Chapter 28: Chapter 28

STARING AT A BLEAK FUTURE

JANELLE'S / LEILANI GERALD'S POV

I stood there dumbfounded, staring at him, what relationship does he think we've been into that suddenly he prepared all of this just for me to buy the thoughts of me marrying him.

Not being harsh though. Dante is a very nice man, handsome, confident, yeah, I believe if he isn't confident, he would never have thought of proposing to me, but..... that isn't just it.

EMBARRASSMENT.

That's what I feel right now. I have never been so embarrassed in my entire life, now, I could understand how ladies feel when a man proposes to them, without a prior notice.

Secondly the last sentence he made, "Leilani Gerald, will you please do me the honour by taking me as your husband?", that was also overbearing.

I wasn't just embarrassed about the proposal, NO. I was also embarrassed that this man, kneeling down with a ring in his hands doesn't know a dime about me, No he doesn't.

Thirdly, I don't worth him. My world revolves around lies, built in lies, towards him. All through the times when all I did was push him off, making him angry, mad at me, piss him off, so he could just leave my messed up life for me. All this young man did, was to stand through with me during the turbulent wave.

A tear slid down my eyelid, I was going to tell him everything. If I was ready to move on with life, then I would better start telling him the truth about me. Leaving no god-damned stone unturned.

My saying no, would shatter him in so many ways, I know that from the look he gives to me.

Love.

That was the same look Rashid gave to me in the good, old times, but... after what he said to me, about my cheating on him, I had seen the look fading away daily, not slowly, it was so quick that at a point, it was hard for me to pin point his feelings, what was going on in that head of his.

I grabbed his hands up, as he helped himself off the marble tiled floor of the Eatery.

Until then did I notice the flashlight, the camera men, cardboard pliers which "Say Yes", was boldly written on them.

God knows how much I wanted to give this young man a positive response, but... I didn't want to break his heart, if he ended up finding out every damn thing about me, which eventually he would, then I'm done for, and I really didn't want that.

Secondly, after much talk with Renee, I was giving it a thought about moving on. I needed to move on, not just for my children, or career, but for my mental health.

Everyday it seems like I'm loosing my sanity, I'm always talking to myself, asking, "WHAT IF?", continuously.

"What if he eventually finds out about his offsprings, What if he finds out about my new man?....", the second WHAT IF, was the one heartbreaking, he would link it with the fact that Yes, I had been cheating on him, and clear up his doubts, if he even had little doubts about my cheating on him.

"Lani", A soft but firm voice called.

"Dante?", I purred questioningly.

"Lani please...., I promise to love you, stay with you all through, give you all my all, anything you need to know about me, I'm ready to fill you in, on all of them, but please... just be with me. Your being with me and accepting me is the greatest decision I have ever taken in my life, and I promise to make it the best decision you'll ever make, just give me a chance in your life, and I promise to make it up to you", I could sense the anxiety and hesitation in his voice.

He wanted this. He wanted US.

I wanted this too, I needed to move on, Dante was the perfect distraction from the world, my pains, my past.

"I need to fill you in on something", I whimpered, unsure of his reaction towards what I was about to say.

"No please, not now, let's not ruin this moment", he replied.

"Yes", I said.

"Yes?, You mean like Yes, Yes to this, to Us?", he questioned, of course, his senses were going on in high drive.

I nodded my head, biting my lower lips from the happiness whirling through me, not in me, but the happiness I'm giving to this man.

~~ SOMEWHERE IN QATAR ~~

"You are the most stupid daughter one would ever ask for, very stupid and brainless, what are you?. A chicken?", Farouq bawled, eyeing his daughter furiously.

"I'm not father, I didn't know things would not go as planned and....", she stopped immediately when her father shouted.

"You are very STUPID and SENSELESS, you've been in the game, a pornography industry, you've worked with for years, right under my nose, under the same roof with me, you've been acting shows for the past three years, yet, you still don't know how to do things smartly. I didn't birth you, I would never birth someone so ignorant", he boomed in anger, his hands turning to fist, clenching and unclenching.

"I would never had asked for a father like you", Abla retorted.

Farouq turned immediately, lurching towards her, his hands enveloped around her neck in a vise-like grip, choking her as she made strangling sound, yet, there was a sly smirk plastered all over her face, and that alone aggravated him further.

"I, w-will k-ki-kill you, you UNGRATEFUL brat, when I kill you, I would throw down your body for the Falcon birds to catch it, or rather still throw you down from the cliff, with that, no one would be able to find out...", he hesitated for a while, grinning like a MANIAC.

"You forget that I'm just like you are. I'm Immortal, I don't die, whatever you do to this flesh, you could only inflict pain and scars, but no death. Just like you resurrect and find yourself back to Earth every fu-ck-ing t-time", it was at the ending part of her statement that his grip became more harsh on her.

Yanking her hair backwards, he walked closer to his table and in a swift moment he brought her forehead knacking it on the table, hard, fast, and continuously.

Yet, she didn't surrender, she didn't plead for him to stop. He could do all he wanted with her, she was used to his aggressiveness, because certainly, she was and still is - His only Redeemer. If she doesn't give in to him, he sure would loose his billion dollars project... Thinking about it brought his torment on her to an abrupt stop.

He paused for a while, after which he muttered something incorrigible, estranged curses before walking away.

"You would try again, and this time around, make sure you don't fail, if you do, then say a last good-bye to your......", he saw her eyes widen in pure horror.

"You wouldn't do that", she yelled.

"Of course, I CAN and I WILL. You only have to press the wrong button and heads will roll. I expect you to play your part well, the day you rat me out, go against our plan, you would see the misery a father could bring to his child. I trust you wouldn't want that", he palmed his jaw, playing unconsciously with his beard.

Abla slid slowly to the ground, whimpering and crying in loud protest, her hair scattered all over her face, her hands massaging her poor neck that withstood the brutality of her father's hands. She nursed it gently, still trying to steady her breathing.

A minute more, and she would have been lifeless, just like her MOTHER!!.

~~~ΩΩΩΩΠΩΩΩΩ~~~

===JANELLE===

I was still trying to get over the fact that i was engaged already, I had given him a YES,the previous night. One needed to see how happy he was, the surprised look on his face, he may have thought I wouldn't accept his proposal, maybe he doesn't worth me, but that was just the other way round. I DON'T WORTH HIM.

I promised myself the previous night, after he had dropped me off, that I really needed to start making things clear, move on with my life and career.

So what was the first thing I had to do?.

CALL RASHID.

Yes, as much as it sounds dumb and like I haven't gotten over him. I needed to do this now, I had informed my Lawyer about making a divorce papers, everything needed to be done with soon , so I could as well get on with my life.

Walking over to my library, with my phone in my hands and a book which I had written the contact numbers of relatives and everyone whom I had gotten in contact with, I drew back a seat, and sat down.

Flipping through the pages, my eyes met with the one number that even without looking for had been in my head, but I wanted a benefit of doubt that I actually had forgotten everything about him, both big and small.

I inhaled sharply, and began dialing the number, it rang once, twice, when i was going to give up on the third ring, the voice spoke up.

Mixed with huskiness and so endearing, it was almost like he had been expecting my call. I gurgled, he still had his effects over me, YES, there was no way I could deny it.

"Heloo", the voice boomed through the receiver's end, while I noticed Goosebumps crease my skin.

"R-ra-rashid?", I stuttered.