Burning Desire (Completed)

chapter 61

As the morning spun out into early afternoon, the weather was cool as wafts of moisture-heavy breeze blew into the room through the open window. It had rained in the morning which left the ground spongy and fragrant.
Jasmine was packing her things into her bag as they would be leaving soon. Raymond had left to have a talk with his father.

Folding her top neatly, she put it in the bag and then her phone rang.
She reached for it on the bed and checked the callers'ID.
Christain was calling.

"Hey," she said as she answered the call.

"Hey, how're you doing." Christians' voice was deep on the other end.

"Are you in school?" She asked and sat down on the bed, crossing a leg over.

"Nah, I'm at home. I've got no classes today and my boss gave me the day off." He replied.

"Alright. Have you heard from Christine?" She questioned softly.

She heard him sigh deeply. "No I haven't. She'll probably call me later," he said.

"Okay." She breathed.

Christine had only called Christain since she left. She'd refused to tell him exactly where she was staying but promised to give him a call whenever she was free. She had only called once and when he tried to reach her, it would go to her voicemail.

"Are you still coming home today?"

"Yeah. I'll be home soon," she told him.

"Okay. I'm home all day so, I'll be waiting for you to come and tell me about your romantic adventures with Raymond," he said.

She let out a laugh, knowing he had a mischievous smile on his face. "Dude, you're crazy."

"Whatever. I'll see you later."

"Alright bye." She smiled and he hung up.

She placed her phone on the bed and got up to get her toiletry bag from the bathroom when there was a knock on the door.

"Who's it?" She asked, walking towards the door.

"Jasmine it's me."Raymond's mum replied.

"Oh." Jasmine opened the door.

"Hope I'm not disturbing you?" Raymond's mum asked, smiling.

Jasmine chuckled lightly." Of course not."

"Good. Do you mind if I come in, I wanna have a quick talk with you before you leave."

"Of course." Jasmine stepped aside and Raymond's mum walked in.

They went to the living area and Raymond's mum sat down and told Jasmine to seat next to her.

Sitting close to Raymond's mum, Jasmine felt a bit uneasy as his mum's brown eyes gazed at her. She prayed silently that Raymond would walk into the room and his mum wouldn't have to ask her any question that would make her uncomfortable.

His mum noticed her discomfort and smiled warmly as she took Jasmine's hands into hers. "There's nothing to be afraid of my dear." Her voice was soft and Jasmine relaxed.

"I just wanna thank you for being here with my son, it means alot to me," she said softly.

"Ma'am, please you don't have to thank me. I'm happy to be here."

"Oh please." His mum let out a quiet groan. "I've told you already to call me Grace. Calling me ma'am makes me feel old."

Jasmine laughed quietly. "Sorry, it's just that I don't feel comfortable calling elderly people by their names." She explained.

"Please, i'm only 58. And I want you to call me Grace, besides you're part of the family now." His mum smiled and gave Jasmine's arm a light pat.

Jasmine swallowed hard as she felt a pang of guilt in her stomach. Seeing how happy Raymond's mum looked, Jasmine felt bad that if his mum finds out that she wasn't dating Raymond, it would crash her heart. It would leave his mum heartbroken and disappointed If she finds out the truth.

"Seriously Jasmine, you have no idea how happy you've made me for being in my son's life." A shimmer of joy could be seen in his mum's eyes.

It was unbearable to look at his mum without feeling the tight knot in her stomach. It felt like the couch had become hard and she could feel a discomforting pain on her bottom.

His mum let out a heavy sigh and her happy face turned to sadness. "You see, Raymond had never been with anyone in his life for a long time. There was this girl. she was a very close friend of his and he was in love with her. But unfortunately she died and her death was a heavy burden on him." She let out a shaky breath and blinked back the tears that threatened to come out.

Jasmine gave his mum's hand a gentle squeeze, her thoughts raced as she stared at his mum's sad profile.

"He was never the same after her death. He hardly comes back home because he was always reminded of her and whenever he's here, he would spend most of his time at her grave. But since he came into this house with you, I've been watching him closely and noticed a change in him," his mum said and her eyes lit up with hope.

"I've seen the way he looks at you, the way he listens to everything you say... He's so happy, attentive towards you and I can see the spark in his eyes. It's there Jasmine. I've seen it... It's filled with passion and love." His mum smiled happily, holding Jasmine on both arms.

Jasmine sat still, emotions crossed her face in rapid succession... surprise, shock, confusion.
She didn't want to believe the idea that Raymond was in love with her. It made no sense.

Yes he'd kissed her, but it doesn't mean he loved her. Knowing the type of man Raymond was, who slept with different women, she didn't want to believe in a fairy tale. But hearing those words from his mum, gave her sparks of hope that brought warmth to her skin.

"God! That boy is really in love with you and I'm sure you know that already."

Jasmine smiled but said nothing.

"Can you do me a favor Jasmine." His mum touched Jasmine's cheeks.

"Sure." Jasmine managed to say.

His mum took Jasmine's hand and held it. "Promise me that you'll continue to put a smile on my son's face for as long as you guys stay together, please," she said softly, staring at Jasmine deeply.

Without thinking, the words easily slipped out from her lips. "Of course, I promise." Jasmine said.

A wide smile formed on his mum's face. "Thank you so much."
She pulled Jasmine into her arms and placing a kiss on Jasmine's head, she embraced her.

Jasmine slowly wrapped her arms on his mum, resting her chin on his mum's shoulder. Guilt and shame thumped hard in her heart knowing she had made a promise she wasn't sure she could keep.