Chapter 14 Ophelia, the liar
Ophelia’s POV
“You said your boss borrowed you such a huge amount of money, what does he do for a living that he has so much money?” Dad asked me as I detached a grape from the huge cluster which was placed on a plate on the bedside table.
It had been a month after dad underwent surgery and started chemotherapy. Now, he looked more energetic and his golden-tan complexion was gradually coming back.
He didn’t look deathly pale like a ghost anymore and I was immensely glad whenever I looked at his face.
Sometimes, I still couldn’t believe that my dad was slowly becoming hale and hearty after the calamities and depression that I had gone through in the past few months.
I couldn’t wait for him to complete the rest of his treatment and get fully well, so I’d start saving up to go to culinary school.
I gulped nervously as cold sweat instantly broke out on my forehead, “Yeah, he is. He’s a billionaire and he owns a lot of oil distilleries across the globe, so I guess two million dollars is just small change for him,” I replied, and my dad just nodded as he picked a grape from the plate and brought it to my lips.This is property © NôvelDrama.Org.
I smiled before I bit into the fruit and savored the sweet and refreshing taste as the juice melted into my tongue.
“That’s very nice of him. When I get discharged, let’s go visit him to thank him. He’s done a lot for us,” Dad suggested, and I instantly whipped my head up to face him, with a speed faster than lightning and I almost broke my neck in the process.
“No, he’s only going to be in America for some months. His daughter is transferring him to a care home soon, and by that time, you may still be in the hospital receiving treatment,” I lied, which made dad frown a bit before he shook his head in agreement.
I was slowly becoming an expert in lying to everyone. I thought to myself as I chewed on my bottom lip.
What would Ava and dad do when they found out that my rich, old and incontinent boss was non-existent in reality and he only dwelled in the valley of my never-ending lies?
Not only had I lied to dad that I was a caregiver to a crippled, old man. I had also lied to him that I worked as a waitress in a coffee shop in the past years since the day I started working as a bottle girl in the strip club.
I didn’t want him to see the disappointed glint crossing his eyes if I told him. I was only going to work in the club for about three months more anyway.
I had resolved within myself a long time ago to quit my job at the strip club, the moment dad got discharged from the hospital.
“Alright then. Extend my regards to him when next you go to work,” Dad mused, and I just feigned a smile and nodded at him.
As I got up to properly arrange the blanket on dad’s legs, my phone screamed with an incoming call.
I grabbed my phone from the bedside table and stared at the unknown caller id that was displayed.
Who could it be? I wondered to myself as my fingers quivered with uncertainty on the answer button.
“I have to take this, dad. It’s from work,” I informed dad.
“Alright, sweetie,” He said, and I nodded before I exited the room and strolled across the hallway to the lobby as I answered the call.
“Miss Ophelia Alvarez?” A deep, masculine voice came from the other end of the line which made me withdraw my phone from my ear to check the caller id, with a confused frown.
“Yes, this is her. How may I help you? Who is this?” I asked, in a whisper as I took my seat on one of the empty chairs in the thankfully-empty lobby.
“Good. This is Salvador Diego from strip and ride, and I have an urgent matter to discuss with you,” The man said, and my frown deepened.
What the fuck was a strip and ride? It was definitely a spam call by a jobless person. I concluded within myself.
Inwardly, I blamed myself for even picking up a call from an unidentified number, and I decided to wordlessly hang up on the man.
“Miss Ophelia, are you there?” The man’s voice came again, and I scoffed.
Talk about a diligent con man.
“Yes, I am. I’m sorry but I don’t know who you are or what a strip and ride are, so I’m hanging up,” I said, and proceeded to take the phone off my ear.
“Wait! How can’t you remember? You came here a month ago to sell your stuff and Ry-Sir Ryan won. Can you still not remember?” The man asked, which made me gasp in shock and quickly look around to see if someone was eavesdropping on the call.
When I saw that the coast was clear, I whispered into the phone, “What do you want from me again?”
Various emotions struck me as my heart slammed painfully against my ribs with the most prominent one being regret.
Were these people trying to blackmail me? Fuck, I was done for. I proclaimed internally as I took a ragged breath.
“We have an offer for you or no. Sir Ryan Torres, your buyer that night has an offer for you and he asked to meet with you as soon as possible. So, let me know when you’re free and I’ll set up a meeting between you two,” The man-Salvador said, and instantly the uneasiness inside me was replaced with a feeling of shock mixed with befuddlement.
Ryan had an offer for me? Ryan wanted to meet up with me?
I couldn’t help the slight excitement that bristled in my heart, on hearing his name.
I willed the strange feeling away and decided to politely decline the offer even before I could hear what it was about.
“I’m sorry but I’ll have to refuse your offer. I don’t want to have any relations with your club and most importantly, Ryan. Good day,” I mused and hung up.
I scoffed to myself. What the hell?
My phone rang again with an incoming call from Salvador’s number, drawing attention to me from the receptionist, causing her to raise an offended eyebrow at me, and I mouthed a “sorry” to her before I picked up the call, while seething with anger.
“What the hell do you want from me? I already told you that I don’t want your offer,” I whispered, bottling up my anger for the sake of the patients who were strolling around the hospital.
“Calm down and listen to me, miss. He’s not going to force you to accept the offer or anything. He just wants to see you and talk to you in person. If you don’t like the terms of his offer, you can leave and he’ll never contact you again,” Salvador rambled, and I sighed deeply and palmed my face, as I mulled over the man’s statement.
“Okay, I will be there tomorrow. Tell him, I’ll meet him tomorrow by four in the evening at your club,” I mused.
“Okay, then. Thanks for thinking it through. I’m sorry for the inconvenience but Ryan requested specifically for you, he wants no one else except you. I’d have arranged for him to meet someone else if he had agreed. So, I’ll convey your words to him, then. Goodbye,” Salvador said, and hung up, leaving me to remain rooted on the chair with a blank stare for a while as different thoughts wrestled among themselves inside my head.
I knew I was definitely going into the fiery pit of fire from the frying pan as I had agreed to meet with Ryan again, even though I had promised myself not to think of him ever again.
Ryan was like an annoying but sexy sprout of weed in my mind.
As much as I wanted him gone, he always found a way to slip into my thoughts again.
After a while, I got up from the chair and trekked back to dad’s ward, after practicing a new lie in my head.
It was already five in the evening, and my shift at the strip club started in two hours.
Since my dad didn’t know of my job as a stripper at the club, I had to cultivate a garden of fresh lies in my head.
“Dad,” I began, immediately I stepped into the room.
He looked up from the book he was reading and darted a smile at me.
My breath hitched in my throat as I feigned a cheerful grin at him, and took my seat on the chair next to his bed.
“So, what did they say?” He asked, interlacing our hands together.
“I have to be at work asap. An important customer is throwing a birthday party for her six-year-old in two hours, so we have to set everything up,” I spat out the hot lie which dad fully believed and nodded to.
Every time I lied to dad and he believed me on a whim, I always felt bad and filthy within myself.
“Alright, then. Have fun,” Dad waved at me with a fond grin as I creaked the door open with my satchel bag hanging around my body.
“Bye, dad,” I smiled back and closed the door before I fluttered my eyes close and sighed miserably.
I was such an unfilial daughter.