<Think. It's not illegal yet>

|Kian|

Sunday, July 4, 2021

I LIED.

The 10 million dollars wasn't just to get her to be my fake fiancée. It also served as an apology for the damages I'd wrecked on her body. Jadesola might not know it but it was only a matter of time until she accepted my offer and the rift between us, mended.

Yes, I'd stooped so low, a result of the desperation Father had brought me to. When she'd forced me out of her room, my mind had fled through a million possibilities on how to gain a new personal assistant whilst evading the advances of my father and his beloved ex daughter-in-law.

The slow purr of the bugatti divo rent the air, a reminder that I still waited in the car for her to appear.

Inhaling deeply, roving eyes fixed to the front of Jadesola's apartment, I wondered if she would cancel at the last minute. If she did, I wouldn't be too surprised. As much as she needed me, I knew she loathed my presence with every single breath she took.

A hatred I deserved.

With that depressing thought in mind, I put off the ignition and reclined further into the seat.

I still hated people whose skin was plagued with an abundance of melanin. Their very existence, I abhorred. Just not Jadesola. Not anymore. I'd striked her off my list. After the injustice I'd done, it was only fair to finally admit it to myself. I liked her. Either that or an overwhelming feeling of natural lust a man felt when he gazed upon an attractive woman.

Her curvy body, so sensual it tempted me to strike my chest and yell to the world that I'd staked a claim on her. The defiant fire in her amber eyes, burning ever so brightly. Even her fucking skin colour that shone like brown pearls. I adored it all, revenge be damned. After all, rules were always made to have exemptions. I guessed Jadesola was my exemption.

When did I start liking her? I had no idea. Perhaps it was the moment my eyes had slid across her body, ravishing and alluring in the casino's dim lighting. Or when she'd teased me at the club, grinding and twisting sensually. Even seeing her being so chummy with Ryan might have triggered it.

I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, staring at nothing, my mind trapped in the events that had occurred earlier today.

If Jadesola didn't accept my money, the expensive roses and any material thing I could offer, what else did she want? I'd apologized, a trait so unlike me. I'd even admitted to being the one in the wrong so what else could I do?

Nothing I could think of. The dagger and handwritten letter had been a last attempt at gluing the severed ties that bound us together. And that was if she read it. An action I highly doubted, considering the fact she'd trampled on the Juliet roses.

My phone buzzed, yanking me away from the sad past. A tap on the screen displayed: Richard is calling.

I clenched my jaw in fury and switched off the phone.

What on earth was wrong with my father? He'd been the one who'd interrupted Jade's and I's conversation, threatening to take the company away from me if I didn't do the usual. Re-marry Katharina. As if.

My eyes bolted shut as I grimaced, itching to run a hand through my hair but we were heading out so I stilled my fingers and slid them against my jean clad thighs instead. Why couldn't he just let me be?

Someone rapped on the passenger's window. With a start, I opened my eyes then craned my neck to the side. Jadesola.

I dragged in a rough breath, noting how beautiful she looked in the red evening gown she wore, her silver braids, a gorgeous curtain that fell past, dainty shoulders.

While I thought of stepping out and opening the door like a gentleman, I withdrew that option. She clearly didn't want me around her anytime soon, judging by the seething glow in her honey eyes and that slight quivering of her fingers. Instead, I pressed a button and she unlocked the door, sliding inside the seat.

The scent of her apple fragrance wafted to my nostrils, heady and delicious. Tamping down the desire fizzing in my blood, I greeted, "Good evening. How are you?"

Jadesola didn't respond, focused on making sure not a peep of her body was uncovered. As she tugged her gown down her shapely thighs, my greedy eyes took in the smooth, silky expanse of her skin.

Quick, I averted them to a much safer place, her face. My insatiable lust for her had strained our relationship in the first place and I wasn't going down that lane again.

I gazed at her side profile, noting the way she sat so stiff, jaw and face set in a stony expression, staring straight ahead. Yeah she was pissed alright. But I wasn't deterred.

"How do you feel?" I inquired in a soft voice, trying to start up a conversation. Anything to get her to speak to me again and gaze into my eyes once more.

"Worse now that I'm stuck here with you." Her cold voice slashed through me as a knife would, sharp and piercing.

"I'm sorry." Even to my ears, I sounded lame.

