Chapter 68
Daniel.
I get to the door and try to calm my stormy raging thoughts and emotions before pressing the bell.
I inhale, taking it all in and exhale a freight ton of emotions.
I know she’s here with them, and probably won’t see me, but I’m not leaving until I see her, and we talk this shit through.
So here goes my readiness to fight for us despite the fucked-up situation that I put us through.
I need to apologize again. Like Luke mentioned: the time will come when your only choice is to beg, and beg you must, otherwise you might as well kiss any chance of being with her.
Goodbye. Truth is I’ve come to the realization that walking from her away isn’t something I ever want to do. I’m ready to fucking beg.
I press the bell and bang hard on the door, should they not hear the bell. It takes a minute for Andrea to open the door. She sees me and a smile breaks on her face.
“Jordan, you owe me, because I just won the bet,” she yells.
“Please, come right in,” she says to me. I take steps in and watch her close the door. I’m welcomed, that’s a good first step.
Jordan arrives, takes one look at me, and blurts out "Fuck!" as though I'd caused a catastrophe. Yet, his gaze reveals that he's the one who lost a wager.
“Why didn’t you just wait twenty-four hours before bringing your tight white ass here? All you had to do was wait and I would have won. Now I have to take Andy on a fucking helicopter ride. What’s wrong with you, dude?” he chastises me.
I suppress a smile at his supposed annoyance at me showing up now. Not a word or response from me.
“Can I ask why you are here, though I already know?” With a challenging look and a wink, Andrea playfully engages me.
“I need to speak to her,” I answer in a smooth and calm tone. They already know why I’m here; no point trying to lie about the obvious.
“What if she doesn’t want to be bothered with your presence?" Andrea questions.
“Then, I’m going to remain here until she’s ready to speak to me,” I reply just as I hear
“Damn!” from Jordan.
“Told you,” Andrea says to him, with a cheshire cat grin plastered on her face.
“Still, you are not just going to walk in here and expect us to say ‘go ahead’. I’ll speak to her first, and you can only see her if she says yes. Your rich ass better be ready to go back home, if she says no.”
He tries to stare me down with a firm tone before walking away, without waiting for my response. Little does he know that I came ready to battle.
I turn to Andrea, and she smirks.
“I told them to beware the fury of the silent man, but they didn’t listen. I knew you wouldn’t back off that easily.”
I return a smirk to her.
We wait in palpable silence for Jordan to return.
It feels like I’ve been standing for ten long hours.
All the determination, confidence and wit I always carry with me is long gone; just my heart pounding at the beat of a loud gong is all the sound I hear.
Andrea is quiet and watching me closely. I hear the steps of Jordan approaching.
“She’s in the room, third door on the left.”
“And?”
He takes a breath. “You can see her but if she tells you to leave, please leave. I don’t want this to get messy.”
I nod again. My steps quicken as I get closer.
I gently open the door to a floor-to-ceiling window, flooding the space with city light.
A soft brown carpet anchors the room, its brown palettes adds elegance and comfort.
She’s lying in bed, sheets pulled to her chin and doesn’t get up.
I move fast to her side, kneeling next to her.
“I’m sorry,” I say cupping her face.
“I’m pregnant,” she replies, staring right at me. My heart slams in my chest as a warm feeling overcomes me. “I don’t know what to do.” Her voice breaks and a tear falls from her face. I gently wipe it.
“Please, marry me.” She pulls away from me.
“I love you, Anu, and I’m sorry about last night.
She lied to you. I put you in that room to keep you away from danger, outside and inside, while I quickly conducted business.
Please, believe me,” I plead. For someone so good at getting things right, seems I keep fucking up when it comes to her.
“Did you fuck her? Is that why she was jealous?” she asks, locking gaze with me.
“No, I haven’t touched her in over five years. She’s just crazy,” I answer without breaking eye contact. I know she’s examining my reaction.
“Just crazy is an understatement. I doubt she only had Jude in mind for me,” she sneers. More tears fall; I try to wipe them, but she knocks my hand away.
“Anu, please, I didn’t want to take you there, but I had to make that stop.
My sister’s best friend was getting blackmailed by her ex-husband because he lost in court.
The guy had been hiding. Bruce found him last night.
I paid him the blackmail money and got all the stuff from him.
