Chapter 6 Demons At Bay

• Maxton's mind was fixed on the lady at the ball.
• He chuckled at that corny thought 'lady at the ball'. It sounded like something out of some Disney fairytale which was wrong; for nothing happened out of the blue. You either liked someone or you didn't. Happily ever afters were dreams.
• But Belle was beautiful, that much was true. There was something about her that just seemed impossible for him to forget about her. He couldn't focus on work and it was starting to get on his nerves. It was awakening the side of him no one knew about.
• That was why he had called her. He had to talk to her. He had to keep his demon at bay.
• He lay on his couch checking his phone constantly for the address she promised to send. He pretended not to have become impatient but deep down, he couldn't wait for a second longer. If she didn't send the address he would just have to go pick her up first thing in the morning.
• He couldn't remember a time in his life he felt this way, so letting her go was out of the question. Maybe it was the colour of her eyes. Or was it the way she spoke?
• Ladies he knew would babble on about meaningless topics but she was quite precise in her conversations and he loved it.
• "Belle..." he whispered out loud. He was surely going to have a lot of fun with her.
• His cell phone suddenly rang. The sound pierced into his thoughts and snapped him back to reality. He picked up the phone and saw that it was his mum.
• "Mum," he replied.
• "Maxton, how are you?" His mother asked sweetly.
• "I'm great. We missed you at the party."
• "My blood pressure shot up and the doctor said it'll be better if I stayed home and got some rest."
• Maxton frowned immediately. "Mum, are you okay? Do you need me to come over?" As he asked the questions he was already on his feet heading to the bedroom to change into a proper outfit. His mother was the reason why he was the Maxton Joseph everyone respected today. He wouldn't let even a fly hurt her.
• "No no! There's no need to come over. I'm okay. I just needed some rest that's all."
• Maxton wasn't satisfied with that. He was so overprotective and concerned over his mum. She was all he had left and he couldn't bear the thought of losing her like he had lost his dad.
• "Are you sure?" He asked sceptically.
• "I am. I didn't call you to bug you with an old woman's fragile heart issues. I called to hear the gossip from the horse's mouth. I heard you made acquaintances with a certain lady today."
• He could hear the amusement in her voice.
• "How news travel so fast... It hasn't even been six hours and you've already heard all the details. You really should have joined the secret service. You'd have been an indispensable asset."
• His mum laughed softly and despite his worry, he smiled too.
• "So who is she?"
• "She's Belle Fairmont."
• "I see," his mum said. "Is she perhaps from the Fairmont family in L.A?"
• "Yeah, she is," Maxton said.
• "That's good..." she trailed off. She wasn't happy about this discovery. She wanted her son to end up with someone else and not some girl from L.A. But before passing her judgment, she needed to get all the information she could from him.
• "Not only did you ask her for a dance, but you were also together after that," she said in a flat tone.
• At this point, Maxton understood what game his mother was trying to play. In fact, he could guess where she had gotten so many details from.
• "Yeah, we did," he replied with less enthusiasm.
• "I'm so happy for you. However, I'm sad and confused that you decided to pick a stranger for the dance when Willow was present. You really hurt her feelings," she finally said.
• Willow had been trying all she could to get his attention at the party and he'd done as best as he could to deprive her of it.
• Willow Bancroft was the lady his mum had been trying to matchmake him with. She was the daughter of a family friend who stood by him and his mum after his dad died. He and Willow had been friends for a long time and despite his mum's efforts to make them a couple, he never saw her as anything more than that.
• "I am a grown man. I have the right to dance with whoever I want. I didn't mean to hurt Willow's feelings—"
• "Well, you did!" his mum interrupted with a stern voice.
• He loved his mum but she could be a pain in the ass sometimes.
• "I'm not responsible for how she feels over an action of mine that didn't concern her."
• "Didn't concern her? Didn't concern her you say? That girl has been head over heels in love with you and you keep on ignoring her and you say it doesn't concern her?" His mum was yelling at this point.
• He remembered her blood pressure and decided to concede for peace to reign.
• "Fine, I'm sorry mum. I shouldn't have done what I did. I won't make such a mistake next time."
• "That's good. Not only will it not happen again but you're going to call her and set up a date with her. " She paused for a while then added "Preferably, tomorrow."
• "Mum, I'm definitely going to spend some time with Willow and make up for what I did. But I won't do that tomorrow. I'll do it when I deem it fit. "
• "I deem it fit that you see her tomorrow and see her on tomorrow you shall! Now I have no more time to argue, I can feel my blood pressure rise due to all of this. I have said my mind and so shall it stand. "
• Trust his mum to use her illness as a weapon.
• "Goodnight my son," his mum said in the sweetest voice possible.
• "Goodnight mum."
• He laid down on the couch and regretted why he'd answered the call in the first place.
• He knew it was impossible to win against his mum. It was by no chance that she'd been able to support him in the growing of his conglomerate. She was a force to be reckoned with.
• It was due to her strong will that Maxton was able to be who he was today. She had been his rock and precious gem ever since he lost his dad. She knew of this and made sure to use it to her advantage.
• Melody Joseph was sixty-one but didn't look a day over forty. She was a petite woman, with the most pretty pale skin and dark brown hair just like her son's. She was never to be seen without her pearls which complimented her skin perfectly.
• She assisted Maxton in running the conglomerate although it was against his wish. Let alone, Maxton would've wanted his mum to spend her days on some island shopping and idling away living the Boujee lifestyle but she'd insisted on being by his side.
• He loved her with everything in him but this wish of hers was going to be hard to execute.
• He heard a notification on his phone alerting him of a new message. He felt his heart skip a beat as he thought it was from Belle. But when he picked up his phone, he was disappointed. It was a message from Willow.
• 'Hey, Max. Your mum just told me on the phone that you'd like for us to hang out tomorrow. I just wanted to let you know that I'm free and will be expecting your call. X.O.'
• He couldn't believe it!
• His mum had already called Willow?! What was it with that woman!?
• He decided to text her back. He told her he'd call her in the morning with the details.
• He got up from the couch and went to lie on his bed. He was so tired from the events of the day. He was however restless cause of the actions of his mum.
• He gazed about his room till his eyes fell on a painting he'd acquired some years ago from an art exhibition. It was a beautiful abstract painting but that wasn't what caught his attention. It was a specific shade of blue in the painting. It was exactly the shade of blue of Belle's eyes. A hypnotising shade that seemed to drown one's pain and totally free the mind. Not even the anger he had towards his mum could survive such beauty.
• He stared at the painting with a smile on his face as he recalled the conversations he had with Belle.
• He smiled as he thought of writing an apology letter to Disney apologising for always condemning their movies as absurd because he had found himself living a fairytale life and dancing with an unknown enchanting woman.
• He drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face and an image of a beautiful blue shade on his mind.