Episode 53 - Chris and Bianca.

Bianca De Valle stood by the sealed in window, watching the criss cross, drip drop of the rain droplets. The gray clouds seemed like the hitherto white clouds had been stained with soot. The sporadic, spontaneous London rains never seemed to amaze her. The skies had been clear ten minutes ago. The man behind went on telling a touching story of his wife and children. She placed her hand on the cold window pane as she waited for him to finish his tale. She'd learned the hard way never to interrupt a patient when he was telling his 'backstory'.

"Please help me."

She counted to ten in her mind. If she didn't love her job so much, she'd be pulling her hair out. Oh, and she loved her waist-length hair. She had chosen to help psychiatric patients after her mother was diagnosed of schizophrenia when she was just twelve. That singular diagnosis changed her family in ways she never thought possible. Her father got remarried less than two months after their mother died after slitting her wrist in the hospital. Her brother, Antonio, moved out after her father's secretary became their stepmom. He got into jail for selling weed to some minors. Her sister, Eloisa, got into the university studying law, hoping to sue the hospital for its negligence after their father refused to do so. After she realized the statue of limitations barred her action, she dropped out, and is now a maitre d' at some restaurant.

"Bianca." He called. "Please."

She sighed and turned to face him.

"Mr. James-"

"Stop calling me that," he shouted, "I'm Christopher."

Why was he bent on believing he was some Chris guy?

"I think you need to calm down. I'll leave you alone." She said and walked to the door.

"Bianca, por favor, ayúdame. Ayúdame a volver con mi esposa, con mi familia." He said and she stopped in her tracks.

"How do you speak Spanish?" She turned and said to him. He turned his wheelchair to face her.

"Chris speaks ten languages. Do you believe me now?"

She shook her head. That wasn't proof enough. Anyone could speak any language. It still didn't prove his identity. And was his father really capable of reconstructing his face just to keep him away from his wife? Could he be paying so much just for that? Or to give his suicidal, psychotic son the best care in the world?

"James-"

He growled.

"Fine, let's say you are Chris-"

"I am Chris."

"Then tell me everything I ought to know about you. Because I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt, and google you, since you're so popular as you say. If I find one fact askew, so help me, Aiden will be the one who takes care of you."

Well, Aiden didn't really take care. He loathed him. And all black people. They were the scum of the earth, according to him.

A flash of fear coloured his eyes for two seconds, and he nodded.

"I am Christopher Levi Oduah, son of Chief Jason Roland Oduah and Dame Barbara Nwobodo Oduah. I was born on the twenty-sixth of December.…."

******
Bianca fluffed her hair with her fingers as she waited for the google search results. She didn't know which to hope for. It would be much easier if James or Chris was lying. She'd know he needed more treatment. But if he was indeed telling the truth, how was she supposed to help him.

Christopher Levi Oduah.

The search results had her eyes popping out of their sockets. She dragged her swivel chair closer to the desk as she stared at the image results atop the page. She dragged the pointer to the image button and images of a different man filled the screen. She scrolled down the array of the man in suits and tuxes. A few of the pictures had him posing with a woman. A buxom, voluptuous one at that.

Pretty face.

A few paparazzi pictures of him in casual wear with his wife were at the bottom of the page. The wife he had spoken so animatedly about.

Tinu or something like that.

She went back to the web results and clicked on the Wikipedia article about him. The Wikipedia photo of him was one from receiving a Nigerian national honorary title.

Officer of the Order of the Niger.

Weird name.

She glanced down to the brief summary of his pedigree and business. She scrolled down to the subtopic Early Life. Fear hit her as every date Chris told her checked out. Her jaw slackened and her heart raced as she scrolled down to read the entire article. Not one fact was askew.

Had he stalked Christopher Oduah? Or was he Christopher Oduah?

She ran her ten fingers through her thick tresses as she stared at the Wikipedia article. She exhaled and inhaled and inhaled and exhaled. She went back to the search results. She scrolled past the People also ask for suggestion list featuring his parents' names, a Boniface Onwudiwe-Oduah, Aliko Dangote and some Wale Adenuga fellow.

She scrolled down to the Forbes' exclusive article about the youngest CEO of a large African conglomerate. She clicked on it, scanned through it and went back to click on ten other articles by Sahara Reporters, Guardian Newspaper, BBC News, Punch Newspapers and several magazines. YouTube held a host of television interview clips and she groaned.

None of these answered her question.

They all claimed Christopher Oduah was dead, poisoned by a maid, and his wife almost took the brunt for it. Telenovela much.

Was he really dead? Or was the man who now went by the name James actually Christopher Oduah? If he really was the business tycoon, then who was buried as Christopher Oduah? And why was his wife almost implicated for a murder that didn't happen?

Could his father really hate his daughter in law so much to frame her for his son's death, and then keep his son locked up to tell the tale?

That was Televisa kind of drama. Did such happen in real life?

If what Chris was saying was true, how was she to help him? How was she help him get back to his wife and family?

She sighed and pushed the chair backwards and got out. She climbed into her bed and laid on her back.

Just how was she to help him? Was it even her place to help? She turned on her side and pulled out her journal and pen from the drawer in the bedside table. She flipped open the pink, hardback note to the last page she'd written on. She rolled unto her belly
and started a new entry.

December 20th.

Dear Diary….

Episode 52 - Her decision.

Felicia tossed the phone on the bed and hissed. She paced the length of the bedroom, hating herself for joining the evangelism team in the first. Lover of God. She scoffed and hissed. Why didn't just stay put in the choir? She just had to want to serve God more.

Now, Tinu's blood would be on her hands if anything bad happened to her.

When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

Verse eighteen of that passage rang in her mind. She hissed again. Tinu wasn't picking her calls. She'd even driven down to her house only to be told she didn't want to see anybody.

She sighed and sat on the bed. She had tried na. God saw she wanted to deliver his message. If not for anything, to absolve herself of any blame later on. Felicia reached for her phone and loaded the message app. She clicked on the message she'd typed and stored as a draft.

She read through again to make sure she wasn't too offensive, and yet she still passed the message across. She hit send and the four page long message had her phone dinging with subtractions from her main account.

She had done her part. The rest was left to Tinu.

******
Seyifunmi relaxed in her mother's lap as the woman flipped through channels with the remote. Rosanna laid on the double layer of duvets on the space where the coffee table was supposed to be.

Her mind went to Dele. He'd been the one who came clean to her mother about their relationship status. The woman had been shocked she could swallow her pride and beg Dele like that. After a heart to heart talk from mother to daughter, the woman had apologised for the pressure and insults.

She sighed. Her marriage would have been three days old. Damilola's wedding was three days ago, and her WhatsApp status list was filled with staff celebrating with her. A tear slid out of her eye on unto her mother's lap. Maybe she was actually a terrible person. Her subordinates hated her and the man she loved couldn't stand her.

They still hadn't been able to get through to Roselle,, and she was certain she'd lost Dele. A sob had her throat and heart quivering. She swallowed it, not wanting to give her sorrow away.

"Abefe, are you crying?" Her mother asked.

She shook her head.

Rosanna turned and frowned.

"Aunty, she's crying o."

Seyifunmi eyed her cousin as her mother pushed her up.

"Seyifunmi, ma pa ara e." Her mother said. (Seyifunmi, don't kill yourself.)

Seyifunmi sobbed hard.

"Our wedding would, would, would have been three three days ago." She sobbed.

"Shay, move on. Please. It's obvious he doesn't want you back. If he did, he would have given you some Herculean task of finding people who don't want to be found." Rosanna shouted.

"I can't. He promised. He promised he'd never leave me." She shouted back.

"Well, men break their promises all the time. Dare, for instance. My dad. Kola. Should I go on?" Rosanna said.

Seyifunmi replied by wailing.

"Aunty, see what I go through." Rosanna said as her phone rang.

She hissed and picked the call.

"What?!" She shouted into the mouthpiece.

Her face fell from anger and to shock.

"Roselle, hi. I didn't know it was you." Rosanna said.

Seyifunmi wiped her tears and sat up.

"What is she saying?" Seyifunmi said.

"Sshhh." Rosanna and her mother shushed.

Seyifunmi sighed with a small smile and stood as Rosanna conversed with Roselle. She crossed her fingers and paced.

"Two months ago, right?" Rosanna said and Seyifunmi's heart leapt for joy.

She was right. Tinu was back in Abuja. Her eyes rose to the wall clock. It was too late to get a flight to Abuja. She'd call her travel agent and book one for the afternoon.

"Congrats on the baby." Rosanna said.

Seyifunmi sighed smiling. She'd pack her bag and leave after work. She'd have to email HQ to give her two days off. She'd kneel and grovel for Tinu's forgiveness.

"Okay, bye bye. Say me well to Mayowa, Adeife and little Kendra." Rosanna said and hung up.

"How far?" Seyifunmi's mother asked.

Rosanna sighed.

"The picture was taken two months ago before she left to have her daughter in the States. She lost her phone during transit. She just saw my DM from Instagram and decided to call."

Seyifunmi laughed.

"Thank you, Jesus. I'll leave for Abuja after work tomorrow." She said.

Rosanna said, "I hope you're not chasing shadows."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Seyifunmi shouted.

"O ti to." Her mother shouted. (It's enough.) "Go and pack your things."

Seyifunmi glared at Rosanna and left them.

Episode 51 - My Collection.

"I love you, Tinu." Veron whispered, staring into her eyes. His hands on her wrists tightened slightly, and her eyes widened.

"Veron, we talked about this-"

"I know. I just can't help it. I love you."

She sighed. That was what she deserved for sleeping with a twenty-one year old. Sex wasn't love. The only thing she felt for him was lust and maybe gratitude.

"You don't have to say anything now. I just want you to know that."

She nodded. She'd never be able to say it to him. There was only one man for her, and she had found him and lost him.

Veron smiled at her and placed a kiss on her lips.

"Why don't I show you around?"

She nodded again and he rolled off her. After almost bumping into Debola, the lawyer who defended her when she was on trial for her life, she had requested a change of rendezvous. Veron had offered his new house-the one he inherited from his grandfather upon clocking twenty-one.

She slid off the bed, and walked to pick up her blouse. She pulled the chiffon blouse over her head, and Veron stared at her.

"How do you manage to look so gorgeous every time?"

She shrugged.

The hem of the blouse sat a few millimetres past the curve of her butt, and she walked barefoot towards him.

"Thought you wanted to show me around."

He smiled.

"Now, I feel like getting back into bed."

She chuckled softly.

"Any more sex and I will be waddling."

Her vagina was raw and oversexed. Her plan had been to spend the weekend with him since Dele had the kids over at his guesthouse. Now, she wasn't so sure. At least, she could probably boast to have had sex seven times in one day.

He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Why don't we postpone the tour till after you have a warm bath and a hot meal." He said and she placed her head on his chest.

"You're the best lover a girl could ask for."

His chest rumbled as he spoke.

"And you're the best paramour a boy could ever ask."

She pulled away and turned towards the bathroom. She cried in shock as a loud swat hit her bum. She turned to glare at him.

He grinned and said, "I've been wanting to do that since I saw you walk in the club."

She rolled her eyes and walked to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She pulled off the blouse and took in the room. The bone coloured tiles were cold under her feet and the minimalist bathroom did little to impress her. The fittings were varying shades of white and she walked to the large tub and filled it water.

At least, there was a heater.

She hummed a tune she'd heard from Temi's practicing on the piano as she waited for the tub to get filled. She rolled her hair up into a bun and prayed it would stay up. She added a mixture of his bath salt and a gel she found and stepped in.

She sighed as the hot water eased the tension in her body. She leaned her head back and stared at the white ceiling.

Veron was amazing. A caring, young guy. Why did he want to be in love with a woman eleven years his senior, when he could have a woman of his age? If she didn't love their arrangement so much, she'd convince him to get someone younger.

She closed her eyes and let the hot water work its magic. She'd keep this up for as long as it lasted. Her selfish self enjoyed the blissful night rest she'd been having.

*****
"Went out to get lunch. Be right back. Love you. Veron." She read aloud.

Love you?

She sighed. This boy was setting himself up for a massive heartbreak. She dropped the note back on the bed. Maybe she'd go sightseeing.

She shuffled out of the room and shut the door behind her. He said it was a three bedroom duplex. She walked to the door next to the one she left behind and opened it. The bedroom was empty with an unmade bed and white linen covering the couch and dresser.

She shrugged and shut the door. She walked to the next door and opened it. The dark, paneled room had a recording area and mixer.

Interesting.

She walked in and sat by the board with what seemed like a million button and switches. She didn't know he was into music.

Heck, she didn't know anything about him, other than the fact his mother was her neighbour and his sexual prowess.

Once you start to get to know him, you start to get attached.

She signed up for only sex. No need to complicate it.

She picked up the spiral bound note on the table, wanting to know what kind of lyrics he wrote. She flipped open the book. She stumbled on a half written break-up song.

Tinu's heart folded in pain as her eyes skimmed through the lyrics over and over again.

God, please, don't let this boy think he has found love with me.

She couldn't afford to break his heart. If not for anything, this boy had given her sleep back. She sighed and closed the book. She dropped it on the mixer and it slid down to the ground. She hissed at herself as her stomach growled.

Where is this boy?

She bent to pick the book and saw a heavy, dark, leather bound book. She picked the two books up and she flipped open the thick dark book. Written on the first plain recto was 'My Collection'. She flipped the page and on the next recto was the heading :Amarachi Pascal.

Her eyes flitted down as curiosity over took her.

Nickname: Blow*Job Queen.

Pet name: My angel.

Spec: 5'7, 37, divorcee, mother of two, pear shaped, big ass, can deep*throat like a pro.

Likes: Mouth action skills.

Dislikes: Too bossy, too weak in bed, snores, only into missionary style.

Taped to the rest of the page and the next three pages were pictures of the Amarachi lady, screenshots of WhatsApp chats, nudes she'd sent him.

God!

"God, what is this?!" She whispered.

She flipped to the next lady.

Eva Labinjo.

Nickname: Wanna be sex slave

Pet name: My precious.

Spec: 5'9, 34, married, mother of four, apple shaped, huge tits,

Likes: submissive as hell, into BDSM, enjoys the piledriver, open to any sex position, flexible like a cat, can go for hours, great at sexting, good at taking nudes.

Dislikes: Ugly face.

Tinu gasped as the pictures grew more explicit, pictures of them in the act, more screenshots of WhatsApp chats. Up to ten pages were filled with Eva's pictures.

Tinu's heart raced as she flipped past the other names till she found hers. A whimper left her throat as she saw written in his cursive handwriting.

Atinuke Coker-Oduah

Nickname: Cum Queen

Pet name: Baby girl.

Spec: 5'7, 32, widow (first widow I've ever f*ucked), mother of four, hour glass, big ass, big tits,(can't wait to f*uck those tits) fucking tiny waist.

Likes: Cums with very little work, overly sensual, fucking great kisser, great, soft skin, pretty face.

Dislikes: Carries her children on her head, never spends the night.

Tinu gasped as she saw pictures of her sleeping taken from different angles. Her shaking hand reached for the top of the page and pulled with all her might. The binding proved tough and she groaned with tears streaming down her face. She sat her teeth into the page and cut into the page. She ripped it out.

She pushed the dirty book away from her and scampered out of the room. She rushed to their room and she reached for her overnight bag and stuffed the page into the cloth bag. She pulled out a pair of jeans as Ajiri's words rang in her head.

"Are you sure this won't come back to bite you in the ass?"

What if this guy started to blackmail her?

God!

Just one night and he'd taken so many pictures.

She pulled on the trousers and buttoned it up. She stuffed her dirty clothes and undies into the bag. The door opened and Veron stood shocked staring at her.

She resisted the urge to tackle him and picked up the bag.

"Tinu, what's going on?" He said as he dropped the polythene bag of food on the sofa table by the door.

"You are a sick bastard." She said as she walked to the door.

He stood to block her.

"What are you talking about?"

"Get out of my way." She shouted.

"Tinu, I'm confused. What's going on?" He asked squinting.

"Do you mean Tinu or Cum Queen?"

Realisation hit his face and he groaned.

"Tinu, I can explain."

"Keep your explanation. Stay away from me." She said and pushed past him.

Reader's Discretion

Episode 50 - D.D's back.

Tinu ruffled Chris's head and kissed his cheek. Regina raised her hands signifying she wanted to be carried. Tinu smiled and obliged.

"Mummy, I love you." The girl cooed in her neck.

Tinu's smile broadened.

"I love you too."

She walked to the kitchen to grab her own breakfast with Regina still on her hip. She picked up the plate of toast and eggs and carried it to the dining room. Her eyes flitted to the clock on the wall. She sighed. Their school bus was thirty minutes late. This was the fourth time this week. She made a mental note to complain at the next PTA meeting.

The melodious continuous ringing of the door bell echoed in the house as she dropped her plate on the glass top of the dining table. She dropped Regina on the floor.

"Oya, your bus is here." She said and held her daughter's hand and led them to the living room.

"Okay." Regina sang and Tinu smiled.

"Daddy!"

Tomini's shout shook her to the last follicle of hair on her head. She sped to the living room as fast as she could with Regina's pace. Her heart raced as she took in the picture of Dele on his knees hugging Tomini with his eyes shut.

How did he know they were back in Abuja?

"Daddy, I missed you." Tomini's shaking voice.

"I missed you too, my love." Dele answered with his eyes still shut.

Délé's eyes fluttered open and she saw the cloud of emotions in his eyes. Love for his children, and anger. Anger at her.

Temi took Tomini's place for a shorter hug. Dele hugged Chris as well, before he stood and walked to her.

His glare had her squirming.

"How could you?" He whispered.

"Children, go to the kitchen." Tinu said.

Temi and Chris turned to leave but Tomini said, "No."

Something ticked within Tinu and she gritted, "Go to the kitchen."

"No." Tomini insisted frowning.

"Tomini," Temi cautioned.

"Don't make me beat you." Tinu turned to shout at her daughter.

"You promised nobody would take our father away from us, but you were the one who took us away from Daddy. If we go now, you'll send him away." Tomini said staring her back in the eye.

"Tomini, go. Your mother and I need to talk." Dele said.

"B-b-but she'll send you away." Tomini stuttered.

"She can't. I won't let her." Dele responded and Tomini smiled.

When did she lose control of her daughter?

Tomini left the room with her siblings and Tinu wondered if she underestimated the bond between father and daughter.

"You left and you lied to me. How dare you?" Dele said.

"It is my duty to protect my children, and last time I checked, I have custody." She said.

Dele smiled and said, "If you pull that card with me, I just might fight for custody. A lot has changed in six years. The judge might not favour you this time around."

"You wouldn't dare." Tinu gritted with her chest puffed in aggression.

"Then don't ever in your life pull this stunt again."


******

Tinu pressed her lips to Veron's holding his face tight with her hands. He gasped in shock and she pushed her tongue into his mouth. She licked at his and explored the roof of his mouth and sucked at his tongue. He sighed and she brought her hand to the hem of his Lacoste tee. She pulled it over his head and pressed her lips back to his.

"Tinu, Tinu, wait." He panted. "What's going on?"
She shook her head.

"Nothing." She said as she unbuttoned her shirt. A frown marred her face as she recalled Délé's threat.

Who did he think he was?

Fighting for custody? He didn't even want those children in the first place. Now, he was forming Father of the year.

Veron placed a hand on her cheek.

"What's going on? You seem angry." Veron sighed.

She frowned at him.

"Look, I don't come here to chitchat. I have my girlfriend for that. I come here to f*uck. If you can't do that, then let me leave." She snapped at him.

"So I'm just a dick to you?" He asked.

She tilted her head.

"I thought I made it clear it's all you'd ever be."

He frowned and grabbed her waist.

"I'm just a dick to you?"

Her breath caught and she nodded. He pressed his lips hard to hers, taking, devouring and ravaging. She whimpered as he backed them up to a wall without breaking their kiss. Her back hit the wall and he pulled away. He finished taking off her shirt and undid the front clasp of her bra.

He turned her around and pressed her into the wall with her breasts grinding against the hard flat wall. The pain turned sweet and she moaned.

He pulled down the zipper of her pencil skirt and pushed it down to the floor together with her panties.

"I'm just a dick to you, right?" He groaned in her ear.

