The Scandal - Part 1
The lady wrapped her hand around Fiona's waist and tried to drag her out of the washroom. A staff member of the restaurant walked into the washroom and helped the lady carry Fiona out of the washroom.
The two carried Fiona through a secret passage of the restaurant into the garage and, using another secret passage in the restaurant's garage, they sent Fiona out of the building and put her into a waiting vehicle which took off immediately without anyone noticing.
The vehicle stopped in front of what looked like an abandoned house in a secluded area. The driver got out of the car and carried Fiona into the house, making sure nobody was watching. The place was equally not well illuminated.
In the lavish restaurant at a different location, Mirenda was so excited to see who her blind date was. She walked up to him and hugged him.
"Henry, how nice to see you," Mirenda said.
"Haaa, likewise," acknowledged Henry.
They both sat down and ordered a drink.
"So, did you know I was your blind date?" asked Henry.
"No, how about you, did you?" replied Mirenda.
"I didn't either, but well," commented Henry, and the waiter brought their drink together with a menu.
They both selected their preferred dishes only to realize they had the same taste in food. They both smiled at the realization and continued with their chat.
"So have you heard from your brother since, you know, he left home? I tried calling him but couldn't reach him," asked Henry.
"Let's not talk about that. Since that news came out, this is the first time I have had a reason to smile," Mirenda said with hints of sadness in her voice.
"I am sorry," Henry apologizes quickly. "Well, tell me about you. Who is Mirenda?" he changed the topic.
The night for the two was very beautiful and Henry dropped Mirenda at her house since he drove to the location. They hugged each other and promised to see each other again. Mirenda wanted to end the night with a kiss, but taking things slow was also okay. She entered the 6th-floor apartment smiling ear to ear.
Mrs Haward saw Mirenda walk in and inquired about her date. Mirenda couldn't help but excitedly spin her mother around as she expressed her unending joy of having a date with her crush.
"That is good, at least I can get her off my business and there will be no more unnecessary questioning of my actions. She will be busy getting her crush's attention," Mrs Haward thought.
"I told you to trust mummy," Mrs Haward said, hugging Mirenda. "So glad you like your date. Don't let that guy go," she added.
"I won't, mum," replied Mirenda before leaving the living room for her bedroom.
As usual, James was not home yet even though it was past 10 p.m. Knowing his staying out late or not spending the night in the house behaviour, Mrs Haward and Mirenda went to bed not bothering him.
In the morning, James entered the apartment and went straight to his room, took a shower and went to bed. His mum hearing someone had entered the house, quickly came out of her bedroom and knocked on James's door.
"Come in, the door is not locked," answered James from inside, who refused to get out of bed.
"James, this has to stop. What if someone takes a picture of you and posts it on social media? It will become a scandal," complained Mrs Haward as she walked in closing the door behind her.
"What will create a scandal?" asked James.
"if someone puts on social media an image of you coming from a restaurant with a girl or coming out of a club," Mrs Haward replied.
"What is wrong with that? Don't they have a social life of their own?" James asked, getting angry.
"Son, you are now a public figure. The heir of the Haward fortune. Things are not the same as before anymore. People are now interested in everything you do. Trust me, they will put you in the news even if they see you jogging down the street," Mrs Haward explained, sitting on the bed next to James trying to reason with him.
"Mum, so public figures don't have a life?" James questioned, sitting up on the bed and resting his back on the headboard.
"Look, son, as a public figure, the expectations of society for you are very high and don't forget, there are those who know you have money and will want to destroy you, so you lose everything. So, what is not an issue because it was done by an ordinary person, when you do it, you make headlines," Mrs Haward said, using her hand to gesture the headline.
"But mum, you want us to make headlines, so if I am making one, does it matter the content?" James said, positioning himself to sleep.
Mrs Haward was flabbergasted. Her eyes widened as James replied. She leaned in and touched his forehead.
"What are you doing mum?" questioned James.
"Checking if you have a fever," Mrs Haward replied.
"I don't have a fever. Please, let's talk about this later. I am tired and need to sleep," James said, and covered himself with the blanket.
"Shut up, you son of a bitch," Mrs Haward said angrily.
"Mum, glad you know what you are being right now," interrupted James and Mrs Haward was livid.
"Now, listen to you, me you, ass. Tomorrow you are going to the office to work with the person I put in charge. The guards will drive you, and you will come back home right after work. You go anywhere else; I will make sure I block all your bank accounts," Mrs Haward said and walked out of the room very angry at James for the first time.
James just rolled his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
In a different location, Fiona had just woken up. She tried to get up, but she felt a splitting headache and decided to lay back down for a while. She tried to recall the events from the previous night. She had left James to use the washroom. Her hand moved to her neck, recalling the attack by the lady who entered the washroom right after her. That was it, she fell unconscious after feeling that sharp pain in her neck. She forced herself to sit up, and that was when she realized she was naked.
"Oh no," Fiona cried as her heart started racing at the realisation something had happened when she was unconscious.
"Who could have done this to her?" she thought as she got out of bed.
Fiona didn't know how she had gotten there or who had slept with her. She left the apartment and realized she didn't know the area. All her stuff was intact, and nothing was stolen. Obviously, the person who abducted her did so just to sleep with her. James quickly came to mind, but she didn't have any evidence against him.
In the cab returning to her home, she couldn't stop her tears from flowing down her face. Occasionally, she wipes them away.
"Ma'am, are you alright?" asked the driver with concern.
"I am fine, I just need to get home," Fiona replied.
The car stopped at her destination and she got out of the car and entered her apartment, going straight to her bedroom, right after paying the driver. She wept bitterly lying in bed until she drifted off to sleep.
In the evening when she got out of bed, with puffy eyes and a red face, she realized James had not called her. Since the day she called him after the interview, he would always call her about three to four times a day and would invite her out practically every night and there was that constant hint of him wanting to sleep with her.
It was quite surprising James had not called her since the night she left to use the washroom. She decided to call him, but her call was rejected, and subsequent calls did not go through at all. She suspected he had blocked her.
"Why will he block her?" Fiona thought.
She checked the time and knew exactly where she would find James. She had started getting the feeling James knew something about her abduction and rape.
With this in mind, Fiona just put on a pair of jeans and a top with a hoody to hide her current appearance and proceeded to a well-known club. She found James there in the arms of another woman, which surprised her. She had never seen him with other women since she met him. She got closer to him and greeted him. James frowned upon seeing her.