CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN.
SIX MONTHS LATER.
Things did not get better between Adele and Jamal even after all the promises Jamal had made to her. He still kept late nights, travelled for business trips that lasted weeks and above all, he still kept meeting with Danielle very often. At that point in time, the entire country was buzzing with rumours about the fact that Danielle and Jamal were dating.
Adele was devastated, but Jamal didn’t care. He had made her quit her job and all she did was stay at home and do nothing. He never accompanied her for hospital appointments, she attended all her check ups alone and Jamal hardly had the time to listen to updates about her pregnancy.
Grandma who had returned home and witnessed all that was going on, tried talking to Jamal to no avail. His mind was made up.
Meanwhile, Aliya and Shannelle were beyond grateful at that moment. Aliya made sure to fuel the rumour about Danielle and Jamal’s affair and it satisfied her that Adele was heartbroken, despite the fact that she was carrying her grandchild.
Adele cried herself to sleep almost every night.
Her husband didn’t have time for her. The only time they ever spoke was when he asked her questions like:
“Have you eaten?”
“How was your check up today?”
“Are you and the baby doing alright?”
“Do you need anything?”
And many others and every time she answered those questions, he said nothing else to her. Sometimes, he would hold her in his arms in the middle of the night and kiss her tummy passionately, but he always made sure she was fast asleep to even realize it.
Adele wanted to hate Jamal, but that was impossible.
That evening was one of the rare evenings when Jamal had returned home early from work, but from the look of things, he was preparing to go out again. Adele was seated in the sitting area of the bedroom, flipping through the TV channels, searching for what to watch when she came across the news channel. What caught her attention was a video of Jamal and Danielle, arm in arm, looking blissful like never before. According to what the journalist was reporting, those were images from a function they had both attended the day before and she had no idea about it.
Adele’s body instantly heated up as she rose to her feet. Tears began stinging her eyes when she saw the bright smile on Jamal’s face when he looked at Danielle . That was the same night she had been ill and tried to call him, but he had forwarded her call to voicemail only to be with Danielle.
She quickly turned to go into the closet and attack Jamal, but stopped on her tracks when she saw him standing at the center of the room, looking at her with a blank countenance.
He knew he had just seen the news and was to attack him.
“Jamal.” Adele called with a shaky voice. “Jamal, what is the meaning of that?” She asked almost in tears and Jamal, who was all dressed up and ready to go out heaved out a heavy sigh.
“It’s not what you think it is.” He calmly stated and that got Adele even more enraged. She took quick steps over to where he was standing, giving him a hard glare.
Her eyes were teary and just one bat of an eyelid would have the entire bedroom flooded with her tears.
“What do you mean by that? Jamal I can see you arm in arm with Danielle, looking happy and accomplished. You both look like a perfect couple!”
“Adele, I just said it’s not what you think. You have to believe me!” Jamal denied flatly.
“I don’t, okay?” Adele screamed at the top of her voice. It was a good thing the walls of their room were sound proof, else everyone around would be listening to their heated conversation. “Jamal!” She called as hot tears streamed down her cheeks. “That was the same night I was unwell and tried to call you but you kept forwarding my calls to voicemail. You left your sick, pregnant wife all alone at home just to go attend a function with your mistress. Jamal, why are you doing this to me?” She asked, still screaming and Jamal went mute.
He had nothing to say.
He was guilty.
That night before he left the house, he noticed Adele wasn’t feeling too well. He wanted to stay behind and look after her, but Danielle threatened to sabotage his business plans if he did not attend the function with her. He had no choice but to attend.
“Adele.” He called in a calm tone. “Stop shouting, you are stressing yourself out.”
“The only person stressing me out right now is you, Jamal. You are not only stressing me out, you are killing me! You are killing me with all these actions Jamal. Please have a heart and stop treating me like I don’t exist.” Adele pleaded, still in tears and at the top of her voice.
Jamal was devastated to see his wife crying in front of him.
