Julius & Juliana

CHAPTER 13

James Smith called king Duncan to report Juliana's recent behavior to him. He told the King that Juliana has refused to go out with him once more ever since their first date and has also refused to pay him a visit to see his family, which lucidly illustrates her refusal to have a relationship with him. He told the king that despite this, he wasn't ready to give up on her at all because he doesn't give up easily but added that if the situation becomes severe to the point that after killing the peasant secretly, or getting rid of him in one way or the other and she still refuse him, then he would finally give up on her.

The king replied that it won't be wise to kill him because Juliana will only get worse and due to her strong love for him, she could even decide to kill herself or swear never to marry anyone else because she will definitely suspect James of having a hand in his death. So they both thought about it on phone and decided to kidnap him with the ransom being that she take an oath of blood with James, swearing never to depart from him or cheat on him and after that, she will be bethroted to him and marry him when the time comes. They thought the idea was good but knew she will definitely suspect James of hiring the kidnappers. They didn't care about that though because they knew that she definitely would not want him dead and so would oblige to their demand.

The king had discouraged the idea of having a meeting with the peasant, saying that it would be of no use and that the only way he could have her as his future bride was that they perfectly execute this plan of theirs. The king on his part said he would try to find out intelligently when she would be seeing Julius again so that he could send his monitoring guards to secretly trace her to the place and this time, they will accompany the men that will kidnap him to the place, where they will capture him, cover his eyes and take him to the unknown area where no search party can locate him. There they will be feeding him just so he could stay alive if Juliana complied with the men's demand. The men were to be instructed not to inflict any injury on him as there was no need for that.

At the end of their discussion, they were satisfied with the plan and James started the preparation by inviting his two guards to act as the abductors. He was just waiting for the king to give him a call about the day Juliana was going to see Julius again.

Later that day, the king called his daughter to intelligently find out when next she was going to see Julius. When she came, in order not to give her any suspicious impression, he didn't ask her right away. "My daughter, I know you've been angry with me ever since I made it clear to you that I don't approve of the one you love to be your future husband. You should know that I always want the best for you. That man is a peasant and I don't want you to follow someone that you will be enriching and taking care of. That won't be fair enough and most times, such men become ungrateful after you've made them rich. They start behaving like they are the ones who got themselves rich and start treating you like trash. You know that when a poor man becomes rich overnight, he changes his behavior and character. You may get to know who he really is after you've made him rich and it may be too late for you. This is my fear for you my only child. I'm not saying that you shouldn't love him, I just want you to have a certain future. This is also what I told your mother when she asked me on your behalf, why am I not in favour of your relationship with the peasant.

You are at least mature enough to know what's best for you. Think about what I've just told you" he concluded. "But father, James has a harsh character. He drinks a lot of alcohol and even smokes. I really can't follow such a person. Julius is a very nice, gentle, and hardworking young man. I don't think he will change his attitude and behavior towards me if I make him rich by marrying him to be the heir to your throne" she replied. " You've barely known him, just continue going out with him so that you can know him better, only then can you fully decide on who to have as a boyfriend or fiancée. I give you my word, from now on, I will no longer stop you from seeing either of them. I've seen that you love the man so much so you can go ahead and follow your heart but please, just be careful so that you won't regret at last" her father finally concluded.

Juliana was filled with joy. "Are you serious?" She asked. "Yes. I don't want you to be angry anymore. If keeping you away from seeing the one you love will make you angry, then I will not do that. You are free to go and see him but just remember what I've told you, James could be a nicer man even as he's rich. Forget about his bad habits, the devil you know may be better than the angel you do not know. No one is perfect. You may discover that Julius also have bad habits by the time you've made him rich, do not say I didn't warn you. He concluded.

Juliana ran joyfully to hug her father who looked away with a grimace. "I've heard you. I will definitely try to find out more about both of them" she said. Although she only said this to give her father the impression that she wasn't going to forget all about James but in truth, she had thought about what he said about poor men changing behaviors when they've been made rich by a girl. She decided however that she would only be seeing James on rare occasions as to see if he stood any chance with her and mostly to make her father feel that she's doing what he has advised her to do. She didn't know how she was going to explain to Julius that he remains the one she loves and that she's just seeing James because of her father as it seems he has calmed down on their relationship. She was going to try as much as possible to avoid letting Julius know that she's also seeing James on rare occasions.

"It's been long you left for a show" said her father, stylishly wanting to know when next she was going to see Julius. "Oh! I haven't been having shows recently due to my situation. I've not been in a good mood to perform in shows and have been turning them down up to three now. As you've given me the freedom to see Julius at will, I will start performing in shows again. I have one coming up on Saturday which is four days from now but I've spoken with Julius that we should meet on Friday before my show day so that we can spend much time together. This we had agreed before you called me to have this conversation. Now that you've given me the freedom to see him at will, I will call him now and tell him that we will be meeting tomorrow because I think I will have a busy schedule during this week till the day of my show. I will also resume work on my forthcoming album which I've paused due to my recent bad situation. I'm happy now" she finally concluded. She then hugged her father, who smiled mischievously once more, in appreciation before going into her room to call Julius. Her mother was in the bathroom by the time they were having the discussion. When she learnt about it, she was very surprised that the king has changed his mind and has given their daughter the freedom to see her heart's desire at will.

When Julius received the call, he quickly went to the market to buy an engagement ring with which he would use to propose to her to be his fiancée, after which he would reveal his true identity to her by taking her to see his family on their next meeting.