Maya Pov:
"Maya." A voice behind me sounded so strange and intense.
Then suddenly, a loud siren sound barged into my head, causing me a splitting sharp pain at the center of my skull while my eyesight became blurry by the minute.
I winced in pain and held onto the wall, causing the portrait to fall off. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I cried.
I held onto my head like it was about to explode as I noticed a few people gathering me. I managed to see their dresses and they were all white and black. It must be they were the housemaids.
"Alert Kylan, please." The voice from earlier said to another and I realized feet retreating away.
The voice sounded like an aged grown woman. She held my hand and helped me get to my feet. I wanted to take another look at the portrait but unfortunately, it was already shattered in pieces on the floor.
"Oh Damn, Aiden was going to kill me."
My eyes still felt like I had just been on a rollercoaster and I couldn't see properly. Was my mind seeing things, or was I slowly losing my vision?
I need a reasonable explanation because why the hell was I seeing my ex-boyfriend, Xavier Thompson in the family portrait? Last I checked, Xavier was an orphan just like me and there was no possible way he was ever going to be related to Aiden Jabari, my husband.
No, no, no it is not possible. In fact, my mind must be playing stupid games on me. I hit my head on the tiles so pretty hard, it must be that I am having a bit of concoctions.
I am seeing things, I need to clear the thought of him being in that portrait because it can never be.
As I was helped toward another part of the mansion which seemed like a very big kitchen, The middle-aged woman sat me carefully on a stool. Her face looked like one of the faces I saw in the family portrait.
"You'll be fine, my dear. You just need food and water." She said to me in a loving tone.
The way she spoke to me and the sound of her loving voice made me feel some kind of way I have never felt in a very long time and that was a mother's love.
It made me wonder why she was so calm and nice to me. Maybe because I am probably her boss's fake wife but I didn't care, I just decided to sit there and enjoy the love and attention I was getting from this woman.
It mattered so much to me to be able to eat a home-cooked meal from a mother. She was preparing my breakfast herself and I was there watching. It made me remember a little bit of my mother.
Even though I couldn't seem to remember my mother's face or anything about my life before I became an orphan, I do remember when she usually took me with her to the kitchen and we ended up making a total mess.
Those were tiny bits of memories I was able to keep since the age of four when my family abandoned me in the streets. I had thought they loved me but I was so wrong. They took me to a very faraway country in Europe and literally shoved me away.
Over the years, I wondered why they did what they did to me. My earliest memories were beautiful, I was loved at least, I felt loved. When I was ten, I got adopted by a foster home that brought me back to the United States from the Philippines.
They were horrible people and I couldn't wait till I turned eighteen so that I could leave their home for good.
From Sacramento, I traveled to Florida where I met Xavier who saved me from thieves. I didn't have anywhere to stay for the night and Xavier was nice enough to show me the ropes and give me a place to lay my head.
One thing led to another and you know the rest of the story up until now.
As I reminisced about my life before, my thoughts were brought back by the great aroma of the food the aged woman was making. In a couple of seconds, she served me a plate of food and cold juice with a glass of water.
"Eat up, dear. You need to regain your strength." She said and I nodded.
Just as I wanted to pick up the spoon, Kylan walked in still in his pajamas. "Good morning, Nonna. I am up, what's the matter?" He asked, squinting his eyes.
Nonna?
Kylan didn't seem to notice my presence but immediately he did, he fell silent. "Good morning, Kylan," I said and buried my face back on the plate of food.
"Morning." He said slowly.
He turned to face Nonna and she pulled his ears forcefully. "Ouch, Ouch, Ouch, Nonna she looks fine to me." He cried.
Nonna fired at him, holding his small ears. "She looks fine? Kylan, the little girl almost slumped if I hadn't been where she was. Where are the drugs I gave you to give her last night?"
Kylan tried to abscond but Nonna had a fierce grip on his ears. "NONNA ouch! I gave it to Aiden, he has the drugs. He is her husband after all." Kylan explained.
"You gave Aiden drugs?!" Nonna screamed.
