Courting Trouble

Green Eyed Monster.

| Green Eyed Monster.|

Dinner with Duke went fabulously which was totally the opposite of what Malisha had come to expect of him.

The man had picked up her up at seven.

He had been punctual as always and was always complimenting her like a perfect gentleman, which also was weird considering that less than three weeks before, Malisha had thought him to be the biggest jerk that had ever walked the planet. In fact she was even worried that she was slowly falling for him.

“What are you thinking about? You are blushing so hard I can almost see the pink and it is dark.” Duke commented as they were in his car driving back home.

“I am just thinking.” Malisha replied.

“About me I hope.” He was now grinning.

“Ha-ha, you wish.” she said it on a light note, but she still saw the frown that formed on his face.

“You know. That is exactly the problem here." Duke regarded her for a moment before opening his mouth to continue. "Why do you keep stopping yourself from opening up and letting me in?”

Malisha turned her entire body and faced him head on.

“Duke, don’t I do exactly that. I don't remember a time when I haven’t been open with you!” she accused.

“You don’t get me,” he replied beginning to sound perplexed. “I mean like really really opening your heart to me and allowing yourself to feel something towards me.”

Their eyes locked as they challenged each other. They stayed that way for a while until Malisha finally got tired of the whole scene and broke contact by looking away.

“You are right, I do not understand.” she finally admitted even as she sighed loudly for added effect. This was the one topic that she had never wanted to broach, at least not this way and so, she did the next best thing and looked away. Even so her nervousness showed despite her feigning puzzlement.

Malisha knew that he was still looking at her. She could feel his eyes on her and when he finally chuckled all her inhibitions seemed to fall off in one fell sweep.

"He is right you know. Though you are always open with him, you've never allowed yourself to feel or develop any feelings for him." Her inner voice told her.

"I know. I am just afraid that it will make me vunerable and more prone to getting hurt."

“My love, I can see it in your eyes. You know what I am talling about.”

“Fine! So what if you can?” she asked, turning her head sharply to look at him.

“I’m not trying to rile you up. I am just asking, begging even, for you to open up your heart to me and let yourself feel. I do not want to push you, but please, do think about it.”

“Fine!” she retorted in such a childlike manner that he smiled despite the serious look that had just taken over his face.

“Thank you. ” he told her. Malisha did not respond and once again silence descended upon them even they drew closer to their destination. The Limo drove slowly through the front gates of the Lenton residence and came to a stop on the driveway infront of the main house. “So, you have no qualms about the wedding date?” Duke asked her and she smiled. She knew what he was doing. He was trying to gauge her reaction to see wether he had pushed her too far too soon but she was quick to reassure him.

“Duke...” she called out softly.

“Okay," He said smiling back at her. "I just want to make sure.”

“We talked, we agreed. Sure it will be a short engagement, but I understand. I cannot blame you even.You are probably worried that the more time you give me to think about it, the higher the chances are for me to change my mind.”

“Wow, when you put it that way, I feel like this terrible villain tricking you into marriage.” he replied scratching the back of his head in a cute boyish way that made Malisha laugh.

“Don’t worry about. Deep down I have peace about it and I feel that I am making the right decision.” Malisha reassured him.

“Could that be your heart talking?” he made the cheeky riposte.

“Maybe.” she giggled. "Though it's probably my annoying inner voice." At that, he gave her a look and 'Kristina' her inner voice let out a cough.

"Difference being?" Malisha shrugged her shoulders and started to let herself out.

"My inner voice is annoying?" she finally said without turning back. Slowly, she started walking up the front steps to her house but turned to wave back the moment she reached the doorways. Duke waved back at her and she walked through, closing the doors behind her even as she did so.

Duke had not gotten a goodnight hug or even a chaste peck on his cheek and that made him wonder if it meant that he was actually playing the 'not pushing' part well. He signalled his chauffer through the partition and they started driving back to his home, his mind reeling.  He had not shown it, but the comments that Malisha had made had cut him deep and now, the strings of jealousy were pulling hard at his heart and they lassoed on tight taking control over every rational thought that he thought he had.

"Only a man could make a girl blush like that!" The voice of jealousy spoke up in his mind."And I doubt that man is you." The green eyed monster added. "Malisha is sweet and feisty, but at the same time, that is the most affectionate that she has ever been with you ."

Heaven knew that he had tried. He had tried kissing her on multiple occasions and all those times he had ended up either getting slapped or being pushed away which was really becoming frustrating.

"Maybe there is someone else?"

He foolishly agreed to consider the statement and with that, he allowed himself to consider the fact that he had no idea if she had had other romantic attachments besides him and her ex. You see, he had never asked. It had never crossed his mind even. The fact that she could have been dating someone before him. In his arrogance, he had just gone ahead and popped the question. A small part of him cringed at his arrogance, but that did not change anything. The green eyed monster had taken full control over his thoughts and had redirected them to her ex who was also Thomas’ biological father.

"Is he the object of her secret fantasies?" The monster let him wonder. "Maybe she reconnected with him when you weren't watching."

"No." Duke shook his head. "Malisha would never do that to me."

"You never know." The demon told him.

"To what end?" Duke reasoned. "Why would she even agree to marry me?"

"For the obvious reason. Revenge!"

