Chapter Sixteen
*****
I woke up feeling refreshed by the next day. Being open minded and positive about how my day was going to be, I stepped into the shower, humming to different tunes as the water pelted my skin. The refreshing feeling made me not want to step out of there.
Kukuma sleep there ode...
A laugh eluded my lips as the thought slipped out of my subconscious self.
I picked out a pink chiffon top with a pair of blue jeans and put them on shortly afterwards. I had barely touched my phone, so I swiftly ransacked my bag surreptitiously hoping that my dad had called or texted, begging me to come home but I knew better than to expect that. He was a hard hearted man after all. No calls from mum or any of my siblings. Thinking of siblings, I hadn't heard from my newly married sister, she was probably too occupied in her honeymoon to give me a call and I didn't want to bothe
Chapter Seventeen****"So you're saying your father threw you out of his house, just like that?" Uncle Dayo, Tana's father asked rhetorically.We were all seated in the living room of their six bedroom duplex. Tana sat right next to me, while her mother, Aunt Aisha, was seated opposite us. Her father paced to and fro, a habit he had formed, whenever he was deep in thought.I nodded, fully aware of the fact that there wasn't any need to."I think Benson needs someone to talk to him..." He started."But..." He continued,reluctantly."He is hot headed, stubborn too" He stated finally.My thoughts exactly..."We'll figure something out, but I don't want you being idle dear" Tana's mum interjected."Me neither aunty, I'll have someth
Chapter Eighteen****** Same place, different time...I checked the time and it was about 7:45am.Not bad.Tana had dropped me off at the T- junction leading to the place, and I walked the short distance down to the shop. Striding into the dimly lit place, I could barely make out the figures in the room. I'd obviously came in after someone, probably the CEO. Suddenly the lights came on, and I saw the last person I had hoped to see, the rude lady from the previous day. Ugh.What a way to start my day. She turned to me with a scowl, I was beginning to wonder if her face was actually like that. "Good morning" I mumbled trying to force a smile whilst staring at her. She simply glared daggers at me and turned back to whatever she was doing with a hiss. I shrugged off her nastiness and w
Chapter Nineteen******"Here we are..." He whispered,patting my head softly. I found that amusing and I was affirmative of the fact that my face portrayed it, as Tunji just sat there mirroring my expression for what felt like hours."Why are you whispering?" I asked trying to hold back the laughter bubbling in my throat. His face looked so cute, it reminded me of Ayo, my very adorable nephew."I thought you were asleep" He said in mock surprise."I was just... Meditating" I said shutting one eye, curling my fingers and almost trying a lotus position even with my seat belt on.Silly me...Truth be told, I had slept for the better part of the ride, and had only woken up a few minutes earlier.I do not mess with my beauty sleep, alright..."Meditating indeed, come on we're here" He announced.
Chapter Twenty*****A wife beater, an abusive husband?!...I had begun to wonder if it was some sort of deja vu. Our mum had had to endure all of that during our childhood years and it was happening again to my only sister."Has anyone of them contacted you concerning my whereabouts?" Laila asked in panic. I shook my head in the negative, I hadn't received any calls to ask about her location but I knew it wasn't far fetched.My phone buzzed just a few minutes later, it was my mum. I picked up immediately and placed it on loud speaker."Titilola" She half yelled, sounding distraugh ."Mummy happy Sunday" I answered trying to sound as cheery as I could."Lola there's nothing happy about this Sunday o. Have you heard from your sister?" She asked.I stared at the two ladies in the room,not knowing how to reply, Ta
Chapter Twenty one******"Sorry,good day ma" I genuflected, immediately regaining my composure. She nodded in response, her eyes glued to the door handle that I unconsciously held tightly, suddenly nervous as a long tailed cat in a room of rocking chairs."Uhh... Come in" I moved a bit as she side tracked me, and entered the living room. I slowly shut the door behind me as I watched her take in the room with her eyes. It had been a while since she came over here and I was wondering how she remembered the place."Nice place, she has here" She commended obviously impressed by the decor of the room."Indeed" I muttered in response, wiggling my toes, and starting to rack my head for possible reasons why she would be here."Where's Tana?" She asked softly as she took a seat."She's..." I was saying, just then I heard a door open, and a pair of slippers k
Chapter Twenty two*****The uneasy feeling I had had within the last few days had hardly dissipated.Seeing David at Tunji's congratulatory get together made it less boring, we had talked and laughed for a while before he went back to his friends. The committee of friends as I fondly called them soon started leaving with their dates after Tunji gave a short vote of thanks, he was still tipsy at the time though. And before we knew it, he was drunk out of his mind. Tana offered to drive him home as he was too inebriated to get behind the steering wheel.I drove her car instead, I had never been to Tunji's place even when he lived few streets away from us. I guessed it was because he was always at his office.She didn't come home that night and when I called,she told me she went over to her parents' house. I didn't question her further, knowing she was safe.
