POISONED LOVE- Episode 13-15

(E-book/Story)

Episode 13

Sophia was exiting one of her lecture halls when
she ran into Lily.
Lily, as usual, was with her group of friends and
they stood in front of Sophia.
“hello, lovely. Nice morning”, Lily greeted with a
smile and a wave.
“hi”, was all Sophia could say at the moment as
she pondered over the strange ladies.
While Lily did the talking, her three friends just
kept themselves busy by chewing some bubble
gums.
“I guess we haven’t met before. And I also heard
you were the new tenant of Steven’s heart.
Anyway, I’m Michelle and it’s a pleasure meeting
you. Seriously, I was happy when I heard you
were Steven’s girlfriend. I can’t imagine the joy
you feel right now – the joy of being Steven’s
first lady for the meantime. You know, I’ve also
been there and I know exactly how it feels”.
“please,” Sophia said, sounding pissed off. “I
need to be on my way. I don’t really have time
for this”.
“hey, chill, okay? I don’t plan on Standing here all
day either. You know, I’m sure you must feel
very lucky, but like I said before, you’re just like
a tenant in Steven’s heart. Steven doesn’t fall in
love. The only thing he loves is just the body of
ladies.
“think about this; just this year, I was his
girlfriend. And this same year, he dumped me
and went for Michelle. And now, he’s dumped
Michelle and has chosen you. So, practically, in
less than a year, he has hooked up three
girlfriend! And here you are, feeling special”.
Sophia couldn’t take anymore of Michelle’s
words. She decided to turn around and change
direction since July wouldn’t let her go ahead.
“I’m just trying to give you a piece of advice,
Sophia.” Lily said to her back and Sophia paused
to listen to her, although she didn’t turn around.
“Steven is a playboy and that’s what he’ll always
be. He acts like he cares, but he doesn’t. He
makes use of even the slightest opportunity and
once he’s gotten into that special angle of yours,
right between your legs, you’ll mean nothing to
him”.
At that point, Treasure arrived. She had sighted
them from a distance and guessed Lily was
inconveniencing Sophia.
“Lily, what’s going on? “she asked huskily as she
stood beside Sophia.
” nothing serious; just having a friendly chat. By
the way, I think you need to impact more wisdom
into this friend of yours. What’re friends for?” Lily
replied, and sauntered away.
“Sophia, are you alright?” Treasure asked, worried
over the depression on Sophia’s face.
“I’m fine”, Sophia hushed as she walked over to
a staircase and sat on it with Treasure.
“that Lily is really something else. She was
talking about Steven, wasn’t she? She’s just
lucky she didn’t lay a finger on you”, Treasure
said with a repugnant look.
Sophia didn’t say anything immediately, probably
cogitating over Lily’s words.
They seemed to have hurt her.
“Sophia, don’t tell me that crazy bitch got into
you. You don’t have to give a thought to
anything she said”.
Sophia starred at Treasure and took her eyes
away.
But, what if Lily was right?
“Treasure,” she called softly. “do you think I’m
doing something wrong? By giving my heart to
Steven?”
Treasure sighed and bleaked.
“Sophia,” she said. “I really don’t know what to
say. The truth is, I’m very scared for you.
Although, I know what Steven did for you at the
party was extraordinary, but he’s always been a
playboy and that’s why I can’t tell if he’s
changed or not. Nobody knows what he’s got up
his sleeves.”
“but… He told me I was his first crush and he
needed me to guide him through. Do you think
it’s possible he might be lying?”
“hmm” Treasure sighed again. “maybe you should
give him a chance. But one thing I must warn
you, you need to be very careful”.
And Sophia let out a faint smile.
*
Steven and Sophia sat next to each other by the
beach, her head relaxed on his shoulders.
They enjoyed the activities going on at the
beach – the children playing, the dances going on
and so many other activities.
Steven had suggested they went there.
Sophia had tried as hard as possible to keep
enjoying the moment, but it seemed difficult for
her. The words of Lily kept driving in and she
couldn’t get it off her mind.
Could Steven ever betray her? Is she special to
him? Does she mean anything to him?
Confusing questions kept pouring on Sophia but
unfortunately, she couldn’t give any answer to
them.
“Sophia, are you alright?” Steven broke into her
thoughts. He was noticing how absent minded
she was.
“I’m fine “she sighed and replied.
Steven smiled and adjusted her head more
properly on his shoulder.
” Steven,” she called after a while. “do you really
love me?”
“of course, I do Sophia. Why do you even ask?”
he replied.
Sophia didn’t say any other thing as she took her
eyes back to the beach. There was a doubly pale
look on her face and Steven could notice it.
“Sophia, we really can’t go on like this. How do
you expect me to feel when you’re having
second thoughts about me? It surprises me to
know you’re questioning my love for you. Listen,
Sophia, I know I’ve lived a bad life, but please,
trust me when I say I love you. I really do,
Sophia”, Steven said with a depressed voice.
Sophia finally starred at him and smiled.
“I love you too, Steven” she said with a kiss.

