A frown replaced the smiling expression as he leaned back. “I’m sorry if my kind gestures made you feel like you have an upper hand here.” He leaned in. “Do you have any means of paying off the loan shark? The interest is constantly rising. How are you going to pay off my $500,000?” He took another sip, as though my predicament was entertaining. “Even if your aunty sells her tiny cafe, she won’t still be able to pay your debt.”
His words punched my guts and my heart wailed.
“I suggest you sit and think about my proposal.”
After the tragic loss of my parents, my aunt trained and loved me as her own. Sacrificing all the beauty of life, so I could go to college and become somebody in life. I couldn’t allow her to sell her cafe to pay off my debt.
“I’d think about your proposal and I’d give my response tomorrow.”
“See, Ms. Elizabeth. To a man like me, I can always replace money lost, but never time. You have thirty seconds to make the decision or the deal is off the table.” His fingers tapped on the table, each thud sounding like a ticking bomb.