"Who likes to be deemed impotent?” Benson muttered nudging his door open. The baby in his hands clamped down his exploding emotions.
If some woman didn’t decide to be selfishly irresponsible, he wouldn’t be n this mess right now. He slowed down when he heard the baby moan. His heart skipped and terror gripped him. No, not again. He wasn’t ready for another episode.
He had woken up to an alarm that rang earlier than usual, in fact, he rarely set his alarm at all. He was the boss so, except he needed to make it to work very early, there was no need to rush. No one bosses the boss around.
She cut his sleep short with a loud ear deafening scream. He woke up and just froze. He had no idea what to do. In fact, he had even forgotten everything about the baby.
He didn’t know what to give the baby to shut her up. He had to go on the internet and search for reasons why a baby would cry in the morning. He felt his dumbest when he realized that it was because they were hungry and most babies almost always wake up from their sleep very hungry.
He had nothing to feed the baby with. It didn’t even occur to him to get the baby’s food.
He ordered some recommendations from his research and made something for the baby, he wasn’t poisoning her while he fed her. True to his new discovery, the baby went straight to sleep again after eating. And he had peace, although quite brief -up to when he had finished buttoning his suit jacket.
He heard the now-familiar cry and his heart broke again.
He only realized he was supposed to bathe her when he reluctantly walked to the couch he had laid her down and found her wet in her pee.
He hadn’t been this exhausted for longer than he can remember. Now he would never disrespect any woman who is a mother, or any woman at all. Somehow the whole stress with the baby made him tired enough to feel sorry for ever disrespecting his mother or causing her the tiniest discomfort since she definitely went through the same thing with him.
All the muscles he had were rendered useless with taking care of a baby. Turns out you need the heart and not the muscles. The whole dilemma was twice difficult since she was his daughter.
His office suddenly seemed too small for him. Having a baby there, though ironic for her size, cramped the space. Probably because he had little freedom to move as he would have to carry her around.
How did he get this low without doing anything to land him where he is?
Sitting and wiggling on his chair because weirdly the baby liked it, he wiped his forehead and reclined into his seat. His mind absorbed the drama he worked into when he arrived at the office.
Questions for which he had insufficient answers popped into his mind.
Even though he wanted to be mad at Sarah and Luke, they are right, he couldn't bear this for one more morning. He sure needed a nanny for the baby. He had thought about his housekeeper but he didn’t trust her that much was why he refused to make her an in-house housekeeper. She was too much of a talkative and would blab everything out in no time.
Again, Sarah was right, somebody trustworthy was needed. He knew she understood the importance of making sure not a word about this gets out so if she says the lady is trustworthy, then she is.
His hands were tied.
Who was this good-looking, curvy, light-caramel-skinned nanny, that Sarah had brought? She was definitely going to be a problem if she employed her to care for the baby.
How he felt when his eyes trailed her body from head to toe and back scared him. He hadn’t felt that blood rush in a long time. I mean he goes to clubs and sees a lot of women and actually bangs a lot of them, but all of those were just flings, stress relieves, and pain killers. Something to distract himself with. He wanted her in a way that made him feel vulnerable.
He cursed himself for feeling that way about some lady he had just met minutes ago.
It helped him at that moment to pretend he was angry because if he hadn’t he would have just stared helplessly at her. Before now, he didn’t believe instant attraction existed.
He could have any woman he wanted.
But how he immediately fell for her perplexed him. He had stood there behind her listening to her voice barely hearing a thing she was saying until the word impotent struck him out of his fix.He had a decision to make but it was hard. He knew he was himself too well. He couldn’t stay in a space alone with her.
He had rejected a legion of women throwing themselves at him. They were all the same to him. All of them were thirsty women that didn’t mind giving their bodies to him, however, he wanted them, as long as they had access to the luxury and fame that came with meddling and associated with him.
Maybe how he behaves in the club sends the wrong message about the kind of women he likes or most women are just like that -they could conform to one’s most bizarre desires just to lay their hands on your money. Once they knew you had enough, they can literally become anything you want.
Something about her was different. Maybe it was her natural beauty. She was beautiful yet it was obvious she didn’t try to be. He could tell getting the job was her only objective.