Episode 14

“Michelle, you really need to get well soon”,
Patricia said as she had prepared a cup of
coffee for her.
The evening was cold and Patricia felt Michelle
needed a cup of milky coffee.
Michelle had been discharged from the hospital
and was at that time, sitting at the balcony of
her apartment. But, ever since she returned, she
had remained weak and expressionless and was
no different from a patient at the hospital.
She had remained silent, unable to eat. Patricia
was just passing some time with her, hoping to
make her lively.
“you need to get strong to get back to school”
Patricia continued. “you’ve been out for two
weeks now and you’ve really missed out on so
many stuff”.
Michelle remained silent as she kept starring into
space.
“Michelle,” Patricia called and sat close to her. “I
know it’s really painful. I mean, I can’t even
imagine how you feel. But as difficult as it may
be, you really need to forget about Steven the
same way he forgot about you. You need to
move on because Steven’s gone”.
“no, Patricia, he’s not!” Michelle said tearfully.
“he’s not!”
“Michelle, stop trying to punish yourself. Steven’s
a cheat and that’s what he’s always going to be.
You need to forget about him and have It in mind
that he’s gone”.
“stop saying that! He’s not! Steven’s not gone.
He’ll come back to me, one way or the other.
He’ll come back to me. He can’t just leave me”
Michelle said with tears rolling down her cheeks.
*
Mr Damola, Steven’s father, waited patiently in
the sitting room for Steven to arrive.
He was an able bodied yoruba man and was also
good looking. He always prefer dressing in large
yoruba attires.
His wife, Mrs Damola was standing next to
where he was seated, looking troubled.
Then shortly, the door opened and Steven walked
in. He felt a bit surprised when he saw his
parents sitting and standing that way in the
sitting room.
“mom, dad, good evening”, he greeted with his
eyes going round the room.
“welcome, omo okonin mi “, Mrs Damola replied
while her husband kept starring.
” Steven, do you want to tell me you’ve been in
school all these while? The day’s already dark
and you’re just coming home”, Mr Damola spoke
belligerenly.
“I… Had to spend some extra time with my
friends”, Steven replied, feeling surprised.
That was the first time in a long time his father
was questioning his whereabouts.
“by the way, that’s not really why I’m here. I’ve
been waiting for you to return because we have
a very pressing discussion. What happened
between you and Michelle?”
“come on, dad. I thought we’ve talked about this
already?”
“no, Steven, we haven’t and it’s going to be
now!”
“oko mi… “, Mrs Damola tried speaking.
“no, don’t oko mi me. Are you the only guy in the
world? Tell me Steven, are you the only guy in
the world? How much shame do you plan on
bringing into this family? Is it until you’ve finally
impregnated a lady, or perhaps, killed a lady out
of heartbreak that you’ll decide to have peace?
Why on earth must you go around sleeping with
ladies? Is that the way your mother trained you?”
“but, dad I… ”
“shut up, Steven! Shut up. I’ve heard and
endured enough of your nonsense. Michelle’s
father was a close business associate of mine,
but after learning what you did to his daughter,
making her end up in the hospital, he closed up
all his business contracts with me. Do you know
how much I’ve lost because of your stupidity?”
“Oko mi, please take it easy on him nah,” Mrs
Damola grumbled.
“listen to me, Steven” Mr Damola said and stood
up. “from now on, you’re not permitted to bring
any lady into this house. You can take them else
where and do all the rubbish you want to do with
them, but not in my house. The next time I see a
lady in my house, Olorun should just be around to
help you because you wouldn’t believe what I
would do to both of you”.
“I’m in love, dad “, Steven cut in.” I’m sorry I
might’ve wronged you, but I’ve finally fallen in
love. So, there’s no need for your threats”.
Mr Damola laughed and then turned angry again.
“you’re in love? Well, it doesn’t matter to me as
long as you don’t bring any of them into my
house. I’ve warned you, Steven; the day I’ll get
you with any lady 250 meters around my house,
I’ll skin you both alive”.
Steven had grown with furiage but he tried not to
loosen his temper.
“excuse me “, he said with a hard voice and
bounced out of the house.
” you’re just lucky you’re my only son”, Mr
Damola said to his back as he whacked the door.
“else, you would have known what it meant to be
an offspring of Damola”.
*
Sophia was in her bedroom, doing some reading
when a call came into her phone.
It was Steven.
She picked the call with ecstasy.
“hello?”
“Sophia, could you step out for sometime? I’m
right at your gate”.
Sophia flinched at the sadness in his voice.
“okay, I’ll be there”.
She hurried out of her bedroom and headed for
the gate. Her mother was already at home but
was probably busy in her room.
She wandered why Steven had come over to her
place that late at night. It was almost 8 p.m.
She opened the gate and met Steven standing
beside it.
They ran into each other’s arms.
“Steven, are you alright? You sounded different
on the phone “, Sophia asked, still wrapped in an
embrace.
” I just wanted to spend some time with you,
Sophia. Hope you don’t mind?”
“of course I don’t”.

