Situationship

life after marriage

EPISODE 2
Jessica packed her hair up the way she always did as she stood facing the full-length mirror. The length of her hair always made people envious of her, even when the only thing she wanted was to cut it off. Combing it was always a burden for her, and she had resorted to packing it. She rarely plaited her hair due to the long waits she was always subjected to, so she retouched and set her hair, which was less expensive and also time-saving.
It had been two days after the exhausting bogus wedding, and she hadn’t really left the beach house. Andy had practically restricted her to the building, saying that it would be awkward for the bride to be seen outside alone without her husband immediately after the wedding. Jessica had asked him to go out with her then, but her contract husband obviously had so many things to sort out on the net and did not have the time to camouflage with her. Who wants to be burdened with his boring presence anyways? Jessica snorted. If a prophet had prophesied that Jessica would be married to a jerk like Andy, she would have called him a joker, but now that she faced the reality, she really could not believe that she had agreed to this marriage. But she had, rather stupidly. But even if she could turn back the hands of time, would her decision be different? Sighing, after putting on a long blue skirt and a white top, she lay on the bed, feeling the pieces of her shattered world expand all the more.
Jessica was someone who loved and loved deeply, but that has proved to be a very bad thing for her. She had been jilted by three different guys who were practically sex addicts. Her mother always told her before that abominable day that she should hold on till she was married before opening her legs to any guy. Before the death of her entire family, she did not really give the advice much thought, but when her family died, vanishing all of a sudden, all she wanted to do was to obey everything that her parents ever told her. The first man she had fallen in love with several years back, who was her first love, had shattered her world by sleeping with her best friend. When she caught them in the act, she almost ran mad. Trusting another guy again had been almost impossible, but due to her nature, she moved on and fell for another guy. He had, however, been decent enough to call it quits with the excuse that he could not do it without sex until marriage. The third guy had been the one that really hurt her. It had taken a long time for her to get over the trauma, and even now, the remembrance almost moved her to tears, filling her with a certain level of anger.
A knock interrupted her thoughts, and she stood up from the bed. She opened the door and stared at Andy. He was in a grey suit.
"Good morning, sir."
Andy muttered under his breath. Would I have to spend a lifetime explaining why I hate this‘sir’ you use for me? It makes me feel old. "
She stared at him for some seconds, then swallowed. "Andrew, Andy, Drew; choose one," she said, her face formal and indifferent, neither smiling nor frowning.
He looked on the verge of laughter, then raised his eyebrows. "Drew. "It sounds good." He looked almost surprised.
"Good morning, Drew," she responded straight-faced.
He looked at her with a frown on his face. "Do you ever smile?"
"Do you respond to greetings?" she returned.He shook his head slowly.
"Then I guess I should not bother Greeting again then."
Andy realized that she took the shake of his head as the answer to the question she asked. The woman was just a pain in the neck! He thought of explaining but realized that he had wasted a lot of time already. "I am off to the office," he said.
She blanched. "This is supposed to be our honeymoon, however fake it might be," she murmured under her breath, then glared at him. "What would people think when you return to work just two days after the wedding?" It is not like you would be sacked if you don’t appear in a year. " It was only after Jessica heard the echo of her voice that she realized that she was shouting.
"Everyone can think whatever they want to think. I am tired of sitting idle in this little cage," he declared. "At least you did not mind what the maids would think about our sleeping arrangement; why should I mind what my employees would think?" he challenged.
"They would think that I don’t have the womanly or feminine erm... expertise to keep you for at least a week on our honeymoon." I never asked you to get maids. In fact, I advised against it. It is not my fault that you are so terribly lazy. "Andy gritted his teeth as she ranted."
You can’t go to work! How would people look at me?"
"I guess that is for you to worry about."
