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SHE’S MINE 26
The Braithwaite’s home was a castle. She watched in awe as the large iron gates opened up for Aiden to drive in. There was a huge water fountain in the middle of the compound, she had never see one as magical as it was. There was a beautiful gazebo at the east side of the compound and although she didn’t have a clearer view of it, she knew if she had one in her house, she’d spend most of her time there. Fairy lights were hung around the wooden framework which reminded her of a princess magical story. She had always thought that Aiden’s home was luxurious, it had face recognition doors and antique designs that were no longer being made but this house right here was made of dreams and everything a woman could wish for.She imagined living in a white picket fence with her family if she got married but scratch that, it was too basic. This was the kind of home she wanted to raise children in. “This is so beautiful” she gasped as he pulled into the drivewayThere were a fleet of
Last Updated : 2024-04-21SHE’S MINE 27
Aiden loved his mother with every fiber in him but did she really have to show up at that time? Did she even have to interrupt their moment?He placed his hands in his pocket to hide the bulge he got from kissing Jeanine. Her lips were soft and he didn’t mind the taste of her lip gloss, he’d been dying to kiss her all day and when he finally got an opportunity to, he didn’t want to stop. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment when his mother caught them. There were like two teenagers who had just been caught making out when they shouldn’t, it gave him an extra thrill that he hadn’t felt in years.He took her hands in his and led her into the house. He could feel her hands shake as a result of feeling nervous, he quickly moved his hands towards her waist as a form of comfort. The last time he had come home was after his father’s death, so many memories of his father haunted him that he wished he could have done something to save him. Each time his mother or sisters invited hi
Last Updated : 2024-04-21SHE’S MINE 28
In thirty minutes, Jeanine had learnt that Layla was a medical doctor married with two children, Valerie was a model and sport enthusiast and Portia was in college just like her and she was studying communications. Stephen and Cindy were five and they were homeschooled.All she feared would go wrong had gone wrong, it didn’t seem like Grace Braithwaite was happy about her kissing their son in their driveway. She would have probably broken down if Aiden didn’t hold her hands and reassured her that everything was okay. His touch and words had magic in them, if he said everything was going to be fine then it was, she had seen this man work and diffuse the situation effortlessly so if things went totally south with his family, he would know how to fix it. “These are for you” she managed to say and then handed the flowers over to Grace with shaky hands A chef took the fruit basket to the kitchen. She watched Grace’s eyes lit up as she smiled. It was the first time Grace smiled a
Last Updated : 2024-04-25SHE’S MINE 29
After a chaotic dinner, Aiden found his way to the balcony with a glass of wine. His sisters were helping the chefs clear the table while Jeanine was busy with the children. He admired how she was able to bond with the children without trying so hard, they looked at her with admiration and he was certain that when their marriage was over, they were going to miss her. A part of him wished he could be more like her, to hold his niece and nephew for a while without panicking. The thought of having a child of his own had sent shivers down his spine. “I’ve been looking for you”He smiled at the sound of his mother’s voice and then turned to face her. The last time he saw her, she was a shadow of herself. His heart ached for her that he couldn’t take her sadness and transfer it to himself. He tried to be the best brother and son but he failed at it. If he was a failure, how could he be a good father and a good husband? “I’m glad you came by today. Everyone misses you, Aiden”
Last Updated : 2024-06-04SHE’S MINE 30
“How are you so good with children?” Valerie asked with wide eyesThe twins finally went to bed after thirty minutes of playing hide and seek. Jeanine was exhausted but happy to be around Aiden’s family. As someone who came from a small home, she always loved the comfort that came from having other people around. “I volunteer at an orphanage” she smiled proudly. “The children are a blessing, if I could, I’ll adopt everyone of them” “I’m glad you came into my brother’s life” Valerie sighed and then closed the door quietly to avoid waking the children “I’ve never seen him this happy in a while. He looks so relaxed and less uptight”Jeanine felt a leap in her heart. She wasn’t sure if that was a sincere compliment. Certainly, she couldn’t be the reason Auden Braithwaite wasn’t his usual self. Maybe, he was seeing someone she didn’t know or maybe he was just glad to take over the role he had prepared all his life for. “You know, he’s never brought a girl home. He mu
Last Updated : 2024-06-05SHE’S MINE 31
Aiden lifted his fork lazily to his mouthpiece. Dinner with Jeanine was now a norm, he usually didn’t want company after the day's work but he didn’t mind hers. She was quiet and tolerable. They had barely spoken about dinner with his family, it wasn’t the smoothest but at least their mission was accomplished. His sisters won’t stop talking about how much of a cute couple they were. As he had expected, his niece and nephew were in love with Jeanine, they s stop calling him over the phone to ask if they could come visit so they could spend time with her. They didn’t even like their own uncle as much. “How was your day?” She asked as she poured them some juiceHe dropped his fork and pause for some seconds. She never asked him about his day. No one actually ever asked him how his day went, not that he care to answer anyway. “Fine” he resumed eating and hoped she’d be quiet while he thinks about his next business launch “Want to share details? I want to hear about your d
