As Fate Had It

Matthew quickly took his sister into hiding, the last time they had stayed in the living room, their mother had thrown their father's favorite vase on the floor, causing Makayla to have a scar on her legs. Matthew who had no experience in taking care of wounds took several minutes to tend to the wound.

"Where does all the money go to, huh!!", Simone asked as she dragged Johan's shirt, " my love, you have to understand that there are debts to pay, we just need to be patient", Johan said, trying so hard to calm his wife.

"Patient, patient, Johan, I've been patient, look at me!!" She paused until her husband looked at her, "isn't this enough proof that I've been patient, look at my skin, my skin was flawless once upon a time, look at the belly fat I had giving birth to those damned children, all my expensive pieces of jewelry, I've sold everything, I've sold them all!!".

"You need to give me money Johan, lots of it", Simone said as she stormed out of the house. When Matthew heard that the noise had subsided, he waited patiently for a little while before he came out of the hiding place.

Matthew came out to see their father crying, there were no signs of their mother, so both children took big steps forward to embrace their father.

Simone's attitude had turned for the worse a year after Makayla was born. Before she got married to Johan, she had been the most beautiful among her clique, but unfortunately, she was a material person. She loved to live a life where all that mattered were the bags she bought, her flawless skin, and so many material aspects.

Johan had loved her so much, giving in to her every demand as soon as she asked, he wanted to make sure she didn't know a life where she had to work tirelessly, he was willing to do all the work as long as his wife was happy.

Unfortunately for him, it seemed like Simone started falling out of love with him when they had their firstborn son Matthew. It was after much pleading from Johan that they had another child, a daughter, Makayla.

A year after Makayla's birth, Simone had reconnected with her clique and she was saddened by the rich lives they had. She started regretting marrying Johan, and the children she had with him just repulsed her.

Simone was a materialistic person, all she wanted was the money she would be able to spend and that was why she kept pressuring Johan to give her more.

She didn't care about her children, children who had stayed in her womb for nine months, children she had built a connection with while they were in her womb. What was worse, she even failed to acknowledge them as her children!

Growing up, Matthew who was smarter than kids his age felt very sad that his mother didn't give him the love and affection that he craved. Sometimes he was very jealous seeing the way parents in school treated their children. He understood that his father had to work so that they would have food to eat, but his mother, his mother didn't want anything to do with them.

After his little sister was born, he knew their mother wouldn't love her, so he promised to love and protect her. He had no clue why their mother wanted no interest in them, but sometimes he was sad about it.

Simone had stormed out in anger just hearing the same thing over and over again, she knew she couldn't cope with this life, she had reasoned that this wasn't her life, after what she considered careful consideration, she decided that she was going to get a divorce.

She didn't even think twice about the effects it was going to have on their home, her husband, or her children. All she knew was she was tired, she regretted her decisions, she wished she hadn't been easily swayed by Johan's sweet words. She regretted marrying him, and what was worse, she regretted ever birthing anyone of his children. " This divorce is happening", she said as she quickly contacted one of her friends.

Matthew and Makayla comforted their father in silence, it seemed that was all he needed before he wrapped them in a tight hug. He was sure of one thing, he was losing his wife, he was losing her to the material world, he wondered what had happened to his patient wife, he wondered what had happened, she suddenly changed and it confused him.

She didn't care about the children, even if she didn't love him anymore, what happened to the children? they were also her flesh and blood!

Matthew and Makayla fell asleep in his arms, so he took them to their bedroom before he went back to the one he shared with his wife.

Simone leaving the house wasn't a new thing, he just wondered if she was going to sleep in the house that night. The same thing had happened a few days ago because she had asked him to buy her a moisturizer but he didn't have the money, so she stormed out and slept at the neighbor's place.

After Some time, Simone finally came back to the house, she didn't immediately go to the room they shared, she went directly to their small kitchen to fix herself a meal.

Johan heard the shuffling so he went to the kitchen, to try and talk with his wife. He tried to be patient with her, he tried but Simone was narrow-minded. "Simone, why don't we talk this out", Johan said in an attempt to have a conversation.

