Amari
The press conference is emotionally exhausting for me. I don’t think I have ever met so many pretentious people in my life. One moment they can’t even look at Nathan because they are disgusted by him. The next, they are looking at him with pleading eyes. Nathan ushers Mrs Gail and I as soon as the police drag James, Michael, uncle and his family outside. I hope I never see them again. 
Nathan has just opened the door for me when Michael grabs the officers’ firearm and aims at Nathan. I don’t understand why he hates Nathan when he fell for my materialistic cousin. It’s like he despises him because Ella would not choose him and even aborted their child to be with Nathan back then. 
“Amari!” Nathan shouts in horror and pushes me inside the car, out of the way. 
“Nathan!” I shout, and get out. That gun is aimed at him, not me, yet he does not try to save himself. I completely freeze when the gun goes off. 
“Nathan!”
The bullet misses him by an inch. That’s because Ella pushed Micheal’s hand, deterring the bullet away from Nathan. 
Two firearms gone off after this as police officers shoot Micheal, killing him on the spot. Ella does not even cry for her so-called fiancé. 
I don’t know how I ended up in Nathan’s arms, but he is looking tenderly at me. 
“Babe,” he calls to me softly. 
“Mmh?”
“Are you okay?” he asks and examines me from head to toe. 
I frown at him. That bullet was aimed at him, not me. 
Mrs Gail runs to us and exclaims with relief, “Oh, thank goodness!”
“That was aimed at you. Ella saved you,” I tell Nathan, who is fussing over me and he just shrugs. 
“So it seems, shall we go home?” 
I nod. I can’t read his expression when he says this. All I hear is Ella’s declaration as the officer force her into the van. 
“I love you, Nathan. I always did. We were meant to be together till death. I would never help anyone to try and kill you,” she says. I guess her saving him now is her proof of that. It’s strange how quickly he seized to  be a disgusting cripple and a peasant she’s been referring to all along. 
I quietly slip inside the car. I am grateful that Nathan was not hurt, but I can bet on my life that Ella will use this to win him over. I also know that she will not stay in prison very long because there is no evidence to suggest that she knew what Michael was up to. 
“You move on so fast. Not so long ago, you were telling the whole world how in love you were with that brute. Go mourn your murderous fiancé and leave Nathan alone. Shameless Jezebel!” Mrs Gail shouts angrily before slipping into the car and slamming the door shut. 
Nathan still does but respond to Ella, but slips on next to me and caresses my hand as the driver pulls off. We are halfway home when Isaac calls to inform us that the reporters are all over the block, looking for our apartment. 
“Change of plans, we are staying at the mansion tonight,” Nathan announces and the driver immediately changes course. 
I only nod. Today has been emotionally draining. It is the beginning of a life I have no certainty about. Nathan has always been hot, he looks exceptional now. Not only that, he is now the wealthiest man in this country. I have no doubt that Ella and many others will be coming for him. I let out a sigh and push away my insecurities. 
Nathan’s mansion is nothing I ever imagined. Not even my uncle’s one comes close to this. The maids and guards are so happy to see him. It’s touching to know that at least he had genuine people working for him. 
“This is amazing!” Mrs Gail exclaims as Nathan shows us around. I am grateful when we finally get to our chambers. All I want is a hot bath and sleep, but Nathan wants to talk. 
“Say something,” he urges when I walk out of the bathroom. 
I let out a sigh and look at him. 
“Babe, please talk to me,” he pleads. 
“Ella wants you back.”
“Okay?” he questions. 
“I need to know where you stand. Where that places us,” I say. I hate being those nagging women, but I need to know. 
He curls his sexy lips. “Is my wife, my gorgeous wife who loved and respected me when I had nothing, my pregnant wife I am crazy in-love with and owe everything to, jealous of a whore who betrayed me?”
I swallow my saliva, suddenly feeling childish. 
“Have I failed to show you my love and dedication to our marriage?” he asks. I shake my head. He has done nothing wrong, but his whole life has completely changed again. 
“Then why are you standing so far from your man?”
I walk towards him and he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer to him. 
“Whores are going to throw themselves at me now that I’m wealthy again. I need you to know that you are all I need. You are everything I will ever need. I will die first before betraying our vows.”
I search his alluring eyes and only see honesty in them. 
“I am sorry. I just…”
“It’s okay, Love. Our lives have changed. It’s okay to be uncertain. All I ask is that we talk about it and that you never shut me out.”
I can only nod. He chuckles and kisses my forehead when I yawn. 
I draw circles on his chest as we lie in bed and he fills me in on the way forward. What he is clear about is that I will have guards around me and I can tell that is not negotiable. 
“I know that is a huge change, but this world is full of greedy bastards. My wealth is a temptation to many. Your safety and that of our kids is my ultimate priority,” he justifies the guards I will have around me from now on. I never thought that being wealthy had disadvantages. Daddy had a businesses, but he was nothing close to what Nathan owns. We never had to live differently from our community. He, himself, never had guards. 
“What am I supposed to do?” I ask, because I don’t see my life going the way I planned. 
“Enjoy life with your man,” he suggests and laughs when I narrow my eyes at him. 
“You can do anything you want, my love. Travel the world, start a charity organisation and even be a nurse if you still want to work. Live hospital is all yours.”
“I can’t do anything I want,” I refute his words. “We can’t even go back to our apartment because reporters are camping there. You just told me that I will have guards from now on. How exactly would I work at the hospital?” I ask and roll my eyes when he laughs. 
“How about we take it one day at a time,” he suggests, and I agree. 
We wake up the following morning breaking news. Nathan’s return to the business world and his wealth has shocked the country. 
Ella, as expected, has been released on bail. She has not wasted any time in distancing herself from her parents’ murder charges. 
“I had no idea. I can’t believe that my own father can be so cruel!” she exclaims and even goes on to say she will be returning everything that her father stole from me and my mother. Nathan promised to claim back everything her father stole. She knows that she has no say in the matter and now uses that to look good. 
“How do you feel about Mr Lord being married to your cousin after you betrayed him?” one reporter asks. 
“Nathan knows that I love him. He is my first love and that is forever,” she declares. 
“Didn’t you say he cheated on you with your cousin?” another reporter asks. 
“Yes, you told us that you broke up with him before his accident,” another reminds her of her previous interview when she made those statements to prove that she was not a gold digger. 
Ella opens and closes her mouth, caught out before putting all blame on her dead fiancee. 
“Micheal told me that Nathan cheated on me. I believed him because he was his best friend. I now know that he hated Nathan. He is the one who tried to kill Nathan and stole his money, because he was jealous of him and our love. He lied to me and broke us up. I said a lot of mean things to Nathan because I was hurt. I did not mean anything I said. Nathan now thinks I betrayed him. How can I betray the love of my life?”
Ella starts weeping. The act is so convincing even I have to remind myself of what is true. 
“Shameless Jezebel!” Mrs Gail exclaims in disbelief.