₦airaland Forum

I didn't disappear. I got stuck on how to move the story forward so I had to step away for a while to really think.

Sorry about the delay.

efeteb:
And the OP disappearED

Infinite Love 115

Blacklisted

“What...? Sir…I don’t understand. You’re letting me go…why?”

“Well…” he adjusted in his seat “…it just means that…for now, not entirely we have to erm…pause any ongoing production and future projects that the company has with…you.”


“WHAT!?” she panicked. “Okay, now. Calm down.”

“…ongoing and future projects? That means I’m fired. ARE YOU FIRING ME?”

“NO…I mean, yes…but it’s just temporary.”

She couldn’t believe this. She came out of her house for air only to be humiliated at
the mall and now she was fired. There was suddenly no air left in the large
airconditioned office to fill her lungs. She couldn’t breathe.

“I don’t understand. Why? What…what have I done to warrant this? I…I’ve never missed work, I’m hardly ever late. I have a good working relationship with the cast and crew. Hell, I get along with everyone so well that I’m even friends with the security men downstairs, unlike some people I know…” then it occurred to her.

“…wait a minute. DID PRINCEWILL DO THIS? HE DID, DIDN’T HE?”

“Oh, no. Princewill has already been let go as well. We let him go a few days ago. I was only waiting to see you in person. Out of respect, I didn’t want to say this over the phone.”

She was shocked. She couldn’t imagine Princewill surviving without his job. He was the most self-absorbed actor she had ever worked with but he sincerely loved his job.

“Wh…why is this happening, Mr Dele? What’s going on?”

“Don’t you know? Do you really have no idea, Angela?”

“No…” she whispered too afraid she might have done something to cause this to herself.

Mr Bamidele regarded her sadly for a moment and then proceeded to open his desk drawer to pull out a newspaper, he got and gave it to her.

“Our producer, Mr Segun, brought this to me a while back.”

The newspaper was an old copy of The Insider. She had seen it before. Her mother had brought it home and waved it in her face during the many times that they argued.

“Dream Couple Wakes Up & Split” was the headline. She regarded the paper for a bit.

“But sir…this shouldn’t warrant…”

“Oh, I agree! I totally agree with you and I said that to Segun myself when he came here with this a long time ago. The lives of our actors are theirs to live. We can’t dictate how they live their lives. We simply can’t.”

“Alright, sir. But…I still don’t understand. If you told him that then this…” she waved the paper “…shouldn’t be an issue and I shouldn’t be dismissed.”

“Yes, you would think that but then this…” he brought out another paper from the drawer, and gave it to her “…this happened.”

The paper was still another of The Insider but this time it was a more
recent copy, only a few days old and it’s headline was…

“Cheating Scandal! Angela, No Angel!”

She broke out in sweats. She hadn’t seen this one before. Such a scathing headline and what do they mean by ‘cheating’? She browsed through the article and it was even more scathing than the headline. It mentioned she was having an affair, despite being engaged, how she paraded her lover in front of her fiancé without
shame and cited many unknown sources. All lies!

“Oh my God!”

“I know.”
“Mr. Dele…this isn’t true!”

“Mr. Dele…this isn’t true!”

“I know.”

“It’s
all lies!”

“I know.”

“They’re only tarnishing my image!”

“Angela? I KNOW! I’ve been working with you for years remember? I know you better than anyone. Even Princewill vouches for you.”

She sank in her seat. “I can’t believe this! I’m going to sue!”

“Yeah, you can do that but with tabloids and our legal system, even if you win you have already lost so much time, money and energy. And it's everywhere so how many papers will you sue?"

“But then…what do I do? I…I’m innocent. This is…THIS IS WRONG!”

He looked at her sympathetically and said slowly.

“Angel? I know. But unfortunately, nobody cares what I believe. This is show business and what makes it great is also what makes it awful, the story. The more sensational the story, the more people will believe it. People are more willing to believe that you two broke up over your cheating than simply the truth, which is you two just not making a good fit. And this story has spread like wild fire! It’s everywhere; in the news on TV, the radio, everywhere and public
opinion is against. It has gotten to our producers and our financiers, even
studio executives are talking about you. Imagine that. You would think that people who make fantasy would know better than to believe in fiction.”

“Wow.”

“I know. I’m sorry, Angel. But unfortunately, we had a meeting and they are not willing to back someone that the public has dubbed a Jezebel. It’s bad for business. They are our customers and right now they hate you and they don’t want to see you on their screen. Nobody is bigger than the public. Not you, not me and not even Princewill.”

“So
that’s it. We’re both out of jobs.”

“Yes,
but in the case of Princewill, he may be able to walk away from this a rebuild
since he is seen as the victim here. He would have lost all the promotion and
exposure from our current and future projects, which is a lot because we had
big plans for you both. But he would still be able to rebuild his career after
this. But, as for you…you have been …blacklisted.”

“Oh…I
see.” She said sadly. “So, that’s it? Afterall these years, I’m out? I’m done?”
He looked at her sadly.

“Angel?
I know that…its unfair to you. But even the studio has suffered a huge loss.
All that time and money gone into production and development, lost! Wasted!”

“I’m…sorry.”

“No,
don’t be. I’m sorry. I know more than anyone how you have thrown yourself into
your work. I was there from the beginning. I saw you transitioning and how hard
it was back then. I know all the many years that you spent solely focused on
developing yourself as an actress, I was there. I encouraged you to it. I can’t
imagine how many relationships you must have sacrificed; friends, boyfriends. I
was the one who promised you that it will all be worth it in the end. I
mentored you through it all and I failed. I am sorry, Angela.”

She
was close to tears “There must…there must be something I can do. This has been
my home for many years. I don’t want to leave. Where will I go?”

He
regarded her sadly again and after a beat he said; “Angel? The last thing I
want to do is tell you how to live your life but, if you and Princewill could
just…get together and talk...? That’s all it has to be, just talk. Maybe you
both would be able to work something out. Because quite frankly, both your
public images have essentially been tied to your careers. More so than any
other actors after the engagement and its subsequent publicity. Another actor
or actress may have been able to get away with infidelity in the public eye.
Hell, most of them do, but Mr. Segun was right about something. Both your
careers have been boosted by your love lives. And if that dies now, I’m afraid
your careers may not be far behind.”

“I
see…” was all she could say to keep from crying.

“So,
please. Talk to him? He has everything to gain from it and nothing to lose.”

“Talk
to Princewill?”

“Yes,
Angel. Talk to him.”

This
was the worst. She didn’t regret calling off their sham of an engagement one
bit and she had basically blacklisted his calls after he kept on
badgering her and now, she had to talk to him or her career was
effectively over right there at the very peak of it. She thanked him and left
his office quietly. In a daze she went to her studio office to pick up a few
things but when Sunday the security guy came and stationed himself at her door
which was protocol for terminated employees, it dawned on her that she was
effectively fired. And the tears came flooding out and she sank in her chair.



“Madam,
no vex abeg. Just company policy.” He said trying to console her. She knew him well. A shy taciturn fellow who
only smiled and hardly spoke unless spoken to. His brother had promised him a
better life in Lagos so he left his mechanic practice and came over. Only to
find his brother needed someone to man his pepper shop so that he could open
another one. He had toiled for many years grinding and selling pepper until he
got a connection to work in security before he had a chance to start his life
and get married. She knew them all very well.

She
could see how uncomfortable he was at the task at hand and knew that he had no
choice so she decided to make things easier for him.

“It’s
alright, Sunday. I’m coming just…give me a second.” And with characteristic
shyness he quietly grabbed the box and held it as she put in the few things she
wanted.

They
walked together, past the other rooms, past Princewill’s locked door that now
had an empty slide where his name was under the star sticker on the door. Past
the writers’ common room, where the few of them present mumbled their farewells
and the others nodded their heads in goodbye. Past the executives’ offices and
then downstairs past the staging area and finally at the security gate, where
Sunday finally handed her her box and said.

“Good
bye, madam. I will really miss you.”

“Thank
you, Sunday. Good bye.”

“Good
bye, madam.” The rest of the security men said from inside their box as she
drove past the gate and out of the only building that she had ever felt safe
and good about herself. She drove out a few blocks before she parked the car, hugged her shoulders and allowed herself to cry.

Spices for you

Infinite Love 114

A Long Way To Lose

She couldn’t figure out why she was getting so much mean looks at first.

Yes, it had been a few days since she last left the house. She did it to avoid some of the stubborn paparazzi.

The ones who would boldly barge onto her front door to knock and blare the glare of their camera flashes into her face, it irritated her pupils and her temper. Ever since her little blow out break up of their engagement, she had been getting a few of those at her home at odd hours.

But she wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. So, she had been hiding to avoid any further blow out to the press. That never helps. But she needed to get out. She needed fresh air, to breathe. And space too, any place away from the constant badgering of her mum and the press. So, she took her hooded sweat shirt, hid her hair with a NY base cap and covered her eyes with big sunglasses, out the back door as she headed for the mall.

The looks started almost straightaway. After taking down the hood of her shirt, the first few women she saw after the initial frowning look of curiosity which she used to call; the-I-know-this-person’ look, the look came. But they weren’t the usual, star struck stares that she usually received after the-I-know-person look. These were different these looks seemed…hostile.

She covered up again and got to the mall still trying to figure it out. It couldn’t be about the break up, could it? Celebrities break up all the time and people were used to that. In the yoghurt isle, almost immediately after she took off her hood again, two women were there and upon recognition they put no effort in hiding their contempt of her.

All the way from their end they watched her with their judgmental eyes and made it no secret that they were talking about her as they rolled their eyes and pointed in their heated discussion about it.

“Why are these people mad at me?” she thought.

Their open disdain prompted her to leave and at the cashier developed an attitude as soon as she peaked under her cap. Angela immediately put her glasses back on and paid her. As she went out of the mall, she heard someone hurriedly push them open the doors behind her.

“GO BACK TO PRINCEWILL!” She froze and slowly turned around to find one of the women at the youghurt aisle who added “Shameless woman!”

