The Grand Mistress

For few minutes, Simione's eyes was glued to her readings. Good thing Mr. Wanglin seemed to be busy with some things else and stopped pestering Simione, giving the girl the entire morning to study. She was up for another case file when suddenly heard her  phone ring.

When she saw the caller id and realized who it was, she immediately picked it up. "Yes, grandmother…"

Simione wasn't able to finish her greetings because the old lady from the other end was crying frustratedly. It was grandmother Ninya and she brought Simione some real bad news fresh from the courthouse.

"What? How could that happen?" Simione was worriedly shocked when she heard her grandmother's explanation and in order to calm down the old woman, she comforted and assured her at the same time "Don't worry grandmother, I'll find ways. I'll take care of it. Go back to the hospital now and rest,"

As soon as the phone dropped, Simione grabbed her school files one by one and tucked them in her bag. It was already loaded with her books but she pressed everything in nevertheless. While she was doing so, Gertrude saw her terrible expression. He heard her talking to her grandmother and  understood it had to be something about either her brother or grandfather.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Can you please cover up for me? If Mr. Wanglin looked for me—"

"I'll tell him you got a very bad stomach ache that I had to send you home before you  flood the whole room with a foul smell,"

"Thank you," Simione was pleased although Gertrude's made up reason was a bit too extreme. She knew he can pull such lies anyway in front of Mr. Wanglin, as he always did for the past few times she had to leave the office like this.

"Is it your brother this time?" Trini, who caught the conversation, asked. They were both aware that Simione's family wasn't in a good kind of situation these days. She didn't know the details exactly but what she knew was that Simione's grandfather was in prison and her brother was in the hospital for many months now. 

"Grandfather…. his case was scheduled to be heard  in the courthouse today and his lawyer didn't come," Simione managed to reply as she stood and attempted to fix her suit then hurried to the door.

"Again?" 

She heard Trini ask as she left and since she was in a hurry, she didn't mind answering her. Besides, she doesn't really have answers as to why her grandfather's lawyers go MIA everytime his case is being heard. Probably because his case was of embezzlement and no attorney would really take the risk of ruining their career by being labelled as a protector of the criminal who stole people's money. Grandfather Tang was the governor of the second district and it was his public service that brought him through prison. Right then, Simione was keeping a look on his case with all the knowledge she had with lawyering and understood that what her grandfather needed then was another lawyer who would keep his words.

Simione hired a taxi and asked the driver to bring her to the city's prison where grandfather William was held. She then requested to see him as soon as she reached the station  and after just a few minutes of waiting, the old man was guided to the visitor's quarters.

"Grandfather," Simione bowed to pay her respects before she hugged the old man.

"Sisi, you look pale. Have you been eating well?" Grandfather William held the girl's hand and tried to put up a smile so as not to make the girl worry. "You should have not come. It's  a weekday, I'm sure you have a class later. You should have just studied,"

"Grandfather, it's okay," She guided the old man to sit. Although he was trying his best to look okay, Simione knew he wasn't. How could one be okay in prison? Especially at a retiring age, grandfather should have been out there enjoying some vacation he had never had time to do all these years. 

"About your case, don't worry. I'll be able to find a new lawyer," Simione promised. Truth was she had exhausted all her resources and talked to many people in the legal profession but none would like to be involved in her grandfather's case. However, she was not going to give up on it as she knew very well that her grandfather was innocent. All his life, he dedicated it to public service and to say that he just became rich because he took people's money was very unfair. Although the Tangs weren't rich like Hawk Monsanto, they were however members of the elite circle for so many decades. They had enough money to live a luxurious peaceful life so there simply wasn't any reason at all for grandfather Willim to embezzle money. 

"Sisi, my little one," Grandfather William  held her face. "Do not concern yourself with my case anymore. You have so many things on your table right now, even when you don't tell it, I know you are the one paying for your brother's medical expenses and that, that's already enough my love,"

Sisi's heart ached when she heard what her grandfather said. She had been keeping it a secret to him all this time about their financial predicaments. Since her grandfather was accused of embezzlement, the government froze all their assets including all the money in their banks. This was the reason why Simione had taken over and become the breadwinner of the Tangs and kept the whole matter out of William's knowledge. However, it seemed that he already knew.

"Grandfather I'm sorry—"

"No no my little one," The old man shook his head trying to imply that he wasn't angry at all. In fact he was very ashamed that Simione had to take over his place as the provider of the Tangs. Good knows how difficult Sisi's life had been growing up and the last thing he wanted was to give her this burden. Besides, they weren't her obligations anyway as she wasn't really their blood relative, they just took her into their home and raised her. Also when she became of age, she immediately left the Tang's household and lived independently, relying nothing on them but on her own effort and persistence. "I am not mad at you. However Sisi, I don't think it is right that you also had to be burden of me,"

"Grandfather, why are you saying that. Although I am not really your real granddaughter, you loved me beyond anyone did," Simione had smiled lovingly at him that somehow, grandfather William's heart was filled with thorough warmth. If there was one thing he really liked about Simione, it was her warmth and her love for her family, her true family. "Just please let me do something,"

"Alright Sisi," Grandfather William settled. As much as he didn't want Simione to help, he couldn't also resist her pleas. "But don't worry about it too much, although we don't have much of resources right now, I still have some friends in the government I can call,"

"Yes grandfather,"

"By the way, were you able to visit your brother this week?" He inquired.

"Yes I did grandfather," Simione replied instantly as she knew how worried he was about him. Before grandfather William was sent to prison, his only grandson had a terrible car accident and he had been in a coma for many months now. "The doctors said he was doing fine. Don't worry about him, I'm sure one of these days he'll come back to us,"

"I do hope Sisi. I do," It was when he said this that the old man's expression went bad. Obviously, grandfather William doesn't care much if he spends many days in prison. What he cared the most and was very afraid of was that one day, they would lose Lyndon. He was past the critical stage of the injury brought by his accident but he was not able to wake up after it. "Please take care of him, Sisi. That is only thing I want to ask of you and your grandmother too,"

"I will grandfather," She promised and right then, grandfather William held her hand one more time tightly and flushed a bitter smile.

He then said this, "You are so good Sisi. When you left the Tang household, I did think you would forget about us especially with how things turned out with you and your brother. Yet here you are,"

"Grandfather, why would you ever think that," Simione flushed an upset face. It was the first time that grandfather William confessed his real feelings when she left them and although her heart ached at the memory of such a heartbreaking past, it wasn't right for her to hate the Tang elders just because things didn't turn out good between her and Lyndon, "What happened to me and Lyndon in the past was part of growing up. It's between me and him. It was no one's fault. Not yours, not grandmother's and especially not Lyndon's,"

"It's not his fault if he didn't love me the way I loved  with him," Simione's throat wet dry at her last words and yet, things like that needed to be said.