"Yes." She groaned back as she heard the clinking of his belt.

She dripped with anticipation. This was what she wanted. No frills or seduction. She wanted it hard, indelicate, savage. Something to vent out her frustration.

He rammed into her from behind and she gasped. She didn't expect it to be so painful and yet so delicious.

"I'm just a dick to f*uck, right?" He shouted as he pounded into her.

"Yes." She whimpered.

"A dick for your pleasures, right?"

"Yes." She moaned as he pounded into her and the pressure pressed her breasts harder into the wall.

He bit into her shoulder and she moaned louder.

"Harder, Veron." She shouted. "Harder."

His pounding hit her spot harder, more urgent and she could only whimper and mewl. It was hard and fast. And this time, they came record time.

She sighed in pleasure as he leaned against her.

"Are you calmer now?" He panted in her ears.

"Yes." She heaved. "Thank you."

He chuckled lowly, and her loins rumbled.

"Next time, just tell me you want to f*uck your frustrations out. Rather than, say what you don't mean." He said and kissed her neck.

She bent her head to give him better access.

"Why don't you come to bed and I'll treat you good."

She nodded and he eased off her. She turned away from the wall and the extra stickiness reminded her what they'd done.

He didn't use a condom.

mychiveous:
Millie i know it's your story to tell and all, but it's like you have something against Atinuke. Since this story started Tinu had been a victim from one problem to another, now you are turning her to a LovePeddler to justify seyifunmi's accusation and make Dele believe Seyifunmi was in her accusations.

I'm sorry but I don't believe a lady is a w*hore just because she entertains her lusty thoughts and has an affair. Morals and religion aside. (I'm not saying I condone such.)

If it were a man, would you think the same way?

And she's a widow, at least to her own knowledge.


Anyway, I have nothing against Tinu. If she's going through this phase, it's to prepare her for Chris's eventual return.

Episode 49 - A warning.

Dapo waited till his mother was done feeding his brothers. Tomini had been wary all day in school. She claimed she had a dream that something bad was going to happen to her family. She spent her day walking slowly. Who knew? Maybe she'd fall and die. She ate even slower. She didn't want to choke to death.

He didn't understand her unnecessary caution, but it beat seeing her cry. Thank God she didn't do that anymore. Anytime he saw her crying, it was like his heart was crying too.

Ayanfe's head lolled as he sat in his high chair as their mother fed his twin.

Sleepy sleepy.

"Dapo, are you done with your homework?" His father asked, without looking up from his iPad.

"Yes, sir."

"Ehn, go and take your bath. When I'm done with your brothers, we will pray." Felicia said and held a spoon to Eyinju's mouth.

"Oya na. Open your mouth." Felicia cooed and Eyinju pushed her hand away.

She sighed and said, "Jaiye, so ri nkan to fa. I told you. No biscuit in the evening."

His father looked up and said, "He was hungry. What did you want me to do?"

She sighed.

Dapo twiddled his thumbs. Only God knew when Eyinju would want to finish eating. His mother dropped the small, round plate.

"You boys should sha do and grow up fast, because me I'm tired." His mother said and slouched in her seat.

His father smiled and got out of his chair. He walked to Eyinju's highchair and picked him up. He picked up the plate with his other hand and sat in a free seat. He set the plate down on the dining table and ladled a tiny morsel of rice unto the spoon.

"My champion, oya." Jaiye cooed and the boy opened his mouth.

Felicia sputtered in shock and passed Jaiye the boy's sippy cup.

"Mi o kuku blame e. Ebi baba e lo jo." Felicia said. (I don't blame you. You take after your father's family.)

"Thank you. He is an Olu-Philip in deed and in truth." Jaiye said, smiling as he fed his son.

"Dapo, is there something you want?" Felicia said.

Dapo sighed and nodded.

"Mummy, Tomini had a dream-"

Felicia groaned. "When doesn't that girl dream? Her name should have been Josephine."

Dapo saw the glare his father shot his mother.

"What?"

"What did she dream of?" Jaiye asked.

"She can't remember,but she said something bad happened to her family in the dream." Dapo said.

"Can't she ever dream of Barbie or SpongeBob like a normal child?" Felicia said.

"Mummy, Tomini is normal, but God talks to her more often." Dapo snapped.

His mother's jaw slackened and he gasped in shock. He just talked back to his mother.

"Wo, all this one better end as friendship, because if you grow up and bring that girl home and say you want to marry her, I will not stand for it." His mother said and left the dining room.

"Don't mind your mother." Jaiye said.

"Mind me o. You better mind me." She shouted from the living room. "Tomini's defender."

Jaiye sighed.

"Have you told her to pray and plead the blood of Jesus?"

Dapo nodded.

"Then leave it. All is well. Just remind her to pray every night before she sleeps."


******
Felicia hit her husband with her bum and pushed his back with her shoulder. Rather than get angry, Jaiye laughed, and it fueled her infruriation.

"Stop laughing. I'm fighting with you." She smarted and Jaiye turned to face her on the bed.

He smiled at her, and her anger evaporated, and she got angry at herself for that.

"Stop smiling." She said and covered his face with her hand.

Jaiye chuckled and nipped at her palm lightly with his teeth and she gasped.

"You are biting me?" She cried with laughter in her voice.

He pulled her by her waist.

"Come here, jo."

"Leave me alone." She fought weakly and pushed at his hands, but it was futile. Jaiye had her pressed against him with her head on his chest, just the way she loved sleeping.

"Seriously, why do we have to carry that family's spiritual weight? Ehn? Just the other day, I called Tinu to ask her to join the evangelism team. If you see the attitude she was giving me, telling me that she'd already wired money to the evangelism account. Does she think I'm hungry or what? Or that I'm jobless for evangelising? But when her daughter has nightmares, it is son that will be looking for Panadol for someone else's headache. I don't like it. Left to me, I'd have had Dapo transferred to another arm, or better yet another school." She said.


Jaiye smiled.

"We are called to love, Fel. If we love only our friends, how better than the unbelievers are we? If we only pray for those in our evangelism team, how better than unbelievers are we?"

Felicia frowned.

"Stop frowning. You'll grow old on time and I'll still be the fresh bobo, while you'll be the old mama." Jaiye jived and Felicia smiled.

"You'll be the fresh bobo stuck with an old mama."

"The sexiest old mama ever." Jaiye said and kissed her lips.

"Oya, sleep."

"I love you, Jaiye."

"I love you too, babe."

She sighed and closed her eyes and cuddled beside her husband enjoying the warmth radiating from him in the cool room. Sleep took her husband and she heard a light snore from him.

She sighed.

He was more tired than he let on. Jaiye only snored when he was extremely tired. She smiled and pressed a kiss to his sternum and rolled to her side if the bed.

She pulled the duvet up to her neck as a shiver ran the length of her body. She closed her eyes and willed sleep to come. Her teeth chattered and she reached for the too of the bedside table.

She sighed.

Jaiye must have taken the remote control. She sat up and turned to check his bedside table.

No remote.

She rolled out of bed rubbing her arms. She turned to look at the LG split air conditioner unit.

It was still twenty-four degrees.

Why was it so cold?

She walked to the desk by the door and found the remote sitting on her Bible. As her fingers touched the crimson leather cover of the Holy Book, the words 'First Thessalonians four verse three' echoed in her ears.

She sat by the desk, and flipped open the Bible to the passage that dropped in her consciousness.

For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication.

Fornication? Her?

She never even dreamed of it. She could never bring herself to do something like that and hurt Jaiye and her children.

Get that verse to Tinu. A still, small voice whispered in her ears.

O o God! Tinu again?! Did she make the biggest mistake of her life by witnessing to her? How exactly was she supposed to tell Tinu this without the lady picking offence?

The voice chuckled and said without mirth.

Ezekiel three verse sixteen to twenty-one.

A chill raced down her spine. She knew what that passage held. It was something ingrained in her since her workers-in-training days.


God, just help me.

dorin27:
Somebody should tell me the meaning of BDSM na. Please.

Bondage, Discipline/Domination, Submission/Sadism, Masochism.

Episode 48 - Fooling Around.

Heaven - Julia Michaels

Tinu's breath came in short, irregular pants as Veron pulled out of her. He pressed a kiss to the top of her spine and rolled over panting like a dog. That would be apt since he'd just taken her from behind. With her arms and knees weak, and she rolled on to her back.

Her loins quivered with aftershocks and her thighs trembled. She pulled her hair away from her face, trying to right her breathing.

"F*uck," she swore.

She turned to look at Veron, who grinned at her, as she pulled the covers over her sweaty body.

"You - you - are really something else." She panted.

He chuckled.

"You're amazing too."

The only thing missing was the familiar feeling of being stuffed. A satisfied buzz eased in her snatch and she clamped her thighs together.

"You're quite insatiable." Veron said, laughing.

"Forgive me, but the last time I had sex was four years ago and in my first trimester of my last pregnancy." She said and rolled out of bed.

She walked to the floor, and harvested her clothing and undergarments from off the floor.

"Are you leaving?"

She nodded.

"I need to back to work, so I can leave early to tuck my kids in." She said and placed them on the arm chair in the room.

"Tinu, come on."

She frowned and turned to face him.

"Veron, I thought I made it clear to you. My kids come first. I love the sex, but if you think you'll ever come before my children, you're soon find yourself out on your ear."

"Fine." He said, raising his hands. "Momzilla."

She hissed, and picked up her phone, and walked to the ensuite. She closed the door behind her and stared at her reflection in the mirror. A tingle ran from her head to her toes as her eyes raced over her swollen lips, her fingers came to her tender nipples and to the bite mark on her left breast.

She missed this.

A vile taste hit her tongue as she recalled the hickeys Chris used to leave on her neck when she was still working as a reminder to her boss that she was taken.

Forget him, Tinu, and enjoy the moment.

Her phone vibrated and she turned it over in her hand. A text from Felicia.

Na by force?

She hissed and turned the phone face down. Felicia had been pestering her to join the prison evangelism team ever since she returned to Abuja. She didn't need that. At least, her beyond generous donations were supposed to count for something.

She could barely keep up with being a mother, managing her business, and keeping her affair a secret. She didn't have the time to add evangelism.

A needle of guilt pricked her heart and she wrapped her hands around herself.

She had her needs as a woman. And she chose the lesser of two evils - pornography and masturbation, and an affair.

God had to understand.

She picked up the shower cap she left on the counter and covered her hair with it. She stepped into the shower and turned the shower on.

The heavy torrent hit her skin and she hissed at its coldness. The hotel didn't have a heater. She sighed. One of the discomforts of having an illicit affair.

She gasped as hands placed themselves around her waist. He placed a kiss on her neck and she sighed and leaned back to feel his hardness against her bum. She closed her eyes as one of his hands slid upwards.

"I thought we could conserve water." His husky voice slid into her ears.

Her response died as his other hands slithered downwards.

"What do you think?" He said and took her earlobe into his mouth.

"F*uck." She swore as the sensations from her ear, breast, and snatch overwhelmed her.

"Veron, what are you doing to me?"

He chuckled and continued pleasing her.

"Making you feel good."


*****
Tinu bounced into her office with a wide smile on her face. Her smile widened as she saw Ajiri standing by the front desk.

"AJ." Tinu chippered.

Ajiri turned and smiled.

"Tinu, what's up?"

She walked to her friend and hugged her. Ajiri pulled away and eyed her from head to toe.

"What is making you so happy?"

Tinu giggled and dragged her friend by her hand into her office. Tinu closed the door behind them and walked to her seat laughing.

"Okay, did you win a billion dollars?" Ajiri questioned slowly as she walked to one of the chairs in front of Tinu's desk.

"Can't a girl just be happy?" Tinu said as she toyed with one of the knickknacks on her desk.

"Does your happiness have any reason to do with why you smell like you just had your bath?" Ajiri asked with an eyebrow raised.

Tinu dropped the figurine in her hand.

"I had a full body massage."

"Really? Cause your assistant said you went to the mechanic's." Ajiri said.

Tinu sighed. If she could hide from anybody, it wasn't Ajiri. Not the girl she'd known from before she lost her milk teeth.

"Fine," she sighed, dramatically. "I'm having an affair."

"What?!" Ajiri shouted.

"Shut up!" Tinu whisper-yelled.

Ajiri eyed her.

"Are you for real?" Ajiri whispered.

Tinu smiled and nodded.

"Who are you and what have you done with Atinuke Coker?" Ajiri sighed and slouched in her seat.

Tinu giggled.

"I swear, I never ever pictured myself doing this."

"Tinu, are you serious?"

She nodded.

"It's just physical. No strings attached. He scratches my back when I need it."

"Are you paying him?" Ajiri asked frowning.

"Hell no," Tinu said, "I'm not that desperate. We met at a club, and he's f*ucking good."

"Tinu, you're swearing." Ajiri stated in shock.

Tinu shrugged.

"He's a bad influence."

Tinu smiled and nodded.

"He's young and totally a sex expert. He knows sex positions I never knew existed."

"How young?" Ajiri asked.

"Twenty-one." Tinu whispered.

"Twenty-one?!" Ajiri shouted.

"Keep it down."

God forbid his busybody mother be eavesdropping from her side of the wall.

"Tinu, that is not young. That is child abuse. The Tinu I know would never have done something like this." Ajiri whisper-yelled.

Tinu stiffened and gritted, "The Tinu you know died in prison. And whatever was left of her died at the psychiatric hospital. Ajiri, for the past two years, I've been having nightmares. Every single night. Every day, every week, for the past two years.

"My sanity is hanging on by a thread, but all I do is smile and pretend all's well because my children need me. Since I've been with Veron, I sleep like a baby. Ajiri, for the first time in two years, I snoozed my alarm this morning."

A few tears fell and she wiped them off with the back of her hand.

"Sure, the sex is great and all. But it's beyond my libido. Veron's given me my sleep back. I'm not afraid to go to bed anymore."

Ajiri's hard look softened.

"Tinu, I understand, but-"

She stopped and sighed.

"I really hope it doesn't come back to bite you in the ass."

Tinu shook her head.

"It won't. I laid down all the rules and set boundaries. We are just f*uck buddies. We don't call each other or text, except when we're meeting."

"So when he has an itch, he calls you?"

"Not quite. He offered to be my boy toy."

Ajiri raised her brow.

"Tinu, isn't that suspicious? Won't he try to blackmail you for money later?"

"He's a rich, spoilt brat with a thing for older women. He doesn't need money."

"Tinu, that's even worse. It reminds me of this J-Lo movie. Tinu, are you sure this won't come back to bite you in the ass?"

"AJ, relax. I have it all under control."

peaonyx05:
pls is Tinu meant to suffer all her life
So she is now really becoming the slut Seyi accused her of.... OP please let all these things be fantasies and not reality.
She has been suffering since this story started naa

Everybody has that moment they lose their home training.

Episode 47 - Twenty Days.

Dele sighed as he tapped the elevator button. His wedding to Seyifunmi would have been in twenty days. He once thought he'd be happy. The doors opened and he entered. He waited till the doors closed and leaned against the wall of the elevator.

The joy from the contract ElsaTech won that morning had fizzled out, and he was back to the dreary weight of his problems- his missing children and Seyifunmi. Tinu still didn't pick his calls, and Seyifunmi...

God! How could he still be in love with the woman who'd called the mother of his son a slut in his presence?

Most times, he'd have to walk out of the room, so just he wouldn't be tempted to pick her calls. His heart was dragged in two places whenever he listened to the voice notes she'd recorded crying. He couldn't believe she could do such a thing, and then keep it hidden.

When she'd confronted him on the plane, and he'd presumed she'd come to him first, why didn't she say anything? Or if she'd been scared, why didn't she say anything after he proposed, or at his mother's birthday when he'd complained Tinu was giving him attitude?

She really wanted his children out of his life. She knew just how much he suffered, just how many times they'd told him 'You're not my Daddy', just how many times they'd called him Uncle, just how many times they told him they didn't like him.

Seyifunmi knew the hurts he suffered. Seyifunmi knew everything. She knew how scarred he was hearing his mother being called a prostitute, and she did the exact same thing to his son.

And yet he was the Devil. Timi and Wahab had come to his office and dished him sermons about how to treat a woman. How was he supposed to know someone would be recording Seyifunmi run after his car? How was he supposed to know Seyifunmi would kneel in the middle of the parking lot? To save her from further humiliation, he "accepted" her apology, and still he was the bad person?

He didn't expect them to understand what he was going through. Ummi just got pregnant and Timi's only daughter, Fiyesimi, just said her first word- Dada.

The first word he heard from Tomini's mouth was her calling Chris Daddy. His circumstances was so different from theirs. Though he was the reason for his estranged relationship with his children, he didn't need Seyifunmi to exacerbate it just when they'd come to love him.

He sighed. It was better this way. Better Seyifunmi showed her true colors now than when they were married. Her insecurities and lack of trust him would ruin whatever marriage they would have had.

The elevator dinged and he pushed off the wall and walked out to the underground parking lot. He strolled to the choice spot reserved for him and his phone rang.

He slipped it out of his pocket and saw the caller ID.

Ben.

He picked the call.

"Benjamin, wetin de sup?" Dele said with a small smile on his face.

"I dey o. How body?"

"I dey. Effiong and Sara nko?"

"Dem dey. Dey just dey chop for my head o. If you see Sara now eh… I no even know wetin her mama dey give her chop." Ben said and Dele chuckled.

"When did you come onshore?" Dele said and unlocked his car.

"Last week."

"So you spent the last one week with madam and you're calling me now?"

Ben chuckled.

"Before. Man shall not live by money alone. Anyway, that's not even why I called. I went shopping with my wife last week. You'll never guess who I saw in the office next to the boutique." Ben said as Dele threw his laptop bag into the backseat.

"Ben, I don tire. Talk wetin you wan talk."

"Okay o. Na Tinu I see o."

Dele chuckled and said, "Ben, nice one. Who you see?"

"You think I'm joking? I'm serious. I saw Tinu."

"Which Tinu?"

"Same Tinu na. Your ex. I was shocked. The woman who owned the boutique said she just moved there about four weeks ago."

What!

"Be-what did you say?"

"I said I saw Tinu and that she just rented a space in a multiplex. She's back in Abuja."

"Oh my God!" He whispered and leaned against his car. "All this while, she's been right under my nose and-"

He sighed.

"Ben, are you sure?"

"Shey I will not now recognize Tinu? I said I saw her. You can come over and confirm."

"Thank you so much, Ben."

"No qualms."

"Say me well to Effiong and Sara."

"No problem. Take care, bro."

"You too."

*******
Seyifunmi clamped the throw pillow with her sweaty hands as Rosanna paced with her phone pressed against her ear. For three days, she'd been trying to get through to Roselle, but all her numbers were unavailable, and she didn't reply to any of her messages.

"Okay… You don't have her number….No problem-" Rosanna said.

Seyifunmi bent over the pillow as tears hit her eyes. Another dead end.

"Thanks, Mmesoma." Rosanna said and ended the call.

She sighed and turned to look at her.

"Shay."

Seyifunmi gasped as her tears fell faster. Rosanna walked to sit beside her. Her hand rubbed her back.

"All will be well." Rosanna said.

Seyifunmi shook her head.

"Dele said he'd only forgive me if I find them. Ro, our wedding would have been in twenty days. With each day that passes, I can actually lose Dele for good."

Seyifunmi sobbed harder as the gravity of her words hit her. As the gap between him and his children widened, so did the gap between them.

"What am I going to do?

Ro hugged her and rubbed her head.

"I'll keep calling people."

A knock on the door had Rosanna hissing.

"I swear if it is Femi, I'll kill him."

Seyifunmi gave a little smile as Rosanna stood and walked to the door. The keys clinked as Rosanna unlocked the door and her gasp had Seyifunmi turning.

"Good evening, Ma." Rosanna greeted.

Who was at the door?

"Rosanna, where is my daughter?"

Seyifunmi gasped as her heart raced. She stood and contemplated running into the room to hide, but her mother had already made her way into the living room.

Why did she come to Lagos this night?

"E ku'role, ma." Seyifunmi greeted and genuflected. (Good evening, ma.)

Her mother dropped her bag on the floor, and walked to hug her daughter.

Episode 46 - Cornered.

