C H A P T E R
T W E N T Y - N I N E
Lin was sitting cross legged on her bed, chin resting on both of her fisted hands. Her phone was on the burgundy duvet facing her. The message: Soapstone Pungwe Bird. The Kingdom of Eswatini. City of Lobamba. Nhlanhla Mansion, was displayed on the screen.
After stopping Kennedy from making a horrible mistake the night before, Lin had decided to go straight home. She couldn't go back to the Manor and face Julian when she was extremely confused about the message on her phone.
It was a chilly Sunday afternoon. She was missing church, her mother would kill her no doubt, but the message in her phone had been playing havoc with her brain so much that everything else that didn't include Julian had ceased to exist.
How did this unknown sender get her number? Who had sent this to her? Was this a trap? Should she tell Julian? Was she ready to get involved in this again? Was she prepared to risk Charlie's life by dappling in Julian's mess again?
But then again, she wanted to help find Celine Perkins, the missing woman and the only way she could do that was if she rejoined the 'team'. It was obvious that all of these events were connected somehow. If she helped find the artifacts, maybe she would find out where Celine Perkins was.
"This is your last warning Simo. Stop meddling. This has nothing to do with you or that short friend of yours." She had that threat inscribed in her heart. It still haunted her each waking moment of her life, effectively scaring her from going back to Julian.
Well, whatever she chose, Julian deserved to know about this message. These were his artifacts after all. Lin couldn't believe this, it was as if this whole mess was inescapable. Not because killers were probably after her, but because she wanted to help Julian. Despite all the danger that was involved in this, she still wanted to help Julian. She wanted to be there for him. She wanted to play a part in restoring the artifacts that meant everything to him. Why was that? Why was she unable to let go of him?
Lin lunged for her sneakers, tugged her braids into a ponytail then grabbed her car keys. When she arrived at the Manor, she jogged up the stairs and knocked on the door. The door was opened by Julian, who welcomed her with a murderous expression.
Julian, barefoot but wearing a grey hoodie and grey sweatpants hastily stepped outside and gently shut the door. Lin couldn't help but admire his messy, tousled hair. She squinted her eyes at him and realised that there was a smudge that resembled chocolate, smeared on his left cheek.
"Have you had your fill?" Julian growled, immediately snapping Lin out of her daze.
Lin's cheeks flamed up before she cleared her throat in a bid to erase the fact that she was gawking at him. "Hi, Julian." She greeted after gathering her wits.
"You should have called." He muttered rather harshly. "Charles is here and I don't want him to see you."
That hurt Lin.
A lot.
She veiled the pain that threatened to show on her face by frowning. "I'm sorry about coming here unannounced."
"As you should be." He grumbled.
Lin bit back the urge to curse him. "I have something that you need to see." She informed him. She opened the message and then handed Julian the phone. Julian's brows creased as his eyes trailed the message a hundred times until he returned his attention to Lin.
"Who sent you this?" He asked in bewilderment.
"No idea." Lin replied.
"The plot thickens." Julian muttered to himself.
"So it does," Lin replied, her eyes glued to her phone. Her gaze briefly flickered to the smudge of chocolate on his cheek and she couldn't help but ask, "What's on your cheek?"
Julian traced his cheek with his pointer finger and grinned. "Oh that, Charles and I were having our movie afternoon with ice-cream so we had a mini battle about who could eat ice-cream the fastest." He replied proudly. Lin laughed.
She was impressed. Julian had really stepped up these past few days . Half the Whitestone staff was going on and on about how the infamous Julian Greyson was now picking his son up on time. Sometimes Julian drove to the school and dropped off Charles' forgotten lunch. Julian even came to the Opening School Term Meeting! Julian never showed up for any of the meetings. Never. It was completely unheard of.
"Since when did you start watching movies and eating ice-cream? You hate sweet things, well aside from cupcakes that is." Lin recalled with a slight giggle.
Julian couldn't help but chuckle. "Granted, ice-cream has an acquired taste but it grows on you, so does that silly cartoon Charles loves to watch all the time." Julian shuddered in disgust at the word 'cartoon'.
"I'm proud of you." Lin expressed.
He smiled.
A painful silence ensued between them. Lin's heart was slamming against her chest and there was a hot lump in her throat. She longed to be curled up in a blanket with them, watching a movie and shoving ice cream down her throat as well. She wanted to say all of this to Julian but she didn't know how. She didn't want to embarrass herself by baring out her soul only to be rejected. Julian was unpredictable and she hardly ever knew what would come out of his mouth next.
She missed Charlie and Julian terribly. She always looked out for Charlie at school. Lin even asked Charlie's new teacher, Mrs Tink about his progress in class. During his basketball practice, she would sit far away from prying eyes and watch as he dribbled the ball and run across the field with a happy grin. Charlie was happier and it hurt that she wasn't there to be a part of his life anymore. Lin stopped torturing herself and forced a smile on her face. It was too late though, Julian had already seen her pained, longing expression.