"Aiden couldn't even wash his buttocks when he was five years old, I washed him every day!" she added, and I almost burst out of laughter.
Just then, Aiden entered the kitchen, and before he was able to say something, Nonna flew toward him like a ninja and held his ear tightly. "YOU!" Nonna growled.
"I am so sorry, we are so sorry, Nonna." Aiden pleaded as he winced in pain.
Nonna clashed their heads together and they both struggled to get away from her grip but it seemed like she had the upper hand against them. Though she was quite short, she was still able to hold this tall broad-shoulder man in place.
She pushed both of them and they fell flat on their faces. "Sorry Nonna," they said in unison.
I was quite curious to know the relationship between this woman right here and the two men. They both call her Nonna which only means she is their elder, more like a grandmother. Which further meant she was practically family.
She stretched her hand towards Aiden and said. "The drugs!"
Aiden quickly passed the pack of drugs to her and she jerked it from his hand. She turned to face me with a big smile on her face. "Sorry for that, my sweet. You know one has to set these boys straight a few times for them to understand that they are grown-up men," she said,
"Almost thirty years, and I am still cleaning up their buttocks." She continued with a smirk on her face.
I giggled a bit and looked away. She placed the drugs on my tray and stroked my hair lovingly. "I am Priscilla Donovan, Aiden's and Kylan's grandmother." She introduced herself and I nodded.
"I am Maya Moore. Nice to meet you, Mrs Donovan." I replied.
"I know who you are and no, no please call me Nonna. Everyone here calls me Nonna. Mrs Donovan is too formal and I haven't heard anyone call me that in years." She chuckled.
"Thank you, Nonna."
She smiled at me. "I've always wanted a daughter of my own. A female in the house bearing the family's name. It's been a very long time." She sighed.
I could sense she was sad with the tone of her voice. I held her hand and smiled at her while she cupped my cheeks into her old wrinkled hands.
"God sent me a brave young woman to fill the space. What you did for the Vice President was remarkable and I want to just say that I am so proud of you." She said to me and my heart flattered.
"No one has ever told me that before," I said softly and looked down to the floor.
She raised my face with her finger. "I am honored to be the first and I bet you'll be hearing that often from me." She said and planted a kiss on my hand.
I was so astonished by her actions. She seemed like a rare diamond. How can someone who has never met a person before be so nice and open-handed? She speaks to me like she has known me all my life.
I had never felt this loved and welcomed all my life and I was beginning to be a little emotional with how she treated me. My eyes grew wet and I quickly used the back of my palm to wipe the tears away without her noticing.
She moved away from me and signaled one of the maids to carry her tray of food while she stared at Aiden and Kylan. "Help yourself to breakfast and take care of her!" She instructed.
"Yes, Nonna," Kylan replied and Aiden stared at me disgustedly.
"Welcome to the family and see you at dinner, Maya," Nonna said to me and waved.
As soon as Nonna was out of sight, Aiden dismissed the other staff from the kitchen and stomped towards me. "Don't get too comfortable. You're not here to be treated like a princess, don't let Nonna fool you. Your time here is limited and I will also advise you not to get too attached to my Nonna." Aiden fired.
Kylan giggled and said teasingly. "I see someone is jealous because Nonna might be having a new favorite."
Aiden rolled his eyes and clenched his jaw. "I am not jealous. How can I possibly be jealous of her? In a few years, she'll be out of the family." Aiden added.
I sat still and watched them silently. I wasn't ready to bicker words with Aiden and he was right anyway, this wasn't for forever. It is too late to think that I can have a real family for myself.
I'll always be an orphan and nothing is going to change that.
I slowly ate my almost-cold breakfast sadly but I didn't show them the impression of what they said and the impact it had on me. I took my drugs and hoped Xavier's face wouldn't be popping up in my head anymore.
As soon as I was done, Aiden dropped a large book in front of me. "This is all the schedule you will be having for my campaign. You have a part to play in all of this. You've met my Nonna, now it is time for you to meet another important person in my life and the family." He said to me and continued.
"My elder brother, Xavier."