CHAPTER FOUR
"No Ma! This cannot be happening, my Jamal cannot be getting married!" Cried Danielle.
Aliya and Shannelle had just told her about the arrangement and she was not taking the news lightly. Aliya and Danielle's mother were very good friends and since the day Aliya was born, they had decided that their two children would get married when they grow up.
When Danielle hit puberty, the two mother's told her about the arrangement and she was very happy. However, Jamal never knew about this engagement and even though he was friends with Danielle, he had never thought of marrying her.
Danielle and Jamal grew up together and Danielle loved him with everything that had life in her. She had done all she could to get close to Jamal in every way, but Jamal had done nothing but shut her out. She had hoped that one day, Jamal would open up to her and ask her to marry him since according to her, she was the only female he ever looked at and spoke to.
"Ma! Please tell me it's not true!" Danielle cried harder and her best friend, Shannelle, took her in her arms and tried to calm her down.
"Even I was very shocked when Grandma announced it. But don't you worry my dear, I know my son does not love that lowlife of a girl and nothing his grandmother says will make him marry her. I'm going to talk to him when he comes back from the office today and suggest that he marries you instead. He will listen to me because I am his mother" Aliya assured her, but deep down in her heart, she wasn't very sure about what she was saying.
It was true that no one ever told Jamal what to do.
So she doubted the fact even her will be able to make him marry Danielle even if he refused to marry Adele. She had no power over her son and had no say in his life.
"Come on mother, you very well know that even you cannot tell Jamal what to do. I think what you should do is try your best to make him see reasons why he should marry Danielle and not that freeloader called Adele. If you present this matter to him like a threat or make it seem like it's by force, you very well know it will not bother him in any way!" Shannelle cautioned and Aliya bit her lips as she strode about the living room with both hands resting on her waist.
She was both irritated and deterred about the entire predicament.
She could not even bring herself to accept Adele as her daughter, but now, she was faced with the threat of accepting her as her daughter-in-law.
She knew that one day her son was going to become the CEO of her husband's billion dollar conglomerate and that if he married Adele, it meant in the future, she will be the powerful wife of a rich CEO.
She hated Adele since the day she was brought into that family and she was never going to accept her for her son. She was going to do all she could you stop the marriage from happening.
A knock at the room door snapped her out of her thoughts and she walked over to the door to check who it was. Once she opened it, she was disappointed to see a maid standing before her.
"What do you want?" She barked and the frightened maid took a stepped behind before looking at her again.
"You said to inform you when young Mr. Dominick returned home, I came to pass the news. He has arrived and is headed for his bedroom" The maid announced in fear.
"You can leave" She ordered and the maid scampered away.
Aliya turned to the two girls sitting on the bed and it broke her heart to see how much Danielle was crying.
"I will be right back" She informed as she exited Shannelle's bedroom. She walked over to the east wing of the floor where Jamal's bedroom was located and when she arrived, she met him about to walk into his bedroom.
"Jamal" She called as she approached him.
When Jamal saw his mother, he let out a silent, tired sigh and stood on the spot, waiting for her to arrive and say what it was she had to say.
Not that he did not know what she had to say.
"Welcome back home."
"Thank you, mother"
"Jamal, I am here to address the issue concerning the marriage "
"What about the marriage, mother?"
"I know you don't like that girl. I am here to tell you that you don't have to marry her if you don't want to. Don't let your grandmother force you into something you don't like" His mother cautioned and he turned around to fully face her.
"Mother I have heard you."
"You know there's someone better for you, right? Think of Danielle. She is your childhood friend and you both know each other inside out. She will make a perfect wife for you, not that freeloader!" Aliya darned that enraged Jamal.
"Mother" He called as he tried to steady his breath. "I want you to know something, Adele and I are going to get married. I have no problem with that arrangement. I don't care whether you like it or not, but you will refrain calling her names as she is going to be my wife very soon. And for that choice of yours, I would rather dedicate myself to the priesthood than have anything to do with her. Henceforth, don't meddle in my affairs mother, I'm old enough to deal with my problems."
"But you…"
"Excuse me mother." He said as he turned around and began walking away from his room door.
"And where the hell are you going?" Aliya asked annoyed. That was the first time Jamal was talking to her in that manner and she felt very angry because he did so in Adele's defense.
