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CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN.
ONE MONTH LATER.
“Baby, are you alright?” Jamal asked, concerned when he noticed that Adele was feeling uncomfortable on her seat. They were at Shannelle’s wedding reception. The day had been a very hectic one for both of them as they had to make sure everything was going on smoothly. Adele, who had been Shannelle’s maid of honor, was exhausted and her husband could see it in her eyes.
“Yeah, I’m good. Why asked?”
“You’re really exhausted. The formalities are over, we can go home now.”
“No we can’t. Shannelle will feel betrayed.” Adele protested, but Jamal did not listen to her. He quietly rose to his feet and went over to the high table where Shannelle and her husband were seated. He engaged in a short, quiet conversation with them before returning to his seat to meet Adele.
“Let’s get going.” He instructed as he took her hand. She did not object because she was tired and needed to go home and rest but she did not want to go because she felt that Shannelle would be disappointed. If Jamal was asking her to leave with him after talking with them, it meant everything had been settled.
The ride back home was a quiet one because the person who always brought up conversations, namely, Adele, was too tired to say anything. Jamal kept stealing glances at her every now and then to make sure everything was alright.
“You didn’t have to work as hard as you did. There were people to do most of the work.” Jamal broke the silence and Adele gave him a sharp gaze.
“How could I not do that? She trusts me a lot and today is her special day, I had to make sure everything was perfect.”
“And it was. She has been all smiles since morning. You made her day a dream come true and she sure is grateful.” He explained and Adele smiled cheerfully. Her heart fluttered on hearing that from Jamal’s mouth.
Over the month, she and Shannelle had gotten close and everything about the wedding had been handed to her by Shannelle. She was nervous at first, but she finally figured out how to go about things especially as she got help from both Shannelle’s and Reid’s mother.
“Enough about Shanelle and her marriage. Let’s talk about you. How are you feeling? You look sick.”
“Frankly, I’ve not been myself for about three weeks now. I wake up with morning fevers, I have terrible mood swings and I’m nauseated most days. I feel miserable.”
“Hmmm…” Jamal nodded in agreement. He had been noticing those signs as well. “I noticed.”
“You did?” She asked surprised and he nodded.
“Yes, I did, that’s why I’m taking you to the hospital right now.”
“Hospital?” Adele asked, surprised. “What for?”
“So they can carry out a pregnancy test on you.”
“What?” Adele asked at the top of her voice, eyes and mouth wide open as she gave Jamal a shocking look. “A what?”
“A pregnancy test, wifey. You’ve been so busy with other people’s lives that you forgot to monitor yourself and notice your body changes. You’ve been sick, vomiting most mornings, having crazy mood swings and always looking gloomy. I saw your tits today and almost lost my mind because of how big they were. You are glowing these days. After the private pregnancy lessons I’ve been getting from doctor Karl, I was able to see those signs and know that you are pregnant.”
“Pregnant” Adele repeated the word like it was a strange word she had never heard before. She had been taking her fertility treatment very serious and she recalled the doctor told her some time ago that her chances of conceiving were getting better, but she never thought much about it because she knew pregnancy would not occur any time soon, but hearing her husband list out all those signs which were true, her heart began to race at the possibly that she could be pregnant. “Jamal.” She whispered his name.
“Yes love.”
“I… can’t believe that. Please don’t give me false hopes.” She pleaded with a shaky voice.
Getting pregnant again had been her ultimate wish and she knew it would shatter her heart for her hopes to be crushed by a negative pregnancy test.
“When was the last time you had your period?” That question came as a blow to her. She gave Jamal a sharp gaze.
“Excuse me?”
“I asked when was the last time you had your period.”
“What the hell do you know about periods?” She asked, amazed and Jamal chuckled as he shot her a brief glance before focusing his gaze on the road again.
“Did you miss the part where I said I’ve been taking lessons from Doctor Karl, I know a lot of women stuff now.” Adele chuckled and blushed so hard that my cheeks turned tomato red. “So now, can you answer my question?”
“Well…” she closed her eyes to think and after a while, she quickly opened them, with her mouth as well after a shocking realization hit her. “My God I didn’t see my period last month.”
“You see, you’ve been so preoccupied with your best friend’s wedding that you completely neglected yourself.”
“Jamal” Adele called in hushed whispers. “Could I really be pregnant?”
“I think you are, that’s why I’m taking you to the hospital to confirm.” Adele rested her head on the head rest of the car seat and heaved out a heavy sigh.
There were so many things running through her mind and she was feeling many things at that moment. The thought of her being pregnant excited her and the thought of her not being pregnant broke her heart into a million pieces. When Jamal noticed her confused state, he calmly placed his right hand on her left hand and caressed it.
