Sunset At Sarsen Stones (What Dreams Are Made Of)

Chapter 19

Next morning was just as bright and sunny like the day before. Betty Granny had cooked delicious pancakes for them and they were all eating around the small table. They enjoyed a lazy morning making plans about how to spend the day.

Chrissy was relaxed now that her mother was fine. She couldn't remember last time when they were all so happy and carefree. It must have been before her father passed away. Life, in last few years, had not been easy to them. Things had started getting better with her moving to Regency Palace but everything came at a price.

While financially they were still not very strong but their days of living hand to mouth were behind them. She didn't have to think hundred times before agreeing for an additional class that Alice had been requesting for or to get something which would make life a little easier for her mother at home.

But her mother still had to undergo her treatment. While she was doing well at the moment but the doctor had informed Chrissy that if the condition worsens, they will have to perform the surgery immediately to treat her nervous system disorder. This was highly specialized surgery which would be performed by a top neurologist and the cost would therefore be fairly high.

Chrissy had been saving for this operation but she was still a long shot from the total amount. Fortunately her mother's health had not deteriorated and she was coping well with the situation but yesterday's experience had shaken Chrissy.

In those hours at the hospital, she had been dying silently thinking what if her mother needed that surgery now. What if she had not taken proper care of her mother? She had hardly been at home to look after her.

Her dream, her shop had taken precedence over everything else. And though she kept telling herself that she was working so hard to ensure they had a better life and that her mother could get the best of the treatments, she knew none of that would matter if something was to happen to her mother. She knew she wouldn't be able to bear another loss. She had to do everything to get her mother operated in time. And if that means working till she drop dead, she would still do so.

With that decision, Chrissy decided to give Steven a call to check about yesterday's hospital payment. Nikloi had been around all the time and didn't let her talk to him but she couldn't accept Nikloi paying for her bills. She knew he had not a single sympathetic bone in his body and such a favour would only mean that he would extract it back from her when it suited him.

She didn't want to owe him anything. Definitely nothing to do with her family. She may not be uber rich like him or his class but she had self-respect. Her pride had brought her where she was and she wasn't willing to let go of it because of a snobbish man.

She had just dialled in his number when there was a knock at the door. Chrissy had move to the backyard to make the call and Alice went to answer the door. While she was still dialling Steven's number, she heard voices from the living room. She stopped in her track when she heard the male voice.

He wouldn't do that!

Chrissy hurried back inside the house to see Nikloi Swaroski standing tall among the ladies of her family. Mrs. Smith, Alice and Betty Granny were standing around him warmly greeting each other. Chrissy could feel her blood boiling. What was he doing here? She wondered angrily and walked inside the room to interrupt the happy union.

The moment she reached the living area, his eyes shot up to her face. A strange unknown look flashed through his eyes, before he wished her good morning. No smile. Chrissy was irritated by him for being there, but still an unexplainable pleasure ran through her body.

He held her gaze till she reached right next to the company where all the ladies were awing and cooing around him. Apart from him, she was disappointed with them too. Why are they welcoming him inside, making him sit? Betty Granny had already gone to get some tea and cakes for him. She didn't want him to have tea with her family. She didn't want him here at all. But she couldn't simply ask him to leave without scaring her own family of her rudeness.