Contract Marriage; Fated Love

His eyes got accustomed to the room and the dim light for it was late in the evening. He was in one of the bedrooms in his father’s house. How did he get there? He only remembered having lunch and that was all. There was a knock on the door and his father entered with a man. The man was dressed like a doctor. Noah recognized him as their family doctor, Doctor Alex.

“I hope you are feeling better,” said the doctor.

Feeling better? How? Was he ever sick or weak? His father saw his puzzled expression and came to his rescue.

“You passed out after lunch. The doctor said you are stressed physically and mentally. You need to have maximum rest,” he explained.

“Do you feel pain anywhere, President Noah?”

Noah shook his head in negative.

“All right. I have prescribed some drugs for you. Please, ensure that you take enough rest to avoid complications. I will take my leave now, Sir.”

“Thank you so much, Dr,” Joshua thanked. The doctor bowed and went out.

“Thank goodness you agreed to stay for lunch. I wonder what could have happened on the road.”

“I suggest you take some time off work. You are probably working too hard.”

That wasn’t a lie. He had worked so hard in the past few weeks to keep up his schedule. Business, sales and deals were on the increase and he had to supervise them and sign necessary documents. Also, he was working on a new project that he hoped to bring the greatest revenue ever to Blackwood Towers. He was also thinking of how best to find out about his sister. Indeed, the past five weeks had been hectic but he had kept pushing nevertheless. He had been alright till that afternoon and his body had showed no signs of over stress. He was going to take sometime off as his father suggested.

“I will dad. Thank you,” he replied standing up.

“Where to?”

“I’m leaving. I’m going home.”

“You just heard Dr. Alex ask you to rest.”

“I did. I will rest at home.”

“I can’t let you drive like this. Rest more. I will assign you a driver to take you home tomorrow.”

“Dad, I’m okay. I can go….”

“Good night son,” his father replied and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Maybe he actually needed some rest. He lay back on the bed and picked his phone from the bedside table. He had missed three calls from Benny, two from a business partner and he had a text from Benny. Since he left the house that morning, he hadn’t paid attention to his phone. He had been too angry in the morning and too engrossed in the memories the garden brought later on.

“Baby, can we go for a dinner date today?”

Benny’s text read. He looked at the clock and sighed. It was past time.

He was drifting away from Benny of recent. Maybe he would heed the doctor’s advice and take some rest. He would take a week off work and spend time with Benny. He left the room and headed to his. He would need a book to pass time before he slept because of his insomnia.

The days that followed were spent with Benny or seated in silence and enjoying solitude. He was really taking his rest seriously. It was during one of these outings with Benny that the press captured the news. It made news headlines and many people tried to guess who she was. A lot of people believed her to be lucky. The gay CEO never moved about with a woman in the public. The news articles said there were possibilities that she was his fiancée. Reading these articles about her made her happy. Now, everyone would know she wasn’t in the same level with them. She wanted Noah to affirm to the press that she was actually his fiancée.

Noah was seated in the balcony drowning in the silence. The silence of his presence. It was dead quiet save for the tune of the guitar he was playing. It was a very nice tune and he was such a fine player.

Benny had always wondered why he loved solitude. He lived alone and his household servants came during the day and left in the evening.

“I love the silence. It’s bliss. I don’t want people intruding my private space or meddling in my affairs. That’s why I love my house this way,” he had answered when she brought up the topic. The second time she tried talking to him about it, he waved the topic off.

“Hello, Noah!”

Naoh stopped playing and put down the guitar. He hugged her and brought her to sit on his laps and gave her a light kiss on the lips.

“How are you?”

“I am fine. And you?”

“Very well too, dear. I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“Ohh! And that you did.”

They talked for a few minutes before Benny went to the business of the day.

“What are you going to say about the news?”

“What news?”

“About us. The news the press has published.”

“Well, nothing. I have nothing to say.”

“Really, nothing?”

“Yes. Let them publish what they like.”

Benny was troubled. He didn’t even want to tell the press the truth. He didn’t want to bring her to light as his fiancée.

“Why don’t you want to go public about us?”

“Go public? What’s the need?”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Benny got up from his laps when she heard that.

“Are you kidding? What’s the need? Noah, do you just want to humiliate me because I had a one night stand with you? If you didn’t want me, why did you look for me? Was it just your ring you wanted? Fine, I will go and bring it for you and stay out of your life.”

“Can you calm down? For starters, I have no intentions of humiliating you. Most importantly, it’s you I want, not the ring. I looked for you for those four years because I wanted you and I still do.”

“Then why can’t you clarify issues and state my position in your life?”