Tinu sighed as Regina's breathing evened out. She turned from her side unto her back. The midnight blue star-studded ceiling looked back at her. Her mind flitted back to guy she met at the club.

Veron.

Her toes curled as she recalled the way he held her. The last time she felt so good was three years ago. She didn't expect herself to like it, but she did. The boy was young, but he knew what he was doing. Wet heat pooled as she recalled how he'd tossed one of her legs over his shoulder and…

Maybe she'd call him back. They could just be bedmates. He'd help her scratch her itch, and maybe if she eventually slept with him her nightmares would stop.

Regina whimpered and she turned to check on her daughter with her heart beating in fear and remorse. She had been mere seconds from pulling down Veron's pants when her phone started ringing with the Barney I Love You theme song- the ringtone she'd designated for home.

Veron tried to get her to ignore the call, but she couldn't. She'd never left her children alone with just the help before, and a million scenarios flashed before her eyes. She answered the call from Grace and found out Regina was having a fever. She righted her clothes and raced back home.

Regina sighed and settled peacefully. Tinu exhaled in relief, and she rubbed her daughter's head. The girl's fever was broken and her lids sat shut over her eyes with her lashes kissing her cheeks.

The doctor couldn't diagnose her of an illness, and Tinu was afraid.

Was Chris's ghost behind this? Were ghosts omniscient? Or did he follow her to the club? Was this just a coincidence or there was a preternatural hand in this?

Maybe she'd just stay away from Veron. For her family's sake.

******
Tinu stuffed the last piece of Digestive biscuit in her mouth and downed it with water. And that was her breakfast at nineteen hundred hours. She picked up the four, thick binders she was supposed to show her client and huddled them in one arm and reached for her handbag with her free hand. She stormed out of her office, hoping she could beat traffic.

She had gotten a late start to work as Regina refused to let her leave for work. She announced her departure to her assistant, who was watching the electricians fix the air conditioning unit in, and walked out of the office. The office space she'd rented was still being refurbished, and she worked majorly from home.

She walked towards the exit, thankful her office was on the ground floor. Her phone rang and she sighed. She stuck her hand in the external compartment and pulled out her phone. There was no caller ID, only a strange number.

Maybe it was another referred client.

"Hello," she said as she picked the call.

"Someone's been naughty," the voice said in a singsong manner, "you've been avoiding me."

She frowned and continued walking.

"I'm sorry but I think you are unto the wrong person." She said as she jogged down the steps leading out of the building.

"So you don't recognize my voice? So what if I say, 'F*uck, you look so beautiful when you come"?" The voice said, and Tinu dropped the binders in her hands.

"Ve-Ve-Veron?!" She whispered, as though even the wind could know what she did with him just by hearing her say his name.

"Yes, honey."

Tinu sighed and bent to pick up the binders with the phone lodged between her ear and shoulders.

"You promised to call back. You didn't and you didn't respond to any of my calls. You had me worried and then the next thing a man sees is your ass in that tight skirt. F*uck." He said and Tinu gasped.

He was here?

Her heart raced as she hurriedly picked up the binders. She had the four of them back in her arms and she walked to her car.

"Look, Veron, I had a nice time, but like you read the other night, I only want a one-night thing." She said and placed the binders on her booth. and searched her bag for her keys.

"Look, babe, I can't stop thinking about you, and I want us to finish what we started the other time." He said.

Tinu squeezed her eyes shut and she found her keys. She shook her head and tapped the unlock button. Her car's lights flashed and she opened the back door and carried the binders and deposited them in the backseat.

"Veron, I'm sorry." She said.

"Really?" She heard his voice from behind her. Tinu dropped her phone and cringed as she turned. His dark curls glittered and sunlight bounced off his leather jacket. The white tee he was wearing hugged his body and so did his jeans. They moulded his body and she could bet his cute butt would look nice in them.

"What are you doing here?" She asked clutching her hand bag as she bent to pick her phone.

She wasn't going to be afraid of this small boy. She wore her bravado. Las las, she'd pretend to be angry and flip it on him. Even though all she wanted was to have him take her in the nearest bathroom stall like they'd done at the club.

He chuckled.

"Sweetie, that can be arranged." He said and her jaw slackened.

She forgot he could read desires and motivations.

He took two steps to her and she walked backwards till her back hit her car.

"When my mum asked me to come here today, I didn't imagine I'd meet you here, Mrs. Coker-Oduah." He said and closed the gap between them.

She didn't know which to fear more. The fact his mother was around or that he knew her name.

"I knew there was something about you. There's a fire in you that refuses to extinguished. My mother told me about you. I'm sorry for the untimely and unfortunate passing of your husband. And my apologies on the wrongful conviction." He said and placed his hands around her waist.

She sighed softly and held her breath. The weight of his hands around her waist had her hoping for more. Then it hit her.

The only person she'd told her story and name in the complex was the lady who owned the boutique nextdoor.

"Your mum's Mrs. Gerald?" She asked.

He nodded.

Her neighbor's son?

She pushed at his hands. She didn't need that kind of drama. It was bad enough he was young. He had to be her neighbor's son on top of that.

Tinu, you are a trouble magnet.

"Veron, I can't do this." She said.

"My mother doesn't have to know. No one has to know. That's what you wanted, right? We just need to have a good time." He said.

Tinu had never been this tempted in her entire life. On one hand was her image and the fact that his mother was her neighbor. On the other, she wanted this guy. She wanted him to eat her out again like he did at the club.

He sighed.

"Baby girl, keep your thoughts in check." He growled with his eyes half-lidded.

Baby girl?

"Veron, I -"

Tinu, say no. Stand your ground and say no.

Tinu, here's an opportunity of a lifetime.

Her mind and heart sparred and she sighed.

"There are going to be rules if we are going to do this." She said and he smiled.

"We pick a place. A cheap hotel. Somewhere we can't bump into acquaintances. No I want to come over. My house is for my children. If I ever see you around them, we're done. If you ever ask about them or my husband, we're done. This is only going to be physical. Do not fall in love with me because I can never love another man-"

"How are you sure you won't be the one falling for me?" He said smiling.

She smiled.

"Because you are not Chris."

His smile waned and she resisted the giggle in her throat.

"Anyway, you don't call me. I call you. Most importantly, no showing up at my office." She said frowning.

"I can live by those, but I've got a few of my own." He said.

Tinu nodded.

"You'll keep an open mind to everything." He said.

She raised an eyebrow.

"I don't do BDSM."

He laughed.

"I didn't mean BDSM."

"Really, Veron, I don't do kinky stuff."

"Me neither. Just promise to keep an open mind."

Tinu shrugged.

"Alright."

He smiled. "What hotel do you have in mind?"

"You seem like you've done this before. Pick a place and text it to me. I'll call you to set up the time and day."

Rosemary33...

Just so you know,if anything happens to Morgan...Me and you na one sokoto.

Episode 45- Veron

He pulled a thin stick to his mouth and flipped open his lighter. The cigarette lit orange and he took a long pull and let the smoke out from his nostrils. He held the cigarette in the V of his left index and middle finger. A grin pasted itself as he tossed his lighter on the table with his piano and recording gear.

He walked to rumpled bed and sat as he recalled the beautiful woman from the club. She ought to be in her thirties, but she had the enthusiasm of a lusty teenager. He pulled his phone out of his pocket as he remembered the way she'd held him and pulled at his belt.

Times like this made him love his gift and his Romany ancestry. He dialed her number again. He couldn't wait to have her back in his arms, to feel her lips against his neck, her fingers in his air, her thighs clamped around his waist, her tongue in his mouth again.

She was one older woman he'd enjoy screwing. The call fell through and he sighed.

Patience. Give her time to grasp everything.

He took a short pull and misted the air in front of him with smoke. The door to his room pushed open and he frowned as he saw the intruder.

"Have you ever heard of knocking?" He deadpanned.

She frowned back. "Can't you smoke outside? And why didn't you let the maids clean this dump up?"

"I'll smoke wherever I want and I like my room the way it is."

Smoking was the only thing that dulled his gift, the only thing that didn't make him see the dirty things in people's minds.

"Ve-"

"Don't call my name. Go spend time with your new love." He shouted.

"Veron." She cooed and closed the door behind her.

Veron, control yourself. Don't let her get you.

The sound of the door locking created a pavlovian response in him. His blood boiled with arousal, and he found himself extinguishing the cigarette on the ashtray beside his bed.

The office dress she had on hugged her body, and he couldn't wait to pull it off. She sat beside him and placed her hands around his neck.

"Are you jealous?" She asked smiling.

He hissed and tried to pull away. She giggled and held on to his neck.

"Common, baby." She cooed and kissed his cheek and he was lost.

That was their code. A kiss on the cheek even in front of their parents and he knew he was to go to his room and wait naked. If he didn't comply, she wouldn't let him come.

He loved his sister more than anything. He had been in love with her since before he knew what love between a man and a woman meant. She loved him too and had showed him how much since he was six.

He remembered all the handling while she bathed him. Then she'd told him it was how sisters loved their brothers, and he didn't know any better till his reproductive system class in JSS 2. He lost his virginity that year. At least, if he could still be called a virgin with all the things they'd done together.

As he grew older, sex with his big sister became a regular thing. He had even gone to university from her house, just so he could be with her. He never looked at another girl because he loved her. Not all the beautiful, h*orny girls in his class who would gladly drop their panties as soon as he asked. He only wanted her.

Only for him to return from his NYSC and find her married.

Irritation spurred within him and he pulled away.

"Veron, don't be like this." She said with her hand lingering on his cheek. "I had to get married. Mum and Dad wouldn't let me rest."

"You said we'd run away together." He countered.

"It was wishful thinking, Veron. We can't run away." She sighed stroking his ear. Tingling squirmed through his nerve endings and he leaned in to her touch.

"Cynthia, please. If you love me, let's run away together." He sighed holding her gaze. "Please. I'll forgive you. I'll quit smoking. I'll stop philandering."

She sighed and dropped her hand.

"Veron, just enjoy what we had."

"So, I'm supposed to watch the woman I love be with another man. I'm supposed to call him my brother-in-law and be uncle to whatever kids you have after banging him?" He shouted.

"Keep your voice down." She whispered, sternly. "He's downstairs."

"Get out. Leave and don't come back." He said and rolled out of bed. He walked to the desk and picked up his lighter and pack of cigarettes. He pulled out another stick and lit it.

She sighed and stood.

"Veron, you can get cancer with that."

"What do you care? Get out!" He said and took a pull. She sighed and left his room.

He kicked his chair and walked to the bed, and picked up his phone.

If he couldn't have the lady he met two nights ago, he'd call any other woman on his list of older women he'd screwed.

He opened the contact list and scrolled through. He had started this since her wedding night. He'd found an older woman and slept with her that night. He'd enjoyed it and continued.

Eva Labinjo.

Just the woman he needed. He wasn't in the mood to please any woman. He wanted to f*uck his frustrations away, and Eva, a forty year old mother of three, was a submissive sex slave in the making. She'd take it anyhow he wanted it, and he called her anytime he was frustrated.

He dialed her line, and seconds after she picked.

"Hello, my precious." He drawled. He could bet she was wet already.

"Veron?!" She sighed softly.

"Meet me at the hotel in thirty minutes. I need you."

She sighed and swallowed. "Alright."

"Thanks, my love. And wear something you wouldn't mind me ripping off your gorgeous body."

"Okay."

Episode 44 - My life isn't just complete without you.

His fingers raced up and down her arm as her warm, nude body pressed against his side. Her head laid directly over his heart and her right hand splayed over his chest. He stared at the ceiling trying to calm himself after the passionate love they'd just made. He could feel her pants ease into soft gasps. And he could bet she could hear his erratic heartbeats.

How did the woman manage to get under his skin so fast?

Her hand stirred and she ran her finger tips over the patch of hair on his chest. Her aimless traipsing turned to teasing as she ran her fingers over his nipple. He shivered and she giggled.

Evil minx.

"I've been wanting to ask you something, Chris." She whispered and set her hand flat over his chest.

"Go ahead, my love."

She sighed and said, "There's this thing you say when you, uh, when you come. Hyatt or something like that."

He chuckled.

"What does it mean?"

"It's not Hyatt. It's Arabic."

"Ehn, what is it?" She said and pulled away and sat up to stare at him.

His eyes flitted to her bare chest.

"Stop that." She said and pulled her braids from behind her to cover her breasts.

He chuckled.

"I've seen them, Tinu. I've tasted them, bit them, licked them-"

"I get it. Sheesh." She squealed and pulled the blanket up to cover herself. "Just tell me what you say."

He smiled and turned his head to look at the ceiling.

"Remove the blanket then I'll tell you." He deadpanned.

"Chris, nau." She whined.

He didn't know what her problem was. They were married for crying out loud.

He pretended not to hear her protests.

"If you want me to tell you, then take it off." He said still staring at the ceiling.

She sighed and pushed the blanket away from her torso.

"Are you happy?" She said.

He turned to her, smiling at her. He reached out and tossed her braids behind her shoulders.

"I am now. Tinu, never hide yourself from me. Please. Not just your body, I want to see your heart and soul too." He told her as he cupped her face and stared into her eyes.

She pursed her lips and nodded.

"I call you Ya hayati. It's Arabic for my life." He told her as his thumb carressed her cheek.

"W-w-why Arabic?"

He shrugged. "Growing up, my nanny was half-Fulani, half-Omani. She used to tell me a lot of Arabic folklore. When I had to take over the company, Arabic was one of the first languages I learned since we dealt a lot with them. I just love the language."

She gave a small smile. "What does Ya hayati mean?"

He locked gazes with her.

"My life."

She burst into laughter. "Real smooth. Your life? You were living before I met you."

His hand slipped to her neck, and he held it tight, though not hard enough to hurt her, but hard enough to get her to get her attention.

"Tinu, you make my life complete. Before you, I barely had anything to live for besides OHC. With you, it's like I have everything thing I could ever wish for. And my life wouldn't be complete without you in it."

"Chris," she moaned.

"I mean it."

She leaned in and kissed him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself soft body against his hard chest.

"I love you," she said, smiling. She giggled and said, "Ya hayati. Can I call you that too?"

He grinned and said, "Go find your own, copycata."

She beamed at him and stuck out her tongue.

"Teach me to say You're my everything'"

"Your everything?" He jived.

She nodded. "I don't think I'd survive without you."

"And I'm the smooth one."

"Just teach me, jare."

He smiled and pulled her closer to him. He rolled over and straddled her.

A gasp left her as her breaths started to go into short pants.

"'Ant kulashay' balnsbtli." He said and she burst into laughter.

"Let me borrow Ya hayati before I bite my tongue off."

He chuckled and said, "Come on. You can say it."

"I can't Chris. Ya hayati's easier." She said.

"Please, for me. I want to see those words sinfully gorgeous lips of yours." He said and pressed his lips to hers, nipping, licking, adoring.

She moaned and wrapped her hands around his neck. He pulled away from her and said, "Say it."

"'Ant…" he guided.

"Ant…" she said with the nuance off.

He smiled. He'd correct that later.

"Kulashay'…"

"Kulashay'…"

"Balnsbtli."

"Balnsbtli."

He grinned at her and carressed her face.

"Ya hayati, oriido an ankoona ma'aki ila al-abad." He said and kissed her again.

*****

I really thought we'd be together forever.

Chris pushed the box of jigsaw puzzle pieces away from him. He turned his head and saw the white elderly man beside him put a chess piece in mouth and gnaw on it. Two nurses ran to him and pulled the piece out of his mouth.

Was he really going to grow old here? While Tinu and their children went on believing he was whatever his father told them.

Had she remarried? Did she think about him? Did she miss him like he missed her? Would he ever get back to the love of his life? To his children? Regina would be three now. Who did she look like? Did she have her mother's eyes like he'd hoped? He'd wanted to be beside Tinu as she brought their baby to the world. To give her the comfort Dele didn't give her when she had the twins. To hold her hand as she brought forth their miracle baby, the symbol of their love.

Tears struck his eyes as he realized he'd failed her and broken his promise to be by her side every step of the way. He clenched his jaws and pushed the case of puzzle pieces over the table.

"Mr. James," the bodyguard nurse cried.

He hissed as he heard her voice. He couldn't stand them. She and her partner, Aiden, reminded him just how much of a conniving bastard his father was.

She skittered to his side.

"Stay calm, Mr. James."

"I am not James," he screamed. He'd been telling her that. "When is your dumb head going to get that?"

She sighed and rubbed her temples. Her chestnut hair was pulled back from her face in a tight bunch and her white scrubs shone under the fluorescent lighting.

"Mr. James-"

He groaned. There was no getting through to her. Courtesy Jason Oduah, everyone believed he was some James.

"You need to calm down. Take deep breaths." She said rubbing his arm.

"Why do you waste time talking to the nut job? Hit him up with some tranquillizer. That'll shut his yapping." Aiden snapped in a Cockney accent.

"He's not a beast, Aiden. He's just mentally infirm." The nurse, Bianca, said.

"A mentally infirm nigger. Ain't worth the care. If he's father weren't paying a truckload of money, I wouldn't touch him with a mile long pole." The nurse said and spat in his face. The sand haired, buff man wiped his thin lips and sneered at him with a lopsided smirk and his baby blue eyes shimmering with mischief.

Chris knew he couldn't afford to get him angry. His life was in the racist bastard's hands, so he'd keep quiet till he got free and could get his revenge.

Chris turned to glare at him as the nurse cried in horror.

"Sorry," she whispered and wiped his face with a folded handkerchief she pulled out of her pockets.

She smiled at him. Her russet brown eyes held hope and care in them. Maybe this nurse would be his ticket out of here. Maybe rather than despise her, he had to get closer to her.

"You're gonna be okay, Mr. James. I promise."

He nodded. He was gonna be more than okay, when he was done with her.

******
Tinu jerked out of bed screaming her late husband's name. Her chest rose and fell with fear as she looked at the wall opposite her bed. Her mind replaying the horrid nightmare. Fat drops of tears slid down her face creating a waterfall.

She squeezed her eyes shut trying to stop the memory from playing in her head. It didn't. She let out a weak sob and curled into a foetal ball. She'd relived her husband's accident. She'd been in the car as the heart attack started as he drove into a tree. She was there as the doctors announced him DOA and as the morgue attendants cleaned him up.

The most agonizing part was seeing a man in a mask come and carve her husband's heart out of his chest, all the while sneering at her and calling her Ya hayati. She tried to stop him but couldn't.

The next thing she knew, two men grabbed her arms and held her while the other man tried to feed her her husband's heart. She'd squeezed her mouth shut and tried to get away from them.

Then the man with her husband's heart morphed into her husband and said the same words Chris had said that night.


Ya hayati, oriido an ankoona ma'aki ila al-abad.

Her eyes met her alarm clock. She didn't even know why she kept the thing. She always woke up hours before it'd ring. It was a miracle she was still functioning with the little to no sleep she'd been getting. Her nightmares had been persistent since she got out of the hospital, but since she moved back here, they became worse.

Was it because she was surrounded with so many memories of Chris? Or was it because she hadn't moved on yet?

Maybe a one night stand is what you need. Great sexing will help you relax, a voice said in her head. And her heart yelled in protest as guilt pierced it through.

You'd be cheating on him.

It's till death do us part. You can't cheat on a dead person. Her head countered.

That couldn't be her head.

Or maybe it was the head located south of her waistline.

Tinu sat up as the idea began to appeal to her. Maybe it'd help. And her hormones had been raging.

It'll just be casual sex. He doesn't have to know who you are.

Don't do it, Tinu.

You need it. He'd help you relax. And you'd forget about Chris. Even if it's just for a night. Don't you want to feel a man's touch again. To have a man hold you, squeeze you, drill into you. You have the rest of your life ahead of you as a widow. And you don't want to remarry. You don't want to get a vibrator. Tinu, don't you want to feel good.

She sighed and looked at the clock again.

21:58

Maybe she could head down to a club, find a willing guy, and take him to a hotel.

Tinu, don't do it.

She ignored the voice of her heart and went with the warm aching anticipation brewing in her loins.

She rolled out of bed and walked to the ensuite.

It would just be this night. Only this night.

*****
Tinu sighed and took a sip out of her drink. What was she doing here? After showering, making up and pulling on a long blouse she would normally have paired with a pair of leggings, she sat by the bar sipping on her third glass of whiskey.