" You don't have any money, you can't take care of me, so there's nothing to talk about '', Simone said, angered by his words. "How can you say that Simone, I'm trying my very best for you and the kids, can't you see, I'm trying so hard to give them a better future". Johan said

" You are just not trying hard enough, I try not to be so hard on you, but you just don't try enough, the other day, I asked you for money to buy moisturizer, just moisturizer, but, as usual, you don't have money", "I'm trying my best, can't you see my efforts, we moved to a bigger house, the children can go to school and soon you can get your shop, you can sell whatever you want". Johan said moving closer In an attempt to hug her.

" You are not trying hard enough Johan, also, they are your kids!", Simone said before she continued, "we are getting a divorce!".

For that brief moment, Johan couldn't hear any of her rantings, all he heard was the divorce part, " what do you mean, div, divorce!", he asked again to confirm what he heard. "That's right Johan, you heard me, we are getting a divorce. I gave you so much time to build yourself as a man, but you still don't have anything to your name, not even a house, I'm done with this marriage and that's final, you better start looking for a way to take care of your children".

A part of Johan knew this was the end, he wasn't oblivious to her greed for the material world, he had simply thought she would change after settling down, perhaps even after having her children. However, he was wrong, she was still greedy and he couldn't provide the life she wanted.

Despite all the threats she had given him over the years, she had never mentioned divorce, she hadn't fiddled with such a trivial part of their relationship, and when she had mentioned it that night, he knew he was over.

He tried vehemently to convince her, to find another solution, he tried so hard to talk it out with her, but unfortunately for him, she was hellbent on leaving.

Simone had left the following morning when she thought none of her children would be awake, Johan had pleaded with everything he had, with the love that once existed between the both of them, but she was determined to leave the house.

In their relationship, Johan was the one who put in so much effort, so it was safe to say, when she moved out, he was hurt the most. He had broken down in the room and cried his eyes out, he kept asking himself a series of questions, 'what did I ever do wrong?', 'haven't I always loved her? 'then, why did she leave me?'.

Matthew had a fair understanding of what was going on, he watched silently from the cracked space as his mother left the house with multiple bags. He was heartbroken because he knew their mother was never coming back, she just didn't seem to care about them.

Simone meant business, she meant her words about leaving what she considered the wretched family. Three days later she had come back to the house, already different from the way she looked before, Matthew was astonished, to say the least, to see such change in just three days.

She had brought along with her a sheet of paper, the item Johan knew was coming. She had long signed her part of the paper and now it was his turn to sign.

Johan accepted defeat because he just knew he couldn't get her back, he couldn't get his wife back and he would just have to take care of his children all by himself.

The divorce happened and Simone couldn't be any happier than she already was, she had gotten back with her friends and she had already started living the life she wanted.

Three months passed and Johan was even worse, the first few weeks after the divorce, he had a hard time digesting the situation, coupled with the fact that he had to take care of the children alone. However his burden was reduced when he found out that Matthew was a responsible little boy, he could handle most things around the house and he was capable of getting himself and his sister to school.

Johan thought he had come to terms with the situation until one day when he saw his ex-wife in the arms of another man. He wasn't allowed to feel betrayed because they were already divorced, or so he thought.

He watched as she smiled in the man's arms, she looked happier from what he saw, she finally got all the designer she wanted, 'maybe he was rich', Johan thought to himself as he thought deeply.

He couldn't give her anything she wanted, maybe it was best to let her go. The fact that he couldn't be that one person led Johan to extreme depression, he started drinking excessively.

He didn't even care about his children or how they fared, he just drowned himself in his misery which led to his untimely death. He might not have been given a miniature funeral if not for his former colleagues at work.

Johan left both his children with no form of support and Simone didn't even care about them because she was living the life of her dreams. Unfortunately, the children were soon kicked out of the house because the rent had long been exhausted.

Matthew who had grown older not only in age but in wits was willing to do anything to protect his sister, he was willing to leave the house and sleep on the streets than be sold to a master for petty cash.

The children didn't have an easy life growing up, they had very bad living conditions, they had picked scraps, they lived in the street, they had been starved for days and so much more.

They continued like this for five whole years, by now, Matthew was already fifteen and Makayla was already eleven years old. To ensure their survival, they had done petty jobs and lived in an old abandoned warehouse, it was funny how homey a corner of the warehouse soon looked just because they stayed there.

