Chapter 40: Chapter 40

Chapter Forty

Ava's POV

My trip to home was far from better. It was not because I was sick or anything, that had subsided already, it was because of the nervousness and unease I was feeling. I did not find what I was going to find at home.

Was Maria okay? Was she fine? The way she sounded on the phone call, I could not be sure about anything.

These sorts of questions were racing through my head. And I could not stop them.

And after all these questions, the unease at meeting Jasper, again.

I was worried about meeting with Jasper. I was nervous.

And even more worried that we might meet at his house. I was scared of meeting him because I knew he was not done with me yet. I knew that it was just a matter of time when we would meet again. He was going to tell me everything he was holding back in his office.

I knew that the call was the reason he did not give me a piece of his mind because the call had taken his undivided attention at the moment,, but he would talk to me about everything that I had seen.

And I felt it would be better not to meet him and see that side of him at the moment. I just did not want to.

However, the thought of meeting him faded the moment I reached home.

My heartbeat increased, and my main focus shifted to Maria.

I hoped she was fine.

I did not know what was going to happen. I did not know what had happened. All I knew was that Maria was inside, and I wanted to see if she was okay or not.

So, I rushed toward the main entrance and entered the house.

The house was quiet, and I did not know if it was a good sign or a bad one. I was not certain if I should call out Maria's name or not. Thus I just walked inside and poked my head in the first few places to see if I found her there or not.

She was in none of those places, so this time I decided to call her aloud. I realized that since the house was so quiet it definitely meant that the tax department people or so they called themselves had left the place, otherwise there would be at least some sort of voice.

“Maria.” I called out.

No answer.

So, I called out again.

“Maria.” I yelled. And then I heard it.

“In here.” It was Maria. Her voice was faint and was coming from the kitchen.

Kitchen. STILL.

Out of all the places.

I almost had the urge to groan. What was with her obsession with the kitchen? Why was she always there? And by the way, I heard her voice earlier, I almost felt that she was having a panic attack. Now, here she was again in the kitchen.

Anyway, ignoring all of these questions, I proceeded to walk inside the kitchen to find Maria, working on preparing a meal for lunch.

Upon hearing my footsteps, Maria raised her head and gave me a smile.

No, let me rephrase that. Gave me a Forced smile.

“Great. You are here. I was just preparing lunch, it will be ready in a few minutes. Why don't you just freshen up, and I will set the table for the meal, and then you can eat?” Maria asked me. This time I saw right through her.

I had noticed the little weakness in her voice,, but I also noticed her exaggerating exciting tone. I knew that she was trying to appear normal. I did not know exactly what had happened in here with those tax department employees, but I knew one thing for sure, it Had affected her. She was just trying to brave out her fear and emotion. And most importantly, trying not to show others that It had affected her.

I walked over to Maria.

Watching me coming her way, Maria placed the bowl on the counter that she was stirring in the content inside. She wiped the sweat from the back of her hand and smiled again.

And AGAIN, I saw the nervousness that she was trying to hide.

“You should …” She shut up because I hugged her. I did it without hesitation and without permission. The moment I hugged her she froze in my arms, but after a few seconds ticked by, she relaxed in my arms and hugged me back. I rubbed her back and patted it twice to assure her that I was there for her. I did not say anything, instead I just let her ease into that embrace. Once she gets comfortable, she will speak on her own.

Eventually, we pulled back.

“I was worried about you.” I told her. She shook her head and straightened my hair.

“No, honey. I am okay.” She said,

“What happened here? Why were you so scared?” I asked her.

Maria turned the light stove to the medium and bowed her head before meeting my eyes. I leaned across the counter and gave her my full attention.

“I was doing laundry when I entered the main room to come here in the kitchen and have a glass of water. When, suddenly, five men barged inside the house without permission.” She told me and ears pricked up. My brows creased. Five men? Just barged in?

I only wonder how I would have reacted if I saw five grown men just invaded my house like that. It must have been scary for Maria.

“What do you mean, barged in? Didn't the security guard at the gate stop them and inquire about them?” I questioned.

“I don't know. The security guard led them in because they had ID on them.” She answered. I nodded my head as encouragement for her to continue.

“So, what happened?” I asked.

“They told me that they were from the Income tax department and that they were here to confiscate all the belongings. They told me that they had received a report that Sir Jasper had not paid a — a … some sort of tax.” Maria completed after struggling to remember the name of the problem or whatever Jasper was charged off. I still did not interrupt or tried to help. I let her complete it without my interruption.

