CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TEN.
Adele went straight home after her visit to the Dominick residence. She still didn’t know what to make out of everything Aliya had told her. Yes, she accepted her apology and Aliya even hugged her for the first time in her life, but she was still in shock. All day long, she kept wondering what Shannelle could have possibly told her mother to change her heart as such.
The hatred Aliya always showed Adele had made her understand that there was nothing in the world that could make Aliya like and accept her as her daughter-in-law, but she had done just that.
“Baby.” Jamal called when he entered the bedroom. Adele was sitting on one of the sofas in the sitting area, totally lost in in thought but when she heard her name, she snapped out and smiled at her husband who sat by her side.
“Hey…” she greeted calmly and kissed him.
Jamal could tell from her looks that everything was not okay.
“I was told you left work early today, is everything alright? Do you feel sick? Should we go see a doctor?” He posed numerous questions and Adele quickly shook her head. She was feeling sick, but what she needed was proper explanation as to why her mother-in-law suddenly stopped hating her, not a visit to the doctor.
“No…” she denied, shaking her her head. “I don’t need to see a doctor.”
“But you don’t look okay.”
“Because I’m not.” She lamented and Jamal got even more frustrated. He inched closer to her to take a better look at her.
“Come on love, please tell me what’s wrong already, you are making me very nervous.”
“Your mum called. I left work earlier to go see her.” She explained and instantly, Jamal’s gaze darkened because he knew if Adele was in a bad mood after going to see his mother, it implied his mother had said awful things to her.
He let out an exasperated sigh as he took out his phone to dial his mother’s number.
“What are you doing?” Adele asked, startled.
“Calling my mum to scold her.”
“What for?”
“For putting you in a bad mood of course.”
“I’m not in a bad mood.” Adele disagreed. “I’m shocked by what she told me when I went to see her.”
“What did she tell you?”
“She told me she was sorry.”
“What?” Jamal asked aghast as his eyes popped open. Adele nodded and bit her lips.
“This was the same reaction I had when she said those words to me. She said many others, all nice words and right now I’m still trying to recuperate.” Jamal put his phone down and sat properly on the couch to think.
“Are you sure you’re not pulling my legs?”
“Why would I do such a thing on such a sensitive issue? It’s true. Your mum really did beg for my forgiveness and when I said I had forgiven her and she was open to playing the role of a good mother-in-law in my life, she gave me a warm motherly hug. The kind of hug grandma gives me every now and then.” She explained and Jamal huffed and folded his arms over his chest.
“This sounds serious.”
“It is serious. You know…” she turned to face Jamal. “I was waiting for her to let out an evil laugh and tell me she was just joking and then throw me out, but none of that happened. She even made me lunch. I though by now I’d be dead after eating it, but I’m still strong and waxing. I swear I’m flabbergasted. My mind is completely messed up right now. I don’t know if I should term it as good or bad news.”
“Good news. It’s definitely good news. My mum might be as bad as she is, but she’s not a back biter. If she doesn’t want you around, she pushes you away, but if she wants you aound, she does all she can to keep you. If she had apologized, I can bet the apology was genuine.” He explained and Adele nodded her head.
“I know about mum too… Ahah! She even permitted me to call her mum, mummy or mother. My jaw dropped to the floor!” She explained in shock and Jamal chuckled.
“I bet it did. Mum is full of surprises. I wonder what made her change her mind.”
“She told me Shannelle spoke to her. I’m yet to know the magic Shannelle used on her because I swear, I had no idea mum would ever consider doing a thing like this. Babe I was shaking when she hugged me. My soul left my body. My entire being was… was… ” she stuttered. “Goodness!” She finally exclaimed with a heavy sigh..
“Do you want me to talk to her?” Jamal asked.
“Yes, please. Maybe you could get a reason out of her. I simply want to know why.” She cried and Jamal took her in his arms to comfort her.
“It’s alright. Don’t stress over it. I’ll talk to her, I’ll ask her why she had a sudden change of heart. So don’t let it bother you.”
