Chapter 46I was filled with so much happiness. For the first time in a long while I slept without thinking too much about anything. My mind was free and I'm glad that we resolved everything. The morning was a peaceful one and we had breakfast as usual, this time it wasn't in silence. We had fun and Aaron was back to treating us like vegetarians.I got to work and I was still to hear the news of the new workers. The one that Bella talked about recently. Deep down I was scared because I didn't know how I was going to get another job, that was paying this much. I wasn't the type to rely on someone just because they were being generous with their money. I prayed that it turned out well in the end. I carried a tray to serve these young couples who looked like siblings. They were having these different views and it was obvious that one cared but the other didn't care as much. It started when they were choosing their meals, the guy seemed adamant about it. He kept saying things like,"You
Chapter 47 "I feel the world is so busy today." I tried to make sense of what Bella was saying. It was ringing as I expected it to. I shook my head as she laughed. We were walking home together after a long day at work, when we got to the bus station we diverted to our different lanes. I carefully counted every step as I sank into the brief silence the environment had. Not too many cars passed through years lanes it was mostly from those who lived here. It was towards the evening, the sky was filled with the hue of subtle orange blending in with pink. The sun was going to sleep as the sky drowned it burning flames, it was producing more beauty by the second. The wind was lush against my skin, I close my eyes and breathed through every gentle kiss. I quietly walked home as Foot In Front Of The Other by Griff, echoed unto my ears through my earphones. As I slow-walked, I swayed my body slowly to the beat, my hair carried away by the air leaving it untamed. The memories I held clos
Chapter 48I found myself bringing up several scenes of how the dinner would go. Like I haven't done that already. I knew it all boiled down to one thing, it could either end on a good note or a bad note. Nothing more. I didn't notice when the car stopped. We had already reached our destination. Elliot released his seat belt and came down from the car to get to my door. He has a passive look on his face but I pretended not to have seen it."Thank you," I whispered. I could feel my hand twitch as nervousness kept grinding inside me. I came down from the car, losing my footing. Before my body hit the ground, Elliot held me by the waist to stabilize me. I thanked him again, fiddling my hands together before smoothing my dress.I looked up at the golden plate at the top of the building. I tried to pronounce the name that was boldly written in French. Elliot backed me up."La Monet." I nodded. I wondered about French and Italian places. I've noticed that he always had the right connection
Chapter 49The night wasn't the most pleasant but the little act of kindness he showed made it worthwhile. The sweet feeling of his lips on mine and the after feeling of his cologne on my breath. I couldn't get over the feeling because I feel I had the same effect on him as he had on me. He was doing a really good job at hiding it. I didn't want to blur this feeling and memory that seemed to have a lasting effect. I hope he comes out of his head and accepts whatever his heart is telling him.It was a long shot but whatever the outcome is, I was willing to bear through it all. I touched my lips with one hand, and used the other, to ring the doorbell. I breathed into the cold air as goosebumps rose on my skin. I was beginning to feel an immense amount of cold. Seconds later, Kathy opened the door for me and I walked in. Several times, they have left this door unlocked, other times it is ajar as they were inside. They paid less attention to being vigilant. "You are not very security co
Chapter 50It is just windy but somehow my body temperature seems to go below, which made me cold. I was always cold and it was something I really calmly dealt with. Aaron seemed to always have it different, he hardly ever gets cold except the weather is below its normal temperature. I tried to breathe because my chest was beginning to tighten, leaving little space for air to stay in my body."I don't know why I have to deal with this. I might as well have an inhaler because this is becoming like asthma." Bella laughed. Although I was being serious, my sarcasm got in the way of that. I saw Bella on my way to work and we just walked down together. When I got in, the smell of coffee filled my breath, it was pleasant. Even with the difficulty to breathe, I could still smell the streams of coffee mixed with milk. I saw the freshly baked fried, I inhaled the smell and it felt like I was already eating it. It gave me the homely feeling, those lazy afternoons where you do nothing but bak
Chapter 51 My phone beeped, not just once but several times. I stretched in the bed, not wanting to check my phone but the sound couldn't just stop. I groaned, sitting up and itching my eyes. It was time to get ready for work as usual, so I checked my phone. The lock screen met my eyes. I checked that date, it was a Saturday. "I thought it is a weekday." I placed my head on my palms, breathing slowly. I was a gazy head, confusion was always the first thing I felt during these times, especially early mornings. I was happy I didn't have to work today because it was bad enough that I had a stressful week. I had worked through all week even on my off days. I opened the window and I let the morning air come in. I could sit and do nothing, I really wanted to relax through the day. All my emotions came rushing to me at once, it felt like little details were missing in the gap in my memories. Trying to think too much was causing a strain on my head. I got down from the bed, crawled my
