CHAPTER 167: HEARTBREAK

The moment Jamal woke up the next morning, the first thought on his mind was Ryan’s proposal.

After his conversation with Ryan at night, Jamal had left to join the rest of Genevieve’s team for the team dinner. Although he had gotten there quite late.

He had not called Tom or anyone else to tell them about Ryan’s offer because he wanted to take his time to think about it first before sharing with anyone else.

He had weighed the pros and cons, and decided that accepting the offer was definitely the wise thing to do since it would make everything much easier for them.

It would make communication with Abigail easier. He would shower Abigail with love and attention while making Ryan believe he was putting up an act.

Although he doubted they would be there long enough for him to marry Abigail. This whole show would be up long before any marriage. He had no intention of marrying Abigail under a false identity.

If he had ever had any doubt that Ryan was a crazy man and a very manipulative one, then this had totally cleared it.

It was becoming glaring that Ryan thought of people as play objects or puppets meant for his amusement.

As he freshened up he remembered what he told the kitchen staff the last time about being in a relationship.

Seeing how close they were to Abigail, he knew they would look at him like scum if they so much as imagined that he was dumping his supposed first love to be with Abigail. They’d think he was a golddigger and Abigail deserved better. He didn’t want to get on their bad side.

He also didn’t want to get on Josh’s bad side. He knew that he was going to need to correct what he had said to get their approval to date Abigail.

Not that either he or Abigail needed their approval, anyway, Jamal thought with a chuckle.

After freshening up, he stood in front of the broken mirror in his tiny bathroom and tried practicing a forlorn expression.

When he was ready, he headed to the kitchen for breakfast, maintaining his heartbroken expression.

The moment he walked into the kitchen and didn’t flash his usual charming smile everyone noticed that something was wrong.

"Good morning, Pete. Is everything okay?" The chef asked with concern as Jamal lowered himself to one the seats by the island as usual.

Jamal sighed heavily. "Yeah. I’m fine," he said, reminding himself that men never shared their problem so easily.

"Are you sure? You don’t look okay," one of the other kitchen staff said as she poured him a cup of coffee.

"I’m fine," Jamal said with another dramatic sigh as he looked down.

"If you say so," the chef said, and Jamal tried not to frown.

Just like that? They were giving up just like that? Weren’t they supposed to cajole and urge him to talk if they really cared?

"No one cares about my feelings," Jamal muttered dramatically and buried his face in his hand, pretending to be fighting back tears.

One of the ladies placed the cup of coffee in front of him, "If something is bothering you and you want to share, go ahead. If you’d rather be alone, we will let you be."

"Did you fight with your wife?" The chef asked suspiciously and Jamal pretended to bawl.

The more pitiful and heartbroken he looked, the more they will support and ship his relationship with Abigail.

"Oh dear," the chef said, seeing that her speculation was correct.

"I don’t think it’s just a fight. What is wrong? Did she break up with you?" The other lady asked, and Jamal bobbed his head.

"I caught her cheating on me last night when I went to surprise her. She said she no longer wants me because she has found someone rich enough to marry her," Jamal said, and the ladies all looked at him pitifully.

"Oh, dear!" The chef said, not sure how to console him.

"Well, it’s her loss. You’re a very fine young man," the other lady said just as Abigail walked into the kitchen.

Abigail paused when she noticed Jamal sobbing and she frowned as she looked at him wondering what the issue was.

Seeing the confused curiosity on her face, the chef and the other lady decided to fill her in on the situation.

"Good morning, Abi. Pete’s girlfriend cheated on him and dumped him," the chef said, making Abigail look at Jamal with a raised brow as she wondered why Jamal had told them such an unnecessary lie.

Jamal, who had been pretending to cry, froze when he heard Abigail’s name. He looked up slowly, feeling slightly embarrassed when their eyes met.

Abigail’s lips twitched when she noticed the way the top of his ears reddened.

[What girlfriend cheated and dumped you?] Abigail signed.

Why did she have to show up now? He wondered as he signed back to her. [Don’t mind me. I’ll explain what’s up later.]

She gave him a nod as she went to prepare Josh’s breakfast.

"Some ladies are something else. How could she cheat on you and dump you just like that? To think you were full of praises for her just the other day," the other lady said with a shake of her head.

"Goes to show how you don’t really know a person. Some people would trade their happiness for money without batting an eye," another lady said.

"Don’t worry, Pete, you’ll meet someone better. As long as your heart is pure and your intentions are honest, you will meet someone who will make this heartbreak worth it," the chef said confidently.

They continued to talk about it and share heartbreak stories they knew while Jamal tried to maintain his forlorn expression all through.

As Abigail walked away from the kitchen, she passed by Jamal’s seat, and they both made sure to brush hands with the other.

Abigail had a grin on her face as she went to upstairs to get ready for work.