Jessica noticed that he was throwing her words back at her, and it made her even angrier. She shook her head in dismay. "This is the worst marriage ever. No wonder you had me sign a contract to marry you; no woman in her right senses would marry such a self-centered man. "
Andy’s face transformed before her eyes, and she wanted to run, but her stubborn nature made her stand where she was, returning his glare with equal measure. He grabbed her hand fiercely, pulling her closer as he glared straight at her. All her courage seeped out of her, leaving her with dread. I guess that makes us birds of a feather, right? You also accepted this contract because of personal gain, so think twice about crying wolf. "
He dripped her arm instantly and she staggered slightly. Then, he was gone before she could even blink. She leaned against the door for support, willing her racing heart to normalize.
*****
Even as Andy alighted from the car about an hour later, he was still boiling with anger. If Jessica had guts, he could give her that. No woman had ever confronted him, hands down, the way Jessica constantly did. She had the talent of getting him angry whenever she felt like it. The frustrating thing was that he somehow felt that she was right. Self-centered, he muttered to himself with a grim face, his mouth tightening angrily. He didn't notice the security guards' shocked expressions as he entered the massive structure, nor did he hear their greetings.He entered the office like a soldier instead of the calmly measured steps he was used to. The surprised looks he got from his employees made him aware of his environment. He returned their gaze with a stern glare and they all started pouring in greetings and congratulations on his just concluded wedding at his departing back, before returning to their duties. Andy felt the eyes of his staff on him as he entered his office. Again, Jessica had been right; coming to work was a stupid thing to do. However right she was, he told himself that he ought to be at work; if not, his workers would run the company to the edge of bankruptcy. He hadn’t even sat down when the door opened. He was not surprised when he saw Tunji, his wedding best man, his assistant, and his best friend, standing at the entrance with a bewildered look. "Hey man!" Andy called.
"What is the meaning of this, Andy?" Tunji asked, closing the door.
"The meaning of what?" Andy sat down, feigning ignorance.
"What are you doing here? You ought to be with your wife; this is your honeymoon man; the company is not running anywhere. "
"My wife and I decided to use this time wisely instead of wasting it on a leisurely beach."
"Exactly! And that is why you came in glaring like an angry lion? "
Andy ignored that, since he could not come up with anything good enough to cover up his mood. "You know the challenges we have been confronted with by our competitors, so staying back would just be useless."
Tunji was glaring at him. "So you could not trust me enough to know that I would handle the company properly till you are back?"
"Come off it, man; still, it is scientifically proven that two heads are better than one."here gives us more chances. "I don’t want to have another lengthy meeting with displeased shareholders." He powered up his desktop and centered his attention on it.
Tunji shook his head. "If I were a woman, I surely would not envy Jessica." With that, Tunji left, leaving Andy with another measured level of anger. Once again, he had to admit that his coming to the company was pointless.
*****
Jessica walked barefooted on the soothing beach sand that same evening as the breeze blew at her packed hair. She wanted to remove the bond and have the breeze blow her hair into wild disarray, but she quenched the feeling. She had long ago stopped leaving her hair; even when she retouched and set her hair, she always combed out the curls and secured the hair with a firm bond. She had stopped everything that could make her look attractive a long time ago. She wore oversized clothes, packed her head tightly upwards, and used almost no jewelry at all, except the occasional stud she had resorted to. Men had made her life a living hell, and she had resorted to living her life alone until Andy asked her for a contract wedding. Why Andy had decided to pick her, of all the women in the world, still remained a mystery. Even at that, the thought that she could be bought with money, no matter the amount, would have made her laugh, but here she was, in an agreement to stick with a rich, handsome workaholic for the sum of 20 million naira. Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them away. She had stopped crying a long time ago and she wasn’t about to start now.
She heard a guy call her and she turned. He walked up to her. "I am not lying when I say you are the most beautiful woman I have ever set my eyes on."
Jessica very nearly rolled her eyes. From the physical outlook of the guy, he looked like someone within her age bracket. He looked very slim, but handsome nonetheless. "Should I say thank you?" she asked.
He smiled. "I am Jack." "You look vaguely familiar." She took his hand. "Jessica"
"Cool.J.J.,Jessica, and Jack. "We are a perfect match," he murmured, grinning.
