Hailey up there 👆🏾
As promised...
Segunda parte! 😏
Enjoy!!!
"...oh Honey, you don't know how happy I was when I found out you two are now together!" Rachel screeched through the phone and Maldives smiled back, "Yeah, I know right..."
It was Saturday mid-day and Maldives was currently nestled in her bed with her ordered carton of chicken barbeque pizza, while she sulked and face-timed with Rachel who was currently having her hair done for her wedding by the hairstylist.
Because that's what you do when your broke ass can't afford tickets to Germany, you sit and sulk...and feast on some good ol' strawberry and vanilla whipped cream...
"You know you really look beautiful in em curls, motherhood is gonna suit you perfectly well, I'm sure of it!" Maldives complimented, admiring her curled up blonde locks which were beautifully and stylishly secured in place with pins and flowers of all kinds.
She had not yet donned on her wedding dress, and was still in her white bridal satin robe, but knowing Rachel the way she did, Maldives knew the dress was sure to be a stunner.
"Thank you! You know I was initially really worried that curls would make my face appear fatter, cause you know this ball has got me weighing tons now..." she gestured at her tummy, then continued, "...I decided I'd just let it be, motherhood is a gift, as is baby fat so..." she shrugged and Maldives nodded, "Damn right it is!"
"Besides, Tiana is doing a really good job over here" she stated, looking up at the hairstylist who smiled down at her and offered a little wave to Maldives, which she returned.
"Oh Mal! Remind me again why you aren't here?!" Rachel pouted playfully, earning a chuckle from Maldives, "You mean remind you why my ass is broke?" she suggested jokingly and Rachel rolled her eyes at her choice of words."Oh well, you know I'm still wondering why Fai didn't offer to sponsor your trip over here, that's so unlike him" she furrowed.
"No no, you should know he didn't pay only because I didn't tell him. When he found out, it was already too late, and well, here we are"
"Yeah, I guess...but anyways, tell me, how's it been back at the office? I mean with Fai here in Germany, I know Regina now gets to be fully in charge so, I imagine it's pretty tensed up now huh?"
"Yeah, you have no idea, but oh well, it's Regina, we'll survive" she sighed and scooped a spoon of her ice cream.
Rachel glared at her disapprovingly "Okay, girl, you seriously need to stop that! Hello??? Pregnancy hormones here!!! You don't know how hard it's been for me to satisfy my pregnancy cravings at level that ensures that I don't end up being a mother with diabetes!" she whined and Maldives chuckled.
"No I'm telling you, by the end of this, I will be having love handles!" she threw her hands up in surrender and Maldives kept the cup of meting cream aside, "Okay, done, no more!"
"Thank you! *Sighs* but tell me something, honestly, how are you feeling?" Rachel asked, in a serious tone that Maldives didn't seem to understand.
"I'm okay I guess? Why, is something wrong?" she asked.
"Well you know...with Fai out of town, and knowing he's here with Hailey—"
"Wait—what?" she cut her short, to Rachel's confusion.
"What?" she asked.
"You said 'Hailey'....I don't understand...is she in Germany too?" she probed, scared of what her response might be.
"Yeah, I mean, didn't you know?" Rachel scrunched.
"Well how the fuck am I supposed to know?! I don't—" she stuttered.
"Weren't you all informed whilst they were still in New York? That they'd be coming together?"
" 'They'? Who the fuck is 'they'?!"
"Fai and Hailey!"
"What—" gasps
"I was told she had come to the office a day before to introduce herself to everyone...you weren't at work?"
"I was at—wait a minute...Hailey..." she paused as she tried recollecting memories.
"Yeah?"
"Tall girl, brown hair, green eyes?"
"Hazel—but yeah..." she corrected and nodded.
"Oh my God...Oh my—Oh Lord.. "she stuttered as she felt her insides flame up. This isn't happening...someone tell me this isn't happening! she kept trying to convince herself as she did her best to recover from her shock.
"Mal, are you okay? Just a take a breather and calm down..." Rachel consoled nervously.
"Oh I'm—I'm fine...I just..."
"God, how did you not know she was Hailey? Didn't she tell you guys her name? Didn't Fai talk to you about—"
"No!" she blurted out, silencing Rachel.
