Resisting The Billionaire

11. A Late Night Visitor

Silence was pinned to the walls of the entire house, as Diana sat across the table from her cousin and remained quiet, afraid that even a the sound of her breath could piss her aunt off.

Who moved back and forth from the kitchen laying down plates and dishes on the table, more like smashing them loudly on the table.

Diana swallowed the lump of anxiety tied in her throat and looked at Polly, who shrugged at her older cousin in a questioning manner.

“What happened?” she mouthed and Diana opened up her mouth to speak but Emily just walked out of the kitchen, loudly flipping the salon doors of the kitchen and Diana gestured at Polly to look at her phone. Diana immediately typed in the message and hit send.

Polly was still unaware of the madness that had enfolded at the salon but she could sense that something unusual or another instance had occurred because it was a rare occasion to see Emily cooking and working in the kitchen all alone. Usually Diana would be the one preparing the dinner, as a punishment from Emily, who liked belittling her niece or even if Emily is cooking, who was presumably in her own mind a better cook, would always use Diana’s assistance in the kitchen.

So, when Diana and Emily reached home, after the excruciatingly silent car ride and Diana went inside the kitchen to prepare the dinner as her usual routine, Emily simply dashed in to the kitchen and clapped her hands, as a gesture of calling Diana, who turned around and only saw Emily gesturing at her to leave the kitchen.

“It’s fine, I will cook and…” Diana decided to offer her help but Emily didn’t seem to be any mood to listen to the poor girl.

“Just leave!”

Emily retorted loudly and Diana decided to let Emily be and wait for her to begin any conversation about what happened in the salon earlier that day, so that she would clarify herself.

An d seeing Emily prepare the dinner all alone, Polly knew that something was up with her mother and that’s why she asked her cousin, who texted her the problem.

Didi: Someone from New York popped up at the salon, looking for me.

Polly gasped, reading the message on her screen. She knew how horrified Diana was by her past and how much trauma the poor girl carried. Thence, for anyone appearing in her cousin’s life from her past straight up meant that something horrible may have happened.

“Oh my God! Are you okay?”

Polly asked out and loud and Diana immediately widened her gaze at Polly, gesturing at the kitchen’s door where Emily was inside.

Diana once again gestured at Polly to stay put and texted her cousin.

Didi: Yeah! I am okay but I don’t think Aunt is! She saw the guy holding my hand.

Polly felt confused, reading Diana’s text.

Pollen: A guy? Holding your hand? Girl!!! You need to report him for harassment. Like you totally got assaulted and Mom is acting so weird about it? don’t tell me she is making this as your fault again? Enough is enough! I won’t tolerate it this time!

Diana read Polly’s message on her phone and looked up at her cousin, shaking her head and typed a message back to her.

Didi: Well, I wouldn’t call it harassment.

Pollen: So, you consented for him to touch her?

Didi: Technically, there wasn’t any consent asked for and he just grabbed my hand, trying to show goodwill.

Pollen: Okay! I am totally lost! Who is this guy again?

As the two continued typing and before Diana could’ve explained herself to Polly, Emily walked back in to the dining room, holding a large casserole dish in her hands and smashed it down on the table, rattling the two girls, along with the cutlery placed on the table.

“Mom! Can you not try and break the table?” Polly forced a smile at her mother, who simply threw daggers with her gaze at her daughter.

“Can you try and ask your cousin to keep it in her pants?”

Emily complained, grabbing the dish and began serving her own self first and Diana sighed in frustration, knowing it damn well that once again Emily was taking the entire incident out of context and probably picturing Adrian as a lover from her past.

“If you may be interested to even listen to what I have to say, just let me know or else, I wouldn’t be bothered to defend myself, given that you don’t even listen or want to trust me anyways.”

Diana made herself loud and clear, as she began serving herself food and did not bother to defend herself or her character anymore and Emily was definitely taken aback by the courage and show of attitude that Diana possessed.

Seeing her mother being silenced by Diana, gave Polly a sense of satisfaction and happiness, that finally Diana was taking up a stand for herself and not feeling guilty for things that were certainly not her fault.

She felt delightful to see Diana for showing bravery but Diana on the other hand, had her hands fisted in palms underneath the table over her lap, sweating profusely and feeling scared if her aunt would come up with another verbal bashing after listening to Diana’s answer but Emily was too stunned to even utter another word.

Polly decided to take advantage of her mother’s silence and finally spoke up.

“Didi! Just tell me what happened at the salon? Who showed up again?”

Diana sighed and looked at her cousin, trying to calm and relax her jumbled up nerves, just a little.

“My father, he used to work for these people, they are one of the most influential people in the whole of the America, I guess….?” Diana shrugged, not knowing how exactly she should put up the level of power analysis of the Sarmiento.

“Really? What’s their names?”

“The Sarmientos…” Diana informed her cousin, who asked for more information.

“And who came for you and why?”