And an ugly scene was instantly created as everyone outside froze in their step and stopped whatever they were doing and turned to stare at her. A few covered their mouths in realization of her identity and some pointed at her but most just looked at her with…contempt, eyeballing her terribly.

“Mtcheew!” one person hissed

“Na so dem dey do.”

“Dem go dey form holy for camera but everything na fake life.” Another said and she quickly hopped into her car and drove away to the studio completely confused about what was going on.

…

She put the earlier events out of her head as she arrived at the studio. Studio 55 west side of the bar beach, Lagos Island had been her home for more than five years now and of all the places and locations she had worked, studio 55 was the first one to make her at home. It was in very few times that one gets a find a film cast and crew members who worked as a family. She knew the names of everyone there from the stage director Mr Bami to the security man Sunday. And they knew her too!

When she started there all those years ago as an actress with mostly theatre background and little TV experience, the crew took her in gave her time to adjust. They were patient with her whenever her was two dimensional as it was expected on a theatre stage as opposed to the multiple cameras found on a TV stage.

“Cut! Angela please, can we do that scene again but this time, make sure to deliver to cameras two to five and not just seven and ten.” The director would often correct her kindly. The amazing Mr Bamidele, he was in a lot of ways the reason for her big break. Him and Uchechi.

It was Mr Bamidele, who allowed her to audition for her breakthrough role all those years ago, even after realizing that her name wasn’t on the list. But it was Uchechi, who had convinced her to gate crash the audition in the first place.

“But I wasn’t called for this audition?” she had protested as Uchechi dragged them along to the audition.

“It doesn’t matter, we’re here now. We might as well do it.”

“Na wa o! But Uchechi, this is for TV now. And you know we are majorly theatre actors?”

“Eh hen? And so? Acting na acting now. All na action, cut, action, cut! Let’s go jor!”

“Hey, Uchechi. Me I am too shy to gatecrash anything o! I don’t know how to do this o!”

“Babe! It’s okay now. Just act like you belong that’s all! You na good actress now, so act like you were called to audition.”

“Okay, and when they here my name and check their list they will know that I lied to them.”

“And so? Babe, forget dat one. Just tell them that you got the sms nonetheless.”

“And what if they want to see the sms?”

“Tell dem your phone don die!”

“AH! They will know I lied now!”

“Babe, leave that one. This is Nigeria. Everyone is lying about something. They just haven’t been caught yet.”

“Ha ha.”

“Babe, this one is even small. I used to go the Akokia Town Hall every Saturday for food.”

“Really? How do you get food there, that is an event centre now?”

“I know, which is why it is the perfect place to get free food. I just pretended to be a guest and they will feed me like everyone else?”

“Wow! Really?”

“Yes now! One time, they even put me on the high table because the bride and I looked alike. She was a very fair complexioned Fulani. I still remember her name; Salma.”

“What?! Can you speak Fulani??” Angela asked shocked.

“Mtcheew!” she hissed “I can’t even speak Hausa not to talk of Fulani.”

“So how did you manage to…get in and out of those kinds of situations now?” she asked perplexed.

“Angela, it is by acting. Plain and simple. The job naturally trains us on becoming conmen. Acting na 419 now. You deceive people and they pay you for it. Just act and be confident and you can do anything.”

And that was where she got her acting ego boost from, Uchechi. They both auditioned that by simply acting their way in past the security until they got to the waiting room. All the others’ names were called except theirs. The jig was up. But instead Uchechi made a performance about how they both came all the way from Kaduna to Portharcourt for the audition and now they were not even called to at least audition. It was not fair. They spent a lot of money to get there. They weren’t sure of how they would get back home. But they just wanted to audition first of all before finding their way.

The usher just had to let them in to audition as he was powerless to deal with two crying women. Uchechi auditioned first and her performance was golden. Angela never thought her performance would be up to par. But when it was her turn and they called her name the then director Mr Bamidele realized that her name as well as Uchechi’s name wasn’t on the list. Uchechi nodded, giving her to signal to lie her way around it. But, Angela simply told the truth. And Uchechi’s face fell as if to say ‘Oh my God’.

But Mr Bamidele merely shook his head and asked her to go on and do the audition. Afterall, they were already there. So, she performed and they merely sat there watching her without any reaction at all. Angela thought she blew it. They were very agitated, very alive during Uchechi’s performance and they even clapped for her. So, she thought it was best to forget the whole thing. Nevertheless, they both wrote down their names when directed before leaving the place.

“Did you see my performance? I had so much energy in that part. It was really fun.”

“Um…yeah. You did great!” Angela said trying to mask her disappointment in her own performance. She went on to forget about the audition and continue with her stage acting career. She got rejections and discouragements, many times. But she kept at it. It was part of the job. And she loved it. Every part of it. It was what she was meant to do. So, she accepted the good, the bad and the ugly sides of it.

She accepted that she would have to pay her dues. And so those many years she spent on training as an extra or a backup, getting her feet wet and doing many of the stage setup without getting paid and living off of popcorn and biscuits and butter. She never complained. Even when she missed a lot of roles due to her refraining from naked scenes and sex scenes, she still didn’t complain. Even all those years that she was referred to as ‘Mrs. No!’ because she would always say ‘No’ and never allow any male actor touch or grab her inappropriately.

And all those years that she couldn’t get any top roles in Lagos because she refused the advances of many of the top producers who requested private auditions in hotels or in their houses, she still didn’t complain. It was all part of the job. She just concentrated on doing her job. It was her baby. And besides she didn’t mind having to travel far to the South or East for roles. She liked travelling. It allowed to see the country. And befriend people like Uchechi.

Although, they had graduated the same school and the same year, they had never been close until a stingy producer booked them in a cheap hotel in Port Harcourt called ‘Hotel Sharp Sharp!’ Angela had found the name funny and never caught on the meaning until, her and Uchechi who had been booked in the same room began hearing moaning noises from the next rooms. It was a brothel! And when they went outside to get away from all the noises, one of the male patrons requested to book her and Uchechi together for the night. They ran to their room laughing and bolted their door with a lock and chair before they could fall asleep that night. Adventures like that were also part of the job and she enjoyed them too.

But months later, when Mr Bamidele later called her, not Uchechi for the role. She was shocked. She called Uchechi about it, she good-naturedly congratulated her and wished her the best. Uchechi by then had given up acting after falling for the usher at their audition in PortHarcourt. She was living happily with her husband and two kids.

That was how she became part of the Studio 55 family. As an unknown actress with a theatre background and no fanbase, working her way up from a supporting cast member to the main event with sheer hard work.

Mr Bamidele always said; “No other actor can pickup as many lines as Angela. She was always the first to memorise her script lines. She could cram a two-page monologue under ten minutes.” Her hard work paid off in the end. She became close to Mr Bami and many others at the studio.

As she entered the studio, she greeted everyone from the gateman to the cameraman as was her custom but when she got to Mr. Bamidele’s office, he didn’t look happy to see her.

“Good afternoon, sir.”

“Good afternoon, Angela. How are you?”

“Fine, sir. Hope you’re well?”

“Oh, sure. Thank you.”

“Erm…is, is everything alright, sir?”

“No…Angela. Everything is not alright. Not at all.”

“What is it, sir?”

“It’s you, Angela. We have to let you go!”

I'm fine boss. Thanks for asking. I'm really sorry about the hiatus but I'm back now.

Carterj007:
Hello, good morning. How are you? I hope you're doing fine?

Does anyone know a Pilot I can talk to? It's just for research. Thanks.

No boss. Nothing like that.

Infinite Love 113

A Mother's Love

“Dear Michael, I just got a notification that the last messages I sent you weeks ago were delivered. You must have read them by now. Please call me back. I know Princewill, probably has everyone believing this whole marriage charade thing but trust me…it’s more business than personal.

Michael, it’s been months and still not a single word from you. I NEED YOU! Please call me back, as soon as you can.”

She dialed the send but and click…

*Message sending failed!*

*Sigh!*

It was going to about over twenty something messages that can came back with the same notification. Initially, she had thought maybe the number was lost or something but ever so often she would get a delivery notification on each one of them and then she knew that the number was good. Michael did receive her messages he just didn’t want to talk to her.

He must have been upset over her engagement to Princewill but if he just talked to her…if she could only find him to explain, she was sure that she could sort it all out. She had visited his old dry-cleaning but his landlady had rented it out to another tenant. It was now a business centre. And the landlady had no idea where he was and she directed her to his parents but she knew she couldn’t go there anymore. His grandmother and mother had made it perfectly clear that she wasn’t welcome.

She couldn’t explain his sudden disappearance. He had suddenly vanished into thin air. Even before the engagement he had been distant and a little annoyed with her. She still couldn’t explain that part. Everything had been going on so well then all of a sudden, he just got moody. She thought maybe he needed some space but he became even more withdrawn until the end of shoot party. She had invited him, she’d hoped but a part of her was prepared for him not showing until he finally did.

And it was great. He was his old self again in that brief moment when he was saying so many nice things about her until…Princewill ruined it and blindsided her with the proposal. She was yet to wrap her head around that night. It was the worst night of her life. It ruined everything for her. Thinking so much about it was only giving her a headache and so she decided to go out.

…

The phone rang only twice before she picked up.

“Hello, Mama?”

“Hello, my son. How…?”

“Mama, you have to fix this! And you have to fix this FAST!”

“Hey, my son. I am trying my best ehn? I have been talking to her myself all the time. Everyday. Every…day. I have been talking to her. Shouting and even begging her to use her head. To come back to her senses. But she is just too stubborn.”

“Mama, all I am hearing are excuses here. Listen, Mama. Everything I have is riding on your daughter coming back to her senses. Everything! If she doesn’t change her ways…I will lose everything! Mama, do you want me to lose everything I have worked so hard to achieve in the past few years?”

“No, of course not, my son. God forbid! That will never be your portion!”

“THEN TALK TO YOUR STUPID DAUGHTER NOW!”

“Ah, calm down now. And I don’t like that kind of language about my Angela. She is very very smart, brilliant sef, you know?”

“Oh, sorry, Mama.”

“It’s okay, my son. I know that you have also been under a lot of stress. The both of you have…”

“MAMA! Need I remind you that all of this was YOUR IDEA?”

