Chapter 4 You had to kill to be a man of your own.

Blade's pov

Arnold had brought up the idea of hiring a nanny after I had sent the other one away. Nannies were up to no good, how could you not know your job? Arnold said I had too many expectations even for something as little as being a nanny. That is not it. I believe in hard work and being diligent in it. If I did not work hard with diligence, I would not be where I am today. That was the only thing that brought me this far. But, he did make a little sense for it was hard to get by without a nanny. Willa asked for too many things at once. I was finding it difficult to provide her with what she needed. Maybe hiring another nanny would not be a bad idea after all. This time around, I would interview the applicants myself and see about their qualifications. I don't want amateurs running the house. I put out posters and sent out word that I needed a nanny and you know, one as popular as I needed to be careful with such things as who you let into your house. So, I made sure the posters were location-specific and only sent out word to my friends who I trusted could only recommend people they trusted to me.

Olivia's pov

Hope you don't hate me before you get to meet me. Yes, you guessed right. I am Willa's mother and Blade's baby mama. I was young and beautiful, I felt life had so much more to offer me than just being a wife and mother to a mafia lord. I had bumped into Blade by accident at a library, and I was beyond words astonished. What would a drug lord be doing in a library? Reading? I bet not. He was finding it difficult to locate a book and I had helped him find it. I guess one might call it a connection that we had.

From then forward, he would come to the library and pretend to not be able to find a book he was looking for. I would help and tell him "you do know I am not a librarian nor do I work here. Next time, ask the librarian for here" and would laugh it off. I would still help him the next time and from that time onwards.

"I like you, very much. And more so, because you love books. Not very many ladies find interest in reading the papers, let alone books. And that interests me, you interest me. Have dinner with me" he had said to me one day and things had moved on rather too quickly I guess.

We had a beautiful relationship. I was his Wendy, he was my Peter Pan, we were synonymous to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, ours was not love at first sight but, we did well. He was the most gentle man I have ever met, he was sweet, perfect, and too good to be true.

But there was one thing, I wanted to see the world and he didn't. He kept saying "someday my dear, we would travel the world together" but it seemed that day would never come. And he promised to leave his past life but each time I brought it up, he would say he was not ready.

I was planning to leave all of it, the beautiful thing we had and our love when I found out I was pregnant. The least I could do was let him have our baby. I remember the look on his face when I told him about a child, he was as excited as a little boy being gifted his favorite toy. I had never seen him so soft, or vulnerable. And then one morning, when he was fast asleep, I stood up and kissed him and our love child bye, never to return. Part of me still regrets it and my child might never know her mother, I wonder what stories Blade tells her of me. Knowing him well, he might not tell her about me at all. Some part of me tells me had I remained, I would have lived the rest of my life miserable, unhappy, and sad.

One thing was sure, I knew Blade was going to take care of our child. That softness and vulnerability I saw made me believe it. He had always vowed to support and love his children no matter what so they do not have to go through or experience what he did. It is why he worked so hard, so his children and family would never want to. I only wished my daughter had the opportunity to be with me and know the love of a mother. I hope she lives happily and perhaps maybe finds a place in her heart to forgive her mother.

Tory's pov

Today was a good day! If you guessed right, congratulations. I got a job, yes a job. The most exciting news is that this lady I would be working for is in her middle thirties, is single, and has no children. What better work is out there, I would have as much freedom as I want. Plus, no children meant less work. And she paid well too, she also said I could stay at her place if I didn't have a place to stay, feeding would be provided for me at her place. I don't have to spend a dime these days, I could finally save and invest the money in whatever I choose. This was indeed a blessing, looks like my months of suffering were finally paying off.

Arnold's pov

Trust me, it was hard to get Blade to agree with you on something. He believed that he was never in need of anything, it was hard but with a little help from Willa. Hell, the girl was very mischievous and scheming like her father. She promised to be troublesome until her Dad found a nanny; she complained of being hungry almost every hour, dirtying her clothes, messing up the place knowing how obsessed her father was with cleanliness. That did the trick, Blade has OCD with cleanliness. It worked out well as Blade had agreed to get a nanny and already sent out the word.

