**
Aria rushed out through the door before he would change his mind and try to stop her again and headed straight to her corner where her things were already arranged inside a small brown box to be carried away.
She continued to pant nervously as she leaned against her desk, trying to steady her breath a bit.Straightening up to her full length with a new kind of fire burning in her chest. She picked up her box and turned to walk away and stopping only to say her final goodbye to her follow colleagues who were more than shock to hear about her decision before heading out.Once outside the building, Aria was beaming with happiness. She has never felt so free in her entire life as she continued to walk towards the direction of her car.Her feet was light on the ground as it hit each pavement outside in the garage. She was practically floating at that moment. Aria felt like a caged bird that has finally been set free to sore high above the great horizon.She continued to walk with her head held so high as cool breeze caressed her cheeks, congratulating her victory or stupidity, as her ever conscious mind had so reminded her but she brushed it aside as she came closed to where her Toyota corolla was parked.Placing her box at the passenger seat. She took one last glance at the magnificent building that has being like her second home for the past six years now and gave a half smile that barely reached her eyes and a single salute before getting into her car and leaving it all behind.*
Aria was forcefully dragged out of her slumber the next morning with the constant ringing of her alarm.She rolled over, gave a loud yawn and full body stretch before grabbing her lens from the night stand and putting it on.
She glance at her table clock and realized it was just 6:30am in the morning and instantly regretted her decision to leave the alarm on. That time was meant for days when she would hurry off from bed and off to work and she had no reason to do so at that point which why interrupting her beauty sleep at point onward has to be stopped.After turning it off and placing it back against the table. She reached for her phone lying just across from it. Sleeping across the phone screen, her eye lid shot up in alarm the moment she saw the numerous list of missed calls on her phone that came in while she was asleep.Thank God the phone was on silent.She could only guess why judging from the names of the callers reflecting against her screen. Ten was from her mother, three form her father and the rest happens to be from her brother Larry who havent even in touch with her for years now.She bet the news of her resignation has gotten to them as well.Oh well, facing any of them at the moment isnt even part of her to-do list so they can definitely wait. She has other things to do like shop for new clothes and put her life in other.Placing her phone right back where she had picked it from, she jumped off the bed and slipped her feet into her flops before dancing her way over to the bathroom,humming to whatever song that came to mind.Since she was already up, she batter get into her morning routine as well as she proceeded to having her shower as well.Thirty minutes more and she was fully dressed in a plain oversized Tee that was paired with jogger pant and seating at the stool in her kitchen while waiting for her breakfast to finish warming up in the microwave.While waiting, she decided to look through some fashion blogs online for tips and color mash up and accessories to go with. Aria wanted to change how she dresses to match the way she felt on the inside.She wanted colors to compliment her brown olive complexion but not in a slutty way but enough to make her feel comfortable and modest.
She quickly rushed over her breakfast when the alarm went off indicating it was ready. It was around 10am still when she was ready to head out for the day.She strapped her brown leather sandal around her feet with her swing bag containing her credit cards and grabbed her car keys before heading out.It was going to be a busy day ahead.**Few hours later, she returned back to her apartment with bags and bags of clothes and accessories to go with that barely fit into her arms as she stood fidgeting with the door lock.After trying on some of the clothes she came home with, she fell back on the bed feeling exhausted and burned out. New messages and calls seems to be piling up more when she took another glance at her phone screen. With a deep sigh, she stashed the under the pillow and pulled off her glasses and followed by her shoes. She was feeling too exhausted due to how long she had to spend going through so many piles of clothes to get what she want for herself. Some were either too revealing or to short.It was all worth it at the end of the day because she was feeling pretty proud of herself and everything she returned home with.She let herself relax fully on the bed before blinking lazily a few times. It wasn't long before she finally dozed off.Aria woke up to her phone ringing on repeat. It was barely just an hour since she fell asleep and must have turned off the silent mood unknowingly.She didn't have to look at the screen to know who could be calling as she had set apart a ringtone for her Mom who also happened to be the caller at that point as well. Speaking to her seem inevitable and the further she pushes it off, the more difficult it would be for her to explain things to her.She let the phone rung away before redialing her number while bracing herself for some serious scolding. It wasn't even up to another heartbeat before she heard her Mom's voice answered from the other end."Have you lost your manners? Why in the world have you refused to answer your calls Aria?