Slowly, some gangs had started approaching Matthew, to have him work for them for good pay. He finally decided to work with them, as long as he could get protection for himself and his sister, Makayla. He went by a new name, Cross, a new place, and enough money to care for his sister.

Matthew wasn't naive, the years on the streets had hardened his wits like any other, he wasn't foolish not to be aware of the kind of operations the gangs ran, however, he tried not to be too involved. During the years he worked with them, he was asked to do odd jobs like guarding shipments, moving weapons, bullying shop owners into giving them money, selling drugs and so much more.

It seemed that things were finally going good for Matthew and his sister, they had gotten a house to live in, Makayla had started working for a shop owner as a waiter and it seemed like they were comfortable, however, nobody except Makayla knew how Matthew beat himself about the odd things he had to do to cater for himself and his sister. He never really wanted to get involved in the dirty business, but he had to do it to ensure their survival. Over the years, Matthew had done his job diligently, earning the attention of the boss, it was a good thing for him, it meant that no gang member could try to attack him, as it only meant they were attacking the boss. He was able to endure the odd things around him regardless because he knew he was doing it for his sister.

It wasn't always gloomy at the gang house, Matthew had personally taken a liking to the boss's daughter who was too blunt to hide her affections, they spent a few nights together, those nights, Matthew had been a true man, rolling in the sheets with the redhead and going all night long.

Makayla had already started growing into a beautiful female, this started drawing the attention of the males in the gang, they started making passes at her, gawking lustfully at her immature lady curves. When it seemed like she didn't make her replies clear enough, Matthew had stepped in like the elder brother he was, those who lusted after his sister settled to talk about her in secret, as they knew attracting Matthew's attention meant attracting the big boss' attention.

The immunity Makayla had gone on for a while till her brother died untimely. The mission was planned like any other, he and a couple of other trusted gang members were supposed to guard the movement of their newly acquired shipment of weapons from the buyer to an offsite black market warehouse.

Someone must have dropped sensitive intel as the cops caught wind of their operation and raided the site of the exchange. The cops shot at the gang members who tried to escape, unfortunately, Cross was one of the gang members who tried to escape.

He was given two bullets to the chest, dying instantly on the spot. The gang members who made it to the hideout were lucky to have gotten out alive, they had reported the whole thing to the boss, who in turn got very angry. He hadn't expected a change of plan, and he was even more pissed that one of his most loyal gang members, cross had turned out dead.

Makayla was mortified hearing her brother died that night, she cried and cried in silence, she thought of the fact that she was the only one left of the two of them, she never wanted him to die, that was her blood brother, that was the only one who cared for her in the whole world, she was confused and had no idea where to start from.

As a means of consolation, the boss had given Matthew a funeral, there was nobody as the cops had confiscated his body. Matthew's death in turn caused Makayla to finally come out of her princess shell.

Matthew had always protected her, but she knew she had to see the world for what it truly was, a war zone. The other gang members who saw that she was grieving found it as a good opportunity to strike while she was still weak, they had conspired to rape her, as they knew she wouldn't willingly agree.

Makayla was coming from work one day, tired and hungry, heading to the house which was allocated for her and her brother Matthew. Just living in the house had brought back painful memories which she tried so hard to forget, she figured if she stayed there less she might forget the memories they shared.

She had started working extra shifts, not for the money, but for the sole reason that it could help wash the memories away, she didn't want to remember, she wanted to forget regardless.

It was the same mentality she had while coming home that day, she was oblivious to the plan some of the gang members had orchestrated in her absence.

Literally dragging her legs back to the gang house, tired, hungry, and in need of so much sleep, Makayla wasn't quick to notice that she was being followed by some of the gang members.

" Well, well, well, if it isn't Makayla", a gang member said as Makayla felt like a whole bucket of ice water was poured on her, making her alert in an instant. "What do you want Rico?", Makayla shot back trying so hard to act tough, even if she was about to piss her pants.

"Matthew warned you to leave me alone!", she continued, " he isn't here anymore darling, he's dead!", the gang member named Rico replied to her before he continued, "look behind you sweetie, you're fucking surrounded, we won't hurt you, we just want to taste you, and well be on our merry way", he said with a sneer.

