Unholy Obsession

Chapter 21; The Baldheaded fool

Hannah's pov

Now Julius was a peculiar case. Firstly, I felt no strand of affection for him nor did I find him interesting. But he played a huge role in my life right now. A role I would consider to be simple but packing a punch. He was my key to getting Vincent to let his guard down.

Up until today, I was unsure of his feelings for me and honestly, I still was. However, a moment of clarity had begun to hit me. There was no denying what I saw today. Vincent Black was jealous. 

I did a little toe curl while seated in the passenger's seat of Julius' car. He drove a black G-Wagon and his interior was decorated with purple ambient lighting. Mama wasn't lying when she said he was rich. However, this display of affluence didn't phase me. By the end of the year, I should've saved enough money to buy two of these cars. 

Knowing my mother was simply pushing me to this man because of his wealth was so annoying in every shade of red. And to add fuel to the fire, Julius was the most arrogant prick I had ever met. Firstly, he refused to open the door for me, saying and I quote, "I don't do any of that Western nonsense."

Since when did chivalry become reserved for people of European descent? I couldn't comprehend his rigid mentality and how stupid I could have been to even accept Mama's plea. The only reason I had to pull through with it was the prospect of potentially making Vincent jealous. 

Because you like him.

Not because I liked him. It was strictly because I wanted to see if I still had an effect on a man. Lance had done a great deal to my self-esteem and Vincent was no exception either. If I could possibly get someone to obsess over me, maybe, I would feel better. It wasn't a healthy way to think, but what I had been doing the past few weeks with him wouldn't be something I would consider healthy.

"Have you ever been on a date with a doctor before?" Julius asked, a smug look on his face.

The sun was bouncing off his bald head and I wanted to give it a resounding slap so he could wipe off that egotistical tone in his voice. 

"No, why do you ask?"

"Well it's good to know I'm the first." He grinned. "At least you're finally dating a real man."

I narrowed my eyes. Was this some sort of reality TV show? There was no way in hell that it was normal for someone to talk like this. 

"So you believe being a doctor makes you a real man."

"Not really. But doctors are the better version of every occupation there is." He shrugged. "I'm just stating facts. There's a reason why Ethiopian parents see Doctors as the perfect suitor for their daughters."

Those last words of his stung my ego and heat bubbled in my stomach. Not the good kind. He made it sound like my entire existence boiled down to just being married. I still wondered if he did this on purpose or was a natural at being an asshole. At least Vincent was annoying, but her never made me feel inferior to nothing.

He refused to hug you.

But he made up for it by taking me book shopping.

God you're so easy.

I wasn't. I definitely wasn't.

"So you work as a secretary." He nodded, never once taking his eyes off the road. "Interesting."

The word interesting never sounded so condescending in my life. I balled my fist and took deep breaths. Julius was begging for a fight, but I had to control myself. I had something to prove.

Taking out my phone, I curled my arms around Julius' biceps and took a selfie. Then I posted it, ensuring to crop out Julius' head and tagged it; Heading out for a cute date.

"I guess you can't wait to show the world about me," Julius said. 

I gagged internally.

Ew.

Smiling at him, I said, "You read me so well Julius. I can't wait to see what our date would be like."

***

"How have you been?"

That was an interesting question. I wrapped my arms tight around my favourite plushie, inhaling deeply and scaling my thoughts. I wouldn't say my life so far had been quite horrible. A dream job, decent cash and most especially, having control over decisions without my mother having any idea about it.

"It's been fine," I said with a shrug.

Dr Ava nodded and penned down my response on a small jotter. Pursing her lips, she slid her gaze from my eyes to my hands. A small smile appeared on her face and she gestured at my hand.

"You've been playing with the seams of the plushie." She inclined her head "Something tells me that that is not all."

Yikes.

Therapists were assholes. She could read me. My shoulders were scratched by the claws of shame. How would I admit to my therapist that the same man I was skeptical about, was the same man I desired to make Jealous?

Spears of afternoon light broke through her window, striking the floor and spreading their golden glow. My exhale pushed through the silence in the room, the ticking of the clocking growing my apprehension.

"Remember the man I told you about?"

She nodded.

"Turns out, I might enjoy making him jealous. I know it's crazy and I don't even know what's making me think that's something like this is even a good idea to—"

"Hannah," Dr Ava cut me off, "deep breaths."

"Right, deep breaths."

One.

Inhale.

Two.

Exhale.

"That's more like it." She scribbled in her jotter and reclined in her seat. "Now, go."

"I think I might, maybe, just maybe, have a tiny interest in him."

"That's normal. It's totally normal to feel something for this man," she said. "This is our sixth appointment and from what I can tell, you get brighter each day you come for a new appointment."

"Really?"

"Mhm." Dr Ava shrugged. "Don't judge yourself for it. But the question you should ask yourself is if maybe, deep down, you want something more with him. Something more than sex."

I sat cross legged in the chair, holding the plushie to my chest. "I'm not sure."

"Perhaps you're scared that you'll be disappointed just like with your ex."

Biting a corner of my lip, I looked out the window. Streaks of golden and orange plastered the sky, silhouettes of birds spread across the vast expanse. Sweet tranquillity it presented. If only my life could be this way. Free from any chaos and empowered with certainty.

"I'm not sure."

"Certainty is something that comes with time."

"I guess."

I had come here today to try and find an answer for my sudden need for feeling an unusual need to make Vincent jealous. The answer I had met was something I prayed deeply I wouldn't hear. Unfortunately, reality didn't care about my fantasies. I had to make sure to stick to the contract to avoid embarrassing myself.

A girl's got to have some pride.