“Well… there was this kid in the family, who even though wasn’t technically in line to be the next CEO because his father was the younger of the two brothers and his uncle was already the CEO. Chances were that his cousin, who despite of being two years younger than him, had a stronger chance of being the CEO. So, his father, when alive appointed my father to train his son, who was being trained ever since he was eight years old. He was quite close to my father. And he is finally becoming the CEO now and he wanted to fulfill his promise to my Dad.”

“What promise?” Emily asked, suddenly intrigued and interested in the developments of the entire event.

Diana shrugged, “According to him, my Dad made me promise that he would take care of me.”

Emily couldn’t help but snort a little laughter, “Yeah! Like that would be true.”

Diana looked at her aunt, slightly hurt by her words but down within her own self, she knew how true her aunt was, who knew her father way too well.

“Ross was the most self centered bastard I had even met and Lord helped my sister, got her rid of him. I didn’t shed a single tear at my sister’s funeral, only because I knew how much done she was with him and wanted to leave him but that asshole wouldn’t even let her go. He was that toxic. He would never care about anybody else. You know it yourself, don’t you remember the way he used to treat you?” Emily suggested and Diana nodded in agreement, with a mixture of feelings devouring her mind and heart.

“See, I remember when you came here, how skinny and sad you were. That asshole did not only not take care of you but also married another wench, who treated you even in a worse manner. There is no way in seven hells that the bastard would ever make anybody promise to take care of you.”

Polly couldn’t help but shake her head at the way her mother always slurred the name of Diana’s father.

“Jeez Mom! I only wonder if you really hate the man.” she shook her head and continued scrolling on her phone.

“I don’t just hate the man, I hated his guts.” Emily commented and then turned towards Diana. “But was that all the guy was here for? The way he was looking at you and holding your hand, suggested something else.” Emily pointed out and Diana shrugged at her.

“Well, for now that was all he said and you don’t have to worry about him. he used to hate me. So, there couldn’t be anything else for which he would come here for. I guess, he just wanted to deal with his guilt…”

As Diana continued speaking, her cousin continued scrolling and skimming information on the Sarmiento group but paused on a particular article that she came across. The article had a small picture of the left of a dashingly handsome man, in a crisp black suit, posing in front of the camera against a light grey background. Next to that picture were written the lines, ‘the next CEO of Sarmiento corporations announced!’.

Polly clicked on the article and opened it up, only scrummaging through the first few lines and scrolling down to reach the picture that made her open the article to begin with. Underneath that picture of the bottom left in Italian as written; ‘Pictured – Adrian Sarmiento – the next CEO of the Sarmiento Corporations’.

“By any chance…” Polly cut Diana off in the middle of her sentence and made her snap her neck back at her cousin, “Is this the guy that came for you, today?” Polly turned her phone towards Diana, who looked at the screen and saw Adrian’s picture on it and at the same time, Emily also stretched her neck and tried to get a view of the screen and immediately recognized the face of the man who showed up at her salon, earlier that day.

“Oh! It is that guy.”

Before Diana could’ve said another word, Emily concluded and Polly pulled her phone and looked at the guy’s handsome looked in sheer astonishment.

“No wonder why it didn’t feel like harassment to you.” she commented, making Diana gasp.

“It has nothing to do with his looks.” Diana reprimanded and defended herself.

“Honestly, everyone at the salon also misinterpreted everything only because of his looks.”

Emily mumbled in her mouth, making Diana look at her with surprise.

“Whoa! Just because he looks good?”

“No! also because he looks rich…” Emily added with a sarcastic node.

“Gosh! I would give him my hand happily, if this guy ever appeared in front of me…” Polly squeaked, fangirling over Adrian’s picture.

“You guys might be fooled by his looks but I know how ugly his heart is and how ugly and woeful he is on the inside.” Diana commented with distaste and continued finishing her food.

“But doesn’t his money and his looks compensate for all of that?” Polly inquired and Diana shook her head.

“Nothing can compensate for your cruel behavior.”

“True! But then why would he come all the way to get you? he says that it is to fulfill a promise. That is not something that a cruel person would do.” Emily weighed in and Diana remained indifferent.

“How could I know? You just said it yourself that there is no way that Dad would actually make him take such an oath and you might be right because Dad never actually cared enough about me, why would he care if someone is taking care of me after him or not.”

“Exactly! He was a very meticulous and selfish bastard and…”

Emily was in the middle of his sentence when the door bell rung and the three girls looked at each other, wondering who it could be at this hour of the night because they rarely ever had any visitors at that late hour.

Diana got up to check who it was and Emily stopped her by holding her hand.

“Just check through the video intercom first and don’t just open the door.”

Diana nodded at her and went towards the main door of the house, walking out of the dining room and crossing the main foyer.

She clicked the view button on the video intercom, to check who it was standing outside the house and her blood ran dry in her veins with her eyes opening wide in shock to see who it was visiting her that late at night.

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Who do you think showed up?

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