just listened to me and moved a little towards the right, the ball would have gone in!" Nyla shouted at Darius.

Darius walked right up to Nyla until they were only a couple of centimetres away. "You think you're such a know-it-all but there were at least five shots you missed earlier that I would have putted in!"

Nyla laughed in a shrill manner. "You are so arrogant and selfish!"

"So are you."

Back and forth they went on. Insulting each other and yelling. People around them continued staring but Nyla didn't care.

"And when someone needs help you just disappear. Why are you even here for the final round? Why don't you just leave like you did weeks ago!"

Darius looked down now murderous now. However, before he could say anything, Vincent meekly cut in. "As much as I'm enjoying the argument between the two of you, it's your turn."

Darius lined up to take the shot, but Nyla pushed him aside. "Move, I'll do it."

He didn't say anything but simply watched as Nyla putted the ball in the final hole. A cheer went up from the rest of the spectators. She shot Darius a confused look.

"We've won," he said dryly.

Nyla pushed back a lock of black hair. "Really?"

Darius nodded. Before Nyla knew what, she was doing, she pulled Darius into a hug. "We won!" she repeated excitedly.

When she realized that she was hugging him, Nyla immediately let go. The warmth was lost but she could have sworn, she saw a little bit of disappointment in Darius' eyes. The team they had been competing against came over to congratulate them. They both accepted the felicitations. More people began congratulating them and soon Darius and Nyla were separated by a crowd of people. Reporters were mixed into the group as well and Nyla did her best to represent the company and indicate that things were fine between her and Darius.

It was a little while later when she heard her name being called repeatedly. She spun around to see that it was Darius calling her. He was in the corner of the golf course—away from most of the people. Nyla walked over to him, "What's up?"

"I want you to meet someone."

Nyla looked around, "Who?"

Darius held up his phone. On the screen Nyla could see a light-haired girl in a wheelchair.

"This is my sister Lily."

Nyla smiled and waved at the phone. "Hi! It's nice to meet you."

Lily wasn't looking at her but staring at something else in the distance.

"Lily," Darius said softly. "This is my friend Ny-la."

Lily looked at the camera. "Nla?"

"Ny-la." Darius repeated her name slowly.

It took a while but after a few more tries, Lily was able to get her name.

"When I come to visit you again, I'll bring her with me. Is that okay?"

Lily clapped and there was a loud shriek. Darius laughed and exchanged an amused smile with her. "I'm guessing that she's okay with it."

He spoke for a few minutes with her before ending the call.

"I didn't know." Nyla blurted out.

"Not many people do." Darius said. "I'm not ashamed of her but if people knew, she might get more press and attention. Lily really hates that."

Nyla nodded. She understood why they didn't let most people know about Lily. Unable to contain her curiosity, she hesitantly asked. "What does she have?"

Darius looked up at the blue sky and sighed. "At birth she had Periventricular Leukomalacia. I remember, she was just so small. Then she grew up and was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy."

Nyla didn't know what to say so instead she placed a light hand on his shoulder.

"That's where I was two weeks ago. Lily lives with my mom but once a year, she goes on vacation. Either Vincent or I stay with Lily. She needs a familiar face around her. My phone was turned off because its always buzzing and Lily doesn't like the noise."

Suddenly, Nyla felt horrible. She had yelled at Darius and accused him of abandoning her all the while he had been with his sister. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said all those words to you."

Darius shook his head. "No, I also had a responsibility to you. I'm sorry as well. I didn't mean what I said. You do have friends, if not anyone close—me at least."

The two exchanged a hesitant smile. "Are we going to hug this out or what?" Nyla sked.

Laughing, Darius pulled her into a tight hug. She breathed the scent of him and immersed herself in the moment. It felt nice to be held like this she thought.

♠♠♠♠♠♠

"Olivia, is he still inside?" Nyla asked the secretary.

She looked quite alarmed at the question. Nyla didn't know if it was because she was surprised to see her or the fact that she'd remembered her name. "Do you have an appointment?"

Nyla shook her head. "No, but I'm sure he won't mind."

Oliva was hesitating. "Look," Nyla said. "If he gets angry, I'll say that I barged in without your permission."

Oliva smiled at that and Nyla took that as a yes. Without knocking, Nyla opened the door to Darius' office—pizza box in hand.

Darius was in a call, but he didn't seem fazed with her sudden appearance in his office. What are you doing here? He mouthed.

Nyla pointed towards the pizza and shut the door on the curious secretary behind her. She settled down on the coach and placed the box on the table in the middle. Kicking up her legs, she made herself comfortable. She was aware that Darius was narrowing his eyes at her but since he was on the phone, he couldn't say much.

Deciding that she couldn't wait any longer, Nyla opened the box of pizza. The aroma drifted into the room. She took a huge slice for herself and began munching on it.

"Yes Joseph, I'll sign over the contracts as soon as I have them."

Nyla went to take another bite of the slice but her mouth bit into thin air. "Hey," she cried out, as she watched Darius take the pizza away from her. "I was eating that."

He ignored her protest and began eating the slice himself. Nyla was extremely annoyed, but she didn't let him see it.

"I'll talk to you soon." Darius said before hanging up the phone. He continued munching on the slice as if nothing had happened.

"You took my food."

Darius shrugged his shoulders. "I was hungry."

"I brought an entire box."

"Good," Darius said smiling at her. "I'll probably finish the entire thing."

Nyla sighed. It seemed like she was not going to be getting her slice back. Frowning she opened the box to take out another piece.

"This is good pizza." Darius said.

Nyla watched him and smiled. Even though he was extremely hungry, Darius made sure that he'd swallowed the entire bite before talking.

"It's from the place I mentioned to you a while ago."

Darius cocked an eyebrow.

"The best pizza place in New York?"