Anu, I only took you there because I thought we could get in and out quickly and not lose the guy I was after, and Sophie is just a bitch that feels she’s entitled to me, even though I don’t talk to her.
” I stare at her, my heart racing. I need her to believe me and trust me.
“Is your sister’s friend going to be okay?”
“Yeah. Bruce got the information; he deleted and wiped it out completely.”
She nods.
“I believe you; Marie told me Sophie was lying. I was very upset and didn’t want to speak to you in anger.” She pauses for a moment; I hear uncertainty in her voice. “Then I found out this morning that I’m pregnant, and I didn’t know what to do—"
“So, you ran,” I interject. Smiling at thought of her pregnancy, the best news I’ve ever received.
She nods.
“I’m sorry, Anu.”
She nods again.
“Please, marry me,” I repeat, my heart banging against my ribcage in anticipation.
I know she loves me, but her fear of us failing may affect her decision.
She gently sits up in bed, her back to the headboard.
I want ‘us,’ her pregnancy, though scary with her condition is still a blessing, if her parents can risk having her, we can risk having our own too.
“Has anyone told you that the timing of your proposals on a grading system will earn you an F?”
I exhale. At least she’s not saying ‘no’. There’s hope for me yet. And yes, she did hear me the first time I asked.
“No one has told me about my proposal grading, because I’ve never asked any woman before.”
She rolls her eyes at me. I dip into my pocket and take out the ring box, opening it.
She stares at the ring, and I turn her face to me, keeping my intense eyes, as she calls them, on her.
“Makayla Anuoluwa Kuti, I love you so much. Would you please make me a less grumpy happy man and say yes to marrying me?” I ask.
My racing heartbeat is all I hear, a complete contrast to the steady beat I always get in her presence.
“It’s a beautiful ring.” She smiles. The first smile I’m getting.
“Is that a yes?”
“Are you sure about this, Knowing about my disease and all? Plus, you don’t have to marry me because I’m pregnant.”
“I’m a thousand percent sure that I don’t want to live without you ever again.”
“You are a neat freak and I’m the opposite of neat.” She smirks.
“I know, can you please say yes to being Mrs Wyler?”
“I like gatherings, and you like your quiet space,” she warns, like I don’t already know she’s a social butterfly long as you are not the center of attraction and I prefer to be in the background.
“I also know that. Please, say yes,” I repeat.
“You analyze your day before your first coffee, and I just drink my tea and walk out the door.”
“I know that as well.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, because you can’t walk away later. I will hunt you down and—”
“Can you please say yes first?” I state, interrupting her quest to convince me otherwise.
“Yes,” she answers with a wide smile. The ring is out of the box fast, and I’m putting it on her finger before kissing her. “I love you, Daniel.”
“I love you too.”
I take over her lips. A happy warmth floods through me as our lips touch, soft and tender, a feeling of pure bliss. My god, I love this woman so much. Word can’t express the depth of my love for her. She pulls back and I just gaze at her for a moment.
“We are destined. It’s no mistake that I waited for you.
And I think our connection was activated when you bumped into me at Luke and Dele’s wedding.
” Her eyes widened. “You don’t remember, but I haven’t stopped thinking about you since that moment.
It didn’t help that you turned your sexy ass in my face the first day we were introduced. ”
She pokes my chest, and I smile.
“I was a bit tipsy at the wedding; I don’t remember bumping into you.”
“I did, and the universe led me to you again.”
She kisses my lips.
“I’m scared about the pregnancy,” she whispers.
“I know, but we’ll take every step together, I promise.”
I pull her to me. She has no idea how happy I am that she said yes. And the best part is the fact she’s pregnant.
We stay in our comfort silence.
Until there’s a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Anu answers. Jordan opens the door, peeping in with Andrea, almost tripping over him while trying to snoop. They both look unsure of what to say to us. “I’m engaged!” Anu shouts with her left hand out, showing off her ring.
“Oh my gosh!” Andrea yells, pushing Jordan out of the way and racing to give Anu a hug before inspecting the ring.
“Congrats! But, dude, you could have waited twenty- four hours.” Jordan reminds me again about the twenty-four rule that I know nothing about and couldn’t care less about.
“He couldn’t,” Andrea retorts to him, and hugs Anu again.
“I agree; I can’t wait that long. So how about we get married right away?” I watch in amusement as all the mouths drop open and pairs of wide eyes stare at me.