"Where are we going to stay Royce?" Demi asked her boyfriend as soon as they got off from their last bus in the city.

Royce held her by the waist. "I never told you, my aunt stays around this place. We're going to stay with her till we get our own place."

She nodded, really glad that Royce had her in mind. She prayed in her mind that they'll be more happy together when they finally get married, someday.

"You still need to tell me how you were able to convince Racquel." Royce added.

Demi froze as he said those words.
"It's a long story."

"We've got time, tomorrow is Sunday and I'm not going to look for a job until Monday." Royce held her hand and they walked.

They got to his Aunty's house and were warmly welcomed.

"It's the Paris Carnival tomorrow." Royce's aunt, Valerie, said. "Are you two coming?"

Royce eyes widened. He has always wanted to go to a Paris Carnival. "We're definitely going!"

"I think I'll pass." Demi said. She would have loved to go if she wasn't feeling bad about what she did before she left home. She knew sooner or later she'll have to tell Royce, she had never been able to lie to him.
And when he knows, he'll probably throw her out of his life.

"Why dear?" Valerie asked.

Demi looked up at her and saw a motherly concerned look in her face. "I just want to stay back at home. I don't really fancy carnivals."

Now that was a lie to his aunt but Royce knew that but decided not to call her out. She looked at him for a while and smiled.

A few moments later, they were sitting at the balcony. "Why don't you really want to come?"

"I just want to stay back at home and plan my new life. I want to also help you." She replied, she didn't lie but she omitted part of the truth which she felt bad for.

"Please come, it's the first time I'll see a Paris Carnival live." Royce pleaded. "I know and I really appreciate the fact that you want to help me but we're going to plan these things together."

Demi sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll go."

•••
Sebastian entered the house where he had lived all his life. Working as a public prosecutor hasn't been unfair as he thought it would be when he started. Soon, he thought. He would leave the house to his own.

"Seb!" Belle, his best friend called as he entered the house.

He smiled as she ran to hug him, holding him for a while before letting go. Belle smiled at Seb, knowing that he didn't see her more or less than a friend.

"What's up? I'm exhausted."

Belle frowned. "You should go up and rest I'll tell you later."

"What's wrong?" Sebastian stopped. "Did anything happen?"

"Yeah--"

"Belle, your dad is calling you." Amy, one of her friends called.

"I'll tell you later."

She left Sebastian to attend to her dad. She was going to tell him about how she was almost harassed earlier. It shook her so much, but being the girl she was, raised by her aunt and father, she had to be strong.

"Dad, I'm here."

Her father smiled at her as he poured juice into his glass cup. "I wanted to ask you to give some of these to your aunt downstairs." He pointed at some pack of juices in the fridge.

"Okay." She nodded. "Dad, guess who was here today."

The man frowned. "Who? I heard some noises but I didn't come out of the room."

"It's Miss Demi Silver."

The glass cup from the man's hand fell on the floor, spilling the content as it broke. He was really shocked at hearing the woman's name.

What does she want again? Why is she back?

"Dad, what's wrong?"

Fernando regained himself and forced a smile. "I guess I'm really getting old, the cup slipped."

Belle frowned at her father. She noticed he looked pale and shaken.
"Do you know her?"

"I don't." He answered sharply. "Why would I know her?"

"Okay." Belle nodded but she knew her father was lying. Something was wrong somewhere.

Sebastian went down to the biggest house in the entire house, where his uncle stayed and he lived at the back.
"Seb." One of the women in the house, Jade called him.

Jade was one of the gossips in the house, earning a degree in that area of specialization. As much as Seb didn't want to, he had to stop. He knew she was going to tell him about something that had happened in the house.

Or maybe what Belle was going to say.

"What's up?" He gave her a smile.

"Do you know what happened today?"

"Obviously, I don't. I'm just getting back from work."

Jade moved closer to him and whispered. "Demi Silver was here earlier."

Sebastian furrowed his brows. He knew that she wanted his uncle to sell his house but why would she come to the house herself.

"Why was she here?" He asked.

"She came to threatened Mr Perry earlier."

"Wow, thanks." He said and hurried to his uncle's house.

The next morning,

Demi went through the document her lawyers brought to her.
"Fuck, this is perfect!" She said joyfully. "You two are going to be well paid for this."

Randy and Grace nodded, smiling that they have done their job to Demi's satisfaction. It was really hard to impress Demi.

"Now, we just have to be ready for court if that Samuel isn't letting the house go." Demi smiled as she held the file. "He doesn't want it the easy way, then he should definitely get ready for this."

"Definitely." Grace chuckled nervously. For the first time in her life, she wanted to tell Demi she was doing the wrong thing but she didn't know how to say it. Randy had advised her against telling Demi not to collect the house.

Grace's phone rang and she got up to pick up the call. "Hello."

Eyes widened while still on she call, she shouted. "What? Where?"

Demi and Randy got up instantly.
"What's wrong?" Randy asked.

"It's Joel, he got involved in an accident." She was at the brink of tears when she ended the call. "He's at the General hospital."

"Calm down." Randy rubbed his wife's back even if he was panicking also. "Let's go."

"I'll call you to know how he is, okay?" Demi said as they walked towards the door.

Grace nodded and waved a bye to her.

At the hospital,

Joel stared at his parents, especially his mother, expecting an outburst from her. When none of them said anything, he started.
"Aren't you two going to scold me or something?"

"You need a earful but not now." Grace sighed.

They found out he tried to sneak away from school and got into an accident just outside the school.

"You'd better give it to me now. I'll be up in my room whenever I'm out of here." Joel replied.

Joel knew what he wanted to do, the drugs in his school bag was the one giving him the happiness he wants. Only him knew that he had left the school earlier, he was returning from where he went to get the drugs before the accident happened.

"You don't talk to your mother that way." Randy said.

"Like you're any better." Joel said under his breath but made sure his parents heard.

He turned his back to his parents as he wondered how he was going to be on cloud nine when he took the hard drugs.

°°°
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- Gamma ✨