As I tried to walk around him, he blocked my path again in the narrow hallway. "Stay. Mark already agreed to it." He looked me over, and I could tell that he was worried about my condition. "Just go to the room and take your bath, I'll try to get some clothes for you."
The thought of taking a warm bath after days of wandering around the streets was like a dream come true. I couldn't resist the offer and agreed to stay.
As I made my way back to my room, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. Was it really safe to stay in a house with just two men? Mama would have been against it. She was a high-end prostitute, but she had tried her best to instill good values in me and keep me away from her way of life.
But life never goes the way we want it to. Mama and I had planned to make a lot of money, leave Cedom, and buy a new house where we could live peacefully. We were almost there when she fell ill, and all our savings went to her treatment. But she didn't make it.
I felt tears fill my eyes once again as I thought about my life and how it had become a mess.
~
.
LUDALE MCCULLY
Standing on the balcony of my hotel room, I gazed out at the vast ocean before me. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore below was both soothing and mesmerizing. But my thoughts were far from calm. Anger and frustration consumed me, and I felt as if I could snap at any moment.
My mind was fixated on the bounty hunter that I had hired to find my wife. The man had gone silent, refusing to answer my calls or provide any updates on his progress. I had paid him a hefty sum of money, and I couldn't understand why he wasn't delivering the results that I wanted.
The longer I waited, the more my impatience grew. It had been almost four months since Jasamina had disappeared, and I was at my wit's end. I needed to find her, and I needed to do it fast.
I began to pace back and forth across the room, trying to think of a solution to my problem. The anger coursing through my veins was relentless, and I felt like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. I needed to calm down, but I also needed release. The thought of finding a willing or unwilling body to help me forget my troubles was tempting, but it wasn't what I truly wanted.
My mind drifted back to Jasamina, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of longing for her. She was my wife, my possession, and she belonged with me. The thought that she might be with someone else, that she might have willingly left me, was unbearable.
I reached for my phone, the anger in me intensifying with every passing moment. I punched in the bounty hunter's number, my fingers trembling with fury. As the phone rang out, my foot tapped impatiently against the floor.
But the bastard didn't answer. Not once. The call went straight to voicemail, and I was left with nothing but my seething anger and frustration.
I slammed the phone down onto the table, the sound echoing through the room. I couldn't keep going on like this. I needed to find Jasamina. I would find my wife, no matter the cost. I would not rest until she was back in my possession, where she belonged!
6. THE BLURRY LINE BETWEEN THE PAST AND THE PRESENT
JASAMINA
Tanner and I sat quietly in the doctor's office, waiting for him to join us. When he finally did, he handed me Jaimie, and I embraced my baby, trying not to wake him up.
The doctor started talking, assuring us that Jaimie was in good health, especially for a baby who hadn't had a checkup since birth. The news relieved me.
Then, he announced Jaimie's weight. "He weighs 14 pounds," he said.
I felt a twinge of dread in my voice as I asked, "Is my baby underweight?" Tanner reached out to hold my hand, trying to calm me down. I found solace in his comforting touch.
"No, ma'am, on the contrary, the limit is 18 pounds, so I'd say your baby is just fine," the doctor reassured me with a kind smile, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
"I advise you to keep breastfeeding until he's a year old. But at this stage, it's crucial you introduce some solid food to get him ready. Nothing too solid, of course," he continued. I nodded my head at his words, with Tanner still holding my hand.
"Your baby should have his first tooth at roughly 6-7 months old, during this period, he must have started forming coherent words, not the incoherent sounds he's making now. At least, he'll be able to say words like 'Dada'," the doctor smiled, looking at Tanner meaningfully.
His words made me feel warm inside. I blushed, embarrassed, but Tanner just smiled back at the doctor.
"Parents usually argue about what the baby's first real words will be. It's usually 'mama' or 'dada'," the doctor complimented us, and I felt my heart swell at the thought of Jaime calling me "mama."
"Thanks, doctor," I replied shyly.