Sighing, she offered her a warm smile before apologizing, "I'm sorry Rach, I didn't mean to—"
"No, it's okay, I totally understand the outburst, I'd be freaked out too if I were in your shoes right now"
"No..it's just—when she came to the office, we only referred to her as 'Miss Henderson', so I guess I never really stopped to wonder what her first name was"
"B-but how about Fai? Didn't he say something about it? About her?"
"I know about she and Fai...I know the history...it's just we haven't exactly had a one on one conversation ever since she came. Everyone's been so busy trying to adapt to the change and he—well, now that I think about it, he's been kind of avoiding me..."she furrowed.
She began recalling that day after they had finished with Regina's 'impromptu' meeting. Maldives remembered watching them walk hand in hand with each other back into his office.
"...but anyways, I know you'll be fine..." Gerald had whispered into her ears, after he had thrown her the frenzy of questions that had sent her into a soul-searching conquest afterwards.
She spent the rest of her day, wallowing in thoughts, thoughts she didn't exactly know how to express or convey to him.
Their relationship—or rather situationship, was filled with questions and doubts. She really had no idea where they were headed.
I mean, even though we've known each other for about two years, most of which has consisted of our 'Zayn-Gigi type' relationship, we've only actually been officially together for about three months, but even at that, only they knew about them, well and also Brenda, and Christian...and Faury and Nico—and now Gerald...but what about the rest?
What were they going to do if after spending these time together, they get to a point where one of them wants something more? They obviously can't keep their relationship a secret forever, so what happens when they finally get out and have to deal with people like Regina? His family? The prejudice that comes with being in an interracial relationship...
Will they ever be ready for all that?
Shrugging off all thoughts, she decided it was best to focus on the more important matters at hand, cause hun, there sure as hell won't be a future to deal with if you aren't even certain if the present yet!
"Mal??? Are you okay?" Rachel quizzed through the phone, drawing her from her thoughts.
"Um—yeah, of course" *clears throat*
"You know you don't need to pretend you're not if you ain't...I probably wouldn't feel good too if I found out my boyfriend was on some trip with his ex whom he used to love very dearly and—"
"Okay, Rachel! You are really not helping matters right now!" Maldives cut her off, and she chuckled, "Okay Okay , fine, I won't say no more about them"
"Right, them..." Maldives echoed as she rolled her eyes. Well I hope 'them' get hit by a bus or something—No no, not him, just her...
"Yes...but hey look, knowing Fai the way I know him, I don't think you, should worry so much, he's not exactly the type to cheat on the woman he loves" she consoled.
"Yeah, about that..."Maldives squinted as she bit her lip nervously, not sure she wanted to voice the words in her mouth, but Rachel beat her to it, "Wait a minute...he's not...he's not said it yet? He's not said that he loves you?" she asked and Maldives shook her head in response, "No...in the first instance—I don't even know if...." he she trailed off and let out a sigh.
"Oh Mal...your situation is quite 'dire' you know...but hey, if it's any consolation, I didn't invite her to the wedding, at least you know they won't be hanging out today" she chipped in cheekily and Maldives felt her insides relax a little, some good news at least..."...although...the IV does state that you can bring a plus-one...but what are the odds right?!" she added, in her bid to brighten her mood.
"Yeah...I mean it's not like he's gonna take her along with him, right? I mean not with Faury there" Maldives suggested, trying her best to convince the situation.
"Um—I kind of gave Faury his own IV?" she squirmed and Maldives mouthed an O.
"Oh...well Nico is also there, right? Certainly he's gonna go with Fai and—"
"Nico has his too" Rachel bit her lip nervously and Maldives found herself defeated. No...no, he wouldn't dare betray me like that would he??? The only thing I need to dead me in this self-misery would be to find out that they busy playin' 'Bonnie and Clyde' at a wedding! No no no!!! From here onwards, positive thoughts baby, positive thoughts only!
"Okay, honey, I would have really loved to talk with you all day, but I've got a man to wed, and I've got to get going now" Rachel sighed and smiled sadly.
