Share

08

Author: CG Hope
last update Last Updated: 2020-11-16 17:03:45

“You’re not from here, are you?” Carla asked. She crossed her arms and offered me a death glare. 

“Were you following me?” Noah asked in a matter of fact tone. He didn't look too ecstatic to see her.

“I would never do that,” she said but looking at her gave me the impression that she'd do it. She was wearing a white crop top and black leather pants with a resting bítch face. She was the personification of pretty but psycho. Considering my situation, I didn't want to have her as an enemy although I was sure she considered me one. Had I been a citizen of the United States, I'd have stood up to her to show I wasn't intimidated by her. For now, flight was my best alternative. Like they say, cowards live longer.

“Noah, I think it’s time for me to go.” I started to walk away but he grabbed my wrist, forcing me to stand. I sighed. He wasn’t making things easier.

“Carla, meet my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” Carla asked, scanned at me from head to toe. “What are you talking about?”

“Do you want me to spell it out for you?” Noah snapped. “Or, is it so hard for you to imagine I can be with someone other than yourself? You're very important to me but you need to understand that things can't work out between us the way you want them to.”

“That’s it, I don’t want to be part of any drama.” I tried to shrug my hand off his hold. “You guys can deal with your issues when I’m gone.”

“I’ll walk you home,” Noah offered.

Noah and I left the girl glaring at us. When I looked back at her, she gave me a tight lipped smile. When a girl who looks like every villain in a romance movie does that, it's a sign that you need to watch your back. Things were about to go downhill.

“She’s quite intense.” I remarked, when we got out of a cab near my aunt's home “and very beautiful. Why don’t you want to be with her?”

“Can we not talk about that?” Noah asked. It was windy and I felt quite cold. The trees above the walkway swayed, their leaves swishing. 

“What should we talk about?”

“You,” he gave me one of those smiles I was becoming addicted to. “So, did you leave a man back home?”

I thought of Henry. No one had ever made me as happy as he did. He was a computer scientist who worked with one of our government ministries. Great guy, sensitive and good looking but a little too dependent and emotional. Sometimes, I felt like his mother but in a good way. In a lot of instances, I had to take care of him and I liked doing it. He was clumsy but his brain worked constantly. 

I couldn’t keep up whenever he started talking about his work, which he loved almost as much as he loved me. At least I thought so. We spent most of our evenings together in quiet places. We both needed to relax after long days and sometimes we just held each other, not saying anything. The silence was very comfortable. Our bodies and minds had a unique kind of connection I never thought I'd find with someone else. Leaving him was one of the hardest things I had to do. And I only informed him when I'd already left.

As far as I knew, he hadn’t come to terms with it. It wasn’t easy for him to get used to being without me. And it was not easy for me either but it was the way things had to be. I missed my dear Henry and if I made a decision to go back to Uganda, it would be because of him. He was a wonderful person and I always felt like he was my soul mate. But if that were true, we wouldn’t be a trillion miles away from each other, would we?

“That how life works,” Noah told me after listening to my summarized story about Henry. “Maybe one day you and Henry will be back together again. And you’ll live happily ever after?”

“Do you really believe in that?”

“What.”

“The Soul mate thing.”

“To be honest, not really.”

“Guessed as much.

“Why?”

“Never mind. So, why on earth would you tell Carla that I’m your girlfriend?”

“Should I have told her that you’re my wife to be?” He winked playfully.

“No,” I smacked his arm, laughing. His niceness made it so hard for me to come to terms with the fact that I might be stuck with Jeff. 

“Then what.”

“Your friend, perhaps?”

“We’re getting married,” he stopped and took my hands in his. “You should get into character. I guess it’s time for me to buy you an engagement ring.”

“You know this might never happen.” I said.

A man, walking his dog smiled at us and said 'hello'. “Hello Sam.” Noah said to him.

“Oh, it will happen.”

“How come you’re so positive about this?”

“You need to trust me, Lena. I’ll make everything work.”

“So, what will happen when were married?” Would we live together all the time? Would there be extra benefits? I badly wanted to know. “I mean if we do. Not that I think it’ll happen.”

“We'll see about that when it happens. Your aunt must be worried. Let’s get you home.”

“Okay,” I agreed although I knew I was the least of my aunt’s worries.

***

“Why are we here?” Lena asked, surveying the old ranch. 

“Too late to ask that question, isn’t it?” I tried what I hoped looked like a serial killer smile. Grabbing her wrist, I continued. “Should’ve asked that question before getting into my car.”

She stared at me, eyes searching my face. She had a passive expression and I couldn’t tell whether she was scared or not.