“They literally began moving towards the stuff. So, I panicked. I told them that they could not pick all of this stuff without Jasper sir's permission. So, they asked me to call him. When I did, he didn't pick up. So, I tried his office phone, but he did not pick one either. I got so scared that he was not picking up. The officers were getting agitated and thought that I was trying to stall their time.” Maria  shook her head as if remembering her panicked state. Shutting off the stove, she turned back to me.

“So, when he picked neither of his cell phones, I called his secretary and to my utter dismay she did not pick up either. I did not know why none of them picked up their cell phones at the same time? I did not know what they were doing?” Maria wondered. I knew what they were doing, and the flashback of the moment was like a pinch to my heart. Watching them together …

Now was not the time to think about it.

“So, you called me.” I suggested it to her.

She nodded with a frown on her head.

“Before I called you, they asked me all sorts of questions about Jasper, this home, his other properties and such. They even asked me who I was and what my relationship was with sir. It was like an interrogation.” Maria said. Then she let out a heavy sigh.

“Anyway. Thankfully, you picked up, and then you know what happened.” She said,

“Hum …” I let out a humming sound that I understood. I thought that it was the end of the conversation, but Maria continued.

“While talking to you, many times they actually made an attempt to go for the things they saw, but I held them back. That was I trying to tell you to not ask a question and get the phone to Jasper, Sir.” She commented.

“Right, and I did. What happened after Jasper got on the phone?” I asked.

Maria shrugged.

“I don't know. Jasper asked me to hand the phone to one of the officers, and I did. One officer took my phone and talked to him. I don't know what Jasper told them, but it had them moving out the house real quickly. They did not even say one word to me when they left, and I stood there wondering if they were going to show back up here.” Maria told me, looking in the distance.

Finally, she turned to me and met my eyes.

“It was when Jasper told me that everything was fine and under control. And take a day off if needed, I felt anywhere near relieved.” She said, then she moved to check whatever she was cooking.

“Then why haven't you taken a day off?” I asked, moving to her direction as she moved to check all the food.

“Oh, no. I did not need to leave, otherwise who would make lunch for you?” She said, That's enough. I could not hold myself anymore.

“Maria, why are you so fixated on kitchen and chores? You know that there is a world outside this place.” I whispered harshly.

At once, Maria stopped doing what she was doing and turned into my direction, completely. She placed her hands on her hips and pinned me with her impassive gaze.

“I love this work and this kitchen is … what you kids call these days … ha … right, safe space for me. I do it because I love doing chores and making delicious food for you. So, now, I think you should go and change while I set the table for you to eat.” She lectured me. With her last word, she shooed me out of the kitchen, telling me to go change.

God, I wish I had a wand and could do some magic at her. She was unbelievable. Why was she so content on staying inside the kitchen?

“But where is Jasper? Did he come here? After your call?” I asked her.

Maria shook her head.

“No. He just told me that everything was under control from his side. He told me that he would eat dinner at home. But that's it. That is all I know.” She told me, busying herself in her work again. I left that place and walked back into my room.

So, it meant that I would not see Jasper until dinner. Good.

Since, I was not confident that I was ready to hear him yelling again.

However, for some reason, the thought of him at the dinner table did seem nice to me, even though I knew how pissed he was on me.

Letting out a sigh, I stood up. I needed a bath. The sickness in the office made me feel really disgusted. I placed my hand on my head and checked my temperature. There was nothing. My body temperature seemed normal. Thank goodness.

Anyway, I left my bed and began preparing for a shower.

After a shower and lunch, I spent most of the time inside my room lying down. Even though it had not been a tough and tiring day, it certainly seemed like one.

Later in the evening, I was reading a book in my room when I heard slow murmurs outside in the main living room. It was Maria and Jasper. Right as I heard his voice, my heartbeat spiked up, from nervousness and sweet joy. It was ridiculous.

I was wearing pajamas and my hair was tied in a messy bun, but I wanted to meet him. I wanted to know what had happened in the afternoon.

So, I placed the book marker right in my book and checked myself in the mirror if I was looking exceptionally horrendous or not and then I walked outside my bedroom to meet him.

There I saw him standing in the middle of the living room talking to Maria in a low, calm voice. His hair was messy, like he had raked his hand through it over and over again. His tie is a little loose and his shirt a little ruffled.

Both Jasper and Maria stopped talking when they heard that they had company. Both of them swirled around to see me.

Jasper met my eyes.

“We need to talk.”