3. Am In The Wrong Basket

Every hour, every minute, and every moment of my life has become so tough for her in the mansion. Maria had to wake up before any of them to cook food and do other house chores that can be completed by any other servants in the house.

Marvin's mother, Mrs. Hannah, makes her life conveniently worse than ever. She can ask for her presence anytime of the day for any errand, like her personal slave. It's been a year of marriage, and she had been squeezed like an orange throughout the whole year.

She was sitting all alone in her room when she heard the calling of her name from outside her door. She quickly picked up her clothes and commanded her dog 'Max' to follow her, but when she opened the door, it was the physical appearance of 'Jane' the cook.

"Miss Maria, you are needed right away." Jane said.

"Alright. Jane." Maria said

Both of them left the main entrance of her room. Jane was walking in front of her while Maria and Max were wagging his tail. He followed her quickly. Maria's heartbeat started rising as she approached Mrs. Hannah, who had been waiting impatiently at the seat.

"Lady, isn't it too late, too early for you to celebrate freedom in this house? How dare you wake up without doing anything?" Mrs. John said.

Maria kept her cool head straight without saying anything that could complicate her. Jane wanted to plead on her behalf, but she snubbed her tiny voice and faced Maria directly.

"I am speaking, and you turned your deafening ear to me, right!? Mrs. John said angrily. 

She began to plead before to avoid unnecessary arguments, which she had been having ever since she got there.

A day after her contract wedding, she had called her out just like that. On getting there, she raised an argument, which led to a lot of noise. This woke up Marvin from his room.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Marvin asked.

As soon as she saw him, she took up the act and started shedding crocodile tears.

"My son, your wife is trying to beat me up." Mrs. John said. 

He didn't bother to ask her about what was wrong; instead, he changed his voice and confronted her directly in a very harsh tone.

"Maria, what the heck is wrong with you?" 

She wasn't expecting him to support her against his mother, so she spit back on his rough face.

"Don't ask me; ask her, parent's child," Maria said. 

He sparked into anger and made an attempt to slap her. She trembled at seeing his body coming towards her, so she adjusted herself and covered her face with both hands, but Max saved her with his same barking while they were in school. He had no choice but to walk away from her. He held his mother by her left hand and left Maria alone with her dog.

Maria is only allowed to visit her father during Christmas unless she can accompany her husband to the company where she will be able to see her father. 

She had been planning to escape the villa, but the fear of losing her father always locked her mind and mouth from doing anything.

Mrs. Hannah John had no children except Marvin due to some medical conditions she had when she was giving birth to him, so this made both parents nurture Marvin carelessly. They provided anything he had ever wished for, even if they didn't like it. They never wanted him to marry her, but because he had demanded it, they had no choice but to approve it.

But Marvin, on the other hand, got married to Maria just for revenge for refusing to date him while they were in school. He has another person he's in love with that is unknown to any of them.

He met Michelle Haumer on one of his visits to a nightclub. 

Everywhere was so dark and the music kept on playing so loud non-stop by the club DJ; the air of the club was filled with different. He of smokes mixed up, he walked in slowly in the midst of male and female dancing while facing each other, Marvin in his white T-shirt and black Jean, with a gold wristwatch and a white canvas, which completed his wears, got through to the bartender.

He sat down and ordered the tequila mixture. The bartender quickly mixed his drink and served it on the table in front of him. He picked it up and turned his back. He saw two men trying to block a lady from going through. 

Marvin stood up and approached their table nicely.

"Hello guys, please, what's going on here?" 

One of them frowned at him and blocked him from interfering.

"Get out of here, boy; this is no place for a freshly baked boy like you." Said the man holding Michelle.

Marvin reacted by smiling for a few seconds, then he turned his back on them, pretending to leave their premises, but unexpectedly, he launched a quick punch on the right cheek of the man holding Michelle by her two hands, and then all three of them advanced to attack him.

At that moment, Michelle moved very fast to hide behind him while he covered her from them. The first man threw his punch, and he dodged it, then landed his own on his lower jaw, which forced him to his forehead on a pole close to him. The remaining two picked two bottles each, and they were about to attack him when the noise of the police scared them.

Marvin and Michelle left the club quickly before the arrival of the police in his father's SUV. They went straight to a broad street not far from the club. That is where Michelle is staying with her 10-year-old son 'Frank'. The street is populated with so many poor individuals that they find it difficult to afford meals. 

As he packed his car properly in front of an old 10-year building, before they stepped down, he remembered to turn off the car engine, and they opened the door simultaneously. 

Michelle led the way to her apartment on the 3rd floor, room 123. She reached into her handbag and took out a bunch of keys, and she picked the one that had a red ribbon tied to it for easy recognition. 

She gently held and positioned the key in its hole and allowed the lock to make passage for the tiny key to enter.

Immediately they entered, they found Frank's body at the entrance laid down awkwardly with a stain of blood on his nose.

"Frank!!!" She called out his name loudly.