There was this new chic in LA Everyone was talking about it. She was slim, average, dark-skinned, and had just the right amount of fat in all the right places, man, she is my spec. I have been wanting to approach her but I have been told she has been playing hard to get. This kind of woman required work and patience which I had in abundance. All I have to do is watch, observe and strike when the opportunity presents itself. I would have her, time would tell.

Blade's pov

No one ever told me it was this hard to hire a nanny. I see why Arnold just picked the first one without having to go through the trouble of interviewing them. Thing is, I am not Arnold and I wanted what was best for my daughter and me. Word went out and my home became like a refugee camp, women and men of all sorts were at my residence the next day wanting to be. I spent 12 hours interviewing them and still could not find anyone suitable for the job. They were either too stubborn, looked suspicious, or were those with no experience and no expertise at all. It was tiring as well as disappointing, but this was not the time to give up as Arnold would be more than happy to volunteer to help and I would not want that.

Perhaps, I should cool down a bit, be less expectant, and not ask unanswerable questions. Maybe this would help me find someone of maximum use, without having to break me. I had to do it soon else, Willa would bring down rain from heaven. She knew I loved her and she exploited it, almost sucking me dry.

Willa's pov

You already know me, I am Blade's daughter and at such a young age, I knew my Dad held high power in society. I had guards following me around even to school, they thought I didn't see them because they kept their distance but I knew. Whenever I played hide and seek with my friends, I would see about 2 or 3 heavily guarded men wanting to see where I would hide. Sometimes I would almost be caught and some random person would pick me up and hide me properly. I only wished they played with me too like uncle Arnold but they always had serious faces that sent the message that they did not come to play. I do not know my mother but daddy tells me about her. He said she was a very beautiful woman and I looked like her, her name was Tyra and she died a few days after giving birth to me. Daddy said her death was too painful. He did not keep any photos of her somehow, he felt he was lying to me and did not want to tell me what happened. If I brought it up to uncle Arnold he would always find a way to let the conversation drop. I just wish daddy would talk to me more. I feared my dad is not who I think he is, it's the way he looks sometimes when he gets angry, as if he could kill. One thing I was sure of, he loved me.

Arnold's pov

I ran into this beautiful lady at the store today, she did not tell me her name. I was trying to pick out some dresses for Willa and was finding it difficult. "That would be a very wrong choice for a girl to wear," she said when I finally picked out a pair. She then came over and helped me pick some designs for Willa. Maybe she thought I was picking the dresses for my daughter and must have guessed I was married or something. She had kept silent when I asked her name and left, just like that. Did she not know who I was? Well, I knew I was going to run into her someday, somehow only a question of when. I like Willa, yes I do but all I was doing was bribing her to get information from her, she was wise but liked to talk. I bought her clothes and you told me about her father and she, unsuspectingly, told me anything I wanted to hear. I have worked for Blade for years and I felt this was the time to run my gang. I have a couple of guys who were loyal to me and would do anything I ask. I could not run a gang and be a mafia when Blade was still alive. Little by little, I am placing all my guys around him. He looked for a driver, I gave him one, a secretary and I gave him a damn good one. I knew to achieve this, I had to be very patient, Blade was not someone you would outrun in one day. Slowly, I was replacing his staff with mine and waiting for the right moment to strike. I was sure that he hid some deals from me, it's why I had to get close to Willa to tell me some things he did in private.

Do not get me wrong, I am not bad or anything or ungrateful. I am very grateful to Blade for all he has and is doing for me. It's just that I am not satisfied and this was business, you had to kill to be a man of your own.

I wanted power too, I wanted wealth too, I wanted to be feared wherever I step my feet in. I wanted people to fear and respect me. There are people whose respect cannot be earned until they fear you. I have thought of letting Blade live, maybe just sending him to exile but knowing the type of man he was, he would stop at nothing until he got his revenge.