“I love you, my baby,” he said and released her.
Olivia, who was craving, gave him another affectionate kiss before she said, “I love you the more.”
However, Denise took good care of her as her father was convinced. After dinner, Nicholas and his wife drove them back home.
“Thank you for your visit. You made our weekend worthwhile,” Mrs. Fields appreciated them.
“Thank you for hosting us. We appreciate it,” Denise responded and watched them as they drove away.
Afterward, he led his wife into their apartment. Irony of life. He was not afraid of beating up his uncle, Stephen, but he was afraid of a mysterious man who could be a mere figment of his imagination.
At Stephen’s Residence.
He got back after he left the Bailey’s Native Home. Now, his shirt was already stained with blood, and he was embarrassed and afraid that his janitor might see him and suspect that he had shoplifted and been beaten up. Then, he came up with an idea. After he parked his car at the car park, he honked and the janitor walked up to him and greeted him, “Welcome back, Boss.”
Stephen rolled down his car’s tinted window and requested, “Thank you. Get me one of my shirts from the laundry.”
“It is all right, Boss.”
The janitor walked away and returned with his shirt. Then, Stephen removed the blood-stained one and changed to a new one before he got out of his car. Then, he walked briskly into his apartment with his face down. The janitor walked behind him, not giving thought to his actions.
He got to his bedroom and took a hot bath before he gave himself a simple first-aid treatment and rested on his bed. Subsequently, he meditated on that day’s occurrence and regretted ever going through Arthur or Denise.
“I should have gone to her directly and the embarrassment would have been minimal,” he thought for a while and blamed himself for misjudging.
“I should have driven straight to Williams’ house to see her. She must have been sex-starved and would have been happy to have me,” he told himself and pondered on the way out.
“I think I should give her a call,” he resolved and picked up his phone.
Instantly, he remembered Freya’s warning: (Rascal, …. You cannot disintegrate us. Let me see you anywhere near my mother or father.)
He looked at his phone and refrained from his intention. Soon, the analgesic painkiller that he took as first aid took its toll on him and he dozed off.
To Louis, whether he went to sleep or not, he must finish what he had started. For thinking of involving his mom in his undefined lifestyle, he will pay for it.
At Arthur’s Apartment
The estate had a total of twenty families occupying it. These families were members of the Bailey family. They were familiar with seeing Arthur and Nichole together, even when her husband was alive. She was even suspected of polyandry, but their suspicions had been laid to rest. They returned from their walkout feeling good. For obvious reasons, Arthur did not want her to be aware of all that transpired in the estate. To his consternation, she never bothered to log on to the family platform.
“Thursday is not far away from today. You will be my legally married wife,” he reminded her while they took their bath.
She simply smiled. To Nichole, she was already fulfilled because she had moved into his house, so she was not excited, but to Arthur, it meant the world to him, it would give him the confidence he needed. Nichole, who was out of the bathtub and drying her body, looked at him seductively and said, “You are worth waiting for, Arthur. I have no regret in loving you.”
Then, Arthur got out of the bathtub, too, and asked her, “I had not asked before now. I know you love me so much, but, why do you love me, Nichole?”
Nichole was moved, she remembered all the days he disregarded her love advances. The days of unrequited love, and she felt unwanted. Now, she was emotional and remained calm and held her towel firmly. Arthur, who was drying his body while waiting for her response, noticed that she was calm and moved closer to her.
“Nichole, why are you calm?” He inquired.
But she did not respond. When he noticed that she was sobbing, he turned her to face him while he pulled her closer. He cupped her face with his two hands and asked her, “Nichole, please talk to me. Did I hurt you with my question?”
Nichole could not talk but began to sob. He held her and allowed her to cry.
‘This is the second time she is crying because of me. How am I sure she would not abandon me?’ Arthur thought.
They stood on that spot in their nude for a few minutes before she spoke, “Arthur, you were too hard on me. You ignored all my love advances. You treated me as though I was a trash …”
“Stop, Nichole. Stop,” he interrupted her and demanded with a voice filled with emotions.
Now, he had begun to tear up too, and it reflected in his voice.
“Forgive me, Nichole. I am not proud of my actions to you. But you have to consider my plight too …”
He stopped when he was overwhelmed by emotions and left her. In anguish, he walked to the room and sat on the bed. He lowered his head to allow his anguish to roll away with the tears.
Meanwhile, Nichole calmed down when she noticed the pain in his voice. Then, she walked to him, sat beside him, and placed her hand on his shoulder.
“Can I call you, Hubby?” she asked him.
Now, Arthur was moved. He remained calm but stopped sobbing. Nichole continued by adopting the principle of ‘silence means consent’.
“Hubby, I’m sorry that I hurt you by not considering your perspective.”
She gave him a peck on his temple, lifted his head, and placed it in between her breasts. Arthur remained calm, then she called, “Hubby.”
“Yes, Wifey,” he answered coldly.
“I love you,” he looked into his eyes and professed.
“I know how much you love me. Thank you for seeing me as your husband even before our marriage. I love you so much, Nichole.”
He paused and looked at her lovely face and continued, “Let us forget about the past and be positive about the future.”
“You are right, Hubby,” Nichole acknowledged it, “I will continue to love you,” she promised him.
“You have all my love now that you have found me.”
“Thank you. Hubby, Kindly make love to me. Please, I need you to make love to me now,” she pleaded.
“I will, and I will wipe away your tears.”
Arthur made love to her and wiped her tears away as he promised. She satisfied him and wiped away his tears too.
“Wifey,” he called out.”
“Yes, Hubby,” she answered.
“I want to let you know this,” he paused and looked at her.
“Go on. I’m all ears,” she encouraged him.
“Good. I was not ignoring you because I was seeing another woman then.”
Nichole gave him a curious look, and he continued, “You may wish to know that you are the first woman I have had an intimate relationship with after the death of Rosy.”
Nichole chuckled and asked, “I see, but if that was the case, what kept you all these while.”
“I was only being faithful to her. You were not the only woman who wished to replace her, but I had to be faithful. I can’t love multiple women.”
“I apologize for judging you wrongly,” she apologized and gave him a peck.
“I got you at last. I’m yours,” he said and gave her a peck too.
“Yes. You are mine. I hope we can move on with our love and stop bothering with our pasts.”
“Yes. You are my hero.”
Thereafter, they proceeded to the parlor for their meal.