CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN.
The morning went smoothly at the office with Adele and her colleagues. Everyone did the work apportioned to them by their supervisor, Grace and by lunch time, they were all exhausted and ready to take a break.
Adele sat behind her cubicle, contemplating whether to call Jamal and ask if they could eat lunch together. The man was her husband, but she understood the kind of busy person he was and sometimes, when making requests, she feared that she was being a bother or a distraction to him. After a long moment of contemplating whether to call or not, she finally decided not to. She calmly placed her phone on her table and let out a tired sigh.
It was as if she was never going to fully get used to her own husband.
“Adele!” Kelly whispered harshly and Adele trembled on her spot as she snapped out of her thoughts.
“Whoa, whoa whoa…” Kelly explained when she noticed her reaction. “What’s going on? You’ve been lost in thought for a while now and you shook a great deal when I called your name. What’s wrong?” She asked, concerned and Adele sighed heavily.
“Nothing much.” She said and shrugged, casting one glance at her phone once more and wishing in her heart that Jamal would read her mind and call her. She averted her gaze back to Kelly who was giving her a doubtful look and shaking her index finger in front of her.
“I’m not buying that, not after all that I have witnessed. I thought you said we were now friends, tell me what’s wrong.”
“Well…” Adele made a quick think whether to tell her or not, but decided against it. “Talking about us being friends, why don’t we go out to have lunch to … you know… celebrate our friendship day.” Adele quickly dismissed the topic and Kelly understood that she really did not want to talk about the problem, so she let it go and smiled at Adele.
“That sounds like a great idea. Where will we be going?” She asked and Adele shrugged.
“You choose. It’s my treat.”
“Really? I should choose? I don’t think that’s a great idea.”
“I think it is. Go ahead, don’t be shy, choose.” She snorted at Adele’s teasing.
“Me? Shy? ain’t no way I’m shy. I’m just worried about how much you are going to spend if I choose a really expensive restaurant.”
“I think you are forgetting something.” Adele whispered close to her.
“And… what’s that?” Kelly asked in a whisper as well.
“My husband is Jamal King, he can afford any restaurant in the world.” Adele bragged with a big smile. She stylishly arranged her blouse in an attempt to further brag about her status.
“Ahhh…” Kelly exclaimed as she leaned on her chair. “But you should have told me it was your husband’s treat, not yours. He can afford it, but you certainly can’t, can you?” She bashed and Adele scrunched her nostrils in embarrassment.
“You smart bitch!” She cussed and they both burst into laughter. The others turned to look at them in awe as they laughed their hearts out.
Just then, Adele’s phone rang and her heart missed a few beats when she saw Jamal’s name on the caller id. She quickly hushed Kelly who instantly obeyed and answered the call.
“Hello, love.” She greeted with a wide smile on her face because she knew her wish had finally come to pass. Jamal had finally called her.
“Hello baby, are you out for lunch alre…”
“No!’ Adele quickly cut him off before he could complete the statement. “No, I’m not.” She gave Kelly a remorseful look, but Kelly had no idea what was going on.
“Alright cool. Please come to my office.”
“I will be right there.” She said and dropped the call. She turned to Kelly with an apologetic look on her face. Kelly, who understood her actions, just waved her off.
“It’s nothing. You go ahead and meet your husband.”
“You are a darling!” Adele rose to her feet and left the office.
When she got to Jamal’s office, she found him seated on his office table with a very gloomy look on his face. She creased her brows as she went over to meet him.
“Jamal.” She called calmly as she stepped by his side. Jamal wheeled his chair so that it was facing her and patted his lap for her to sit on it which she did without any hesitation. “You look gloomy, is everything alright?” She asked, concerned.
“No, I mean.. yes..” Sighs heavily. ” I honestly do not know, Adele.”
“Tell me about it. What happened?” She asked and Jamal let out an exasperated sigh.
