All Yours Daddy.
“Babe?” James’ words strucked Nuella hard and her brows knitted even more as she looked at James face and then back to the lady.
He had just called this lady ‘babe’, right in her presence?
She made to ask but her mouth closed at James words.
“What are you doing here?” With his eyes unbotheredly holding onto hers, he inquired leaving her even more stunned than she was before. Was he really asking her that question? Her eyes moved from his face to his hand, which was on the lady’s shoulder, and a sudden anger gripped her.
“Who is she?” The other girl asked turning to James and he smiled planting a kiss on her head.
“She is not for you to worry babe, I will sort it out,” James replied cozily urging her to go inside which she did obediently.
Nuella stood there gunsmacked. She was trying to process everything but nothing made sense to her, who was this lady that James was so comfortably calling ‘Babe?’
“What brings you here?”James inquired stepping out and shutting the door.
Nuella was lost, his question was even more perplexing. If he wasn’t standing in front of this door then she would say she was standing in front of the wrong flat, but he was standing here, with another lady in his room, a lady whose face and hair looked so messy and sweaty like she had just finished up with him. Has he been cheating on her? Did he have another girlfriend?
“Have you been cheating?” The words stumbled out of her mouth. Those were not the right words to come from a lady who had spread her legs wide for her father’s friend and most especially, enjoyed it, but those were the only way to get things right.
James stared at her wiredly before letting out a very sarcastic chuckle.
“Never seen you as my girlfriend, Chully. ”
Chully?
Nuella’s heart cramped and she felt a sharp ache like a dagger had been thrust into her chest. That was the worst name to refer to her as.
While feeling the pain from his sarcastic name, Her heart sank and her knees bucked as the realization of words strucked her hard. He never saw her as his girlfriend?
“What was I?” Those question slipped out of her mouth before she could realize and she really wish she never asked.
“A bet, made with my friend.” His very sarcastic heart-wrenching reply sent numbness down her body. Nuella stared at him, paled. Her face filled with emotions as tears rushed to the bream of her eyes.
She couldn’t believe her ears, she was a bet? For two years? To James? Her abdominal muscle tightened and her heart turned heavy, tears gathered at the bream of her eyes, leaving her chest heavy as the weight of this pain wheeled her.
Last night she had drawn herself to the solace of Alcohol and judged herself for breaking the heart of such a loyal man, she had questioned the affairs that never even existed between her and Mr Devine, till yesterday, and she had drawn herself into the web of pain, calling herself names and shouting that he was not worthy of her, that he was a loyal man meanwhile he had been with her for 2 good years on a bet? Nuella stared at him, wishing he could take back his words that were slicing through her heart, shredding them into millions of pieces.
She was not perfect, this past few weeks she had been the worst person, she had kissed Mr. Devine and he had even touched her, but before then she had never cheated, If only she knew that she existed to him as a bet and nothing tangible, then she would not have to drown herself in the web of pain.
“How could you?” her words trembled as she tried to blink back the tears that were threatening to betray her, but No. She held onto it, with every muscle in her eyelid. She would never let him see any more weakness than he was seeing now.
James scoffed and took a step closer.
“Do you really think I could stay with someone like you for two years and agree not to have sex with you? Of what importance are you in my life to think that I will attach myself to you for two years and agree to not have sex?”
Nuella stared at him even more dumbfounded. So now it was the sex again?
“Emotionally you are unavailable! You keep getting into one trouble or the other, if you are not grounded today, you are almost running a lady over. Who do you think would keep up with your clumsy lumpish attitude? Huh?”
Nuella stared at James, even more dumbfounded. Her heart tightened and then shredded as she watched James spill all of these things for her. So, he has been keeping a record of all this about her just to use it against her today. So all of those times that she had run to him, seeking the security she never felt in his hand, he was busy making her a stock laugh at?
“When you are done staring at me like a lost puppy, pick yourself up and leave my compound.” his words followed with disgust as he turned to leave but halted at once.
“Not to forget.”
“That Vcard you are holding would not buy you an eternity without a miserable life. Get yourself some nerd and lose your v card! Be a freaking bad girl. No one loves a good girl.”
Those were the last things he said to her before walking back to his room and slamming the door against her face, leaving her disorganized and terrorized.
Nuella stood still, everything looked even more shocking to her. Never in her wildest thoughts did she think that James could be this kind of person. The person she saw him for, was a compassionate one. A person with so much love to give, but he just proved to her that Mira was right.
He picked her self up like he had requested and walked her way out of this compound.
*************
When a maid walked in to inform Mr Devine about Nuella’s arrival, he was surprised.
Nuella was in his house? He wasn’t expecting her, but the information had elevated his mood. He had left everything he was doing to come see her. When Mr Devine walked into the living room to meet Nuella standing with her back to him, instantly he knew that something was wrong. On a very normal occasion he would let his eyes hover around this ass that stood prudently underneath that black dress, but he could not bring himself to ignore the situation at hand.
“Momma.” He called in that deep baritone voice that brought a surge of peace into her and she turned to face him immediately.
Her heart melted at the sight of him. When he left James compounded, no where made sense to her, but here. It was the only place she could think of and standing in front of him now, she didn’t regret it.
Mr Devine took a step closer.
“Are you….” His words trailed off as Nuella closed the space between them, falling into his embrace, and wrapping her hands around his rigid body. When she left James’ house, she didn’t have a place in mind aside from here. At once, the thought of him had just rushed to her. He was the only one whose arms gave her peace and shelter that shielded her away from her worries.
She was lying when she said she wanted to stay away from him, no.
Mr Devine stared down at the petite body that pressed against his, he exhaled softly and then wrapped his arms around her body when she was going to pull away.
“Stay there momma. That is where you belong.”
His grip around her tightened welcoming her into the hug, and tears rolled out of her eyes. Those hurtful tears that she had been controlling
For a some seconds, she felt rejected when he didn’t hug her back, but his words only melted through her soul. She settled into his embrace and the shelter that his arms brought to her. This was all she needed. This hug from his was all she needed, a hug that took her misery away and sheltered her with the right amount of solace that she needed.