Chapter 17: Just A Driver

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Just A Driver

The knock came again.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

This time it was louder, impatient.

Simon was about to get up from the edge of the bed. He looked at Flora. She was still lying down, her eyes heavy, her hand pressed lightly against her neck where the diamond necklace had tightened.

"Come in," Flora said calmly.

The door finally opened.

It was Maya.

She stood at the doorway holding a wooden tray with two cups of tea. Her hair was tied back, her face fresh. When she saw the scene inside, her hands froze.

Flora was on the bed, her blouse slightly loosened at the neck. Simon, her driver, was kneeling very close to her on that same bed, his fingers near the clasp of her necklace.

What she held dropped.

The tray hit the floor. The two cups broke. Hot tea poured across the white tiles and the shards scattered.

She could not believe her eyes.

"Mother? Simon?" she said, and then she shouted. "Mother? Simon?

Simon came down from the bed immediately. His heart was beating fast.

"Sorry, Miss Maya. It is not what you think," he said, his voice shaky. "Madam Flora called me to help her. The necklace was hurting her neck. I was only trying to help."

He did not wait for an answer. He excused himself and stepped out into the corridor. He closed the door halfway and stood there, his head bent low, his hands clasped.

Now it was just Maya and Flora inside the room.

Maya’s chest was rising and falling quickly. Her eyes were wide, filled with anger and hurt.

"So Uncle Andrew was right about you!" she cried, pointing at her mother.

Flora slowly sat up on the bed. She adjusted her blouse. Her eyes were wet, but she held back her tears. She would not cry in front of her daughter. She swallowed hard and took a breath.

"Maya, pick up that tray," Flora said. Her voice was not loud. It was cold and calm. "Clean that floor."

"No! I will not Mother!" Maya shouted. "This is why father died! Yes! This is why father died! Because men cannot leave you alone even at fifty! They never stopped!"

Flora looked at her daughter. For a second, pain flashed in her eyes. Then it disappeared.

"Maya, you will lower your voice in my room," Flora said.

Maya continued, her voice full of pain. "Uncle told me everything. He told me how men paid your bills when father was alive. How young boys lose control when they see you. That made father jealous. That jealousy gave him a heart attack. You stressed him to death."

Flora stood up from the bed. She was barefoot. She stood straight. Even without shoes, she looked taller than Maya.

"I have had enough," Flora said. Her voice was firm, controlled. Every word was clear. "You will not rewrite your father’s life because Andrew told you a lie."

"It is true!" Maya shouted louder. "Uncle said father told him before he died that he was tired. He was tired of sharing his wife with the whole world. He said you liked the attention."

Flora walked to the dressing table and rested one hand on it. She looked at Maya in the mirror.

"I loved your father, Maya. I loved him when we had nothing. I started his company with him from one small office. No man ever paid my bills. I have paid bills for many men, including your Uncle Andrew. Ask him who paid his son’s school fees last year."

Maya was breathing fast. "You are lying."

"I am not lying," Flora said calmly. "Your father did not die because I am beautiful. Your father died because his heart was weak. The doctor told us. You were there. He worked too hard. He worried too much. Do not turn your grief into an attack on me."

Outside the room, Simon heard the shouting. He wanted to go inside and help, but his legs could not move. He just stood there, feeling guilty and sad. He had never heard Flora raise her voice like that, but even now, she was not shouting. She was controlling the room.

Inside, Maya’s voice was now shaking.

"Uncle said father saw how men looked at you. At parties, at work. He could not bear it anymore. He ran into depression and then he died. You killed my father with your choices!"

Flora turned around slowly.

"My daughter must surely regret saying this today," Flora said quietly to herself, but loud enough for Maya to hear.

She looked at Maya with eyes that were now burning with anger, but she still did not shout.

"Maya, I am fifty years old. I have buried my husband. I have raised you. I run a company of two hundred staff. Men look at me, yes. That is their problem, not my crime. I have never invited any man to this bed since your father died. Not one."

Maya clenched her fists. "Then what was Simon doing on your bed?"

