Chapter 72 —The Height Of It!

"Greg said he likes you? I guess kind of saw it, the way he acted the day he saw me. Well, it's a pity he doesn't stand a chance, " Henderson mumbled nonchalantly. "You are such an arrogant man. Lena, how did you even end up with Henderson again?" Cleo pursed her lips, a scrunched-up expression had taken over her face as she gave Henderson a dirty look. Brian chuckled, " He has always been like this, the only person who shuts him up is Lena. I still haven't figured out how she manages to do that, you'll have to give me some tips Lena. Being this guy's friend is hard." "Yeah, Henderson has always been like that." Madam Carmen added in support. The room was filled with laughter. Henderson's icy glare dorked Cleo and then Brian. "I'm sorry Mommy, I shouldn't have told Daddy about Greg." Itzel apologised remorsefully holding Lena's hand. Lena crouched in front of her, a smile marred her face and she cupped Itzel's cheeks. "Baby that's ok. You are not a blabbermouth." "Itzel almost busted the bubble, she saw Brian and Matteo at the mall we were at. She even told Lena but I had to step in. Why did you guys have to come to the mall we were at? You guys gave me a hard time trying to keep the proposal plans a secret." Cleo whined. Henderson chortled wriggling his head. "We had no idea you guys were going to that mall, if we did, we would have gone elsewhere, " Henderson shrugged. "You guys were at the mall? Itzel was right after all, " Lena smiled. "Yes, but when Cleo texted me that you guys were at the same mall we left immediately," Henderson replied. Brian and Matteo didn't even realise that Itzel had seen them, Henderson was the one who did and just then Cleo sent him a message that Itzel saw Brian and Matteo so they left hurriedly. Lena nodded vigorously, " No wonder she was busy on her phone and made sure we spent a lot of time shopping and then getting cakes." "See. Zel, that was the reason we didn't tell you about the plan. Are you still mad?" Henderson arched a brow. Itzel lips pressed together and she shook her head, " I guess I'm really bad at keeping things a secret." "Come on don't think about it so much, You might not be the best at keeping secrets but you are good at other things. And you'll be more responsible with secrets when you grow older." Trent smiled warmly patting Itzel's shoulder. Itzel shoved his hand away, " I'm already older than you are. I get it You are Daddy's trusted don don't rub it in my face. I'm mom's daughter." Itzel stated confidently. "Guys take it easy, It's time to be happy and congratulate your parents not get into an argument, " Matteo chipped in calmly. Trent and Itzel looked at each other and then they nodded in agreement. 'Congratulations!' which were directed at Lena and Henderson filled the room. Their friends and family were genuinely happy for them. Later That evening.... "Here is your card, thank you." Lena extended the card to Henderson but he didn't take it from her. "You can keep it. And you don't have to say thank you to me." Lena was about to say something but the buzzing of her phones stopped her. Henderson picked up Lena's phone which was on the table and handed it over to her. "Thank you, " she smiled taking it from him. The smile on her face widened when she saw the caller ID, it was Irene who was calling. She picked up the call and Irene's raving voice filled her ears. Irene: Congratulations Lena. I'm pretty sure you would never have thought to tell me that Henderson proposed to you. Lena came to the conclusion that Matteo must have told Irene about it and now she was going to get an earful from Irene who would whine about how distant she had become. She had planned to call Irene up but Irene beat her to it. Lena: I'm sorry I was going to tell you about it but... Irene chuckled and interjected. Irene: But what? You were too busy with the love of your life. Anyway, I can't wait to see Henderson. I've seen his pictures a lot of times but I can't wait to meet him in person. Say hi to him for me. "My sister says hi, " Lena smiled turning to Henderson who had a grin on his face as he watched Lena make the call. "Can I talk to her?" Henderson asked. Irene: He wants to talk to me, Give him the phone right away. Irene was almost screaming with excitement that even Henderson could hear her voice, which made him chortle. Lena facepalmed before giving the phone to Henderson. She watched in amusement as Henderson kept laughing at whatever Irene was saying to him on the phone. She knew how intrusive Irene could be, Cleo and Irene had a lot of similarities. She felt for Henderson because she knew how curious Irene could be, she could be bombarding Henderson with a lot of questions without even giving him a chance to answer any of them. Henderson: Really? Well, we'll be there. I'm really looking forward to meeting you in person. Lee has told me a lot about you. Henderson gave the phone back to Lena when he was done speaking with Irene. Lena: Your graduation? Wow! How quickly time flies, I'm so proud of you sis. Irene: Thank you but I owe it all to you. Thank you for the amazing sacrifices you've made for me. Henderson said he is going to attend my graduation, do you know what that means? I'm popular on campus but after this, I'm going to be a huge celebrity. Lena burst out laughing, she could feel the intense excitement and imagine the huge grin on Irene's face while she talked about Henderson attending the graduation. Lena: Why do I feel that Henderson coming matters more to you? You even told him about your graduation first. Irene: Sis, don't get jealous now. You know no one can take your place. I love you. I've been meaning to ask, Have you and Mom spoken? I called her the other day but she said something like you had gone missing. Lena was silent for a while before she spoke up again, that was the reason she told Matteo not to let Irene know that she was no longer staying in Hayglow that time she left. Lena: Well, everything is sorted out now. I'll tell you everything when we see face to face. But I can't remember the last time I spoke to Mom. The one time I went to her place she wasn't pleased to see me so I just had to leave. There was a creeping silence from the other end after Lena spoke, she knew Irene was going to be worried. Lena: You don't have to worry Irene, I'll be fine. I think mom will come around. And it doesn't matter how long it takes, I'll wait. You just take care of yourself and send me the exact date of your graduation. Irene: I will, thank you. My regards to everyone over there. Take care. Lena hung up afterwards