Loving Her

Chapter Fourteen. Chicago

It is an open bar but I have never felt so hot and out of breath before. I need Adrian to stop talking before this night turns out to be the worst of my life.

Jules' eyes widen. “What do you mean?”

Adrian clears his throat. “You see, she married this man named Seyi but he was a beast, a rapist and an abuser, Funke was his victim.” I’m seeing another side of Adrian, a side of him that I don’t like, I never have and never will. It’s the side of him that does and says things without thinking or caring if he is hurting me. I don’t know who Jules is so I don’t want him having his nose in my business. I know Adrian is angry but it doesn’t give him the right to say certain things to certain strangers.

Jules's eyes widen even further and he looks uncomfortable. He looks at me and I avoid his gaze, shame washing over me. “I-“

Adrian stops him. “Sad right? Anyways, she married Seyi when Funke was eight and for ten years he abused her. When Funke finally opened up about it and Seyi was arrested and sentenced to jail, she divorced him so that’s why she’s back to being single.”

I can feel the tears brimming at the corner of my eyes but I am trying to keep them in, the last thing I need is for me to break down in front of Jules. I’m shocked at Adrian’s audacity to speak like that, to deliberately hurt me. I’m not against him telling people what happened to me but not without my consent and not with the tone of his voice, filled with anger and bitterness, filled with the need to hurt me.

“Funke, I’m so sorry that happened to you.” Jules looks angry. “I didn’t know.”

“It’s fine,” I speak for the first time, my voice cracking.

I know they both noticed this but Jules is the only one that looks at me with pity in his eyes. Adrian doesn’t even bother to spare me a glance.

“We thank God that is over now,” Adrian says, taking another sip of his drink. “You said you and Aunt Dianne dated back in high school, why did you guys break up?”

I can still feel his eyes on me but it doesn’t take long before he looks away and to Adrian. He shrugs, “She broke up with me, cut off our communications and avoided me like a plague. After two weeks of this torture and wondering what I had done wrong, I heard she and her family had moved to Nigeria. I haven’t heard from her since then”

“I can imagine your shock when you saw her again. How did you guys reconnect?” Adrian takes another sip of his drink, almost done with it at this point.

“I had dropped a friend off at the airport when I saw her there too I drove her to her destination, turns out it was her daughter’s office.” He looks at me now but I don’t return the favour, my eyes focused on the filled glass. I’m holding the straw and twirling it around my drink.

Adrian nods, his game of oblivion well played out. “That’s nice. What about the night you brought her back home drunk?”

Jules downs the rest of his drink and gestures to the bartender for a refill. “Was at a bar and found her. Her friends had ditched her so I offered to take her home.”

“The good Samaritan,” I hear Adrian chuckle, though it is barely audible.

Jules chuckles, obviously not knowing the real meaning behind Adrian’s words. “Funke tells me you both work at Exsela.”

I half expect Adrian to look at me now, even if it is with anger or hurt but he doesn’t, only lifts his head higher and nods. “Yeah, it’s my father’s company.”

Jules is shocked. His eyes are wide and nearly bulging out of their sockets. “Wow, that’s amazing. Let me guess, you’re going to take over someday, eldest son?”
Adrian smirks. “Yeah.”