Ever since his father left his office after the conversation they had, he had not been fine. He had thought everything would go back to normal after his father asked for his apology and he forgave him, but he realised he had been wrong. His heart was heavy and he was even more confused than he had ever been before. His father’s apology did nothing but refresh his mind of all the pain his actions had caused him. The spite he felt for his father seemed to be coming back full swim and he had no idea how to stop it. He was scared that things were going to get worse between him and his father than they were already and this time around, it was going to be his fault.
“Jamal.” Adele called again when he stayed silent. She was worried for him. She had expected to come in and meet a smiling man who would tell her how much he missed him and even talk dirty to her, but that was not the case. Instead, she met a troubled man who seemed like she was going to have to force words out of his mouth. “The suspense is killing me, Jamal, please talk to me already.”
Jamal cleared his throat and looked up at his worried wife.
“I came into the office this morning and met my father waiting for me?” He began narrating. Adele’s eyes open wide in shock.
“Father as in your father, Mr. Dominick?” She asked, stunned and Jamal calmly nodded his head.
“Yes, my father.”
“Wow! That’s shocking to hear. I’m sure he was here to ask you to send mother back to his house.”
“I thought so too, but I was wrong. He wasn’t here to do that.” Adele creased her brows and gave him an inquisitive look.
“If that wasn’t what brought him here, then what did? She questioned, eager.
Jamal looked at her once more and this time around, she could see tears glittering in his eyes. Her heart shattered into pieces on seeing that. A lot of thoughts ran through her mind that instant. She wondered if her father-in-law came to cause more problems or if he had set another trap for her husband. She quickly rose to her feet and looked down at him.
“Please don’t tell me he has succeeded in setting another trap for you.” She pleaded with a pained voice.
“On the contrary, he was here to apologise for setting traps for me in the past. For trying to ruin my reputation, for trying to send me to jail.” Jamal explained with a shaky voice, Adele let out a dramatic sigh of relief, but when she looked down at her husband, she could not understand why he was about to cry instead of being happy.
“You don’t seem to be happy about that. I thought it was your wish that this family be whole again, this the chance to make that happen, why aren’t you excited about it?” She was confused.
“Adele.” Jamal looked up at her and swallowed dryly. ” You are not wrong. This is what I have always wanted, but it is hard to accept it.”
“Why is it hard?” Adele questioned in a whisper.
“I had thought that father apologising would set me at ease with him, but right now, that’s not the case. He apologized and memories of all he made me go through, made us go through because of his greed flooded my mind and the spite I felt for him at that time came back afresh in my heart. Everything has been settled and we are fine now, but these memories and the hatred do not want to go away and it’s making me feel like a horrible person. I told father everything was alright, but I lied, I still feel hatred towards him and right now I don’t know what to do with myself.” He was sobbing like a child by the time he finished that statement.
Adele’s heart hurt seeing her husband cry in front of her. She quietly sat on his lap and pulled him into her arms. Jamal rested his head on her breast and closed his eyes as she calmly stroked his hair.
He felt relieved.
“You didn’t lie. You said what was in your heart. Forget about the spite that’s looming in your heart right now. That’s the devil trying to get in the way of things going the right way. Your mother and father have apologised to us, they have promised to be better towards us and that’s what’s important. This is one of those rare times when you do not listen to your heart. You have to listen to your mind and do what is right. You have me by your side, Love and I will assist you every step of the way. We will get through this together.”
“Thank you very much.” Jamal thanked her as he lifted his head from her breast and looked her in the face. “I told him I will talk with Smith about him moving into the mansion. Do you want this to happen?” He asked and Adele eagerly nodded her head.
“Yes. He can move in. I have no problem with that.”
“You are the best.” He lay his head on her breast once more and smiled in tears as she commenced with striking his hair.
Everyday of his life, he thanked God for the bold step he took when he proposed the arranged marriage between him and Jamal to his grandmother. He was more than grateful to have Adele in his life.