A CHANCE TO LOVE A BILLIONAIRE

chapter 4

PATRICK***

I yearned for her presence, and the intensity of my desire left me feeling confused and startled. My eyes searched for her hungrily. "What is wrong with me? I do not even know her," I thought. Immersed in my thoughts, my phone rang, and that was when I drifted back to reality. “Sir, I am kindly asking if you can come to the other side of the road,” Limson humbly said.

“Oh come on, why do I have to go there?” I groaned, not willing to walk over to the other side of the road.

“But Sir, there is traffic, and for us to reach where you are, it will take us an hour,” he calmly responded.

“Fine, I will be there,” I furiously said.

“Sure sir.”

After he hung up, I crossed over to the other side and headed straight to the woman who was selling mushrooms. As I drew closer to her, my heart jumped in excitement at the sight of her. My face and my eyes lit up, and I wondered what was happening to me. I decided to push away the excitement and concentrate on asking for the directions to the pep store. When I moved closer, my heart could not stop beating fast, and my face began to sweat.

“You can get the mushrooms and bring the money later,” said the seller to the lady who was buying them. The buyers' face frowned at her words.

Seeing that scene broke my heart. Every bone, muscle, and everything within me screamed out loud to me to offer help to whoever the lady was. So I chimed in.

“You can pack for K100,” I said to the seller as I stood close to the lady who was the buyer. Her flowery scent would not allow me to move any further from her. It was so confusing and weird how someone like her would have caught my attention and grabbed my heart by force.

She then tilted her head in my direction, and it was not until then that her hazel eyes locked into mine, and for a moment, I felt like everything had stopped. Her smooth, innocent, babyish face captivated my soul. Her hair tied in a ponytail added more to her beauty.

“Thank you, ma’am, I will come later,” she said, pulling away her glance from me.

“That is for you,” I interrupted before the salesperson said any words, as her mouth was already halfway open.

“Uhm sir, I…” she stammered, unsure of why she was behaving that way. Perhaps she felt uncomfortable. “You mean that is for me?” she asked in a soft voice. Her voice did not sound like that of an adult; it sounded like that of a young girl. She seemed like she was a teenager.

“Sure,” I calmly responded.

“I do not have that kind of money, sir,” she stammered as her eyes searched mine. I just could not take my eyes off her eyes. They were so pretty. Anyone who had ever looked at them would behave exactly like I was.

“I will pay,” I said, sounding nonchalant. She then pulled her gaze away as I spoke. Was she feeling what I was feeling? I thought.

“Thank you, sir,” she forced a smile as she collected the mushroom from the seller.

“It’s nothing. Enjoy your meal,” I said, ignoring the phone that was vibrating in my pocket.I glanced down at my pocket to pull out the vibrating phone, but when I looked up, I realized she had vanished.

It was Limson calling me; he was inquiring about my location. When the call ended, I approached the lady who was selling mushrooms.

‘Cough, cough’ I cleared my throat before I could alter a word.

“You seem like a kind person, sir,” the seller complimented, making me smile.

“Thank you so much,” I said with a smile spread all over my face.

“But is it just that, or do you actually like her?” she asked, tilting her head to the other side while looking at me from the corners of her eyes.

“Oh no, why would you think like that?” I inquired, trying to hide the embarrassment that was all over my face.

“I saw the way you were looking at her,” she said, raising her eyebrows.

“Uhm…actually,” I stammered, unsure of what to respond. It was as if she could see right through me. I did not know either why I was feeling that way towards a stranger. I did not know her; it was my first time seeing her anyway, so I just pushed it at the back of my mind.

“I know child. Figure it out on your own, but she really is a respectful child. I just hope she finds a job soon,” she interrupted, frowning her face as she spoke of her. It startled me that she was searching for a job. If I had known earlier, I would have given her something to do.

“Well, excuse me, I am actually heading somewhere,” I said, maintaining a straight face as I handed her over the money.

“I hope you find the love of your life,” her words echoed in my ears, but I just brushed it off.

…………….

I approached a few people and asked for directions to the pep store; they pointed me in the right direction. I trudged on, finally spotting the vehicle, as cars blocked it in, grid-locking the road. No sooner had I reached there, than Limson walked towards me. He walked with me towards the vehicle, and we eventually reached where it was. He helped me open the door as I went inside the car.

We drove to the project site, where a massive crowd of people eagerly welcomed us, ready to celebrate. Mr. Royd and I had our seats reserved on the front bench, and so we went there.

The ceremony was vibrant as the young and adults performed different emotional sketches. Some of them were comedies, but some of them made the crowd cry. At each corner of the stage, there were sets of musical instruments.The event organizers decorated the stage with different curtains of various materials. The organizers had emblazoned the words "Celebrating the life of every child" in bold blue letters across the stage on top.

On the left and right sides of the row that I was in, they were children of different ages, wearing uniform clothes. Others looked sad, but others were not so sad. It broke my heart to see how sad their faces were, so I decided to bring a smile to their faces by donating $3000.

At that moment, I had forgotten about the pretty face until she passed, but at that time, her face had changed a little. She was sad.

I suddenly developed the urge to stand up and walk towards her, but no, I did not.