“It’s time for you to learn not to let someone you barely know drive you into the middle of nowhere.”

Lena Kamara was a box of surprises. When I expected her to freak out, she remained cool as a cucumber. It was either that nothing scared her or my act wasn’t impressive enough. Maybe, I just couldn’t pull off the serial killer look. Disappointing. Should’ve brought a pocket knife with me. Now, that would have been convincing.

“Can’t believe you’re not freaking out,” I commented.

“You’ll have to work harder than that to scare me,” she smiled.

“Okay,” I went to the car and pulled out a box. “I brought you something.”

“What’s in there?”

“Open it,” I handed it to her.

“Noah!” she looked up at me, her eyes shining. Her lips curved into a beautiful smile as she studied the brand new camera “Why did you buy this?”

“Well, you’ve taken up photography as a hobby so I bought this you’d use it instead of your phone camera.”

Awe transformed her face. “You’re amazing, really. By the way, did I ever tell you that I change hobbies like clothes?”

“Uh huh. I’m hoping you’ll stick with this one.”

“Thanks but-“

“No buts, you’ll need to commit to something one day.”

“I’ll try,” she said as we saw a car pull in. A few minutes later, a professional photographer and his assistant walked towards us. “Hi Jerry, Mark.”

“Hey, is this Lena?”

“Hello,” she said before turning to me. “What’s going on?”

“We’re here for a photo-shoot.”

“But you didn’t say anything about it.”

“So you could say no?”

Her eyes narrowed. “So I could wear proper clothing.”

 I gave her a once over. White crop top, black jeans and boots. More than okay. “Since you love photography, this will teach you some of the tricks. If you want, I can hire Jerry to show you the ropes.”

“You’re taking this more seriously than I am.”

“You should start taking it seriously.”

I organized the photo-shoot so I could know more about Lena. I was sure that I would see more of her personality in a quiet place far away from the busyness of south bend. If I was going to marry her, we might as well build some kind of friendship. This would help us get closer.

Later, as Lena struggled to keep a dog in place for a perfect photo with it, I couldn’t stop laughing with her.

“This dog is so stubborn,” Lena giggled before the animal finally broke free. Jerry had taken a few candid photos and I had recorded a video on my phone. I was never deleting it. That day, I was able to see the fun side of Lena as she let loose and enjoyed the moments. Jerry had us pose for a number of photos together. 

“I have soccer tomorrow with a few friends,” I told her as we made our way to my car. “Why don’t you come with? That way you can meet my friends.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to,” she replied.

“You’ll miss seeing me in all my glory. I might even take off my shirt.”

Eye roll. “I don’t think there’s much under there.”

“Hey, don’t bring down my confidence.”

“You have more than enough, Noah Elliot.”

“Just like you. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how you move that body.”

She let out a small laugh “Come on. Let’s go.”

“Wait, I have something important to do first,” I stopped walking.

“What,” she stood.

In one swift motion, I took off my shirt. Her eyes went straight to my abs. “What do you think?”

Our eyes met. “I think you’re behaving like a teen.”

“You have to complement me. I took my shirt off for you.”

“I didn’t ask you to but that’s an impressive body,” she smiled.

Related chapters

  • Her Paper Marriage   09

    There was a wedding at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. The bride was Jeff's sister Cady. She was very pretty with ocean blue eyes and curly hair that fell in ringlets. I wondered how on earth she was related to Jeff. Her dress was of simple design. It had long lace sleeves and a V-line neckline with a very short train. It fit the small bodied bride perfectly. As the cute couple exchanged vows, I found myself thinking of Noah then chastised myself since the only person that was supposed to be on my mind was my beloved Henry. If I had to imagine myself in that altar, it should be him to slip a ring into my finger. Marriage to Noah was only a dream and dreams don’t last forever. Although everyone is allowed to dream, there comes a time when you have to wake up and face reality.After the kiss between the bride and groom, Jeff placed his fat hand on my folded ones on my lap. I inwardly cringed but smiled at him. “You look beautiful when you smile,” he told

    Last Updated : 2020-11-16
  • Her Paper Marriage   10

    “So, that was a great party, huh?” Jeff said when we were about to reach aunt Caro’s house.“It was,” I said. I wanted to add ‘until you ruined it’ but decided to keep those words inside. If I told him what I was truly feeling, there was a possibility of a fight erupting in that car. Knowing how temperamental people in his family seemed, it wasn’t far-fetched to think he’d crash the car and kill us both.“I’m glad you liked it,” he smiled and stopped the car since we had arrived at my destination. “So, what did you think of my proposal?”I got out and slammed the door of his father’s car so hard it almost came off its hinges. Jeff shouted profanities and drove off while I hurried up the path. I was wearing thin on patience. He had the guts to ask me what I thought of his surprise proposal. I had decided not to honor his question by responding, reserving my anger for someone who deserved it more than Jeff.