Jadesola merely tilted her chin in the window's direction, dismissing me. Her slender fingers curled around the purse tighter. Fury. "Can we go now? I've had enough of your fake remorse." 

I started the car, hands propped on the steering wheel. "Where exactly are we headed?"

"46 Highfield Estate," she ground out in a harsh tone.

A grim smile stretching my lips, I nodded and drove out of the car park and onto the road. As we headed closer to our destination, I refused to accept the inevitable.

The thick walls surrounding her were built so high and impenetrable, a huge fortress. Walls that she'd erected to keep me out and to break them down, it would take several attempts and a tremendous effort. But if it was one thing I admired myself for, it was determination. Of her own accord, Jadesola would be mine and I would do every single fucking thing in my power to ensure that. Sooner or later, she would forgive me.

Don't be delusional, Kian. I reminded myself. There's no saving the damned.

***

"Have you two slept together, yet?"

I coughed, spitting out a mouthful of red wine back into the glass cup. A small embarrassed chuckle escaped me as I checked to see if anyone had noticed. No one did. They were too engrossed in their conversation, thank fuck.

"Mom!" Seated beside me, Jadesola's brows slanted in shock. "Of course not! The news you heard of me sleeping with him for money is false. I would never do that. Besides, it's none of your business if I sleep with him or not."

"Oh really?" Her mother tsked, clicking her tongue in disapproval. "Your business is my business."

Positioned at the head of the table, she glanced at me. "Just as Kian's is mine now he's your boyfriend."

As it was my duty to charm the very pants off her, I lifted my tumbler in a show of accord. "I agree with you, Ma'am."

Mrs. Simisola nodded and placed a piece of fried chicken into her mouth, chewing gracefully. Her eyes, equally as brown as her daughter's, pierced mine, curiosity shimmering within the depths of them. An unnerving stare, it seemed as if she could gaze into your very soul.

I shifted my own eyes away, tense she would see through me and realize that the loving facade Jade and I erected was all a big fat fucking lie.

The vivid lights overhead shone on the polished glass dining table, illuminating the various dishes that laid on it. Food I had no appetite to eat.

"Kian, how do you see the food?" Simisola eyed the unenthusiastic hand which held my knife and fork.

Baring my teeth in what I hoped was a convincing grin, I uttered, "Perfect. It's foreign and spicy, but not different from what Jadesola has exposed me to."

To prove my point, I placed a spoonful of rice into my mouth and chomped away, setting my facial expressions into one of intense enjoyment.

"You're really enjoying it, I can see." Simisola beamed in pleasure, waving her fork as she added, "You're the first white boyfriend my daughter has brought that loves my dish."

Then to Jadesola, she asked, "Jade, isn't it so?"

"Yep." Jade only smiled and popped a bite of salad in. She dutifully ate and at a single glance, one wouldn't be able to observe the subtle way her fingers curled firm around the steel knife or how her knuckles were tinged in white. A tell-tale sign of nervousness and annoyance rolled into one. Concern tugged at my heart, worried at that observation but amazed nonetheless. When had I been so adept at noticing the small quirks she displayed?

Since you began liking her.

Simisola reached for a wine bottle, realized it was finished and announced, "I need to get another drink from the fridge. When I'm back, you will both tell me how you met each other."

Dropping her cutleries, she cleaned off the side of her lips with a tissue and hoisted up from the velvet seat. Padding across the furry rug, the deep plush material clouding her footfalls, she took her leave.

Silence filled the room. Jade continued eating, stuck in her own world while I kept my fork down, totally uninterested in filling my stomach. Rather, I chose to survey the room we sat in.

Opulent and lush, Simisola's living room was a large purple space filled up with memories, pictures of Jadesola as a young girl and photos of her mom and her as she graduated from high school, then university. A total of five sofas surrounded a center table, a red rug beneath our feet except for the white tiles that were exposed when the rug failed to reach the sofa's front. A grandfather clock stood by the TV, its ticking sound almost lulling.

Adjacent to the clock, a grand piano was positioned. I wondered who played. Was it Simisola or perhaps her daughter?

Still admiring the brown polished piano, my eyes flared wide in recognition as they raked across a drawing of the Great Stave framed on the mantle. Enchanting and bold, the musical symbol was a reminder of something.