"Of course, you're right—a very lucky man at that!" she joked and they both chuckled, "...so you get going, have fun, it's your day—and please don't forget to send me photos, okay?!" Maldives smiled.
"Sure, of course not! And don't worry, if I see her try anything stupid, I'll be sure to put her in her place!" she fisted dramatically and Maldives chuckled at her antics, "Not that you would have the time to even glance at them today, but okay! I appreciate the offer, thank you dear"
"Okay, you be safe alright?"
"Hey, I'm not the one who's gonna be rocking a baby bump with five-inch heels, so you be sure to tread cautiously today!" she warned and Rachel nodded, "Yeah, don't worry, if it gets too hard, I'll just take them off and go bare-foot, it is my day afterall so..." she shrugged boastfullly.
Maldives shook her head and chuckled, "Damn right it is! Alright, I'll let you off now"
"Okay, bye!!!" she chimed before disconnecting the call.
Sighs "What a day..." Maldives said out loud as she went back to drowning in her pizza and helplessly melted ice-cream.
She cringed at the sight of it. Stupid piece of shit! I leave you for only a few minutes and you're already wobblier than Spongebob's feet! Crap! She cursed, then paused.
Somehow her own words reminded her of herself.
Ice-cream...yes, that's it! You're an ice cream Adaora! So what?! Dude leaves you for barely forty-eight hours and your insides are already more troubled than the Titanic?!
Just take a good look at your pathetic self! Your broke ass couldn't afford a plane to Germany, now you're all 'kumbaya' because the people have more than enough papers to spend are now swinging arm in arm at the venue!
Hell, he probably isn't even thinking about you!
Tell me, how will he?! When he's got 'Miss flawless-hair skin-so-perfect brown-eye witch'—okay, Rachel said it was hazel, but what the fuck do I care?!
That's it! I've got to stop this now! All this stupid mathematical thoughts of mine won't help solve nothing...
A distraction—Yes! I need a full-on distraction! She snapped her fingers in realization and jolted out of the bed with the ice cream in her hand.
After she had returned the cup back into the freezer, she proceeded to her living room and grabbed the remote control with intents on finding something good to watch.
Crap crap crap! She cursed again, after she had scrambled through multitudes of channels but found nothing good to watch.
Suddenly, she paused when she arrived at 'E!' channel and saw they were airing 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians'.
Okay...maybe watching botox-filled humans take endless trips around the world will make me feel better...she encouraged herself but found that it wasn't helping as it only reminded her of how broke she was and how she couldn't even afford one trip.
Don't be a hater girl, don't be a fucking hater! She tried advising herself but it seemed all odds were against her, as it wasn't just an episode about them taking trips, but one where Kourtney suspected Scott had been cheating on her whilst on the said trip.
Dafuq?! So much for not hating...Stupid reality shows!
She then resorted to scrolling through Netflix, but apparently, for the very first time, it didn't appear to be as colorful as it usually was as none of the the movies or series seemed capable of hooking her attention.
She thought about reading a book but then remembered she had re-read all the novels in her drawers countless times, and sighed in defeat.
Well there goes my distraction... she mumbled solemnly.
Laying in her bed as she nestled her thoughts, she grumbled at the fact that she knew she could always call Brenda or Christian, but you know those times when you just wanna be left with your company and yours alone? Yes, this is one of them...
Suddenly, her phone beeped.
'Bank statement for the month' the text header read and she opened it.
Going through it, a thought suddenly popped into her head and her insides got alert.
That's right... I should probably check that out now...she said to herself as she immediately got off the bed and made her way to the desktop on the right side of her room.
Login onto NYUs website, she began making her research on the requirements for a Masters degree in Accounting and Finance.
Okay...check...check...check—oh wow, 96,254$?! I guess I might as well enroll now...she shrugged reluctantly, but squirmed when she checked her statement of account again and saw her balance was at 99,742$.
Pfffftt... Hopefully, next month's salary makes up for a little, so why the wait... She muttered, weighing her options before proceeding with the registration.
About two hours later, she had completed and submitted the online registration.
The entire process had managed to get her eyes sleepy and heavy, but just as she was about to grant her eyes the relaxing pleasure it desired, a call came into her phone.
