Raymond was more nervous than I was. He was sweating despite the cool atmosphere.
Grandfather had already told us not to create unnecessary rumours, so we had to be realistic.
He faced me and placed his forehead on my forehead and their hailing increased.
I could also hear the sound of his heartbeat and I was sure that he could hear mine too that moment.
We were not attracted to each other but our hearts were beating because we were going to be k! kissing each other for the first time.
Where was my mum? Should she just come and rescue me.
Should the ground open and swallow me. Raymond smiled devilishly at me as his forehead remained on mine and whispered. "Why are you panicking because a handsome prince wants to kiss your poverty-stricken lips?".
I summoned courage and met his eyes daringly. "I don't care about anything. I already told you that before, right? The kissing is just a necessity and it is not that it is going to change anything between us".
He reached his lips for mine and my heart remained in my mouth as I felt his mouth in mine.
I was tasting strawberry in his mouth as he was still French kissing me while the couple and other Love Hotel employees who were present took pictures.
Immediately he released me after something that looked like three minutes, I got up immediately and felt the urge to vomit the strawberry flavour that Raymond had poured into my mouth.
They were laughing at me and calling me shy because of the way I was behaving after the ki-ss.
Who would believe that I have never kis-ed the man that I called my husband before?
Surprisingly, all through the yacht party, Raymond played along.
He didn't grimace at me, he kept smiling at me and touching my hair while they took pictures of us.
After everything, we were finally on our way home.
There was silence between us as we both sat at the back seat of the car and the driver drove us towards home.
There was humour in Raymond's eyes as he looked at me. "Do you know what you look like right now? You look like a thirteen-year-old girl who had just gone out for an adventure. You remember Alice in Wonderland? That is what you look like right now".
I rolled my eyes. "Why was your mouth tasting like strawberry? Did you take strawberry before we kissed today?".
He burst out into laughter. "Is that your way of telling me that I taste very sweet?".
I was very embarrassed. In the true sense, does it mean that he didn't take strawberries?
He smirked and scrolled through his phone. "Grandpa will be proud of us".
I nodded without looking up at him.
He scoffed. "Inexperienced girl".
I sighed. "Experienced boy indeed".
Jennifer Roland heard a sniff downstairs.
She rushed towards where the sniff was coming from and found Matilda weeping heartily.
"What happened?". Jennifer asked worriedly.
"I don't want Raymond to get attracted to Gold! I swear, I will lie to myself if that happens".
Jennifer fumed at her. "What are you talking about? You want to destroy the marriage of that couple?".
"Gold stole Raymond from me after man! Pulating grandpa! All my life, I have been a family friend of the Rolands, but how can grandpa overlook me and go for a poverty-stricken girl?".
"The person you are calling a poverty-stricken girl is now a rich married woman so mind the way you talk about her".
Matilda shivered. "You like her too? How can everyone like her? She has manipulated everyone!".
"Even if that couple hæte each other, if they are destined for each other, they will find themselves falling in love with each other without even knowing it".
"God forbid!".
"Never forbid destiny my dear". She gave her a white handkerchief. " Wipe your tears because you have already failed". She winked at her and walked away.
*
I changed our bedsheets and bedspread.
It was a rule of the Rolands to change bedsheets and bedspread every day.
I turned on the stereo.
I was bored, that was why I had turned on the stereo.
Raymond was playing a video game on his laptop.
As the song began to play loud on the stereo, I began to dance to the rhythm.
( I DON'T CARE BY ED SHEERAN AND JUSTIN BIEBER).
It wasn't even up to three minutes after the song started playing that I found out that Raymond had already switched it off.
"Why did you do that!!!". I fired at him.
"No one disturbs the king when he is playing his video game".
"If you are playing video games, what do you expect me to be doing?".
He pointed to the big bed. "What is that thing for?".
I grit my teeth at him. "You want me to sleep when you are having fun?".
He gasped. "You are using the song to reminisce about the fake love we displayed this afternoon in front of Love hotel owners? You are using the I Don't Care song by Ed Sheeran to think about when I had kids-ed you and tasted like strawberry? OMG! How come I never thought about that?".
I was surprised at him. "Do you really think that high of yourself?".
"Yeah, like when you said that I tasted like strawberry? Which man will not be happy hearing that?".
"When are they going to separate this our room for crying out loud!!!".
He lifted my ring finger. "When you take off this ring".
It was midnight and there was a small family meeting going on in the sitting room.
Grandpa, father-in-law, Jennifer Roland, Collins Roland, Henry Roland and Raymond.
I wondered why Jennifer Roland was the only woman in their midst.
As I walked into the sitting room, I noticed that Grandpa was wearing a hard expression because there was an issue on the ground. "Jennifer has been paying anonymous designers to design for us and because of that, Bower bound has not had a standard design pattern. We need a good designer for Bower bound. A man that will be recognized just like the deceased mr Dennis".
Design? No one knew that I also had a talent in designing which I had gotten from my father.
