Dangerous Substitution

Chapter 3

“What is your name dear” The matriarch asked

“It's Maya ma'am, Maya Smith”

“Well Maya Smith, for this brave and selfless act of yours I have decided to fund your college education. Whatever fees you need either for your books or for the tuition itself, it'll be taken care of by my family. The Prescott's family.” The matriarch said to Maya whose eyes were wide open in shock

“What!? That's too much ma'am, all I did was pull her out of the way. How could you carry another person's burden because of such little act” Maya said shaking her head in refusal

“That little act Maya dear is what saved my only child and my family from such misfortune. If not because of you my daughter would be the one on that bed and honestly I don't think she would've survived the accident because she's so fragile. She's my little baby and you saved my little baby. I'm indebted to you, allow me help you too.”

“And you might not know but I'm the matriarch of the Prescott's family.You must've heard the name before, the girl you saved is Liana Prescott, the only heir of the Prescott's family.”

Of course Maya knew that name so well, the Prescott's family was one of the four influential families in Palm city. She just hadn't come across any of them because they lived in the urban part of the city while she grew in the rural part.

‘So the person I saved is the heir of the Prescott's family and now they want to fund my education, this must one of my mother's way of blessing me’ Maya said within her,

“ I'm so grateful for the opportunity ma'am, thank you so much” Maya said sobbing

“Of course dear. One last thing, would you like to be my daughter's personal assistant?” She asked with hopeful eyes

“What!?, Her personal assistant? Why?”

“Well since you're around the same age I just feel you both will be the best of friends, and dear you're not working for free. You'll be paid for being her assistant and accomodations will also be provided” The matriarch said with a smile

“Sorry to interrupt ma'am but isn't that a little too much. I mean I appreciate your kind gesture but I feel like it's a lot and…” Mrs Duffy was saying when the matriarch cut her off

“It's just my way of repaying the favor, now I see Maya as a daughter too so I would like to care for her also.”

“Maya dear?” She called out to Maya who was in a haze

“Yes..yes ma'am?” Maya stuttered

“Would you like to be my daughter's personal assistant?”

‘ Oh mother what do I do now, it's too much favor for a girl like me. What if I'm not able to repay them in the future?’ Maya's mind raced with thoughts of different kind

“You have to answer now dear, I'll be leaving soon.” The matriarch said

“I'd love to ma'am, I'd be honored to but the only problem there is that I fear I won't be able to carry out the job effectively” Maya said softly

“That is not a problem, you'll be instructed on how to carry the work out. Get well soon Maya and once you've recovered I'll send my guards to bring you to my home. Bye for now” The matriarch walked out elegantly after she finished speaking

“Mrs Duffy, this is really too much to take in, what do you think?”

“I think you're finally getting paid for being the great person that you are. You deserve all the good things life has to offer and I think this is just the beginning” Mrs Duffy tucked Maya in and sat beside her patting her to sleep.

Maya couldn't sleep, the faint hum of the hospital, the sound of the wind against the window and the smell of antiseptics reminded her of her mother's last days. Memories from that day kept haunting her every day. She touched the bandage over her fresh wound and wondered if she would ever recover. Slowly she drifted to sleep and woke up when she felt someone touch her.

It was a nurse sent to change her bandage, “good morning”, she muttered in a sleepy state

“ Good morning to you, your wound looks better than it did two days ago, you're healing pretty good and fast” The nurse said with a smile

“Really, that's good to know” Mrs Duffy who just walked into the room with a lunchbox heard what the nurse said and was relieved

“Uhm I was wondering, will it leave a scar or not?” Maya asked curious to know

“You're lucky someone got you here so fast. Could've been worse than what it is you know.” The nurse said while changing the bandage

“You know, the man who brought you here barely stayed a minute. When I arrived I saw him rushing out. He looked like one of those big city types, you know pressed suit and a wristwatch more expensive than my car” Mrs Duffy said with a chuckle

“You arrived 5 minutes after he brought her in, safe to say he was here for 5 minutes before he left. I even heard that he threatened a senior doctor” The nurse said giggling at the last part. This also made Maya smile,

“Well, whoever he is I owe him one” She smiled at the thought that some people still cared enough to help others

“Alright now miss it's time to eat, you haven't had any real food these past few days. You need as much nutrient as possible” The nurse said and Mrs Duffy proceeded to unbox the lunch box she brought in with her containing nutritious foods recommended by the doctor.