When she turned and saw that she was indeed surrounded by not one or two gang members, she started to panic, she cowered back in fear, earning a chuckle from the men.

She knew they were going to stop at nothing till they got what they wanted, it was either to run or to be defiled and she chose to run. They weren't expecting her to slip from one of them who was crushing his cigarette, he was momentarily distracted and that was all Makayla needed before she ran like her life depended on it.

She was smart not to run along the alley and to the main road, an old taxi driver saw as the events unfolded, but he was too old to fight four young men he was sure were equipped with weapons.

The assistance he could offer was to stop his cab directly in front of the girl, Makayla wasn't dumb to ignore what she considered as help, the cab sped off as soon as she entered.

" Thank you, sir, really for helping me earlier", Makayla managed to after a few minutes. "It's no hassle, where are you going from here, I can give you a free ride", the old man suggested". When she heard the old man ask for her next stop, Makayla burst into tears, she didn't know exactly where she was going.

When the old man saw this, he looked through the rearview mirror and stopped the cab at a nearby gas station. He came down from the cab and signaled for Makayla to do the same, together, they went inside a small diner just beside the gas pump.

They talked for a while, the old man encouraging her to tell him about herself, Makayla told him everything, from what her late brother Matthew had told her and what she knew about her life. The old man introduced himself as Timothy Jones, he explained that he didn't have children and he was willing to offer all the help she could ever need.

The conversation they had was a big help, from the time they spent in the diner, she learned a lot of things, the first was the old man could be a God-sent angel who had come to help her out of her misery, and the second was the man was going to help her and third the old man was willing to adopt her.

In the years that passed, the old man stuck to his promise, he adopted her, he clothed her, he loved her and he sent her to school. A part of her had taken him as her father, to love him dearly and to make him proud of her in anything she did.

Since Makayla didn't go to school, she wasn't able to go through the direct route of learning. Because she was older, she couldn't start all over again, but luckily, she got enrolled in a program that helped her a huge deal, with the teaching program, she was able to read and write and do pretty much anything needed in her day to day life.

As much as the teaching program helped her, she was unable to get a degree, which meant she couldn't work In standard offices, she simply couldn't get a white collared job. Regardless, that didn't put her down, as she settled for working as a waitress and other jobs she could do.

Makayla had worked multiple jobs over the years, cleaning jobs, babysitting, she worked as a waiter, an usher and so much more. Me Jones sometimes wondered how she managed to do all that and still not break a sweat.

At some point, she thought about what her life would have been if her family was complete from the onset. While Matthew was still alive he had told her all the things he remembered about their mother, from everything she heard, she was sure of one thing, she never wanted to be anything like her mother.

A woman who despised her own children, who she birthed with her own body. A woman who preferred material things over the love of her own family. She didn't tell anybody but that as one of the reasons she worked so hard, she was disgusted by the idea, and by working so hard, she felt she was becoming less of her mother.

Me Jones acknowledged every attempt Makayala made, he remembered her first pay after he adopted her, she had gotten a month's worth of groceries and cooked a hearty dinner. However, years had passed and he had gotten older, his bones had become stiff and he was sure he was going anytime soon. He was very happy that the naive, scared girl he had picked up had grown up to be a strong, beautiful lady.

To add to the collection, Makayla started working at a laundromat she enjoyed her job. Makayla had found her Godfather dead in his bed on a Saturday morning, he wasn't murdered, she knew he died of his old age. She was heartbroken to find another person she loved leaving the world without giving her any form of preparation.

Mr. Jones didn't have any other family, he didn't have children of his own, but he once admitted that he had a wife once upon a time. It was no surprise that he had left her with all his properties, she wasn't going to sell the ones she held dear, she found it as a way to gain closure to him.

Being the strong person that she was, she seemed to have gotten over the fact that Mr. Jones wasn't with her anymore, he had finally gone to be with his wife. She continued to stay at the house he had left her, and Makayla found it even easier to commute from there.

Her job seemed to go on well, she had long moved past the deaths she had experienced, she was happy with the life she lived and everything seemed to be in sync till she was visited by a lady named Pearl.