Last Updated : 2024-06-07SHE’S MINE 32
Over the next week, Jeanine learnt Aiden’s schedule. He was an early bird, he went out for either running or boxing, he never missed his morning coffee and he liked it black, no sweetener. He was always thirty minutes early to work and he didn’t joke around when it came to his work. Last Friday, he left without her. There was no explanation, he knew that she was going to join him at work but because he couldn’t adjust his schedule for her, he left. She was only five minutes late and she spent the five minutes thinking of what shoe to wear, she didn’t want to wear her converse because it was an important role and she had waited two years to be a part of a Ray.co, too casual. Her heels were too sophisticated, she didn’t also want to look intimidating on her first day. When he came back from work, he didn’t apologize to her or ask why she didn’t come in, he just ate dinner in silence and went to his room. She didn’t appreciate the way she was treated, she wasn’t allowed to bring
Last Updated : 2024-06-08SHE’S MINE 33
Lunch break wasn’t a big deal to him. Most of his workers spent it together, eating and talking about only God knows what. Aiden rather spends his time going over records, looking for any mistakes so he can call his staff to it after launch break. He flipped through the files over and over again. He couldn’t focus, not when Jeanine was in the same building as him. When they got to work, they parted ways to their separate departments and he hadn’t seen her since, it had only been three hours. He spent the past hour in a meeting but he was thinking of her, if she was doing fine or if she needed anything. She seemed quite independent but a part of him hoped she’d come to his office and ask him something annoying. Or maybe he should ask her to have lunch with him? But what was he going to say? He loved eating in silence but she wouldn’t stop talking. He eventually closed the file and pushed it away, there was no point pretending like he was working. He made his way to her office,
Last Updated : 2024-06-08
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“Are you okay Mr Braithwaite?” Linda askedAiden was back to seeing his therapist once a week. He kept on having nightmares of an accident that happened years ago. The past week had been rough for him. “I’m trying to be,” he answered. “I’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately. I have nightmares almost every night. I see myself trying to reverse what happened that night but I can’t”He watched Linda scribble something on her notepad. He didn’t believe therapy worked, talking to another person about what he was feeling, how was that going to help? The major reason he considered therapy again was because he was doing well with his family and he didn’t want to hurt them again. Another reason was because of Jeanine, he agreed that throughout their marriage, he was going to take care of her. He didn’t want to bother her with his own problems. “What do you think triggered these nightmares?” She adjusted her glasses. “From our last session, it seemed like the nightmares had finally s
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Was she ever going to fully understand her husband? Probably not but she knew not to ask questions. She was surprised and excited when Aiden showed up. Not that she wanted to ditch her friends but she enjoyed spending time with her husband too. When she woke up each morning, she looked forward to seeing him, hearing his voice and having dinner with him. This made her question if she’d be able to move on when they separated. She’ll most likely be busy with her new job or her master’s program but it would never be the same, she’d always think of him. Aiden Braithwaite, the man that walked into her life and changed it forever. “Why didn’t you reply to my messages?” He asked as he made a U-turnHe sent a text? Aiden Braithwaite sent her a text message. He never sent her a text, he never replied to her texts not like that held much content anyway. It was basically her letting him know her whereabouts and the time she’d be done with whatever she was doing incase they had to go out.Sh
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When Aiden arrived at the venue, he could feel all heads turn towards his direction. He wasn’t a fan of crowds but he was kind of used to it, the same way he got good and bad publicity. He was the star boy to some people, the man who took over the business world at a young age while to others, who was the trashy guy who broke girls' hearts and slept with them because he wanted to. Whichever the people at Catherine little party saw him as, he didn’t care much. He was Jeanine’s husband and he was going to act like it. His first order of business was to get Donovan away from her, he was beginning to hate their new found friendship not because of anything in particular. Donovan was a great guy and he could teach her a thing or two when it came to business but why teach her anything when she had a husband who had a lot of experience. He watched her smile at Donovan when he whispered something to her. A frown found it’s way to Aiden’s face, had Donovan always been this annoying? He
