Eleven

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 the call a few seconds ago, looked up at her and smiled.
“Good evening Adele…” He greeted as he entwined his fingers and as he did that, Adele noticed that he didn’t have on his wedding ring. She furrowed her brows and looked at his ring finger once more, just to be sure that it wasn’t truly there and indeed, it wasn’t there.
A sharp pain coursed through her heart and a heavy sigh escaped her chest. She looked up at Jamal who was now focused on his phone.
“Jamal” She called as calmly as she could.
“Yes, Adele” He replied, not taking his eyes off the phone.
“May I know why you don’t have your wedding ring worn on your finger?” She inquired and the question got Jamal’s attention. He averted his gaze from his phone to his entwined fingers and then up to her.
“Why do you want to know?” He asked quietly and Adele shrugged her shoulders.
“I mean… we are married and I wear mine all the time, I’m just curious to know why you don’t wear yours.” She explained.
Jamal looked at her for a whole lot of seconds before rising from the bed to stand before her.
As he did, he dominated her in both height and figure.
He stared down at his gorgeous and confident wife.
There were so many things about their marriage that he needed to tell her, but he knew that was not the time. At that point in their lives, a lot of things were at stake, but he didn’t want to bother her with them, that’s why he was keeping her in the dark.
“Adele, whether I wear my ring or not is my decision to make. You are not to interrogate me about it ever again because it is none of your business. However, that doesn’t mean you should take yours off as well. I want that ring on your finger every minute of your life. Is that understood?” He asked in a menacing tone, but Adele did not respond. She stood there, looking up at him like he was a psycho.
She swallowed the needles piercing in her throat and blinked her eyes hard to prevent the tears shimmering in them from spilling down.
“Y.. yeah. un…understood.” She replied with a croaked voice and turned her face away.
“Join us for dinner when you’re done freshening up.” He spoke after a long moment of silence and Adele’s soul walked out of her body when he took a step close to her and planted a soft kiss on her forehead before walking out of the bedroom.
She stood on the spot for minutes, not knowing what to make out of the conversation they just had.
He said a lot of things that hurt her feelings, but then sealed the conversation with a forehead kiss that melted her heart.
He was the definition of bipolar and that frustrated her big-time. The last thing she knew was how to handle him and she did not like it at all!
She had not even had the chance to ask him the real question about why he wanted her to keep their marriage a secret, but after the conversation they just had, she made up her mind never to ask him. He did not answer a simple question about why he doesn’t wear his wedding ring, he was definitely not going to answer a question that had to do with him keeping their marriage a secret.
With another heavy sigh leaving her chest, she walked into the closet to get herself ready for dinner.
She was married to the most mysterious man in the world and what pained her the most was that she was falling in love with him as the days went by.
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“So Adele, why didn’t you not cook dinner for your husband today?” Aliya inquired, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
Adele looked up at her mother-in-law, speechless. That was the last question she was expecting from her that evening.
“I… I…” She stuttered nervously.
“You…?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business, mother.” Jamal cut her off and every one on the table gave him a surprised look, including Adele. “Adele is my wife…” He continued. “… And she cooks my dinner only when I ask her to.” He defended and his mother gritted her teeth in anger.
“I don’t know what you see in this girl, Jamal. She lacks warmth and respect for me. She’s always so cold and scary, one might think she is a monster living under this roof, intending to hurt us all one-day. She doesn’t smile with anyone at all!” She moaned like a wounded cat as she tried her best to display her most pitiful state as if she ever smiled at Adele either.
Everyone in that household knew her mood always turned sour every time she saw Adele.
“If you want to see a smiling face that much, then you can smile to yourself in the mirror. She has no obligation to smile at you. She is my wife, not your clown.” He defended yet again and Adele’s gaze on him widened. It took her everything not to choke on her food.
“What about the fact that she spoke rudely to your sister and I today? She called your sister an empty creature!” She cried yet again, giving Adele a deadly look.
“I see no reason for you to report such a trivial matter to me. You two definitely said something to her that made her defend herself by calling you names. I am not your therapist, so don’t come to empty your heart to me when my wife calls you names.” He spoke out giving both his mother and sister stern looks.
The seriousness in his voice when he addressed Adele as his wife made her heart skip a bit.
She was happy to know that he truly considered her his wife.
“Why exactly are you defending her, Jamal? This woman disrespected both your mother and sister for no reason. She has to kneel down and apologise to us else I will sever ties with you both!” She creamed at the top of her voice as she banged the table hard, causing the plates and spoons to clatter noisily.
Even Mr. Dominick was taken aback by her sudden outburst, but he remained calm as always.
At that moment, Jamal had had enough. He was trying hard to eat, but his mother wouldn’t let him. He quietly put down his cutlery and looked at his mother who was fuming in rage.
“Enough, mother!” He warned. “Just so I could remind you, my only connection with you is that you gave birth to me and for that, I have paid you more than a fair amount by obeying you all my life and working money for you in the company. Other than inheritance issues, I have no other link with you. So, go ahead and sever the imaginary tie to think you have with me because I will most certainly not make my wife kneel down to whomever!” He deciphered, sounding quite heroic.
After saying those words, he rose from his seat and left the dining room.
Aliya turned to look at Adele, but she instantly rose from her seat and followed her husband, leaving Aliya to ride on with her one man display of agony and despair.
Once in their bedroom, Jamal walked over to the bed while Adele leaned by the door and crossed her arms over chest.
“Don’t you think that was too much? That lady is still considered your mother and you have an obligation to obey her.” She asked as calmly as she could, not that she was a selfless person with a heart as big as the universe. On the contrary, she was happy that he defended her down there.
His mother was acting like a spoiled brat and she got what she deserved.
“Would you have preferred I made you kneel and apologise?” Jamal asked coldly as he focused on turning on his laptop.
“That was her wishful thinking. I would never kneel down to apologise to someone I haven’t wronged in any way. You can’t make me kneel even if you want to. I’m just curious to know why you are so cold towards your family.” She asked as she walked over to the bed and sat on it.
“Adele, in what way do you see the people in this household a family?” He asked and Adele creased her brows in confusion.
The mocking smile his face held made her even more perplexed.
Adele used to think he was an apathetic creature, but for a split second, she remembered that he somehow showed emotions on rare occasions. The reason for his coldness must be that his family was simply trashy to the extent that he had no regard for them.
“So, how do you see me, if I may?” Adele asked quietly as she stared deep into his eyes.
She could see that they were a bit shaken by her question. As if he was scared to answer it.
Moments passed and when she got no response, she lost interest in what she was curious about and began walking to the sitting area to start reading her book.
“Adele.” She heard him call from behind, so she turned to face him.
He took a deep breath and looked at her like he was about to reveal his deepest, darkest secret to her.
“I see you as my family.”