"Well, it was great to see you again. Thanks again for taking me to the wedding yesterday. G-Goodluck with the artifacts and Corinne a-and everything else. I'll forward this message to you and I guess I'll see you around." Lin smiled sadly before pocketing her phone in her jacket. She quickly jogged down the stairs and made her way to her car.
Julian stood by the door, his heart coaxing him to call her back. He wanted her inside the Manor, warm and eating all the tubs of ice-cream he had purchased. Julian wanted her in his arms. But he couldn't call her back. He wouldn't. He had to curb his desires and put Charles first. Charles was here and he wasn't ready to see Lin. He had to respect that wish, so he looked at Lin longingly one last time before trudging back into the Manor to finish ice cream and movie afternoon with Charles.
°°••♤••°°
"The Kingdom of Eswatini." Julian stated as he took a seat on his chair at the Museum office.
"Seriously?" James replied, his eyes never straying from the message Lin had forwarded to Julian's phone.
"Precisely. I think this is a trap, b-"
James interjected with a sigh, "But we have no choice. Yes, I know that those artifacts are everything to you. You would charge into hell itself to get them back. Don't worry amico, I'm here with you till the very end. Trap or no trap."
Julian was unable to express his gratitude so he settled for a heartfelt nod and a slight smile. James didn't need a thanks from his his friend. James knew that his friend was grateful.
"Well, since we're basically nose diving into a trap, we should at least be prepared." James pointed out before switching off Julian's phone and sliding it across his giant table.
"Oh you mean weapons? I have those at the Manor." Julian shrugged.
"Not weapons Julian. I know you have weapons galore." James shook his head. "I mean the team, like Lin? Shelly is already on board but she won't return unless Lin does."
"Absolutely not. Besides she doesn't even know whether she wants to come back or not." Julian grumbled before he relaxed into his chair, his eyes roaming the intricate mouldings of the ceiling.
"We need her help and you know it." James stated. "Don't forget how smart she is, not to mention the fact that she knows more about Africa than you do! And that's saying something." James reminded him.
"Still not good enough." Julian grunted.
"Oh come on Julian. If it weren't for Lin we wouldn't have found two of your artifacts." James carried on.
"Even so, we would have found them ourselves eventually." Julian grumbled.
"Yes, when we we're now super old." James muttered.
"No. We're not asking her for help, James." Julian disagreed firmly.
"And why is that?" James probed.
"Because Charles is-"
"Bullshit." James interrupted abruptly. "Stop using your son as an excuse to avoid Lin."
Julian remained silent this time.
"There's that silence again." James chuckled. "It seems as though I'm right, as usual." James couldn't help but add. "What's the real reason you don't want to involve her in this?" James inquired, his heart set on drawing the truth his friend was running away from.
It was a long time before Julian spoke, "Because Rosa broke me. I loved her but she broke me, Altieri."
"Whoa," James halted Julian's startling confession. "What on earth are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about Rosa Lombardi, my deceased wife." Julian replied, his eyes never straying from the ceiling.
"What about her, Julian?"
"She could be an evil bitch Altieri but I still loved her." He confessed. "And I don't understand why."
To say James was confused was an extreme understatement. "Julian you're speaking in riddles."
"Do you know that she starved Charles once?" Julian went on.
James swallowed. "Come again?"
"Yes. She starved him for no apparent reason. She locked him in my office from morning until late at night."
"Charles was turning 4 that year. I remember coming home from work and she was in the sitting room, glaring at our wedding portrait."
"The one your father had made?" James asked.
"That same one." Julian confirmed. "I remember her turning to me with a terrifying smile before informing me that our son had misbehaved so she had done something about it."
*
October 3, 2017.
"Rosa?" Julian called when he entered the Manor. He shrugged off his leather jacket and hurled it onto the coffee table in the foyer. He went on to discard his boots as well.
"I'm in here, Julian." Rosa replied, her familiar tantalising voice roping him in as usual.
Julian's sock clad feet padded into the sitting room. Rosa was standing in front of the mantle piece, glaring at their wedding portrait. In the portrait, Rosa was smiling happily whilst Julian's expression was stoic but one could see the misery in his expressive blue eyes.
"I can't believe I chose such a ghastly wedding dress!" Rosa exclaimed as she recoiled in disgust.
"What are you on about this time?" Julian sighed as he slumped onto a chair , propping his feet up onto a footstool.
"Oh nothing, my love. Just musing." Rosa turned to him with an unsettling grin. "How was your day?"
"Pretty uneventful." Julian replied briefly. "Where's Charles?" he inquired curiously.
Rosa frowned. "Oh, him." She muttered, "I don't know." she shrugged.
Julian launched out of his chair. "What do you mean you don't know?" Julian spat harshly. "Where is my son?"
Rosa grinned. "Our son's been mischievous, my love."
Julian frowned. "What did he do?"
"He didn't say good morning to his Mommy. I hate it when he doesn't say good morning to me." Rosa's grin turned into a scowl.
