"Dad?" Estelle howled when she listened to the voice from the other side of the line. Joel gaped at her with unreadable emotions. Her Dad is the only one who calls her Mon Cherri. But what she couldn't understand was why he was phoning her with an unidentified number.
"Why are you squealing astounded? Couldn't you divulge from my voice"? He implored disgruntled and wondering why she hasn't been responding to his phone calls.
" I partly did but why did you call with an unidentified number?" She asked bewildered, knowing that her dad only called her with his private number, which she had saved on her phone.
"Oui, Mon Cherri, if you hadn't ignored my calls, I wouldn't be forced to use this one". She remembered when the phone rang in the lecture hall and she didn't answer. But a few days ago, she had deliberately avoided her father's calls, fearing the worst.
" Sorry dad, it's been hectic these days due to project work and I'm barely close to the phone.
"Smart answer. But how is it that you answered an unspecified number on the first ring?" He implored, making her speechless. Discerning her daughter's reluctance to respond to the query, he proceeds to speak. "Don't respond to it. Anyway, I only phoned to instruct you to come home next week. There are some very important people I want you to meet." He says in a serious tone.
"But da-" she tried to decline the invitation but he won't let her have her way this time.
"No buts, this is very important. I will send you one of my private jets." He lets out after a second thought, not wanting her to give any further excuses like she did the last time.
"No, you don't have to send me a Je-"
Estelle remembered she was sitting in front of Joel and held back the word Jet. She has always hidden a lot about her family from him, which made her nervous on the phone.
"Okay Dad, I will be there, I promise." She ascertained.
"Well you don't have a choice because if you don't, I will tell the vice-chancellor to transfer you back to Paris to complete your studies," he warned and she knew he was serious.
"You don't have to dad, I will be there. Please tell mum that I love her."
"You can call her to tell her that." He responded hastily and the line went dead." Estelle knew that her dad, despite being all-loving and caring, can also be authorizing and confounded. But her major problem is knowing what Joel will do if he knew who her dad was. The sheer recognition of his name could make people want to crawl into concealment.
Last year, she swindled her dad and escaped him forcing her to meet some of his business counterparts. She always thought them to be overly boring and domineering. The worst part is their matchmaking potents. She didn't want to be a victim so the more she avoided such meetings, the better. No matter how she tried to hide it, anxiety, hesitance, and unrest were so glaring on her face, making her whole demeanor appear to be cold.
"Are you alright?" Joel's concerned voice brought her back to reality, shaking of the uncertainties in her mind because one thing she was very confident about was the fact that she loved Joel so much and will find a way out of her poor excuse of a castle in Paris.
"Yes, am alright." She said without eye contact. Her thoughts were entirely shattered.
"So who called and what did he say to make you so worried?" He asked after a moment of silence.
"It's my dad. He wants me to come home next week." That was all she said.
"Your dad? If you are going home, it will be good I come with you. We have to let your family know," Joel said excitedly.
"Yes we will, but why don't we finish with your birthday planning," she changed the topic.
"We already concluded that. You said I should choose a venue and let you know how much I will need" he repeated her words.
"Uhm," she smiled nervously. " Yes we did but I was just thinking about the details of it you know and the kind of gift to get you. It's going to be special so everything must is special,"
"I know that but I am not expecting any gift from you." He said holding her hand in his from across the table.
"Why? Do you think I can't get you something nice? She seemed offended.
" No, What I mean is, you have given me more than enough already. I owe everything I have, and everything I am to you, and best of all, you agreed to marry me after college. It's the best gift anyone can dream of." After he spoke, she realized how foolish she has been jumping to unnecessary conclusions.
"I know that you would have done the same for me if you were in my position." She said with a genuine smile.
" That's true but enough about us. Let's talk about your family." Joel asked, turning all excited to know more about his in-laws. She shifted uncomfortably at the question.
"What do you want to know about them, aside from the fact that they have money to waste and like business investments. She started with the obvious, but not the details.
"So which state are your parents? I figured you don't live with them." Estelle wanted to avoid the question in other not to lie.
"Our food is getting cold. Why don't we ear first?" She suggested, pretending to be hungry?
"Sure, let's eat". Joel agreed.
The President is not the richest man and neither does he do things on his prerequisite. Someone sponsored all the campaigns and when he got power, he has to give back appropriately. Estelle's father is the one who supported all his campaigns which gives him a laudable voice in the ruling of the nation.
From France, he can get things done in America with just a snap of his finger. Piero Montana is the most powerful and wealthy man in the world. He is American but has lived a chunk of his life in France to the extent of acquiring a France citizenship. He claims he fell in love with the language but his daughter thinks otherwise, judging from what she has heard from her mum.
"Babe, I was thinking of hosting the party at your house instead of the hotel. What do you think?" Joel asked wiping the corners of his mouth, after they had eaten in silence for a while, making Estelle choked on her food forthwith.
