Chapter Four

My gaze fell to my phone which was on the coffee table. There were at least seven missed calls and three text messages from him by then. I wondered if I should give him a chance, just to explain things at least. I made a quick decision and picked up the phone but made a call to a different person instead.

"Hey Lara, are you free?" I asked as soon as she picked up.

“Yeah, just got home after some grocery shopping. What’s up?”

“I need to talk to you, in person.”

“Okay, is there a problem?”

“I just need your advice and I’ve got some news too.” 

“Alright, I’ll be at your place soon.”

An hour later, we sat on the sofa where we discussed my dilemma and simultaneously celebrated my new job over a box of pepperoni pizza. Omolara Koyejo had been my close friend for about six years. We met in secondary school and bumped into each other again at the university. Ever since then, we were inseparable.

"So, you're saying that Akin came to the restaurant with another woman?" Lara asked with eyebrows that were raised so high they were at least an inch away from her hairline. "I honestly can't believe it."

"Would I tell lies?"

“Wait, did you cause a scene?" Lara asked. “You know, throw his drink in his face or dump the plate of food on his head?”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

"I was tempted to do so but sadly, no. I simply got up and walked out of the restaurant and all the way home, at midnight.” I deadpanned.

"At midnight all by yourself. Well, that was really smart.” She said it with so much sarcasm that I felt stupid. “It doesn't seem like something Akin would do though, did he tell you what his reason was or who she is?"

That was when I hesitated.

"I kicked him out when he came to visit so I didn’t exactly sit down for all the details," I replied bluntly.

Lara sighed and shook her head like she should have seen that one coming.

"Come on Eni, give him a chance, at least let him explain."

I was silent for a while as I finished another slice of pizza.

"Okay, I'll think about it. Anyway, let’s move on to the good news!"

I gave her the details so far about the job offer. I was so excited. After all, it was the first serious step that would mould my career. I had big dreams of setting up a business, one that would be recognized nationwide, maybe even worldwide. I planned to start with a departmental store and then establish it to become a chain of stores that would go international.

I figured, what better way was there to learn how to succeed in business, other than learning and working under someone who had succeeded at it? So, a couple of months ago I went ahead and applied for a job as a personal assistant in the top three leading companies in various business niches and then to a few others as a back-up. I got a lot of rejection letters but those didn’t matter to me anymore.

It was late in the evening when Lara left and I had nothing else to do other than go to sleep. While in bed, I typed out a short text message on my phone and sent it.

Let’s meet, you’ve got some explaining to do.

Barely two minutes later, I got a response.

I'm very sorry, babe, please believe me. Just choose the time and place.

I thought about it for a few moments before I replied with an address and a convenient time.

I’ll be there.

I read his reply before I put my phone on silent and placed it on the bedside table.

Never did I imagine that we would face such issues. I could deal with anything other than infidelity. It hurt to even think that he could be unfaithful but I guess you could never really know someone as well as you think you do. I knew the meeting would decide whether or not there was anything left to salvage of our relationship.