He had had experiences where women dressed in provocative attires came pretending they came for a job interview. She wasn’t like that. Her playful honesty expounded her allure.
Benson doesn’t fall easily, especially after the accident, but her charm.
“What is this Benson?” He schooled himself, gently jabbing his temple. He tightened his jaw and raised his head to the ceiling. “You are more than this, man, come off it,” he shook his head as he fuelled his ego.
After a few minutes of dangling between thoughts, he dialed Sarah up to his office.
He heard a knock on the door and urged her to come in.
“So I have thought about it. I mean really thought about it and,” He looked straight into her eyes. “You are sure we can trust her? I trust you but I don’t know her. This is you sticking your neck out for her, so…”
Sarah balled her fingers in front of her and nodded. She understood he was serious. And she trusted Alita so there was nothing to fear. Things were better for everybody that way, except for Luke who is she is still not talking to.
“She is perfect for the job, sir,” Sarah cocked her head. “You won’t regret this,” She squinted he eyes and took a step forward.
Her eyes landed on the baby in his hands then she asked, “How is she doing?”“Well…” Benson pursed his lips staring down at the baby. “She is not screaming is all that matters.”
“You are doing pretty good with her,” Sarah said, lifting her heels and bending forward so she can see more of the baby. “I honestly expected less, but she is in one piece.”
“Okay, that’s fair,” He chuckled caught between feeling offended or taking what she had said as a compliment. “For the record. This is the worst morning I have had in a long, long while and I don’t want this to happen again so she can start tomorrow, or this evening even, hell she can start right now. I don’t want to go through this again,” He batted his lashes.
Sarah was fighting the urge to laugh as she let her mind imagine how miserable he would've been. She turned away and then turned back to him and simpered.
“You are good with a lot of things, and for a fact, you are a genius, but this right here is a world different from the ones we know. I am bad too with kids so, I am not judging,” she said, ‘...although I wouldn’t do as bad as you would, surely,’ she thought. “We have that in common.”
“Right, this requires special knowledge and attention which a man like me utterly lacks and can’t provide. I never thought I could be bad at anything but today proved me wrong,” He sighed gazed at the baby.
“One question,” She raised a finger in the air. “You have a housekeeper, right?”
“Yes, why?”
“Well, if you could relieve her…” Sarah looked sideways. “I hope this doesn’t come out wrong, but since you didn’t ask her to take care of the child, it means you do not trust her discretion so, wouldn’t it be safer if she didn’t badge in on a nanny taking care of a baby in your apartment? I mean, I know what I would think, and if I wasn’t your secretary and if I didn’t care so much about your reputation, it would be such a juicy story to sell. Just imagine the headlines,” She splayed her hands in the air.
“I get the point alright, I will resolve that today, but that would be she will be a nanny plus housekeeper, right?” He raised his brows at her.
“She can manage both,” Sarah said. “Better safe than sorry, especially when sorry is the end of your career,” She as his eyes grew bigger.
He shrugged off the thought of losing all he had worked for. "Get her to come to the office tomorrow so we would discuss the terms."
"Will do, sir,” Sarah assured finding her way out of the office blinded by joy since Alita didn't lose the job. She couldn't wait to get home and tell her.