Something like what? I furrowed my brows, intrigued. Where exactly had I seen that drawing? It niggled at me, like a live worm digging deep inside my brain. Pulled to seek the answer, I ransacked my memories. As I did so, flipping through the dark recollections, I had a hunch that finding out would be chaotic. But I ignored that feeling and pursued still.

Loud screams of rage. A tattoo on the–

Jadesola shifted her seat close to mine and the trance broke. Damn it! I'd been so close.

An intense expression of concentration contorting her brows, she adjusted her seating position until she faced me. A respectable distance still sat between us. "My mother's going to take time in the kitchen so let's rehearse as fast as we can. Remember everything I told you?"

I dipped my head yes.

"First question." She raised a finger. "When and where did we meet?"

"We met at a casino. You poured wine at me because of a silly misunderstanding and I became fascinated by your bold attitude and beauty."

"Really?!" Jadesola rolled her eyes.

My brows gathered into a frown, perplexed. "What? Isn't that the answer?"

She waved her hands awry in frustration, and bent closer, her fear of me forgotten. "It is but come on! You sound like you're reciting a nursery rhyme and my mom's not dumb. You have to put some feelings in as you talk, Kian."

Oh.

"You're right," I admitted, seeing the truth in her words. I did sound like I was reciting.

Wetting my parched lips, I tried again, inflecting a range of emotions into my speech. "Around June, after a tiring day at work, I decided to head out and destress. I chose a casino and that was where I met her. Your daughter. She was mad at me because of a silly misunderstanding on my part and seeing her voice her displeasure intrigued me."

As I spoke, I regarded her through hooded eyes that spoke of my hunger for her, baring myself open, "I asked myself, who was this lady that dared to speak up? She had no fear of me, fire and fury raging in her beautiful eyes and that, Ma'am, that was the moment I fell in love with your daughter. Even if I didn't know it at—"

Her facial expression shuttered, Jadesola held her right palm up. Stop talking. "Okay that'll do it. Now, our first date?"

"Hilltop restaurant. You insisted on splitting the bills."

She inclined her head in acknowledgment and put up an additional finger. "Next, my favorite color?"

"Red."

"Why did we hide the fact we were dating?" Another finger. This time the little one.

"You wanted to surprise her."

For the next few minutes, Jadesola pumped me for more answers and I returned in the same manner as was requested.

"That's all. Mom will be heading back soon." She circled behind, about to shift her seat back into its previous position when without a second thought, I reached out, grabbing her wrist.

Jadesola arched forward, that slight turn of her neck revealing the hickey I'd gifted her in a fit of passion. My gaze drifted to her covered chest and I couldn't help recalling how her breasts had swelled in my palms, her dark brown nipples pointed stiff.

"And if she asks about me? What would you say?" I whispered, tender and intimate, a rush of lust singing in my veins.

Frozen, Jadesola stared at the wrist I held. I released it immediately, realizing my error.

Stifling tension loomed in our midst, so thick I could cut a huge slab out. She opened her lips to talk but Simisola had returned, holding two bottles of sparkling wine.

"I'm back. Who wants more?" It lay on the tip of my tongue to refuse but since we were pretending, I had to flow along.

She didn't wait for our reply, already pouring a stream of wine inside my tumbler, a little in her daughter's, then filled hers to the brim.

"Now to the reason why I called you both here today," Simisola started, resumed gorging herself full with rice and chicken.

We sat up at rapt attention, ready to give the best show of our lives. As if on cue, she asked all the questions Jade had asked and I answered as honestly as a lying man could. Time trickled. Still eating, Simisola would nod her head, watching me as I went on and on, Jade my backup.

"Kian, my dear, what exactly prompted you to help Jadesola out when she had financial issues?" Simisola placed her hands on the table, the wedding ring on her elegant finger glittering, just as her empty plate glistened with the remnants of oil.

"Fuck," Jade muttered beneath her breath. We hadn't expected the question but I had to salvage the situation as fast as I could.

Intertwining my sweaty fingers together, I lifted them onto the table and threw a charming grin at Simisola. "Ma'am this might be inappropriate. But because I am a man, and an honest one at that, I'll have to admit that her body drew me to help her."

"Kian!" Jadesola rounded on me, fire flaming in her heated, feline eyes.