"And where are you going?" She asked again and Jamal paused on his tracks and looked at her over his shoulders.
"To see my future wife, mother!" He replied and continued to walk on.
Aliya angrily turned on her heels and stormed away.
Jamal took calm, calculated steps towards Adele's bedroom which was many doors away from his on the same hallway in the wing.
When he got to the door, he knocked on it and took a step backwards as he waited for her to open the door.
There was something he needed to tell Adele. He had no idea how she was going to react, but he just needed to tell her because it was important and he need her to understand.
"Jamal" Adele called the moment she opened the door and Jamal could sense the terror in her voice.
He didn't blame her for looking so shocked because he had never showed up at her room before, not to talk of unexpectedly.
His eyes travelled from her beautiful face, down to her body and his pupils dilated when he saw the tiny, almost see through dress she had on. He gulped dryly as his eyes lingered around her entire body, drinking in the sight of the gorgeous figure standing before him.
He had no idea she had even the slightest curves because of the oversized dresses she always had on.
He wanted to smile hard and compliment her beauty, but he knew better than to do that.
"I apologise for showing up unexpectedly" He apologised in a calm tone.
"It's okay. Why are you here"
"Adele, it is a matter of our marriage. I suggest that we keep it secret for a period of time for your own safety and comfort" He suggested and Adele felt a painful lump form in her throat.
She crossed her arms over her breast as she cleared her throat and gave him a long stare.
"I know this sounds…"
"It's okay. I will do as you say. I will keep our marriage a secret from everyone"
"Thank you"
"Hmmm" She replied with a nod and they both stood there in silence, looking at each other as intensely as they could.
"Dinner will soon be ready. I hope to see you down soon" Then he turned around walked away.
Adele instantly got into her bedroom and banged the door hard behind her.
"I suggest you keep our marriage a secret from everyone!" She repeated as she tried to mimic Jamal in anger.
She was angry and disappointed at the same time because when she tried to to think of the possible reasons why he would want to keep their marriage a secret, only one came to her mind.
He was ashamed of her.
CHAPTER FIVE"I need you to make sure My mother, Shannelle and Danielle have no contact with Adele for this entire day. Keep a close on them until the wedding is over. Am I understood?" Jamal asked the four guards standing before him in his bedroom.That day was his wedding day with Adele and he didn't want anything to go wrong or happen to her. His mother and sister have been bitter towards Adele the entire week and he was scared that they would do something to her, so the only way he could think of, was to keep them supervised.The only person he trusted with Adele at that moment was his grandmother, so he told her to stay with Adele until everything was over."Yes, Sir!""I swear if anything goes wrong, I will make your lives miserable. So if you know what is good for you, you will go out there and do your job like you are supposed to." He warned in a deadly tone and the four men looked at each other nervously because they knew he wasn't bluffing.Jamal Dominick was not the type t
CHAPTER SIXThe sound of Adele's alarm rudely woke her up from her sleep. With her eyes still closed, she stretched her right hand to her nightstand and blindly searched for her phone. When she found it, she quickly picked it up and sat up alright to turn off the alarm.On days like that, she wanted to shoot the phone at the wall, but she could not because it had been a gift from sone unknown person a few months ago.The phone arrived at her work place in a parcel with no name or address on it. There was just a simple note on it which had read:"If you break the screen, I will be disappointed"She was terrified for two reasons.First, the phone was her dream phone, Samsung Galaxy S 22 ultra. It was the latest phone in town and she was saving up to buy it. It terrified her that person chose to buy her dream phone. She wondered how he or she knew that.Second, she had the habit of breaking the screens of her phones. She also wondered how come the person knew that was a habit of hers.