Chapter Twenty three*****Recap:Laila and I visited our parents to sort out the issue at hand only to figure out it was a trap, Dad's on Yemi's side and wants my sister to get back with him and even wants them to stay over the night in the guest room. Laila and I were in the middle of our escape before hearing a knock on her bedroom door.*****"Lola!" Laila whisper yelled from outside, gesturing wildly with her hands that we had to leave immediately."Hold on" I mouthed just as I walked stealthily towards the door and opened it. I heaved a sigh when I saw it was Endurance, the maid from earlier."Mummy said I should ask you to come down with sister Tolani" She announced in good English, shocking me."Oh uhmm, she's using the bathroom right now but we'll be down as soon she's done" I lied."Okay ma""J
Chapter Twenty four*****From calls to texts and before we knew it, dates. I was referring to David and I, we had hit it off pretty well within the last few weeks especially after the baby shower and he had asked me out on a date. I was over the moon but I didn't admit it to anyone, especially, not him. Anyhow, Laila who hadn't met him was pestering me on a daily, she wasn't satisfied with the pictures and wanted to see the chocolate man with her own eyes. Her words,not mine.It was a Friday night, Tunji had been home earlier than usual,looking a bit distraught but he tried to hide it, with a cheerful face. The smile wiped off his features when I mentioned I was going on a date with David."A date?" He asked like the words were sour on his tongue."Yup" I said popping the 'p' while trying to straighten the small creases on my black body con dress."Why am I just hea
Epilogue****Wedding bells!!!As usual, I was in a frenzy to put everything in place.Tana was right after all, concerning a possible proposal after the grand opening. I certainly did not see it coming but I'm happy today is the big day.So, let me give the low down on how the proposal went. That night, we went for a celebratory dinner at a fancy restaurant for just close family and friends and while we were having dinner some romantic music came on and the groom popped out of nowhere professing his love with a long epistle and finally went down on one knee with a big rock and said."Tana, will you marry me?"Tana being so extra first had finish her glass of water before turning to her him and screamed a 'Yes' so Ioud even the heavens heard. We partied for the rest of the night, it was beautiful. That was just a month ago. Seems like Tunji was p
Chapter Thirty eight****I took a seat in front of her without breaking eye contact, I could tell she was surprised that I showed up at her office after so long."How have you been?" I asked coolly."Well. How have you been?" She replied in the same tone."Good." I said back and we both hummed. Our eyes settling on anything but each other."This is really awkward." She blurted out."I know right." I concurred."I'm sorry." We both said at the same time, only to be followed by tear filled giggles.I walked around the desk and pulled her into my embrace."I missed you so much." She managed to get out amid incessant sobs.Yup, pregnant Tana was an emotional Tana."I missed you too, so so much." I gave
Chapter Thirty Seven****The house was beginning to suffocate me. Every where I turned, I was met with faux sympathisers who moved about creating messes, with feigned sullen expressions. How pathetic!I sipped on my glass of water as I watched the workers scurry in and out of the kitchen to attend to the overly demanding guests. I held back a scoff when one woman audaciously made her way into the kitchen and not so politely asked for a snack for her teenage son who by the way, I wondered why he was present in the first placeI had never even met the woman in question before and trust me I had met lots of my parents' associates and I could still place their faces even without remembering their names. People are weird.I groaned in displeasure. There was too many people swarming around like bees and I wasn't comfortable, not one bit. I just wanted the day to be done and over with, nothing w
Chapter Thirty Six****That Sunday morning started off dark and gloomy, for reasons we could not decipher until much later.The church service had left me with a lot to think about. Pastor Ola had hammered on the message of forgiveness so much, I felt he was speaking to us, to me especially."Forgiveness," His raspy voice echoed in the large auditorium that chilly morning."Brethren, forgiveness is a mystery all unto itself but it does work miracles when extended to the recipient as well as the person who forgives." He exhorted, he went on, giving instances from the Bible and stores of personal experiences,"So, I implore you as a child of God, to let go of that chip on your shoulder and forgive whoever has wronged you." Pastor Ola ended his exhortation but his words rang in my heart even after the church service.Those words had defin
