusual had happened to her?' his subconscious hit him, which made him shudder in fear.
He ran to the upper floors, checking each available rooms, but each was empty, none with his mother's presence. He rushed back downstairs and headed towards the oak door, running outside to his mother's favorite garden.
Since he couldn't find her in the house, that's the only place left, and he was sure she was there. His guess was right, his mother was standing there in the garden, her both hands clasped against each other behind her back.
Ryan breathed a sigh of relief as he walked towards her. "Mother." He simply cited, upon reaching where she was standing, and she turned slowly towards his direction with a soft smile on her face. "You scared the daylight out of me."
Mrs. Lerman's smile gotwider. "I came out here to feel the evening breeze mixed with the faint smells of flowers, do you know how great that kind of feeling is, eh?" She asked him. "Oh, I bet you don't!"
Of course, he can relate to it, and he hated the thought of it as it opened a fresh wound inside him -it only reminded him of his fake wedding with Anne with her friend spraying them flowers, it faints smell coupled with the cool air; he loved the feeling back then but now, he hated it and did not even want to think about it at all.
"Maybe, yes, I don't..."He denied, pushing off the thought off his mind.
"You are here today, Ryan. Did you get a shareholder or possibly an investor already?" She asked plainly, deciding to go straight to his reason for a visit.
Ryan wasn't surprised at it, he already knew her enough. She is always a step ahead of him, knowing almost every reason for his visit -this only reminds him of how bad of a son he is, he only visits when he has something to tell or request from her.
"Yes, a good one at that." He replied, returning the same vibe as his mother's. "She is ready to buy fifty-five percent share at a price more than what I would call fair -I don't know her yet, but she seems smart and loaded, yeah?"
"Oh, I see..."She uttered knowingly as she nodded her head a few times. "I suppose you are yet to sign the document for it? Or am I wrong this time -that is, if you are changed?"
"You are not wrong, mother, you are just as right as ever..."He admitted lazily, his voice barely rising like it should. "You know me quite better than I know myself, I'm embarrassed at this."
"You shouldn't. I'm no mother if I don't know anything about you; even to your faults and wrongdoings." She told him simply and in a flat tone too. "You are my son, after all."
"I know, right." He scoffs, feeling embarrassed that he barely knew himself and what he was capable of and what he wasn't. He realized how foolish he was at the start to turn his back against the only person who had the perfect definition for him, letting all her sacrifice for him go down the drain...