Was this the right time to explore my talent?
Since Raymond was my husband, shouldn't I help him become a good designer for Bower Bound?
I cleared my throat as I moved into their midst. "I can become Bower bound designer. I can become a good designer for Bower bound".
When I looked up, Jennifer Roland was glaring at me.
*
"Come and sit over here". Pa Brian said to me in his usual welcoming voice and I rushed to sit on the cushion that he had pointed to. "Kate, get her a book and pen". He ordered a maid who was dozing at the verandah.
She brought the book and pen to me and I began to draw all the clothes designs in my head on the plain sheet.
When I was done, I gave the plain sheet to him.
He gasped. "No wonder your mother named you Gold. Are you related to the deceased Dennis? Your surname is also Dennis, so?".
My heart slipped.
No one must know that my father was a famous fashion designer who had disappeared.
"Not at all sir"
"Even in fifty years to come, Raymond can never come up with a design like this". Pa Brian said as a matter of fact.
Raymond made eyes at him and looked away.
Pa Brian rose to his feet. "What are we waiting for then? We have found a designer! We will be introducing her to shareholders tomorrow! Meeting closed!!!". He headed over to his room, still holding the book that I had drawn the design.
"Can we see for a minute?". Jennifer asked me and before I could reply, she had already dragged me to the balcony. "Tell my dad that you will not be a fashion designer. Tell him that you just got married and you need to focus on your home".
I met her eyes. "Why is it a crime for me to participate in the company affairs?". I said as softly as I could.
She gasped at me. "You really want to participate in the company affairs?".
I sighed. "I want to explore my designing skills".
"I won't allow that. If you want to be a good girl, don't cross your boundary".
I looked curiously at her. "If I cross my boundary, will you hurt me?".
She smiled and placed an arm around me. "I protect all the women that step their legs into the Rolands mansion".
I looked up at her. "...and what do you do to those that cross their boundaries in the Rolands mansion?".
Her smile widened. "I stop them".
"How do you stop them?".
"I stop them just the way Jennifer Roland stops greedy women". She winked at me and walked away.
I heard footsteps from behind and turned.
It was Collins Roland.
He frowned slightly at me. "If you want to live long, don't become Bower bound fashion designer".
"Live long?".
"No woman has struggled for the company with Jennifer and ever survived". He walked away.
No woman?
Does it mean that a woman had died, struggling for the company with Jennifer in the past?
I had so much work to do concerning my research about the Rolands. I walked into the room and Raymond was sitting on the big bed!!!
Not his small designed bed!!!
"You want to sleep on the big bed today?".
He sighed deeply. It was the first time that I had seen Roland look like someone who has a brain. "Roland? Are you okay?".
"It is April first again". He muttered gloomily like a seven-year-old kid.
I sat beside him. "What happened to April first?".
"I always have a nightmare on that day. Mum always slept with me on April 1 until I grew up. But despite growing up, it still happens but I didn't tell her that it still happens up till now".
"Did something ever happen to you on April 1?"
"I was k! snapped" he shivered and entered into the blanket.
I helped him cover himself with the blanket properly and pulled him into my arms. "You have nothing to worry about, okay?".
He rolled his eyes. "Stop feeling as if you are my mother".
I chuckled. "Don't tell me you don't know that a man's wife is his second mother?".
"What a stupid l! e". I placed my arms around him. "Just close your eyes and think of the good moment while I sing you a song".
He closed his eyes. "With that your cockroach voice?".
"Shhhh..".I began to sing the song my mother had taught me.
Little lamb and he slowly dived into sleep.
The next morning, I opened my eyes only to see Raymond sitting on the bed and staring at me.
I sat up on the bed and rubbed my sleepy eyes. "You had the nightmare".
Tears filled his eyes. "What did you do? What did you do? How can I not have that nightmare? What the he-ll did you do?".
I gasped. I had just cuddled him and sang the song and he didn't have the night mollusc like that?
Just like that.
"It is the first time that I never had that nightmare. Even when my mother cuddled me, I still always had it... then how could you just come out of nowhere and...".
I sobbed and hugged him. He looked too pitiful.
"Thank you so much, Gold. Thank you".
I had solved a problem?
Well, I think that was just the beginning.
If I didn't become Bower bound's designer, how would I know how my father had disappeared?
I only had to think like a designer to catch the designer.
The Bower-bound executives and shareholders gathered around the big table.
"Where is the designer? It is twenty minutes already and she is not here?". One of the shareholders asked as he looked around the boardroom.
Raymond picked up his phone from the table. "Let me call her and find out what is wrong".
Jennifer Roland cleared her throat. "She is not coming. Last night, she had already concluded that she was not going to be here".
Collins Roland sighed. "Since it is twenty minutes already, why don't we stick with our alternatives instead of waiting for the shadows?".
Suddenly, the door was pushed open.
And she stepped in.
Gold Roland.
PS: If we can get 300 shæres before 8pm, I'd drop another episode
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