Dropping The Crown

Chapter 24: Adjustment

Adani's POV

'You can't trust anyone one hundred percent, Adani' I heard my mother's voice mentally speaking as I sat down across from my therapist, Dr. Milan.

"Good evening, Adani," Dr. Milan started, "Why don't you tell me what your experience has been like in your previous relationship. You mentioned you've felt trapped. Trapped in what way?"

"I just felt like I hindered myself to the outside world and to the people I was once close to."

"People as in your parents?"

"Parent. I can't remember my dad."

"Why?"

"He has been absent almost all my life," I answered. Dr. Milan wrote in her notepad.

"Have you ever felt like you want to reconnect with your father, to get to know him?" she asked.

"There is a gap. I mean, every child deserves to know his or her father. But I'm not going to dwell on the possibility of reconnecting with him. My mother barely spoke of him and all I've ever seen in her eyes were pain whenever I inquired."

"So you stopped asking of him?"

"I did."

"Adani, have you ever had true love?"

I gulped. I've had crushes before Wayan but it was innocent high school teenagers stuff. Wayan was all I knew and the way he treated me, that was unequivocally, it was not true love.

"I don't believe I've ever had true love except for my mother's unconditional love," I answered.

~

The session went on for half an hour more and I didn't open up about Wayan and the abuse. Dr. Milan also looked familiar, like I've seen her somewhere but I just couldn't pinpoint the exact location.

After the session, we shook hands and said our goodbyes, and I went back to being me.

It was the third Monday in July. The mansion was no longer filled with the guests. Everyone had filed out in the morning period and we spent the day cleaning the rooms after them.

Everyone left except Mrs. Parriston. She insisted on staying behind for a little longer to have more time with her son.

~

"Nah. She just wants to make our lives a living hell," Mavielle said. We were outdoors in the greenhouse at the end of our shift. Flamboyant had already left the premises.

"I think Mr. Parriston put his feet down. She hasn't been that bossy since the party."

"Please, she's waiting for an opening."

We chatted until the sky became darker then Mavielle was about to take her leave when we ran into Mr. Parriston.

"Wonderful. You're still here. The shift is going to be adjusted," he spoke to Mavielle and handed her a sheet of paper before leaving.

Mavielle gazed at the paper then handed it to me. Our names, start and end time of shifts were stated.

"My days off would be on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays obviously. My shift begins in the afternoon now," I observed.

"And mine on mornings and Flamboyant's at afternoons into the evenings. We all have the same days off which is pretty good. I love Mr. Parriston for this."

Mavielle snapped a picture of the new shift and sent it to Flamboyant's phone. We hugged and then she left.

~
The changes took effect the next day. Mavielle came in the morning and did her usual routine and took her leave when Flamboyant came in and did her task and left in the evening, and I did mine in the evening into the early night until I retired to my bedroom.