“Well…no…”

“NO, WHAT? Wasn’t it YOU who came to ME?”

“No …er that wasn’t what I meant…”

“You told me. Oh, Angela is so successful, so beautiful and so nice. You two would make a beautiful couple. It is the perfect set up. Two soap opera actors who fell in love in real life. Think how much it would boost your careers.” He said mimicking her voice comically.

“Ehn…I was only thinking about you.”

“Me? Or wasn’t it that you just wanted to get rid of Michael from her life? Or you think I don’t remember? You just have to do it and fast before that never-do-well Michael, steals her away. He has already corrupted her mind.”

“My son. There’s no need to replay my tape now. I remember all that I said that day and listen…I was really just thinking about the both of you.”

“Mama…”

“And didn’t it work? Did your careers not balloon overnight?”

“Mama. That’s not the…”

“Did you not get all those endorsements after the announcement? Your modeling gigs. Your face in front of all those magazines. And those nice clothes from Yomi Casuals. Were they not free?”

“Erm…”

“And wasn’t it after the announcement that your contract got renewed? Even after critics called your performance subpar?”

“HEY, MAMA! Those old farts won’t know a good actor even if he fell on them!”

“Yes, of course dear but everyone immediately forgot about that and began singing your praise, didn’t they?”

“er…”

“Did my plan not help you become the number one heartthrob in the country…”

“erm…” he couldn’t deny that, his phone will filled with unknown women called boobies and hot buns.

“…despite your poor performance?”

“HEY!”

“I am just pointing out that I have helped you a lot. And you really should be more grateful.”

“Oh, is it gratitude that you want? No problem. Thank you, Mama. Thank you very much.”

“Oh, you’re welcome…”

“But now that your plan is backfiring and I’m about to lose everything, do you think I will go down alone?”

“ehn…what are you saying?”

“I’m saying, I will tell your precious daughter everything. Everything! That this was all your idea. And all those things you told me you did to poor Michael whenever he came over to look for her? All those nasty, awful and terrible things you said? *tsk* *tsk* Do you think that she would appreciate them?”

“Everything I did…I did for my daughter’s sake.”

“Is that right? Do you think she’ll see it that way? *tsk* *tsk* Those were some hot things you said to Michael, mama. Even I felt the heat from merely hearing about them. Poor Michael must have been burnt. I’ll bet when Angela hears about them, she’ll be so mad that she would never talk to you again.”

“Look here. All of that…was for Angela. Everything I did was for Angela.”

“Just get your daughter back to her senses or else you will lose your precious Angela.”

He hung up the phone and she carefully placed the phone back on the sitting room parlour with slightly trembling hands. Everything she had done was for Angela, and she didn’t regret doing any of it. Thanks to her own daughter is about…was about to marry the most eligible bachelor in the country instead of a ragamuffin gold digger from the ghetto. But would Angela see it that way?

She had only done what any good mother would do, after all. She should be awarded. Even Angela would come to appreciate her efforts, once she had finally settled down to her marriage life with all of its luxuries that she herself never got. She had tried to make her understand this but Angela had the same stubborn neck as her father and she wouldn’t listen and they only ended up fighting again and again.

Angela came out of her room in that moment. After spending yet another day hiding from her mother.

“Oh, my dear. You are awake?” she asked fully aware of the avoidance.

“Yes, Mama, good afternoon.” She said heading straight for the door.

“Oh, Angela? Before you go out again can we have a little talk first?”

She stopped but she never let go of the door handle.

“Oh, Mama. I’m so tired of fighting. Honestly, I don’t have the energy for it tonight.”

“No, no, I don’t want to fight. I only want to talk.” She pleaded.

“Is it about Princewill and me?”

“Yes, now.”

“Then it’s a fight, Mama. I’m going out please.” Then she twisted the door handle and left. Leaving her mother in deep thought.

“So she is really set in this decision of hers? And Princewill will not take that. He wants to ruin me with Angela and I can’t let that happen. What do I do? She is tired of listening to me. How can I make her listen she’s just as stubborn as her father?” she thought and that’s when she had her next nefarious idea.

If you like the words. Wait till you hear the song

Wait now. Una no get patience?

opico24:
Bro update us on Mikel bro ..

Infinite Love 112

Trouble in Paradise

“Like I said earlier, Lisa all these stories, all these lies all about in the media and spread by the press is nothing but pure fabrication. Angela and I couldn’t be happier…as a couple.

We are eagerly awaiting the day when we’ll become husband and wife.”

“And when will that be.”

“Oh, soon.”

“Could you be more specific and give us a date?”

“And ruin the surprise? Not on your life.” Princewill said smiling as he answered her questions and Lisa smiled back knowing full well that he was lying.

“Hello, everyone. If you’re just joining us, we were talking to Nigeria’s number 1 ‘IT’ couple or at least half of it.” She said half talking to the camera and half to the viewers at home.

*smiles from the audience*

“Here with me is Princewill, the star of the recently concluded Love Indefinitely and fiancé to Angela Nwolisa his former costar and soon to costars again in their upcoming show ‘Till Infinity’. He’s here to dispel rumors about the breakup in their relationship…sorry ladies, he’s still not single.” She said smiling to the audience who responded with…

*AWW!*

“…yeah too bad, huh?”

“Well, not for me, at least. I am the luckiest man in the world. I am engaged to marry the most wonderful, most beautiful and best costar that I have ever worked with. I am truly blessed.”

“Aww! That is soo sweet! And where IS your lady love? She hasn’t been seen outside of her flat in a while. Is everything okay?”

“Oh, everything’s fine. We agreed that the schedule of our public functions coupled with our work schedule was becoming to taxing and so I…being very considerate, suggested…in fact demanded that she slows down and take a break.”

“Oh, you are truly amazing! You are not just fine on the outside but you also have a beautiful heart.”

She said winking at him, knowing fully well that he was not. The few times they had met at Chester’s Hotel, had taught her that he was far from being a nice person. Lisa’s experience with cheating men had taught her that there two kinds of cheating men. The first were the repentant ones; who cheated probably because they couldn’t get the satisfaction from their partners and eventually go home to their wives. And the second; were men like Princewill, who took cheating as part of their lifestyle.

The last time they were together she called his locked phone when he went to the bathroom, her number came up as ‘Boobies No. 7’.

“Oh, it is merely the love I have for Angela that drives me.” He said and Lisa arched an eyebrow in stark disbelief.

“Really?”

“Oh, yes! You see, the love we share is magical. It is like… a magical intertwine with a thread of passion and covered in layers of adoration and yearning. When we are together we can only see each other and when we’re apart we feel other’s heart.”

“Eh hen? Wow!” Lisa gasped not believing how much crappy lies one guy can spew without even blinking.

“I’m telling you. As…as I am right now? I can feel Angela!”

“OH MY GOD!” Lisa threw her hands in the air. “Is this true love or what? He loves her so much, he can even feel her in her absence. And what do tell…is she doing right now?”

“She’s having her lunch…a plate of Oha soup and Akpu swallow.”

“Hmm hmmm? And what else?”

“…and she’s thinking about me.”

“Aww! Aren’t they just adorable? Please give them a round of applause!” Lisa said and as on cue the audience clapped.

“And unfortunately, that’s all we have time for on today’s programme ‘CelebRATE’. We will keep you up to date about the happenings in the lives Princewill and Angela, whom we all love to call Prince Angel. So, tune in tomorrow when we will bring you more celebrity gists on CelebRATE. Until next time, and from Princewill?”

“Goodbye! Love yourself!”

“And it’s goodbye from me too!”

The lights dimmed a little and he took off the clipped microphone to give it to her.

“So, till when do you think you can carry on this charade of yours, ehn Prince?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

She smiled “I wonder how much longer it will take before the people realise that you have infact been dumped.”

“Like I said; that’s all nonsense. Angela and I are still engaged.”

“I’ll give it two weeks and then…things will fall apart.” She said and walked away from him but he quick stepped to her side.

“Hey, hey hey. How about we meet up? Tonight, at the same place?” he said quietly being casual.

“Sorry, I have plans tonight!” she said and walked away briskly.

“How about…” he called out.

“Still have plans!” she responded walking away and he couldn’t believe her attitude. He couldn’t believe the cold shoulder he was getting from her and the rest of them. Ever since the breakup, most of them were giving him the cold shoulder. Just a few weeks ago, he was on a high and riding on a wave of female attention as Angela’s fiancé. But now, half of the women on his phone were giving him attitude and the rest of them weren’t picking his calls. They could smell the rejection on him and they weren’t interested anymore. Imagine, now that he was free they didn’t want him but when he was solidly engaged they clamoured for him. He turned away from her, angry at being rejected by a meagerly paid TV hostess.

“Many women will eagerly sell their freaking kidneys for a chance to meet him and she was giving him the cold shoulder? Who does she think she is?” he thought as he went away not even bothering to meet and chat and sign autographs with the now reduced number of fans that came over to him.

“This is all that stupid girl, Angela’s fault!” he thought when he got to the car. “And those blasted reporters were there when she had that childish meltdown.”

He recalled the events of the last few weeks. “THE ENGAGEMENT IS OFF! THE WEDDING IS OFF! EVERYTHING IS OFF!” she had shouted at the top of her lungs like a crazy person and those stupid reporters nearly ran out of the house to report that. He had ran after them to explain that it was all a misunderstanding but they clearly didn’t believe him. The idiots. They looked bone thin and starving so he had even given them each, about fifty thousand to not air the story and he was shocked that they had, even after collecting his money.

“Those backstabbing hyenas!”

After sending off the reporters he went back inside and they had a huge fight. Frankly, he was surprised that she could stand her ground. He threatened and shouted and cursed her but all to no avail. He had called her to threaten her further but still, she blatantly refused to meet with him ever again. She even had the nerve to block him. Him! The girl was obviously under some kind of voodoo spell and he was the one suffering the consequences. All they he had planned were tied to her and now, they were slowly vanishing before his eyes. He was for the first time beginning to panic. He had just two weeks left. If the public indeed, got to find out that their engagement and pending wedding was off, he feared his career might take an irreparable damage.

