67
BELLA turned and recoiled on her seat at the bar section of the living room as she took up the third bottle and begin gulping down some alcohol.
Since the news about Raghav began spreading, she hadn’t been herself, she’s been drinking, drinking, and drinking. She felt so heartbroken.
A maid walked pass at that juncture.
“Hey, have you seen my Raghav?”, Bella asked the maid.
Huh? The maid abruptly stopped, what was she talking about? She hadn’t realized the lady was tipsy.
“Ma’am?”, she replied.
Bella broadly smiled, opening her thirty two, but this only startled the maid the more.
“Didn’t you get to see him? Please tell him to stop breaking my heart for me”, then she put the bottle in her mouth, and gulped down more alcohol.
Jeez! That was when the maid understood the scenario, her eyes widened in shock and then at once, she ran, upstairs into Lawson’s room.
Seconds later, Lawson rushed out into the bar section and found Bella smiling sheepishly as she was still drinking.
He sighed and walked up to her, he noticed her eyelids flickering open and close, she was tipsy.
“Bella what have you done to yourself?”, he asked in a whisper.
She smiled so broadly and then tried using her fingers to hold her eyes open.
“My Prince… my Raghav is…”, she trailed off and Lawson went peeved instantly.
“For the past few days now, all you do is just to sit here and then get yourself drunk, what kind of life is this Bella?”, he rhetorically asked.
She looked up at him, trying to keep her eyes open.
“Drunk? Did you just say drunk?”, she asked and brought the bottle close to her lips again for another gulp when suddenly, Lawson rushed forward and grabbed the bottle from her hands.
She laughed, revealing all her thirty two.
“You know what? You gonna make a great runner in sports, why not delve into it?”, she asked and tried to rest her head on the counter.
Lawson sighed and shook his head, then within a twinkle of an eye, scooped the drunk lady in his arms and carried her upstairs.
“Hey!”, she shouted, trying to release herself from his grip.
“Hey… hey! Kidnapper… kidnapper, somebody help!”, she kept shouting as Lawson carried her into the room.
He dropped her on the bed and watched her speak incoherent words, like she was running mad. He shook his head in disappointment.
What was he gonna do now to savage this situation? Bella was gradually turning mad and this is all because of Raghav, crap!
He had always wanted Bella for himself, why was she always after Raghav? He needed to do something, and needed to be real fast about it.
Then heaving a very deep sigh, he turned and left the room.
*
*
*
Prince Raghav sat on the dining seat in his room, his eyes were so fixed on the laptop before him on the table, he worked from home. Infact, he’s been working from home.
Since Davida was captured, try as they may, she has refused to disclose the whereabouts of her brother.
They had done all they could, tortured her, whipped her, so many things, yet she had refused to say anything.
It was only yesterday, that he had asked one of the guards to heat up an electric pressing iron and when it got hot, he used it on her skin, that was when she spoke out.
There was a knock on the door and Prisha entered.
“Hi Maharana”, she said and walked up to him.
“Hey, I’m so busy right now Prisha”, he said without sparing her a glance.
She scoffed.
“Always”, she said and sat next to him.
“What’s the matter?”, he asked, his fingers still dancing on the keyboard of the laptop.
“It’s about Davida”, she said.
Raghav frowned slightly.
“What about her?”.
“Has she still said anything yet?”, she asked folding her arms.
He sighed.
“Well little princess, yes she has”.
She smiled.
“Finally, but how? I mean despite all the tortures and all that, she refused to talk. How did you get her to say something?”.
He shrugged his shoulders, still working on his laptop.
“Well, I made use of a hot pressing iron on her skin, and she spoke out”.
She giggled.
“Really? Ugh, that lady is damn too stone hearted, just like her bro anyways”.
He kept mute, saying nothing.
“Um… what did you get her say?”, she asked.
“Nothing serious anyway, it’s useless to me”.
“Huh? What do you mean?”.
“She disclosed the place they had ran to at first, that’s where they’ve been hiding, but also stated the fact that Amaya must have flee”, he said.
“Crap! True though”, she said. “But flee to where? She should know, I mean they must have been planning about it”.
“She said Kunte. They have been planning to go to Kunte, so she said it possibly must have been there”, he replied.
“Hmm, serious. So, have you cared to ask what they wanted to do in the throne room?”.
He finally looked up from the laptop and splayed his left hand on his face, resting his back on the seat.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.
“That would be when the duo are together”, he said.
She nodded.
“Alright. How about Rina?”.
The ringing of one of his phones lying on the dining table interrupted, and he sat up, then answered the call without bothering to find out the caller.
“Morning son, how are you guys doing?”, the person who had called asked, it was the Queen.
“Oh mom, Long Live Rani”, he greeted.
“And you too. How is everyone?”.
“Mom we are fine, you called last night and I told you”, he wrinkled his face.
He hated his mother calling him. He was only accepting his fate since she was looking after the King at the hospital, at least, he needed to know how he fairs.
“Does she really wants us to be fine?”, Prisha rhetorically asked, though in a low voice.