Steven suggested they took a stroll and they did.
“sorry, I had to bother you”, he said as they
walked along. “I was scolded by my dad and he
just ended up ruining my evening”.
“Oh, what happened?”
“he’s angry over Michelle’s incidence. He was
really furious about it and it also made me
angry”.
“hm. So, baby Steven is sad because he was
scolded by his dad? That sounds interesting”,
Sophia jerked and they both laughed.
After walking for sometime, they came by a
woman selling some sauced meat and they
bought some for themselves.
They settled down by a pavement and munched
on it, chatting and nattering. Steven had
completely forgotten how angry he had been a
few minutes back.
“by the way, Steven,” Sophia said, still biting at
her sauced meat. “are you the only child of your
parents?”
“of course, I’m not. I’m just the only son and the
last. My three sisters base abroad. Two among
them are already married”.
“hm, so what’re you still doing here in Nigeria?”
“well, maybe it’s because my heart has been
waiting for the right companion to go with”.
Sophia looked at him and laughed.
She leaned her head on his shoulder and they
both starred into space.
“the weather is cold, isn’t it?” Steven asked after
a while.
“yeah. I think it’s going to rain soon”.
“uh-uh. Not soon; but right now”, Steven said as
he noticed a water drop on his head.
The water came in little drops and finally, it
started pouring in large quantities.
“Oh, my! I can’t believe I’m going to get wet!”
Sophia shrieked.
They both left the pavement and stood under a
shade.
The rain had become heavier.
“don’t tell me I’ll be standing here till the rain
stops?” Sophia groused.
“well, hope you’re not expecting me to turn into
an umbrella?”
“maybe you should turn into a raincoat”, Sophia
replied and pushed him into the rain.
She laughed as she saw him getting wet and
managed his way back into the shade.
“how dare you?” Steven said and also drew her
into the rain.
She struggled to get out of it, but he pushed her
father away from the shade, making both of
them fully exposed to the rain.
“you really have some guts, Steven. Just take a
look at me; I’m wet!” Sophia said in a high voice
as a result of the sound of the rain.
“well, that serves you right. At least, now we’re
even”.
Sophia punched him by the side of his stomach
and tried running away,, but he held her back.
She took some water from the floor and
sprinkled it on his face and tried running away
again, but Steven ran after her.
Her home was nearby and he was only able to
catch up with her at the entrance of her gate.
“you can’t run away from me, Lady Sophia”, he
said with his hands wrapped around her waist.
The rain has reduced to a drizzling pour.
“Oh, really?” Sophia said and laughed while
panting.
They laughed for sometime until they were finally
able to calm themselves down.
They stood together in a face to face position,
their foreheads touching each other’s.
“why do all our dates have to end up in a mess?”
Sophia asked.
“excuse me? This isn’t a date”.
“yeah, whatever”.
“well, the best part is, our dates always have to
end up in smiles”, Steven replied and kissed her.
She kissed him back, her hands over his
shoulder.
They continued kissing passionately for
sometime.
“goodnight. I love you, Sophia”.
“I love you too, handsome”, Sophia replied and
kissed him again.
And after that, they departed.