"Simon was helping me remove a necklace that was cutting into my neck. That is what he was doing. Because I asked him to. This is my house. I do not need to explain that to you."

There was silence for a moment. The broken cups were still on the floor.

Maya felt her mother’s calmness was more frightening than shouting. She tried to fight it.

"Uncle said -"

"Uncle Andrew is a man who has never built anything in his life," Flora cut in, her voice sharp now. "He lived in my husband’s shadow for twenty years. Now he wants to live in mine by turning my own daughter against me. And you are letting him."

She walked closer to Maya.

"I have mourned your father for five years, Maya. Five years. I have not dated. I wore black to every board meeting. What more do you want from me? Do you want me to stop being a woman because I am your mother?"

Maya opened her mouth, but no words came.

Flora continued, her voice low and steady.

"You say I am high and mighty. Yes, I am. Outside this house, I am feared. Staff fear me. Because I am powerful. And I became powerful by working, not by crying."

She pointed at the broken cups on the floor.

"Now, clean this mess you made."

Maya did not move.

Flora’s tone changed. It became the voice she used in the boardroom.

"You have two choices. You can clean this floor, go to your room, and tomorrow morning you will apologize to me and to Simon for what you said. Or you can continue shouting, and I will call the bank and block all three of your cards before noon. Your car, your allowance, your shopping. Everything."

Maya’s eyes widened. "Mother!"

"I am not your friend, Maya. I am your mother. And I am also the head of this house. You have grown naughty, and I have tolerated it because you lost your father. But I will not tolerate you insulting me in my own bedroom."

Outside, Simon could no longer stand it. He heard Flora’s last words. He opened the door gently and entered the room.

"Madam," he said softly, looking only at Flora. "I am sorry for the trouble."

Flora looked at him and nodded once. She was composed again.

"Thank you for your help, Simon," she said. "You may go."

Simon looked at Maya. He wanted to speak. He wanted to defend Flora, because he had seen how much pain she was in. But Flora’s eyes told him not to.

Simon said finally, his voice low but firm. He could not hold it back. "Miss Maya ,Just because Madam chooses to be calm with you does not mean she is weak. Outside this house, people fear your mother. She is a lion in business. She is only trying to protect you."

Flora raised one hand slightly, asking him to stop. She appreciated what he did, but she did not need him to fight for her.

Maya turned to Simon, her face red with anger.

"Shut up! Who do you think you are to tell me what to do in my father’s house? If not for money, why would you be close to my mother? Tell me! Is it not because she is a billionaire widow? Is it not because you want her money? Drivers, gardeners, all of you are the same! You see her money and you lose your senses!" Maya fired back at Simon

Simon felt a deep pain in his chest. His tongue became heavy. He looked down.

"That is enough, Maya," Flora said. Her voice was dead serious now. "You will not insult my staff in my house. Simon has worked for weeks now . He has never disrespected anyone. Apologize to him."

"I will not!" Maya shouted. She picked up her bag from the floor. Tears were now in her own eyes. "Enjoy your driver, Mother. Uncle was right about you!"

She left the room and banged the door loudly. The sound shook the whole house.

The room became silent again.

The broken cups, the spilled tea, were still on the floor.

Flora stood there for a moment, her two hands on her chest. She was breathing slowly, trying to control herself. Her eyes were filled with tears, but she blinked them back.

Simon stood in the middle of the room, not knowing what to do. He felt sad, angry, and helpless at the same time. He wanted to comfort Flora, but he was afraid to move closer again.

He walked closer and spoke softly.

"I am sorry, Madam. I did not mean for you to hear those words," he said. "Would you like some water?"

Flora shook her head quietly. "No, thank you."

"Ma, please, at least you should sit down," Simon said.

Flora looked at him. Her eyes were still burning, but her voice was calm again.

"Simon, will you get out and shut the door behind you? I need a moment alone."

Simon froze for a moment. He nodded.

He gently walked out of the room and closed the door.

Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He checked the screen and saw a new message. It was from Maya.

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