This was much harder than she thought. She just couldn't do it- have sex with a complete stranger. Even when she was younger she never did this. And now her thirty-two year old h*orny self had her hunting for a d*ick for the night.

She cringed. She was a mother of four. What sort of example was she setting for Tomini and Regina? She downed her drink, and winced as it burned a trail down her throat.

"Easy there. You don't down whiskey like that." A voice said from beside her.

She turned and faced him. The young man smiled at her and she sized him up from head to toe. He was young. Very young.

"Like what you see?" He said smirking.

She sighed.

See what you brought upon yourself. Even this one that's still supposed to be sucking breast is talking to you. She'd rejected men much older than him, men who didn't phone home every month end for an allowance.

His eyes skimmed from the top of her wine coloured weave to her be shoulders to the swell of her breasts in the armless blouse and down to the hem of the blouse which stopped midthigh.

"Look, guy-"

"It's Veron." He said beaming.

She rolled her eyes. "Look, Veron, why don't you run along and tell your friends who dared you to come over here that you talked to me and I didn't dig you. Okay."

He chuckled and she bent her head looking at the empty glass.


"No on dared me to talk to you." He said and inched closer. "I could sense your need all the way across the room."

She raised her head.

What was he talking about?

"Yeah, you're probably confused right now. I'm psychic to an extent. I read motivations, desires, needs and fears." He said and Tinu burst into laughter.

What was this boy smoking?

"Look, Veron. You've been really charming and funny. Thanks for the laugh. I needed it." She said turning to face him. She patted his arm. "Please, dear, I want to be alone."

"You want to forget your late husband. You want the nightmares to stop."

Tinu gasped and stared at him in fear.

He smiled.

"That's why you came here. You want to forget even if it's only one night," he said and bent to her ears, "you need to feel like a woman like a woman again."

He pulled back and placed a hand on her bare shoulders.

"You don't want anyone to know who you are," he said as his thumb ran to and fro over her collarbone to the top of her breasts. A chill raced up her spine as goosebumps carpeted her skin.

"I can give you a nice time. I don't even know your name, so there's no finding you out."

She opened her mouth, but could form no words.

"What do you say?"

Was this what she was looking for?

"I can see you need a few minutes to think it over." He said and picked up her phone from the bar top. He typed in his number in the emergency phone dialler.

He winked at her and walked away.

Episode 43- And it's raining engagement rings.


Seyifunmi pushed herself further till she got to Ro's front door. The rather eventful day culminated in her getting a query. The first one in her over seven years in the job market. But that wasn't what had her stressed out. She'd responded to the query already, and had been slapped with a warning.

She didn't care. She'd gotten the satisfaction of punching Damilola and ducking her pay.

B*itch.

The resounding echo of her nose breaking brought a smile to her face and she recalled the shocked, petrified faces of Damilola's squad. She'd given them the last warning, and they'd seen that she wasn't eran riro.(A softie.)

She met the security light outside their flat turned on and she rapped on the door thrice.

"Eberechukwu," she sang, "abeg come open this door. I don tire."

Seconds after Ro unlocked the door and held it open standing in the red shirt she'd worn to work and a pair of hot pants. Her eyes were red.

"Sorry if I woke you up." Seyifunmi said as she walked in.

"I wish I could sleep." Rosanna said and locked the door.

Seyifunmi crashed unto the nearest sofa.

"You forgot your phone." Rosanna said and Seyifunmi groaned.

"I know. I didn't even realize till my boss called me after I responded to my query."

Rosanna's eyes popped out.

"Don't tell me you got a query for moping on the job."

Seyifunmi sighed.

"I wish. I got it for something I don't regret. I hit Damilola."

Rosanna gasped and cringed as though she was the one slapped.

"A punch in the face. In the bullpen. Just after lunch hour. Right in front of all her cronies and supporters. I wish I recorded her face. It was priceless. A se ko ti e le. All talk. Quivering in her shoes like a leaf in the rain, holding her bleeding nose." Seyifunmi ranted as she removed her ankle strap heels.(She's not even that tough.)

"Nice. Put the b*itch in her place."

"Yep."

Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys filled the room and Rosanna rushed to get the phone from underneath the console stand.

"It's your mum." Rosanna said. "She's been calling non-stop."

"What does she want?" I thought she didn't want anything to do with me."


"Well, she saw the video of you begging Dele and your supposed reconciliation. She wants to confirm if the wedding is back on." Rosanna said.

"F*uck. Where does that old woman get access to all these videos?" Seyifunmi snapped and jerked up.

Rosanna shrugged.

"What did you tell her?"

"That my boss was calling me and I'd call back?" Rosanna said raising her brow.

"Ehn pick it and tell her that I'm not back yet."

"And if she asks about the wedding?"

"Right. Don't answer it then."

The phone went on ringing for minutes and then it stopped.

"Phew." Seyifunmi sighed as she pulled off her wig.

"So give me the details about the smackdown."

"So it started like this.


******

Seyifunmi pulled up to the parking lot of her firm's annex. She killed the engine and got out of the car. She grabbed the original, black Annabell Ingall work tote Dele had gotten her from the passenger seat and pulled out a tube of her red lipstick. She pulled down the visor and used the mirror on it to vet her application of the matte rogue.

She'd taken extra time with her makeup that morning. She aimed to look flawless. She didn't want anyone's pity or sympathy. And she had to sell the facade that she and Dele were back together. To the people under her, she was the satisfied Seyifunmi who just got back with her fiancee. When she got home, she could cry her mascara off.

She stepped out in her black, Anne Klein blazer, white, Mango pencil skirt, and red Manolo Blahnik ankle strap peeptoe platforms, grateful to Dele for giving her all the ammo to pull off this facade. She locked her car behind her and tossed her straightened, waist length,10A Remy behind her shoulder and strutted to the building.

The guard at the door smiled at her and she greeted the elderly man. He pulled open the door for her, and she smiled at him. She walked into the reception and met staff huddled together in small groups.

She glanced at her Armitron rose gold watch. It was fifteen minutes to nine. She sighed. She wasn't going to start her day yelling at them to do the right thing. She'd just adopt the method her boss taught her. Anyone who wasn't at his station by nine, she'd slap him with a query.

What were they even looking at?

"It's such a beautiful ring." Tolani cooed.

The word ring had her stopping in her tracks to the receptionist's desk to clock in.

"Thank you." Nkechi cooed.

Nkechi had gotten engaged?

She shook her head and walked to desk and signed in. The receptionist eating at her desk mumbled a greeting with her mouth full with white rice and egusi. She nodded at her,and turned to face the group.

"Nawa o. Shey all of your boyfriends planned it together." Greg, the messenger boy, asked.

"Abi o." Mr. Jimi, the elderly driver, answered. "Madam, good morning."

And as if they just noticed her presence they mumbled discordant greetings.

Hypocrites.

She smiled at them and chippered a good morning at them.

"Madam, Nkechi, Towobola, Sandra and Yomade got engaged over the weekend. Ori re yin lo ko ba won." Mr. Jimi said. (Your good fortune rubbed off on them.)

Seyifunmi beamed and tucked her weave behind her ear.

"Baba, it seems you've forgotten. I'm the one who first got engaged." Damilola said and walked towards Seyifunmi. "Ori re mi lo ran mo won."(It's my good fortune that rubbed off on them.)

Seyifunmi sighed.

"Anyway, I wanted to personally give you my invitation to my wedding." Damilola said and handed her a white, embossed envelope. "It's in December. December sixteenth."

Seyifunmi's eyes widened.

"Wow."

"Congrats."

"Hope there will be rice and stew very plenty."

Murmurs filled the reception with cheers of congratulations, while Seyifunmi's pallor went unnoticed.

This shit was getting real.

No matter what, December sixteenth is December sixteenth.

Those had been his words. Now, she wasn't sure if there would ever be a wedding.

"Oh, Seyifunmi, where's your ring by the way?" Riyyah, Damilola's sidekick asked.

Seyifunmi's jaw slackened momentarily and she smiled.

"A stone was loose so my fiance had it taken to the jeweller's." She said.

The look on everyone's face told her they didn't buy it. Well, they couldn't prove she was lying either.

"Excuse me." She said and walked to her office, hoping they'd tarry till past nine.

******
Seyifunmi picked up the binders with the modules she needed for her class on Cookies and Privacy. She walked to the door and locked it behind her. She strolled down the hallway and was a few metres away from the bullpen when she heard Riyyah holler.

"Guys, come and watch this."

The squeaks of chairs and shuffling of shoes filled the room and then she heard her voice.

"Dele, I'm sorry."

Seyifunmi paled as she realized what they were watching.

She heard the rest of the conversation she knew very well, a conversation still fresh in her memory. She skulked to the doorless jamb of the bullpen entrance and watched them.

"Shakara don end o." Kasim sang, and the others laughed as he pulled away from being bent over Riyyah's cubicle.

"So she fit beg somebody. With all her Iron Rose, Altagracia forming. She fit beg?" Funmi, Damilola's bestie said, standing beside a seated Riyyah.

"Dele, I'm sorry." Nkechi mimicked, pulling away from the group, and the others laughed again.

F*uck you.

"So with all her I got my first first degree from Yale, and all her braggado and shoulder pad." Greg said. "As if na only her go school."

Really?

She clenched her jaws as she recalled the day she'd told him about her degree from Yale. She'd been trying to encourage him to apply for a scholarship sponsored by one of her father's friends' company. She'd been trying to encourage not to waste his gift working as a messenger. He'd thought she was bragging?

"Na that first video me I wan see." Nkechi said.
She eyed the girl.

I hope you don't go through what I went through.

"But what do you think she did that got the guy that angry?" Yomade asked.

"Shior, girls like her, it's either she wasted his money or he caught her lips around another man's d*ick." Damilola huffed.

Double f*uck you, Damilola.

"Damilola!" The others shouted and she retreated to the aisle.

"But did you see the hair she was wearing today? The hair mad o." Funmi cooed.

"As in. As I dey look am, e fit be 8A." Sandra put in.

It's 10A.

"You guys are shouting Damilola. Didn't you see that she changed her wardrobe? Like she hasn't worn one cloth twice. I think Dami is right. Maybe she stole the guy's money to pay for it. And the guy found out and broke it off. That's why she is begging him." Funmi inserted.

Of course. And if Damilola says hell is heaven, you will be the first person to jump inside. Idiot.

"Well, the baba that did the charm for her is competent, because the Dele guy forgave her." Ezekiel put in. He straightened his back, and adjusted his belt over his growing paunch.

Bloody hater. Fat and hateful.

Ezekiel was just a cowardly version of Damilola. He hated she got promoted so soon after she joined the company. Her boss had told her about him. He had wanted to make Ezekiel a branch manager until he found out Ezekiel had been selling out company secrets. The man had him blacklisted, still retained him, and demoted him, so he'd die in the company, unfulfilled.

"And I pity him. Anyway, some people are destined to have women as their downfall." Ibrahim said.

"Abeg, if you ask me, I'd say she cheated." Nkechi said. "It is only if a guy is akagum that he will now break up a relationship because she got herself a new wardrobe with his money. Seyifunmi cheated."


F*uck you again, Nkechi.

"Uhh, help me tell them. That girl is a tramp dog. She will f*uck anything in trousers. I'm telling you. In less than four years, she's already head of a campus annex? Ezekiel, how long have you been working for Emeson Global?"

"Ten years." Ezekiel answered.

"And you're still assistant HOD?" Damilola continued. "I'm telling you people that girl is sleeping with Oga. If you like don't believe me. I will still catch them. And when it happens, straight to Oga's wife."

"Damilola, you are talking as if you've seen them kissing before. Oga should not hear what you're saying. Walls have ears, and ears have walls. Me, I'm not in this one you are saying." Yomade said and went back to her desk.

"Yomade, I know what I'm saying. Shebi, it is the same thing her mother did to the father?"

What the f*uck?

"Damilola!" They all shouted again.

"Oya, Funmi tell them." Funmi sashayed to the aisle and hugged herself.

"She's right o. I went home for Ileya. And I met my aunt, my mum's older sister. When we were coming back from the mosque, we bumped into Seyifunmi and her father at one supermarket like that. We sha greeted them. As we were now going home, that's how my aunt was now telling me of how much she knew the Aladesuyi family, that she was the midwife that delivered all their children.

"They have four sets of twins and Seyifunmi. She said that when they gave birth to Seyifunmi, kasala burst for the family. The man's family insisted that she is not their brother's child. Number one, twins run in their family like water. They said how come Seyifunmi is not a twin. Number two, her eyes. Apparently, the woman used to work for one Lebanese company-"

"I talk am," Greg shouted, "that her witch grey eyes no normal. Since when Nigerian go dey have that kain eye?"

"Are you for real? I thought she was lying about not wearing contacts." Sandra put in.

"No be contact o," Funmi continued. "My aunty said that the husband's family did not show up for the naming o. My aunty sef still believes that the man just covered his wife nyansh."

She heaved and her teeth ground against each other.

"Like mother, like daughter. Mother, shameless ashawo. Daughter, shameless ashawo." Damilola concluded.

She couldn't take it anymore. What right did they have to bring her mother into this?

Seyifunmi marched into the room. Calling her a prostitute was one thing, but involving her mother? She tapped Damilola's shoulder. Damilola turned to face her, and she punched her in the nose. A crack followed and Damilola bent her head backwards, shrilling in agony.

"My nose." She shouted, covering her nose with tears streaming down her eyes.

"You know, I've had enough of you insulting my virtue. But never in your life, should you bring my mother in to it. Who do you think you are? No brake. No pause. Talking anyhow." She shouted at Damilola.

She turned and faced the rest of them.

"I am your boss. I don't need you to like me, but you will respect me. If you have a problem with me, take it up with management, or get the hell out of the company. Gossiping? On Emeson time? That's just plain nasty. And what goes on in my personal life is none of your business." She barked at them.

"I won't overlook this o. Just so you know."

*****
"I slapped all of them with queries. Damilola went ahead to report me to HQ. I got a query and a warning. Whereas, she'd need a nose job before her wedding." Seyifunmi said.

Rosanna chortled and bent over.

"You pack all the anger into one blow."

"Ehn nau. If you want to insult me, take mat and die there. Las las,na slap or I insult my own back. But my mother? She smoke weed?" Seyifunmi shouted and Rosanna burst into laughter.

"Abeg, na two weeks work I do today, wetin dey house?" Seyifunmi said.

"I made rice and I warmed the stew."

"No wahala." Seyifunmi said launched out of her seat to the kitchen.

She returned with a plate of boiled rice, stew and a drumstick. She sat beside Rosanna, who was scrolling through her Instagram feed.

"How was your day?"

Rosanna stopped and turned.

"If I say I know where to start, I'd be lying." Rosanna said and narrated her ordeal with the men who almost kidnapped her, and how Ose rescued her and how he'd cut ties with her.

"Ro." Seyifunmi whined.

"I know, I know. I was a b*itch." Rosanna said and blinked back tears.

"What's so hard in telling Ose you're afraid to trust?" Seyifunmi said and placed her food down on a side stool. She placed one knee on the couch and turned to face Rosanna.

Rosanna pulled her feet up and hugged her knees.

"I know Ose. He'll convince me he's not like Dare, and that I can trust him. Then I'll say I do. But then deep down, I don't. Then, I'll spend the lifespan of our relationship doubting him. And when he finds out I don't trust him, he'll be heartbroken. I can't break his heart. Not after it's been battered too many times."

"So what about now? Isn't it broken?"

Rosanna sighed.

"I never wanted it to end this way."

Seyifunmi placed a palm on her knees.

"We're a miserable bunch, aren't we? The man I love doesn't want to be with me, you don't want to be with the man you love."

Rosanna gave her a ghost of a smile.

"They should make a daytime soap out of our lives."

Seyifunmi giggled and picked up her plate of food. Rosanna picked up her phone and unlocked it.

"I even saw this recipe, and I wanted to save it." Rosanna said as she tapped the Instagram tab on her recent tabs menu.

Seyifunmi hovered over her and she pulled the drumstick to her mouth. She took a bite as Rosanna kept on scrolling.

She was still chewing when Rosanna stopped at a picture of her former boss.

"God, Roselle is so big." Rosanna whined in disgust. "Why did she let herself go?"

Seyifunmi hissed. "She's pregnant!"

"And so?"

"You just add weight when you get pregnant. You'll see what I'll do to you." Seyifunmi snarled at her and bent to examine the picture.

So the lady was almost twice the size she remembered, but her tummy was so big, she could bet she was carrying twins. Seyifunmi's eyes peeled to the background trying to recognize the restaurant the pregnant woman in a magenta form fitting dress was posing in front of

And that was when she saw them.

Seyifunmi snatched the phone out of Rosanna's hand.

"Hey!" Rosanna protested.

Seyifunmi zoomed in and whispered, "Jesus," as she recognized the mother leading her children into the restaurant.

"That's Tinu now." Seyifunmi said.
Rosanna peered over Seyifunmi's shoulder to see.

"My God, it is Tinu." Rosanna shouted.

Rage, relief and joy fought for prevalence within Seyifunmi.

"So, all this time, she just went back to Abuja." Seyifunmi said and stood, still examining the picture.

"It might be an old photo, Shay. Let's not get our hopes up." Rosanna said.

Seyifunmi shook her head and stretched the phone to Rosanna.

"Then call Roselle. Ask her when she took the photo."

Episode 42 - Respect my feelings

Breaking me - Topic ft A7S

Ose's heart sped as he heaved in excitement. His tongue ran over his bottom lip as he recalled the soft weight of Rosanna's plush lips against his. The soft texture moving against his.

He turned to look at her. She was typing so furiously on her phone plugged in with his car charger. Her brows were furrowed as she punched the keyboard on the screen.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

She looked up and her frown eased into a beautiful smile.

"Everything's okay now that you're here. Thanks for picking me up." She said.

"No p. Who were those guys?" He asked and her phone chimed.

"I have to get this." She said and plugged in her earphones.

"Hello Mrs. Toberu. Good evening." She greeted, and launched into a long conversation about a new fashion line that she'd be writing about.

He shrugged and continued driving. He took the next exit that would lead them to Ikeja. He was taking her home, and they were going to have a long talk about their relationship status.

The drive down from Surulere was filled with Ro's one-sided conversation on the phone. She turned to look at him with a puzzled look on her face as she recognized the environs.

He raised his brow at her and she shrugged.

Better.

The light traffic had him pulling up in front of his compound in no time. He honked twice and the gatekeeper pushed open the gate. He drove in and parked the car in his spot.

"Mrs. Toberu, can I call you back in thirty minutes?"

Rosanna nodded and smiled .

"Thank you, ma." She said and hung up. She pulled out her earphones from her ears and sighed.

"Sorry about that."

"No problem." He said and took off his seatbelt.
"I hope you have food because I am famished." She said and took off hers.

He nodded and she grinned.

"Oya, na."

She skittered out of the car in glee and he couldn't help chuckling.

Rosanna and food. Mother of all foodies.

He got out of the car and locked it. He followed her up the stairs to his apartment and he unlocked the door. He went in after her and he flipped on the light switch.

Should he let her eat first? Or should they talk first?

Rosanna didn't give him an opportunity to decide as she threw her bag on the first sofa she could find and dashed into his kitchen.

Eating first it is.

******
"God bless you, Fejirose Lawrence." She said and burped. "Oops."

She cringed in shame and he just laughed.

"Fine geh like you."

"Na packaging."

He chuckled as she crashed beside him on the loveseat.

She sighed and said, "I better leave. I don't want Seyifunmi to hurt herself before I get back."

He frowned. "How's she holding up?"

"She's better now. She doesn't cry as much as she used to. Dele gave her some kind of condition. He'd only forgive her if she finds his kids."

"Bastard. If he wants to forgive her, he should. Why the condition?"

Rosanna shrugged.

"The guy might be a-holeish, but Seyifunmi did betray him. She brought it upon herself. And like I used to say, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime."

"You've never said that." Ose said shaking his head.

Rosanna smiled. "Na you sabi. But really, how can you distrust someone you claim to love? I know Kola was a jerk who left her untrusting beyond words but still. Dele wasn't the kind of man who sleeps with your coursemate or his ex. He had honour. The kind most men lack today."