CHAPTER SEVENJamal did not come back home for the rest of the week and he did not call again. For the first three days, Adel stayed up late, hoping that he would return, but he did not. She later gave up waiting for him and decided to stop over thinking about him or the fact that they were married.There were times when she stared at her phone and contemplated where to call him, but she decided against her better judgement not to do so. She didn't even have the audacity to ring his phone.Grandma, whose presence made her feel better was not around. She had to travel to England for an urgent matter.Adele did her best to avoid Aliya and Shannelle because she new they would only makes matters worse for her with her words. That was a house she was supposed to be able to call home, but she could not.When she was adopted, she was brought to that house and lived in it for five years before relocating to England. Even now that she was married, she was living in that house, but surprising
CHAPTER EIGHT."Come to my office after dinner, I need to speak with you." Jamal’s words echoed in Adele’s mind as she made her way to his office.She could not help but wonder why he wanted to see her all of a sudden. There was this tingly feeling in her heart that she could not understand. For some odd reason, she thought he summoned her to actually appreciate her for the delicious meal she cooked.When she got to the door, she knocked on it and almost immediately, Jamal’s voice came through, signalling her to open the door. She opened the door, hoping to see Jamal smiling at her, but she was surprised to meet a very angry looking version of Jamal.Terror overcame her as she walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind her.He was leaning on his desk with his arms crossed and as she approached him, he looked up at her with blood red eyes."Sit down, Adele."He ordered and Adele immediately complied. As she did that, he extended his arm towards her with his ipad in it."Tell
CHAPTER NINE.Jamal and Adele went to bed without settling the dispute. Adele made sure to spend a lot of time in the closet and when Jamal got tired of waiting for her to come out, he went to bed.He did not apologise.When she woke up the next morning, he was long gone and she was even more frustrated than when she went to bed. He had wronged her and she knew she had all right to be mad at him, but she felt like she was being dramatic."Maybe I should just let it go." She thought as she stepped down from the bed and walked into the bathroom so she could prepare for work.When she was done preparing, she went downstairs to leave for work but to her greatest dismay, she met both her mother and sister-in-law in the living room.She wondered if they had nothing doing, especially, Shannelle. She was always at home doing nothing and waited for the the slightest opportunity to pick fight with her."Petty!" She whispered to herself as she descended the staircase. "Good morning to you" She
CHAPTER TEN"Good morning Mr. Franck '' Adele greeted as she walked into her superior's office. She wanted to ask him about the article to be sure that it had truly been canceled."Good morning Adele. I hope I'm safe" He inquired, looking up at Adele and that made her laugh."Why do you say that?""Because you never come into my office or anyone else's office in the morning. You always just crawl into that hole of yours called your office and shut everyone out for the entire day " Mr. Franck explained and the accuracy of his words made Adele feel very guilty.That was what she did everyday of her life.She only got out of her office when she wanted to get something from a colleague, when she was going out for lunch or when she was going for an outdoor work."Well Mr. Franck, I promise everything is alright. I just came to get some clarifications about something, if that…is okay with you" She explained and her voice died down towards the end of her statement."Of course Adele, go ah
CHAPTER ELEVEN.When Adele opened the door to their bedroom, she was beyond relieved to see Jamal seated on the bed, making a phone call. Probably a business phone call. She let out a quiet sigh as she stepped into the bedroom and closed the door behind her.He was just the person she wanted to see.Before they got married, he had told her to keep her identity as his wife a secret from outsiders, but he never gave her an explanation. At first, she did not think about it because she had no idea how difficult keeping that kind of information would be.That morning, her boss had asked about her identity and she had managed to brush it up, but she knew she would not be able to do so when her other colleagues would begin to wonder aloud.Grandma Devon had also asked her not to tell anyone she was related to that family as well, but she never gave her any explanation. She wanted to know why."Good evening Jamal" She greeted calmly and walked further into the bedroom. Jamal, who had ended t
CHAPTER TWELVE."I see you as my family."Adele and Jamal did not speak another word to each other after that sentence. She walked over to the sitting area where she read her book until she felt sleepy and went to bed, while Jamal worked almost the entire night as usual. When she woke up the next morning, he was nowhere to be found on the bed."Of course he left for…" Her words were cut short by the sound of the bathroom room door opening. She turned to look and her eyes almost fell off from their sockets when she saw Jamal walking out of the bathroom, with just his towel tied around his waist. His chest was bare and his eight packs were screaming "touch me!". There was steam flying all over his body and the way the water droplets trickled down his well toned muscles and apps made her swallow dryly.His hair was wet and ruffled and a few wet strands fell down his forehead almost concealing his left eye brow.He was smoking hot…He looked like a Greek god.She could not believe she was