2.

Per Daryl's knowledge, his assistant would see to everything. He only had to pack a bag and set off. He did just that, but before he could leave for the airport his assistant had come to his house. He met her at the living room after his butler had let her in.

"Weren't we supposed to meet at the airport?"

He asked before she could say anything.

" Yes sir, but they were some changes I had to let you know of" he nodded so she could continue. But she paused as if she was about to give a tragic news. Maybe she was.

"Sir, your father changed everything." She finally said.

"He what?"

He didn't wait for her reply as he stormed off to his study.

He quickly video called his father. Daren answered on the first ring. He was seated casually in his study with a bottle of scotch on his desk, holding a filled glass, too organised to be a coincidence. He took a sip as he watched his son fume.

"Did your assistant give you the details?" he asked smugly, knowing his son was still too angry to speak.

"I'll tell you anyway. What you need is a change of environment and I'm giving you one. At Florida."

Daryl shook his head and ended the call.

He'd take it as it comes. The beaches would have to do.

It was a Monday morning and he didn't even know what time his flight was.

His assistant was still waiting for him downstairs. She tried smiling but it turned out more of a grimace. I'll send you the details via email she said and made to leave.

"Emily,?" she turned "what time is the flight?"

"11:30am sir" he nodded and went back upstairs.

Three hours more. What could he do to kill the time. He could start working but he was adamant on not working till it was urgent and of utmost importance.

He unpacked everything in his duffel bag and repacked, taking what he thought he'd need the most. It seemed like he wasn't going for a vacation, just a change of environment for a month. This was ridiculous.

"Thank you very much sir" The Uber driver couldn't be more grateful. This tip was large.

Well the house is quite impressive. Thought Daryl as he took the keys from the person. It wasn't too large for one man but it was spacious and had enough rooms to host a party. It had a swimming pool, a garage to fit three cars and a backyard garden. He quickly called his assistant.

"I believe you had a safe flight sir?" Emily asked.

"Yes I did, the house is rented right?"

"Yes sir"

"Good, buy it"

"Okay, sir"

Reaching the door he was startled by the lady beside it standing patiently. He wasn't expecting anyone to be there.

"Hello, Mr. Daryl Danin. I am Ms Diane, your Iive-in house help." The lady said with a hand shake. He nodded. What could he say, he'd just unemployed her by buying the house. Or he could just hire her? He decided to let her employers break the news to her.

She opened the door and shut it after him.

"Let me lead you to the master bedroom" He nodded once more.

"Here you are" They'd finally gotten there after passing many doors. He'd have to take time to tour the house.

"Thank you"

"When you are ready, please ring for me and I'll give you a tour of the house" She said then left him to himself.

" Great"

When Karen got home, she threw her bag on the couch and went straight to the kitchen. She was starving. She cut a slice of bread and spread it with groundnut paste imported from Ghana, a West African country. She started eating right away and went back to the hall for her bag. She got to her room and hanged the bag on one nail behind the door. She undressed, finished her bread whilst going through her social media and went for a quick shower.

She wore only an oversized shirt and laid in bed, soon her thoughts were drifting. She'd missed her mom and brother but anger wouldn't let her pay a visit or even call. She was Ghanaian-American and family meant everything. Though she hadn't been to Ghana before, her mom had tried as much as possible to train her and her brother according to the Ghanaian culture. The most she could do was speak a local dialect, Twi. Her mom refused to let go of her name and insisted on giving her children the name also, so she was Karen Akua Owusu-Edwards.

Family was everything but if her mom was willing to sacrifice her then her mom didn't deserve to be family.

Her father had died during a drug deal fiasco and the drug lords demanded that her mom pay for the lost money, or let Karen her only daughter work for them for a week. They wouldn't be specific about the job too. Who knew what they'd planned to do to her and the scars she would bear for the rest of her life.

As if hearing that her dad was into drugs for the first time in her twenty years wasn't enough, her mother also had agreed to her working to lay of the debt. Why should she pay for a sin she didn't even know existed. Karen flat out refused and ran away when it was least expected. Running away with just a week's worth of clothes and her savings for her next semester's hostel's fees she'd left everything behind. Her friends, her education.

It's been two years now. The first year was the most difficult. Spending her days looking for jobs and her nights at shelter homes. She was assaulted at five different restaurants working as a waitress because of her dark skin. Whenever she reported the cases she was asked to either suck it up and continue with her job or find employment elsewhere. She left.

Then she found this restaurant. As usual she was assaulted, but this time around, the manager asked if she could cook when she reported the case. Of course she could cook. You would not not cook in her mother's house. So she stopped waiting tables and began cooking in the kitchen, and she's been working there till now. The pay wasn't bad but it was barely sufficient.

If she had stayed at home she would have been done with college by now. Sometimes she wonders if running away was the better decision. Sometimes, like right now.