Chapter 51I locked the door, stood by it, and rested my head backward. I breathed out deeply, a bit too excited although I wasn't sure why. It made me think why anybody does drugs when you can just overdose with so much joy and excitement. It was still a cool Saturday, but the reality that Aaron was going to be leaving for school soon, hit me. We decided to see Dad one more time before he goes. Ever since we agreed on it, he has been quiet. It felt awkward but then I really didn't know what to say. Where should I start comforting him? Knowing Dad's critical condition, it pained him that he was going to be far away from him. I'm here with Dad, which means that Aaron was going to be breathing on my neck with several phone calls. That was beside the point, he wouldn't get to just see him like he used to and always be constantly worried. I guess I have too many people to worry about. We stepped out of the house and got to the bus station. Because we were still very hungry, we got a
Chapter 53I came downstairs and waited for him. Kathy gave me a weird look."Come on, if you have anything to say just say it.""Nah, I do not." She slurped her tea.The doorbell rang, and I knew who it was already. I grabbed my clutch from the chair and hurried to the door. I saw him dressed simply. He wore light blue long sleeves-and black trousers. His hands were in his pocket and I tucked my hands in his arm as he smiled at me. We got to the car, his driver was standing at the door, then he held out the door for us to get in. When I looked closer, I saw his face. Drew."Why is he here?" I thought.***The memory of Kathy and Drew filled my head. I kept flipping pages of them together. Was he aware that Kathy had a boyfriend? Since she was still trying to figure out how to let go of one, it would be difficult for him to notice. Then, I was confused about his intentions for her. Does he really like her or was he just as arrogant as his friend here?I was still fixated on my thoug
Dear wonderful readers, I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to read my book! Your support and enthusiasm mean the world to me. Without you, book one could not have been the success that it is. I am grateful to have such amazing, dedicated readers like you. It thrills me to announce that there will be a book two! I am so excited to continue this journey with you and bring you more of the characters you have grown to love (and certainly some new ones too!). I promise to keep you on the edge of your seat with even more twists and turns. Again, thank you for all that you do. I appreciate every kind word, review, and recommendation. You are the reason why I write, and I cannot wait to share more of my stories with you. With love and gratitude, H.B Temilorun
EpilogueZora lost track of the fluorescent white bulbs that skipped past her as she lay on the stroller moving at a high speed. She had hoped that keeping count of them would be able to distract her from the pain that throbbed through her entire system. Her eyes were half shut and her throat hurt from screaming so much.She looked around her and studied the crowd of nurses that had gathered around her all pushing the stroller through the hallway of the hospital. She was pregnant, yes, but she knew she wasn’t that heavy so she couldn’t understand why there were so many people blocking her air.She inhaled loudly in a desperate attempt to take in all of the lavender and disinfectant-filled air into her lungs before letting it all out with a loud scream as a new surge of pain rippled through her. She wondered why it was taking them so long to get to the theatre.She reached for Kathy's palm which sat beside her pushing the stroller as well and she squeezed it tightly as the pain continu
Chapter 128.Aaron rolled my suitcase through the airport lounge as we went to check in, the queue wasn’t long so I was able to finish quickly and I dropped off my baggage and collected my boarding pass then he waited for me while we ran through passport control and security clearance and then I returned and we all headed to the waiting area.My flight announcement was called soon after and we all got up from our seats. “That’s our cue,” I said as I turned to Aaron and I could see he was biting back his pain. “Um, so take care you guys and be safe, oh and eat a lot of good food too…” he trailed off and pulled me into a tight hug immediately, I hugged him back and squeezed him gently.“Hey, it’s not even that long you don’t have to be a crybaby,” I teased. “I’m not crying,” he said, his voice cracking. We pulled out from the hug and then he hugged Kathy next.“What! That doesn’t make any sense,” my words flashed through my mind as I watched them. Kathy was already on the airline's we
