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CHAPTER 1
The room was silent, the beautiful break of dawn had started to find its way into this well-appointed feminine bedroom where everything appeared alluring; from the bedclothes to the wardrobe, the curtains to the wall, all pinkish. The setting fitted into an entrapment for any man set for a romantic voyage. It was not difficult to tell that the occupant of this room loved pink. On the cozy bed, laid asleep, two half naked figures which looked exhausted from a romance marathon before falling asleep. Though the air condition was not on, the room was impressively cold. Earlier, when it was on, it was frigid and it wicked away the heats on their bodies fast after the blood in their veins got heated to warmness and left them sweating as they engaged in an intense exercise only them knew about; and as they cuddled, it penetrated their skin, chilling their blood, sinking into the marrow of their bones like wet concrete and it was then the male figure switched it off before they finally embraced sleep. These two figures were too good to look upon, too appealing not to give attention. The appearance of these opposite sexes was unmatched by any two souls in a romantic entanglement.

The male figure, Mike, turned at once, woke up from sleep, picked up his wristwatch from the headboard and he checked the time. “Oops, past seven already,” he muttered, followed by stretching and yawning. He removed the bedspread which covered from waist to the heels, then gently removed his female counterpart’s hand which rested on his smooth hairless chest. He reached for his clothes on the floor, hurried to dress up as he now sat on the bed. Shortly, Soma turned around, facing up, scrabbled about for Mike but did not feel his body on the bed. It was then she reluctantly opened her eyes, blinked them a few times, pandiculated and then turned to behold his presence.

“Hey Mike,” she said, “You’re up already! Good morning. What are you doing?”

“I’m leaving,” he replied while backing her. “I have a flight to catch back to Lagos by nine and I need to hurry to my hotel room before time.” Then he turned to her, “I guess you have gotten what you desired, three nights of sexual exploits! You got me into cheating on my wife for three whole nights, nonstop. Well, I guess I will never see you again because I’d never want a repeat of this nonsense ever again in my life,” he concluded.

His words disappointed her so. Though she had seduced him the first night, she definitely didn’t coerce him into continuing the so mentioned ‘sexual exploits’ for the following two nights. He knew it too. He only wanted to get over it and, surely, he did. Then she sat up.

“Nonsense?” she queried. “You call what we had these past three nights nonsense?” She continued with a slight head tilt, lowered eyebrows and squinted eyes, “I fell in love with you those two nights we met. Do you think I did what I did to get you out of prison just like that? I loved you Mike. I fell in love with you at first sight and I still do. The fact that you’re now married still doesn’t change anything,” she ended in a tone which lacked discountenance and her utterances, vehement.

He gave her a stern look which bore in it, a warning which could interpret as “You must be out of your mind.” In an attempt to calm him down, she moved closer to him, placed her hands on his shoulder.

“I love you Mike,” she said emphatically, with a low voice.

He rebuffed with a flushed face and patchy red blotches, pushing her hands off. Those words had only come for the first time when she moaned them, as they made love, the first night that heralded the so called ‘three nights of sexual exploit’. For the past many months ago when fate crossed their paths and same fate dispersed them, she never had the opportunity or privilege to cross paths with Mike again and utter those words which had remained planted in her soul. But when they finally did cross paths again, same fate hadn’t helped matters. As they made love that night, passionately and intensely, she moaned those words from the deepest of her heart and Mike paid no attention to them. Perhaps, he thought, they were uttered out of ecstasy.

“Stop it! Stop it Soma!” he ordered. “It ends here. Let whatever love you claim you have for me end right here. I’m married and my wife and I have done the best we can do for you by giving you this good job in her father’s company. Don’t be ungrateful,” he stamped. “I’m leaving. Enjoy the rest of your day.” He stood up to walk away.

“Oh you think because you and your wife gave me this good job, that it can wipe away the love I have for you?” she countered. “No Mike. It’s not my fault. I can’t help this feeling. Anyways, I have it all figured out.”

That struck Mike that he turned sharply toward her. Yes, she sure had gotten him where she desired.

“Yes I do.” She continued, “I’m returning to Lagos soon because I have applied for a Master’s Degree Program at UNILAG to continue from where I stopped in the UK. I will email your wife and explain to her so she can transfer me. I am sure she will have no reservation to this. That way nothing will stop me from continuing this that we have started here because, Mike, if I can’t have all, I desire to have more of you.”

Soma had fallen wildly in love with Mike and she couldn’t help it. She knew love was not a hot-house flower, but a wild plant born out of a wet night, born in an hour of sunshine; sprung from wild seed, blown along the road by a wild wind. It was a wild plant that, when it blossomed by chance, within the hedge of gardens, was called a flower; but was a weed when it blossomed outside the garden. Whether flower or weed, the scent and colour would always be wild! She could differentiate love from infatuation and she knew she had been in love with Mike long ago, before the first night of their exploits. All she desired was to be loved in return. She asked for nothing further and there was no other pearl to be found in the dark folds of life. All she ever wanted was Mike for her and her for him.

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https://nwafada.com/2019/02/01/the-other-side-of-life-2/