After Gwen had left, Tiana took out her phone from her purse and tried to call him, but the call was rejected, instead, she received an incoming call; and it was from him. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as she stared at the number, hesitant to pick the call.
She was still contemplating on whether to pick the call when it ended and he called again; this time she took in a deep breath and answered;
''Hello? '' She said, unsure of how to start the conversation. If this had happened a month ago, she would have been shouting over the roof with joy, but she could only manage a hello which was still strained;
There was a little shuffling on the other end and then he spoke;
''Hello, Tiana, are you there? '' He asked; his voice very sober. Tiana inhaled sharply, her eyes closed; she had missed this voice, so much, that hearing it now, brought nourishment to her sad soul, but her heart squeezed tightly, knowing that she couldn't be with him now, not yet.
''Tiana?''
''Adrian, I've missed you. '' Tiana said; tears welling up in her eyes.
''God, I missed you too; where are you? I'm coming over to the house I'll tell you everything when I get there, are you home?''
Tiana nodded, but realizing that he wasn't seeing her, she said yes.
''Okay, 'I'm coming over, I love you. ''
''Love you too.''
She replied, and the call disconnected. Tiana stared at her phone for some time before tossing it aside on the couch; she wondered how he would react after she told him the news; would he end it with her? Would he wait for her?
Her heart squeezed at the thought of him ending it with her. She didn't know if she could handle the shock. But she would not force him to wait for her. What if Nicklaus didn't let her go at the end? She would have hurt him twice.
Tiana didn't know when she slept off, lost in her thoughts; suddenly she heard a knock on the door;
Her eyes fluttered so did heart; she stumbled up from the couch and walked towards the door;
Taking in a deep breath, she unlocked the door;
There he was; the man that captured her eyes from the very first day in high school; she had injured herself on the first day of school and she was limping back home when he saw her and asked her to climb on his back; she had refused because she saw shy and it was still daylight, she didn't want people talking, but he had squatted down in front of her and pushed her on his back; ever since then, they had been inseparable.
He always wore a particular hairstyle, but he had changed it now; although nothing much had changed in his looks; he looked more manly and sexier.
''Tiana… '' he called; a gleam in his eyes as his lips widened into a smile;
Tiana blinked out of her daze; she noticed the flower in his hands and took it from him, and the next moment he pulled her into a bone-crushing hug;
''I've missed you so much! ''
He exclaimed, twirling her around; Tiana hugged him around the neck; 'I've missed you too, Adrian. ''
She exclaimed happily; Adrian dropped her to the ground, but he didn't let go of her;
''You've added some fat! '' He exclaimed, pinching on her skinny cheeks; Tiana giggled;
He was used to speaking sarcasm, but she was already used to it;
''Yeah, and you've thinned a lot! '' She said pinching on his chiseled face;
Adrian laughed, remembering something. He pointed at the car parked by the orange tree;
''Tiana, who are these people? What are they here for?''
That was when Tiana remembered that Nicklaus guards had escorted her and they had seen her hug another man so passionately. She immediately held his hand;
''Let's go in first, I'll explain. '' She said, pulling him into the house;
Adrian's brows creased as he wondered what in the world would make such fierce-looking men to come to her home.
''Oh Yes, where is Dad? And Gwen?'' Adrian asked; looking around with a smile; Tiana's dad was very fond of him; if Tiana told him he would come to the house that day, he was sure that he would wait for him;
Tiana froze; it was then she remembered that Adrian had not heard about her father's death;
''Come sit. Have you had anything to eat? ''
She asked, tapping on the spot beside her with a strained smile on her face;
Adrian smiled and sat beside her; he inched closer and pecked her lips;
''Just seeing you have taken away my hunger; ''
He tried to deepen the kiss but Tiana stopped him; that was not the time for such things, there was a lot he needed to know;
''Adrian, Wait… '' She said; pushing against her chest; Adrian stopped and leaned back on the couch. He had never forced her to do what she didn't want to do, even when she said she wasn't ready to have sex yet, he respected her wishes.
''We need to talk, there's something you must know… ''
Her face was no longer happy; he wondered what could have gone wrong, so he sat up on the sofa, his eyes keen on her.
''Dad is dead. ''
She said, biting her lower lips to prevent her from crying all over again.
Adrian watched her as though she had said something unbelievable; he wanted to laugh;
''Tiana, I know you joke a lot but can you not joke about this? ''
He said, his lips stretching into a grin;
''No, I'm serious. Dad is dead. He's gone, Adrian. He's no longer with us. '' it took Adrian a few minutes to realize that she was not joking.
''What? What did you just say? ''
His shockingly sad expression made Tiana cry, she blinked her eyes severally, but the tears kept pouring;
''That's not all. ''
She said;
Adrian had not recovered from the previous shock, he turned to her wondering what other bombs she would throw;
Tiana took her time forming her words properly in her head; she fisted her palms as she forced the words out of her mouth.
''I… belong to another man now. ''