Chapter 135 THE TRUTH UNFOLDS

Chapter 135 THE TRUTH UNFOLDS
Godiva's POV

Jamal stared at me with a complicated expression, then he spoke.

"Hakeem and I have lived in this neighborhood since, his dad even took us to see a movie."

I quickly took out my phone and pointed at the picture. "Is this his dad?"

“ Yes”, Jamal answered without hesitation.

Jamal went on to tell me about Hakeem and how his dad had a little divorce problem with his former partner.

"Why all the questions, though?" Jamal finally asked.

"Nothing much. I just wanted to confirm some things about my boyfriend's best friend." I had to keep it natural so as not to raise any suspicion.

After the conversation, we exchanged contacts, and I headed home.

Entering the house, I met Dina, Jerald, and Godmother around the dining table having a meal.

The heavens had their way of bringing the truth to light because they were already discussing Mr. Mike before I came in.

"Don't worry, guys. Mr. Mike is my father."

I finally broke the awkward silence.

"What do you mean he is your father?" Jerald asked. "Oh, sorry, I meant, how are you so sure?" he quickly corrected himself, sounding confused.

Then Dina spoke about Hilda and all our previous findings.

After Dina spilled everything she knew to Godmother, Godmother narrated how Mama and Mr. Mike's relationship had been the envy of everyone before it crumbled.

"Did I even mention that my brother, the one I told you about, Mikey, was named after Mr. Mike?" I said, smiling in disbelief.

"Wow... I don't even know what to say exactly," Jerald said, exhaling deeply.

"You don't need to say anything. It's all good," I responded with a smile.

Godmother was genuinely surprised that I didn't crash out or blame her, even after uncovering the mystery behind my father.

"Why does it feel like you were more devastated before you knew he was your father, and now that you've confirmed he's your father, you surprisingly sound happy?" Jerald asked, looking confused.

"That's because I feel better knowing he's divorced from the woman he left my mum for," I responded with a smile. "I'm content since his life isn't all perfect."

"That is not even nice," Jerald said with a smile. "But what will you do now?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked, a little lost.

"Will you tell your mum about it, or better still, will you let him know your relationship?" Jerald asked curiously.

"I'm not doing any of that. I've lived my life very well without a father, and I don't need that now. Plus, Mama will freak out if she hears I met her ex," I said, resting my head on Jerald's shoulder.

"What do you mean by her ex? Your father, you mean?" Jerald teased, laughing hard.

"Shut up," I said, playfully punching his elbow.

"But on a more serious note, are you really alright?" Jerald asked, stroking my hair with his fingers.

"Yes... I guess I'm fine," I responded, forcing a smile.

There was an awkward silence for a while as he kept stroking my hair before Jerald finally spoke up.

"Are you in the mood to talk about what happened between us?" Jerald asked almost inaudibly.

"What do you mean? Did something happen between us?" I asked sarcastically, laughing.

"Come on, be serious," Jerald said soberly.

"My bad," I responded, lowering my head.

Deep inside, I didn't want to have the conversation, but I knew sooner or later it was bound to happen, and since we were already in a conversing mood, why not?

After several more minutes of silence, Jerald spoke up.

"I really don't know how the little quarrel we had over the picture escalated into such a huge issue that kept us apart for more than a month," Jerald said calmly, looking away.

"You call that little?" I asked, getting furious.

"Not little exactly, but I thought you'd at least ask questions about why everything surfaced the way it did instead of getting mad at me. Did you ever wonder how the picture ended up with Lis? Wasn't it obvious she wanted to sabotage our relationship, and you gave her the room to do it?" Jerald said, pausing to take a deep breath.

"We all know it was Hakeem who gave her the picture, and he took it on your instruction," I responded calmly.

"You still believe their narrative?" Jerald asked, looking disappointed. "I never told anyone to take that picture. I never even knew a picture like that existed. I ran to find you when I heard from Hakeem that Leo had embarrassed you back in Town Shanghai. I was shocked to see you in such a drunken state, and honestly speaking, I had developed strong feelings for you even before the..."

Jerald was still speaking when I cut him off.

"For real? Since when did you have feelings for me?" I exclaimed excitedly, raising my brows at him.

"Shut up. That's not the issue here," he responded, shying away before continuing. "When I saw you that devastated, I carried you to the hammock with no intention of kissing you. When you poured out your heart to me, I got very angry because I was deeply in love with you, and you were that messed up because of a guy. Actually, you mentioned that you would never have eyes for anyone but him. That got me even more pissed, and I got up angrily to leave when you dragged me back and pointed at your lips. I assumed you wanted a kiss, and with the way I was head over heels for you, how could I decline? We stayed in that position for over five minutes that I even began doubting if you truly had never been kissed before..." Jerald said, smiling and exposing his dimple.

"Shhh... shut up," I protested, rushing to press my hand over his lips. "That's enough embarrassment," I said, smiling and looking away. "Why then did you claim the drink was from Hakeem and not you?" I continued.

"I did that at first to see if you'd remember anything. When I realized you couldn't remember, I felt relieved since I was sure you hated me to your bones," Jerald responded.

"Who says I hated you then?" I muttered.

"What did you say?" Jerald asked, pretending not to have heard me.

"Nothing," I responded, giggling.

"Just so you know, I heard you clearly," Jerald teased, laughing at me.

"Whatever, dude," I said, shying away.

"Can I ask you something?" Jerald asked in a still voice.

"Ermmm... knock yourself out," I said hesitantly.

"Why did you choose Slosh as my replacement? Is there ever hope for us coming together again?" Jerald bombarded me with questions.

I kept quiet for a while, staring at him as my eyes teared up.

Taking a deep breath, I responded, "What will you do if I actually say I'm in love with Slosh?"

"Nothing exactly. It'll hurt me. I'll be mocked. But I know I'll definitely heal," Jerald responded, forcing a smile.

My heart surged when I saw his reaction because my next statement was going to shatter him. I felt like a monster.