Chapter 9 HUMILIATION
GODIVA’S POV
How could he act this way after that unfortunate incident?
He still did not trust me. He did not even respect me enough to hear me out.
After the false accusations and the money he used to silence me, he still had the audacity to call and claim that I stole something else.
How the mighty have fallen. How degrading. What did he even take me for?
My chest tightened as these thoughts ran through my mind.
A maid rushed in breathless. “Sir, we found it in the laundry room. It must have fallen from Lis’s jacket.”
Silence swallowed the tension, engulfing the room as Mr Young bowed his head in shame.
Lis avoided my eyes, and I understood that this was no mistake.
I stormed out of the Youngs’ household, dropping the money on the floor before I left.
I needed to clear my head, so I took a stroll to Dina’s house.
Their house was like my safe haven, the warmth of their family could be felt from a distance.
Her father, Mr Job, was a lovely and youthful man who was always engaging us in arm wrestling and other fun games.
I narrated my encounter to Dina, who covered me in a warm embrace. That was the first time I ever needed that kind of closure.
The next day in school, I stood before Jerald, handing him a wrap of gimbap.
“Thank you for yesterday,” I said calmly.
Eyeing me from head to toe, he asked, “What is that?”
Looking at the gimbap in my hand, I replied, “Gimbap, of course. You guys love it.”
Still eyeing me from head to toe, he retorted,
“I’m not Korean for Christ’s sake. I am CHINESE. CHINESE, dude.”
I could not hold back my laughter as I left his desk with the gimbap still in my hands.
“Next time I will get you tea!” I shouted while laughing, ignoring the disgusted look Hakeem was giving me.
We were in the dining hall having lunch when Lis hit my table, drawing the attention of everyone.
“What is this?” Dina said calmly.
“Stay away from my man, you slut and thief!” Lis shouted at the top of her voice, making the hall pin drop silent.
I was about to speak when Jerald’s voice echoed from the other end of the square shaped hall.
“You tried framing her. She didn’t steal. And don’t forget, every engagement can be broken.”
“You may not know this, but Jerald cannot be classified as a man, and he is definitely not my spec. I mean, Leo is the only one getting my attention.”
I stopped suddenly as the hall went wild with cheers coming from the table where Leo sat.
I was about to bury my head in shame when Jerald shouted, “What happened to keeping your pride, girl?”
The hall burst into laughter, with Dina leading the cheer.
I wished the world would pause for a minute so I could disappear. I bent my head in shame, blocking my ears from the wild cheers and screams of students.
I was brought back to reality by a gentle tap on my shoulder.
Raising my head, I beheld a tall, broad figure standing before me. It was Leo. I wished the ground would just open and swallow me.
The hall grew quiet as Leo’s voice filled the air.
“I will say this just once. You caught my attention the day you stood up to Lis. It would be an honour for me to have you by my side as Mrs Atlantis.”
At that point, the loud cheers of students filled the hall. Some were banging the tables hard while shouting, and the team members came toward us cheering their slogan.
Everything happened too fast. I could faintly hear Dina shouting, “You rock, girl!”
I was not ready for the hug that came after, which made the crowd even wilder and drew the attention of the principal to the hall.
Back at home, I wrapped myself in my warm fluffy blanket, smiling uncontrollably from chin to chin. I was so excited.
For the first time in my life, I had been asked out. I was not really sure if I was supposed to feel indifferent or completely excited.
Running down our crooked old staircase, I went to the kitchen to share my experience at school with Mama. I needed that motherly counsel on my first ever love.
“Mama, I’ve got news for you,” I said excitedly, giving her a back hug.
“This joy better not be from a man,” Mama said.
Releasing her from the hug, I gently replied, “No,” and walked away.
Back in my room, I felt lost and confused. I wanted to obey Mama’s rule of “no man,” yet at the same time I wanted to experience the feelings girls my age had from dating.
It felt as though I was caught between the anvil and the hammer. I kept thinking while pacing around my tiny room.
“To hell with it, babes. You’re dating Leo, and that’s final,” Dina said at the top of her voice as we walked to school. “Mama isn’t going to know unless you tell her,” she added.
In school, I became the topic of discussion. Everyone kept staring at us and whispering loudly as we walked down the hallway.
“What do I do?” I whispered anxiously into Dina’s ear as I smiled at Leo, who was approaching us in an elegant manner, wearing a beautiful smile.
“Hello pretty Dina, and of course my muse,” he said, smiling as he positioned himself between us.
I thought hard about what to say. I had never been in a relationship before.
“Aren’t you supposed to, you know, wrap your hands around…” Dina said as she demonstrated.
“Stop it,” I said, trying hard to stop blushing.
My heart began beating audibly the moment I felt Leo’s hands around my tiny waist. I felt discomfort in a pleasing way.
His broad palms held my waist firmly as we walked to class.
After school, I needed to use the restroom, so I asked Dina to wait for me in front of it.
“Hurry, girl!” Dina’s voice rang from outside.
Stepping out of the restroom, I saw Dina and Leo standing opposite the door, waiting for me.
“Guess who is accompanying us home today,” Dina said, smiling from chin to chin.
“Leo?” I asked.
“Yes, baby,” she answered.
This was huge. I get to walk up in everyone’s face with someone so hot.
The girls are going to stare at me in admiration, my enemies will sure be jealous.
My heart drummed wildly.