Chapter 81: Be Calm

Chapter 81: Be Calm Although Jamal didn’t know the whole story of all that happened or where the child was yet, but the thought that he had gotten Abigail pregnant and left her all alone in her state with Ryan and Genevieve, broke him. Abigail sighed deeply as she watched him crumple to the floor, sobbing. She had guessed he would react this way and that was one of the reasons she had not wanted to tell him yet about it. He was obviously quite the emotional type. How could a man cry so easily and be so expressive of his feelings? She mused as she placed a hand on his back, "You can’t do this right now, Jamal. You can’t be this way right now. This was the reason I didn’t want to tell you about it," she said softly but Jamal couldn’t hear her. He couldn’t hear past the heartache and guilt and anger he was feeling. He felt sorry for Abigail, and he was mad at both himself and at Ryan. When he still didn’t say anything and just kept sobbing she sighed again, "Reacting this way makes me feel like you think I made the wrong decision in having him. You didn’t put me through anything. For two smart people, we were both naive and inexperienced. We both had unprotected sex. And it was my decision to keep the baby. I could have aborted it. Genevieve suggested I do. Even Ryan wanted me to. But I wanted to have the baby. So, there is no reason for you to blame yourself about my having a child for you," She said, thinking that if he still didn’t respond she was just going to slap some sense into him. Luckily for Jamal, he raised his head this time and looked up into her face since she was still standing above him. "I wasn’t in the picture. If not having him in your life would have made life easier for you, then maybe you..." "His existence made life more tolerable," she cut in, "The reason I have a little breathing space now is because he has Josh and he believes I won’t leave because of Josh. Besides, if I hadn’t gotten pregnant, Ryan would have overseen my plastic surgery himself. I love Josh more than life itself. We have the cutest and smartest boy ever, Jamal," she said softly, patting his hair as she spoke, "isn’t that amazing?" "We have a son," he repeated, his voice hoarse and his eyes still gleaming with tears, and she nodded, smiling at him. Before he could say anything else, Abigail reached down and brushed off the tears on his cheeks, "Yes, Jamal. I might not have remembered you or anything, but when I met you at the club that night I was drawn to you like I’ve never been drawn to anyone in my life. Deep down I believe that you’re the only one there I could have asked to have sex with me. You waited and held on to our childhood memories for years, and look at us? I think this makes every boyfriend Genevieve snatched worth it," she said with a little laugh as she leaned down and kissed his forehead. Jamal looked at her, unable to understand how she could retain her sense of humor in spite of all that life had thrown at her. "You’re the one thing they couldn’t take away from me, and it is because of you I can take everything back. And for that I’ll always be grateful that you didn’t forget me," she said, brushing off the tears that rolled down Jamal’s face as she spoke. "I don’t— I don’t even know what to say," he said, his voice thick. "I—" He dragged a hand through his hair, his fingers trembling. "Then maybe you shouldn’t say anything. Maybe you should just listen now and I’ll tell you everything. And after I’m done we will decide on what to do. That bastard stole our baby from me. Our baby is very much attached to him, so whatever we do, we have to be careful," she said and he nodded. Instead of asking him to stand up, Abigail lowered herself to the floor and sat in front of him, holding his hand since she could tell he still needed comfort. "After I left the hotel..." she started, and then went on to tell him all that had transpired after that and how she got to know she was pregnant and how Ryan had agreed to let her keep the baby on the condition that she let him raise the baby. Then, just as suddenly, his sorrow twisted into rage. He lifted his head, eyes burning, fists clenching but Abigail reached out and touched his face before he could say anything, "Be calm," she said softly, not wanting him to interrupt her since she knew Ryan would be calling again soon and they couldn’t keep coming up with excuses. That was the way Ryan always called and checked with her bodyguard whenever she was out in Husla. "I’m trying, but it’s hard to stay calm," Jamal said, and she nodded. "I know that. But you have to be calm," she said, and Jamal nodded, letting her continue the story. By the time she was done, cold fury had settled deep in his bones. Jamal’s hands curled into fists. He wanted to break something. He wanted to break Ryan. "I’m going to kill him," Jamal said, his voice deathly calm. Abigail’s eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t look surprised. If anything, she looked like she had been expecting it. "I thought about it too," she admitted. "But death is too good for him. I want Ryan to live for a really long time and I want him to suffer." Just then, Jamal’s phone rang, and he glared at the phone when he saw it was Ryan calling again. "Take the call. And you have to try to sound normal," she urged him. "Tell him we are leaving the hotel now, else he’s going to want to send someone to take me or come get me himself."