He wanted to throw the suitcase in his hand away and stay with her all night and beg for her forgiveness, but he couldn’t. Everything he had ever worked for was going to be on the line if he did not meet up with Danielle that night.
“Adele, we will talk more when I return from work. I have to get going now, I’m running late. Take care of yourself.” He said as he began to walk towards the door. When he was about to step out, he felt someone hold his hand from behind and when he turned to look, he saw his wife, Adele, holding him back.
“You are going nowhere Jamal, we are not fine talking yet. You are not done explaining to me what’s going on!” Adele cried and Jamal gritted his teeth in anger.
“Adele, let go of my hand, will you?” He asked between his teeth, but Adele did not listen. She kept holding his hand and crying.
“No! Not today! I’m not going to let you leave me all alone just to go be with that mistress of yours. I need you Jamal, your unborn baby needs you. We need you here with us.” Adele cried in agony, but Jamal paid a deaf ear to her. He forcefully pulled his hand from her hold and slightly pushed her away. Adele screamed as she fell to the ground, but Jamal did not notice because he was already out of the bedroom and had slammed the door behind him.
While on the ground, an excruciating pain seared through Adele’s lower abdomen which made her scream even harder, but her husband could not hear her from outside because of the sound proof walls of the room. When she saw blood trickling down her legs, she passed out.
She didn’t want to believe her husband had just made her lose their seven-month old pregnancy.
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Jamal was hardly focused on the meeting that was going on in his office that evening. It was a meeting between him, Danielle and his lawyer concerning some very vital business detail they were talking about. His body was in the office, but he had left his soul at home, with Adele.
He cursed himself over and over again for seizing his hand from her hold before he left the room. She was right when she said she needed him, that both her and their unborn child needed him.
He wanted to be with them, but circumstances couldn’t let that happen.
“Jamal, you seem lost.” Danielle pointed out, snapping Jamal out of his thoughts. He let out an exasperated sigh as he massaged his forehead with his fingers before giving Danielle a hard glare. She was the reason why he could not be with his wife.
Danielle had a very important piece of information which could redeem Jamal from the trap his father had put him in and that was what she was using to get him to bow to her every will and he hated her for it.
“Is everything alright?” She asked and Jamal fought his urge to roll his eyes at her.
“I have to make a call.” He said as he picked his phone from the table and barged out of the office. Once in the corridor, he tried Adele’s cell countless times, but it just kept ringing, but she did not pick. As time went by without her not picking his call, he grew more impatient and irritated.
“What the hell Adele! Pick up your damn phone!” He cried as he tried one last time, but she did not answer the call. He angrily put the phone into his tux jacket and walked back into his office to meet the others.
“Meeting is adjourned. I have to get back home.”
“You called this meeting…” Danielle began to protest but he immediately cut her off.
“No, you called this meeting and I was a fool to come here. I’m going back home to be with my wife and unborn child, they need me.” He said and turned to leave.
“Jamal, if you walk out of that door, I will make sure to destroy everything you’ve worked hard for. You’ll be back in your father’s claws, waiting to be destroyed.”
“Don’t get too confident about that Danielle, I’ve got things about you you have no idea about. If I’m going down, your entire family is going down with me.” Jamal threatened and left the office, leaving Danielle totally dumbfounded.
The moment Jamal’s driver packed in the driveway, he stepped out of the car and walked into the house, heading straight for his bedroom. What he planned to do the moment he got in there was to get down on his knees and beg his wife for forgiveness because he was aware of the fact that he had hurt her in many ways.
When he got to their bedroom door, he let out a heavy sigh and made the sign of the cross before opening it up. As he did, his eyes went straight to his king-sized bed located at the center of the bedroom, expecting to see Adele lying on it as usual, but the bed was empty. There was no sign of Adele on it.
He scanned around and for her and when his eyes dropped on the floor before him, he felt all his nerves tension in his body when he found his wife lying unconscious in a pool of her own blood.
“Adele!” He screamed at the top of his lungs as he flinged the suitcase in his hand far away, caring less about where it landed and kneeled down bedside Adele’s almost lifeless body.