"oof?" Shaan said
"Or is it oaf?"
"How did you know?" Rosaline gave him a stern look.
"Have you been stalking me,is that why you came here.....did Toby send you??"
"I don't stalk anyone... don't even got the time , though I'd stalk you if I could.." he took a step closer towards her, she went two steps backwards
Shaan sat on stool and poured
"... I've never met you, outside this villa, and who the hell is Tony??"
"Toby"
"That's what I said...who is he?"
"Ex husband"
Oh,that Tobias.
"Oh"
"How did you know I'm pregnant?"
"I just know"
"Cut the crap ,Shaan"
"How about this...go on a date with me and I'll tell you how I know"
"Today?"
"No, I'll be busy...I'll update you on the date,later this week. Do we have a deal?"
"Sure"
He glanced at the clock and sucked his teeth "Let's call it a night , sweetheart "He placed a kiss on her forehead.
Rosaline rubbed her head, she wasn't about to be swayed by someone who could potentially be a stalker.
He took her hand and led her upstairs to her room.
"Goodnight, Habibi" He said
Were men supposed to be so forward, could they smell if a lady was pregnant?
What kind of design is this??
Rosaline crawled on the bed slowly with the shawl.
She was attracted to Shaan, in a way she wasn't supposed to be attracted to him.
I should still be in pain...from my divorce.
It's been ..what...4months. Maybe it's time for me to move on.
Maybe this was another opportunity given to her by God.
Rosaline took her phone when she heard the notification sound.
She clicked on the message displayed on the screen.
It was from Kenneth....first time ever he was texting her.
Before she could reply, he called her.
"Funny you're calling....what's up?"
Her ears rang and the phone dropped from her hand.
*. *. *. *. *. *.
He knew he wasn't much of a big brother to his siblings and he wanted to change that. Maybe telling her was a bad idea, but he could not let harm come her. She was different from the rest of them, she knew how to pull them together and lift them up....but she didn't know how to do the same for herself.
He'd been at a bar with Jessie when he saw the "humanoid piece of crap", as Sean would always say.
Kenneth turned to see who Toby came to meet. It was a young man, from his wrist watch Kenneth could tell he was a rich person.
He scoffed, anger rose in him, but he had self control and he knew better than to look for trouble where trouble wasn't.What if the ugly ogre wasn't here for his sister?..
"Jes, let's go" He said as he took his phone and texted Rosaline.
"Why, we literally just got here. I'd like to stay some more" Jessie said.
"Get the hell up, Jessie"He snapped.
"What's wrong, baby?"
"You coming?" He picked up his car key.
Although Rosaline didn't know.....she was the only one in the family, everyone was overprotective of. She was the smallest in size and the biggest in heart.
He was sure Toby knew that too, a little begging with gifts and promises would tug at her heartstrings and she'd sympathize with him and probably forgive him.
But he wasn't going to let that happen.
He checked the time,it was still a bit too early to go to the house. He drove back to the hotel.
"Slow down" Jessie said behind him.
He groaned....
He checked his phone to see if Rosaline had replied, seeing that the message was delivered. He called...
"Hey , good morning...yeah yeah whatever" She was right , he didn't really call or text anyone in the family except their parents.
Truly funny, but who was to blame?
He couldn't blame his biological parents and step father, it wasn't his siblings fault he was their step brother.
How was he going to tell her?...
"Toby's in Ohio" he said
There was a long silence...
In situations like this, what could he say?
What was the right thing to say?
"I might be wrong to be worked up like this, maybe he's just here for work or holiday...it's just too specific. Of all places in Ohio he could've chosen, he chose Columbus and Ohio isn't exactly the go to place for vacation. I mean no harm, I just wanted to give you heads up "
"Thanks Ken....when will you be home?" She asked.
She sounded too calm, Kenneth didn't like it.
He frowned.
"First thing in the morning "
"Today?"
" Yeah... I'm gonna be on my way soon"
"Hm...see you then"
"Yeah...er.. Rosy?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you....just wanted you to know that. Good morning"
With that ,he hung up. Kenneth smiled, he'd wanted to say that for a long time. He didn't know how to feel around them..days when he felt like an outcast were longer and more than the days he felt like he belonged in the family.
Kenneth plopped down on the sofa....
Dear God...
*. *. *. *. *. *.
He didn't wait for her to say it back.
Shy much..
Rosaline blinked back tears.....these days she'd been crying a lot.
She went to knock on Renee's door to tell her what Kenneth had told her. But there was no answer.
Rosaline felt a mix of happiness,fear, confusion, anger, and hope.
She wasn't hoping to get back together with Toby.
But she needed answers.. closure maybe.
Since Renee was still sleeping, she had only one other option, someone who already knew her secret.
She knocked,hoping he'd still be awake.
He opened the door "What's wrong?"
She looked up at him ,teary eyed. She searched his face for comfort.
He pulled her into his embrace, she looked so small and felt so fragile like a newborn baby.
Shaan closed his eyes, he didn't want her to be sad...why life would be so cruel to someone this small?
He shut the door and sat her down on the bed.
"What happened??"
"Toby's in Ohio"
"Who told you that??"
"Ken"
"He could be here for work or vacation"
"Yeah, any where in Ohio is fine but it's too specific, it's suspicious he came to Columbus, and Grand view Heights to be exact "
Shaan thought about it, she was right but she could be wrong.