"Water?" Joel asked with concern, his head spinning with so many thoughts he couldn't voice out. He tried his best to look neutral but internally, he wasn't satisfied with Estelle's behavior and the answers she gave him but he trusted her so much and wished and couldn't suspect anything. He felt she just needed time like be needed to tell her about himself too. She wasn't the only one with secrets after all.Estelle's nods in the affirmative, as she felt fire in her nose. She coughed involuntarily, making the food divert it's way from her esophagus to her conchae. It was a short burning pain, slowly eased by the warm water Joel held to her mouth which she gulped down impatiently, easing her discomfort."Thank you" she whispers with glassy eyes. Joel waited till she finished eating, not wanting to say anything to make her choke as before."Babe, you are getting me worried. Ever since the interview, you've been acting all weird. Am not complaining. Just honestl
The next day, they didn't have much time to speak as they intended. Both of them were caught up in their preparation for the final match at noon. It was a competition between the two best universities in the world and other college students had begun making their way to their school. The cheerleaders were having a hard time choosing from the four new uniforms they ordered. They felt them all gorgeous but decided to vote and agreed on a blue and black turtle neck shell tank top with a mid-high pleated skirt won over spankies with matching white shoes. Black and blue were the school's official colors so it seemed like the best option from the rest.The football team waited in the lounges while their coach gave his final direction. It was a very competitive match with each team wanting to graduate as the winner, wanting to give the school it's glory. It was about five minutes to the end of the game before a ball entered the net in favor of Queens College. The roar from the crowd
"Nina, I don't like this. It's too short," Estelle whined, looking at herself in the mirror."But it's perfect. You will be the hottest at the party", she winks. Estelle moves to sit in her bed, turning to face Nina who has been grinning since she tried on that dress."I know, but I don't want to make him lose control. He has promised to wait till marriage and I don't want to tempt him to go against his words," she explains, moving her gaze from Nina, to Amanda. She hoped Amanda will defend her. She needed their help because she wanted to look her best, and at the same time not looking seductive."Well if he has waited this long, he can still wait a few months. This dress is not coming off your body, whether you like it or not." Nina insisted, In a firm but friendly tone.Estelle shifts her gaze through her vast closet, landing her eyes on a black, shiny, knee-length dress. "Okay, that is is fine"."No. I mean it looks good but not as good as what you a
Estelle sends a cold gaze towards Joel's direction when she beholds the brand new yellow Ferrari in front of her. Joel was just numb and she couldn't figure out if he was angry, excited, or sad. It seems to her that Britanny has succeeded in ruining their perfect party.Joel turned and with his hand still wrapped around her waist, begins to walk back to the party, throwing the gift box containing the keys on the floor in front of Britanny. Britanny looks on as her face drops in disappointment, as she quickly picks up the car key, leaving the box on the floor.This is the first time anyone has rejected an expensive gift like this from her. She was even more determined to make him accept the gift and kept running after him like a fool."Joel!" Britanny howled behind them, making them turn involuntarily to face her. "Look, it's your birthday and you are accepting gifts from everyone so why do you have to reject mine?" She asked with an innocent expression on her face.
Joel threw an angry look at Britanny, before following the direction Estelle exited but before he exited the door, he took another look at Britanny."What did I ever do to you? Just one memorable event of my life and you still had the brasses to ruin it. Are you even human?" He asked rhetorically, shaking his head in disappointment before following the and exit.From where Estelle had his new car parked, it took some time to get it out of the car park because she didn't want anyone to see it. As soon as he was out of the car park, he made his way to the police station and since it was about an hour to midnight, there was no traffic.Upon arrival at the police station, he realized he saw Estelle coming out, just as he was about to enter."Babe, did they hurt you?" He asked with concern, anger, and regret."No, they let me go," Estelle responds passively."Seriously? Just like that?""Hmmm," Estelle hummed, raising her brows.Whe
The week moved on fast and there were no major activities as everyone was preparing for the exams. Estelle and her friends spent most of their time in the library, but she did make time for Joel. Their discussions were short and brief. They were straight-A students and wanted to keep it that way. Soon it was time for Estelle to leave for Paris and Joel chaperoned her to the airport. Even though she promised to return in two days, Joel doubted it but didn't tell her, and kisses her goodbye.Before he drives out of the Airport, someone taps on his window and he winds down his window glass, thinking it might be security or something important. To his amazement, Brittany was standing there smiling innocently."Are you stalking me?" he asks furiously."Yes, to be honest," She says, directing her gaze to the floor. Joel was still angry with her for making the police arrest Estelle but gave her a listening ear regardless."May I know why?" He asks impatiently.
Just as Brittany promised, a driver was there to pick Joel from his house at exactly 4 am. They drove to the private jet where Britanny was waiting. Just as he got in, they were on their way to Paris. Few minutes to the arrival, Britanny handed over to him, a black, designer tuxedo with matching pairs of shoes. They sat in separate seats, even though Britanny was against it but it was Joel's way of keeping everything professional.She also went to change into an ocean blue backless gown, and styled her hair, applying the right make-up to compliment her appearance. As soon as Joel saw her, he couldn't hide his compliment. He knew she was very beautiful but her virtue was just the opposite so he wasn't in any way attracted to her. In her high heels, she was almost the same height as Joel."I must say, that the gown fits you perfectly," he complimented.Brittany blushed. "Thank you, We should be arriving in a few minutes."They arrived in Paris and there was a c
Joel kept staring as if he has seen a ghost. There was something about the woman he just saw. Sure she didn't have the same hair color as Estelle and her eye-lashes were longer and she was also dressed too extravagant but what he couldn't understand was the attraction he felt towards her. It was the same thing he felt for Estelle and he couldn't understand. She looked like her in a way and yet, so different.Also, he couldn't believe Pierro Montanna and his wife, Adelaide Montanna was here. He has always wanted to meet Pierro. He was more of a role model to him and since the girl standing in front of him was his daughter as he said, it means it's not his Estelle. But wait, did he know her parents? What if?"Joel!" Brittany yells, bringing him back to himself, but too loud, in that, it draws the attention of others, including Estelle and her parents, who looked in their direction."I've called you for the 7th time, she says with disappointment. He was supposed