Chapter 127.I could barely keep my legs straight as I looked at him and I was scared my knees would give in and I'd fall to the ground. I had gone to the wedding with all confidence hoping to say my mind with a straight face and walk out with explosions behind me like I was in some Tom Cruise movie.But as soon as I walked into that room I felt as though my backbone had split and I was leaning on a thin shard, if I wasn’t cautious I would crumble to the ground and it would be an absolute mess. But I knew better than that. I had already crumbled and there were no tears left to cry, but now that I had hit rock bottom I could only go up but I had to cut any strings holding me back for that to happen.And Elliott was a massive fucking chain.He was even more beautiful as he stood there in his black tuxedo and I couldn’t help the envy that crawled at the back of my neck. I would’ve given anything to be in Sharon’s place, but then again that’s not why I was there.I stood up straight as I
Chapter 126.I stood in front of the mirror with a small smile on my face as I dusted the bottom of my dress. Kathy stood propped at my door frame staring at me warily. I ignored her. I had made up my mind on what I was going to do and I was not interested in what anyone else had to say.If everyone was so bent on me moving on, then they should allow me to do it my way. “This is a crazy idea,” she blurted out, finding it hard to keep a cap on her thoughts any longer. “Kathy, we talked about this,” I said, my eyes still on the mirror.“I know we have but is there seriously no way to talk you out of this? I mean, everything about this is wrong,” she waived. I turned to her and rolled my eyes. “You promised you would respect my decision no matter what it was, saying it's wrong isn’t very respectful don’t you think,” I hissed. “Besides, I kept to my side of the deal. I’m going on the vacation aren’t I?” I added and she heaved a sigh as she rubbed her temples.She was worried and I unde
Chapter 125.I sat on the couch breathing in the coffee-filled air into my nostrils as I held the cup of freshly brewed coffee to my face. There was a calming effect coffee always seemed to have on me and I hated that I couldn’t drink it all the time. It wasn’t like there were any healthier alternatives.It was either that or alcohol.Aaron walked into the sitting room and sat beside me as I finally brought the mood to my lips and slurped loudly. I hummed inwardly as the bitter-sweet taste massaged my taste buds and the warmth reverberated through the walls of my mouth before sliding down my throat. I let out a satisfied breath as I closed my eyes. “Hey sis, can we talk?”Can’t I just have my damn coffee in peace?The past couple of days had been filled with countless pieces of advice and lectures, mostly on my little brother’s part. I knew he cared about me but I couldn’t understand why he was hell-bent on letting Elliott know about the baby and why he refused to understand why I jus
Chapter 124.I rounded up my chores for the day, dusting off surfaces and spraying air fresheners in the different rooms. I was just about to retire to my room and take a rest before heading for the shower when I heard a light tapping on my door. I froze for a moment as I wondered who it could be. Kathy and I hadn’t been getting visitors for a while so I wondered if it was a friend of Aarons.My chest began to beat harder as another possibility crossed my mind. Maybe Elliott had gotten tired of waiting for me to text back and had come to me himself. If that was the case then I was screwed. I wasn’t sure I would be able to successfully keep the truth about me having a baby from him if we got into a heated argument.I shrugged it off immediately, there was still tension in the media, and his marriage to Sharon was still being talked about everywhere. Elliott was a smart man, he wouldn’t risk coming to my place at such a time.Well, there was only one way to find out who was at the door.
Chapter 123.At this point in my life, I wasn’t sure I could handle another shocking news.It felt as though I was in a tragic slice-of-life drama and I was the main character. There was absolutely no other explanation as to why amid everything that was going on I stood at the hospital with results from a pregnancy test in my hands.And it read positive.I had gone to the hospital to get a prescription for nausea or fever at most but instead. I found out that there had been a living thing in me for two whole months. My mind flashed back to moments when I had felt dizziness and fatigue but I thought they were from work-related stress or at most the effect of mourning my father in an unhealthy manner for so long.Meanwhile, I was pregnant. I couldn’t even understand my emotions anymore as I stood frozen on a spot while the doctor explained the result with a wide smile on his face. Ordinarily, I would have been happy, no, I still should have been happy no matter the circumstance but the
Chapter 122.Time travel doesn’t exist. That statement felt like a hoax the following days after I met with Elliott. I felt as though I had been plunged right back into the past. A past I had struggled to crawl out from only a few months before, a past that left me devastated and locked up in my room was now replaying in the present.Only this time, there were no flowers or midnight texts, this time I was truly alone. I couldn’t see a future for myself anymore, part of me knew that there was still one for me but how on earth was I supposed to get there after all I’d been through?I’m only human and there’s only so much I could take so why on the earth was the world so unfair to me? Why was I being saddled with more weight than I could lift? What on earth had I ever done to be treated like this? Was it so wrong to fall in love?I missed the old me, strong, independent, self-willed, and determined, and whenever I thought about it I realized that the greatest mistake I had ever made was