As Sarah approached the door to their apartment on her way home from work, she considered the possibility of meeting everything scattered like the previous day. Alita had most likely exploded again, and she was probably blaming herself for talking too much or something.Sarah considered calling Alita to inform her, but decided it would be better to inform her in person knowing dully well that this decision was at the expense of returning home to a wreck, just like the day before.Alita is a composed and well-controlled individual. She is almost always in the midst of everything and prefers to ride the flow of life to wherever it takes her rather than using force and being brusque, even when necessary. However, when she snaps, she truly snaps. She goes berserk and does things you'd never expect her to do.Sarah hoped she would open the door and see Alita. If she wasn't at home, she was probably at a bar, drinking excessively and on the verge of doin
Benson kept a close eye on Alita as she walked away. He promised to keep his thoughts pure, but as he silently promised himself, his thoughts were too quick, and his infatuation had grown from a smolder to full-fledged sexual fantasies.In his mind's eye, he had her in his arms and he was taking gentle nibbles at her neck. He'd do anything at that moment to satisfy his desires. Damn Ben, get out of your head, he told himself as he turned his face away from the door and closed his eyes tightly so that all he could see was a black space in his mind, but his thoughts were stronger than him, not that he wanted to fight it. His thoughts went on more vividly. It felt too real to be a fantasy.As his mind let him see, she returned and jumped him, wrapping her legs around him and kissing him passionately, and he is completely taken aback. He pressed his hands against her waist and wrapped his arms around her waist. He moaned as the warmth from her body sent chill
The first times you do something are always crucial and are usually etched in your memory. You never forget about them. As a result, you do everything possible to make a good first impression. So make sure you don't get labeled a loser on your first day of school, or you'll have to live with it for the rest of your life. Alita wanted to make a good first impression at work so she could progress from there. She got up early and dressed before she had to leave for his house. Benson had mailed his address to her, so she knew where to go. Sarah was surprised and impressed when she awoke to find she had already completed her preparations for her first day at her new job. The strangest thing Sarah couldn't figure out was why Alita kept staring at her wristwatch. Even stranger, she wasn't a watch wearer. Alita hadn't worn a wristwatch in a very long time. She simply does not wear watches. Sarah, on the other hand, kept her thoughts to herself, taking in and digesting what was going on. Th
10.It was the end of her first week, and Alita would receive her first paycheck at the end of the day. She was ecstatic and couldn't wait for the day to be over. She had already planned how she would spend the money.She had secretly planned a surprise for Sarah as a token of her appreciation for getting her the job. She simply had to do something. It was only right, and she was confident Sarah would do the same. Yes, because Sarah was a splurger, even if Alita would never admit it to her face. It's a good thing she had a steady stream of good money coming in from working for Benson, because otherwise their lives would be miserable. Sarah just never stopped to consider how much she spends and how it affects her. She only spends, which is fortunate for both of them. It had never had much of an impact on her. Sarah would see a shoe or a gown or anything she liked and go get it right away, regardless o
Nobody goes to work expecting a catastrophe or anything that will occur at some time during the day and then ruin the remainder of the day or even the entire week. We'd go to any length to ensure that everything goes according to plan. Benson was a meticulous planner who always followed through with his objectives. And on that particular day, according to his schedule. He was attending a VIP party to which he had been invited purely for the purpose of seeing a prospective client and discussing their business. He was opposed to the concept of throwing a party, but he persuaded himself to do it for the sake of the company.Benson disliked gatherings because practically every woman in the room would be smiling excessively at him from a distance, even if they weren't close enough to flirt with him, which made him feel uncomfortable. He never appreciates the things that he receives very easily, so the women that come to him and hurl themse
Alita pulled her thoughts away from the enormous burden she had placed on them.In the middle of her fight to forget what to had found, she walked past a boutique where she spotted a dress she felt would be perfect for Sarah and dashed in to buy it for her. As she checked it out, she hoped that it would draw attention to Sarah's femininity and indicate her appeal to others. The low neckline, the tightly fitted bodices, and the extravagantly designed skirt are all highlights of the dress. Sarah would appear bare-armed and stunning as a result of the reflective material.She bought the dress and hit the road again, this time walking much quicker than she had been. She couldn't wait to see Sarah test the outfit. She imagined the look of delight on Sarah’s face when she finally put the dress on.Keeping a smirk on her lips as she gripped the box that
13.Alita's heart sank when she approached Benson's house, asked the door open, and was greeted by Julie's screaming. As she rapidly made her way to Julie’s room, her eyes quickly surveyed the living room. She detected the odor of alcohol in the air and immediately knew Benson had been drinking. When she saw the fragments of a broken bottle all over the ground at the entrance to Julie's room, a shudder rushed down her spine and her heart almost stopped. Julie's sobbing was more audible as the door to her room was wide open."What exactly happened here?" She inquired into the air. Before reaching Julie's bed, she skipped between the shards of the broken bottle and stretched her hand forward. She took her up and held her, slowly bouncing about and tapping her on the back. Julie's shouts subsided to coughs and sniffles.Alita sympathized with her. She drew Julie's face to hers
It was Julie's room that Alita stayed in until it was time for her to go. She didn't want to run across Benson by chance and be forced to engage in the unpleasant conversation about how he is in a different shirt. she didn't want to be forced into having that talk with him. Alita believed that it was easier to just let things go. Simply leave it alone, and it will take care of itself, and everything will be okay. If you keep prodding at it, it will eventually turn into something regrettable. Simply leave it alone.She stayed in with Julie and only left to get something from the kitchen for Julie on rare occasions. She essentially snuck around the house till she was back in Julie's room again."Where would we even begin?" Alita inquired of Julie, who looked at her with a cute smile on her face and blinked at her. "It's going to be really strange and cutthroat unpleasant." "I'm just not able to." She made a motion with her hands.
