14

THE door to the posh room opened and Mrs Redford entered, she stood at the door for some seconds looking around the room, probably looking for Amelia who obviously is the owner of the room.
She saw her sitted on the chair in front of the dressing mirror and she sighed, properly closed the door behind her and walked up to her.
“Ame?”, she called as she got to her.
Amelia didn’t reply, but was instead applying her face make-up, and looking at herself in the mirror.
Mrs Redford sighed again.
“It’s almost 6pm, where the hell are you heading to by this time of the evening?”, she asked.
Amelia stopped what she was doing to reply.
“Mum, the last time I checked, I am 21, old enough and capable to take care of myself, so why this question from you?”, she asked.
Mrs Redford rolled her eyes.
“You are my daughter”, she said.
“I didn’t say I wasn’t”, she replied and continued.
“The days are evil daughter, very evil”, she said.
Amelia hissed, and began packing up her makeup kits.
“I’m heading for my fiance’s place”, she said under her breath.
A little frown appeared on Mrs Redford’s face.
“You were there yester night, and you returned this morning. What are you going there to do again tonight?”, she asked.
Amelia fumed.
“Ahhhhhh! Mother please don’t start again today, please. Why are you always not happy whenever I say I’m going there? What is it?”, she asked.
Her mother sighed, folding her arms.
“You are forcing yourself on this guy Ame, and you shouldn’t”.
Amelia didn’t respond, but only packed up her things angrily. Always, all the time, her mother keeps on saying this.
“The way things are going is supposed to be the other way round, Jeremy is the one who’s supposed to be coming for you, and not you going for him”, she said.
“Can’t you think daughter? Think and stop acting like a child”, she continued.
Amelia hissed and got up from the seat, then walked to the bed and picked up her bag.
“I am talking to you and you are still leaving”, she shouted.
“Mum what is it? What is your problem for goodness sake? This is my life and not yours, why are you getting worked up over it?”, she asked.
Mrs Redford shook her head in disappointment. Just then, the door opened and Mr Redford entered.
“What the hell is going on here?”, he asked, looking from wife to daughter. He was walking along the hallway by the room when he heard the commotion, and decided to step in.
They both turned to him.
“It’s your daughter”, Mrs Redford said.
He turned to Amelia, fully aware of where she was headed to.
“Yes, what about her?”, he asked.
Mrs Redford became surprised.
“Really? Just that? Just what about her?”, she asked.
Amelia sighed, she was obviously fed up with the questions and answers session, and wanted to just walk out on them.
“Francisca what about her?”, he asked again.
“Since you don’t know, let me tell you. This is the fourth time in a week that Amelia is going to see that boy, can’t she just learn to add respect to herself?”.
“What useless respect are you talking about? What is wrong in a lady going to visit her fiance?”, he asked.
“I really do not know father”, Amelia said and made a face.
Mrs Redford looked at her with degrading looks.
“You do not see anything wrong in that?”, she asked, “it’s not even as if the guy loves her, we are only just hoping it works, so why the hell is she frequenting there almost on a daily basis? Doesn’t she have any other thing to do?”, she asked.
“You are supposed to be helping her do this even, give her support and encourage her. You are a woman, show her ways to make the young man love her”, he said.
“Simple”, Amelia said.
Then Mr Redford turned to his daughter.
“Please dear, do not mind your mother. Even if you want to move in with him, please do. You can go”, he said to her.
Her frowning face broke into smiles as she walked up to her father.
“Thank you Daddy”, she hugged him and then walked out of the room.
Mrs Redford watched her as she walked away, then she turned to her husband.
“Keep heaping ashes around her”, she said and walked out too.
Mr Redford smirked. Why the hell does his wife doesn’t want to see reasons with him. It was in agreement years back, that Amelia was gonna get married to Jeremy, and besides, he wanted to have a hold of the Petersons company, and he can’t do this if Amelia isn’t married to the CEO. Therefore, Amelia and Jeremy must get married.
***
Belinda sat on the bed looking into her phone, like she was waiting for a call or like she just got off the phone with someone. The latter was the truth.
She just got off the phone with Jeremy, and their discussion has got her peeved and joyous at the same time.
She was still looking into the phone when Zach, her supposed husband, came in.
Although he was her husband, but she wasn’t happy with it, she was forced into the marriage, by her father.
She had come to know Zach from a one night stand experience, few years ago, he was the call guy. Zach on his own decided to explore the opportunity that entered into his hands.
That fateful night, he got the message that Belinda, the heiress of a company wants to have him for a one night stand.
As a matter of fact, Zach isn’t a call guy, he was only picked on by Belinda at the club, and, who was he to say no? To the heiress of a million dollar company? Huh?
He accepted the deal immediately.
As for Belinda, she wanted just a one night stand stuff, but as for Zach, he wanted more than that, although he didn’t tell that to her, he kept it secret, and worked it out secretly.
Days after that night, he paid a professional visit to her old man, who really was stricken in age.
He told the old man that he was a very close friend to his daughter, then told him of his interest in his company, infact, he came up with a pretentious identity, that he wanted to grow his company with some special business strategies.
Belinda was fully unaware of this visit.