*RING! RING!*

His phone rang. It was Uncle Kenny, his family’s representative. He picked up reluctantly.

“Hello? Dear Uncle Ken. How are you sir?”

“Did she really dump you?” he said straight to the point.

His Uncle Kennedy was the only one in his entire extended family who was still talking to him after he nearly bankrupted the family business. He was the one who got the family to give him a second chance and fund his acting career on the condition that he’d not mess it up. If he succeeded, he would be allowed back into the family’s lucrative mining and export business and if he failed. He would be finally ostracized. He feared that more than ever!

“What? Oh, no…not at all!” he said casually.

“Then why haven’t you two been seen together in public?”

“Well, we…had a little quarrel. But…it’s nothing…a mere lover’s spat.” He laughed uneasily but his uncle wasn’t buying it.

“Well…Will. You had better ‘unspit’ your spat because if the family gets wind of this, then you’re history. And there would be nothing I can do!”

He began sweating “No, Uncle. Like I said. It’s nothing! You will see us both in public very soon.”

“For your sake, I hope so. Did you know that the family is thinking of going into politics?”

“WHAT? NO! WHEN?”

“It’s a recent development, it hasn’t been made public yet.”

“Wow! That’s fantastic, Uncle!”

“Did you also know that…given your popular public personality, they were considering you as the family front man?”

“WOW! YES! I WOULD LOVE THAT VERY MUCH!”

“You do, do you?”

“OH, YES UNCLE! VERY MUCH!”

“Well, you can kiss that opportunity GOODBYE, if you get dumped! The family take it as a sign that you haven’t changed and move on to one of your cousins. You definitely have many of them. Maybe they might even choose Okoro, he just got back from London Business School and he has been going around your other uncles and giving them money. That is something you never did in your time.”

“Oh, no. NO NO NO NO NO UNCLE! Don’t do me like this! It’s not my fault. I have a good boy. I have been very nice to her but… the girl is just stupid! Lagos girls are very stupid. It’s not my fault at all, Uncle.”

“Well, that stupid girl, now holds the key to you have a political position in the future. So, without her, you can kiss politics goodbye. And too bad, you would have made a handsome governor someday.”

“Go…governor?!” he stammered at the possibility of being a governor. His uncle was right, he would make a very handsome governor indeed. He would dress to kill and invite all his fellow American governors and celebrities to dinner and parties. He would look so hot in his governor’s glasses and suit and seated in his governor’s chair.

“Fix it, Will! Fix it, now!” his uncle said jolting his back from his daydream.

“Yes, Uncle. Right away, Uncle. I won’t disappoint…” he continued saying but his uncle had hung up the phone.

“WOW! GOD! GOVERNOR! ME!” he clapped and banged on his car’s steering wheel. Then he remembered his uncle’s warning; without her, you can kiss politics goodbye. And the difficulty dawned on him.

“THAT STUPID GIRL! SO STUPID! Let me call her and give her a piece of my mind once more.” He dialed her number and got the ‘call barred’ message. “That’s right she barred my number. What is her problem?” he thought.

“What if she never gets back with me?” he considered and broke out in fresh cold sweat. He would lose so much. No, he had to do of something and fast because he was running out of time. At this point he was willing to do anything to win her back, anything! Even getting down on his knees and begging if he had to. But after a few minutes, he realized, he may not have to. And dialed the one person he knew could get her to change her mind.

You're welcome boss

Carterj007:
Thank you so much.

Infinite Love 111

Breaking Point

Angela was famous. Mores so than she had ever been before. The media was clamouring for her and industry representatives were calling her agent twenty-four seven requesting for her appearances in films and shows.

She was the most sought-after actress for the past two years in a row and she was one of the most recognizable personalities in the country. And well paid. Cowry magazine put her in the top three of the most bankable stars of the decade. She was not just famous; she was rich too! Yes. For Angela Nwolisa, to the public, it was the very best of times. But that was on the outside.

On the inside. She was lost and confused and sad. Her life had become her work and her work had become her life. And she could no longer tell where one ended and the other began. Almost all her waking life was dedicated to some kind of show about her life and her privacy was almost nonexistent. Her mental state was in pieces too as she could no longer tell fact from fiction. She could no longer tell which part of her life was a sham and which was a show. Because even when she wasn’t at the studio. She was either making appearances somewhere with Princewill or being chaperoned somewhere with him. Her entire life was becoming staged even when she wasn’t on stage. And she was so tired of it that she could hardly breathe.

And the worst part of it was, the worst part hadn’t even started yet. All the attention and the focus and the talks and the interviews and the appearances and the lunches and the constantly being harassed by her mom and Princewill everyday were merely preludes to the big event. Her wedding. Their engagement had sparked a media frenzy but their public appearances and their televised love story aired nationally in all the major broadcasting networks fueled the public hunger for more of her and him together daily.

All of a sudden Angela and Prince were the number one ‘IT’ couple in the country. They were even more famous than the last ‘IT’ couple that caused a national frenzy; Ali and Rita. The son of the country’s Hausa born President who wedded the daughter of an Ibo born billionaire. Her daily drawn out routine of people telling her what to do, where to go, what to wear and how to act in her life was exhausting. If she had had to go through it with someone more considerate, it would have been at least tolerable. But she was going through it with Princewill. The man who considered her feelings just as much as regular people consider the emotions of their mobile phones.

After numerous pleas, she was able to finally get herself free from all obligations for two days. So, she stayed in her room and just too deep breaths. And it felt good. To be breathe freely with being monitored or recorded, she was just free…to breathe. She decided to cook herself some food and went to the dining room to eat.

“Oh, Angela! Good, you’re eating.”

“Yes, mama. Good afternoon. I was hungry and I decided to make myself something to eat.”

“Alright, but eat quickly kwanu, Princewill will be here soon.”

“Hmm?” There was a knock on the door.

“Oh, there he is!”

She swallowed “What! Why?” but her mother had gone to open the door and in comes the very handsome Princewill. Perfectly groomed from head to toe with a haircut better curved than Greek sculptors, a custom-made designer suit sleeker than silk and scented moisturized hands perfectly manicured with feet adorned with shoes brighter than the sun. Her jailer had arrived. He wasn’t even going to have this day off.

“Hey, mama, how are you?” he sauntered in.

“Oh, I am well my son. Thank you.” She beamed like a shy little girl.

“Good but you took a long time to open the door though.”

“Really?” she asked shocked.

“Yes, I was waiting out there in the sun for too long. It was so hot. My face feels burnt and my hands have become a bit dry.”

“Ah, oh my God! Dry ke! No, ah sorry. Let me get you some chilled water and turn up the AC. Oh, sorry about that. I will not let it happen again.” She panicked and Angela rolled her eyes so much it almost rolled out of their sockets.

“It’s okay. You can leave he AC the way it is…but I will take some fresh orange juice though.” He said and her mother practically ran into the kitchen.

“Hey, aren’t you dressed yet?” was her own way of greeting her.

“What the hell are you doing here. I told you I am sick and I needed two days to recover.”

“Oh, I know.” He said sticking his hand into her groundnut soup to take out a meat and dunk it into his mouth. “But mama, that you were just sitting around all day since yesterday and I decided we could use this time to get some valuable media coverage instead of you wallowing at home doing nothing.”

“I am not doing nothing, I AM RECOVERING!” she yelled just at her mom walked into the room.

“Here you go my prince.”

“Oh, thank you mama.” She handed him the paper carton of orange juice with a glass cup but he had already twisted open the paper carton and was gulping away its contents so she set down the cup.

“ANGELA, WHAT ARE YOU SHOUTING AGAIN FOR EHN, KWANU?”

“Mama, did you tell him to come here? You know I haven’t been feeling well for sometime and I need the rest.”

“Ehn, I know that you were resting. But you have been resting since yesterday and when he called me to ask about you I told him you were fine.”

“So, instead of just sitting at home doing nothing I thought we could get some work done.”

“I am NOT DOING NOTHING. I AM RESTING!” she slammed the table in frustration.

“Hey! Ho! Take it easy now! I know that. I am not totally heartless.” He said patting her hand tenderly.

“Thank you.” She said gratefully.

“I only organized a few home shoots with Florence Magazine. Their camera crew will be here in a few minutes to capture scenes of me taking care of you and feeding you and that’s all!” he said to her shocked face.

“Photos? Photos of…you taking care of me?” she stammered.

“YES! You won’t need to go anywhere. Just sit down and look sick. Well…not totally sick, just a little down. Wait! I hope what she has is not contagious?” he said shifting his seat away from her but her mom shook her head.

“No. Just a bit tired.”

“Awesome!” he said but he still brought out a hand sanitizer to clean her sickly body off his hands. “So, like I said. You won’t have to go anywhere but…you will have to put on some decent clothing though and at least some makeup. It won’t help our profile if you look like an HIV patient, alright?”

“Oh, God! I…just wanted a few days to myself and you…you couldn’t even let me have that.”

“Oh, Angela. What is the big deal? He said you don’t have to go anywhere or do anything. Just sit there and smile for the camera.”

“Yeah, which is what you do best isn’t it? Just smiling for the camera?” he said belittling her and her mother only smiled and she broke down.

“I can’t do this.”

“What?” he asked.

“I said I can…I can do this. Any of it!”

“Look, don’t worry about it. The camera guys will be here and gone in five minutes and you can go back to eating this…garbage that you cooked for yourself. No wonder you’re always falling sick.”

“I CAN’T DO THIS! ANY OF IT!” she snapped “NOT THE SHOOT! NOT THE SHOWS, THE INTERVIEWS OR THE FAKE ENGAGEMENT AND DEFINITELY NOT THE STUPID WEDDING!”

“Ah ah, Angela what has come over you?” he asked innocently.

“What has come over me? You have! You are too much! I would rather be suffocated, drowned and dumped in the middle of the freezing Atlantic than rather spending another moment with someone as insufferable as YOU!”

“Angela, calm down stop shouting. Don’t your realise that someone might hear you? What do you think you are saying?” he said as their was another knock on the door and her mom went to go get it.

