The Bride Of Lancaster

Chapter 5

Inside their apartment, Sarai sat in front of her mother holding a bowl of soup and trying to feed her.

"Mom please eat something. You need to eat so you can take your medicine."

Sarai tried to feed her mom her dinner but the latter refused to eat and even when she brought the spoonful to her mouth, she refused to open her mouth.

Sarai looked at her mother in distress and didn't know what to do.

"Mom please you shouldn't worry about Nala. Sister was probably caught up with work and that's why she hasn't come home yet"

Sarai tried to assure her mother but her words failed to ease up her mom's worries. She has called Nalani's phone several times but it was switched off. By the time Nalani got home, it was already quite late and her family was up waiting for her with worried expression.

When Sarai saw her sister appear, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Nalani quickly apologized to her and their mom, explaining how she was caught up with work and lost track of time and also her phone battery died, hence she couldn't call home to inform them that she'll be late.

Relieved, their mom finally allowed herself to be fed food and medicine. After that, the two tucked her in for the night. Nalani could finally catch her breathe. She has had quite a rough day so she quickly went into her room for a hot bath.

She came out of the bathroom wiping her wet hair with a towel and found Sarai engrossed in reading something on her laptop.

"What are you reading about? You look so diligent" Nalani asked, merely curious as to what could possibly pique her normally lazy sister's interest so much. Sarai raised her eyes to look at Nalani then beckoned to her to come sit beside her on the couch. Nalani obliged and walked over to sit beside her.

"Sister, have you ever heard of LANCASTER GROUP OF COMPANIES?" Sarai asked. Nalani frowned slightly, thought about it for a bit and then shook her head.

"Never heard of them before. Why are you asking?". Sarai looked at her sister with a somewhat disappointed expression and said,

"Do you know anything else aside from taking photos all the time. Come to think of it , since we were kids you've never been interested in knowing anything about this world other than capturing moments through lenses. You're so weird. No wonder you don't have any friends".

"Hey, are you looking down on me? See how l teach you a lesson".

Nalani flared up, gently flickering Sarai's forehead to teach her a lesson. Sarai groaned in pain, rubbing her forehead and pouting.

"You're so mean to me. Always bullying me."

"What's so good about knowing everything in the world. You'll only feel depressed. And in any case I don't need any friends. I have you and Mom with me. I like it that way." Nalani explained, defending herself but her eyes flash with melancholy.

It wasn't that she didn't want friends. It just that growing up, the other kids always found reason to bully and alienate her. Those that befriended her were also bullied so they stayed away from her. In college, the only friend she managed to get also regarded her as an enemy in the end.

It seems she was born to be friends with nature and she loved it.

"Now tell me what's the big deal with this company". She asked.

"Well, the Lancaster Group is the third largest conglomerate in the world. They're into everything you could ever think of. Electronics, telecommunications, construction, medicine and almost everything you could think of. The company earns an annual income of over 10 trillion dollars. Can you imagine that? They're so rich that they probably sleep in money" Sarai explained,her eyes filled with admiration and excitement.

Nalani was also surprised. "They're really that powerful?" She asked.

Sarai nodded.

She then eyed her sister and shifted closer to Nalani with a sweet smile.Nalani warily backed away seeing her devious expression.

"What's wrong with you? Stay away from me.I know that look of yours. It's means you're up to no good". She warned.

"Oh come on sister. I just want to know all that you know about brother in law. Like his family background. You know like maybe he's connected to The Lancaster family that I just told you about. He has the same surname and he's also filthy rich. Maybe we struck gold this time."

Taken aback for a second, Nalani stared at her sister in confusion before she yelled,

"Don't talk nonsense. Who and who struck Gold? I'm not with him because of his money".

Seeing her angry, Sarai quickly apologized and said, "I'm sorry I didn't mean it that way. Of course I know you're not that kind of person. I just think it's a bonus that your boyfriend is rich and he loves you so much. I think it'll be even better if he's from the famous Lancaster clan. I mean he doesn't have to be from the main branch, even a sub branch is fine. Every member of that family is destined to be rich for life."

Nalani felt like slapping some sense into this girl. Why was this girl so money minded?. But come to think of it, she couldn't really blame her for being so money conscious.

From the time she could remember things, their family never seem to have enough money for anything. Their dad passed away early and their mom had to work multiple jobs to support the family. After her accident, the responsibility fell on them, working multiple part time jobs to earn money to cover the hospital bills and cater for their needs.

Growing up under such circumstances, Sarai learned the value of a penny and love money very much. To her, family and money were the two most important things to her in life.

"It's getting late, I'm going to sleep first. Good night, pumpkin". Nalani said, kissed Sarai on the forehead and went to bed. Once lying in bed, she switched on her phone and saw a message that says,

"I miss you too Beautiful. Let's get married. Think about it and tell me when I come back. Wait for me".

Reading this words, Nalani felt her heart skipped a beat as she broke into a shy and sweet smile. That night, she had a sweet dream of love.