Arabelle

Chapter 42 - Panic Attack

Bella’s POV

I came downstairs the next morning to find mum excitedly talking to Sofia who was smiling broadly, mum looked very happy, I could see the happiness radiating in her eyes,

“What’s up” I asked with a smile,

Mum turned to look at me with a bright smile on her face “Honey, you are up, I hope my excited screams didn’t wake you” she said,

“Not really, I just woke up, so what’s the excitement all about?” I asked,

Mum’s smile widened “I just got an email this morning from the head management of king’s enterprise, they want a partnership with our company, if this works out, we get to be full partners with them and can also have a part in their shares, this is really a big achievement for our company honey, I am so happy, I have being going crazy since I saw the email this morning” she said and I could see the joy in her eyes,

Meanwhile, I felt my heart sink to the pit of my stomach, king’s enterprise meant Richard, I felt like this promotion was a bit sudden, mum had been doing business with them for years and such a thing had never happened, so why now? When it wasn’t so long ago I met with Richard, there was something about this that I disliked about this situation, I was trying very hard to keep mum out of all this, I didn’t want mum in this at all,

Mum must have noticed something on my face because she said “Bella honey, why do you look like that, you look a little pale”

I quickly fixed a smile on my face “I guess I am just really stunned, congratulations mum, I am really happy for you” I said and went to hug mum,

She returned the hug warmly “Thank you honey” she said,

We both pulled away from the hug “So what happens next?” I said,

I have a meeting with someone there this morning, I will meet with them discuss the next step of action” she said happily,

I didn’t like this one bit but I couldn’t just tell her not to go but because I will have to tell her the reason why I didn’t want her to go thereby causing me to explain a lot of things I didn’t plan on explaining,

I found I couldn’t say anything, the only thing I could do was fix a smile on my face,

“I better hurry up and get ready for the meeting” she said,

I watched as mum happily walked away to get ready for her meeting while I stood there having a mini heart attack, once she was out of sight, I raced upstairs leaving Sofia calling out to me to come and have breakfast, well right now, breakfast was the last thing on my mind, I had to call Ian right away,

“I will back down in a minute Sofia” I called as I raced up the stairs,

Once I got to my room, I grabbed my phone from on top the dresser and quickly dialled Ian’s number,

It rang for a few seconds before Ian’s sleepy voice rang from the other end “its 7:30am on a Saturday morning Bella, so you better have a perfectly good reason for disturbing my sleep” he said,

His voice was rough and scratchy, indicating I had indeed just woke him up sleep, well I wasn’t sorry, I had a perfectly good reason for waking him up,

“We have a problem Ian” I said quickly,

“What happened? Are you in danger?” Ian said, he suddenly sounded alert, the sleepiness in his voice vanished in an instant,

“Not me, I am fine but I think something might be wrong with mum, she just received an unexpected promotion from Richard’s company, she even has a meeting there today, she is getting ready as we speak” I was speaking very fast,

“What sort of monster has a meeting on a Saturday?” I heard Ian mumble on the other end,

“Ian!!! Be serious!!” I said,

“Geez!!! Bella cut me a some slack, I just woke up not less than 5 minutes ago, forgive me if I am a little disoriented, but why do you think the promotion is a big deal? It’s not weird to receive a promotion when you are hardworking and everyone knows just how hardworking your mum is, let’s not jump to conclusions immediately, right now all we can do is wait for her to go to that meeting and come back, if something feels off after she returns then we can start worrying our pretty little heads” Ian said,

I took a deep breath “I know it seems like I am over reacting but I swear I feel like something is wrong” I said,

Ian was quiet for a while then he said “Okay fine if it makes you feel a bit better, I will have someone follow her and see if anything is wrong and if he sees anything weird, he will report to me and I will let you know”

I couldn’t believe it had come to this, I was tailing my mother now, things were getting weirder and weirder with each passing day,

“What if she sees someone tailing her? If we get caught, that will be chaotic” I said,

I heard Ian exhale heavily form the other end “You don’t think I will send an amateur to do a job for me, I will send a professional who won’t let himself get caught I promise Bella” Ian said,

I remained quiet, silently panicking,

“Listen to me Bella, I know you are worried, but I just you to calm down, panicking won’t help you at all, I promise your mum will be safe, I will make sure of it” Ian said, his voice was calm and comforting, it made me feel at ease,

“Okay, I promise I will try to calm down” I said,

“Very good, just go ahead and have breakfast while I get in touch with my contact” Ian said, I had a feeling he was smiling,

“Thanks Ian, you are such a darling and sorry for waking you up so early” I said, a smile on my face,

“I know I am lovable but please keep it down a notch baby sister” Ian said,

“You realize I am older than you right? I am 400 years old than you are” I said,

“That is null and void, that is the past and this is the present honey, so keep telling yourself you are older me, you might just feel better” Ian said, I could hear the smugness in his voice,

I laughed and said “Thanks Ian”

“Anytime Love” he said and the line went dead,

I took a few calming breaths before going heading downstairs, I found Sofia waiting for me with a steaming cup of tea, I collected the cup from her with a smile,

“Are you okay Bella? You ran up in quite a hurry” she said,

“I am okay, just remembered I had an urgent call to make” I said, these days I was getting too comfortable with half-truths,

Sofia smiled and said “Breakfast is ready, your mum will be joining us shortly”

“I will help set the table” I offered with a smile,

“Sure honey” Sofia said and walked into the kitchen, I followed close behind her, sipping from my cup of tea,

Not too long after we had sat the table, mum joined us, she looked stunning in her red and black business suit,  her hair was tied in a low bun at the base of her neck, she had a red ribbon in her hair as well, she had a deep red lipstick on,

My mother always looked flawless “You look perfect Mum” I said with a smile,

“Thanks honey” she said with a perfect smile that made her look even more beautiful than she normally was,

I could how excited she was about today and I prayed to everything I held dear and true that she will be safe at all times,

“Won’t you have breakfast Madam?” Sofia asked my mum,

“Not today Sofia, I don’t want to ruin my lipstick” mum said with another flawless smile,

“You can just have a little” I offered,

“Sorry Honey, I am getting late already, we are eating out later, you, me and Sofia, dress up prettily” she said and grabbed her purse and files, she came over and kissed me on the cheek, then waved at Sofia and then she was out the door, leaving us in silence,

“Your mum is like a power house, she always keeps going, I love that about her” Sofia said with a smile,

“I like that about her as well” I said and deep in my heart, I kept wishing that she will be safe.