Darius' eyes lit up with recognition. "I actually might have to agree with you there."

"I knew I could bring you to the dark side." Nyla said jokingly.

They ate their pizza in silence.

"I'm sorry about the things that horrible women Emilia is saying."

Nyla didn't look into Darius' eyes. "It doesn't matter, because whatever she says isn't true."

Darius sighed before loosening is tie with his left hand. "Some people are really bad people. Make me think how one person can turn out to be so good while the next person is a murder."

"Those are deep thoughts." Nyla said sarcastically. She saw that Darius was still deep in thought, so she said the next words much softly, "It probably has to do with a lot of factors. Beginning with your environment, what you consume, how and what your parents teach you."

"Yeah," Darius agreed. "Still no more leads from the police?"

Nyla shook her head. "They swung by yesterday. It seems like they've reached a dead end."

"We might have to hire a private investigator." Darius said.

Nyla leaned back into the sofa. "We might, but I want to give them some more time."

Darius looked as though he was about to say something else but then decided against it.

"Let's stop thinking about all this sad stuff." Nyla pulled out a deck of cards from her bag and began shuffling them. "I challenge you to a game of speed."

Darius grinned and came around his desk. "You're on. But get ready to lose."

Nyla gave him a coy smile. "We'll see."

♠♠♠♠♠♠

Nyla knew the staff members around her were counting down the days until Thanksgiving. Many were visiting family in other states while the rest were entertaining in their own homes. Nyla was not looking forward to thanksgiving. Once upon a time, the holiday had been a time filled with laughter and loved ones but now all she felt was the confinements of her apartment.

"Ms. Malhotra," Hyeon said softly rapping on the door. "Is it okay if I leave earlier today? I have to pick up my parents from the airport."

Trying to keep the ire out of her voice, Nyla nodded. "It's fine."

Hyeon smiled. "I hope you have a good Thanksgiving as well."

Nyla didn't respond. She couldn't focus on the work in front of her. So, she took a walk around the office. It seemed like most of the employees were in the holiday spirit already. Not much work was getting down. When they saw Nyla walking past them, the laughter stopped. Nyla sighed. Just because she didn't like Thanksgiving, didn't mean that others couldn't enjoy the holiday.

She turned towards the employees. "Take it easy today guys. I know a lot of you have family coming or have to make preparations so if you need to leave early, just let your supervisor know and you're free to go."

There was a loud cheer that went up in the office after her announcement and George stumbled out of his office with a frown on his face. "What's going on?"

Nyla smiled at him. "It's nothing much. I'm just letting the employees leave early for Thanksgiving."

George mumbled a couple of things under his breath, but Nyla was too far away to hear them.

"Lighten up," she said patting him on the back gently before going back into her office. She wanted to prolong this day as much as she could while everyone else wanted it to end.

♠♠♠♠♠♠

Nyla traced the letters on the flyer currently in her hands. She had come across it on the bulletin board of Renne which allowed employees to list any causes they believed were worthwhile and people should read about. The advertisement was in black and white, but it was calling for any volunteers to help out at a Women's Shelter. Nyla keyed in the address and realized that it was only a couple of blocks away.

She quickly made her decision. It wasn't like she was doing anything special today anyways. Her phone hadn't rung once, and she didn't know if her parents and sister were enjoying their meal without her. Nyla dressed in a warm mustard sweater and a pair of black slacks. She went to grab a pair of heels before shaking her head at her foolishness. Sneakers would clearly be the better option here. She didn't know what she would encounter at the shelter.

Making sure she had her keys and wallet, Nyla shut of the lights and left her apartment. It was quite brisk outside, and she was glad that she'd thrown a leather jacket over her sweater. She followed the directions and arrived at a rather shabby looking place.

Hesitantly, she pushed open the doors and was surprised to hear a lot of noise. It seemed like the place was packed. Women, volunteer, children, everyone was everywhere.

She stood in the corner taking the scene in.

"Hi, can I help you with anything?" A woman with cropped brown hair asked her.

Nyla cleared her throat before showing her the flyer. "You were looking for volunteers?"

The woman's smile brightened. "Oh, bless your soul. We need all the help we can get. The ladies have organized a dinner for the people here but it's impossible to doing everything at once."

Nyla rolled up her sleeves. "Put me wherever you need help."

The woman nodded before directing Nyla towards the kitchen. There she was greeted by many other women who were all eager for her to join them. She was giving the tasks passing out the food to the individuals and so Nyla began doing her job, listening to the laughter and voices around her.

Some of the women that approached her bore the signs of violence and each time Nyla saw it, her heart broke. Other women were shy but some laughed and thanked Nyla. By the time that everyone had gotten a meal, she was exhausted, but she didn't let it show. She watched as the women fed their kids and spoke with the others.

"It's rewarding, isn't it?" The same women brown haired women asked Nyla.

"How much funding do you guys get?"

She named a number and Nyla was angry. She dug up her purse and made out a cheque to the place right away. She placed it in the women's hand.

"Are you sure?" The woman asked glancing at the amount.

Nyla nodded. "It's a company cheque, so you don't have to worry about anything."

The woman had tears in her eyes as she pulled Nyla for a hug. Nyla couldn't help but feel a bit better. She might not have gotten the thanksgiving she wanted with family and friends, but she was able to impact and help other women.

Once she left the shelter, she made one last stop before coming home. She took a cab to Raymond's grave and poured a drink of brandy before toasting him.

"You might not be here anymore, but today I donated and made a difference in your name. I think you would have been happy, if you knew." she said the words softly before taking a drink.

Deep in her heart, she did know that Raymond was happy with her.

-------------

School's done so i'll probably be updating every week now :) If your able to, try donating to your locals women's shelter because those women have been through a lot and are still standing despite everything.