"What about me?" He sighed. "Do I have honour?"

She turned and stared into his eyes. Silence engulfed them as heat flickered between them. She parted her lips and let out a soft sigh.

"You're the most reliable man I've ever met, Ose, and to your values and beliefs,you stay true."

"Was that a yes or a no?"

Her eyes lightened as she whispered, "Figure it out."

He closed the gap between them slowly, gaging her reactions with his eyes, capturing her face on the film of his heart.

"Ro, where do we stand now? You know how I feel. Are ready to be with me?"

He breathed against her face and her eyes darkened.

"Ose, I should leave." She said and pulled back.

He held on to her wrist.

"Rosanna, please. Let's talk about this. I know you feel something for me-"

"And I told you, I'm never gonna act on it." She shouted, frowning. "Get a grip, Ose. Pu-lease."

"Ro, you kissed me, today."

"And you kissed me back. I don't see what the issue is."

Her words lit a spark of rage within him. Why was she so unwilling to be with him?

She tugged at her hand, but he held on tight.

"Ose, let me go."

"Not until you explain this to me, Ro. I'm trying to understand. Why can't you be with me? Do I repulse you so much? I don't understand."

"Look, Ose. You can't grasp it. Let it go."

"Make me understand. What happened today, Ro? I was willing to let you go, but you called me. You kissed me. Was it all a joke to you?"

"Yes!" She shouted and his heart dashed into a million pieces.

"Those men were stalking me, and I needed to prove to them that I was in a relationship with someone."

God!

Was she this heartless?

He scanned her face for some evidence she was lying. He only saw the bluntness in her eyes. He released her hand as he saw her for the monster she was.

"So you toyed with my feelings because you were stalked?"

Her frowned eased and a look of pity shrouded her features. That added oxygen to the little flame of rage in his heart.

"Ose, I'm sorry."

"Shut up." He shouted and stood.

"Because you knew I'd come running like the imbecilic love sick puppy you know I am, that gave you the right to play with my feelings?" He shouted.

She stood with tears of remorse in her eyes.

"Ose, I'm really sorry. I didn't realize you'd take it so serious and-"

"Rosanna, if you couldn't reciprocate my feelings, courtesy demands you at least respect them. What did I ever do to you? I only showered you with all the love and care I could give, and you do this to me?"

She took a step to him, and his raised his hand to stop her.

"Thanks, Ro. Thank you so much. You wanted to leave. The door's open. Leave and never come back. If you see me on the street, pretend you don't know me, and I'll do the same. Ro, from today, you cease to matter to me." He said and left for his bedroom.

Episode 41 - Stalked


Rosanna carried her tray to the first table she saw. Her lips smacked as she broke out the sealed cutleries. The Ofada rice was to die for. And ever since Seyifunmi brought home an extra plate for her after a date with Dele, she'd made a mental note to come here herself.

The juicy, luscious pomo curled beside the peppered roasted folded fish. This was going to be heaven. She swallowed her saliva, and raised her knuckle to her head and shoulders in the sign of a cross. She dug her spoon in and stirred the short grains with the brownish fried sauce.

The aroma wafted into her nostrils, and she smiled heartily. There was nothing like being employed. And getting a raise.

Yep, money's a girl's best friend.

She raised the spoon to a berth of her mouth, close enough to smell the delicious aroma of the fresh chevon used in preparing the sauce.

"Ro!"

She cringed.

What the hell did she do to these f*uckers? Why couldn't they leave her alone.

Her gaze lifted to see the two men in front of her with their trays. She stiffled a smile.

"Good evening." She greeted and scratched the back of her neck.

"May we join you." Joshua asked.

No.

She pushed her face muscles to smile and jesture at the seats in front of her.

"How are you?" William asked.

"Great." She answered and picked up her spoon. She stirred the rice again and brought a spoonful to her mouth.

"You're probably wondering why you see us everywhere." Joshua started.

She raised her brow as she chewed.

Well, aren't you Captain Obvious.

"We have a proposition for you." William continued. She swallowed and set down her spoon.

Okay.

She gave a small smile. Who knew they had a job for her?

"Shoot. I'm all ears."

They looked at each other and then back at her.

"The thing is-" William started.

"We like you." Joshua blurted.

William turned to glare at him.

Like me?

"There's no point stalling. She probably thinks we're stalkers."

"Can you ever do things delicately?" William snarled.

"Whatever." Joshua said and rolled his eyes.

"Before you start bickering, can you tell me the proposition?"

Save your catfights for your own time.

William smiled at her.

"Like Joshua indelicately said, we like you. And we'd want to share you." William said.

Ehn?

She squinted at them.

"I'm not sure I get you." She whispered. "Share me how? What kind of job is it?"

Joshua smirked at her.

"Ro, don't act so naive. We both want to f*uck you. And we can pay you for it." He said.

A chill of filth wrapped itself around her and she hugged herself.

Did she look like the kind of girl men shared?

Did things like this really happen in Nigeria?

She thought Nigerians didn't have the time for such nonsense.

Menage a trois? Her?

"How's a hundred k?" William said.

A hundred thousand? Did she really look that cheap?

"Too small? How about we add fifty thousand?" Joshua said.

She flew out of her seat and grabbed her handbag.

"You sick bastards can take your one-fifty thousand and shove it up your debauched ass-holes." She whispered yelled.

"We can make it two-fifty." Joshua said.

She gasped and picked up her glass of water and emptied in his face.

"If I ever see you around me again, you will spend the night in a guardroom. Creeps!" She yelled and stormed out of the restaurant.

What nonsense?!

Who did they think they were?

She knew they had to be creeps. Especially that idiot with the tattoos.

She stomped down the street. Those bastards were something else. They let her waste the one-five she spent on her plate of Ofada. She stopped and clenched her handbag.

God punish the two of you.

"Taxi," she shouted and tried to flag down a taxi. The driver zoomed past her in his empty cab.

She hissed.

She saw the headlights of Joshua's SUV, and she fumed. The jeep slowed in front of her.

"Ro, get in." William barked as he rolled down his window.

"You must be crazy. Get away from me." She shouted.

"Get the f*uck in!" William shouted and raised a gun.

"Oh my God!" She whispered as her blood turned to ice in her veins.

"Get in, Ro." Joshua said.

She shook her head.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm in a relationship, so I can't do that stuff with you. Please." She whispered as tears stung her eyes.

Her bladder filled itself and she shifted her weight from leg to leg as she shook in fear.

"What is going on here?" A female LASTMA official barked. "Shey una no know say this place na no parking zone?"

Thank you Jesus.

Another officer came lugging the metal puncture tool- a yellow bar of spikes attached to a metre long handle.

"Officer." William laughed as he hid his gun away as the female officer drew closer.

She turned on her heels and walked as fast as she could. She turned unto the next street, hoping the officers would impound their vehicle.

She stopped and tried to hail another taxi. This time it was full. She groaned and brought out her phone. The red battery icon had her hissing again. The phone would die before she could order a taxi. She turned her head to the left and saw the SUV driving her way.

Her heart pounded and she turned to the right. She saw two soldiers. She jogged to them and greeted.

The two men beamed at her, and she begged them for their phones. One of them slipped out of his pocket, a small phone.

"Baby!" Joshua cooed as he got out of his vehicle.

She collected the man's phone and said, "Officers, I don't know these men."

"Ahan, Ro. Just because he was late? Calm down. He already apologised." William said laughing.

The soldiers looked from her to the men in confusion.

"Abeg, wetin dey hapin hia?" One man drawled with a thick Ibo accent.

William launched into a story of how she was Joshua's girlfriend and she was supposed to meet him for dinner, but Joshua came late because they had to take a colleague to the hospital.

What psychopaths!

"Officers, as old as I am, I know who my boyfriend is. And I am not a girlfriend to either of these men. They've just been following me. In fact, I want to call my REAL boyfriend now." Rosanna said.

"Oya, call him." The other man said.

She dialed Ose's number and he picked on the second ring.

"Hello, who is this?"

She sighed and said, "Hi, Ose. It's Rosanna. I've been waiting for you, my love. Where are you?"

"Hello?"

God, please, Ose play along.

"Babe, it's me. I need you to pick me up." She said and told him where she was.

Ose told her he was in the neighborhood and she melted in relief.

"Okay, I'll be waiting. See you soon, my love." She said and hung up.

"Ro, don't waste these gentlemen's time. Just get in the car." Joshua said.

"Officers, please wait. My boyfriend will be here soon."

"Na so so drama for this Lagos." The Ibo accented man said, laughing.

"Sister, you sure say dis man no be ya boyfriend?" He continued.

"He isn't."

Five minutes later, Ose pulled up beside them and got out of the car. He greeted the soldiers and she launched at him.

"Baby!" She shouted, beaming.

She pulled him closer and placed her lips to his. Rather than a light peck, she moved her lips against his and Ose's jaw slackened in shock. Going for realism, she launched her tongue into his mouth and let it know just how much she was happy to see him.

The show she was putting on for the men behind her turned real as Ose kissed her back. His tongue licked hers, and pleasure had her toes curling in her flat.

"Ahem!" The Ibo soldier shouted, and the broke apart. Ose's eyes shimmered down at her before he turn a penitent look to the soldiers as he curled a hand around her waist.

"Sorry sir." He apologized.

"E con be as if somebody dey watch Diego and Paloma." The man jived smiling.

"We haven't seen each other in a while." Rosanna said smiling.

The men turned to glare at Joshua and William and accuse them of being kidnappers.

You got that right.

Ose excused them and led them to his car. He held open the door for her, and she got in.

Hi guys...

I won't even bother getting into the TINDEL/DEMI/TRIS/OTHER PEOPLE argument.

I really just want to clear up the Adopted father issue.

Délé's adopted father is not Donald. By all means, if Donald is anything to Dele,he is his stepfather.

In chapter one of the first book, Mr. Garba was told of. He sponsored Dele through university and had asked for Elsa's hand in marriage. Elsa refused thinking Jola would come back.

So...

I hope the issue is cleared up.

Two updates will follow after this.

Thanks mods.


Anti-spam bot .....

I really wan know wetin I do you


Anyway, Oh my G...

Comments have been off the hook.

Keep it coming.

Episode 40- Move on.

Demi Lovato - Tell me you love me

Rosanna slipped out the wad of cash the ATM had dispensed and pulled out her card from the slot. The machine beeped and the automated voice thanked her for her patronage. She slipped the money and card into her purse and turned to leave. She turned her head, looking down into her hand bag as she stuffed her purse in and searched for her phone.

She pressed the power button and the lockscreen shone brightly with the time and date in bold, white fonts.

19:06

She could still make it to the mall, pick up junk food for Seyifunmi and get back home on time.

She walked out of the ATM gallery and strolled towards the gate of the bank.

"Ro," someone shouted and she turned.

She saw a man sauntering towards her like she'd been the one who called him. The fair man looked familiar, but she couldn't place his face. Where did she know him from? And he'd called her Ro. Were they that informal with each other?

"Hi. How are you doing?" He said, smirking. "Wow! I never thought I'd see you again."

What?!

She frowned and said, "I'm not sure I remember you."

"I'm Joshua. We met at the movies when you walked smack into me." The guy said with a lopsided grin.

She smacked her forehead as she remembered.

"Oh."

The guy with the tattoos. She eyed him from his neatly brushed hair to his red, American Regent tie still perfectly straight to his blue shirt and his black slacks and his black, brogued oxfords.

So he could look responsible?

"Hi." She said with a smile.

What did he want?

"You still haven't forgiven me for being rude?"

"Why would she say that?" She said, frowning.

"Your smile was barely social. You aren't exactly happy to see me."

"Well…"

"Let me make it up to you. How about I give you a lift home?" He said and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Don't bother. I'm still heading to the mall to grab some stuff for a friend."

No way was she getting in a car with him.

"Don't worry. I'll take you."

"It might not be on your way."

"Your mum tell you not to go anywhere with strangers." He jived.

She chuckled, "Maybe."

"I don't bite. Really. This is me trying to score points with a pretty girl."

What was the downside? She'd get a free ride to the mall, waste his time and ask him to leave without her.

She shrugged.

"Okay then."

He led her to his black SUV, and held the door open for her. She smiled her thanks and hopped in. He rounded the vehicle and joined her.

"So, where to?" He asked as he started the vehicle.

She gave him the name of the supermarket and he zoomed out of the bank's premises. They spent the first few minutes in silence that Rosanna found comforting. She didn't want to make small talk with him.

Unfortunately, he started it. He asked about her job, and he'd informed her that he was the branch manager of the bank she'd been to. He had gone on to talk about his friend, William. He told her William worked for an oil company. He'd gone on to ask her address. She gave him Ose's. She didn't want some weird guy showing up at her door. She already had her plate full with Ose and Femi. She didn't need extra.

He pulled up to the parking lot of the mall. And she'd hopped out without waiting for him. He followed her into the mall, and she couldn't help but feel suffocated. He trailed her like a shadow as she pushed her cart through aisles, picking up groceries, toiletries and junk food to help Seyifunmi grieve. She also added a load of tissues.

She tried to keep her responses clipped enough to hint she wasn't digging him. But the guy couldn't take a hint. He paid for her groceries, even after she'd fought him not to.

After that, he led her to the food court, insisting on giving her a treat.

If you want sex, you better think again.

"We'll have to make this short, so my ice cream doesn't melt." She told him as he ordered two chicken rolls and bottles of soft drink.

Seyifunmi wouldn't mind melted ice cream, but she didn't need to tell him.

"So, thanks for everything. You've really made it up to me." She said as he pulled out her chair.

"I'm glad."

They were still eating when he got a call and had to leave. She was more than relieved when she saw him exit the food court.

******
Seyifunmi groaned as light pierced through her eyelids. Ro was back. She rolled over and turned her back to the door. The clattering of keys reverberated in her head as the loud footsteps Ro took pounded her head.

"Ro, please." She groaned.

She heard the clack of the empty vodka bottle and the rustling of polythene bags.

"What the f*uck, Ro. Stop making noise." She whisper-yelled and pulled a throw pillow over her ears.

"Aladesuyi Seyifunmi, I've had enough. Get your f*ucking ass off that couch and start living again." Ro shouted, and her ear drums and brains threatened to burst.

Was this girl mad?

Seyifunmi sat up and squinted in the bright, fluorescent lit room.

"What life is left for me? Dele can't stand me. My mum asked me to never come home again. My heartbreak is trending all over Twitter and Instagram. I watched seven skits with a clip of me in it. What life do you want me to live?" She croaked at her cousin.

"You have your job. A job you're awesome at."

Seyifunmi scoffed.

A job?

Really?

She'd lost the love of her life, and Ro was talking about a job.

"Ro, just leave me to mourn."

Rosanna shook her head and said, "Two years ago, you told me that a woman's life doesn't revolve around a man. Especially a man who breaks your heart."

Seyifunmi stood and shouted, "He didn't break my heart. I broke his. I ruined his relationship with his kids. If he hates me, I deserve it."

"Then move on." Rosanna gritted.

"I can't," she sobbed, shaking her head. "I still love him."

Rosanna sighed and bent to pick up the yellow ShopRite bags.

"Your two week leave of absence ends in four days. You better pick yourself up. You wear the money pants around here. If you lose your job, we'll go hungry."

Seyifunmi hissed and sat down. She reached for the remote and turned on the television.

*******
Seyifunmi groaned in exasperation as Rosanna pulled her to the treadmill. She'd brought her to the gym. As if all the morning jogs weren't bad enough. Rosanna insisted she lose the weight she'd put on while mourning her relationship with Dele, so she could prove she'd moved on.

Exercise in futility.

Pun intended.

She'd never be able to get over Dele. Which other man would give her wardrobe a facelift just because she'd gotten insulted by her colleague? Which other man would massage her tummy whenever she had cramps? Which other man would put up with her drama? Which other man would build a mansion just because he wanted to propose to her? Which other man would love her like Dele did? Which other man would know her body like Dele?

No one.

So, who was she moving on to?

She pulled off her sweatshirt, the one she'd nabbed from Délé's armoire. She sighed and jumped on the treadmill just to ease Rosanna's stink eye.

Her eyes flitted to Rosanna's ripped abdomen on display.

"If you want to get back to flat tummy gang, this is the way." Rosanna said and crossed her arms under her black sport bra.

"Work out and get him off your mind."

She sighed as Rosanna upped the speed. Rosanna's falcon eyes watched her as she jogged, and Seyifunmi wishe she'd get distracted, so she could reduce the speed.

"Ro!" Two guys called from behind her and Ros turned.

Thank you, Jesus.

She quickly tapped the button to reduce the speed.

"Hi." Rosanna's called in the extra cheery, sugary voice she used when she didn't like someone.

"Nice to see you again. I can't believe I forgot to collect your number," the buff, fair one with tattoos said.

Rosanna giggled and Seyifunmi smiled. She knew exactly what that giggle meant.

"By the way, you look great." The dark, taller, wiry one said, ogling Rosanna.

"I can say the same about you two. Meet my cousin, Seyifunmi." Rosanna said and turned to face her.

"Seyifunmi, meet William and Joshua." Rosanna said.

Seyifunmi smiled panting and the men nodded at her. They were obviously only interested in Ro.

She rolled her eyes, and tried to figure out a way to leave without Ro ending her conversation.

"Anyway, we were about leaving." Ro said.

Really.

Thank you, Jesus!

She stopped the machine and jumped off it. She bent to grab her face towel from her sweatshirt.

"Your number then." One of them said.

Seyifunmi patted her face dry as Rosanna reluctantly collected the guy's phone and typed in her number.

"I'll see you around." She said and picked up their gym bag.

Seyifunmi draped her sweatshirt in her arm as Rosanna led them away.

"Those guys creep me out." Ro whispered.

She shrugged.

So far they'd caused their early departure she liked them.

Seyifunmi sighed as Rosanna linked arms with her and led them to the parking lot. Rosanna kept on jabbering about how stalked she felt. All she could think about was the voicenote her mother sent her. She'd been avoiding the woman's calls since she found out about the video.

Tears stung her eyes as she recalled her mother's words. Rosanna led them to her car, and she walked to the passenger side.

"Seyifunmi, please, can you smile for me? I hate seeing you like this." Rosanna whined.


Seyifunmi looked up from the concrete and gave her cousin her best attempt at a smile. Then, she saw him.

Her mouth went dry as he lugged a duffel bag out of his car trunk. The same gold Camry she'd run after. When did he change gyms?

Her heart raced as she pulled away from her car, slighting Rosanna's calls. Tears clouded her eyes as she broke into a sprint. She crossed the ten cars that separated them in a couple of heartbeats.


He was bent arranging his spare tyre and jack properly in his car.

"Dele," she breathed, totally unsure of his reaction.

He stood and turned to look at her. The shock in his eyes vanished as soon it appeared and he became stoic, the plain expressionless look his reserved for her.

He hissed and slammed his trunk shut.

"Dele, please." She sobbed, her tears freely flowing.

He groaned and said, "Seyifunmi, what do you want?"

Your forgiveness. Your love. For you to look at me the way you used to. For you to want me again.

"I'm sorry."

"If you have any shame, you shouldn't be showing your face around me again." He snarled and placed the strap of his duffel bag on his shoulder.

"I don't need shame, Dele. I only need you. You make my life complete. Please." She sighed.

He raised his brow in doubt and then chuckled mirthlessly.

"Save the inspiring lines for your friend the writer. Really, I have no need for them." He said.

"What do I have to do to prove to you that I'm sorry?" She groaned as her heart shattered again.

"Seyifunmi, I really have no time for this."

He made to leave, and she sank to her knees.

"Dele, I'm sorry." She shouted.

He turned back to face her and his eyes widened in shock. People stopped to watch. She didn't care. She only needed his forgiveness.

She heard someone gasp behind her and then Rosanna pulled at her arm.

"Seyifunmi, get up."

She brushed her hand off. She stared back at him, hoping for absolution.

"Seyifunmi, stop this madness and get up." Dele said as he inched nearer to her.

"Seyifunmi, think what people will say." Rosanna said.

"I don't f*ucking care what people will say!" She shouted at Rosanna.

"Dele, please,forgive me." She sobbed.