Well look who decided to call now...
"Hey bitch!" she smirked.
"Hey—um, are you home?" Brenda questioned.
"Uh yeah, is something wrong?" Maldives asked, as she detected the tone of worry in her best friend's voice.
"You might err—might wanna turn on the TV now, check 'E!' "
"E!? No no, I'm not in the mood for em Kardashians Bree, I'm just not—"
"No Maldives, it's not the Kardashians this time, just turn it on" She stated solemnly and Maldives only found herself even more scared, especially since she so graciously pronounced her name in full. Please tell me Michael B Jordan is not dead... she silently prayed inside her, as she cautiously turned on the TV, her heart in he palms.
Tuning and tuning, she paused when she saw what Brenda had been referring to on TV.
"...and earlier today, the eldest son and business mogul, Fai Regan, was spotted hand in hand with his long-time love and business partner, Hailey Henderson, in Berlin, Germany, attending what appeared to be the wedding of mutual family friend.
Reports confirmed that last night, the love birds had jetted off together in their private jet to attend the private ceremony as well as seal a business deal...the lot have been recently linked..." the newscaster trailed off and Maldives gasped.
She sank.
As if life hadn't already thrown enough at her, she had to end the day with news of her boyfriend grinning and grinding hand in hand with 'Miss I'm too hot, you're not' pfffttt...
"...remember few years ago they had their last break up, sources close to the couple have now claimed that the two are once again back together and have even claimed to be happier than ever! Guess our favorite Forbes couple are here to stay...*smiles*...and now, onto the next—" *Turns TV off*
"Wow...." Maldives heaved, letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding in.
"I know right...Gerald and I were just watching the TV in a restaurant when they aired that. I really don't know what to say Mal, I feel so bad for you..." Brenda muttered through the phone.
"Well, that makes two of us...and yeah, you can go ahead and say it" She gestured and urged her with her fingers.
"What? Say what?"she furrowed and Maldives rolled her eyes at her, "Say it girl, 'I told you so'??? You know you want to—"
"Actually, no"
"No?" Maldives furrows in surprise.
Sighs..."Look, don't get me wrong, if the doc is playing with the feelings of my home girl, he will certainly get it from me!" She stated, and pointing her finger in warning, before continuing, "...but I'm not gonna tell you I warned you—even if I did warn you..."
"Of course..." she rolled her eyes at her.
"BUT!!! I'd advise you not jump into conclusions just yet—well, it's not really my advice, it's more Gerald's, cause you know if it were up to me, we sure as hell ain't gon be having this conversation now!" she snorted and Maldives nodded, and there goes the bestie I know... "...but, as much as I hate to admit it, I think Gerald's right. You know how em paparazzi be, talking false shit for the paper, I think you should wait for his side of the story..."
"Yeah well, it's not like there's more I can do anyways, so—"
"Wait a minute, didn't the fucking dude call you—or text you??? or anything?! You do not leave a woman in the dark like that! Seriously who the fuck does that?!" Brenda roared through the phone.
"Well it's not like he exactly abandoned me...he did text last night to tell me he had arrived safely, and I'm guessing he hasn't called this today because...I don't know..."
"Because he's been busy! Busy fucking some White whore, and—" she was rambling when Gerald appeared to have snatched the phone from her, "Mal? Yeah, it's me, Gerald, don't pay attention to Brenda, okay? This girl, she crazy! Just relax, and everything will be all good, I'm sure of it" he soothed calmly, and she nodded in understanding.
" It's alright guys, trust me, I'm fine. I trust him and I guess we'll just— see what happens...I'm okay, trust me"
"Hmm you sure?"
"Yeah, I am...now you two love birds take care of yourselves okay? Text y'all later"
"Okay then, bye!!! " they chimed before ending the call.
Well well well...you know what's worse than suspecting your boyfriend is cheating on you? Having that one friend who warned you about him be the one to deliver the scoop on the suspected affair to you....
Great, this is just great!
My worst nightmare...has only just begun...
Yayyyyy... Next update in two days!!!
I'm trying my best now guys 😌
Please do well to grease my elbow and tap that star botton 😉
👇🏾🙋🏽♀