Her old man was cajoled easily, and the next thing, he began begging him to marry his daughter, so he could run the company as he has said.
And that was it, they got married and automatically, he became the CEO. He began swimming in millions, but his greediness wasn’t satisfied, he hungered for more, he hungered for billions.
So he began using his wife as a bait to get to various billionaire CEOs, just to get into connection with their company, against her wish.
Now back to the reality, Zach came into the room and saw his wife sitted on the bed and looking into her phone.
“Any news yet? Has he sent it?”, he asked.
She slowly raised up her head to look at him.
“Nothing”, she shook her head in the negation.
He frowned.
“What do you mean nothing? He promised to send a text right?”, he asked, almost shouting at the top of his voice.
“Well he did, yeah, but now, he is saying something else”, she said.
“And what is that?”, he asked and began walking up to her.
She sighed.
“Well, he said he doesn’t do that with married women, and I’m married right?”, she looked at him, twisting her lips.
He chuckled, that wasn’t a rigid reason.
“As for the best I can recall, you said he promised to send a text before evening, so, how come the change of mind?”, he asked.
She opened her arms.
“How would I know?”, she rhetorically asked.
This amused him all the more. Jeremy he knew wouldn’t say no? So, if it was about being married…, he looked intently at her.
“So you told him you were married, just so this wouldn’t work right?”, he asked.
Belinda almost laughed out, there was an amusing expression on her face.
“What do you mean? How would I even know he doesn’t do that with married women? How would I tell him my marital status, huh?”, she asked.
Zach sighed, this Jeremy guy was proving difficult, what would he do?
“You are gonna try again”, he said.
“What?”, Belinda exclaimed, her eyes widened in shock.
“Yes you are, but first, I need to think”, he turned to leave the room, “we need to bring this guy down, I need to lay these hands of mine on billions”, he said and walked out of the room.
Belinda watched him leave in disgust, she was never going to try such thing again.
***
Jeremy was more than surprised and shocked at the same time to see Amelia at the door. Like, what in God’s name is she doing here again, by this time?
Still standing there in his speechlessness, Amelia gently pushed him out of the doorway, and entered, then she closed the door behind her.
“Hi baby, good evening”, she hugged him, and then made to kiss him, and that was when he realized himself and tilted his head away from her.
She frowned and then immediately after, smiled again.
“What are you doing here?”, his cold voice asked.
She twisted her lips and sighed.
“Seriously? Is that the latest way to say welcome to your fiancee, huh?”, she questioned and walked away from him, heading for the bed.
“You haven’t answered my question”, he said and turned to her.
She flopped down on the bed and exclaimed.
“Goodness! There we go again. We keep on repeating matters over and over whenever I visit, I am your fiancee for goodness sake, you shouldn’t be questioning me that way”, she complained.
He snorted.
“You left here this morning from the visit you paid yester night, just yester night, now you are back again, for what exactly? Am I the hell with one of your kidneys? Jeez!”, he exclaimed, staring at her, wideyed.
Huh? Her mouth fell ajar. Was she the one Jeremy was talking to like that? She glanced around her to be sure she was the one he was referring to.
She immediately bursted into tears, sobbing quietly and at intervals, cleaning off the tears before they roll down her face, to avoid ruining her make-up.
Jeremy gave up, that was the last of it. He immediately turned away from her, to the door and then he left.
He got to the hallway and began heading for the dining. Once she was done crying, she was gonna stop, that wasn’t his headache.
He got to the dining and as expected, his parents were already there, sitted and waiting for the maids to serve.
He greeted them and sat on his seat. His mother striked a conversation with him immediately.
“J darling, have you talked with Ame already? She just arrived”, she was grinning all over.
He scoffed within him, he was already expecting something like that, and from his mother.
“Mm. She is at the room presently”, he said.
“I hope you asked her to come down for dinner?”, she asked.
He scoffed again. Like, is he her chef? If she doesn’t come down for dinner then that’s her business, and not his.
“She’s grown up enough mum to know whether to eat or not”, he said.
She slightly frowned.
“No, you don’t say that, as courtesy demands you should have asked her to join us for dinner”, she said.
All the while Mr Petersons was calm, he said nothing, and he contributed nothing to their discussion.
By now, the maids were already done setting the meal and after a little prayer, they began eating.
They had eaten for five minutes when Amelia strolled in.
“Hey Dad, hey Mum”, she waved, she had already greeted them when she arrived though.
Mr Petersons nodded, concentrating on the meal, while Mrs Petersons dropped her cutleries.
“Hey Ame, I hope you are good?”, she asked, with smiles all over her face.
She glanced at Jeremy and then nodded. Jeremy scoffed, she would have say she wasn’t, and then prepare to face the real ‘not good’.
“Yes Mum, thank you”, she said and then made to sit beside Jeremy, he halted her immediately.
“No no no. Find somewhere else to sit”, he said, dropping his cutleries.
Huh? She was shocked. She hadn’t had a meal with the family and Jeremy present, this should be the first time he would be present in a meal she was partaking with the family.
“What?”, she asked.
“I didn’t speak with food in my mouth”, and he turned away from her to his food.
