Afraid to Love ep 11-13

Episode 11

Purity couldn’t believe what she heard. Mr. Broderick was sick. He wants her to marry his only son to get better. What connects them both? How is that even possible? Does he even know her? Seen her? Doesn’t he have a wife? Her papa. Now she knew why.
“He doesn’t know me? Or our fathers? They are close.”

“I guess so. I can’t lose him. Please.”

“Your mother. She should be the one to help him.”

He looked away. The pains, feelings of despair came back. How could she? Why did she bring up his mother into this? How could she not? His mother had to stand by his father but she was dead now.

“She’s dead. Four years ago. Cancer took her.” he painfully explained.

She gazed at him with shock. Oh, he must have felt really bad. It must have been very difficult for them to cope. She couldn’t imagine herself without her parents even if she acted as if she didn’t value them. She felt his pain and felt very sorry for him.
“I’m sorry. Very sorry. I never knew.” she trudged to meet him and embrace him, patting his back. Purity, when did you take consoling lessons? You never do this.

He was amazed on seeing her open her arms for him. He welcomed the hug and felt secure, felt at ease in her arms. She was good despite her tongue filled with curses. She had human feelings.
“Thanks.” he mumbled.

She broke free and looked into his eyes. “You say your father will get better if we marry?”

“Yeah. I know you hate me. I can’t force you against your will-”

“Its alright Jeremy. I agree to help him. Its not a real wedding, but helping your dad.”

He grinned. “Thanks. I appreciate.”

“Its gonna be hard.”

“It will. Lets start by being friends. Agreed?”

She smiled sheepishly. She held out her hand for a handshake.

He shook it firmly.

“Friends.”
*
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“Papa. I need to talk to you. Mum, you too.” Purity solemnly requested.

Two heads went up simultaneously. Aaron and Prudence Theodore’s eyes peered at their daughter- Purity Theodore. They must be thinking the same thing. And had Purity spoken on a calm manner.

Prudence smiled.

Aaron beckoned to Purity. “Come. Come sit with us. We’ll listen.”

Purity consented.
Seconds later, she found herself seated in the middle of both her parents. This is what she hadn’t done in a very long time. She doesn’t even give them the chance to speak with her, feeling they’ll always control and manipulate her life. Hearing of Jeremy’s loss, she had to show her parents that she loved them. Tomorrow might be too late. Not that she hadn’t heard of someone losing a parent before, but she had not been really close to such people. So, their pains, she never really felt. No close friends. Just her. And Jeremy coming into the picture, seeing how hurt he was about his mother even if it had been four years, taught her something. A lot.
*
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“My darling,” Prudence held Purity’s hand firmly. “What do you have for us?”

Purity was brought back to life by her mother’s question. She smiled weakly. “Papa,” she looked at her father. “Mama,” she turned to look at her mother. “I want to know why. Why you chose Jeremy Broderick to be my husband.”

Aaron frowned. “Are we back to this again?”

“Baby, its what’s best for you.” Prudence assured her.

“Its all I’ve been hearing. I’m sure there’s more to that.” Purity argued.

“About the company?” Aaron raised his brows.

She shook her head. “There’s more to that.”

Prudence sighed.

Aaron lifted his hands, a sign of surrender. “Fine. I’ll tell you. I’ve noticed you don’t have or rather you’ve never had a boyfriend. Am I right?”

Oh, yeah. He was right. Boys, men. She’d never had time for them. Always kept them at a distance. Scared of them. But there was a time she met one and…

“And you are twenty-five years old. I hate to live to see a time when you’d be going crazy, searching for a mate. And I would want to see my grand kids.”

“Then you’d have let me made my choice. We talked about this once and we decided I’ll choose my husband. Didn’t we, mum?”

“Yes, dear.” Prudence stroked Purity’s hair with her other hand. “But at that moment, your papa and I had already chosen Jeremy for you. We just told you to find yourself a mate to end that discussion. You were all mad and you know…” she trailed off.

“I know you too well. I knew you would not be able to provide a suitable marriage mate.”

What? Was she that careless? Not being able to find a marriage mate? And her parents had already picked Jeremy even before they had discussed marriage. She had thought they chose Jeremy because of her inability to bring one at the due date. Even if she had, her parents would reject him. Purity resisted the urge to get angry. Calm down, calm down girl.
“So Jeremy’s the right guy for me?”

Episode 12

“He is.” Aaron confidently answered.

Prudence nodded.

“Are you sure? Do you know details about him?”

“Of course. His dad and I being best buddies always talked about you and him.”

“His mother, Emily loved you a lot. Always wished you to be her daughter-in-law.”

“She is dead.” Purity blurted out.

Aaron and Prudence froze.

“How-how did you know?” Prudence enquired.

“Jeremy. We’ve been talking.”

“Ah!” Aaron exclaimed with joy. “That’s good. You guys have been getting along.”

“Um..not really. I want you guys to know that I’ve decided to marry him. Not that I love him ot want to please you two, its because his father’s sick and its his wish.”

“Whatever.” Prudence hugged her daughter. “This is the best news I’ve heard so far!”

Purity grinned. It had been a while since she saw her mum that way.

“He’s a good man. He’ll take care of you. You know you’re stubborn and all that. He’ll know how to. Just like me.”

