Chapter 13

Josephine Dominico is due to return tomorrow and I’m yet to hear anything from him. I’ve poured out my frustration on Hugo; I hounded his ass numerous times, demanding that he call Dominico but he told me that it’s a rule never to call the boss unless it’s an emergency. I have to admit, I’ve considered pretending as if something is wrong with the baby. “Josie?” My lips jutted out, forming a pout like a sulking child. “What?!” I don’t even have appetite for the strawberries before me which happens to be my favourite fruit at the moment. “Is this still about Lopez?” I rolled my eyes underneath the sunglasses. “He’s going to be back tomorrow, stop making it obvious that you miss him, it’s sickening.” Not in the mood for his bullshit, I lifted my sunglasses and glared at him. “Is there something you need to get off your chest? Because I definitely do not need any form of negative energy around me.” Jaw clenched, his face flushed with anger. “Are you calling me negative Josie? Really? Because of him, you now presume me to eminent negative vibes.” I waited for him to finish before making something very clear to him. “That man will soon be my husband Jayden. I’ve pleaded with you numerous times to tune down your hatred towards him. If at all you have to be angry at anybody, then it should be my parents. They are the ones who gave me away without my consent.” “That doesn’t excuse calling me negative energy Josie.” His breathing stalled. “Do you even know what that means?” “I’m sorry,” I apologised. “I shouldn’t have called you that.” I kicked his lounge when I didn’t get any response from him. “I said I’m sorry.” “I heard you Josie.” He groaned. “Stop being a baby over it.” Lifting his wine glass, he frowned at it. “So you’re really going to get married to him?” I nodded. “Without even figuring out what he exactly wants?” Rolling my eyes, I threw my hands in the air, filled with frustration. “He wants nothing from me Jayden, stop frustrating me.” He grunted in response. “We’re starting the wedding plans the moment he returns home.” His eyes widened. “What?! Why the rush? I thought you were going to take things slow?” His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “He has something over your head, doesn’t he?” “He doesn’t have anything over my head,” I gritted out. “Stop looking for a way to make him look bad. The wedding is going to happen eventually, so why wait? I wish to have the wedding before the baby comes and the earlier I do it now that I can still fit into a wedding gown, the better for me.” “You can still wait until after the baby comes.” I sneered at him. “Fine! Don’t bite my head off. I was only trying to make you see reasons for the last time.” Inhaling deeply, he offered me a smile. “If you want to get married to Lopez, you’ll always have my support.” I’ve always been able to tell whenever Jay is telling a lie, which is why I can proudly say he’s lying right now. He isn’t in support of me marrying Dominico, and I doing think he’ll ever be. Nevertheless, I accepted his fake support. “Thank you Jay, I really appreciate.” He may not have meant it, but I hope he’ll be civil for my sake. Relaxing back on the lounge, I shielded my eyes from the sun with my sunshade and focused on tanning my skin. ****************** Last day and I still didn’t hear a word from Dominico. If he’s trying to make me insane with worry, then he’s most definitely succeeding. I paced the living room, my eyes snapping to the dot anytime it opens. Hugo who has been observing me for sometime now approached me. “Ma’am?” I stopped pacing, my back to him. “I received a call from Zadok, they are indeed returning today. How about about you to get some rest, I’ll come wake you when he arrives.” “You called to confirm that he’s fine?” He nodded. “Then why isn’t he picking my call?” He blinked at me with no response. “You know what…Don’t answer that. You’re right, I should catch some sleep, it’s already late.” I will not deprive myself sleep, worrying over someone who is deliberately punishing me. “Good night Hugo.” “Good night ma’am.” He smiled sympathetically at me as I walked past him. I dragged my feet up the stairs up to the room assigned to me. ********* The thunder storm and the cold wind woke me up. I pulled the duvet closer to my chest and opened my eyes, gathering the strength to get off the bed and close the windows. I noticed a silhouette standing by window. Gasping, I scraped off the bed in fright, almost loosing my balance as the duvet tangled round my legs. The silhouette turned around and I recognised the familiar face. “Dominico?” He closed the window and the curtain before turning around to face me. “I didn’t want to wake you.” He strolled towards me, his hands buried deeply into his pocket, his poker face made him look more handsome as the moon illuminates his face. “Do not leave the windows open, I had the air conditioner installed for a reason.” “It’s good to see you too.” I greeted sarcastically. “I’m sure you fixed those locks for a reason. Why didn’t you knock before coming in?” Chuckling, he sat down next to me, fixing the duvet tangled round my legs. “Touché.” He placed his hand next to left leg, caging me