She watched his jaw tick as he glanced around. The crowd that had gathered began to murmur.

"Oga, she don beg na."

"Wetin she do sef? Forgive her."

"Not every woman will get on her knees and beg."

Their comments grew louder and Dele gritted, "Seyifunmi, get the f*uck up."

"Not until you forgive me." She sobbed shaking her head.

He squeezed his eyes shut and sighed.

"Fine, I forgive you." He shouted so everyone could hear.

"For real?" She gasped.

He smiled and nodded.

"I forgive you."

He walked to her and raised her up. The crowd cheered and passed comments on how good it was he forgave her.

He smiled at her. A real smile. And she broke into more sobs.

"Shh. It's okay." He said as he pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

"Dele, I'm really sorry."

"It's okay." He said rubbing his arms over her back. The fragrance of his body spray hit her nose. The familiar scents made her feel at home, and her sobs eased.

"I love you, Dele," she snivelled as she pulled away to look at his eyes.

He only smiled at her. He placed his hand on her arm and led her to his car. He opened the passenger door and all but pushed her inside. He gave her a smile before slamming the door shut.

She watched him tell Ro something and he entered the car and gave her the full brunt of his glare.

It was all an act.

"You have some nerve pulling the shit you just pulled." He gritted as he started his car and drove out of the gym's compound.

Her heart sank. He hadn't forgiven her.

"Dele, I'm sorry."

She chewed on her lips, hoping he'd forgive.

"So you think going viral and acting shameless will earn you my forgiveness?"

He'd seen the video too?

"Dele, I just love you so much. I can't live without you."

"And I can't live without my children." He fired back.

Her body shook with sobs.

"Dele, I will do anything for you to forgive me, to love me again." She wailed.

"Get me my children, then we can begin talking about forgiveness, because now I can't stand the mere sight of you."

Her tears fell faster as he pulled the car over.

"Get out."

She made to open her mouth.

"Spare any more BS and get the f*uck out."

Episode 39 - I'm sorry.

Mariah Carey - We belong together.

Seyifunmi picked up her phone. It had been a week now. He ought to have cooled down now. She tapped her call log.

No missed calls.

Tears hit her throat. She swallowed and gasped for air. She tapped the square with Dele smirking and the dialling tone filled her room.

It rang a about two minutes, but he didn't answer. Just like he hadn't answered the other two hundred and fifty two calls she'd made. A tear slid out of her eye and she tapped the recent apps icon. She tapped on WhatsApp.

She clicked on her chat with Dele. The background picture was a picture of the two of them. Her heart crashed to her stomach, and she winced as pain was over her. The screen was filled with green lines of the messages she had sent to him. All the messages he'd left unread.

Her eyes darted up and she saw he was online. She took a leap of faith, and typed another message.

Dele, please, I'm sorry. Please, I'll do anything for you to forgive me. Please, I love you so much and I'm dying without you. Please. I'll do whatever it takes to find Tinu and the children. I'm sorry. I love you, and any moment without you is like I'm losing my life. Please. I get you're angry. I know I deserve this. I was a total bitch and undeserving of your forgiveness. Please, just forgive me.

She tapped the send button. The two get ticks appeared instantly. She crossed her fingers hoping it would turn blue.

Her message sat there waiting for him to read it and see just how sorry she was. She looked up and saw he was still online.

Dele, please.

She looked down.

Still grey.

The word online morphed into typing, and a smile crossed her face as her heart began to sing Hallelujah.

The white box with his message came in , and her smile and heart's song died.

Stop spamming me and leave me alone.

He went offline and tears rolled down her cheeks. She turned on her side on the hard mattress. She remembered the goose feather bed that was in the bedroom Dele had built for them.

She brought her hand to muffle her sob. Rosanna was still awake in the living room working. She didn't need to distract her. After Dele had Arnold order the maids to throw out all her belongings on the day his ultimatum lapsed, Rosanna brought her to her house.

She'd thought Dele had been joking, or that he would come around. He'd had mobile police men waiting in case she proved stubborn and didn't want to leave or relinquish his ring.

She curled her hand into a fist and ran her thumb over the space where her engagement ring used to be. Her thumb ran over the crisscross shank of the promise ring he gave her in Seychelles.

Seyifunmi, I want to promise you that I will never hurt you or give you a reason to doubt my love for you. Seyifunmi, no matter what happens I will never leave you.

She sobbed harder. She made him break his promises. She knew she should have been more persistent in trying to reach Tinu. She should have opened up to Dele immediately.

It would have been better if he heard it from her.

Get your hands off me.

Don't touch me, you traitor.

She'd betrayed his trust.

Why did you have to be so stupid?

"Seyifunmi," Rosanna called as she walked into the room.

Seyifunmi gasped and wiped her tears before turning to face her.

"Are you crying again?" Rosanna groaned as she sat on the bed.

Seyifunmi couldn't stop the tears that gave her away as she shook her head.

"Oh, Seyifunmi." Rosanna cooed and hugged her.

Seyifunmi's resolve shattered and she sobbed as loud and as hard as she wanted to.

"He said I should leave him alone. Rosanna,he hasn't forgiven me." She cried as she clutched her cousin.

"It's okay."

"It's not okay. Ro, you warned me. I didn't listen. Now, I've lost him. He told me to stop spamming him. I doubt he read any of my messages. Ro, how will I leave without Dele. He's my life, my everything." She howled.

Rosanna rubbed her back and cooed in her ear.

"Ro, let me just die." She whispered and Rosanna pulled away from her.

"That's enough. No talks about death. It isn't the end of the world."

"It is." Seyifunmi shouted. "It's the end of my world as I know it."

"Look, if you're acting like this now, what will you do when you see the video on Instagram?" Rosanna blurted out.

"F*uck!" She cried and winced like she wasn't supposed to tell her about the video.

"What video, Ro?" She asked.

"Never mind."

"What video, Ro? Has Dele already moved on?" She shouted. "If that's it, let me see it."

Rosanna shook her head.

"It's not that. Don't worry."

"I won't believe you until you tell me what video it is." Seyifunmi shouted and stood.

"Fine," Rosanna said and sighed, "the girl who was recording you uploaded it to Instagram. Seyifunmi, it's trending. It was my mum who sent me the link. Ose too's seen it, and he's been asking if you're okay."

Seyifunmi gasped and her phone blared with Alicia Keys' Girl on Fire.

She checked the caller ID, half praying it was Dele who wanted to check up on her.

Mummy.

She cringed.

Had her mother seen the video?

********

Seyifunmi ignored the whispers that germinated as she walked past the receptionist's desk. They had seen the video and she didn't care. All she wanted was Dele back in her life.

She got in the elevator, and saw recognition cloud the face of the strange man who joined her at the second floor. She pretended she didn't. They both got off at the fourth floor.

They walked to Teni's desk and Teni beamed at the man. She gave him directions to a conference room, and the man left.

"Miss Seyifunmi," Teni called with a nervous smile and pity glimmering in her bespectacled eyes.

"Teni, what's up? Is Dele in?"

She shook her head.

"He went for a meeting."

"When will he be back?"

Teni shrugged. "I don't know, ma."

"Can I wait for him?"

Teni's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"That won't be necessary. He might come back late."

"I thought you didn't know when he'll be back."

"I don't know, Miss Seyifunmi, but you can't wait for him." Teni groaned.

"Teni, please, I need to see him. Please." Seyifunmi whined.

"Ma, that's against office policy. Please, ma, maybe you can come back later or-"

"Teni, please, get someone to fix the intercom. And need these documents faxed to Edoe Technical Solutions, now," Dele said as he walked out of his office.

She turned to look at him.

He looked the same, except he'd sprouted a few more white hair in her beard.

Her heart broke as he dropped the documents without looking at her. It was as if she wasn't standing there.

"Yes, sir."

"Thank you." He said and turned away.

"Dele, please," she cried before he got to his door.

He stopped, and she prayed he'd want to talk. He turned and said, "Teni, have you found a new job?"

Teni shook her head and stood.

"No sir."

"Then, if you know still want to work here, get this woman out of my building. If she's still here in the next five minutes, type your sack letter." He said and turned to leave to his office.

Teni clapped in frustration.

"Oya, Aunty Seyifunmi, you've heard. I didn't want to hurt you that's why I didn't tell you that Oga categorical warned me to never let you into his office. E ma koba mi. As you see me, I'm a widow, and awon omo sii kere. I need my job and the scholarship Oga is giving my children. See, come and be going." Teni said. (Don't implicate me. And my children are still young.)

Seyifunmi genuflected and said, "Please, help me beg him to talk to me. Please."

"Beg who? Miss Seyifunmi, come and be going. I beg you in Jesus' name. Abeg." Teni drawled in exasperation.

"Teni, please."

"Abi, you think I'm joking with you," Teni shouted as she picked up the receiver of one of the telephones on her desk and punched in some numbers.

"Hello security, this is the CEO's office. There's an unwanted guest here who refuses to vacate the premises and-"

Seyifunmi turned and left. She didn't need to be dragged out after Délé's treatment of her.

She walked to the elevator and tapped the button, not before hearing Teni hiss and call her alaakooba.

Seyifunmi shook her head. Teni who used to kiss her ass was now calling her names.

[i][/i]Episode 38 - It's Sijuola

"Dele," she screamed with every fibre of her being.

Sobs racked her body as she sat on the asphalt. The pain in her knee and shin were nothing compared to the piercing throes in her heart. Her heart and her visceral organs had been baptized with some form of acid.

They were melting within her. She closed her eyes, hoping she'd melt away with them.

She didn't.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

Well, I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I ever met you. I'm sorry I asked you out. I'm sorry I proposed to you.

His words rang in her head, pounded like a nasty headache.

I want nothing of your stupid love.

Her heart clenched and she felt what had to be her death. A cold sting tearing the chambers of her heart assunder.

"Seyifunmi, sorry. Please get up." Rosanna's voice called.

She stared at the trail his car had taken.

"I'm sorry." She whispered again.

"Dele, come back,"she shouted.

She wiped the snot on her philtrum as fresh sobs shook her.

Hands pulled her up and her feet wobbled underneath her.

"Will you f*ucking get that phone away?" Rosanna snarled at someone.

She turned and saw a teenaged girl recording her. She sobbed again and turned to Rosanna.

"Ro, please help me beg him. I can't leave with him. Please." She begged clutching her cousin's arms.

"Shay, calm down. I know you're hurting, but let's get inside." Rosanna said.

"Ro, if Dele leaves me, I will die." She wailed and hugged her cousin. Tears fell like June rain, and their reservoir seemed to be infinite.

Seyifunmi shook with tears as her arms wound themselves around Rosanna's neck.


"You'll be okay." Rosanna cooed.

"No, I won't." She countered shaking her head.

I give you one week to get your things out of my house and drop my engagement ring. I want you out of my life.

His words resounded in her head, and she wailed.

"Ro, he wants me out of his life. How am I to survive?"

Seyifunmi, unless I have ever done anything bad to you, you will know the unimaginable pain of losing the man you love. Seyifunmi, you'll be so much in pain that you'll wish for death, but never find it. Unless, I ever did anything bad to you. Unless, I ever hurt you or gave you a reason to do this to me.

"Oh my God." She gasps and pulled away from Ro.

"It's Sijuola. Sijuola. Sijuola's curse caused this." She bawled.

"I have to beg her. Maybe when she does," she shouted choking on her sobs.

"Seyifunmi, calm down." Rosanna begged.

She shook her head and began to jog back to the compound.

"I'll call Sister Simi. Maybe she has her number and I'll beg her. I'll-"

"Seyifunmi, what are you talking about?" Rosanna shouted and ran after her.


Not too many people knew what had gone down between her and Siju. What she did to her wasn't intentional. She never intended to hurt Siju. She didn't even know Gbade was her fiance. She never knew him as Gbade.

He was Ari to her. To her and her friend, Adanna. He'd told them his name was Ari, short for his last name Aribisala. She never bothered to ask for his first name. It wasn't her business.

How was she supposed to know that the guy who claimed to be single while running his master's degree at University of Ibadan was already engaged to be married. And to no one else but her own cousin.

Eight years ago, she'd gone to the post graduate library to get some books for her lecturer. She had been in her third year then, running her second first degree in computer engineering. She'd bumped into Ari, or Gbade, and his friend, Kola.

Kola, her first boyfriend, had asked her out, and after his persistent asking and begging, she finally went out with him. Ari met Adanna one night he and Kola had driven her home to the apartment she shared with Amaka off-campus.

Ari had taken a liking to her, and had begged her to be his wingwoman to win Adanna's heart. She had agreed, because just like her Adanna was an NBSB L, and she wanted her friend to love. Ari, then seemed sincere, and she'd vouched for him.

They dated for about six months, before the calamity happened. She'd just returned from an overnight tutorial. She met Adanna crying that day in the house. And after begging, and shouting at her, Adanna finally opened up, and told her she'd found out Ari was engaged. If it wasn't bad enough, she was pregnant and her parents knew.

Her parents were outraged that their Ada had gotten pregnant outside wedlock, and for an Yoruba Yoruba boy. They threatened to disown her, unless he came to ask for her hand with his family.

She had been beyond acrimonious. Why did he deceive them? If he was engaged, why did he try to take advantage of her friend? She'd pulled her friend out of the house, they'd jumped on the first bus to Lagos, where Ari was based.

They got to his house that Saturday morning, and she'd banged on his front door. His butler had opened the door, and they'd stormed in without introducing themselves.

She'd met him having breakfast with his parents. And she revealed his dirty secret, and demanded he own up to his responsibility.

She didn't listen to any of Adanna's pleas that they leave. His parents had been disheartened that their son was a two-timer. She'd been satisfied when his father insisted that he'd have to marry the woman who was carrying his first born.

Apparently, Siju was not really favoured by Ari's Ibo mum. She didn't even realize that his fiancee was around till she heard someone call her name. Siju had gone to the restroom, and was too devastated to come out of the shadows when heard her shouts. Hearing Ari's mother hug and accept Adanna had propelled Siju to want to leave the house.

She'd been shell-shocked when she found out Ari's fiancee was Siju. And Siju was livid when she realized the person who'd hooked up her fiance with another woman was her cousin.

She'd followed Siju out of the house trying to beg her. Siju had accused her of doing everything to spite her. Siju didn't believe she didn't know Ari was her fiance. She'd insisted she knew, claiming Ari, or Gbade was all over her Facebook wall. Seyifunmi insisted that she didn't. She didn't even care enough about Siju to want to be friends with her on Facebook.

Siju had sobbed her curse that day with the same anguish she was feeling now.

Why didn't the curse get fulfilled when she was with Kola, or Niyi, or Solomon, or Ty, or any of the other men she'd dated before Dele? Why did it have to be the she loved like her next breath? Why did it have to be the man who owned her heart and her soul? Why did it have to be the man she couldn't live without?


*******
Elsa walked slowly to the elevator as she turned her head left and right, trying to figure out why people were crying. Incoherent murmurs filled the reception. What was going on? She tapped the wall three times thinking it was the button as she eavesdropped on the conversation of two women carrying boxes.

"My husband just lost his job. What are we going to do? My younger brother just got admission into university. It's only me and him. How am I supposed to support him now?" One of the women sobbed.

"It will be well. At least, with the severance pay, we can make do till we find new jobs." The other said.

"My brother's acceptance fee takes up half of the money. Our rent will be due soon. Why did this have to happen now?" The first woman lamented.

"I swear I've never seen Oga this angry before. Fired a whole department?" The other woman said.

"I don't even understand how we lost the contract."

Elsa's heart pounded as she heard the word contract. Her dream was already coming to pass.

She turned her attention to the elevator and tapped the button. She got in and tapped the button for the fourth floor.

The brief ride ended as the lift got to the fourth floor. The usually quiet executive floor had people running left right, carrying folders and papers. One lady even tripped and her file went flying across the room. No one stopped to help her, and she didn't wait for anyone's help. She picked herself up, and walked to pick up her file.

She dragged her feet to Délé's secretary's desk. She met Teni on a call, talking with enough speed to be rapping.

"Look, we need twenty-five to thirty replacements on or before next Monday. I don't know how you want to do it, Ophelia. You owe me. Send out the ads now or something. I don't know. I can't teach you your job." Teni barked into the mouthpiece of her headset.

She ducked her head in greeting as she saw her. Elsa waved her greeting and mouthed to her.

"Can I see him?"

Teni raised a finger and tapped a button on the other telephone on her desk.

"Ophelia, please hold for two seconds. Don't you dare cut the call."

Teni held the mouthpiece with her hand and spoke to the intercom.

"Sir?"

"What?!" Dele shouted.

Elsa flinched and was surprised Teni remained unfazed.

"Your mother is here. Should I let her in?"

"Of course. What kind of stupid question is that?"

"You were having a meeting with HR, and-"

"Just let her in. All of you are just useless."

"Okay sir."

Teni ended the call just as Délé's door opened, and people scrambled out. A few of them mumbling and hissing as they walked past her. Two ladies mumbled greetings to her and she could only nod.

"Mummy, you can see him." Teni said with a smile on her clenched jaws.

She was about to ask what happened when Teni resumed her call.

"Ophelia, we need back just in case our HR f*uck up. Would you rather I contact great jobs dot n g instead?"

Elsa pulled away and sighed as she walked to her son's office. She knocked twice and entered.

"Dele," she called as he squeezed a file into a ball and threw it in a growing heap by the door.

His hard look softened an inch as he looked up at her.

"Mummy," he called and stood.

"Kilo n sele?" She asked as she walked to him. (What's going on?)

He rubbed his face and sat after she did.

"My life is turning upside down. Mummy, this is the fourth contract we've lost since Tinu took the children away. Mummy, I don't know what to do. I haven't spoken to my children in a week. Tinu doesn't pick my calls anymore. Even more disheartening, the number she called me with wasn't hers. And the lady denies knowing any Tinu." Dele rambled.

Did the inkpot mean her grandchildren? Was she the cause for their move? Did she offend Tinu, and Tinu decided to retaliate by leaving with the children? What did she do wrong?

She scanned through her memory of the weeks leading up to the day she left on the cruise with Donald. She didn't have any altercation with Tinu.

How then did she push her son's blessings away?

"Mummy, you were right." Dele whispered.

"About what?"

"Seyifunmi." He said. "She's the reason Tinu left with the children. Mummy, I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you. I'm so sorry. I should have known better. I should have known you'd be right. I should have-"

Délé's words were lost on her. The only thing she heard was 'she's the reason Tinu left with the children.'

"Bamidele, jo, laa ye mi. Seyifunmi did what?" (Bamidele, please, explain it to me.)

He sighed and said, "Seyifunmi accosted Tinu. She called her a slut, accused of using the children to win me back, told her to stay away from me, and threatened to tell the children their mother is a slut."

"Ahh!" Elsa shouted.

That skinny, good for nothing, swearing harlot did all that? And she pretended to be innocent the other day she came to her house? She'd rightly accused her. Her spirit was never wrong.

"I knew it. Donald ti pa mi," she shouted and jumped out of her seat, "I told him that girl wasn't good enough for you. No, Elsa is judgemental. She is just like Jola."

She paced the room as she continued ranting.

"Elsa, you haven't spent five minutes with the girl to get to know her. My spirit doesn't lie. From the first day I saw that girl at the hospital, I knew she'd be trouble. But he said I shouldn't come between you. I should let things play out.

"Se ko ti play out ni sin? Everything ti wa di isu at yiyan!" (Hasn't it played out now. Everything has gone awry.)

"Ti n ba f'oju kan omo yen, ma a bu je." (If I see that girl, I will bite her.)

God.

"Bamidele, ki la ma se?" (Bamidele, what do we do?)


"Mummy, I don't know. Everything's topsy-turvy. O don't know. I just want my children back." Dele sighed and her heart melted.

The paternal pain in his voice lingered in the air and stung her heart. Whatever pain she was feeling, he felt it more.

She'd never forget the day he called her just to tell her Temi and Tomini called him Daddy and they told him they loved him. She'd never heard his voice so happy. Tears stung her eyes as she turned to see their picture on the double, book like frame on his desk. The recto had a picture of her and the verso, a picture of Temi and Tomini smiling with their incisors gone.

She should have trusted her instincts and insisted Dele dump that girl. Maybe if she had acted promptly and ignored Donald, her grandchildren would still be here.