“I know you are nervous and I want you to know that I’m nervous as well. We are in this together. If the test is positive, we will rejoice and prepare for the coming of our child, if it’s negative, it still doesn’t matter, we will keep trying. What’s important is that we love each other, we have each other and we will always be together, trying. I want you to have these words in your head as we walk into the hospital. I love you, Adele and a simple pregnant test result does not change how I feel about you. Positive or negative, you are still my better half and I will spend the rest of my life with you.”
Adele burst into tears because she couldn’t take it anymore. She closed her eyes and made a quick prayer to the heavens, begging them to bless her marriage with the fruit of the womb.
She opened her eyes and sniffled tears before turning to look at Jamal.
‘I love you even more, my dear husband.”
——————————————
THE TEST WAS POSITIVE.
Jamal and Adele were expecting a baby. The news spread throughout the entire country like wildfire. The entire Dominick family was excited about the news. Adele finally quit working at the conglomerate, much to Jamal’s delight. Well-wishers sent gifts and notes to congratulate the couple and Adele had never been happier in her life before.
Everything had fallen into place. All she ever wished for had come through. All she ever wished for was a happy family and she got one. Her husband loved her just as much as she loved him and they were expecting their first second child after losing the first one.
“You look tired. Are you okay, do you need to see a doctor?” Her overly protective husband asked concerned as he walked over to bed where she was lying. She was seven months gone and had gotten really heavy.
“Jamal, I’m terribly heavy right now and I’m always tired, but that doesn’t mean I need medical attention. You need to get used to seeing me like this.”
“Ahhh…” Jamal exclaimed and nodded as he got on the bed and lay by her side. “I’ll try to get used to that.”
“Thank you.” She smiled and watched him plant soft kisses on her exposed stomach.
“Is he giving you a hard time?”
‘Not at all. He seems to be calm and composed like his father. I will not be surprised if he comes out looking like you.” Jamal chuckled porously.
“That is one thing for sure.”
“Jamal.” Adele called calmly and Jamal looked up at her with a smile on. “Thank you for everything.’
“And why are you thanking me?”
“You may not remember, but the first time I got pregnant, I hid it from you for one week. I was showing signs of pregnancy, but you didn’t notice. It didn’t even occur to you that I was pregnant. Even when I finally told you, you didn’t see the need to treat me better, but now, everything is different. You suspected my pregnancy before I did because you were watching me closely. You have done nothing but spoiled me with attention and gifts ever since it was confirmed that I was pregnant. Jamal back then and Jamal now are two different people and I’m so happy. Thank you very much for changing and for loving me as much as you do.”
Jamal had nothing to say after hearing all that. Because he did not want to cry in front of his heart, he chose to say nothing. He cradled her in his arms and planted numerous passionate kisses on her forehead.
They had a rough start indeed. He had been such a horrible husband to her, but after everything that happened, he swore to make amends and he was glad that he was doing that perfectly.
Adele was the love of his life and he wanted to show that to her everyday of his life.
“I feel like our match was made in heaven. When we were just kids, mother tried to make me hate you, but she did not succeed. When we were teenagers, you always came home for holidays and I had a fat crush on you. That made me shy to talk to you, that’s why I avoided you as much as possible. When I turned twenty, I knew you were the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and I made it my goal to destroy every relationship you had with any other man. When you graduated from college, I had to seize that opportunity and make you mine before any other man did. I succeeded, but I fucked up real bad.” Exhales heavily. “After everything that happened, you still forgave me and I swore to never let you go again. Adele, I have never had interest in any other woman, but you, I have never loved any other woman, but you. The kiss we shared on our wedding day was my first kiss and we both lost our virginities the day we made love as a couple. I kept myself for you and I was elated when I found out that you had been a virgin. Even though you obviously didn’t keep your body for me, I was the first and only man to have access to it. That made me proud. I love you, my dear wife and nothing can make me stop loving you.” He confessed from the depth of his heart and by then, Adele was looking at him, completely petrified.
She could still not believe what she had just heard, not because she thought Jamal was lying because his level of fidelity was something she had never seen or heard of before.
She cuddled back into arms and smiled heartily.
They both had a rough start in their marriage. Friends and family tried to tear them apart, but they proved that their love for each other was wrong enough to keep them together. Their love story was proof that relationships don’t last because of good times, but because the hard times were handled with love and care.
That a perfect relationship is not perfect, it’s just that both people never gave up.
Adele, The Billionaire’s Wife.
She did not give up on her husband, Jamal, and they finally had their happy ending.
And this bring us to the end of their love story.
THE END.