in. “Like I said, I didn’t want to wake you up.” “Why didn’t you pick my calls?” I queried, hitting the nail straight on the head. “I texted and called several times but you failed to return any of them. Why?” His eyes darkened. “I traveled for business purposes Josephine, not for vacation. Personal phone calls are insignificant whenever I’m on a trip like this. Take note for future purposes.” Butthead. “How busy were you that you weren’t able to pick my calls?” God! I feel like strangling him right now. “I’m pregnant for f**k sake! What if it was an emergency huh?” “I know for a fact that it wasn’t.” His aloof behaviour irritates the hell out of me. “And how would you know when you weren’t taking my calls?” If he gives me one more annoying reply, I’m hitting some sense into him with this cushion. “If any case of emergency occurs, Hugo will inform me and for the fact that I didn’t receive such calls from him, that means everything is fine over here.” I carried out my threat. The cushion, hardly grasped in my hand slapped him over the head. He glared at me, surprised by my act of violence. “Is this how is going to be when we get married? You travel for business meetings, forgetting that you have someone back home?” “You’ll have to wait until we’re married to find out.” He’s trying to hurt me; for what reason I do not know. “Are you trying to punish me or something? What is my crime in all of these? Was it wrong to call my fiancé? To make sure that everything is okay with him?” Do not cry Josephine, he’s not worth it. “Is worrying about you a crime Dominico?” He fell silent, his cold blue eyes holding mine captive as he searched for something known to him underneath mine. “Why?” He asked, returning to his monosyllabic response. Confused at his question, I frowned. “Why what? I asked you a question Dominico and your response shouldn’t be a question. Why didn’t you return my calls?” His poker face remained intact as he rose to his feet. “Go to sleep Josephine, I only came to check up on you.” “To check up on me?” I huffed. “For the past two weeks, you didn’t bother checking up on your pregnant fiancé and now you return and suddenly you’re a doting fiancé. f**k off with your fake concern Dominico, it isn’t needed.” Clicking his tongue, he glared at me. “What the f**k do you want from me Josephine? Ever since you returned from Phoenix, I’ve been nothing but loving and supportive,” He bent to my eye level. “Where has that ever gotten me? You give more time and attention to Jayden, making me the third party in all of these. Sue me for deciding to stop hurting.” Speechless, I stared at him without blinking. Guilt stabbed me straight in the heart, penetrating and digging deeper. “I’m sorry.” I whispered. Those are the only words that makes sense to me right now. “I didn’t know you felt that way…I was clueless and…and_” “And nothing Josephine.” He spat. “You blindly took his side.” Inhaling sharply through his nose, he ran his fingers aggressively through his hair. “Just tell me when you’ve ever stood up for me? When have you ever taken my f*****g side Josephine?! It was always about him; damn it! It is always about him, I’ll always come second to you.” I’ve hurt him too bad without even realising it. How am I going to fix this? My lips quivered and I stood up. “I’m sorry Dominico. I…. Hurting you wasn’t my intention…I swear it…I didn’t even realise that I was hurting you in the process.” Huffing out a sigh, he pulled me into his arms and hugged me, placing a chaste kiss on my forehead. Something felt off about it…. Like he is withdrawn or something. “Go to bed Josephine, we’ll discuss in the morning.” Letting me go, he ambled towards the door and I chased after him. Wrapping my hand round his waist, I placed my head on his back, my heart thumping loudly against my chest, trying to seize beating at the thought of him hating me. “I defended you yesterday against Jayden.” I felt him stiffen. “I’m guessing you both had another fight about me, no? What did he say I’m after this time?” “We had a fight because I told him that I want us to begin with the wedding preparation when you get back.” I forced him to turn around and face me. “He thought you had something over me, hence the reason I want you get married to you quickly and I shunned him.” He studied, his scrutinising eyes trying to understand me right now. “Why?” His eyes narrowed. “I’m quite suspicious right now, so I do not blame him for being suspicious too. Why the sudden change of heart?” I shrugged nonchalantly. “I mean why not? You’ve proven countless times that you care, that you’ll protect me, and when you’re not being an asshole, you’ve proven that you’ll respect me. So why not.” Unable to keep it in, his smile widened. “You really mean that?” I nodded. “There is no backing out love.” And we’re back to the pet name. I think all is well. “I have no intention of backing out, do you?” Shaking his head, he placed his forehead on mine. “Damn, I’m so happy.” He placed his lips on mine and kissed me slowly, savouring the moment. “I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you don’t regret this decision.” Nodding eagerly, I kissed him again. “I’m getting married!”