“How is dad?”, he asked.
“Well dad is… is still the same, but I’m getting bored up here, there are nobody to talk to, nothing”, she winced.
He made a face.
“There are neighbors in the house mom, you can talk to them”, he said.
Prisha laughed, cupping her mouth with her right hand.
“The house is so big to stay alone, some times I feel they are ghosts in there”.
“Huh? Ghosts in my house? Mom there are no ghosts, I built it, I didn’t buy it”, he said.
“How about the palace?”.
“Mom everything is fine, how is really dad?”, he asked again.
He heard her sigh.
“Your dad is still in coma, his health condition not getting worst, not getting better. It’s just there, just stagnant”.
He sighed deeply.
“I believe everything gonna be fine. We are too busy right now, we will be coming over once the busy schedules reduces”, he licked his lips.
“Busy with what?”, she asked.
“With work”, he replied. “Mom I have to go now, I will give you a call soonest”, he said and cut the call.
“Mm, it’s a good thing you didn’t tell her about Davida”, Prisha said.
“Am I mad or something?”, he dropped the phone on the table.
Prisha laughed.
“You can never be big bro. About dads health, she said it’s not getting worst, it’s not getting better. How’s that? Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”, she asked looking intently at him.
Huh? He sharply turned to her. Wait… what?
“The calamity!”, they both exclaimed in unison, staring wide-eyed at themselves.
“Goodness, but why must it befall dad? Why?”, she cried.
“It’s okay sis, it will be fine. Trust me”, he unruffled her hair.
A call came into his phone instantly, and he picked it up. It was Rina, he smiled.
“Hey baby”, he said relaxing more into his seat.
“H… hi my prince”, she stuttered.
“Why are you stuttering? You scared?”, he asked and Prisha smiled.
“Ugh no… no my prince”, she cleared her throat.
“Are you off to school yet?”, he asked.
“Nope, not yet. Will be leaving in a jiffy”.
“Could you spare me few minutes please?”.
“My prince, I have enough t-fare with me, don’t bother sending someone to come pick me up”.
He smiled.
“No, it’s not that anyway. I just have a little surprise for you”, he ran his hands through his hair.
“Huh? You got me enough clothes and jewelries just yesterday”.
He laughed.
“I know, this surprise is far from it though. Just wait up a little, I’ve sent someone to come over”.
“For what?”.
“To clean up the house, keep the environs clean, wash, cook you know, just to relieve my princess of work”, he winked and Prisha laughed.
“Awwwn my prince, you shouldn’t have bothered. I… I didn’t complain”.
“I don’t need you to. I will send you a text later in the day, you gat to meet up”.
“Alright my prince, I’ll see you later then”.
“Yeah baby, catch you”.
“Thank you”, and she ended the call.
“Hmm, that was interesting”, Prisha said.
He licked his lips.
“You can say that again”, and they laughed.
Just then, a knock came on the door and Prisha glanced at Raghav.
“Expecting someone?”, she asked.
“Can’t recall”, he replied and the knock came again.
“Come in”, Prisha answered.
The door opened and Alina entered, grinning from ear to ear.
“Good day your grace, good day my princess”, she greeted as soon as she got to them.
“Good day, how may we help you?”, Prisha asked and her face squeezed, but she immediately concealed it with a smile.
“Um, his grace sent for me”, she said.
Huh? Prisha glanced at Raghav.
“Oh yeah I did. I need you to take some maids with you, just a few maids and go to a particular address I’m gonna give you now”, he said and tore out a sheet of paper from the jotter on the table, he had already scribbled down something in it.
“Here. There are some jobs I want done in there”, she collected the paper.
“My prince, what exactly are we going there to do?”, he asked.
“What do maids do?”, he asked and Prisha bursted into laughter.
“Ugh, I’m sorry. I mean…”.
“When you get there, you will know what to do”, he said.
“You will be going with Zoya, and two more guards”, Prisha chipped in and Raghav nodded in compliance.
“Okay Maharana”, she nodded and bowed, then left.
As soon as she got outside, the privy eyes of her cohorts halted her. She had squeaked about the prince sending for her to them, and they had gone up to wait for her.
“Hey, how was it?”, one of them asked.
She smiled.
“He sent us on an errand”.
“Oh! Thought he had called you up for something else”, another said.
“Come on, it makes me happy even. I mean there is no Rina to always stand in my way, I get to see him often these days”.
“Yeah, she’s right though. You know when Rina was here, Maharana didn’t remember if someone called Alina ever existed again”, the first person who had spoken said.
“You must be crazy”, Alina said laughing.
“So what’s the errand?”.
She held up the paper for them.
“To go up to this address, and do what maids do”.
“Go up to that address, is it a new house of his?”, the second maid spoke.
Alina shrugged her shoulders.
“I don’t know, let’s get there first. We will be going with Zoya and two other guards, so the princess said”.
“Okay, I’ll go get them”, the first maid said and ran off.
“Let’s go get prepared then”, Alina said and they all walked away.