"You're insane! Where is he Rosa?" Julian demanded. He was frantic now.
Rosa giggled. "I don't know."
Julian marched over to her. He grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her roughly. "I'm not in the mood for one of your games today Rosa, I haven't the strength for it! Where. Is. My. Son?"
Rosa looked up at him innocently. "Wherever he is, I'm sure he's starving." she replied, her tone laced with disinterest.
Julian let go of her. He whirled around and ascended the stairs with lightning speed. "Charles!" He called out. "Charles? Son, where are you?!" Julian continued to holler.
Julian checked every room all the while calling out for him. "Charles!" Julian was now extremely worried.
He stopped pacing and searching before leaning against the wall, panting heavily. At this point, Rosa was capable of anything. He ran his hands through his hair, his heart beating wildly as scenarios of Charles in danger danced in his head. He pushed himself off the wall when he suddenly heard the faint call of, "Father?"
He followed the weak voice. "Charles!" He yelled.
"Father! Father! Help me!" Charles cried out.
"Charles! I'm coming...hold on!" Julian replied in relief, his feet following the boy's weak but determined voice. He realised where the voice was coming from. It was coming from his office. Julian unlocked his office door and stormed inside.
That's when Julian's heart broke.
Charles was laying on the cold tiled floor, in a pool of his own tears. He was shivering and utterly miserable. "Father!" The boy exclaimed, his head slightly rising from the floor at the sight of his father.
Julian rushed to him and took him into his arms, his own eyes watering at the sight of his shivering infant. "What happened?" Julian asked gently.
"Mommy---she- she locked me inside Father. She said I was bad. I'm sorry Father! I'm sorry! I wasn't bad, I swear! I don't know what I did wrong. I'm sorry Father!" Charles cried into his Julian's shoulder, mumbling incoherent apologies.
"Shhh, Charles. You did nothing wrong." Julian assured him as he patted his back. Charles tightened his arms around his father's neck, desperate for comfort as he wailed.
"Please don't l-l-leave me with her Father! Mommy hates me! She hates me Father!" Charles cried.
Rosa stood by the door with a frown on her face. "I had to punish him Julian. Bad kids get punished." Rosa shrugged her shoulders.
Julian turned around to face her. His eyes held a fury that looked deadly. At that moment, Julian wanted to kill Rosa. He wanted to cause her excrutiating pain then kill her.
"You're sick." Julian sneered before storming past her.
*
"Why the hell didn't you divorce her?!" James growled. James was shocked to say the least. James knew that Julian and Rosa had issues, the main one being the fact that Julian resented Rosa due to their forced marriage. He knew that Rosa was also odd what with her mood swings and all. But he had never imagined she could be monstrous enough to starve her own son. That woman had starved his god-son.
"I couldn't, James." Julian murmured.
"Why?" James spat. "The Julian I know would have parted ways with her immediately. I mean it was a 'fuck your father and his conditions', situation. You should have walked away. So why? Why did you stay?"
"Because I loved her James. I loved her with all that I was. I learnt to love her after my father forced me to marry her." Julian whispered.
James remained silence. All this was new to him. He hadn't known any of this. Julian had always seemed alright. It was apparent that Julian was never alright. He hadn't been alright ever since the day his father forced him to marry Rosa.
"I'm sure Lin isn't like Rosa." James assured him.
"Even so," Julian sighed. "I don't want to take that risk again, James. Love is pain. I loved Rosa. I really did....but what she put Charles and I through was unforgivable, but I stayed. Love made me stay. I will never forgive myself for that." Julian suddenly slammed his fist onto the table, effectively shaking every object on it. James had never seen his friend looking so lost and so hopeless.
"I'm pathetic." Julian whispered.
James sighed. "You're a lot of things Julian but you're far from pathetic."
Julian didn't reply, he merely sighed.
"I commend you for trusting a woman you barely liked let alone knew to take care of Charles after such a horrible experience with Rosa." James was baffled. "I know Lin is nothing like Rosa but damn, after being married to the Rosa you just described to me, I understand why you have trust issues. I mean, I know I would have trust issues." James said.
"I don't know why I trusted Lindiwe, Altieri. Maybe it's because she already cared about my son before I approached her with the deal. Did I tell you that she once picked up my son, had him bathed and fed then drove him to the Manor? She was always there for him James. She agreed to our deal even though she despised me. She didn't even agree with my offer to pay her for taking care of Charles. I guess I trusted Lindiwe with my son because she has a beautiful heart and an equally beautiful soul. I found her exhausting, annoying, mouthy and I even disliked her. But her ability to take in a child whose father she barely knew, not to mention detested was endearing."
James smiled. "So my god-son isn't the only reason why you're pushing Lin away. The other reason is your fear of falling in love with her." James said knowingly.
Julian remained silent.
A small smile painted James' lips. I'm afraid that you're already in love with her, amico. James thought to himself.
°°••♤••°°