Tilly Left?
Mrs Haward watched the two, her eyes moving from Jason to Julia and vice versa.
"Jason, for someone you claim to be your wife, I am very surprised by how you are behaving towards each other," Mrs Haward pointed out, and Jason snapped out of his thoughts, looking at Mrs Haward over his shoulders.
"Shouldn't she be here welcoming you home with kisses?" Mrs Haward questioned, relaxing on the sofa.
"Mum, it's nothing like that. She is my wife. It is just that she is going through a difficult time right now," Jason replied, and decided to continue climbing the staircase to his room, but he was stopped in his tracks by Mrs Haward's next statement.
"Is she pregnant?" Mrs Haward asked, lying on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other as she flipped through a magazine she had picked from the magazine stand.
"What!" said Jason, turning to look at Mrs Haward on the sofa.
"I said is she pregnant?" Mrs Haward asked nonchalantly.
"No," replied Jason with a frown.
Aside from the day he woke up next to Julia knowing something went on between them, he had not as much as touched her again.
"She can't possibly get pregnant just that one time they got together. Plus, that is not why she became his wife. They woke up married," Jason thought.
"Ah! Contracted marriage," Mrs Haward asked, flipping the magazine to another page.
"No Mum, why would you think that?" Jason said, descending the staircase back to the living room.
"Son, the two of you have no chemistry. It simply means you didn't marry out of love. You two are total strangers. So, tell me, why did you marry someone you don't love?" Mrs Haward asked, putting the magazine down and sitting up on the sofa.
Jason was not sure how to answer. He was wondering if he should tell Mrs Haward. He woke up married to Julia, but he quickly dismissed the idea as he was not sure how Mrs Haward would react to that. He concluded before he told anyone, he would like to first find out how that happened in the first place and why.
Mrs Haward looked at him as he remained in silence and decided to ask another question, trying to understand why Jason had married without telling anyone. Could it possibly be he had already found out the truth about himself? Mrs Haward continued to stare at Jason as her thoughts ran through her mind.
"Wait!" Mrs Haward said all of a sudden, snapping Jason out of his thoughts.
"Was it to tell the world you are heterosexual?" Mrs Haward questioned, trying to understand the reason behind his sudden marriage which was not out of love.
Mrs Haward also didn't want Jason to find out why she was in his house in the first place. Right now, she needs to act as a concerned mother who is trying to understand her son's situation based on her observation of certain things that don't add up.
"No, Mum, I have told you I am not gay. I just don't have time for women," Jason replied, feeling a bit offended. "Besides, you already know my story, I don't have to tell you," he said in resignation.
Growing up, aside from James and his father, Mr Johan Haward, Mirenda and Mrs Haward, for some reason, think Jason is gay. Probably because he was never seen with women or the fact that he moves away quickly from them like they are some kind of plague. To Mrs Haward, whatever happened to Jason that day when he was just a boy was not enough to put a huge barrier between him and the women.
Yet, distancing himself from women was so evident, as he had more male servants than female servants. The female servants remain in the kitchen only to cook. There is only one female servant he has allowed to come close to his door and that is even because she attends to Julia.
"Hmmm," Mrs Haward replied and lay back on the sofa, grabbing the magazine.
"Can I go now, mum?" Jason asked, not wanting Mrs Haward to feel he had left while they were still in the middle of a conversation.
Mrs Haward used her hand to gesture that Jason could leave, and he left for his room. Jason was both embarrassed and furious when he entered his room. He had left the family condo to live in his apartment because of some of these types of conversations. Mrs Haward will always find a way to chip in a question about his sexual orientation anytime they are having a conversation and Mirenda may seem harmless, but she is worse. She would go as far as taking him to places with male strippers or buying him gifts in female-dominated colours. And she would say she was only helping him come out of the closet and accept who he was. Jason entered the bathroom and quickly took a shower. He dried his hair and dressed up in a white T-shirt with black pants. He heard a knock on the door, to which he responded and the person entered.
"Sir, please dinner is ready" announced the servant.
"Okay, get Julia and her friend," Jason instructed. The servant nodded and left.
Julia was the first to walk into the dining area. She stood at the entrance for a while, looking at the four pairs of eyes looking at her. While one pair had a neutral look, the other pair had anger and hate. Julia wondered if it was a good idea to join a table where she was not welcome.
James had just entered the apartment and seeing Julia walking towards the dining area, decided to follow her. He found her standing at the entrance and smiled, but before he could attempt to touch her, he saw his mum and decided against it. He smiled and rather walked past Julia into the dining room and sat down. They sat behind the table while Julia remained standing close to the entrance, not looking at anything in particular.
"Come have a sit," James called out to Julia, and Julia's attention was drawn to James as she stared at him blankly.
"Why are you inviting her to the table?" questioned Mrs Haward.
"Because, mum, she is Bro Jason's wife," replied Mirenda.
"Nobody asked you," Mrs Haward chided.
Jason entered and found Julia standing on the left side of the room, close to the entrance, and he frowned.
"Get Tilly to come here quickly," Jason said to the servant and also walked past Julia, not saying anything to her.
The servant left immediately for Tilly's room but was surprised to find an empty room and a bag with clothes packed into it half opened and sitting on her bed. He returned to the table to inform Jason that Tilly was not in her room.
"Did she say where she was going?" asked Jason.
"Sir," the servant hesitated, wondering if he should mention what had transpired earlier when Jason left for work.
The servant was passing by when he saw Tilly being taken out of the house by the police.
"Speak," commanded Jason, noticing the servant's hesitation.