Dele was her son, and whether he was fourteen or forty, he needed her guidance.

She shouldn't have kept quiet.

She should have told him.

This was her fault

Episode 37 - Please, don't leave me.

Elsa woke with a start. Her pants permeated the room to where her husband sat. He looked up from the book he was reading on the sofa. She shook her head and snapped her fingers around her head, rejecting and nullifying the dream.

"Elsa, what happened?" He asked as he dropped the book and walked to the bed.

"I had a bad dream. A terrible dream." She gasped softly.

He sat beside her and rubbed her back as she narrated the dream.

"I went to visit Dele in his office. His office was so untidy, and I decided to help him tidy it up. There were so many papers on his desk. I went through them and saw that they were just old photo copies of newspapers. I packed them to throw them in the dust bin.

"Unknowingly, I had packed a gold inkpot together with the papers. When Dele got back, he started looking for the inkpot. There was a multi-million dollar contract he needed to sign, and he could only sign it with ink from that inkpot.

"By the time we got downstairs to the dumpster, LAWMA had already come, and the dumpster was empty. Dele lost that contract."

Elsa sighed as her husband paled.

"Should we pray?" Donald suggested.

She nodded and they descended to their knees together.

********

P!nk- Please, don't leave me. (Millieademi strongly recommends listening to this song as you read. You can thank her later.)


Seyifunmi?

Could she really?

Anger and doubt fought in his head. He really wanted to trust his fiancee. Seyifunmi couldn't have done something so grave and kept it hidden all this while.

Seyifunmi?

No. It couldn't be.

He pounded the pedal as the need to know ravaged him. His eyes squinted in confusion as he tried to come to terms with Tinu's allegation.

Seyifunmi?

Seyifunmi had been the one to suggest tracking the international number Tinu had called him with. She'd hounded one of her PI friends in the US to track the number. The man had traced the number to some suburb in Atlanta. She'd offered to take the week off to go and find Tinu with him.

Seyifunmi had been the one to allay his fears and reassure him that he'd get his children back. She'd held him when he felt dejected, when he felt like he'd lost his children forever.

But Tinu had no reason to lie. Till date, Tinu had never lied to him.

What if she wasn't just trying to spite him?

What if Seyifunmi really did call her a slut in front of Temi?

His heart broke and anger erupted from the pieces. He knew just how hurtful it was to hear your mother being insulted and called loose. And he never wanted that for his children. He never wanted them to ever doubt their mother's integrity.

He had. Once. Everyone had branded his mother the prostitute of the century and he began to believe that they were right. He had confronted his mother as a six year old boy and demanded to know the truth.

He'd never forget the pain he brought to his mother that today. In tears, she had brought out her Bible, and swore that if indeed she did all the horrible things she had been accused of, that she'd die from the worst death recorded in the Bible.

His mother had borne the pain of his distrust for a while, and everything he ever achieved,every exam he ever aced, every scholarship he ever won was to make up for the pain he had brought to her that day.

If Seyifunmi really called Tinu a slut in front of his son, he'd never forgive her.

In fact, if she called her a slut, and kept their confrontation hidden after all this while, he could never bring himself to forgive her.

He swerved the car sharply to the right and sped down the street to his new house. The automated gate opened as it sensed his car. He zoomed in and parked the car haphazardly. He killed the engine and got out of the car. He slammed the door shut and stomped towards the front door, ignoring his driver's offer to repark the car and his gardeners' hollered greetings over the roar of the string trimmer and leaf blowers.

He pressed the door bell, and he waited a few seconds before a maid came to answer it.

"Good afternoon sir, " one of the maids greeted.

Her name was Mary or Mercy. He wasn't sure. They had four maids, and he was yet to commit any of their names to memory.

He just grunted and stormed into the house. He walked past her, through the grand vestibule to the living room. He met Seyifunmi, Rosanna and Fariha bent over a blue binder with several catalogues sprawled over the couch they sat on.

A side table in front of them had three, tall glasses resting on coasters sitting on it.

"Seyifunmi," he called, and the three women looked up.

Their faces split into smile. Each one a different smile with a different smile.

Fariha's was the courteous, unctuous smile symptomatic of shrewd business people.

Rosanna's was the sincere, glad smile of someone who hadn't seen you in a while.

Seyifunmi's smile held a blend of love and adoration so profound that he doubted Tinu's words.

Seyifunmi would never do something like that and keep it a secret. She just wouldn't.

"Babe."

"Hi, Daleware."

"Good afternoon Sir."

They called at the same time.

He gave them a weak smile as Seyifunmi rose and crossed the room to meet him.

She placed a kiss on his lips.

"How was your trip?" She asked grinning.

He couldn't bring himself to smile back.

Her smile waned and she asked, "What's up?"

"Please, can I have a word with you?" He whispered.

"Are you okay?" She asked frowning in concern.

He gave her a weak smile and nodded.

"I will be once I clear up some things with you."

She sighed and nodded.

"Sorry, please excuse us." She turned and said to Fariha and Rosanna.

"Ahem," Rosanna cleared her throat and smiled, "five minutes only."

Seyifunmi hissed. "When will you have sense?"

"When I become a godmother." Rosanna jived.

Seyifunmi giggled and led him to the dining room.

Her face wore a frown of concern as she stared back at him, and for the thousandth time he doubted Tinu.

Seyifunmi just couldn't betray him like that.

"What happened?" She cooed holding his arm.

He sighed and closed his eyes.

Please, just say it's all a lie.

"Seyifunmi, please, I beg you, do not lie to me," he said.

"I never have, Dele." She said.

It was true. She'd never lied to him. Was he really going to doubt his fiancee? What if Tinu was wrong? He'd hurt her feelings by asking.

But he had to know.

"Seyifunmi, please, I want you to answer yes or no." He said and she straightened her spine in confidence.

She nodded.

"Seyifunmi, did you really call Tinu a slut?"

The words floated in the air and her face went from concern, and not to the look of confusion and outrage he wanted so desperately to see.

Guilt darkened her fair face, and her hand on his arm dropped.

"Dele, I-"

No. God, no.

"Seyifunmi, please, yes or no." He groaned as the anger he'd suppressed and locked up pushed past the barriers.

"Dele, let me explain." She whispered.

"If you can't answer that, then answer this- did you tell her to stay away from me and stop using our kids as a ladder into my life?" He groaned loudly.

Her guilt was so evident, so thick, he could pull it off her face like a mask.

She opened her mouth and then closed it.

"So you actually threatened to tell my children their mother is a slut?" He shouted.

"I…. Dele, I'm sorry." She whispered with tears shimmering in her eyes.

He shook his head. The disappointment he felt, the hurt and the betrayal hurt him ran more deeply, unlike anything he had ever felt before.

He clutched his keys in his hands.

"You…"

Words couldn't begin to articulate how betrayed he felt. His heart was rent and hurt slashed at his throat.

He raised his key and pointed it at her, trying to find the right words.

"Dele, I'm sorry."

He stabbed the air with his key and shook his head.

It shouldn't have been her.

He spun on his heels and turned to leave.

"Dele, wait," she cried after him.

He made it back to the living room and she caught onto his shirt and pulled.

"Get your hands off me," he roared and pushed her hand off him.

The anger he'd pushed back broke the last of the barriers in place, and he was going to let her have every last drop of his fury.

She shrunk at the force of his voice.

"Don't touch me, you traitor." He shouted.

Her tears fell fast, but they weren't going to fool him.

She was a hypocrite, a liar, a pretender. All her acts of concern were just pretence or fig leaves for her guilt.

"Dele, please," she begged.

He saw Rosanna and Fariha stand from the corner of his eye.

"You did all that, yet you said nothing. You pretended to have my back, to be concerned, when you were the one who ruined my life." He barked at her, and she flinched and sobbed.

"My mother was right about you," he said and rubbed his face.

"Seyifunmi, you ruined the relationship I spent six years building. I may never see my children again. All because of you."

"Dele, I'm sorry."

"Well, I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I ever met you. I'm sorry I asked you out. I'm sorry I proposed to you." He shouted.

Her eyes widened and she stared at him.

"Dele, I love you." She wheezed.

He scoffed and shook his head.

"I want nothing of your stupid love," he barked at her and turned to Fariha, "Fariha, we won't be needing your services anymore."

Rosanna and Seyifunmi's let out gasps.

"Dele, please calm down. Let's try to talk about this." Rosanna begged.

"Stay out of this, Rosanna." He groaned. "This is between your cousin and me."

Seyifunmi sobbed, "Dele, please, forgive me."

"I give you one week to get your things out of my house and drop my engagement ring. I want you out of my life." He said and she sobbed harder.

"Dele, please." She cried with the veins in her forehead turgid.

"It's too late for that."

"Dele, I swear I regretted it. I tried apologising to Tinu. I did. I really did."

"You didn't try hard enough." He said and walked out of the living room.

She hollered his name, but he didn't turn or stop.

"Dele, please, don't leave me." She shouted.

He strode to his car, pretending no one was shouting his name with enough decibels to rival a loudspeaker.

The gardeners paused and turned to watch, but he didn't care. He heard her slippers slapping the stamped concrete driveway, and she appeared in front of the driver's door of his car.

"Dele, please, I'm sorry. Please." She sobbed. Her make-up was streaming down and staining her white, maxi sundress. Her mascara stained her cheeks and she whispered, "Please."

"Get out of my way," he gritted, resisting the urge to push her out of his way.

"Dele-"

"I'll count to three."

She wailed her plea, but he wouldn't be pacified. She broken his trust, stabbed him in the back, and she was now pleading?

There would be no absolution or forgiveness.

"One."

"Dele, please."

"Two."

"Dele, please. I'm sorry."

"Three."

He glared at her and took a step towards her. She scampered out of his way in fear.

He opened the door and got in.

"Dele, I'm sorry." She shouted.

He hissed and started his car. He saw her run somewhere. He put the gear in reverse. He reversed the car enough to give him room to turn the car around. He shifted the gear to drive and turned the car around towards the gate.

He met her standing in the middle of the gateway with her arms stretched wide open.

What was this drama?

He wound down the window by his side and shouted, "Get out of the way, Seyifunmi."

"No. Not until you forgive me. Dele, I'm sorry. Please."

He hissed and reversed the car. He drove forward, thankful he was driving his small Camry and the gate was wide enough. He sped past her and drove out of the compound.

He saw her run after his car from his side mirror until she tripped on her dress and fell to the ground.

He heard her piercing scream.

Dele.

He hissed and raised his eyes to the road.

Episode 36 - Friends or nothing.

Sam Smith - Not in that way.

Rosanna shut the pedestrian gate behind her, and walked to her apartment at the back of the building. The bungalow behind the duplex housed two mini-flats- one for her, and the other for Femi, one banker guy that had been making moves on her.

The rays of the security lights in front of the building only lighted her path halfway. She didn't bother to turn on her phone's torch. She already knew exactly how many steps it took to get from the window of her landlord's kitchen to her front door. It was something she'd calculated after she'd helped edit an intern's article on the life of the blind.

She already had her keys in her hand. She counted the thirty-two steps and thrust her key into the lock of the steel door.

"Ro." A voice called, and she shouted.

Her heart jumped and she placed her hand on it to calm it.

"Femi, what is wrong with you? Why are you skulking around in the dark?" She shouted.

"Who is Femi?" The voice grunted and she gasped as she recognized it.


"Ose?"

She pulled her handbag off her shoulder and unzipped it. One hand darted in and fished out her phone from the inner purse she'd left open.

She turned on the torch and saw Ose squinting at her.

"What are you doing here?"

"It's in my eye." He hissed and she let her hand drop a bit.

"Sorry," she said, "what are you doing here? When did you get here?"

"I needed to talk to you. And I've been here since five-ish." He said.

She sighed. She didn't have time for this.

"Ose, look, I'm tired and -"

"Ro, I've been here waiting for about three hours." He deadpanned.

She took in a deep breath and turned back to unlock her door. The lock clicked as she turned the key, and the door whined as she pushed it open.

"Come in."

"The door needs oil." He commented as he walked into the apartment.

She walked in after him with her torch illuminatjng the living room and casting shadows over the room. She dropped her handbag on one of the armchairs.

"Excuse me. I'll put on the gen."

"You need help?"

She turned to face him. "I can do it myself. Thank you."

He shrugged as she bent to pick up a rechargeable flashlight plugged to an extension box underneath the plasma hanging from the wall.

She flipped the switch on the flashlight and walked to her kitchen. She opened the back door. She walked to her small generator.

Thank God for her father.

She turned on the tank and choke and turned the ignition key. The engine roared to life and she plugged the gen into the socket by the wall. She entered her kitchen and locked the back door. She changed over, pulling the double knife switch from neutral to generator.

She walked back to the livingroom and turned on the lights and fan.

Ose squinted and she picked up her phone. She turned the torch and her flashlight and plugged them to charge.

She took the farthest seat from Ose, watching him look around the livingroom decor.

"Nice place." He said as he moved his eyes back to her.

Somehow, she preferred his eyes flitting around the room than on her.

"Thanks." She said, clipped.

No need to encourage him. She could bet her soul and spirit what he wanted to talk about. She wasn't to go there, to have that kind of relationship again. And not with Ose. He deserved someone better. Someone who could love him and risk trusting again. She couldn't. She couldn't trust a man again. She couldn't have one not trust her again. It was just too painful.

Dare had not trusted her. Not once. Not twice. She could still remember the pain in her soul anytime he doubted her fidelity. It hurt like hell.

"Ro, it's been close to two weeks and you've not even bothered to check up on me. Ro, you moved out. Just like that?" He started.

"Ose, we both know what you want. And I can't give it. I'm sorry. I can't." She said, looking down at her coffee table.

"Why? I'm not handsome enough? I'm not tall enough? Not rich enough?" He cried with a frown.

She looked up at him.

"Ose, I'm not that superficial. Those things mean nothing to me."

"Then what is it, Ro?" He shouted. "I've tried to wrap my mind around it, but I can't. Why can't you reciprocate my feelings? And don't tell me you feel nothing for me, because we both know that's bullshit."

"Ose, I just can't. Really. Not all amorous feelings are meant to be explored."

Why couldn't he just let things be? Why couldn't they just go back to the way things were? Why did he want to be more than friends?

"Ro, I love you," Ose sighed. His pain etched onto his face, accenting his voice and revealing his sincerity. "I don't think I've loved any woman the way I love you. Not Bibiana. Not Roselle. Ro, please."

His words tugged at her heart and drew tears to heart. She loved him too. She didn't know when it happened, but she knew it. She loved him.

But love wasn't just enough.

"Ose, I wish I could be with you the way you want. I really do. But I can't. Ose, it's not you. You're an amazing guy. You've done so much for me, and you deserve to be loved. And you will. You'll find that someone. Believe me. You're too good. I can only be friends with you. Friends and nothing else." She said.

"Ro-"

"Ose, if you really love me like you claim, you'll accept this compromise." She said.

He squeezed his eyes shut for two seconds and opened them.

"Ro, I should have had you first." He muttered.


******
Jason Oduah shifted in his seat as he waited for her to come out. He hated the company. Junkies. Everywhere.

He had have never set foot im such an establishment if not for the dire situation. Chlorine wafted into his nose and he wondered if the visiting room was mopped with just plain bleach. H's eyes flitted to the table beside him. The young man kept on itchinghis nose and sniffling.

Bile rose to his throat.

Disgusting.

The two male nurses he had met at the reception led in a thinner version of the woman he was waiting for. She was beyond model thin. Her collarbone stuck out like an awkward accessory and neck long. Her eyes were distant as the men half-pushed, half-led her to the table he was sitted at.

Her eyes widened as she recognized him.

"Chief Oduah?" She asked as the men deposited her into her seat.

"I didn't know you did drugs."

She stiffened and looked at the table.

"What do you want?"

"How would like to own a brand new house, a range rover and fifty million naira?" The man said.

Her eyes flitted up at him.

He smirked. Money was the most effective bait. At least, for a rehabilitating junkie who had gone bankrupt.

"What's in it for you?" She asked, after schooling her greedy expression.

The man shifted closer to her and leaned in.

"You get clean. Get rehabilitated. No more drugs. Not even weed. Squeaky clean. I'll get your records clean. No one will ever know you were here," he started.

Her eyes widened in glee and a small smile formed on her face.

"And in return, Katryna, you file for sole custody of your son, Chris. My grandson."

"But I thought that b*itch got sole custody."

He shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. Not with my connections. I just need you to file for custody and Chris is as good as yours." Jason told her.

She smiled.

"Are you in?"

She nodded.

Episode 35 - Awake

Two years ago

Rosanna stomped down the stairs as she rushed to leave the town house she and her mother were renting. After waking up late and snoozing her wake up alarm five times, it was seven o'clock.

What if Dare had woken up?

She shook her head. Wendy, her favorite, middle-aged nurse would have called her.

She walked to the front door and turned the handle. She pulled the door but it wouldn't open. She pulled again but it resisted.

Her eyes flitted to the lock and she sighed.

"Mum!" She shouted. "I need the keys to the front door."

She turned and shouted again.

"Mum!"

"What?" Her mother fired back, her voice thundering into the room before she appeared. "Rosanna, what?"

What is her problem?

"I need the keys to the door. It's locked." She said and pulled her coat on tighter.

The woman curled her lips and narrowed her eyes into slits.

Why is she frowning? Is it because I didn't greet her first?

"That door remains locked throughout today. If heaven will fall, let it fall. I really want to see it fall." Her mother said and hissed.

Rosanna squinted.

What did the door have to do with heaven falling?

"Mum, I need to get to the hospital. I don't get all this heaven falling talk." She said.

Her mother smiled and said, "If heaven falls after you stay home today, I really want to see it happen."

Rosanna's eyes narrowed even more, and an itching started in her ears and she couldn't resist the urge to pull them.

"I'm not sure I understand you, mum. I need to get to Dare." She said.

"Rosanna, let me simplify it. You are going nowhere today. If heaven falls, so be it. If you die, so be it. I am your mother. T'omode ba gbon'gbon kiku, iya e a gbon'gbon sisin. You cannot come and kill me. I did not kill my mother. You cannot kill me.(Proverb: If a child insists on dying, his mother will have to learn how to bury.)

"Mo ti pe e bi omo, o ko o o gbo. What is it, Rosanna? You are really gonna let yourself waste away by Dare's side. If he stays in a coma for years, you really are going to stay by his side everyday? I raised you better than that." Her mother said.(I spoke to you like a child, you didn't listen.)


"You didn't raise me." Rosanna said.

Her mother paled.

"How dare you?" Her mother shouted.

"Look, mum. If you don't want to hear bitter truths, don't try to come between Dare and me. Your ex tried it and I cut all ties with him. So, please, just hand me the keys." Rosanna said.

How dare she say that? If she decided to die by Dare's side, what was it to her? She raised her? When? During the three days she spent with her during holidays? Or when she had her whisked off to boarding houses? Or when she'd left for work before she woke up? Or when she only returned late at night?


Maybe if she'd raised her, she'd have turned her back on Dare, and left him at the moment he needed her.

"If I poured myself into my work, it was to give you a future, an education, to pay for the expensive schools I put you in ." Her mother said.

"Of course," Rosanna said, rolling her eyes. "Can I have the keys?"

"I'm not giving you the keys. I don't care what happens. Dare won't die if you aren't by his side." She said and walked away.

"Mum! Mum!" She shouted at her retreating back.


********

Three days went by, and the front door remained locked. That and the back door and any other exit that was big enough to allow her sneak out. Moreover, she'd changed the locks. So her hunting for her spare keys ended in futility.

She sat by her window, wondering how Dare was faring, waiting till six when Wendy could reply her texts, and hating on her mother.

Dragging her thumb over her nail bed, she scratched off the fake nail polish on them. She'd loved the tortilla colour and that was why she snatched the bottle from Seyifunmi.

Two knocks came from her door and she turned to see her mother.

"Someone's here to see you." Her mother announced.

She sat up and asked," Is it from the hospital?"

Was Dare okay?

She caught the black sneakers first before she looked up and saw Ose.

Oh.

She slouced in the window seat and continued staring out the window.

"I'll leave you two alone." Her mother said.

