I just couldn't get why Tamika had been so eager to take things into her hands, to the point of making a mess of things. But then, I was glad that she had come to the point where she had begun to realize that I was her best shot at regaining her place of prominence.The ride to the casino was quiet, as I had expected it to be. At that point, I was sure that she was still beating herself up for making that bad decision for herself. As though to add salt to her injury, the media had tagged her as controversial and confused after her ordeal with her obsessive ex. In the public eye, she had gone from a relationship therapist to a victim of relationships.That was beyond pitiful, as it has all happened in such a short space of time. I kept thinking of breaking the ice that was settling in the car, at least to make her feel a bit better. But then, I didn't think it necessary. It was a contract marriage after all, and there weren't meant to be any emotions. All that mattered was our perf
“Do you want to do this?” I was having one of those weird conversations with myself which anyone could easily tag as crazy. “A date at the casino? With some weird guy that ran after you yesterday? Come on, Julia… you're better than this.”But there I was, standing and waiting for him to come and pick me up at our agreed rendezvous. I was a walking paradox as I was doing just the opposite of what I would usually do, and Tamika's rules.I excused myself with the fact that even the relationship therapist had been met with circumstances way beyond her. Though I felt guilty while doing that, it was the truth of the matter. Michael happened to be different from every other person who had come into my space, and that was the best explanation for my unusual behavior. Soon enough, his car soon came into view. There was something unforgettable about that grey Lexus that could make me recognize it from a couple of miles away. I took a glance at my watch and marveled as I could recall how he h
“Amelia…”My past came flashing right before me at that table. Memories I had tried to bury at all costs, were all popping up right before me, as I stared into the eyes of my ex.I tried my best to keep my cool, as I was looking at the woman who had wrecked my life into unfixable pieces, without taking a second thought. All the vengeful thoughts I had needed therapy for were seething underneath me, threatening to explode. But somehow, Tamika's hand on my shoulder was able to keep me in order. “Who the hell is she?” Tamika whispered from behind, as she leaned over in a romantic way that had even more eyes rolling towards us. “Why's she talking like some psycho?”I wanted to tell her that she was overdoing the whole couple act. But then, she was just the reason I could keep it all together. “Because she is one…” I replied, trying as much as I could to keep my gaze from becoming the hateful one that I had in mind for her. “She is one of those psychotic exes that never go away.”“Oh…”
I don’t know what it was about Amelia that made me resent her very presence. Deep down within me, I knew that it was way beyond trying to put up a perfect act as a perfect partner for the rich, young prodigy.But I was beginning to own the character just a bit too much, and sadly, a sense of ownership had slowly begun to creep in with every passing moment. I had to stop, as I could see the shock that had come on Dolph’s face. “Tamika…” Dolph called out my name to break the spell of silence that was settling over the sudden encounter. I turned to him, expecting to see a shocked expression or that of disapproval. But then, he had a slight smile on his face. “Let’s get going, shall we?” Dolph replied, making sure that his smile got the message across to Amelia. “There’s nothing for us to talk about, Amelia.” He took my hand again and turned to the car with all his guards still around. “We have caused enough stirs for one day. I guess we can close the curtains here and now,” he whisp
“No…” I said, as I felt irritated by that pink dress that Tamika had put on, though it was among the ones I had bought her. By that time, I already knew that nothing he would wear would ever impress me in my fallen mood. But then, I kept fighting the guilt of having to take it out on her, as she had been one of the contributors to it. If she had known how things had gone down between me and Amelia, then she wouldn’t have even thought of uttering a single word when I was having one of those down moments. And by ‘those moments’, I meant moments where I would suddenly zone out into the not-so-distant past where I had met Amelia for the first time. I had been all bright-eyed and innocent back then, only to have my heart dashed into pieces along with the high expectations I’d had of her. It was all just so…“Are you messing with me right now?” Tamika asked with a groan that expressed her frustration. “I have tried six dresses on now. Don’t tell me that you cut my sleep short just to pu
I looked with dissatisfaction through the glass window of my office to the view of the city beyond as that seemed to be the only thing that thrilled me in my office and my casino as well.With my back turned on my desk and my gaze facing the view outside, I let go of all my worries for those few couple of moments. I knew that I would be caught up in the worries again as soon as I turned back to face that desk. But somehow, I drew comfort from the fact I had made contact with Randy, Tamika's ex, and that he was willing to work with me on the undertaking that I had suggested to him. That gave me just the slight ray of hope that I had been looking out for.I wasn't sure what it was, but I was sure that there was something wrong with the sudden elopement between my younger brother and the famous Tamika Fisher.He had it all— the looks, the money, the status, the charisma. But then, I was sure that those weren't enough to get him a woman as wonderful as Tamika Fisher was. To make it all e
“Seems like this is the best year yet,” Aaron said, as he walked up to me from behind and kissed me on the neck before reaching for the cookie jar in the cupboard above. “What makes you think that?” I asked looking back at him, as he mouthed a cookie. “Hey, easy on that. You're trying to watch your weight, you know.”“Yeah… I know,” he said, almost sounding like the cocky twenty-year-old hotshot I had fallen in love with, nearly a quarter century ago. “I'm just going to have a couple of bites and that would be it.”“Ugh…” I couldn't stand him munching on those extra calories as it made me feel guilty. “Well, Dolph is about to get married, and I'm happy for him.” Aaron smiled as he gave his unrelated excuse, which had me thinking.“That's why you want to gain a few calories, huh?” I asked as I recalled my last meeting with Tamika. It had been a few days since we had met, and I recalled seeing a slot of her trends online. “Of course,” Aaron said, as he shut the jar. “I have never bee
With Robert came thoughts of my past which I had desperately wanted to get rid of. I noticed that his smile slowly faded when he spotted me standing beside Dolph. He was probably feeling as awkward as I was. “Hello, Dolph,” he said, as he put his smile back on and shook hands with Dolph. “Such a pleasure to see you here, with your…”“Here's Tamika,” Dolph said introducing us both, as I hoped Robert wasn't going to make things awkward by telling him that we already knew each other. “Tamika, here's Robert. The brain behind the team that's going to make you famous again.”“Oh… nice to meet you, Randy,” I wasn't new to putting up acts, and that made it much easier for me to act calm in those few awkward moments of pretending not to know the man who had dated my sister but had wanted me instead.It was all a weird story, and I hated the fact that I could recall every detail of it perfectly. It all began with him coming over to our house one day. “Hello,” he had said, with those eyes that