before turning to Henderson's, A smile embraced his lips as he peered at Lena. "Did Irene tell you anything crazy? I apologise on her behalf." Henderson shook his head, " No she didn't. I think she's lovely. She cares about you a lot." "Yeah, she has been the best sister I could ask of. She has been very supportive and kind to me. You know I've always wished I had that kind of relationship with my mom but... Sadly our wishes don't always come true." Lena sighed. Henderson wrapped his arms around Lena pulling her in a hug. He didn't know what words to say to her because he knew how painful it was to have your mom despise and loathe you. "That day you made pasta. You said something about your mom leaving, did you try to reconnect with her or something." Lena asked after they broke the hug like she had read his thought which made her know what he was just thinking about. A sad expression etched Henderson's countenance, and he nodded. "I did. Me and my dad talked to her a lot of times but she didn't want us, My dad pleaded but she said she no longer loved him. She remarried and we never heard from her until the day we heard about her death. The man she married had been abusing her. And I still don't understand why my Dad still cared, he was still pained about her death." "I'm sorry. I can understand your dad, There were times when I wanted to hate my mom for the things she did to me, the way she treated Trent but I just couldn't bring myself to do that. I'm thinking about going to see her one of these days." Lena mumbled. Henderson rested Lena's head on his chest, his hand smoothed her hair. "I would love to come with you." A Week Later.... Lena and Henderson were on their way to her mom's place. Lena was perturbed about it all through the night, she just hoped that things were going to turn out well. When they reached the house, Lena and Henderson alighted the car and sauntered to the door. Lena took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as they inched closer. Henderson who noticed her uneasiness took her hand in his, he squeezed her palm soothingly. "It's fine if you don't want to go in, we can come back whenever you want." Lena shook her head, "No it's fine." Henderson nodded, and with intertwined hands they continued to walk. Reaching the front door, it was wide open so they didn't ring the doorbell. "Let's go in, " Lena muttered after she had entered the living room. Henderson smiled and then stepped into the room. "Have a seat, " Lena beckoned. "Mom, mom, " Lena called out walking to the stairs after Henderson was seated. "What are you doing here?" Lena's mom snarled as she emerged from the stairs. "Good afternoon, Mom." Lena greeted with a smile. Her mom's face contorted in a frown, now she had stepped down from the stairs and was now standing beside Lena. Her lips were set in a hard line and her eyes which exuded disdain were fixed on Lena. "What are you doing in my house? How did you get in here?" Just as Lena opened her mouth to reply to her mom, Henderson's greeting came. "Good afternoon Mrs. Cohen." Henderson was no longer seated on the couch, he was standing on his feet. Lena's mom turned to Henderson, her eyes crinkled as she gave him a once-over. She walked to where he was. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Her tone conveyed her annoyance. She was displeased that Henderson just disrupted her from sending Lena out of her house, she couldn't stand the sight of Lena. Lena scooted to where her mom was, she stepped back to stand beside Henderson. "Mom, this is Henderson. He is my fiance, " Lena smiled. A smile embraced Henderson's lips and his palm enveloped hers. A mocking laughter erupted from Mrs Cohen. A confused expression marred Henderson's face as he glanced at Lena but she didn't even look amused that her mom found what she just said funny. "Young man, are you sure you are sane?" Mrs Cohen questioned crossing her arms when her laughter died down. "You are really dating her?" Mrs Cohen's nose scrunched up with disgust as she gave Lena a dirty look after pointing at her. "Why would you want to do that to yourself? Don't you have parents? A family? I would advise you to break up with her right now or else she is going to ruin you, ruin your whole life. Did she tell you how much of a whore she is, she has a bastard son. I'm sure she just wants to trap you." Lena's eyes had welled up with tears, her lips were trembling, and she was trying so hard to stop herself from letting those tears fall. It wasn't new that her mom hated her but she didn't expect that her mom was going to say such things to Henderson about her. Henderson's eyes blazed with rage his face darkened. He couldn't stand hearing any more words from Lena's mom. He was furious watching her hurl insults at Lena. "That's enough. How dare you say such things to Lena. I know you are her mother but you have no right to do that. How can you even say such words to your own daughter? " Henderson rasped. Lena shook her head gesturing Henderson to stop talking as their eyes met but he didn't hearken to her, he continued to speak. "I think you should know, I'm Trent's father." Henderson let out. Lena's jaw slacked as she peered at Henderson. Mrs Cohen burst out laughing once again. "Did she sleep with you so you could come say this? So you know Lena is not good for you, she's not good for anyone." Mrs Cohen stated, her eyes flickered with contempt as they roamed Lena. She looked at Henderson pitifully, "I can't help but feel sorry for you. You've already made a grave mistake getting into a relationship with her, you would be doing yourself more harm if you decide to marry..." "I don't need your advice, I love Lena and I don't care what you have to say about her." Henderson stared before shifting his gaze to Lena. Henderson's hands slipped around Lena's waist and he pulled her closer to him. "Babe, I think we should go." Lena nodded before turning to her mom, " Mom when are you going to stop this? Do you have to treat me this way every single time," Lena sobbed. Her mom stared at her with eyes filled with cruelty and indifference, She raised her hand to strike Lena in the face, Lena braced herself for the slap but it never came. Lena's eyes were forced open the moment she heard the colliding sound of a slap. Mrs. Cohen's eyes widened at the realisation of what she had just done and she withdrew her hand, She just slapped Henderson, he had stepped in and got slapped in Lena's place. Lena boiled with anger, fury bubbling deep in her stomach as her eyes caught how Henderson's cheek had reddened. 'This was the height of it.'