"You dream a lot," she responded.
"Every reality started with a dream in mind."
"Not every dream sees the limelight," she returned.
He sighed. You can't possibly win with you, can you?What are you doing here on the beach dressed like this? "You should be in shorts," he commented, changing the subject.
"What are you doing talking to me then?" There are lots of women in shorts here. "
"Well, it is very easy to notice an outstanding woman."
"Why don’t I believe you?"
"Do you ever smile?"
Jessica noted rather sadly that she had heard that question twice in one day. Andy had asked her that same question, but she hadn’t given him an answer. She was about to give an answer when she heard a voice behind her.
"Hey, sweetheart." Jessica blanched. She did not have to turn to know that the voice definitely belonged to Andy. His voice was far different from everyone else’s. She swallowed and turned. He had a smile on his face, but she sensed the anger beneath. "I have been looking for you," he said to her, but his gaze was fixed on Jack, who, for some weird reason, had become rigid upon seeing Andy.
"I came for a walk on the beach," Jessica responded sweetly as he stunningly placed his arm around her waist. The strength of his arm at her slim waist made her freeze in time as scorching heat seeped from his palm into her body. It took all of her resolve not to jump out of his hold.
"I knew I had seen you before!" Jack suddenly declared, breaking into her thoughts. "Your wedding was aired by almost all the TV stations." Jack’s eyes were on the arm Andy put around Jessica’s waist until he forced them upwards with a frozen smile. "Congrats," he murmured.
"Thanks," Andy said stiffly. If eyes could kill, Jack would be dead and buried.
This struck Jessica as awkward as she swallowed the bile that formed in her throat. The silence that followed was so uncomfortable that Jessica decided to put an end to the awkwardness. "Drew," she called, turning to him and placing her slender hand on his chest the way only a woman could. It is good you came. Why don’t you walk with me? "
Andrew felt the slim softness which she placed against his chest and his blood hummed in his veins. He didn’t know why seeing Jessica standing with ‘whatever his name was’ got him furious. Surely he was just getting used to the farce of the marriage act! However, when Jessica declared him the winner of the invisible war, Andy felt a great sense of victory that stunned him. He looked into her eyes and couldn’t look away. She was dressed in an unappealing way, but the shabby dress looked to him like a challenge. Besides, he'd had much more than a passing glance on their wedding day.But the idea vanished immediately, and he mentally made a strict note of never allowing his mind to go astray. He kissed her forehead, shocking her even more. He could practically feel it in the stiff way she held herself. "As your ladyship pleases", he gave a slight bow, which had her grinning stiffly. The reason why he smiled back like a fool was definitely just to spite the guy who was still looking at them, invading their privacy.
"It was nice meeting you," she murmured to Jack. She would have mentioned his name, but she decided against it. Andy’s arm around her waist was disturbing. Both of them walked for a long time without speaking. The spot where Andy had kissed her on her forehead still throbbed, making her think about things that she definitely shouldn’t be thinking about. "That was an excellent drama you displayed back there. You could make it in the movie industry, "Jessica said," quenching the unnerving silence.
"Uhn?" Andy could not understand what she was saying. Maybe because he was too busy thinking about the soft flesh beneath his hand. He never knew she had such a small waist!
"I don’t suppose you were genuinely jealous, or were you?" Her tone held a slight tinge of laughter.
"Who is that guy?"
"You met him too, right?" "You know him just as much as I do," she said with faint amusement. "We are far from prying eyes, so you can remove your hand from my waist now."
Andy extracted his hand instantly, like her body suddenly caught fire. He had forgotten his hand was around her. It had felt too damn right to have his arm around her waist. What on earth was wrong with him? When was the last time he had a woman? That was definitely the problem! He swallowed hard as he stared at the beach, wanting to dive inside for a swim. He ran his hand through the tiny waves of his hair in frustration, and they walked together in strained silence until they got back to the beach house. Keeping his gaze properly schooled in cool indifference, he marched into his room without looking back.