CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR.
Shannelle grumbled all the way to her agency. She had a photo shoot that morning which required her to smile a lot, but she had no idea how she was going to get through it because her mood was already ruined.
If her mother showed up at the mansion that evening and caused a scene, she was going to be very furious at her. She couldn’t leave the mansion, she just could not leave.
“Danielle!” She called in surprised the moment she walked into her private dressing room at the agency. Danielle was seated on the couch in the sitting area, patiently waiting for her.
The two girls hugged themselves and sat down to discuss.
“Goodness, why are you here this early?” Shannelle asked in shock and Danielle shrugged.
“I wanted to see you. The receptionist told me you always come in by seven am so I decided to wait. How are you doing?” Danielle asked, flashing her a fake smile and Shannelle frowned.
“I’m not doing fine at all, mum is driving me nuts!” She cried and Danielle looked at her confused.
“What do you mean by that?” Asked Danielle.
“Well, the thing is, Adele returning to the mansion has caused a lot of problems between Jamal and my parents and they have left the mansion.”
“What?” Danielle asked, aghast. “Mum and dad left the mansion?” Her eyes were wide open in shock.
“Yeah, they did.”
“Bu…but…b…” she stuttered. “I thought they owned the house, why didn’t they kick Adele and Jamal out instead of leaving?”
“Jamal now owns the mansion, Danielle.”
“Holy smokes! You are friggin’ kidding me.”
“I wish I was. He now owns the house. He shoots the shots. Anyone who’s not ready to abide by his or Adele’s rules at home is welcome to leave.”
“That’s wicked!”
“I tell you love, it’s crazy. Mum and dad couldn’t take all that bullshit, so they left.” She explained.
“What about you? Why haven’t you left yet? Why are you still living with them?” Danielle pretended to be concerned about her. In all honesty, she cared less about Shannelle. She was just asking to sound like she was concerned.
“Because of money.” Shannelle replied curtly and Danielle creased her brows.
“I… I don’t understand.”
“The thing is, Jamal gives us all weekly allowances and I don’t know about the others, but my mind is huge. I get over two hundred thousand dollars weekly from him. Sometimes way more when I accomplish something great or do something that pleases him. In one month, I get over a million dollars from my brother without doing anything at all! If I leave that mansion, he will stop giving me that money. I can’t afford to lose that kind of money.”
“Wow! Just wow!” Danielle exclaimed with jealousy burning in her heart. “That’s huge! I will not want to go away from such a huge amount of money either. You have to stay”
“Exactly! But my mother doesn’t want to understand. She keeps calling and asking me to leave the mansion. She has threatened to come and take me herself. My goodness, I’m so mad right now!”
“Well, one thing for sure is that you are an adult now and you have the right to make your own decisions. Just sit her down and talk with her one on one when she comes. She’ll definitely see reasons with you.”
“That’s what I intend to do.” Shannelle agreed with a tired sigh.
“You’ll be fine, love.” Danielle chuckled. “It’s just a minor issue.”
“I know, right?”
“So, now that we have tackled your mother’s issue, how about we dive into why I am here so early in the morning.”
A wide smile formed on Shannelle’s face as she scooted close to her.
“What’s popping?” She asked excitedly and Danielle smiled.
“Well, one of them is that, I have decided to forget about Jamal and move on with my life.” She announced and Shannelles shoulders sagged in disappointment, but she knew that was the best thing for Danielle to do.
She was living under the same roof with her brother and his wife and she saw how much he loved her, how much he cherished her. They were inseparable and Danielle was making the right choice by moving on.
“You know, in as much as I would love to have you as my sister in law, I think this is a good thing to do. I’m not saying this to taunt you, but Adele and Jamal seem to be inseparable. You are a gorgeous girl, Danielle. You are a fierce goal getter, you are smart, successful and you will definitely find someone out there who will show you all the love you deserve. I know it’s going to take some time, but I’m positive that you will be alright.” Shannelle explained as calmly as she could so that Danielle would take it the wrong way.
“Everything you have said is nothing but the truth. I will just be wasting my precious time if I keep running Jamal and begging him to accept me. I need to move on and that is what I have decided to do.”
“Come here.” Shannelle cooed as she pulled Danielle into a warm embrace. “I’ve been meaning to tell you this but I was scared. I didn’t want you to get mad. I’m happy you are finally reasoning things out this way. I’m sincerely happy and I wish you all the best in your next love journey.”
“Thank you, love. Thank you very much.”
They stayed in each other’s arms before breaking the hug.
“I feel like there is more.” Shannelle pointed out and Danielle burst into laughter.
“It’s a crime to know someone so well, Shannelle.”
“Please spill already! I’m eager to know!”
“Well, the second thing I’m about to say, concerns you.”
“Concerns me?” Shannelle questioned as she pointed to herself with her index finger. “How does it concern me?” She asked, perplexed and Danielle took a more comfortable position on the couch.
“Well, ever since you told me about your break-up with that stupid guy, I haven’t been fine.” She lied.
“Oh Danielle, you don’t have to bother yourself about that. I already told you I’m fine and right now I’m just going to wait for the guy my brother wants me to marry.”
“Do you know when he’s going to introduce you to him?”
Shannelle shook her head.
“Not yet.”
“Exactly. What if that’s not going to happen anytime soon? So, you’re just going to waste your youth waiting for someone you don’t even know?” She asked and Shannelle let out a tired sigh.
“I don’t know, Danielle. I’m confused.”
“What if he brings someone you don’t like? What if he brings someone who’s not up to your standards? Some very short man who has a face you wouldn’t even want to look at. What if he brings someone way older than you?”
“Nah!” Shannelle denied, shaking her head. “My brother would never do a thing like that to me. We might not be the closest siblings, but he loves me and he will get only the best for me.”
“I know that, sweety. All I’m trying to say is, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. If your brother says he has a man for you, it’s cool, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to find a man yourself. That way if he brings someone you don’t like, you can easily say no to him and introduce him to the man you like. You won’t be at the losing end. And lastly, are you sure you don’t wanna date? The vacations, the flowers, the romantic dinner, are you sure you want to be left out from all of these because you are waiting for the man your brother has chosen for you?”
“No!” Shannelle cried out. “Of course not. I really wanna date, but I can’t because all the guys end up asking for sex and you know that’s somyi can’t give it to any random man. My brother will kill me if that happens.”
“What if I told you I have someone I can introduce you to, someone who isn’t interested in sex. He’s a very chaste guy and he is totally against sex before marriage. I spoke to him about you and he was enthralled to hear that there was actually a girl who would love to date without sex and he said to introduce you to him.”
“He did?” Shannelle asked, smiling and Danielle quickly nodded.
“All you have to do is meet and if you like him, you two get to know each other and who knows what will come out of it?”
Shannelle couldn’t stop smiling.
“And oh… he’s got the cash!” She added and Shannelle laughed hard.
“So, when can I meet him?”
“How about tomorrow? In his suite?”
“His suite?” Shannelle asked with raised brows.
“I will be with you and like I said, he is a very chaste guy and you have nothing to be worried about. I know him to my fingertips, he’s a long time friend. Just trust me on this.”
“Of course I trust you. You are one of the people who want nothing but the best for me. Thank you very much.”
“You don’t have to thank me, that’s what sisters do, they have each other’s backs. You’d do the same for me. Come here.” She Said stretching out her arms and Shannelle crashed into them.
As Shannelle hugged her, a sly smile formed on her lips. Everything was going just according to plan.
In less than no time, she’d get her revenge against Jamal.