“I don’t care who hears me. I don’t care about anything anymore, it’s over. The shows, the interviews, the engagement, the bloody wedding. I’m calling EVERYTHING OFF!” she got up from the table to realise that the reporters from Florence Magazine had arrived. Two guys, one was holding the camera while the other clasped the microphone and the shocked look on their faces indicated that they heard everything.

Lolz...you guys remind me of the time, game of thrones fans protested so much about the crazy ending of the last season and demanded the writers rewrite the entire ending. Just kidding.

I feel like getting to explanations but that would only bring spoilers. So I will keep quiet.

But correction; Michael never expressed his feelings to Angela. He never once did it completely. The first time he tried was when Princewill whisked her away and proposed in front of the whole world putting her in shock.

Anyway just keep reading.

Guys, d'you know what I just realized?

It takes me an average of 3 hours to write one episode. That's insane!

This book is chopping my time.

Infinite Love 110

Overshadowed

They had been waiting, almost an hour for Princewill after the interview ended and her mom gave her a hard time for dragging her out of there the whole time they waited in the car. Even after he emerged and came to the car, they still had to wait an extra thirty minutes to watch him flirt and play with them before he was done and collected the last of their phone numbers before, he got in the car.

“Mama, where’s my bag. I need an energy drink. I am tired.” He said entering the car.

“Here is it, my son. Your power horse drink is right here!” she handed him and he drank half the bottle, thirstily in one gulp.

*BLURP!*        “AHHH!” he blurped noisily.

“Yes, drink up, my son. You have had a tough interview and many fans to deal with.”

“Mama, where did you go now? I needed my lip balm since. I could just feel my lips cracking as I was talking so much.”

“Ah! Sorry, my dear. It wasn’t my fault. It wasn’t my fault at all. It was Angela who dragged me out of there. I told you needed it very much but she wouldn’t…”

“HELLO!” she snapped having had enough of him “My mother…is not your servant. If you want uncracked lips carry your own damn lip balm!”

“What do you mean? What are you saying? Mama, did you hear how Angela is shouting at me!”

“Oh, my son. Please take it easy…”

“Mama, it’s not fair o!”

“I know…”

“Mama, I have been working very hard and talking to a lot of people to keep this thing going and she just gets so angry and starts shouting at me!” he said feigning hurt and Angela rolled her eyes but her mom was buying the entire charade.

“Mama, she’s really hurting my feelings o! It’s not fair at all!”

“Oh God! Please, my prince. Don’t mind her ehn. Please, biko nu! Forgive me! I mean forgive her and forgive me. I am the one who has wronged you. I should have stayed after she pulled me away. I am so sorry about your painful lips.”

“Yes, mama. It really hurts.” He said smacking his lips together.

“Oh, dear Lord!” Angela said.

“I’m serious! It really hurts.”

“Okay.”

“I have very sensitive lips.”

“Okay. I will try to be more concerned about your sensitive lips in the near future.”

“Thank you.” He said “Now, Mama quickly pour me a plate of vegetable soup.”

“My mother is not your servant, Will!”

“ME TCHOU NU UNSOR! You just keep quiet! Keep quiet with your nonsense and let me take care of my son!” her mother reprimanded as she dutifully and with great speed, dished out a plate for him while Angela watched with contempt. As he took sip after sip of her mother’s favourite vegetable and oyster soup she nursed the urge to slam the plate in his face.

“Oh, Mama please get that. The soup is sliding down lip.” And as he gestured Angela’s hands folded into balls of fists to smack him in the face but her mother beat her to it and gingerly wiped the sliding stew line from his face with a moist toilette.

“OH!” she threw her hands in the air in frustration as she exited the car.

“Oy! Where are you going?”

“I’m going home!”

“No, you’re not. We have to meet Mr Bami at the studio in fifteen minutes.”

“What?” she stopped “Why am I just hearing this?”

“I discussed it with him late last night and he agreed that we have a shooting this afternoon.”

She couldn’t stand it. Her life was now entirely to follow his schedule and his plans and his ideas. But she quietly sat down in the driver’s seat in compliance as she well knew that arguing won’t help as long as her mother was around.

“No. Get out of the driver’s seat. I’m driving.” He said and she dutifully complied. Glad to at least that he was willing to do something worthy of a gentleman.

“There’s going to be a little media presence there and it will look good if I was the one driving the both of us.” He added and she shook her head slightly.

…

“As I was saying you two will perform a quick love story about your history and then we will run those on the stations for a while and also you that to introduce a little teaser trailer about your upcoming new show. We having decided on it yet but Princewill has given me a few of his thoughts and I like them very much. I have given the gist of the story to our writers and they seem to love it and they will be getting back to me in a few days with a rough draft of the storyline.” Mr Bamidele was their director was saying in the pre crew meeting that Angela and Princewill were in attendance along with their producer Mr. Segun and a few other stakeholders.

“Cool! Well, Bami. I hope you didn’t forget to include those key elements that I mentioned to you earlier?” Princewill said.

“No! Er…absolutely! I have spoken with Segun about it and we both love the idea of a show based on the love story of the two of you as a short promo video for your wedding and after the wedding we will make it into an even bigger love story. Right, Segun?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Good. Because I would really love the opportunity of playing a character from rags to riches storyline as well. It would be very cool.”

“Cool!”

“Cool!”

“Awesome!”

As they sat they discussing an already preplanned project, Angela couldn’t help feeling small. They talked about her and around her at the same time and with their actions clearly indicated that they didn’t need her there for anything else other than to sit and smile and agree to it all.

“Hello? Will it be possible to take a look at the script for this ‘awesome’ project first? Afterall, I’m going to be in it.” She asked.

“Sure! Let’s give her a script.” Princewill said.

“Thank you.” She said surprised to have him back her up.

“No problem. We start shooting in fifteen minutes so might as well get started.” He added shocking her.

“WHAT? Fifteen minutes!”

“Yes, of course.” He said.

“No time to waste.” Added my Bamidele and they all dispersed leaving her still dumbfounded in her seat.

“MAKE UP! Where’s my make up team. God damn it! I’m in need of a quick manicure before I can start.”

…

She was dressed in an immaculate gown, with white butterflies and flower petals embroidered on it from the neck to the bottom. It was a beautiful gown and everyone said she looked beautiful in it. But she didn’t feel beautiful. She felt small and insignificant. She felt like she didn’t matter. She tried to think back to how she had gotten here. To this place where the prospect of a shoot no longer had joy in it for her. She used to love the idea of being on stage and on screen.

Acting was the one thing that she had carved out for herself. It was hers. Nobody else. No one had a hand it. She chose it while her mother chose nursing for her. And she snuck out to the theatre arts department in school while her aunt and uncle thought she was taking classes in the nursing college. She bravely did all that all because she felt alive on stage. She felt good on stage.

In putting on other people’s identities and realities she had found herself. She had found life in a make believe. After being the girl broken inside from her father’s abandonment and her mother’s neglect, she had finally found something that made realize that life wasn’t all gloom and doom. The first time she stepped on the sandy stage in her old school her heart bloomed and she was happy. She hadn’t even realized that she had been sad for so long. So, she chose acting, because it made her feel good.

But as she sat down and put on the dress that Princewill chose and read the script of their love story that Princewill had wrote without telling her beforehand but she had to perform in five minutes. She found no joy in her impending acting. Especially, after she glanced and saw Princewill up ahead still in a deep discussion with the producer and their director and even her mother was…’oh for crying out loud’ also stationed at his side. But…she shook her head and tried to focus on the job at hand.

She read the story and it immediately seemed familiar. It started out with a boy and a girl in secondary school and it went on to focus on their friendship and challenges of their teenage life and then their family issues and …

“OH MY GOD! WHAT IS THIS?” she screamed and instantly looked up at her mother standing by Princewill’s side and marched up to them.

“WHAT! IS THIS?” she screamed.

“Calm down! Angela, why are you shouting at me? Don’t you like the dress?” he asked and she pulled him away from them.

“Excuse us, please!” she dragged him into a corner and dumped the script in his hands.

“What the hell is this?”

“I take it you don’t like the script. Is your part too short? I can make your lines longer if you like?”

“It’s not about the lines. It’s about every single thing about it.”

“Oh!”

“This is about me!”

“I know. You and me.”

“NO! Not you. This about me and MICHAEL! This is the story of us! It has everything in it from his father’s death to my own father’s death, which is the only part of it that’s made up because my father is alive. He just left us.”

“Oh, I know that. But since I had already told the media that your father died, we had to quickly make changes to suit the story.”

She shook her head. She couldn’t believe everyone was hanging to Princewill’s every word and no one, not even her own mother cared to hear what she had to say.

“CHANGE IT! I’m not doing this!” she said slamming the script at his chest.

“WHAT! That’s impossible! We start shooting in three minutes!”

“Then maybe, you should have shared the story with me first before signing me on to doing it.” She said walking away from him but he pulled her right back roughly.

“Listen to me. I have had enough of you! The story is good. Who cares if it is about you and your silly mechanic.”

“Michael. Is not a mechanic.”

“I don’t care! You are doing this. Now, get over yourself.” He said walking away from her but paused and turned around. “I know what your problem is. You’re just jealous. You are jealous of me and how big I have become now. Nobody even remembers you anymore compared to me. And I will not let you ruin this for me. D’you understand me?” he said with a clear threat in his voice and walked away from her.

She went back to her seat. Her head still spinning. She couldn’t believe this.

“How did he even find out? Oh, mama must have told him.” She thought. She flipped through the pages again and couldn’t believe her eyes. The nerve of the guy to use her and Michael like this. Her feelings for Michael were real. Everything they both went through was real. The love and care he showed her was very real and now he was turning it into something cheap something…fake. She couldn’t do it. She just couldn’t. She saw Princewill whispering to her mother and watched her mother’s eyes grow big and wild and knew there was no chance her old lady was going to take her side in this. Not after Princewill had spoken to her first. Her mother was in front of her in three long strides.

“What am I hearing from Prince? You won’t do the show? What madness is this?” she barked.

