To Be Loved

Chapter 2

Jasmine raised her eyebrow at the intruder. "Sorry to disturb you, Mrs. Jasmine," said Mr. Morris, the principal of Pace University.

"Oh no, it's okay. How can I help you, Mr. Morris?" She said it with a forced smile.

The great old Mr. Alex Morris. He is a short man with a big belly, 65 years old, big black eyes, 5’9" height, and black hair; he dyes it, though.

He is a wise and humble man, but when he opens his mouth, all of this will fly away, and that is because he thinks himself the funniest person on Earth. When he opens that mouth of his to tell his jokes, you will wish that you didn’t have ears, or it will make you beg him to stop saying them, and at the very end, he will be the one laughing at his dumb jokes.

"Hello everyone.” After greeting the student, he said to her, “I wanted to introduce you to the students and welcome you, but because of my bad luck, I was stuck in traffic and arrived late. I apologize." He gave her a warm smile.

"It's okay, Mr. Morris. You couldn't help it, and Mrs. Novak told me what I needed to know and what I should do." When she looked at the students, they were interested in their conversation—humans and their curiosity.

"Just call me Alex; there is no need for the formalities.” He was fidgeting and would open his mouth and close it without saying a thing.

“Anything else, Mr. Morris.” She asked him to get it done.

“How is she?" She started to get irritated; it's not the time for chit-chat.

"Mr. Alex, it's not the right time for that conversation right now!" I whispered to him. He seemed to notice the change in my tone and the tight smile on my lips.

When he saw the curious eyes that were looking at them, he said it hurriedly. "Oh... Um, yeah, you're right, ha-ha." He said it with an embarrassed laugh.

He cleared his throat, looked at the students, and clapped his hand to gain their full attention. "Listen attentively all of you. You must respect her. If Mrs. Jasmine complains to me about anyone, you will face the consequences. You should be thankful to her for accepting to teach you even though she is busy." He said it with a stern face.

All the students responded with ‘Yes, sir.’

He was satisfied with their answer and turned his gaze to Jasmine and asked, "Mrs. Jasmine, would you like to have a cup of coffee with me in my office after you’re done, please?"

"Yes, I would love to." He was happy with her answer and drew a happy smile at her, then waved his hand and left the class.

When the door was closed, she flashed a smile at the students and said, "Guys, sorry to waste some time from your lecture. Now, will you please open your books to page 170?" And here, you could hear the sound of the papers flipping.

Time skipping.

After two hours, all the students were still listening to what Jasmine was saying.

“So in conclusion, there are multiple ways to deal with your clients, but be smart and try to address their problems to be able to find the right solution, and don't use the same method with all of them or even some of them when they have the same issue, because they have different personalities and it’s not gonna work. And here is the end of our lecture. Do you have any questions?"

"Nope, thanks," they said at the same time.

"Okay, see you next week. Oh, before you leave, your assignment for this month has been postponed. I dela..." Before she could finish her speech, there was cheerful screaming throughout the class.

"You nosy people, why can't you let me finish talking? I said that I had delayed it, and it will be handed over next month, not this month." And they all became drama queens and started whining.

"Okay, little kids, shut up and stop being drama queens, and hurry up so you won't be late for your next lecture. Have a nice day." She collected her things and left the class, heading to her office to get the rest of her things, then going home. But she remembered that she should go to Mr. Morris's office.

So firstly, she went to her office to put her things on the desk, then she took a U-turn to head to Mr. Morris's office.

She closed her office door and walked into the college halls, which were crowded with students heading to their next lecture.

Her ears picked up what they were talking about, and she was amused.

They talked about everything that came to their minds, from food and sports to boyfriends and girlfriends and diets.

She was engrossed in what was going on around her and didn't notice her phone was ringing until the noises quieted down and she heard the ring.

She checked who was calling her, and it was her husband. When she accepted the call, her husband's manly voice reached her ear, and that made her smile. "Assalamu Alaikum, wifey."

"Alaikum salam, Mr. Miller." She heard him groan, and that made a victorious laugh slip out. She knew he didn't like it when she called him that. It reminded him of his foolishness in the past and what happened between them, but she still does it occasionally.

He could hear her laughing, and that was enough to make his heart dance.

This woman should thank God that he is deeply in love with her and that she is far from his reach. Or he will punish her using his ways—a sweet and sexy one, 'focus Omar'.

"Tell me when you finish, baby."

"Hem... Hem, sorry, I was teasing you."

"You know I don't like it."

"I know; that’s why I said it because you deserve it for lying to me," Jasmine said with a fake, sad tone. Her husband told her that he was going to Dubai for work because the company there faced some problems and it would take 2 weeks.

But it took more than that, and it had been 3 weeks, and above all, they hadn’t been able to talk recently because he was busy.

"Baby, I'm so sorry. It took longer than I expected it would." When she didn't reply, he continued.

"Baby, I promise it won’t happen again. I miss you too much, and the two little devils. How was your first day of teaching?" It was silent for a minute, and he was anxious.

All his nervousness vanished when she spoke. "I miss you too, and the little devils asked about you every day, and I told them you were coming soon. They are at their grandmother's house. I was a little nervous, but it was cool. I thought it would be a disaster, but it turned out to be awesome.” She paused to take a breath and continued her talk. “How are things going there with you? Did you fix the issue? Are you taking care of yourself?" Omar was listening to her words carefully. He loves to hear her voice and to look at how her facial expression changes with every emotion. He missed her so much. He wants to hold her in his arms.

She was still talking but stopped when there was silence on the other line. "Oh god, Omar, sorry for talking and rambling so fast. I am just worried about you." Even though he couldn't see her, he was certain that she was sulking now.

"Jass, baby, I am doing well, and the problem is almost solved. Please stop worrying about me. I am fine, love. Kiss the kids for me; tell them I will come home after 2 days, I promise, and I miss them so much. Say hi to Mom and Dad. And, how is Sarah now?" She was happy to know that he was coming after 2 days, and she was smiling from ear to ear, but still, she threatened him.

"Omar, I swear to God that if you don't come in two days, you will be sleeping on the couch for a week."

"Baby, why?" He protested.

"Because you will be deserving that. You better keep your promise this time, and about Sarah, she is fine. I will go to her after having a cup of coffee with Mr. Alex."

"Okay, love, tak…” He stopped talking when his brain started to interpret her last words. “What COFFEE again! And who the hell is Mr. Alex?" His voice was so high, and it was laced with a hint of jealousy. She thought she was going to become deaf.

‘Oh s**t, here he goes with his irrational protectiveness.’