Chapter 473 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

Benne received the phone from Jamal, “Hello, This is Benne,” He said politely, since it was the first time he was speaking with Candace since he read her letter.

Candace cleared her throat, “Thanks for looking after Jamal. He says he’s happy, and you are both having dinner with him,” Candace said with gratitude.

“You’re welcome,” Benne said as he looked at the kid who was sitting beside him and looking at him curiously.

She cleared her throat again, “I also want to apologize for making you uncomfortable by leaving that letter behind. I had no right to do that. If it makes you feel better you can get rid of it. I wasn’t thinking straight. I’m sorry,” Candace said apologetically, and Benne sighed.

“Don’t worry about it. Just be careful and make sure you return safely. You can be rest assured that Jamal will be well taken care of,” Benne promised, and Candace relaxed a bit.

“Thank you,” Candace said in a quiet voice that made Benne feel sorry for her.

After his conversation with Harry earlier, he had tried to put together everything that he had learned from Jade, Harry, and Celsie, concerning Candace, and he felt like he hadn’t been very kind to her, and had treated her with indifference.

Candace was an orphan who had led quite a difficult life. She had been involved with a terrible and dangerous man that she could only escape from because he was sent to jail. She had to become a stripper to make ends meet, and the only person she called her sister had been kidnapped. Now she had to leave her son in the care of strangers. How hard could life be for a young lady like her?

He had put Jade in Candace’s show, and that had made him realize that he would wish for Jade to be treated better than the way he was treating Candace. He needed to do better.

“You don’t have to worry about anything else. Just ensure you take care of yourself and come back safely. I will make sure you and Jamal are well taken care of when you return,” Benne promised, and Candace smiled.

“Thank you. I will return the phone to Jade now,” Candace said before giving the phone to Jade.

“How are things going over there? How is Celsie?”

“She is fine. You are both okay, right?” Benne asked with concern, as Jade tried to connect her phone to the car’s Bluetooth speaker so she could drive comfortably.

“Sure. Have you seen Harry today?” Jade asked curiously.

“Yeah. Celsie and I left his apartment a while ago. Have you spoken with him again?” Benne asked as he picked the remote and turned on the television so that Jamal could watch a cartoon while he spoke with Jade.

“No. How was he when you saw him? And how is his father’s health?”

“Although he is very worried about his father, he’s fine. I didn’t get to see his dad because he was asleep,” Benne said, and looked down at his hand which was resting on his thigh when Jamal placed his hand in his.

“Any progress on Anita’s issue? And what about Celsie’s twin? How is he handling everything? Also, have you heard from Bryan and mom? Do you know if they’ve met Simon yet?” Jade asked curiously, and Benne rolled his eyes.

“How many questions do you expect me to answer at the same time? How about we have a conference call instead?” Benne suggested, thinking that it was better he told everyone about the progress on Anita’s issue once and for all since he was tired of repeating the story.

“Yes. That’s a good idea. I’m driving right now. I’ll call you and the others when I get to the hotel,” Jade said, and just as she wanted to end the call she remembered her conversation with Aurora.

“Benne?” She called before he could hang up.

“Yeah?” Benne asked as he turned to look at Samantha who had just walked in to inform him that the table was set for dinner.

“Did Harry tell you that he asked Aurora to accompany him to the anniversary dinner as his partner?” Jade asked, and Benne who had been about to stand up, paused.

“Aurora?” Benne asked, wondering who that was.

“The lady I told you about,” Jade reminded him.

“The one you matchmade with Harry?” Benne asked, and Jade gritted her teeth, while Candace listened to the conversation between the siblings with interest.

“Yes, that one. Do you think I should be worried? She is visiting him next week,” Jade said, and Benne’s brows shot up.

“Harry didn’t mention anything about that to me. When did she tell you this? Or was it Harry who told you about it?” Benne asked with a slight frown, as he wondered what Harry was up to.

“No. Aurora did. I left her spa a while ago. So, Harry didn’t mention anything to you about her or being interested in someone?” Jade asked, and Benne’s eyes narrowed as he recalled what Harry had said the previous evening about having a date, and about surprising them soon.

“Benne?”

“Well, he did mention something about having a date last night during dinner, but we didn’t take it too seriously,” Benne said apologetically, and Jade’s heart skipped a beat.

“He did? What exactly did he say?” Jade asked, beginning to really feel worried now.

“He didn’t give any details. He only told us he had a date and would surprise us soon. I thought he was joking. I’m sorry, Jady. I’ll find out more about it, and let you know if he’s serious, okay?” Benne said, feeling sorry for his sister.

“Maybe I should have listened to you,” Jade murmured to herself sadly, thinking that Harry had probably changed his mind about her because she had tried to talk dirty with him the previous day. Maybe she had taken things too far.

“Why? Did you do or say anything to him?” Benne asked curiously.

There was no way she could tell Benne that she had tried talking dirty with his best friend over the phone, or that she had directly told him that she wanted to live rent-free in his head. Not after he had warned her to let Harry chase her, and not to throw herself at him.

“Nevermind. I will give you and the others a call when I get home. Give my love to Celsie,” Jade said before hanging up.

Once she did, she let out a sigh as she looked ahead of her. It didn’t bother her that she was making such a phone call in front of Candace. The only thing that bothered her at that moment was that she was at the verge of losing Harry and she didn’t know what to do about it. Should she call him or not?

“I guess that answers my question,” Candace said thoughtfully, and Jade turned to spare her a glance.

“What question?”

“I was going to ask if your brother was aware of your feelings for his best friend and if he would be okay with it,” Candace said, and Jade’s lips curved in a smile despite her sadness.

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