“Thank you.”
“Anything for you sweetheart. Anything for you.” He kept stroking her hair as he stared blankly at the bed that was at the other end of the room.
He had mixed emotions at that moment.
His mother apologising to Adele was great news. That meant there was hope for his family to be united just like he had always wanted.
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Jamal didn’t go to work with Adele that morning because he wanted to pass by his mother’s house so they could talk about her and Adele’s reconciliation.
“Where’s my mother?” Jamal asked the moment he walked into the house and met the butler.
“She’s in her bedroom.”
“Please tell her I’m here to see her.”
“Yes, Sir.” Agreed the old man as he walked over to the staircase and took the stairs.
While waiting for his mother, Jamal looked around the mighty livingroom, nodding his head. It was good. Just as sophisticated as the one at the mansion, but there were no photos around, meaning his parents were not fully settled in yet.
Hanging photos in the living room was something his parents were obsessed with, it was like a family tradition and seeing that they hadn’t hung any yet, he immediately understood that they were not happy living in that house.
Ten minutes past and he was still critically observing every furniture in the living room. His father had good taste for stuff like that. He was impressed with everything he was seeing in that living room.
“Jamal.” He heard his mum call from the staircase. He looked up and saw her rushing down the stairs.
She was all glammed up and Jamal wondered where she was going to at seven am in the morning.
“Good morning mother.” He greeted when his mother stood before him and she pulled him into her arms, giving him a warm motherly hug.
The kind of hug Adele had spoken of the previous night.
“Oh Jamal, it’s been a while since I laid eyes on you. How have you been?” She asked as she broke the hug and began searching his body with her eyes and hands. “Have you been feeding well? Do you get enough rest? How…”
“Mum please.” He cut her off and she immediately stopped touching him and stepped back. “Thanks for your concern, but I’m fine. Yes, I’m a bit stressed, but it’s just work and I got everything under control. I feed well, get enough sleep and my wife and grandma are trying to turn me into a glutton at home.” He answered and Aliya smiled.
“I’m happy to hear that. What brings you here so early in the morning?”
“Adele told me what happened yesterday. You apologized to her.”
“Yes I did.” She agreed. “I know you have a lot of questions on your mind…”
“Yes, I do mother.” He cut her off. “I do have a lot of questions on my mind. What happened? Why did you suddenly let go of all the hatred you had for Adele? I’m not saying it’s a bad thing you did, but I’m just curious and I wanna know why you suddenly asked forgiveness. Mum you hated Adele with your entire being.”
Aliya let out a deep sigh as she took Jamal’s hands in hers.
“Your sister spoke to me.”
“Shannelle?” He asked with creased brows and his mother nodded.
“Yes, Shannelle. She asked me to imagine her being treated by her mother-in-law the same way I treated Adele and I couldn’t even bring myself to imagine such a thing. That statement made me understand that I was doing something horrible to someone’s daughter. Something I wouldn’t want anyone else to do to my own daughter. That’s what brought me to my senses. Made me realize the monster I’ve been and I felt really guilty. I felt terrible and thought it wise to ask for forgiveness.” She calmly explained and Jamal was speechless.
He turned around and rubbed his right palm over his face, exhaling heavily.
That was a bridge he had never thought he would cross in his life.
His mother and wife getting along was not something he had pictured happening even in the next twenty years.
“Mother.” He called as he turned to look at her. “This is not a joke right? You meant every word you said to Adele yesterday, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Oh mother.” He cried abd hugged his mother. “You have no idea the joy this brings me. Thank you very much.”
“You don’t have to thank me. This is the right to do. This is what I should have done a long time ago.” She said, patting his back.
They stayed in each other’s arms for a brief moment and Aliya could feel her body getting younger and stronger. It had been ages since she last hugged Jamal.
“There’s something I want to know.” She told him when they broke the hug.
“What’s that mother?”
“What did you father do to you? Why are two not in good terms with each other? She asked and Jamal froze.
Did she really not know what happened?