Episode 15

Michelle alighted her car and ran into Patricia
who had been waiting for her at the entrance of
the school.
She had to resume school only because her
parents had insisted she did so. She really
wished she didn’t have to go back there.
How on earth would she feel seeing Steven and
Sophia together?
“Michelle, I’m really glad you could make it.
Welcome back”, Patricia said to Michelle who
seemed sick and weak.
“remember, Michelle, you’re here to learn and
that’s it. You don’t have to give a damn to any
of those fools, okay?”
At that point, they were interrupted by the
presence of Lily and her three friends who stood
in front of them.
“Michelle!” Lily called happily. “I can’t believe
you’re here. Are you sure your heart is healthy
enough?”
“don’t you ever get tired of talking?” Patricia
snapped. “why don’t you just admit you’re just
angry because Steven left Michelle for someone
else and not for you?”
“I think it’s high time you closed that pothole of
yours”, Gwen retaliated. “I think that’s what she’s
good at – walking around like a bodyguard to a
loser”, Stacy said.
“you should be thinking of getting a permanent
man in your life, instead of fighting over your
friend’s ex”, Chioma added.
“hey, hey, cool down ladies”, Lily said to her
friends. “I alone can single – handedly handle this
piece of trash. But too bad, I don’t feel like
getting my hands dirty at this moment. And as
for you, Michelle, this is just the beginning of
your sorrows”.
Michelle didn’t realize when a tear dropped to
her cheek. She couldn’t even think of talking
back at Lily.
She just ran away and locked herself up in the
restroom.
She leaned on the closed door and wept.
“you’ll pay for this, Sophi”, she said bitterly and
continued weeping.
*
Sophia was reading outside the eatery, trying to
keep herself busy until Treasure was done with
her lectures.
She had a doughnut in her hands and ate at it
from time to time.
Shortly, Oliver walked up to her and joined her.
She felt surprised at his presence. It’s been very
long he approached her. She couldn’t understand
why he had been distancing himself for
sometime.
“hi”, she greeted and watched him sit next to
her.
“wats up?”
“I’m fine. Long time. Where’ve you been all these
while?”
Oliver smiled and starred away. Sophia could
notice he was still acting strangely quiet.
“how’ve you been? How’s Steven?”
“Steven?” Sophia was surprised. She wandered
why he was asking her of Steven.
“are you less busy? Do you mind if we had lunch
together?” he asked.
“O… Kay. I don’t mind”, Sophia replied and stood
up with him to go. But, at that point, Steven
came into their midst.
“Sophia,” he called and looked at Oliver. “hey,
dude. Wats up?”
“I’m cool”, Oliver replied simply.
“uhm… Sophia, could you come with me for a
second? There’s something I need to show you ”
Steven said as he held her arms and turned
around to leave with her.
Oliver was amazed and at same time, became
angry.
” I wasn’t exactly trying to snatch her away,
Steven”, he barked.
“what’re you talking about?” Steven asked, bemused.
“I really wonder what makes you feel you’re the
only one that has access to her. If really I
wanted to have her, I would do it in the right
way. I wouldn’t inconvenience others just to get
what I want”.
“Oliver, what’s gotten into you? I think I’ve
endured enough of your insults”.
“Oh, really? But, I wander, don’t you ever get
tired of jumping from one lady to the next? Did
your mother flirt around when she was about
giving birth to you?”
That was the height of it. Steven bounced on
him and punched him on the face. But, Oliver
also retaliated and they got involved in a fist
fight.
It was with the aid of Sophia getting into their
midst that the fight was able to halt.
“please, that’s enough,” she pleaded to both of
them, holding Steven.
She was surprised at Oliver’s attitude. “this is
just the worst you can do, Oliver. No matter what
you do, she’ll never be yours”, Steven barked at
him.
“don’t think you’re sleeping on a bed of roses,
Sophia. He may act like he cares, but no matter
how hard he tries, he’ll always be a cheat”, Oliver
said angrily and left.
Sophia and Steven sat next to each other. She
was trying to clean up the bruise close to his
mouth that was caused by his recent fight with
Oliver.
“you really shouldn’t have started up a fight with
him”, Sophia groused, while attending to his
bruises.
“I’m sorry if I got you angry, but you don’t have
to worry about me. I’m fine”, Steven replied.
“Sophia, regarding what Oliver said; I hope you
don’t take it seriously? I can never… ”
“Steven, please” she interrupted. “you don’t have
to worry about that. I’ve decided not to listen to
anything anyone says anymore. No matter what
they say, it’s never going to change how I feel
about you”.
Steven smiled beatifically.
“I love you, Sophia”, he said.
“I love you too”.
Their lips got interlocked into each others as
they started kissing passionately.
Although, there were students passing by,
stealing glances at them, but they didn’t seem to
care…

To be continued...