Chapter Thirty five****The weekend rolled by before I could even notice. It seemed like the days rolled by like that for a reason.I got out of bed, grouchy. I said my morning prayers, after which I picked up my phone, several notifications graced my sight. Client after client in my inbox on different social media accounts, trying to get in touch with me. This was a good thing, it had some good money rolling in but for the first in my life, I was in no way eager to show off my skills. This was not good. Ignoring the incessant buzzing of my device, I trudged into the bathroom to freshen up, and start the new day.I dressed up and made my way out of the room, locking the door behind me. I came to a brief halt when my gaze fell on Laila who was just stepping out of her room which was next to mine. She looked away from me, walked past and headed downstairs, like she did not just see me. I shook my head a
Chapter Thirty four****This feeling, this feeling was something I couldn't quite place my finger on, something words failed to describe, but I honestly did not want it to stop just yet. The butterflies in my belly probably sang hallelujah a thousand times over, the way he caressed my face as we kissed had me wanting more of his kisses. His tongue brushed my lower lip and I moaned giving him access into my mouth. I knew we had to stop at some point but me being caught up in the moment as I was, I fisted his collar, grappling it as he held on to me tightly. We finally stopped to catch our breaths, his forehead resting on mine. He stared into my eyes and I looked away suddenly embarrassed at how I conducted myself. It wasn't my first kiss but I surely had not been kissed for a very long time, if that distant memory was enough to go by.I mean, my crush and I had a moment back in high school where we confessed our feelings and our lips
Chapter Thirty three****I got home late in the afternoon, drained. After such an exhausting day, I wanted nothing more than heading into my bathroom for a nice long bath and cuddling up in bed. And as usual, my plans were thrown out the window the moment I stepped out of the lobby into the living room.My mood changed as soon as my eyes fell on the people present there. My gaze slowly directed itself to my mum who looked like a shadow of herself in the midst of the numerous visitors offering their condolences for her husband's ailment. News sure did spread like wildfire, our phones had been buzzing with phone calls and text messages ever since the tragic event from the previous night."Oh Lola darling, you're back?" I turned to the sweet voice that called me out. It was aunt Aisha,Tana's mum.I quickly plastered a smile on my face and went in for a hug."Oh sweetie
Chapter Thirty two****Here I was, staring up at the massive building that I hadn't been to for several months. Felt like just yesterday when I succumbed to working here without a clue as to the massive secrets that held me bound at the time. I wasn't totally free but I was finally in the know for the most part, no longer left in the dark, blind to all those happenings.I heaved a breath as I made my way inside, the sudden change in temperature taunting my nostrils and leaving me with goosebumps, it was freezing in here. I hadn't turned my air conditioner on while I was driving, I wanted to enjoy the wind, maybe if I did I wouldn't have been so affected by the office's temperature."Miss Lola?" I heard a familiar voice which I turned to immediately."Hi Stella." I waved with a small smile. She squealed and rushed over to give me a hug. That caught the attention
Chapter Thirty one****"Lola, Lola, wake up!" I vaguely heard my name being called in panic. What was going on? I answered drowsily until whoever it was shook me roughly."I'm up, I'm up!!" I yelled. "What is it?" I turned to put on my bedside lamp, only to come face to face with a disheveled Laila."Dad just suffered a seizure. They're taking him to the hospital right now!!!"She informed frantically. The news registered and I bolted out of bed without delay, Laila hot on my trail.I rushed down the flight of stairs, heading straight for the front door. The blaring of the siren from the ambulance overwhelmed me the moment I got out of the house. I saw him being lifted from the stretcher on to the trauma board. I took in the sight, he looked so helpless and vulnerable, to think he was alright that morning."Would you like to join the patient in the vehicle ma?"