Purity swallowed hard. This man always said things to get on her nerves. She promised herself she’d remain calm. “It wasn’t all about the company, right?”

“No, my love. All about you. Shall we celebrate?”

“Not yet. I want to rest and think.”

Purity wriggled herself out of the embrace.

Aaron Theodore knew his daughter could change her mind if they piss her off. He knew better than to upset her. He held his wife’s shoulder. “Take all the time, my love. Please, don’t change your mind.”

“By the way, you’re looking more beautiful in this your serene state. Jeremy sure does have a lot of good influence on you.” Prudence cut in.

Her husband nodded in agreement.

Purity nodded too and disappeared into the hallway.

Prudence’s eyes twinkled. “Oh, Aaron. I’m so happy. I can spot the changes in her.”

“Same here, darling. Told you Jeremy would be a great man especially for our Purity.” He kissed her forehead.

“Darling,” Prudence held on to Aaron and smiled. “Edwin’s sick. Lets call him.”
*
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All dressed in a blue cocktail dress stripped with white, Purity sat on her king sized bed waiting for Jeremy to come pick her up. She heaved a sigh and lay on the bed. She was bored and still phoneless. It didn’t occur to her till now. When she probably needed to do things with it. Play games, check her emails, chat on Facebook; then read a story on w----d. She had no access to such. She’d probably get a phone the next day.

Dragging herself down from the bed, she stood in front of her dressing mirror. She looked down at her 4 inches black stilleto heels, to her cocktail dress. She wore a silver bracelet on her left arm. He neck, decorated with a silver neck lace which matched her bracelet. Her ears, a silver clip-on ear-ring. Her make up was mild and simple. She had applied powder, black eye shadow on both eyes, pink blush on both cheeks and a bright red lipstick. Her long brown hair was in a French twist. Her silver eyes shown. She looked so pretty. She stared and smiled at her reflection.

Where was Jeremy? She glanced at the wall clock hanging on the wall of her room. The time was 5:45p.m. Jeremy was to pick her up by 6:00p.m. They’ll hang out together till it was 8:00p.m, then they’ll go see Edwin. She was all dressed up now, waiting for him. Why had she prepared so early? Did she really want this date? Had she already started falling for Jeremy? No. No. It was all because of his father. If Jeremy hadn’t told her about his health and the death of his mother, she wouldn’t be doing this. Then, why had she hugged him? Just being sensitive to his feelings, that’s all.

What if you guys become so close and you start to fall for him? He is doing so for his father too, he might hurt you in the end. He doesn’t care about you one bit? You can’t do this. No, Purity. Stop this! How did you even get yourself into this miss? He might also be after your body. They all are. You’ll surely get hurt.

Episode 13

“He’ll definitely hurt me,” she mused. “Why didn’t I say no? But my parents are happy.” She continued staring at the mirror. “I’m more happier. What could go wrong?”

Men, you’re scared of them, came a voice.

A knock on the door. She turned to it. “Coming.”

She fed her eyes once more. Then noticed something. Tears formed in her silver eyes. When did she start crying?
She turned her back to the mirror, to face the door. She got to it and turned the door knob, then flung it open. Purity gave a gasp of surprise as she saw Jeremy and her mother together. Her mum, beaming with smiles. She couldn’t help but notice Jeremy’s extreme handsomeness. He looked so good in his brown tuxedo. He greeted her with a boyish grin. Her heart melted.

“You are looking pretty, my darling.” Prudence commented on seeing her lovely daughter.

Purity only smiled.

“Jeremy had arrived since. Been with him so I decided to surprise you by bringing him to your room. You will soon be married. Have fun.” she bade them goodbye.

“Come in.”

Jeremy stepped into the room. It was a great sight. Wonderfully decorated. The walls were painted pink and blue- equally. The floor was carpeted, wall to wall. Opposite the big bed, a white dressing table was stationed and a stool beneath it. On the dressing table, he could see cream, make ups, perfume, a brush and other female items. By the side of it stood a full length mirror. Then a bureau; painted pink. On it stood a blue flower vase with fresh rose flowers. Her closet was next, firmly locked. The door leading to her bathroom followed. It was open, the floor was tiled and it glittered. The bathroom was neat.

One more thing, the nice scent of the perfume she used filled the room. Welcoming him. He grinned ear to ear. “You’ve got a really nice room here.”

She shut and bolted the door. “Thanks.”

“Can I sit on the bed?”

“Sure.”

“Great!” He sat carefully to avoid hurting or infuriating her. He’d observed that she takes good care of her things. The room was very tidy. He fingered the crisp white duet spread over the bed. He watched her at the same time. Her hands were folded on her chest, her back resting on the door.
“You are beautiful.” He muttered. Geez! Where did that come from? That was to be said in his head.

Purity blushed. “Oh yeah? Liar.”

He chuckled. “You are. Um. You dressed up early. I admire that.” After they’d agreed to be friends, he decided to give her a chance. She might not be so bad after all.

“Thanks. Are you going to spend time in here?”

“Only if you let me.”

She let her eyes drop to the ground. A thousand and one thoughts ran through her mind. Should she let him stay and then tell him she wouldn’t go out with him? Should she just yell at him, they’ll fight and things will go bad? She was confused. She kept pondering over what to do.

Jeremy studied her. It was obvious she was worried. Was she planning to change her mind? “What’s wrong?”

She looked up, then he noticed it.