That thought sent a queasy feeling down his throat and into his stomach. His head began to hurt from all the thoughts even as he tried to convince himself that the lady he loved was not up to something. Deep inside he knew the truth but his jealousy made him doubt. He knew that deep inside his Malisha was actually a sweet and caring person and would never harbour a malicious thought, but his doubts still prevailed. He felt himself become paranoid even as his jealousy took over and ran away with his imagination.

“Maybe I should just call off the wedding,” he said, thinking aloud to himself.

“What?” A voice said from the doorway. Duke was in his library. He was hunched over his desk brooding. He had been feeling so miserable that he had not heard his mother wheel in while he was busy talking to himself.

“Mother, I didn’t see you there.” he said, looking up to face her. He was not sure what she had heard or even if she had heard him properly, but he was sure that he was not in the mood to converse with her.

“I saw the lights on and I came to check on you.”

“Can’t a man have some privacy to himself?” he asked her, some of his agitation seeping through to his voice and he immediately he felt guilty.

“Is everything okay with you?” She asked beginning to look concerned.

“It’s nothing mum.  I am just tired.” he  stood up and began to walk away in order to avoid further confrontation.

Domina Carisle's eyes followed her son as he walked across the room and headed for the door. He did look tired, but also agitated. However, she decided to let it go and give him some more time.

“Goodnight son.”

“Goodnight mum.” her son replied and walked out of the room.

Duke woke up the next morning in a pool of cold sweat. He had just had a nightmare. The last time he had one of those was sometime ago and now, it shook him to even think about it. This particular nightmare was not any different. It was just as bad if not worse than last one and it had left him feeling shaken for hours. It shook him so bad that he spent his entire day in a terrible mood. He snapped at his mother with the lowest point of his day being, when he growled at Malisha for just calling him and she hanged up on him because of it.

His guilt ate up at him whole and made him feel so terrible and hangovered that he opted to cancel his appointments for the day, since he did not trust himself to be rational or even diplomatic in that kind of mood.

He thought of going back home, but quickly shook that thought. Duke was sure that his mother would be home and would hound him with multiple questions that would not help his foul mood. Therefore, he lay down on the sofa that was in his office and continued to brood.

His private cellphone beeped. He considered ignoring it, but his curiosity won and he checked it. It was Malisha. She was calling him. He debated on wether to pick up her call or not, in the end he took too long deliberating that the call went straight  to voicemail. Malisha did not record a voice message and as he went through his options, his phone beeped again. This time it was a text message. He swiped the screen to unlock it and began reading the message.

Hey, What's up?

He stared at the text for a very long time, but in the end he did not reply.

“Beep!” another message came in.

Where are you?

He continued to stare at his screen, and began to type ‘office’, but he changed his mind and hit delete before switching off the phone. Malisha huffed and puffed, seething with pent up anger knowing that the man was ignoring her intentionally. First the growling then this. She was beginning to feel frustrated and she wanted answers. She thought of asking Nelly to email Alfred, but then thought otherwise. It was not wise to involve the assistants. If Duke was really that mad at her, who knew what he would do to them for just interfering.

"Maybe he is having a rough day and I caught him at a bad time." She reasoned even as she decided not to overthink it. However, she still could not shake off that nagging feeling that something was not okay.

After a whole day and another of brooding, Duke finally surmised that isolating himself and lying around doing nothing was not help his situation. That was especially after Alfred came back with the news that like he had once thought, his Malisha had never been involved with anyone, not since the birth of her son Thomas. She had completly isolated herself and had had no social life whatsoever. That is, outside her family and a close circle of friends that happened to be both foreign and female. Unfortunately though, his very stubborn monster refused to concede.

"It's not like you have her phone records to know that she isn't in communication with her ex? " the green eyed monster pointed out to him.

“Alfred,” Duke called out and his valet stopped whatever he was doing to attend to him.

“Yes, Sir?”

“Is it possible to have a person’s phone records pulled? That is together with the identities of the contacts?” he asked as gears continued turning in his head.

“I am not sure sir, but I can always enquire from the communication companies?” he replied, eyeing his employer warily. Duke sensed that Alfred already knew whose records he wanted pulled and he also knew that his valet strongly disapproved of his actions. However, he dared not say anything and risk incurring his employer's wrath.

“No, I will do it myself.”  Duke finally told him. He wanted discretion. Discretion that the companies would not give him and because of that, he  knew exactly who the right man for that job was.

His name was Emmeren and was one of his oldest friends from high school and college. He was also one of his would be groomsmen and a spy, which also meant that he had in his disposal the right connections and tools to make it happen. For these reasons, Duke picked up his encrypted cellphone and dialed his number.

“Duke! How are you man?”

“Emmeren,"  Phaedra said into his receiver.

“So, when are we meeting her, the girl of your dreams?”  Emmeren asked him putting emphasis on the last part of his sentence. Duke however, did not respond. Instead, he paused for a moment and took a deep breath to calm his warring thoughts before going on.

“About that, I need you to do something for me and please be discreet about it.”

“What’s that?”

“I need you to pull up some phone records for me.”

“Okay," Emmeren agreed even though it was not like he really had a choice. Duke was his boss and that also meant he was honor bound to follow his boss's command.

“Good, Alfred will email you the details.” the Phaedra finished flatly.

“Is everything okay Duke?”

“I’m fine Em. Please do that and hurry.” He heard his friend hesitate for a moment, but he finally agreed to do and then he hung up.