Makayla was adding the sales they had made so far when a lady walked in, from the looks of things, it seemed like the lady was there to do her laundry. The lady put on a smile, which was unusual for those who wore the same brands she was wearing.

Makayla found that the lady was somewhat friendly and for the short period she was at the store, her presence hadn't been suffocating. Before she left, she asked, " do you know anyone who can do a little bit of housework?".

Makayla had innocently offered to do the house chores for the woman who introduced herself as pearl. They had concluded that she would be doing the chores at her older brother's house and she was to come for the weekend.

That weekend, pearl had shown her around the house, the house was very big and from what Makayla could deduce, pearl and her elder brother were filthy rich. The cars she saw, the whole build of the house was amazing, she was dumbfounded because it was something she didn't see every day, she made a silent oath to give them a beautiful service.

The agreement was later changed and she was required to stay full time at the house and do the chores, she didn't take much time to think about it as it was just her. For a few weeks which she had worked in the house, she had never come across pearl's older brother.

The only two people she had seen closest to the owner were pearl and his personal assistant Craig. After a month of staying at the mansion, she finally came across the owner of the house.

Makayla was dumbfounded by the view she hadn't meant to see, she had placed her boss on a pedestal till that evening, he had come home entangled with a woman. They kissed passionately as they made their way up the stairs to one of the bedrooms, Makayla didn't need anybody to tell her the things that were going to happen afterward.

The next morning, her boss, who pearl and Craig had identified as Mr. Thomas came down only with a pair of joggers and slides. Makayla was momentarily stunned seeing the perfectly shaped abs the man flaunted, she couldn't deny he had a good physique but she want sure she wanted to be like those women.

Craig had given bet a few tips when it came to their boss, one of which was the fact that the boss changed women like he changed clothes, he hadn't loved heartedly in a while and women were only play things to him. Another thing he talked about that seemed to answer all of her unasked questions about the boss' wealth.

He had mentioned that the boss was a billionaire, he owned several profitable companies in various sectors. All the money he had brought women closer to him, he didn't even need to make the first move, as beautiful women from anywhere in the world threw themselves at him.

Despite all the warnings she had received from Craig she just didn't find it here to be repulsed by the view. Thomas didn't question the maid he saw that morning because his sister pearl had informed him of the little change a month ago.

A couple of weeks passed and the same thing happened, except for the fact that every time it happened it was with a new lady.

As time passed, Makayla found that she was getting more in tune with the little changes about the boss, she started noticing the little details about her boss which she didn't even notice before. She had noticed every change he made when it came to his hairstyle or his cologne, she didn't know what that meant and it confused her.

Like the little changes she noticed weren't enough, she started noticing that every time a new lady was brought in, it hurt her deeply, but she couldn't voice it out. It didn't take a long time before Makayla realized she was experiencing unrequited feelings.

Unknown to her, Thomas started noticing her, he hadn't meant to pay attention to her more than usual, but he had admired her scent when she was dishing out his breakfast. He leaned closer to confirm if it was her natural scent or just cologne, it was actually her natural scent.

She smelled like lavender and it intoxicated him, for some reason which he was unable to identify, he hadn't been interested in his one-night stands with all the campus models who usually waited on his every beck and call. Not that he couldn't, but he just didn't want to.

A few months passed and for each of them, the feelings had only gotten intense, Thomas had started coming to the Mansion more than usual and Makayla had become more aware of his presence. The period of time had allowed Thomas to think of what he truly felt, he had had enough time to notice every detail about Makayla which he had grown to admire, her long hair and pretty face, those womanly curves he couldn't stop thinking about.

Makayla had gotten a call from one of her former co workers while she was still in the laundromat one Thursday morning, wishing her a happy birthday. Thomas had overheard the not so quiet conversation.

He had snuck up behind Makayla and sealed her lips with his plump pink ones, that had been Makayla's first kiss and that was the start to a lot of beautiful memories they shared. They soon became a happy couple, Thomas now recognized Makayla as his pill of laughter, because sometimes her unaware side is hilarious.

Pearl and Craig were finally happy to see Thomas finally desert his old ways of treating women, he finally settled down with a beautiful woman. All In all, both felt like they were the perfect match.