Liara realized that she didn’t have her phone with her.
‘Maybe I lost it last night.’ She thought before leaving the floor and was surprised to see her phone outside her main door. ‘When he could come inside, then why did he leave it here?’ She questioned herself but had no answer to this question.
Tears welled in her eyes again, but then she started fanning with her hands near her eyes so that tears wouldn’t roll out of her eyes.
Once she was done with that, she checked her phone and saw a missed call from her father and a call from her mother, which was RECEIVED.
‘Oh, Moon Goddess!! I’m so dead!’ She cried mentally and quickly dialed her mother’s number. ‘Did he accidentally receive the call? I hope, yes!! He wouldn't talk with mom, would he?’
"Hey, mom!! Good morning!!" She greeted her and checked the time. She sighed in relief when she realized that her father wouldn't be at home.
"Good Morning, sweetheart!!" Sophia greeted her back before asking, "Where was your phone last night?"
"I...I don't know. I found it outside the main door. Maybe I dropped it here, or someone left it here. I...I don't know." Liara replied. "I'm going to ask someone about it." She mumbled when one of her juniors reached near her.
"Ms. Liara, I was the one who left your phone there. I rang the bell twice, but I guess you were in the washroom. I knew how secure your floor was, so I left it there. And also because I had to get ready for the class.”
"And where did you find my phone?" Liara asked, holding her breath. The last thing that she wanted to know was that she had found her phone in the forest.
“Some Janitor gave it to me in the morning, saying that he found your phone. Rest I didn’t ask for the detail. Bye. I’m in a hurry.” Saying this, she quickly left from there while Liara returned back to call.
“Mom, did you hear that?” She asked, more like stated.
“I heard that, but how didn’t you realize that you didn’t have your phone with you?"
"That's because I rarely use my phone while studying."
"Oh, okay. So, till when you studied last night?" Sophia questioned back.
"Around three in the morning." Liara lied and bit her tongue while doing that because that was her regular routine to sleep around three or four in the morning. "I'm not sure that I checked the time before sleeping."
"So, you mean to say that Janitor had the password of your phone because of which he was able to send a text to your dad by saying that 'I will call you in the morning,' huh?" Sophia questioned in anger, on which Liara's face paled. She didn't notice that someone had sent a message from her phone.
"I...I..."
"Liara Haysbert!! I have crossed your age decades before, and I don't need a superpower to know whether my children are lying to me or not." Sophia hissed on which Liara started looking everywhere. She needed to stand somewhere where no one could hear them. "So, when did you return from the hospital last night?"
"Around eleven thirty."
"You're again Lying, Lee. Neither you attended the class yesterday nor go to the hospital." Sophia pointed out. In the morning, she felt a little suspicious about everything; she immediately called the hostel warden to know about Liara, who informed her about Liara's routine by observing everything on the CCTV camera.
"So, where did you go last night around eight, hmm?" Sophia asked. "And why no one saw you coming back? The warden confirmed your arrival by your ID card scanning at around eleven thirty, but your return didn't get recorded in any of the CCTV cameras."
Liara couldn't speak a word in response. How could she tell her the truth? Her mother would be freaked out for sure.
"I know you're a nutshell who won't open up quickly, but I'm sure you will have a perfect explaining if your dad and Colton..."
"Mom, please!!" Liara begged. Not that they would force her to speak, but they had their own ways and resources to find the truth.
"Open your mouth, sweetie!! And dare you to lie, or I will be there on the next flight to take a lie detector test, and guess what? I won't leave that Janitor too, who received my call last night." Sophia threatened.
"Received your call? Did you two talk? What did you talk about?" Liara asked in confusion as well as shock.
"Why should I tell you about that? That's our thing. You tell me what is going on over there?"
"Mom, I'm twenty-four." Liara pointed out. "Tee is allowed to do whatever she wants while you're threatening me as if I'm some terrorist."
"Oh, okay. So, does that mean you're dating a janitor and want to keep it a secret?" Sophia concluded the way Liara was trying to hide all this. Her other daughter, Tiara Haysbert, used to keep dating famous celebrities casually, so she thought Liara might be doing the same.
'Dating him?' Liara wondered.
"That explains how he knows the password of your phone," Sophia muttered. "But sweetheart, a JANITOR, really?" She asked in disbelief. "I don't know whether I should be happy that you finally show any interest in men or should worry about your choice of man. But then, if you're dating him, then there must be something special about him. When are you fixing my meeting with..."
"Mom... Mom... I'm not dating anyone." Liara cleared it, cutting her in between. "Mom, I... I kind of taught him for an hour or two on a daily basis because he didn't know how to read and write. That's it. We just share a bond of teacher and student, nothing else, and please don't tell anyone about it."
"Really, then how does he know the password of your phone?" Sophia asked to which she got no response in return. "Fine. Don't answer me if you don't want to. Just be careful because there're a lot of people out there who want you not because of what you are inside but because of family members or relatives."
"I know, Mom," Liara replied, thinking about the incident of the previous night. "I... will talk to you later. I'm getting late for the class." Saying this, she quickly disconnected the call. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down before calling her father and then attending the class. Throughout the while, she kept thinking about Theodore and his next move now.
How would he face her? Or would he start ignoring her like the previous time?
.
#TBC