(NFTMB)Chapter 45
Niccolo
(The Modern Woman)
“Where the hell are you sneaking in from?”. I asked Jasmine as I flipped on the light switch.
She froze in her steps as she was obviously stunned to find me awake at this time.
Jasmine left the house since mid day and was only returning from God knows where by this time, late at night.
“I went out to have some drinks with my old friends and catch up on some things. It’s been a long time”. She says nonchalantly as she drops her heels to the floor and starts to take off her earrings.
“And you didn’t think that maybe I should know your whereabouts? You didn’t pick all my calls. I called you a dozen fucking times, Jasmine!”. I felt my anger get the best of me.
“It was really loud in there, Nic. I didn’t hear it ring. No need to make a big deal out of nothing. Besides, I’m home now, aren’t I? The chauffeur took me there and brought me back here. I’m back here in this golden cage, safe and sound. Case closed and problem solved. Next!”. She said with an eye roll.
“That’s all you have got to say to me? Really, Jasmine?”.
Now I’m starting to see what Alessandro was talking about. Jasmine has no regards for me. She’s too much of a male in behavior than a female.
Even though I am the one who brings the money and the one who pays for her lifestyle and the exorbitant bills that come with it. She still does not waste time in asserting her authority on things.
“Well, what the hell do you expect me to say to you? Roll on the floor and beg for your forgiveness?
Wake the fuck up, dude! This is the twenty-first century and not the eighties anymore. Maybe next time remind me to stay on my knees as you eat breakfast. You Italian men seem to forget what times we are living in.
I don’t need your permission to walk around, master”. She said sarcastically.
I watched her walk around the room doing one thing or the other with a frown plastered on her face.
This is one thing I hate about Jasmine. She is too bold. Too brazen and doesn’t shy away from saying what she wants to say and doing what she wants to do.
I’m not old fashioned, I like my women to be expressive, free and open minded but I do not like overly bold women. I like my women to be calmer and more obedient.
She often refers to herself as the modern woman. Well, if this is what the modern woman looks like then I need to get myself one from the eighties.
This is too much to handle. She is too much to handle. I can not deal with this anymore.
Most times she gets me so upset that I have to physically restrain myself from doing something I would regret later on.
But it is getting very difficult to be a civilized and well behaved man around her.
She is really beginning to get on my last nerve. Gallivanting around Manhattan with God knows who doing God knows what.
Starting up trouble with Alessandro’s wife and ultimately Alessandro himself as well.
She’s clearly giving herself a bad name but she does not seem to know it yet. Or maybe she does and she still does not care just like she does not care about anything else in life.
She never cared when I suggested we have a baby.
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FLASHBACK.
“Jaz, Bianca says my brother is having another baby”. I said with my hands massaging my temple as I thought about the news.
“Uh, what an unlucky girl”. She said with distaste very obvious in her tone. “Did she not have a child recently? He has a baby right? You told me”. She said pointing at me.
“Wow, sharp thinking, babe. Yes, he has a boy, Matteo but this pregnancy is with another woman”.
“My God, what dangerous things people do”. She said literally shivering in disgust.
“What do you mean by that?”.
“Do these women that pop these kids out for him like bunnies literally stop and think about what this will do to them and their bodies? The negative effects of it? The psychological and emotional effects? The encroachment on their personal time and personal life and infact total life in general? Their bodies definitely will never remain the same again. It’s so sad that they don’t stand up for themselves”. She said,
I was very surprised by her statement. That is a lot.
“What are you talking about, Jaz? That’s just their duty given to them by nature. They’re only doing what they know they should do. They are brave and courageous women and one day you’re going to belong to that department too”.
“What department?”.
“One day you’re going to have our baby of course!”.
“No”.
“What? You’re joking, aren’t you?”.
“And why the hell would I be joking? Dude, this is modern day. I’m not doing that. I’m not having a baby. Ever. It’s my body and it’s my life, so ultimately it is my decision. And I say no. I’m not going down that road”. She said in that tone that meant her mind was made up and there is nothing that can change it.