"Let's not jump to conclusions "
"What if he knows about the baby?"
"That's not a problem "
Rosaline looked at him , confusion spelt across her features.
"Will you marry me,Ros?"
"What!?"
"It's gonna be contractual.....I can't lie and say and I don't want you or I don't like you but I don't want to rush you. And it'll be safe for you and the baby. A year is all I ask for to win your heart.....Be mine Rosaline"
Rosaline stared at him...
So many I don'ts...
Her name has never sounded so sweet to her.
She could see the sincerity in his eyes. She was no magician and she couldn't read thoughts but she was never wrong about reading people expression.
She had seen it in Toby's eyes that he already fell out of love for her. She'd heard it in Nolan's voice that he didn't even come close to liking her.
The more she stared at Shaan, the more she wanted to kiss him.
Seeing that her face was inching forward, he placed his hand on her cheek close to the back of her head and gently pulled her forward.
Their lips met in a warm and sweet embrace, igniting a spark between them.
It was hot, wet and intense yet tender. Rosaline gasped for air, but Shaan only deepened the kiss. Tasting and teasing her.
Would I regret this?
She asked herself, then she held his shirt and tightened her grip. He pulled her closer and she leaned into him.
Shaan ended the kiss before he took it too far.
"Let's get some rest...."
"About the contract.....let's do it"
Isn't this too fast?
But she felt like if she wasted another moment, she was going to regret it even more than she'd regret it if things didn't turn out well for the both of them
"Thank you " he placed a kiss on her forehead.
An hour ago, she was wondering how comfortable it would feel being in his arms. Now that she was in it, it was a lot better than she expected.
She liked the way he smelt, she buried her face in his chest to feel the warmth from his body.
Rosaline smiled....but the smile slowly faded.
Wasn't she supposed to be hurting....did she ever love Toby?
The first person that came to her mind when Kenneth told her about Toby wasn't even anyone in her family.
She was scared but deep down she was happy Renee was sleeping.
Shamelessly thinking about a man....Ros!
She could've gone to her parents but she chose to go to him. It just felt right to her, she wanted to be with him.
" Are you sleeping?"
She replied with a muffled "No"
" What's on your mind?"
"Sleep and how you smell"
Shaan grinned and patted her head
" I know this is the third time I'm saying this but we really need to sleep"
Way ahead of you there.....
Rosaline thought, her eyes were already feeling heavy, she buried her head in his embrace.
This moment felt right, she snugged closer to him.
*. *. *. *. *. *.
Nolan watched him enter the bar with contempt, although he knew he was going to agree to his cause but it still disgusted him.
Seeing that he was searching the bar for his "employer",Nolan raised his hand.
"Mr Johnson .....over here" he said.
"Oh...thank you, Mr Campbell"
Toby rubbed his palm as he sat...
" So, what was it that you said you had?" He eyed Toby.
Toby searched in his bag for a what seemed like years to Nolan before bringing out a sheet of paper.
Nolan scoffed and gave a small haughty laugh.
" What am I supposed to do with the paper?"
" It's a medical report....we ran a few test a week before we divorced. Our doctor had called me a day after the divorce but I couldn't tell her we were divorced so I told her to hold onto the report for a while. I didn't go, so she kept calling me. I picked the call, last week and she told me Rosaline is carrying a child"
" Does Rosa know?"
"She should, the doctor said she sent the report to our place when I wasn't responding"
" When was that?..... She may have not been around when the package arrived"
It'd be useless if she didn't know.
" I think she got it"
This was perfect, he could protect her and the unborn child from Toby then she'd have to marry him out of gratitude and desperation when he asked.
He dropped an envelope full of money and took the report from the table.
" Don't forget the plan, make sure to carry it out perfectly. You'll receive the rest of your pay when it is done."
" Yes sir"
Toby sighed..
It was one thing to leave her with their unborn child and it was another if he tried to meddle in her life or force her into marrying someone she didn't love out of desperation.
He didn't want to hurt her, that was the last bit of respect he could offer Rosaline but he needed the money.
If he had known she was pregnant at the time,he would have left her much later, maybe after the child was born or when the child was a year old.
If only he had never spoken to Gale...
He was enticed by how carefree she was, she was not as beautiful as Rosaline but she was beautiful.
When he met her at the boutique, she was radiant and he felt something he'd lost with Rosaline.
When he saw the chance to leave Rosaline and be with Gale, he took it and was now regretting it.
Things were going fine,till Gale collapsed on their honeymoon trip. She was diagnosed with lung cancer. That was when he found out, she used to be a drug addict.
He fainted from the shock of hearing the news. She'd told him she was in therapy and he didn't bother to ask what kind of therapy. Not that he didn't care, he just felt everyone was going through a lot and needed therapy, whether professional or non professional.
He loved Gale and the doctor had told them ,she had a chance and her liver wasn't too damaged.
He could afford the surgery but that was it. If all his money went to the surgery, whatever would come after was not something he could not handle.
Gale had no savings or secret fund, she was a Spend- as- you-get.
That was one of the downside Gale had.
Toby checked the envelope, the money was a lot.
When Nolan had offered him a million dollars to shake things up a bit for Rosaline's life. He was happy.
Feeling that way was cruel but Rosaline was going to have to forgive him again whether she liked it or not. He had to save Gale even it if was at the cost of Rosaline's happiness.