CHAPTER 27

Cameras were shuttering here and there, and flashlights kept interrupting my sight. I looked up to Adrian and he wore the most intentional look I had ever seen. We were walking into the meeting hall, hands intertwined like couples walking up the aisle. I felt really nervous plus the crowd from the press and the media around us. They kept stretching their sick microphones to our mouths and asking dumb questions.

“Billionaire Adrian, since you got married, you have kept your wife off social media. Could you tell us why?” Another almost poked the cell phone in my mouth “Mrs Jenny Sterling, could you kindly tell us how your marriage experience with Billionaire Adrian is?” The next question was the dumbest question I had ever heard: “Miss Jenny Sterling, rumor has it that billionaire Adrian is good in bed; how true is this?” I almost freaked out. The security men were doing their job but it wasn't enough.

“What are you doing?” Adrian whispered at the corner of his lips.

“Nothing”. I blurred in reply.

“You are supposed to smile at the damn cameras”. He whispered again this time with a little bit of annoyance in his voice.

I quickly smiled but I could tell this was a very bad idea; I looked weird.

When we finally entered the hall; free from all the trouble from the press.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please let us be in standing ovation as we welcome the greatest of all times (GOAT): billionaire Adrian Sterling and his beautiful wife, Mrs Jenny Sterling.”

Everyone stood up except two elderly men who sat at the head of the table. We took our seats next to them, and the meeting commenced almost immediately. I knew this was going to be as boring as hell so I just had to prepare my mind towards it and accept my fate.

One of the men at the head of the table gave an opening remark. It was a great speech. Initially, I never expected such a relatable speech from such an elderly man like him. After that, I said to myself, “Jenny, I think this isn't going to be as bad as I thought.” My assumption was crowned when the waiters served us. I stretched my hand almost immediately to grab the hot meat pie and devour it, but Adrian shot me a deadly stare, and I withdrew. I furrowed my brows badly, giving him a sad look, but he was not bothered; I wondered why he was restricting me from eating when other ladies on the table were digging into their snacks, and their husbands did not seem to give a damn. It was really tempting having to watch others eat while you just stared at your food oozing out an alluring aroma right before you.

I rolled my eyes out of frustration, picked up my phone, and began to surf the internet. Immediately I clicked on my I*******m app, so many notifications popped up on my screen; I gasped for breath because my pictures were literally littered everywhere on the internet with diverse controversial captions.

“American Billionaire, Adrian Sterling, and his beautiful wife in California,” the second one got me alarmed, “Best couple ever; billionaire Adrian and his queen storm the internet with romantic pictures”. As if that sick caption was not enough, they posted a picture of me and Adrian looking at each other intently. Oh my God, where did they get this from, I think this was when Adrian and I were having a side talk where he asked me to smile at the cameras. I couldn't help but admire the picture; it was really lovely. I wished the picture actually corresponded with reality.

I was more amazed when I scrolled through the comments sections. I realized so many people held us in high esteem; some as their role model in marriage and others in status. I felt bad for them because they only deceived and played mind games with them. The posted comments like; “my dream marriage life,” “luxury or nothing,” “Jenny is more than lucky,” “most romantic couple ever,” and “I love you, Adrian…… A particular one by a German lady got me smiling out of pity; she said, “Jenny, I wish I were you”. If only they knew the reality I'm pretty sure they would hate Adrian for life.

Suddenly, everyone on the table started clapping, but Adrian wasn't. I joined in the clap anyway.

“Don’t clap, jerk”. He muttered.

I dropped my hands and returned to my phone.

“Could just drop that fucking phone and at least pretend to be part of the meeting”. He roared quietly with a, flash of annoyance in his voice.

I reluctantly put my phone on the table and sat quietly. Why was Adrian sent from hell to frustrate me?

I looked around at the faces of other people; the men were the most engaged in whatever was going on in the meeting. Their wives were either scrolling through their phones like I was doing or munching their snacks and ordering more. I was almost the one female paying attention to what was going on. I heaved a deep sigh and prayed silently that the meeting would end very soon.

Suddenly, Adrian leaned in and asked.

“Why do you still have snacks on your plate?”

“You asked me not to eat,” I whispered, in reply, my voice laced with confusion.

“That was because nobody was eating at that time.” He said visibly annoyed.

“What,” I exclaimed.