"Mama, why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Why did you have to go and tell him all about me and Michael? Now he wants to use it for cheap publicity."

"ehn hen? And so what? So what if he uses if for cheap publicity? Publicity pays doesn't it?"

Angela looked at her mother in the eyes "So, you're okay with that? For him to just use me like that? For him to tell the whole world that papa is dead?"

"YES!" her mother shruged indifferently. "Your life is much better, now that you have Princewill and your father was a good-for-nothing!"

"Oh, Mama." Angela shuddered a little. She was beyond hurt.

"Now, stop being dramatic. Now get and go because there are people waiting for you!"

For a brief moment she just sat there, looking away in defiance but her mother added.

"I know you are not going to disrespect me your own mother in front of all these people like this. I gave birth to you and suckled you all by myself even after your father left us. May God rub his head in the gutter where ever he may be. Now, GET UP!"

She got up and walked towards the stage. She was on the brink of tears but she kept walking nonetheless. Ever since her father left she had become the little girl who would do anything to please her mother to make her happy despite her own pain. As she walked towards the stage she walked past the main gate and paused for a bit. The gate was slightly open and it made her think of freedom.

"What would it feel like to walk out those gates, right now?" her mind wondered. Suddenly, she saw something a motorcycle just like the one she and Michael used to ride on. But as soon as she saw it, it moved away. Suddenly, her mind went crazy and she ran past the crew and out the gate towards the motorcycle. Bad idea, it was raining slightly but she didn't care. She ran towards it.

"Angela, what are you doing! Come back!" her mom cried but she didn't care.

"Angela? ANGELA!" Princewill yelled but she ran madly towards the motorcycle. There was a man in a helmet on it. Was it Michael?

"Michael! MICHAEL! MICHAEL! WAIT!"

"Angela! Come back." her mom called out to her but still she ran in the rain towards the okadaman who had stopped and had turned his head wondering why a lady dressed in some kind of wedding dress was chasing her in the rain.

"Michael? Is it really you? I'm sorry...I have been calling you but your phone is..." he took off his helmet and she stopped talking.

"I am Quadri. I don't know who is Michael." he said and immediately placed his helmet back on due to the rain.

"Sorry." he said and rode off. Leaving her there feeling miserable. She slowly walked back to the studio crying for herself. In that brief moment where she thought the rider was Michael she felt alive and now she was returning to a gloomy existence where her mom was waiting under the canopy and already shouting at her.

"What is the matter with you? What the hell were you even thinking?"

But she felt too miserable to answer as the rest of the crew watched her standing soaking wet before them.

"You know what?" Princewill said "I think this is nice."

"Excuse me?" her mother asked.

"Yeah, we can do a wet romantic scene in the rain. That is a classic love scene. Oya, let's go!"

Thanks boss

efeteb:
Thanks for updating.

More speed to your finger.

I was wondering when someone would ask me about Michael.

Trust me, he is going through something interesting.

Hahaha...poor Michael. And he wanted to go to Zaria so badly.

opico24:
Bro, well-done oo. Am enjoying your story but please update us on Mikel now.. am following you on your blog

Infinite Love 109

The Rose In The Monkey's Shadow

Lisa Daniels was not taking any trouble to hide her envy towards Angela. As she went over to Princewill to collect his autograph she completely ignored her despite the fact that she was standing right next to him.

She was jealous, Angela knew. They all were. The bulk of their fanbase were women who had a deep crush on Princewill and at the same time a deep seated jealous for Angela. To all of them she was a thief. The one who took their dream crush away. The one who going to marry him. As soon as their engagement was announced their fans went a little crazy. She couldn't count the amount of unanimous messages she had recieved from fans telling her or even threatening her to breakup with him. One woman even called her directly in the middle of night multiple times crying, begging Angela to leave Princewill.

"Please, ma. You don't know what he means to me." the voice sobbed. "I can't just explain it. He...he means more than the whole world to me." she cried "Princewill is...he is just...everything! Please, please ma. Don't marry him. I am begging you in the name of God!" the woman went on and on and on. She had woken up Angela at around 2 AM in the morning and sobbed until past 4. Despite the absurdity of it Angela was actually sympathising with the poor woman. She knew how it felt to want someone and not have him. She wanted someone too but he had disappeared. His number was off and his family members had barred her from coming to their home. So, she tried to console the woman and help her see the impossibility of her request but the woman was relentless.

"No, ma. I understand that what I am asking you to do is impossible now. Ahn ahn I am not that crazy that I don't realise the gravity of what I am asking you. Infact, if any woman had called me too and asked me to divorce my husband for her I would shout and scream and curse her madly."

That last past struck a chord in Angela's temple.
"Excuse me, ma. Are you saying that you are married?"

"Oh, yes ma. I am married with three kids."

Angela hung up the phone. Their was nothing she could do to save that one. There were so many women who called her, sent her crazy text messages and letters. She largely ignored them all. But when she read a story in the newspaper two weeks after their engagement about a woman who tried committing suicide due to their engagement, she became tired of it. She wondered if it was that psycho who used to called her in the middle of the night and hoped it wasn't. When her calls became frustrating her mother collecte the number so as to deal with her. She would have no doubt said some scathing things to her.
If it was her, she would feel guilty about not properly pulling the desperate woman from the edge of insanity.

Lisa was now laughing a boring joke of his and lightly grabbing his elbow in the process and still ignoring her. She could have him, they all could. If Angela could give away Princewill at this point she would. She would turn her back and throw him behind her. He brought her so much hatred from his fan base that he was worth less than a used menstrual pad.

"Haa haaq. you are SO funny!" she faked laughed again. "I hope you'll still be active onscreen now that you're also going to get married?"

"Oh, of course! Of course, I will. Don't worry about that." he said and she went..

"HAA HANNCQQ!" ... laughing again and Angela had to turn her face to watch in them.

"What had he said that was so funny to make her laugh like a donkey with a bad cough?" she wondered.

"Good because we die hard fans of yours would still love to see you onscreen again."

Lisa said but at the same time pulling on Princewill's arm as if ready to pull it off. Angela was disgusted. It was one thing to ignore her but to shamefully flirt like that was beyond bearable so she got off the stage. As she climbe down the stairs she came across his loyal fans she paused a bit on the staircase to try to greet them but instead the just roughful brushed her aside as the rushed eagerly towards Princewill.

"PRINCE!"

"PRINCEWILL!"

"OVER HERE!" they screamed as they came up the stairs totally disregarding Angela and one fat woman even stepped on her and still pushed her aside forcing to almost trip over the staircase.

"Ah ah, madam take it easy."

"SORRY!" she said scowling deeply at Angela as if she was the one in the wrong and bounded up the staircase surprisingly fast for her size.

"Let's go mama." she said grabbing her mother as she left the studio.

"No, I want to wait for Princewill."

She couldn't believe her ears.

"What? Why?"

"I have his lipbalm and his purse. He will need them once he gets off the stage."

"Let's go mama."

"But...his breath mints?"

"We are going to wait for him in the car. Please let's go." she said pulling her mother away.

"Whose mom is she anyway?" she wondered for the umpteeth time. The worst part about all of this entire fiasco was watching how her own mother eagerly became the number one groupie of Princewill's fan base. Anything he wanted she would give him and anything he said she would support.

She could never have her way not even once because her own mother and Princewill always seemed to gang up on her during the decision making. It was frustrating.

"You know i am not happy leaving Will all by himself alone with those ladies." she nagged.

"Mama, don't worry about it. He's a big boy. He can take care of himself."

"And why are you limping?"

"No reason. Just another side effect of being engaged to Princewill." she said opening the car door for her mother to get in.

...

"You should have let me wait for him inside there kwanu. Instead of locking me up inside this hot car!" her mother grumbled yet again.

"Mama. Sorry but I didn't know that he would keep us waitiing for this long. I mean what is he still doing in there? He knows we are waiting for him. How can he keep us waitiing like this?"

"Hey hey hey, don't blame him. Wasn't you who left without telliing him?"

"But we brought his car."

"He is a very important personality in the society. His fans come from far and wide, you can't expect him to just brush them aside."

Angela rolled her eyes as he finally showed up being escorted by half a dozen women to the car.

"See what did I tell you." her mother said "He has so many adoring fans that it is a full time job attending to them. It's practically a national service."

"Yes, well as long as he does it on his own time. He can service them all he wants, I don't care."

Ah, yes. Wise words.

No, he doesn't.

Lol. I like this Princewill guy sha. He own is just different.

Haha

hotswagg12:
She will end up regretting it. He doesn't have feelings for her.

She is kind of docile, truly.

Take it easy with my girl abeg. She has had it rough.

And so you still remember that she didn't look for him when she was back in Lagos? Na wa o! You no dey forget something?

She did go along with the fake engagement but only because she couldn't find Micheal. And why didn't your precious Michael tell her how he felt all those years?

Again take it easy with her. She's my Angel!

crossfm:
Angela is like a sheep been carried to the shrine for slaughter. Her level of docility is topnotch.

She is not only docile, but selfish. Forget the fact that her mum is pushing her,she also have an ulterior motive going into the marriage. She know the marriage will make her more famous and blossom her carrier.

She was bold to move from nursing to theater art's against all odds,but she has become all soft,tell me something else.

I also doubt her love for Michael. She was in Lagos and never made any attempt to look for Michael. Not as lovers but good old friends.

I can go on and on and on to proof she is confused and about what she feels for Michael.

Thanks Mr Abdul.

Why not

hotswagg12:
Angela should not marry princewill.