    Last Updated : 2020-11-16
  • Her Paper Marriage   11

    The next morning, I woke up on top of my bed covers. I realized I'd slept off without getting under the covers. My face felt extremely tight and I was sure it contained dried tears because I had cried myself to sleep. Sitting up, I searched for my phone because it was the first thing I checked in the mornings. It wasn’t amongst the millions of things piled up on the bed. I scanned the bedside table and it was nowhere to be seen. Climbing off the bed, I bent down and looked under the bed flashing a small orange torch. It was dark in there and I could see one of my small combs and two bobby pins, one broken into two but no phone.Getting up, I went to check the window which was tightly sealed. There had been no robbery or break in as far as I could tell. Maybe aunt Caro had picked it up to call someone? Noah, perhaps? But she didn’t know my pattern, or did she? I stood up, took a few steps and opened the door and went to the kitchen from where I could hear her singing

    Last Updated : 2020-11-16
  • Her Paper Marriage   12

    Three weeks after Cady’s wedding, Jeff and I’s wedding license was ready. During those three weeks, my aunt had been watching me like a hawk, making sure I never communicated with the outside world. She made sure to threaten me whenever she got the chance. I had watched a number of murder documentaries, for instance Deadly Women and knew that there were people out there capable of killing with no good reason. My aunt had issued a threat that chilled me to the bone and as cold as she seemed, I believed her. Sometimes I had my doubts, though. There were not so many visitors at this cold house which made it hard to raise a cry for help. She was on a leave from work so she was always around.After several considerations, I had resigned to my fate so I never bothered to go against her commands. This was my best shot at getting a green card. What if I ran off with Noah and it turned out that he had only been trying to play around with me? His family had quite the reputati

    Last Updated : 2020-11-16
  • Her Paper Marriage   13

    I didn’t think they would actually take me to a cell until they did. It was a bare room with a metallic bunk bed and thin mattresses. Thankfully, it was clean and I would be the only occupant for a while. I imagined this was fancy compared to what a Ugandan cell would look like so I tried not to feel too bad. But, I was seething. How could we have been caught if someone didn’t tip the police off? Was my happy bride act not sufficient enough to fool the world as I had hoped? No. Someone had definitely alerted the law enforcers.I wondered who would do something like that to me as only a few people knew about this arrangement. Could it have been the magistrate, clerk? Had they suspected something was up? At this point there were so many thoughts running in my mind I was about to develop a headache.Where was my aunt? I wasn’t surprised she had left me all alone. That woman was capable of letting me spend the night in jail while

    Last Updated : 2020-11-16
  • Her Paper Marriage   14

    After another interrogation with the lawyer present, I was released on bail. Noah must have pulled some strings because I don’t think I would have be released so easily considering possible charges like visa fraud. He must have talked to some of his father’s contacts without the patriarch’s knowledge. It was proof that when you’re rich, you can get away with almost everything, including murder. Despite the help, I was told I’d still be called to the station any time. Even Jeff was let out but unlike me, he had a lot of unkind words to say to Noah, instead of thanking him.“Here’s the deal, Jeff.” Noah told him when the lawyer had left. The three of us were standing near Noah’s car outside the station. “You cooperate and get some money or you lose everything and end up in jail.”“I can even accuse you of forcing me to it.” I had the courage to say, smirking at him.“You little-”Jeff began but I cut him off.&nbs

    Last Updated : 2020-11-16
  • Her Paper Marriage   15

    I took in the sight of Noah’s warm and welcoming apartment. The walls were painted cream and there was a couch of the same color, only a one or two shades darker. A brown table stood in front of it, three books piled neatly on it. I was not much of a reader but admired those who loved to get whisked to unknown lands by books. Three art frames were pinned to the wall, right above the couch. I admired the beautiful lamp on a stool near the couch. You could see the kitchen area with everything in order. Had Noah arranged everything because I was coming over or was he always like that? I hoped I’d have the chance to find out some day.“This place is great,” I said, proceeding in. I heard him closing the door and following me.“Take a seat,” he offered. I glanced at him and he smiled, gesturing at the leather couch. I chose not to sit immediately, moving across the room towards the window. Peering out, I received a spectacular view of So

    Last Updated : 2020-11-16
  • Her Paper Marriage   16

    Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

    Last Updated : 2020-11-27

Latest chapter

DMCA.com Protection Status