79

THE all white room was well ventilated, cooling and sweet smelling. Jeremy reclined on the plush, king-sized bed, the city lights of New York twinkling through the expansive windows.
He watched with a soft smile as Jasira, his beautiful lady, the woman who had captured his heart, gave instructions to a maid at the door, and he smiled a hundredth time.
“You know what? You can have that, I don’t want it to turn out like the other day,” she said and they laughed, the maid and her.
The smiles on Jeremy’s face deepened, her laughter was like music to his ears, and he marveled at how effortlessly she brought warmth and light into his otherwise high-stakes, high-pressure world.
Although Jasira remained like a mystery to him, is love for her never waned off one bit. She was his beautiful, confident, and fiercely independent lady.
He had fallen for her quick wit and her captivating presence. But these parts of her life which she had kept veiled in secrecy, he was both curious and cautious about exploring.
“Aren’t you still done yet?” Jeremy asked, his voice a mix of affection and playful command.
Jasira glanced at him and winked.
“So dear, finish up first,” she said and finally closed the door.
“Won’t you let me finish with her first?” She asked and began walking up to the dressing table.
He scoffed.
“What the hell are you guys talking about? I hope you two aren’t planning a coup d’etat huh?” He said and she burst into laughter as she ransacked the table, looking for her hairpin.
“And even if we wanna do that, is it right under your nose?” She asked still laughing.
He rolled his eyes and got out of the bed, reaching out to her, and Jasira, with a mischievous glint in her eye, slipped into his arms, her lithe body fitting perfectly against his.
She turned away from the dressing table and wrapped her arms around his neck, while his wrapped around her waist. She kissed him lightly on the lips.
“You always know how to make me smile,” she whispered, now tracing a finger along his jawline.
“And you always know how to drive me wild and crazy,” he replied, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss.
Their connection was electric, a dance of emotions and desire that neither could resist.
They spent the next few moments wrapped in each other’s arms, exploring the depths of their affection. Her fingers tangled in his hair, while his hands roamed over her back, drawing her closer.
Without ado, he swept her off her feet and she screamed, then he carried her to the bed. The world outside ceased to exist as they lost themselves in their private universe. After a while, they lay back, breathless and content.
Jeremy gazed at Jasira, his hand gently stroking her hair.
“You know, we have been together for months now, and there is still so much I don’t know about you,” he said.
Jasira stiffened slightly, her playful demeanour faltering for a moment. “What do you mean?”
“Well,” Jeremy began carefully, “I mean your family, your past. You have always been so secretive about it. I have told you all about my parents, my childhood… but you never talk about yours.”
Her eyes clouded for a moment, a shadow passing over her face. She turned away slightly, staring at the city lights.
“There is not much to tell, nothing interesting about my childhood” she said softly. “My past is complicated.”
Jeremy sensed her discomfort but pressed gently. “I get that, Sira. We all have our complications, but I want to know you, all of you. If we are going to build a future together, I need to understand where you come from.”
She sighed deeply, the weight of her secret pressing heavily on her chest. She had been keeping her true identity hidden from him, fearing that the truth would destroy what they had.
How could she tell him that she was not just Jasira, but Jasira Lucario, aka Boss J, the infamous Mafia Queen of The Mambas Organization, and Lord Lucario’s adopted daughter and right hand man? How?
“It is not easy for me to talk about,” she began slowly, choosing her words carefully. “My family… they are not like yours. We have a lot of… issues,”she managed to say.
Jeremy nodded, his expression serious but supportive. “I understand, Sira. Everyone’s family has issues, but I’m here for you, no matter what.”
Jasira turned back to him, her eyes searching his. She saw the sincerity in his gaze, the genuine concern and love he had for her. It broke her heart to keep the truth from him, but still, she couldn’t bear the thought of losing him.
“I do not know my father, I do not know the family I come from,” she said quietly, “all I know is my name is Jasira. Neither do I know my mother, but I was told she had gotten pregnant with me when she was sixteen, and had also died when she fell from an upstair building, trying to save herself from fire outbreak.
“I was hence given birth to prematurely and so was put in an incubator.”
His brows furrowed.
“I’m so sorry about the death of your mom, sad story indeed. How was your life after that, and who told you the story?” He asked.