Mr Petersons sighed, his wife frowned. What kind of a son was this?
Then Mrs Petersons turned to Amelia, surprisingly accepting defeat from Jeremy without a fight this time.
“Do not mind him Ame darling, come sit close to me”, she said and gestured to the empty seat beside her.
Huh? She was shocked the more. Mum didn’t stand up for her this time around, she almost bursted into tears.
“But Mum I…”, she wanted to talk and she hushed her.
“Mmm. Don’t worry dear, just come over”, she said.
Reluctantly, she went over to the seat and sat down, looking at Jeremy with angry eyes, then the maids came forward to serve her.
After the meal, Jeremy quickly went into his room and came out minutes later, already dressed up.
Amelia who left the dining few minutes after he left, bumped into him at the stairs, she was astonished, and she halted.
“Heading somewhere?”, she asked.
He looked at her.
“Not somewhere you can go with me”, he said, and walked away.
She frowned. Never, not again was he gonna do this. She immediately rushed into the room, grabbed her bag from the bed, put on her stilettos and rushed out, heading downstairs, and going after him.
She walked so careful so as not to fall. She got outside the minute he was entering the car and she joined him, just in time before the guard could close the door.
Jeremy was shocked to see her sitting in the car beside him. He was surprised, the girl was really having guys now.
She smiled at him pouting, and he just snorted and looked away.
Seconds later, he noticed her through the corner of his eyes, opened her bag and brought out some make-up kits, and then began applying them on her face.
He turned to her, shook his head and then looked away. Can’t she literally do without this? He was forced to ask, but kept mute. Just talking to her was disgusting to him.
Soon after that, she brought out a hair brush and began brushing her hair. That was the last, she was done.
Then it was as if Jeremy remembered something and he told the driver to change location, to a club.
He had initially planned to go to the bistro, just to see if he could by chance, or in anyway see his beautiful lady, he had already gotten a name for her, since he doesn’t know her name, she was his beautiful lady.
But nah, he couldn’t go there with Amelia, he had to change location. He was gonna go there some other day, when this pest wouldn’t be there.
Amelia on her own was surprised, she looked at him, surprise written all over her face. Why the hell was he now changing location? Was it because of her, because she was now in the car with him? Was there anything he was hiding from her?
Hold on, was that why he initially said “not somewhere you can go with me”? Hmm, she needed to do something. She looked away.
All the while she was looking at him, he never gave her even as much as a glance, he just maintained a straight face, looking forward.
Minutes later, the car negotiated a bend and entered a compound, although it was almost dark, there was lights everywhere, and everyone could be seen.
From the look of things, Amelia concluded it was a club, and truly it was.
Their car parked at the parking lot and the guards alighted, then one opened the door. Amelia alighted first, then Jeremy followed.
The people around began screaming out, noticing who they were.
?”Oh my! It’s Jeremy Petersons, the business mogul”, someone squealed and others came closer for a better view.
Jeremy scoffed, as they began proceeding into the club.
?”The billionaire CEO!”, another squeaked.
?”Oh goodness, he is not alone, he is actually with his fiancee, the billionaire heiress”, someone said and Amelia blushed that she feared her face must have been shining red.
She laughed and blew the people a kiss. They cheered. Despite the security preventing them, the people followed, some taking pictures and before one knew it, the mass came around.
“Where the hell did these pests emanate from?”, Jeremy asked under his breath.
“Don’t let them”, he said to the guards and Amelia turned to him, grinning.
Soon after, they entered the club building and was immediately ushered to the VIP section, and his favourite table.
***
They were all sitted under the tent outside the mansion that cool evening, relaxing and having fun.
Some were boozing, some smoking from hookahs, others from cigarettes stubs, some were munching on one thing or the other, and some were just on their phones doing nothing.
They all chatted away, relaxing their nerves. It wasn’t just Jasira’s team guys that were present, other boss’ team guys were present as well.
Jasira herself was sitted in between Greg and Kylo, her right hand men. She was munching on a potato chip and looking into her phone, surfing.
“Wow, someone take a look at Jeremy, the billionaire CEO of Petersons Kiddies World, the latest picture of him”, someone said.
The CEO of Petersons Kiddies World? Jasira’s eyebrows furrowed. She has many times heard of that name, but has never set eyes on him.
She always heard about him from the others who usually hunted for CEOs, as for her, anything CEO wasn’t her concern, Lord Lucario knows, he never sends her on a mission in connection with CEO of any company, hence she not knowing this Jeremy guy.
Some others looked into the phone to see the pictures and a voice growled.
“Hmm, we finally get to see him with his fiancee today”, the voice said.
The girl whose phone they were looking into laughed.
“Amelia, they never get along well, someone said, not me”, they bursted into laughter.
Surprisingly, Jasira’s curiousity got the better part of her this time, she wanted to see him.
“What page updated that?”, she asked the girl who had spoken about him, and she replied her.
Instantly, she searched for the page and soon, saw the pictures.
As soon as her eyes fell on the picture, she froze, the cool breeze caressing her skin instantly turned to winter, and she couldn’t believe her eyes.
It was ‘the beautiful man’!