"Hey." Ose greeted.

"What do you want?" She answered.

There was no point beating about the bush. It was clear her mother had invited him over. To what end exactly? To get her to leave Dare? Or forget about him?

"That's rude. I came all the way to the US just to check up on you."

"I didn't ask you to. Did I?" She answered, watching a couple jog down the street.

That should have been me and Dare.

"Really abrasive, Ro. Very abrasive." He said.

A twinge pierced her heart.

"You can leave if you want to."

"Rosanna, stop this." He said.

"Ose, what do you want from me? Why are you so nice to me? Why do you care?" She shouted.

He flinched a little and her heart began to crumple.

"Ose, look. This is a terrible time for me. I'm not sure if I understand what I'm feeling right now. I'm mad and sad and frustrated and I just want to be alone. Please." She sighed.

"Ro, you can't keep this up. You can't put your life on hold till Dare wakes up." Ose groaned.

"My life makes no sense without him, Ose. It didn't make sense all those years ago and it doesn't now." She answered and wiped the trail a single tear left.

Why didn't anyone understand?

"Ose, if he doesn't wake up, I may as well put a bullet through my head and-"

He sat beside her and said, "You had a life before him. You were an editor for one of the world's most popular fashion magazine, Ro. Editor of the year."

She scoffed and smiled.

"And I came back home and cried myself to sleep every night, put my makeup on the following day, edit and repeat. Ose, Dare brought some semblance of hope back to my life, hope that I wouldn't be the lonely, heartbroken woman my mother is."

Silence engulfed the room. And she turned to stared at her unmade bed.

"I'm sorry. I was rude." She sighed and rested her head on his arm.

"It's no biggie. I'd just leave without making you the small chops I wanted to cook for you." Ose said.

"What?" She shouted and pulled away from him with a small smile on her face.

"I even got Seyifunmi's recipe for Jollof rice. I wanted to give you a taste of home, and cheer you up. But since you've been rude," he said and shrugged.

Tears glimmered in her eyes.

"Thank you," she mouthed and hugged him, "thanks so everything, Ose. Thank you for being my friend."

He shrugged.

*******
Rosanna reached for the last samosa on the plate and picked off the brown wrap at one edge of the triangle. Her stomach, stretched to its limits, protested the incoming jumbo sized samosa, but she'd have none of that.

Ose sat on the floor, resting his back against the sofa she was sitting on, with one knee propped up and his head nodding to the Lil Wayne song playing from his phone.

She cringed at the speed. What was the point if you couldn't hear the lyrics?

"Don't you have something better?" She said and broke off a piece of samosa and tossed it into her mouth.

"I've got Lauren Hill, Nas, Austin three thousand-"

"Anything that doesn't cram five words into one second."

Ose chuckled and scrolled down his playlist, and he clicked on the screen.

The instrumentals of the song filled the room and Rosanna's face split with a megawatt grin.

"I love this song." She shouted as Usher cooed his name. She jumped out of her seat and grabbed the television remote.

"So we back in the club with our bodies rocking from side to side," she sang along with him and started dancing.

The beats of the bass had her moving her hips and shaking her shoulders. She started lipsynching the song and sashayed up and shimmied down. She walked to Ose and pulled him up with one hand.

He chuckled again and started dancing along with her.

She threw her hand up as the artiste sang so. She squeezed her eyes shut as she pretended to scream the chorus.

She turned her back to Ose and put his hands on her waist. She dropped the remote as a featuring artiste started rapping.

"I thought you don't like rap." Ose giggled.

"Except it's in an Usher song." She said and continued dancing, throwing her head back and forth.

The song came to an end, and Dead but Alive's You Spin Me Right Round started.

"Whoo!" She shouted.

She waited till the chorus and started yelling the lyrics in her deepest baritone. Ose guffawed at the horrible sound as she she spinned him around.

"You're crazy."

She ignored him and continued yelling.

The song came to an end and she crashed unto a sofa.

She heaved smiling as a number by Don William started playing.

"Wow." She panted. "I can't remember the last time I did that."

"Me too." Ose said beaming at her.

"Thank you."

He nodded at her.

She rested her head against the sofa. She closed her eyes as the soft strums of the guitar lulled her. Soon, sleep took her.

******
Rosanna pushed herself to run faster. Her breathless pants came out with white puffs of air. Tears stung her eyes and her self-hatred increased. She'd gotten carried away and Dare had woken up.

She was supposed to be by his side. Rather, she was jumping around like a teenager, eating jollof rice and small chops like a greedy pig. Dare had been awake for twelve hours and she didn't know.

She ignored Ose's cries that she wait for him. This was all his fault. She'd jumped out of his car before he was parked. She ran through the automated doors of the hospital and to the elevator shaft. She pounded on the button.

She sobbed in relief as the door split in two. She ran in and tapped the button for the fourth floor. The door closed and she leaned against the railing that ran along three walls. She wiped her tears with the sleeves of the cardigan she wore over her pyjamas camisole.

How could she have gotten so carried away? She'd woken up to meet fifteen missed calls from Wendy, Gwyneth and John, and five texts telling her Dare was awake and asking for her.

The elevator dinged as it opened. She jogged out and towards his ward. She ran in and met Dare crying. Doctor Baker and another doctor turned to face.

"Ro, how are you?" Doctor Baker asked.

She nodded, with her gaze still transfixed on Dare. What was going on? She took small steps to towards him. Afraid. The tears still streamed down his face as he looked at her.

"Doc, what's going on?" Rosanna asked.

The white doctor said, "Hi. I'm Doctor Everett. Mr. Shaw won't be able to walk again."

"What?!"

Doctor Baker pursed her lips and said, "We're deeply sorry, Mr. Shaw."

She turned to Dare. He'd gotten a job as an assistant coach for the basketball team at his alma mater. He'd be so glad to get a chance to get back to basketball.

She turned back to the doctors, "Isn't there some sort of therapy or surgery or-"

Ose's dash into the room cut her short.

"Hey Dare," Ose greeted.

"You were with him?" Dare asked.

She turned to face him as the stench of the accusation in his tone tried to suffocate her.

She squinted and said, "Dare, what are you-"

"I wasn't even in coma for three months yet, and you were already fooling around with him. Well, go be with him," Dare shouted and pushed her away from him.

His words caused a ringing in her ears.

"Mr. Shaw." Doctor Baker said.

"Dare, Ro's not like that." Ose said.

"Will you shut the f*uck up?" Dare shouted back.

"I suggest you leave, sir." Doctor Everett told Ose and placed a hand on his shoulder to lead him out.

"Dare, nothing's going on between Ose and me. He's a friend. You know that." She said.

"Get out!" He said and her heart shattered.

Her breath came in laboured pants and she reached out to touch him.

"Dare, I can-"

"Get out." He shouted.

Doctor Baker's hands held her shoulders.

"Let's give him some space, Ro."

Tears spilled out of her eyes as the doctor led her out.

So this is African fantasy at its best.

Really, it's like GOT and Black Panther got married and this is their bouncing baby.

Can't wait to read more.



Kisses ObehiD.

This is amazing.

Sorry.

This is long overdue.


Please keep the comments coming.

Episode 34 - For my grandchildren

"Mummy, " Chris called.

She turned and saw her son standing in the kitchen's doorway.

"Yes, baby."

The boy took unsure steps forward. "Can I help you? Temi is watching something boring and Regina is playing with her dolls and Tomini doesn't want to play with me."

She beamed at him and stretched her hand out to him. She wondered when this cold Tomini phase would end. Ever since she'd slapped her and grounded her, the girl had been cold to everyone.

Except Dapo.

He'd been the only to draw smiles from her since they moved to Abuja.

"My baby," she heaved as she lifted him on to a barstool by the island.

"You are getting fat o." She commented and poked his round tummy. He smiled and tears pooled behind her eyes.

He had his father's smile. The same lip corner curling, the same dimples, the same face.

"Mummy, what are you cooking?" He asked.

She ran a hand over his head.

"Coconut rice, my love."

The boy nodded and asked, "Should I peel Maggi for you?"

"Don't worry. The food is almost ready."

Tinu walked to the cabinet to get flatware and her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw an incoming WhatsApp voice call from Seyifunmi.

You have got to be kidding me.

She hissed and turning off her data connection. Seyifunmi had been spamming her with apology messages and voice notes. Really irritating.

The notification bar showed ninety-one new messages. She was about the mark them as read when she saw a few were from Dele. She clicked on the notification and her chat list popped up.

She tapped on Dele and read the thirteen new messages. She scoffed in disbelief.

How dare he?

She swiped down and turned her data connection on, poised to reply to the stinkers he'd sent, then Grace ran to the kitchen.

"Madam, Chief is here o.".

Tinu dropped her phone on the counter and turned.

"Which Chief?"

"Me." Her father-in-law's voice answered as he walked into the kitchen.

Her heart surged with anger, and she stiffened.

"What do you want?" She snarled at the man, flanked by two men in black suits.

Since she'd been released, he had never come to apologise for the wrong allegation or his antagonistic behaviour. Only Monique had kept contact with her. Only Monique had believed her innocence from the beginning. Only Monique, while everyone else in the family she'd taken to be hers had deserted her.


The man smiled and shook his head, "You can take a pig, clean it up, dress it up, spray it with the most expensive perfume, it would remain a pig, and return to the mud."

Tinu bit her tongue to hold back her reply. Her anger
fizzled out as Chris came to hug her thighs from behind.


"Anyway, I didn't come for you. I came for my grandchildren." He put in.

A gong crashed in Tinu's head, and it left a ringing sound in her ears.

"Which grandchildren?" She asked with her lip curled and her brow raised in doubt.

He couldn't be talking about Chris and Regina, could he? She had sole custody of all her children. No one could take her children away from her.

"Christopher and Regina. I don't know how you were able to smuggle her away from the hospital and fake her death, but I want my granddaughter." Chris's father.

"You must be joking." She retorted. "I have legal and physical custody over them. No one can take them away from me. Not even you."

"I came to ask you to take the easy way. If you refuse, I will drag you through the courts until you relinquish custody to me. I cannot have a mental patient raise my grandchildren." He answered.

She shook her head.

"Not my children. You have no right to take them away from me. You never inquired after their well being for the past two years, and you want custody? You can't." She shouted.

"Mummy!" Regina called and toddled in the kitchen.

The man paled as he took in the girl.

"Regina?" He said and she stopped in her tracks. Tge man took steps towards her, and the girl ran to her mother.

"I don't know you." She shouted abd her mother picked her up. The girl nestled her head in the crook of her mother's neck.

The man turned and glared at her.

"You've turned ny grandchildren against me."

Tinu shook her head. "I don't have the time for that. You don't nean anything to us."

The man's glare hardened.

"Mark my words. You'll rue this day." He said and left the kitchen with his bodyguards behind him.

God!

Her hearts palpitations rhymed with her jagged breaths. Rhythmless. Haywire.

"Mummy, who is that?" Regina asked as she pulled away from her mother.

"He's your, he's your grandfather. Your Daddy's daddy." Tinu explained.

The girl frowned. "Why'd he not come and play with us since?"

Tinu bent and placed her daughter on the floor. She held Chris's hand and pulled him to stand in front of her. She sank to her haunches.

"Don't ever go anywhere with him. He's a bad person. If you go with him, he'll take you away, and you'll never see me or Temi or Tomini again." Tinu panted.

They nodded.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes mummy." They chorused and she hugged them.

If he took them away, he'd be taking the only reminders she had of Chris.

She pulled away from them, and they left the kitchen hand in hand. She'd have to have a word with the gatekeeper.

Her shaking hand rose to her chest, and she clutched her blouse.

"Tinu, calm down."

The buzzing of her phone pulled her away from where she was squatted. She walked to the counter and saw an incoming WhatsApp voice call from Dele.

The lousy texts he'd sent came back to her, and she swiped the answer button.

"Dele Daramola, you have some nerve texting me that bullshit." She fired without waiting for him to speak. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Hold it right there. Don't take that tone with me. I am not your mate, so don't tell me rubbish. I stand by everything I texted." He shouted.

She scoffed and smiled.

She tapped her feet in response as waves of anger rolled over her. Her index finger dug into her thumb as she listened to him rant how testy, snappish and discourteous she was.

"Well, you're dating the most discourteous b*itch in existence. And by all means, quote me." Tinu said after he was done.

"O o l'eko o." Dele answered. (You're untrained.)

"Well, before you come to train me, why don't you start with your loudmouthed girlfriend, who came to MY home, called me slut, insulted the memory of my late husband, threatened to tell MY children that their mother is a slut? And that too in Temi's presence. Why don't you start with her, Mr. Trainer?" Tinu shouted back.

"W-what a-a-are you talking about?" Dele stuttered.

She hissed. "Why don't you go and ask my trained girlfriend? Wo, Dele. If I respect you, it's because of three things- what you did for me when I was in prison, the way you honour your mother and the fact you are the man I had my first children for. Respect is reciprocal."

"Tinu, are you telling me that Seyifunmi insulted you? When was this?"Dele whispered.

"She not only insulted me, she accused me of having an affair with you and using the kids as a ladder into your life. She asked me to stay away from you, and where I go, my children follow." Tinu answered.

"Tinu, wait. Let's talk about this. I had no idea she did that. I-"

"I know. But you're getting married to her, and I can't have such a woman as my children's stepmother. I'm sorry. I have to go." She said and hung up.

She turned her phone on airplane mode and sighed.

Hi guys .

Please I need your help. I'm currently working on the publicity book trailer for this book. Please I'd need you to drop your favorite quotes scenes and write your review of the book. Please guys I really need this

Hi guys

Please I need your help. I'm currently working on Ocean of Secrets The Ebb book.trailer.
I'd like you guys if it's no biggie to post your favorite quotes from the book
or favorite scenes. Please it will help me draw up a script if necessary or an outline. Please guys do this for me.
Pretty please.

Hi guys...


Please, don't forget to vote for me.


Please o. Help my solution.

Mukhtar20:
Chris is in Lagos not UK

Guy, Chris is in the UK

Episode 33- Love me, Haunt me.

She turned and rolled to the other side of the bed. Was she just imagining things or could she still smell him? Her heart pounded and stomach went queasy. She tightened her eyes close.

Tinu, stop this.

'Good night, my love." His voice whispered.

She shook her head. She could still feel his lips on her cheeks. And her loins warmed up as her waist waited for him to wrap his hand around it. Her back itched to be positioned against his chest.

'Ya hayati.' His breathless voice panted in her ears.

Her eyes flew open and the tears she'd been holding back escaped.

It was already three years. Why couldn't she move on. Why was it that everyday she woke up it was like the evening her father-in-law broke the news to her.

Tinu, Chris is dead.

"Chris, if you're haunting me, please stop. Please, i can't take this pain anymore. Please. I'm trying my best to be strong for our children. Don't make it harder than it is." She said to the empty room.

"Please. I don't deserve this."

She scratched her scalp, and turned to the slarm clock by her bed. She'd only slept for two hours. She hissed and rolled out of bed. Maybe if she continued her work, she'd be able to get him out of her mind.

She walked out of her room to her office downstairs. She flipped the switch by the wall, and the light in the room came on. She shut the door behind her as she walked in. She walked to her chair and flopped onto the swivel chair.

She shivered at the memory that hit her with the same force she sat with.

"Come for me, Tinu."

Heat pooled in her loins. She fought the memory, but graphic memories were difficult to push back.

Heat curled over her skin and she fought the thought with memories of tiles, curtains, mantelpieces, beddings, fittings. And she lost the battle.

Her body was raging with hormones, and the woman in her revelled in the memory of Chris's hands holding her hips as she rode him, his kisses on her neck and breasts, his lusty voice in her ears. She sighed and clamped her thighs together.

"Tinu, focus." She berated herself.

How did widows survive this period? Her period was getting closer and several nights she woke up aroused, and all she do was take a cold shower.

She flipped open her laptop and opened her client's file.

She'd learn.

If she could make it through prison, she could survive anything.

*******

"Don't touch me." Her voice shouted at him. "Your son is here, my Hannah is not."

The livid face with turgid veins in her neck yelled at him with tears raining from puffy eyes.

"Chris, don't leave me. Chris, if you die, I'll die too." She cried.

Her weave billowed in the sea breeze, tickling his face as he wrapped his hands around her waist, and pressed a kiss to her neck.

"Chris," she moaned.

"Tinu." He had answered.

The waves of returning memories engulfed him. He saw pictures of his life speed past him. Her laughter, her tears, her fears, her joys came back to him taunting him, kissing him, embracing him.

She wasn't Cyan Lady.

She was Atinuke Coker-Oduah.

His wife.

He struggled with the thick vines that held him bound, that kept him subdued. Once he could open his eyes he'd be taking the first step to get back to her.

To get back to his wife.

His hands moved and his stretching fingers grazed a hand. He reached and grabbed it. He squeezed hard.

The slim wrist attached to the hand flexed and he tightened his grip.

"Sir?" A soft female voice called.

"Mr. James?" She called again.

Who was James?

Was he James?

No. She had called him Chris.

"Christopher Oduah, abeg, I'm tired. Who cares if my hair looks like sacrifice. Who dey look me?"

She'd called him Christopher Oduah.

"Mr. James, can you hear me?" Her voice bagged on more authority and concern.

"My name is Chris." He whispered.

******
Rosanna's hand reached into the bucket for more popcorn, with her eyes fixed on the huge three-d screen in front of her. It was a public holiday. She'd finished her work ahead of time. No more Seyifunmi and Ose to disturb her.

The sweet caramel popcorn turned bland at the thought of Ose. She wished she didn't have to hurt him. He deserved better. He deserved love. After losing the woman he loved to a car-crash, and being led on by Roselle, he deserved a woman to love and one who would love him back.

She wasn't that woman.

She was scarred. She'd never be able to prove how much she couldn't be in a relationship.

Trust was everything to her. To her, it was more important than love. Her mother's mistrust of her father caused their breakup, and she promised herself to only be with someone she trusted.

She trusted Dare, and she expected him to do the same.

Her fingers unclenched the popcorn in them as she remembered Dare.

He'd proved just how much he distrusted her.

She heaved a sigh and launched into the bucket snd grabbed a handful of brown sticky popcorn. She shoved it into her mouth trying to wipe off the sour taste Dare's act of betrayal had left in her mouth.

The male protagonist grabbed his love interest by the waist and kissed her, just as Donna Lewis's I Love You Always Forever blared beside her.

Her grip slackened as she heard the song she and Dare had picked out as their wedding song. Her heart crumpled as the song went on as the lady beside her rummaged her bag trying to find her mobile phone.

Patrons began to hiss and shout on the lady.

"Off that stupid phone." One man shouted.

"Sorry." The lady apologised as the song went on.

Rosanna felt tears bite her eyes. He was supposed to love her, to believe that everything she really would do for him.

When he said he'd wait, he didn't believe that she'd do her possible best to get a kidney for Alicia.

She shot out of her seat propelled by anger and grief, and stalked out of the hall with tears brimming in her eyes. She ignored the insults of the girls her popcorn had spilled on and just ran out.

She ran, swinging the door shut behind her, and blinded by her tears, she ran into a man's chest.

"Watch where you're going, na." The man shouted. She wiped her tears with the heels of her palms.

"I'm sorry." She said. "I'm really sorry."

She looked up and saw two men standing in front of her. The man she'd run into stood scowling at her, while dusting God knows what off his wifebeater.

Who wore a wifebeater to a mall?

Apparently, he wanted to show off his tattoos. His fair arm was engraved with black and blue ink. The image of a dragon with its mouth wide open ran the length of his huge, right upperarm. His huge biceps created a large dragon whose tail curled down his forearm into a scroll on which Chinese characters were inscribed.

She tore her gaze from the inked man to the man beside him, looking like his exact opposite. Dark, tall, wiry, clad in a white shirt and jean pants, and looking responsible.

"Sorry about Joshua's behaviour. I've warned him not to be rude to pretty girls." The responsible man joked and she gave a weak smile.

"I wasn't looking where i was going." She answered.

"I'm William, by the way. And you are?" The man asked smiling and stretching out his hand.

She was so not in the mood to be social. She just wanted to curl up somewhere and cry.

"I'm sorry I have caramel on my hands. You can call me Ro, but I have to go." She said and walked away.