“My grandmother did. My grandmother was the only family I knew, she was a very mean woman. She abandoned me in the hospital, didn’t come to claim me so when I turned a few months old, old Sara did took me as her own, she nurtured and loved me like her own -.”
“Who is old Sara?”
“She was a janitor at the hospital.”
“Oh!”
“She became the mother I never knew. The year I turned thirteen, mean grandmother came looking for me -“.
“Huh?”
“She came claiming rights and threatening old Sara to court, old Sara had no other choice but to let me go, I never ever wanted to. I followed this old woman and that was when my suffering officially started. She made me go into whoring -“.
“Goodness! She what?” He asked.
Jasira nodded.
“I told her I couldn’t and wouldn’t at first, then she made me understand that, that was what she and my mother did, she made my mother do it just like she made me do it, it was along the line of duty that my mother got pregnant with me.”
Jeremy winced.
“Then she made me understand that this was the reason she had brought me back home, to whore and earn her money. She locked me up in a messy room and in there, I serviced a lot of ‘johns’,” and before she knew it she had began whimpering.
Jeremy immediately wrapped his arms around her and drew her closer to him, burying her head in his chest, making her inhale his scent and cologne.
“I’m so sorry babe, that must have been incredibly hard for you,” he said softly, more like in a whisper.
“Of course it was,” she replied in a muffling sound.
“Then how did you escape? And your grandma, where is she now?” He asked.
She winced and raised up her head, making Jeremy unwrap his arms from her and holding her hands instead.
“Grandmother is dead, she died when I turned twenty one -“.
“Ohh!”
“I had an uncle, Uncle Zach, he was a younger brother to my mother, he was as mean and useless as grandma, he never visited since she brought me back home, only for him to show up one fateful day in my room, in grandmother’s absence.
“That day, he wanted to rape me -“.
“He what? Damn! Is he sick in the head or something?”
“That is how pathetic my story is. How I had fought and overpowered him that day still remains a mystery to me. I remembered kicking him in the balls, running out and locking him up in the house, and then finally fled out of the house, for good.
“I never saw them again after that day, and I still haven’t,” she concluded.
Jeremy sighed.
“Now I understand why you always never wanted to say a thing, it’s really complicating,” he said.
She kept mute, deliberately avoiding to talk about the part where she had met Lucario.
“So, how did you survive after fleeing the house?” Jeremy asked and she looked at him.
“I really want to know everything baby, I want to share in your pains,” he said.
She looked away.
“I began living on the streets, I became a street kid for years, before grace found me and I miraculously met a tech woman who took me in and taught me what I know now about blogging.
“Living on the streets had made me fierce and tough, it has made me who I am today. Strong, independent. I don’t let anyone in easily because it’s safer that way.”
Jeremy pulled her close, his arms now wrapping around her protectively.
“You don’t have to protect yourself from me, Sira. I’m not going anywhere. Whatever your past, whatever your family, it doesn’t change how I feel about you.”
Tears welled in her eyes, and she blinked them away. She wished she could believe him completely, but the fear of his reaction to the full truth held her back.
For now, she would let him hold her, let him believe that he knew her deepest secret, but in her heart, she knew that the day would come when she would have to reveal everything, and she prayed that their love would be strong enough to withstand the storm.
As they lay together, the silence filled with unspoken words, Jasira made a silent vow to protect Jeremy from the darkness of her world. She would do whatever it took to keep him safe, even if it meant keeping her true identity a secret for a little while longer.
She had started that already though, the call to Lord Lucas, she was the one who had made it.
Just then, a knock came on the door, rudely interrupting into their silent conversations. They wanted to ignore it, but the knock persisted and Jeremy had to answer it.
“Come in,” he said and the door immediately opened, and Nathan came in.
Jeremy sighed.
“What the hell is it?” He asked.
“Boss, there had been an attack, again,” he said, making emphasis on the ‘again’.
“A what?” Jeremy questioned and immediately sat up, unwrapping his arms from Jasira. She also slowly sat up, staring at Nathan.
“At the new construction site Boss.”
“What!” Jeremy got up.
“About two of the site workers dead, and thirty injured, the ongoing construction destroyed beyond imagination. The place is in disaster and a great turmoil,” he explained intelligently.
“Oh my!” Jasira gasped. “Lucas,” she whispered to herself.