It took a few days for things to come back to normal between Alita and Benson. It almost felt like the getting-to-know each other phase of their relationship just with serious sexing and less conversations, and she was sleeping on the same bed with him, yet.Alita had changed a bit in about a month they were separated. She had gatherer enough money to start her dream styling firm to incorporate her into the fashion industry, where she had always believed she belonged, which meant she had no time for nannying, although it wasn't all that necessary because she was used to taking Julie with her already. The problem was that Benson missed her presence more at home.They managed and in no time, came back to full connectivity.Benson kept his break up with Alita away from his mother. He couldn't afford her drama. And she was going to scold him for letting Alita go.Alita too didn't tell anyone. Sarah thought her disappearance was because Benson impregnated his ex-wife. She was shocked when
Benson stayed in his house almost emptying his bar. He switched his phone off so nobody would disturb him. He was devastated. He had been living a lie all the while. Many times, Sarah and Luke came to look for but he never came out. It didn’t look like he was in the house.He just had to call off their engagement. She went too far and he couldn’t live with it. He couldn’t help but imagine how his life would have been if Alita came out and told him she Julie was his flesh and blood.It was unbelievable. Chris had assured him that he was impotent and that they had tried everything but nothing worked. He had to know for sure and the only way to that is to go back to the beginning.For the first time ever since that day, Benson went out of the house. He went to the hospital to meet and confront Chris about what Alita had told. There had been too many lies and falsehood around his life in the recent days and knowing this one truth or lie, whichever it would turn out to be, would be liberat
“I was scared you would leave me if I told so I didn’t. This is me as I am, covetous. I don’t regret keeping this away from you but I am sorry I did. I mean it when I say I would do anything to keep you with me forever, and this—this was something I thought I had to do. I love you and I don’t want to lose you,” he peered into her eyes. “Please don’t hate me. Don’t stop loving me. I there were many times I wanted to tell you but how does a man walk up to his dear love and tell her to forget about any dream of ever having her own children?”“I knew, Benson,” Alita looked down as she pressed her lips together. “I knew if I stayed with you, I wouldn’t have any children but it didn’t matter to me because I love you so I stayed. I got so wrapped up in my mind with jealousy and contempt that it escaped my mind. I felt threatened and intimidated by her that I let her get in my head with her selfish words,” she leaned of the wall and held her hands in front of her.“You knew. How?” Benson’s br
The moment long waited for was there, and Alita wore a smile that evening as Charity stated she was leaving. It felt unreal that the whole ominous atmosphere was clearing already.“It is nice having you,” Alita waved her hand at Charity. “You can pop and high any time you want,” she lied.I don’t want to ever see you here again.As the door slid open, Alita shut her eyes and drew in a long breath, absorbing the relief in the air. She had missed the feeling. Her joy was cut short when she heard Charity’s voice.Haven’t you left?“I can’t go like this,” CHarity exclaimed, shaking her head as she shut her eyes. “I wanted to keep it to myself, but I just can’t,” she sniffled.Alita glanced at Benson, and he bobbed his head. “What are you talking about?” she held her hand to her chest.“He knows,” Charity pointed at Benson.Alita turned to Benson and batted her lashes numerously at him.“Know what exactly? Where are you driving?” Benson inclined his head and folded his hands across his che
Alita was shocked to see the door slide open. Benson just walked to his room, and they were the only two people that could open the door.She balled her fist, waiting to see the figure standing in front of the door. She couldn’t see the face of the woman but as the door slid wider, she recognized who it was.Freaking Charity!Charity was the least of people she could expect to see. Many questions raged through Alita’s mind but the most outstanding was how she could open the door.“Benson,” Alita Bellowed crossing her hands on her chest as she jotted her hips, giving Charity a once over.“Yeah, babe,” Benson answered from his room.“You have a visitor,” Alita pushed her lips forward as she swayed her body from side to side.“I don’t have plans to—“Hi there,” Charity flickered her fingers in the air, smiling excessively as she looked over at Benson. “I let myself in,” her eyes went round. She looked around and observed the living room. “Things have changed here, haven’t they?” she snic