Infinite Love 108

The Fairytale

"It was love at first sight. Many years ago, I saw her face with her...hair flowing in the wind and I instantly fell. All of a sudden, I couldn't breathe. And back then I used to be so shy of girls, so I didn't say anything, instead I went home but I couldn't sleep either. I kept thinking about her face and thinking to myself ‘who was that girl?’ For many nights until the morning. And I was afraid I would never see her again but luckily for me, I went to the studio one day because I was…you know auditioning for the role of the male lead in our previously concluded show; ‘Love Indefinitely’ and I again saw her there. MY HEART STOPPED!""Oh, wow!""Yes, Lisa. I swear to God, my heart stopped, right there… in my chest! And then it started racing. I kept thinking, THAT’S HER! THAT'S THE GIRL, THAT'S THE GIRL OF MY DREAMS!""Aww!" Lisa said gushing. "So, what did you do!" she asked anxiously."Well...at first I did NOTHING! I just stood there!""Oh!""But then, I said to myself...look here, Will. You have been dreaming of one day seeing this girl again. Now, here she is. Are you just going to stand there?""Hm hmm?""Are you just going to let...possibly your future wife and the future mother of your children slip through your fingers once again? Out of what? Shyness?”"Uh huh?" Lisa said hanging onto his every word."So, I summoned all my courage and I walked over to her and simply said; ‘Hello...’""And then what happened?""Nothing! She completely ignored me!""WHAT!" Lisa said shocked. She gave Angela an angry look. Angela rolled her eyes and shook her head in slight disapproval but Princewill said with gusto."YES! She didn't even look at me twice. And that left me so devastated that I left the audition without ever auditioning. I went home and I was so sad. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep and I had just messed up an important audition in my career so I was also jobless and poor.""Aww, poor you!" Lisa said melting for him “I can’t believe she would do that to you!”“Oh, dear Lord!” Angela murmured not believing how anyone could buy all this crap."But luckily, my agent called me. He told me that the production crew were still looking for a male lead. They had shortlisted a few actresses for the female lead but they still needed someone dashing and passionate to fill the role of the male lead so I went. At the audition at first, I had to read a few lines with another actress but that didn’t turn out well. There was virtually no chemistry and my heart wasn’t in it because I had been rejected. But the producers liked me and asked me to wait to audition with yet another actress. The next actress walked in AND THERE SHE WAS! As soon as she walked in, my heart restarted."“Wow!" Lisa said almost jumping in her seat.”“And I just knew we were going to nail the audition. I already had a lot of feelings for her and so I knew our chemistry was strong. We had not spoken to each other yet but I knew we were meant for each other and we were going to be together someday!""Oh wow... and what happened next?""We looked into each other's eyes read the lines from our first onscreen love scene.""Oh, I know it. It's the one that happened in a garden.""Yes! Lisa you have a very good memory!” He said and Lisa blushed under the compliment."Yes, I do. Thank you." she responded battling her eyelids seductively at him. Angela couldn’t believe the blatant flirtation going on in front of her. How desperate could some women be?"After performing that scene during the audition, the producers knew. Just as I did, that we were perfect! Our chemistry looked so real and convincing that they just had to cast us opposite each other. But what everybody else didn't know, was that our chemistry was real. At first, I was terribly crushing over her but after working together for a few days…”"Yes?" Lisa said sitting on the edge of her seat."...I WAS MADLY IN LOVE WITH HER!""AWWW!" Lisa said gushing terribly in her seat."And the rest as they say… is history!" Princewill said dramatically and Lisa along with the rest of the audience clapped vigorously."Oh, dear Lord save me!” Angela whispered again quietly as she groaned but all the while smiling as the audience eventually stood up in applause.Ever since, their engagement was made public the media went into their story with a frenzy. Two actors who played destined lovers in a soap opera actually getting married in real life. It was tabloid gold!Angela had initially, tried to downplay the whole thing. But her mother, Princewill along with the film company basically told her to be quiet and play along."Publicity like this is everything! Your show boosted by the news of your engagement is now syndicated in fifteen African countries. And if you keep it up like this, you may even get syndication in Europe. You have to make the most of this momentum. Go with the flow and you might end up and international star. You might even get Hollywood!"What was she to do? Basically, everyone in her was telling her how dumb it would be to not to play along with their engagement cover story, and so she went with it. She quietly sat down and let Princewill chaperone her from one interview after another. She actually didn't mind that he did most of the talking. Their fans were mostly females who were crushing over him. It was him they wanted to see; it was him they wanted to listen to. They mostly didn’t care about her. To all his fans, she was just the woman who stole him from them. They basically, cared nothing for her.She didn’t even trust herself to lie to the whole world like that anyway. So, she gladly let him do all the talking. And he relished in all the attention. He had told their fake love story over and over again. He told it so many times with quite a few variations that she was surprised that no one ever bothered to notice them. Instead, they gushed and 'aww' and clapped and sometimes danced with him in celebration. She accepted all of it because she didn’t care.Her only objection was when he brought up her father into it. At a radio station in the spur of the moment without first consulting her he told the world that they would have gotten married earlier but for her father. He didn’t like him and he forbade him from seeing her. After the radio station interview, she confronted him about why he added it and he said simply that it dramatic effect. But she didn't like that one bit. Her father abandoned her and her mother when she was a young girl and it was still very much a sour spot in her life. So, she didn't appreciate anyone using her painful past like that. She told him so quite clearly and banned him from using that story ever again. He reluctantly agreed only after she threatened never to attend another interview with him again unless he dropped the story."Oh, Mr Princewill...""Oh, please Lisa. Just call me Will." he said winking at her charmingly."Thanks, Will." Lisa said blushing for the umpteenth time and she quickly gave him a seductive look and throwing a short nasty one at Angela. Lisa was jealous, she knew and her envy didn't go unnoticed by Angela who couldn't care less. She could have him for all she cared, they all could."So, Will. I heard her father was also an obstacle for you, later on in your relationship. How did you overcome that?" Lisa asked and Angela instantly gave Princewill a warning look."Um.." he read her face and got the message "...well, you see...um, her father died." Angela was furious!“How dare he?” she thought"Oh! So...sorry to hear that." Lisa said feigning sympathy."But you are just amazing! You have faced incredible obstacles just to marry you woman you love!"Never short on arrogance Princewill added "Oh, that's true. I'm naturally an amazing person. Ask anybody that knows me." he said looking at Angela for corroboration and she instantly looked away. There are some lies that she could never be a part of."You definitely are!" she said flirting with him for one more time in hopes of him noticing her. "Well, that's if folks. You have heard how Princewill bravely faced overwhelming odds to win the love of Miss Angela Nwolisa as they stared in their recently concluded soap opera 'Love Indefinitely'. While we all thought that everything, we saw on that show was all an act, little did we did know that the stars were actually falling in love, right before our eyes. How amazing is that?" she asked the audience and they applauded on cue."So, now Will. When is the wedding and are we invited?" she asked coyly making it obvious that she wanted to have his number for herself."Well, my fiancé and I recently had to postpone the wedding due to work issues but as soon as we land on a new date. I will let you know.""Please do.” She said to him before facing the camera squarely “Well, that's all we have time for today. Until, next week when we bring you the latest in the lives of our favourite celebrities. I am Lisa Daniels and this is CelebRate! Thanks for watching!"The lights on the stage dimmed instantly and the audience stood up to start leaving. That's when Angela started breathing again. For some reason, whenever they did interviews, she would feel her chest suddenly tighten up and her head would grow a headache. It was as if her entire body was rejecting the reality of her getting married to someone like Princewill. The man didn't notice anything about her not even her mood. The only time he ever showed concern was when he pointed out that their matching outfits really did not match that well. "An amazing person he said." She almost laughed out loud."HA! What a joke!" It took her entire will power not to react to that one. She took a sip of water and watched Lisa gravitate towards him."Can I please get your number? I want to keep abreast on your wedding plans." Angela noticed how her chest slightly 'heaved' on mentioning the word abreast to him and she shook her head.

Wow!

I not only attched you but also with strong emotions?

Na that's what I call strong entrapment!

Thanks boss

efeteb:
You succeeded in getting me attached to this story with strong emotions.

Please don't let the part 3 take long to start.

Awesome

It started already

hotswagg12:
Thanks for the update and we are waiting for the part 3.

I always suffer good people in my stories but I usually give them a happy ending.

Thanks boss

xaviercasmir:
Wow thank God that all the good guys have gotten what they deserved.
Thanks for the update and already anticipating for the next part

Infinite Love 107

The Message

As King Tessy entered his jeep, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. If anyone of Otobo’s man had indeed opened his car door they would have detected the persons they were looking for, under the traditional clothes that he had bought for his wife in the back seat.

They were even properly hidden, if they had only looked closely, they would have easily detected them because four people cannot be well hidden under the few clothing in the back seat. If they had been discovered, Otobo would have riled up his men and extricated them and he, even though a king would have not been able to help them because Bayelsa was not his kingdom and even in his own kingdom, many people still didn’t support him for breaking the age-old tradition of marrying a local as his first queen. He was indeed fortunate that he had managed to bluff his way out of that tight corner. He slotted the key into the ignition and as the jeep roared into life, Otobo came to the driver’s side window.

“Bros!” he said.

Tessy was startled by his sudden reappearance that he at first, became frozen out of shock. “Hmm!” was all he could muster at Otobo’s gravely looking bony face.

“I respect you, dat’s why I kom bak.” He said whispering.

“Hmm.” Was still all that Tessy could manage to say.

“I no be persin wey like faolense an I no wan fall ya hand…”

“Uh huh!”

“… so I kon tel you say, make you see like bad persin. And I no be ya enemy. Infact, I be ya friend, if f**king bodi dey tear eye for you make you kall me. I mean any f**king persin. I go kom, no mata where ya dey or de persin dey.”


“Hm hmmm?”

“Ya! I dey tel you. I promis you!”

“Hmm!”

“Ya, becos I hear say many peeple dey give you sh*t for ya town on top say ya marry Yoruba woman. If ya make I clear dem jus kol me one time! Dat tis rasizem, me I dey like make persin dey rasist. You hear me, bros?”

“Hmm.” Tessy hummed as if mouth was still full of the mysterious item he was chewing and also because he wasn’t sure how to respond. Otobo before now had been antagonizing him but now he was offering to be a hitman for his opponents. “What is going on here?” he thought but then he remembered that he still had the runaways that Otobo was searching for partially concealed behind him. So, he spread himself up straight as much as he could so as to block the back-seat view from Otobo.