"What?" I raised my hands, an innocent look on my face. "I'm being honest!"

"Jade, leave the man to talk," Simisola reprimanded. "I'm eager to hear his side of the story."

Jade's lips stretched into a thin, annoyed line but she let me continue.

"Eventually, I realized that it was more than her body. When she told me about her casino's issue, I knew I had to help out in whatever way I could. I also realised she would reject my offer of a loan without working for it so I employed her as my personal assistant. According to her, she could work and not take advantage of me."

I chortled and peeked at Jade. She urged me to continue with a nod, a fake smile gracing her sensual lips. Lips that I wanted to kiss once more if she would let me.

"Not only is your daughter very beautiful, she is also intelligent and resourceful. And I have to tell you that it was one of my best decisions ever. Making her my assistant," I finished.

Her mother smiled, a genuine one that displayed sparkling, white teeth. "You're a good man, Kian and I am proud to have you dating my daughter."

In return, the corner of my lips curved in a warm smile, one that failed to reach my eyes. Pinpricks of guilt dug at my chest, restricting my airflow. What would she think of me if she knew I was a lying bastard who'd forced himself on her daughter?

Cocking her head in Jade's direction this time, Simisola narrowed her eyes slightly. "Jadesola Kambili Anyalewechi, remember you were with Amir a month ago so how did you fall in love with Kian so quickly?"

Uh-oh. The perceptiveness of the woman was too caustic and her quiet voice, as deadly as a scorpion's sting, was a striking reminder of my step-mom. Whenever that woman called me by my full name, all hell was usually about to break loose.

Jade grinned although there wasn't any humor in her words. "Same as you did, mummy. You'll not tell me that during your younger days, men didn't see women and propose to them the next day?"

"Fair point." Simisola's shoulders quaked in laughter as she chuckled in agreement. "But we're not in the olden days, omo mi."

"True but love doesn't change. It's a feeling as old as time. And the love Kian and I have for each other will never fade." Probably to prove her point, Jade huddled close and linked her arms in mine, the goosebumps on her skin raking mine. Afraid, she was still loath to touch me.

"Yes, I agree with Jade, ma'am. I truly love your daughter and I am aware that our romance seems a bit quick but I am not to be blamed. Seeing her across that casino made me believe in soulmates and love at first sight." I kissed Jade's forehead, a light touch of my lips on her skin. She shrank away, ever so slightly, her breathing turning rapid.

I drew in a pained sigh, my chest constricted at her reaction. Withdrawing my lips from her face, I focused on Simisola.

The woman didn't appear happy. A deep vee of dissatisfaction was gathered on her forehead, arms folded across the bosom of her green, silk blouse.

Did she suspect our ruse?

"You guys are actually in love and that is good to know. But your grandfather saw the news, his fellow board members too. As the owner of the family business, he is very embarrassed and feels that it will affect the company's sales." Her deeply accented voice, a pure copy of her daughter, was grave.

"What?!" Jade inquired in an irate tone, unlinking her arm off mine. "Surely you're joking. How on earth does my well-being affect the company?"

"No, I'm not joking, Jade. You should know how Nigeria is by now." Simisola raised a glass of wine to her lips, downcast. "He also insisted I would not be receiving my share of the inheritance from him unless you fulfill his conditions."

"Bullshit!" Jade darted up from her seat, braids flying. Her next question came out within clenched teeth, "And what is his condition?"

She sipped the wine, and fixed a burning gaze at us, her voice laced with a tone of finality.

"He wants you to get married to Kian."

A/N: Now this was what I was asking y'all to guess!!

Dyu think Jadesola would even think of accepting? Kian, too?🌚 Lmao. I don't think so or do I?😏

Cheers to 35.6k reads btw!🫶🏾🤩✨

Next chapter peep: Jade and Kian will be in Paris! Sharing one bedroom! 😏 Meeting our Italian mixed mafia man, Stefano (I think I'm changing this guy's name, le sigh)😭 Some people will be jealous, aka Kian.

Anyways, we'll be going on this journey along with them so we'll see all the "apologetic activities" Kian has in store for Jade and the naughty ones she has for him.

P.s: I have to tell you, I cannot wait to write chapters 35-40.😂😏🌚

Love,
Nita.