Mrs Haward glared at the servant, sending a strong warning with her eyes realizing this servant may have seen or heard something.
"Err, Sir, she has her things all packed up but not in her room," the servant managed to say as beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
Jason looked at him and knew he was hiding something, but he didn't push any further, looking at the expression on his mother's face.
"So Tilly left," Jason asked, and the servant just bowed, not saying a word.
"Fine, get her to sit down," requested Jason, and the servant walked to Julia.
"Ma'am, please come sit," the servant said, and Julia's attention went to him.
Julia nodded and walked towards the table, but before Julia could sit, Mrs Haward commented.
"Jason, do you realize this woman doesn't fit in this setting? Why do you want her to embarrass herself by sitting here?" Mrs Haward pointed out, and Jason's face darkened.
Julia, who was about to sit down next to Jason, froze in place. Truly, she doesn't feel she belongs. These people are super rich and powerful, she looked out of place. Their way of dressing, talking, sitting and behaviour were completely alien to her. Her clothes may be expensive too, as Jason did not allow her to bring anything from her home. Her wardrobe was already stuffed with clothes, but still, she knew she didn't belong to the social class.
It was not that bad when it was just her and Jason. She and Tilly came from the same place, so it was okay and the servants and guards were all in uniform, so it didn't feel that suffocating, but now, Julia feels like a servant sitting among royals.
"I am sorry," Julia said almost in a whisper, but they all heard her before she left the dining area almost running.
Jason watched her leave and felt sad. He didn't want her to go, but he couldn't stop her from leaving as the words wouldn't come out of his mouth even though he called out to her a thousand times in his mind.
Once Julia's back was no longer visible, Jason turned to his mother and stared at her unhappily. Since they arrived, his mother had done nothing except say hurtful things to people. Now she had sent Julia away with her words. James and Mirenda sat at the table watching the whole scene in front of them as their mother served herself, not bothered about Julia leaving or Jason's reaction to that.
"Mum, why do you always do that?" Jason managed to speak and Mrs Haward raised an eyebrow, looking at him a little surprised he was defending a woman for the second time.
"She is already going through a tough situation; must we add to her worries?" Jason asked with a worried expression, but Mrs Haward couldn't reply except stare at him in wonder.
"Sorry everyone, I just lost my appetite," Jason said after a while when he didn't get any response from Mrs Haward.
Jason got up and left the dining area, leaving Mrs Haward, Mirenda and James shocked by his reaction. He had never cared about any woman before but Mrs Haward tried to sway her children as soon as Jason left the room.
"I told you. He just did something shady. Aside from the inheritance, he is using the girl to accomplish other things," Mrs Haward said.
Both James and Mirenda simultaneously looked at her, wondering about the basis of her conclusion. That was a different Jason they were seeing now, but what was Mrs Haward talking about?
"Could mum be right and all this is just a facade?" James thought, returning his gaze to the food he had dished onto his plate.
"What is going on with Bro Jason," Mirenda thought, sipping some glass of water.
"Look, find out why he married that girl," Mrs Haward said to James, interrupting his thoughts, and he only nodded.
"You find out who that girl is. Where she comes from and who the parents are," Mrs Haward said to Mirenda, and she also just nodded.
Jason was climbing the stairs to his bedroom floor when he saw Julia standing on the balcony. He stopped in his tracks and watched her from where he stood.
Julia was resting her hand on the rail and looking down. Jason wanted to join her there but could not move his limps to do that. He continued to his room after a while and Julia also left for her room.
Julia just lay down on the bed, hugged one pillow and her head resting on another. She drifted off to sleep on an empty stomach.
Jason sat on his bed, wondering why he reacted that way. He knew he liked seeing Julia, the reason he couldn't send her away aside from what his father said in the letter, but he tensed up quickly anytime he spoke with her. He could not understand his feelings towards her, especially as he knew little to nothing about women, love and emotions. He had always treated everything like a business project. He equally went to sleep on an empty stomach.
The next day, Julia woke up a bit early. After refreshing up, she went to knock on Jason's door. She opened the door and stood at the entrance when she heard the response to come in.
"Please enter and close the door," Jason managed to say, already feeling tense, but he masked it well.
Julia nodded and entered the room, closing the door gently behind her and standing right behind it.
"Please, about the work. When can I start?" Julia asked in a low voice, not meeting his gaze.
Jason was almost ready and just putting on a tie. He moved his gaze away from Julia and looked back into the mirror, adjusting his tie.
"Go, get ready, you are coming with me to work today," The words came out of Jason's mouth before he could stop himself, but he couldn't take them back either.
For some reason, he didn't want to either. He felt it would be best not to leave Julia at home with his family.
Julia nodded and thanked him before leaving the room, closing the door gently behind her.
Jason frowned as he felt something different inside. He could not understand his feelings towards Julia. He couldn't say he liked her, but yet he always wanted to see her.
Julia went through her wardrobe and picked up an ash-straight office dress which was up to the knee. It wasn't close-fitting, but it did trace out her beautiful curves. She held her long black hair in a bun. Her beautiful neck was now in clear view. She picked up a black 4-inch stiletto to complete her dressing before stepping out of her room. Afraid to go downstairs and probably run into Mrs Haward, she waited for Jason in the small hallway.
Jason was already out of his room, and waiting in the living room. He sent one of the servants to get Julia when Peter entered the living room to get him. Julia soon descended the stairs with the servant behind her and Jason paced out for a minute looking at her before moving towards the door.
Lucky for both of them, Mrs Haward was still enjoying her sleep but Mirenda saw Jason and Julia leave the house together as she was coming out of the kitchen after getting her cup of coffee.