“So, bros abeg ehn? I wan make ya help me meet wi de agensi about my amnesty pardon. All dis chiefs, dis old men for we land no dey try at all. Na so so moni dem go dey collekt. You na fresh blood like me. Ya got fee push dis pardon well make e happen, abi no be so?”

“Hmm!” hummed Tessy finally understanding Otobo. He had realized that annoying the chiefs and making a scene at the Eternal Ruby would not work in his favour and so he was looking for protection himself.

“Gud, thank you bros. I go kol you, ya hear?” and with that he stepped away from the jeep and turned back to see his men facing him in curiosity.

“I SAY MAKE YA KARRY YA BUCKET KOMOT FOR HEAR! Ya mates dey buy new cars, you stil dey buy Tokunbo. And you go say you be king. Abeg roll!” he growled at Tessy in order to reinforce his tough guy status with his men. And Tessy turned the ignition once more and finally drove away from them while constantly checking the side mirror to make sure that they weren’t following them.

...

After driving for a few meters, Tessy was finally convinced that they were out of danger of Otobo.

"Alright, you guys can relax now! I don't think anyone is following us." he announced.

"Oh thank God!" Michael said emerging from underneath the clothes.

"Thank you very much, king sir! You have really saved our lives. Gerry, how are you doing?" Dayo asked.

"Fine. I can't believe it's all over. Now I can put that man behind me forever." she said relieved.

"Oh, your highness. Thank you so much! You have saved us as I knew you would. I have complete faith in you, your highness." Onos said and Dayo added.

"Oh, yeah? If you had complete faith in him then why have you peed your pants?"

"Wha...no, I didn't..."

"Yeah, you did. Your pants have wet stains."

"Those are from sweating. I was sweating!"

"Sweating In this cold car?"

"Yes, I was..."

"ALRIGHT! Mr Onos, please come and sit beside in the front up here." And Onos practically ran out of the car to sit beside King Tessy.

"Thank you again, your highness. If not for your quick thinking, we wouldn't be here."

"You're welcome. I am glad I could help you."
"Erm...but, how exactly did you manage to get us out?" Onos asked.

"Well, I basically threatened to put a curse on them with my royal charms."

"Do you have royal charms?" Dayo asked from behind.

"No, of course not. Look!" and he opened his mouth to reveal what looked like brown sugar "Chocolate!"

"What?" Michael gasped.

"I don't have royal charms. I'm a Muslim!"

"You are?!" Onos asked.

"Yes, I am. I promised left traditionalism many years ago. That's the main reason why I have many oppositions in my tenure. To many people, I have abandoned my native traditions for a woman, an outsider for that matter."

"Oh, I see." Onos said.

"And why did you do that?" Dayo asked.

"It was a condition for marrying my wife at the time and I don't regret it."

"So, you really didn't curse those guys?" Michael asked smiling.

"No, of course not. I don't know how to do that. But my grandfather had always told me that a royal charms are feared by all, so i faked it." Tessy said and they all laughed.

...

After they had crossed into Delta state and Tessy had driven them to the boundary...

"Well, sadly this is where I have to drop you guys off."

"You have been very kind and generous to us sir. You have given us a lot today." Michael said.

"It's no problem. I did what anyone would have done."

"Not really, sir. You did more than that. You saved our lives by putting yourself in danger when you could have easily walked. Onos was right. You are a great king!" Dayo said and Onos leaned into him.

"Now, who's tripping over him." and they laughed once again.

"So, what's next for you guys?"

"Well, I have to get back to my family in Bayelsa. I have to go pick my wife and wife and take them back home."

"We're really sorry about all the trouble, Onos." Michael said.

"Yeah, we really didn't mean to disrupt your family life like that." Dayo said.

"Are you kidding? This has been amazing! I don't regret anything, not one tiny thing. I've missed you guys." And the three best friends hugged. "Oh, but what about Gerry?"

"Me? Now that I'm finally out of that house and that place I can finally get back to my work. I've been wanting to get back to reporting much sooner but without my family's support, I've been hesitating to go about it alone. Maybe i'll try working for the BBC again but this time from London."

"London? You mean like abroad?"

"Uh huh. Yeah!"

Dayo thought about her leaving and for some reason he panicked. He didn't want her to go. He wanted to spend some time with her as he had hoped that they would get to know each other better.

"No, no you can't go!" he said.

"Why?" she asked.

"Yeah, why?" Onos and Michael asked.

He started at their faces, they were waiting for him to give them a good reason. He hadn't expected that. He hadn't even expected to object to her travelling in the first place. But still, he didn't want her to go so he added.

"Well, she...has men searching for her, Otobo and his men for example."

"Which is exactly why she should leave. So that she would be safe."Tessy said Michael aggreed.

"Yeah, but...she would be alone and who says London doesn't have worse people than Otobo. She shouldn't be alone. She's a married woman for God's sake!"

"You know what, you're right?" She said.

"I am!" he said not expecting that.

"Absolutely, I need to go with someone who will keep me safe."

"Oh."

"Yeah, and you're my husband, so you should come with me."

"Wha... you want me to come with you...to London?" he asked surprised.

"Yes!"

"But...what would I be doing in London?"

"Annoying Londoners, of course!" Onos said and Michael laughed.

"Anything you want." she said smiling and Dayo looked to Michael for agreement.

"You should absolutely go!" Michael said.

"Yeah, I'm in agreement." Onos added.

"Okay, then I will." he said.

"But what about you, Mr. Michael? What are you going to do?"

"Oh, I'm going to the aviation school in Kaduna state, sir?"

"Oh! Zaria right?" Tessy asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Then take my card." and he fished for his complementary card from his car and gave it to Michael. "Here! Tell them you're the king's candidate for the region this year and anyone who denies you will have to answer to the entire Edo Kingdom."

"Wow!" Dayo gasped "YOU'RE THE BEST KING IN THE WHOLE WORLD!"

"See? I told you so!" Onos said.

"OH MY GOD!" Michael said and gave his gratitude over and over again. Eventually, they had to part. Onos travelled back to Bayelsa and Tessy went home while Gerry and Dayo followed Michael to the very gates of his aviation school.

...

"Well, you did it man. You brought me here!" Michael said to Dayo.

"We did it together, Mike."

"With a little help from me, right?" Gerry added

"Of course, dear." Dayo said as he hugged his wife and kissed her on the cheek. Michael still couldn't believe that they had grown very fond of each other in the few days that they had met while only about last week, they were both complete strangers until they rushed their marriage so that Michael could get into aviation school.

"Darling, could you give me a minute with Michael alone please?"

"Okay."

"So, how is marriage life treating you?" he asked first.

"It's okay. Actually, it's great. If I had known getting married would make me happy I would have done it sooner." he smiled.

"Yeah, you got really lucky because she's a great person."

"Yeah I know, right?" he said staring at his brand new bride giving a few notes to the Almajiri beggars and looking so amazing in her new armless white traditional Fulani dress that she bought if only a few minutes ago at the market. They both stared at her for a few moments until Dayo became serious and said.

"Michael, I know you don't want to talk about this but...what about Angela? If getting married has taught me anything, it is that you have to marry the right person. And Michael, she is your right person. Don't you think you should at least..."

"Dayo, look. She got engaged. She made her choice."

"Yeah, but she doesn't know how you fee..."

"DAYO! I really can't talk about this right now! I have to focus on achieving this. THIS! Everything counts on this! Right now and I cannot be distracted by anything else. OKAY?"

Dayo fell silent. He really knew the kind of pressure Michael was under but he also knew how sad he was about Angela getting engaged to someone else. But if Michael wasn't ready to talk about it there was nothing he could do. Except hope that, when he was finally ready to talk about it, it will not be too late.

"Okay. Okay, man. I'm sorry for...bringing it up. You're right! You have to focus on this, right now. You're here. Can you believe it?"

"Really, I can't."

"Your dad would be so proud!"
"I know. Thanks man. For everything." and they hugged for the longest time until they both let go and went their separate ways.

...

It was the worst Day of Angela Nwolisa's life. She felt worse than sad, she was depressed. She was engaged to marry a man she never wanted and everyone kept pushing her towards it regardless of her feelings. Her mother was against her. At work they kept talking about it and about how it would help her career to get married to a fellow actor. They practically threatened to ostracize her if she refused. Her friends told her to do it and nobody for once asked her what she wanted. And she had tried several times to reach Michael on the phone to no avail. She tried calling his phone several times it was always switched off. So she left a text message.

"Dear Michael.

You have no idea how much I have missed you. If I had a chance to hear your voice I would gladly leave everything and run to take it.

Do you remember during secondary school how you stood to the principal and that boy for me? All my life, those days are all I have ever thought about. You, the boy who stood up to giants and monsters and defeated them for me.

You had and you always have made me feel so special and important. The value I have placed on myself I learnt if from you. It is through your eyes that I have always looked at myself and believed in myself because it is only through your eyes that I have been made to feel priceless.

I love that about you and I love you. I want to belong to you, you alone and no one else.

But please, Michael. Please come back. The giants and monsters have come back and I cannot fight them alone. I'm not ashamed to tell you that I am not strong enough to fight them all because with you I can just be myself and that is enough.

Come back is all I ask. After this I will never ask anything of you ever again. Please, come back, Michael. Come back to me.

Love,

Angela."

"Ife mi?" she called him in her affectionate term for him meaning 'my love' in Yoruba language.

"Yes, eshet?" King Tessy answered his wife.

"Who is Michael and ...who is Angela?" she asked holding an old Nokia phone.

"Who?" he asked confused.

"I found this phone while taking out my clothes from your car and it seems to belong to someone called Michael and his girlfriend must be this Angela person."

"Oh, yes of course!" he said remembering. "I gave Michael and his friends a lift from Bayelsa to Warri a few days back. He must have misplaced his phone in my car."

"That's a shame! I hope he would have seen this Angela soon."

"No, I doubt it. He went to Zaria and if everything goes well, he might be gone for a long time."

"So, you mean...there's no way he will get this message?"

"I don't think so, eshet."

"Oh, that is so sad." she said and they kept the phone on their table feeling sorry for the estranged couple.

END OF PART TWO

Aww...you're welcome guys.
Anything for #hotswagg12 and #mokoh