“You’re kidding right?”
“Do you see me laughing? I’m as serious as I have ever been, Niccolo. I am never getting pregnant. Not even for you”. She said, making it crystal clear.
“Why? Why the hell would you say that?”.
“Because it is my body and my decision, okay?! I don’t want to see myself looking as fat as a pig. I wanna be a model and I don’t exactly fit into that role when my body is littered with nasty stretch marks. Besides, why would I risk my life just to push out a child into this world knowing fully well that there is a possibility that I may not survive it.
Call me selfish and I won’t refute it. I am not doing that”.
“So, you are not going to carry my child?”. I asked in surprise.
“No, I won’t. That’s the end of this crazy discussion, Niccolo”. She said before storming out of the kitchen in anger then I heard the bedroom door slam.
What the hell just happened?
FLASHBACK ENDS.
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“I’m not trying to dominate you or turn you into a puppet. I’m merely trying to tell you to tone down on the attitude and this whole modern woman thing, it’s really doing you more harm than good. Look around you, Jaz, nobody really likes you. You’re becoming a very unbearable person. It’s a total change from the girl I met in Las Vegas and fell in love with. You’re losing yourself”. I tried to reason with her.
“Attitude? You really want to scold me on my attitude? Your brother humiliated me at the dinner yesterday and what did you do? You did nothing. He basically threw me out of the dining table in the presence of everybody just because I made a comment about his dumb attention whore of a wife. What did you do?!”.
“What did you expect me to do?! I stood up for you. My brother is not just any ordinary or regular guy that you can mess with and go scot free. He is different and for own sake I hope you learn to stay away from him, Jaz. You should not have interfered in that discussion. You were wrong, Jaz. He was only defending his wife who you were bullying in her own house!”. I said
“I was not wrong, Niccolo, I was barely giving my two cents on the topic that was being discussed at the table. It’s too bad that your strong as fuck older brother found himself a drama queen for a wife”. She said with anger and hatred very obvious in her voice.
“I’m warning you like a concerned human and your boyfriend, stay away from anything that concerns my brother. He does not like you as it is. Do not give him any reason to take it further than that. Trust me honey, you do not want to be caught dead in the middle of a war with Alessandro. He will crush you”.
“Why the hell do you speak of your own brother like a goon or the head of a crime syndicate? What ever the fuck he is whether a vampire or a werewolf, I do not care. If he crosses me, I will take it further than that. I know my rights, Niccolo and I will not let your brother bully me”. She stubbornly stated.
“Why the hell don’t you ever listen?! Avoid this guy! He is mean, Jaz. He is my brother but I must warn you as a lover. My brother is dangerous. Why must you always be headstrong? Why can you not be more calm like Victoria, hmm?”. I said in frustration.
“Well, I am sorry, I am not a doormat. I will not stand for insults, degradation, embarrassment or mistreatment. You’re sick, Niccolo. You’re sick because you compare me to her due to the fact that she graciously and obediently carries your brother’s child even though she might not want to have anything to do with him.
Admit it, Nic you only admire her because she is ready to lose her life and her career, that is if she even has any to begin with, all because of a baby. Just admit it, Niccolo, you are still bitter over the fact that I did not let you tie me down with your child. I have a career to chase and I would never let you ruin that for me!”. She said, jabbing a finger in my chest.
She stared at me eye to eye and never backed down even when I stared right back.
“Can you for once act and talk like a normal human being? Like a normal female? If someone as peaceful and calm as Valentino dislikes you, then you have a problem. That alone should tell you something about yourself”.
“Well, I’m special and different. It’s his loss if he does not like me. Mr. Nice guy who slut shames a woman publicly. I think not!”. She said in anger as she walked into the bathroom and banged the door after herself.
I sat in silence thinking to myself for a long time after she entered the bathroom before the sound of her phone brought me back to my senses.
It dinged notifying me of a text.
The curious cat in me that wanted to know where she had been to all day picked up the phone and read the text.
…
That night opened Pandora’s box.