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He found his way to Catherine’s house, it wasn’t a long drive anyway. He had a tracker on the car he assigned to jeanine. He texted her and he didn’t get a response which was unlike her. After boxing with Henry, he took a shower and had the chef prepare him a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs. He tried to get some sleep as he had been awake all night. He laid in bed for a while but sleep didn’t come, he picked up his phone again to text Jeanine but he didn’t know what to say. For the first time, he realized how empty and lifeless his apartment felt without Jeanine. In the few months she spent with him, she managed to add a touch in most rooms of his house. She kept fresh flowers in every flower vase. She had a little tea corner in the kitchen where she displayed her vast collection of tea. If she was at home she’d probably be watching rom coms while he locked himself in his den. He hated the silly romance movies she watched but he was now familiar with the opening song of each of
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“It’s crazy how you two are opposites” Catherine commentedNow, Jeanine wished they would refocus their conversation on her career path and what she was interested in doing after college. She understood that everyone was curious about her marriage and her husband, she was curious about her husband too but she knew one slip up or mistake would cost her a lot. She wasn’t surprised at the attention she was getting but it still felt strange. So many people had walked up to her to try to start a conversation, one asked for a selfie which she politely refused. It was pitiful that most people only knew her as Aiden’s wife, she had written quite a number of articles and she wished that would gain as much attention too. “Aiden and I balance each other out. He likes his space” Jeanine explained She sighed as she poured herself some water. She wished Aiden was around, not like he would have contributed to the conversation or paid any attention but she loved having him around. He a
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This was what life was about, drinking champagne, networking with colleagues and discussing business. One day you could be working as a stripper and the next day your life would be changed for better, you’d be discussing business plans and networking with people in your field.Catherine Lukeman’s home was beautiful, the garden was the perfect place for their little get together. After three weeks of working at Ray.co, Jeanine had quickly made friends with quite a number of people. She couldn’t be more thankful to have people who had more experience guide her in her career path. Aiden wasn’t left out, most times he gave her advice and when he had important meetings, he invited her to join him in the board room so she could learn a thing or two from whatever was being discussed. He was supportive and he also helped her with her school work. For someone who had a cold demeanor, he knew how to explain things to her like a five year old and she wasn’t sure if it was by her focusing on
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All he could think of was her as he landed heavy blows on Henry’s boxing glove. It was his usual routine to go boxing with Henry on Saturday mornings, thankfully they were the only ones in the ring. He felt his hands hurt from the heavy impact but he wouldn’t stop until he got rid of all the anger he felt. Streaks of sweat found its way to his neck from his forehead but that was not enough to get rid of the anger. “Chill out man!” Henry cried as he pushed him off.He took off his gloves and tossed them to a corner of the ring.“What the heck is wrong with you man? We are supposed to be boxing not you physically assaulting me” Aiden fell on his knees as he tried to catch his breath, he was now weak and all he felt was pain in his joints. “What’s up with you?” Henry asked and joined him on the floor He ran a hand to his wet hair and waited for his pulse to return to normal. He’d never felt so much anger and sadness in a long time. Aiden loved to be in charge of hi
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She clasped her hands in excitement at the sight of food from Mama Lucia, it was a good way to ease her of her emotional stress. She hadn’t been there in almost a month for a number of reasons and she missed the taste of her food. Mama Lucia was the first place Aiden kissed her and she hadn’t felt the same since then. Her feelings for him had heightened and although he was a few feet away from her, she could feel the hairs on her nape stand. It was at Mama Lucia’s that she questioned if she could obey the rules of the contract, if they could act like husband and wife without her catching feelings and becoming obsessive.Recently, she heard Aaron started holding his publication meetings at Mama Lucia, publications that may jeopardize her marriage. She had made too many memories at the restaurant that she couldn’t abandon it but still, it was too risky. “You got Mama Lucia?” She asked, her voice high pitched from excitement She didn’t ask him if she liked their food after their
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Filthy? He wondered the kind of things that went on in her head. How would she think that he’d ever find her filthy? When he asked her to be his contracted wife, he wasn’t skeptical about it. There was something about her that gave him the reassurance that she’d not tell anybody about it or try to make fame from being his wife. Had she seen the way Donovan and the other men looked at her? Although Jeanine wasn’t the lady he’d go for on a normal day, he was proud to show her off. She was worthy of everything, in character and beauty. While he wasn’t sure she was seeing anyone, he hoped that she found a good man who would cherish and take care of her after their marriage. She hadn’t necessarily made mention of any man or lover and he didn’t wish to know but he hated to admit that he was awkwardly pleased to know her whereabouts and control it. She kept her routine simple, school, the orphanage, the library on some days and mama Lucia’s diner on some other days. “Do I hav