At Sarah’s wedding, Alita wasn't the only one wishing to enjoy the bliss of a wedding day and, after it, the certainty that comes with elevating their commitment to a more permanent situation.Benson had the intention to propose to Alita the day he came back and met her in a pool of blood. He had planned it all head in his head. The band, everyone involved.He wanted it to be a prestigious surprise. She had always said she wished she was a princess, and he wanted to make her feel more than that. She was his queen, and he wanted to show her that she deserved to have everything she wanted.Benson felt he was ready to move forward with their relationship. She was perfect for him, and he needed to ensure that she remained his till the end of time.Before the morning he had intended to propose to her, he had planned how everything would go with everyone he thought necessary to involve. He would ask her out for a date and then surprise her when she got out of the house with her favorite ban
"Let's go on a date," Benson said pouring wine into two glasses form them. "We haven't gone anywhere, we haven't gone out ever since…" his eyes snapped close as memories of almost losing Alita to the jaw of death flashed through his mind–not sonething you wouldn't want to remember, not even randomly. "What do you think?" He asked.Alita's face lit up and she giggled sharply. "Are you serious right now?" She squinted at him as she extended her hand and collected her drink. She gingerly whirled the glass before a sip and moaning to the taste that surprised her. "This is amazing," she nodded and took another sip. "What in God's name do I say to that?" She pursed her lips and raised her chin, playfully scowling at him."I don't know," he laughed softly, looking the other way as set himself on the arm of the chair she was seated on."You must be high," Alita jabbed her finger into his side and he yelped moving away. "Should you when ask me about it? You could have surprised me," she scrunc
126Julie was Alita's only company as the days went by. As expected, everyone around her was distant. She would sit on the bed in Julie's room and talk to her, even though she knew Julie wouldn't understand what she was saying, it was comforting that she could talk to someone about the burden in her heart and how everyone all her loved ones were avoiding her.Sarah blocked Alita and cut all contacts from her. Alita went to their apartment and saw that Sarah had changed the lock. She went to Luke's house but didn't find anybody at home. It was while walking back to Benson's place that she realized they would have gone for their honeymoon.They say no mother could hate her own but it wasn’t looking like it for Alita. She hadn’t heard from her mother ever since her confession. He called but got no answer, texted but got no reply. She tried to go and see her at Chris’s apartment but couldn’t. One time, she was standing right in front of the door but froze when she raised her hand to knock
Dumbfounded and dwindling between anger and confusion, Benson cleared his throat. The place went absolutely silent. “Why didn’t you say anything about it? You could have told me. I feel betrayed right now,” he face-palmed. “I just want to go home,” he breathed heavily. “I can’t believe it at all. I just can’t believe our friendship was built on lies all this while. We promised to…” Sarah whined and cried. “All this while, Alita, I thought we were best friends. I told you everything and I thought you did the same,” she turned and wrapped her hands around Luke, looked up at him, and muttered, “please take me out of here.”“Please don’t leave me like this,” Alita extended her hand as she moaned. Her throat patched as she watched Luke lead Sarah out of the room. She was too weak to move and she couldn’t possibly follow after Sarah when Benson was there also preparing to leave.“Let’s go home,” Benson looked at Alita with pain in his eyes. She wiped her face and dragged herself up.Ivy sa