I hurriedly got off the bus when it stopped near where Clark lived.
I walked quickly under the sun. When I was in front of Clark's mansion, I took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell.
Just a few seconds later, the huge white gate opened in front of me. There, it appeared an old woman who I assumed was their housemaid.
"What do you need, ma'am?" she asked politely while looking at my face.
I blinked a couple of times and cleared my throat before answering her.
"I-Is Mrs. Clarkson there?" I asked the maid anxiously and swallowed hard.
The person I was looking for is not an ordinary woman in this society. She was well known for being rich and having businesses across the globe. That woman was Clark's mother who was extremely wealthy.
My knees were shaking out of fear and nervousness. Nervous due to the idea that Clark and his mother got into trouble because of me. Getting nervous because I know Clark's mom already knew that I was a prostitute.
What kind of face am I going to show to her? I know she wasn't far off thinking I was a gold digger and I took his son away from him. Hence, there is a possibility that I will be going to face her anger this time.
"What's your name, ma'am?" the maid asked another question.
"Angela..." I uttered breathlessly.
After I answered her, she smiled at me a little.
"All right, ma'am. Just wait a minute. I'll tell madam that you are here," she said before closing the gate in front of me. She went back inside the mansion again. Maybe the maid will ask Mrs. Clarkson if she knows me.
While I was waiting outside, my heart kept pounding hard. I was startled and shocked when the gate opened again but this time, it was not the maid who opened it. The one who opened the gate was none other than Clark's mother, Mrs. Clarkson.
As I expected, it was not nice the way she looked at me from head to toe back to my face. There was a carved disgust on her face.
"So, you're Angela. The woman that my son is going crazy about," she mentioned as she glared at me.
"I couldn’t deny that you're beautiful but still, you came from the mud. You stink. I still wonder why my son is madly in love with you. But now, it looks like I've already answered my question. There is a saying, bad things are addictive to taste."
I was devastated by Clark's mother's words. Every word she uttered pierced my heart. It was aching in pain.
I was speechless at the moment. I just stood quietly in front of her.
After a minute, she opened the gate widely.
"Come inside. Even if there's an issue between the two of us, I don’t have a habit of not letting a visitor in my house," she uttered in a neutral tone.
"T-thank you," I stuttered in response. I could see she rolled her eyes before she went inside. I quickly followed her.
“Have a seat," she said sparingly.
She sat down on a large sofa. She motioned her hand on the sofa in front of her. As if she was saying "just sit there".
I sat there in a hurry. I shyly tucked the strands of my hair at the back of my right ear before looking at her.
"What brought you here?" she asked in a disinterested tone. She took one stick of cigarette from the glass table and lit it. She put it in her mouth and puffed the smoke in the air.
"It's all about Clark," I answered and gripped the hem of the dress that I was wearing. I held it tightly just to gain more courage to talk to his mother. I closed my eyes and bowed my head.
"He's having a hard time," I let her know while my eyes closed.
I immediately looked at her when I heard her laugh.
"See? He's having a hard time. I'm giving him a lesson so he will realize that he made the wrong decision," she laughed at me while shaking her head.
"Where does he live now? In your small house?" she mocked and laughed.
I started fidgeting my fingers because of what she said. There was an idea in my mind that I'm hesitant to do but I need to.
"He's sick," I told her, which made her stop in her seat. I could see the concern drawn in her eyes but she quickly changed it and cleared her throat.
"He has a high fever now, madam. He blacked out earlier," I added. I could no longer hide this heavy feeling. I cried my heart out in front of her.
"He loses weight because of his two jobs. Labor in a construction firm in the morning and as a waiter at the coffee shop at night. He always has a lack of sleep every day that weakens his immune system."
I could see the anger on her face. Also, I could see her desire to rush over to me to slap my face but she restrained herself from doing so.
"Are you happy now?" she asked sarcastically which made me stop.
"Are you happy that he's with you and now he's sick?"
"I-It’s not my intention to put him in—"
"Shut up!" she screamed at the top of her lungs furiously.
"Not your intention? You wanted it because he's in your house!" she gritted her teeth in anger while looking at me wickedly.
I started to cry in front of her. I didn't really want Clark to get sick. I didn't know that he was doing such a sacrifice for me. I couldn’t deny that he truly loves me but I couldn't bear to see him suffer like this and also the thought that his own mother disowned him for me.
The family should take care of each other because even if the world turns you upside down, even if you get angry and have breakups with the people you’ve met, at the end of the day, we have no person to run with but our family.
"I want to bring back Clark to your house," I uttered breathlessly. Tears streamed down my face. My chest was already heavy due to extreme pain. As if a knife was stabbing my heart over and over again.
I knew the decision I made may break Clark's heart but I need to. I hope he understands why.
Clark's mother seemed shocked at what I said. She stared at me intently and seemed she was measuring how serious I was about what I said.
After she saw that I was serious and true to my words, she sighed and took a seat properly.
"Where is he?" she asked gently. I could see in her eyes the excitement to see her son again.
With that expression on her face, I knew she loved her son Clark dearly. You could tell she missed her unico hijo a lot.
"In my h-house, sleeping," I had a hard time saying those words and cried again.
I could see the pity on Mrs. Clarkson's face. She watched me crying in front of her.
She averted her gaze in another direction and stood up in her seat.
"You really love my son... You can even set him free for the sake of his safety," she uttered seriously and sighed.
She faced my direction again. She crossed her arms and stared at me without any hint of emotion on her face.
"Sometimes... No matter how much you love the person, love is still not enough. Love isn't enough reason to live," she uttered flatly but you could sense that she seemed to be going through something with the words she left out.
"I'll prepare the car. Come with me. Show me the way to your house."