_do you have any idea how worried your father and I have been because of you?" Her mother's high pitched voice had stunk her ears through the receiver causing her to cringed internally."Mom! Mom please calm down for God sake or you are going to damage my hearing for sure" Aria had first tried to reason with her mother was still raging mad at the situation at hand."My God Aria_first you put in your resignation and then you refused to answer any of our calls and all you are worried about is me causing damage to your ears? I believe as your mother, I deserve more than that"Aria couldnt very much sense the disappointment in her voice at her statement but she wasn't about to allow herself be manipulated either. There was absolutely nothing she could say to her mother at that point that would justify her crazy ass attitude or without her thinking she needed some sort of deliverance from whatever has taken hold of her and making her act without thinking of the consequences."Mom please,can we talk about this some other time?because it's obvious now is not a good time""Now is not a good time you say?" Her voice that of sheer disbelief."Yes mom because its obvious you are upset""Of course am upset. Your father is angry if not furious. Do you have any idea how hard it was for your father to secure that job position for you that you so easily threw away without as much as a second thought? Of course am upset!""I can only imagine Mom so how about you help me apologize to Dad on my behalf while I call you some other time so we can all talk when we are less upset and angry"Aria had said in a bit to get her Mom off her back but she wasnt having any of it."Oh no young lady_don't you dare hangup on me because am still talking to you and you haven't given me a reasonable explanation as to why you could be so reckless"
When she couldn't take it anymore, she quickly hung up on her Mom but not before before blowing her a good bye kiss. "I love you too Mom, please try not to be upset. I will call you soon"
Aria sighed in relief the moment the call like went dead. She could very much imagine her mother's reaction at that point but what else could she have done. Listen till she is forty? Because that's exactly what she has been doing all her life and she was already thirty!Thirty and alone! And she was done listening at that point.Aria was thirty years for crying out loud, not thirteen and has every right to decide what's best for her life and what doesn't serve her anymore without anyone sounding like she has committed a crime against humanity.She could very much understand her parent concern but she wasn't as stupid as to walk out on a high paying job without doing as much as saving up.Aria has enough money saved away to do whatever the heck she wanted but that not even top of her worries. She has this sense of loneliness crawling all over her skin and needed to connect back to the world as soon as possible.Aria has been isolated for way too long. She was in serious need of comfort and friends. The last time she spoke with Lizzy, she was on the verge of moving over to her city. All she had to do was find out if she was around so they could finally meet up.Aria quickly searched her number and called her up but it just kept ringing away without any answer. She ended up leaving her a message instead, hoping she'd call back as soon as she heard them.She fell back on the bed before her eyes caught sight of the to-do list on the wall as she went over the remaining items she was unable to get.The painting on the wall was already worn out and needed new ones and some art decoration for her living room as well.First thing tomorrow morning, as soon as she was up and had her breakfast, she would head out for them but right now, she just lay back and sank deeper into the bedsheets not willing herself to think about anything else.She wanted nothing more than to sleep her thoughts away. It was already past her bed time.*This particular morning was just like any other in the Okoji's enterprise. The only difference was the overwhelming tension looming around in the air.There was no indication that something off the radar had happened in the company to put their boss in such a bad mood other than the departure of one of their favorite colleague Aria.Whispers and rumors seemed to be going from mouth to ears among the staffs, each wondering if the tension with their boss was because of Aria's departure from the company or something bad had happened and could make them loose their job as well.Some of them had rumored that she left because she was fired even though she has done nothing wrong while others were adamant on the fact that she left because she couldn't take his bossy attitude anymore.Some have always wondered how she was able to survive all those years working in such close proximity with someone as demanding as their
Aria's POV. ** *It took Aria exactly three days after the encounter with her mother before she finally summed up courage and spoke with her father over the phone again. Surprisingly enough, her father was rather understanding and patient while she tried to explained her reason for doing what she did without him feeling her reason are completely delusional. He only advised her against the consequence of her actions just in case she hasn't thought of it yet. He even asked that she travel home for a visit because it was obvious she was going through a rough patch in her life and needed her family to be there for her but Aria couldn't have it his way no matter how tempting that sounded like. She wanted to do things for herself this time without anyone advising or telling her what and what not to do. Going home to her family is totally out of the equation eve
** Aria drove all the way to the island where the bar is located. The bar happens to be a normal zone where people go out with friends to drink during the day but at night_it's a different ball game. Housing all the night crawler in Lagos who like to party from dusk till dawn. Aria had to park at the far end of the parking space due to how crazily parked the place was. She looked herself over in the rearview mirror, making sure her makeup was still in tact before she got down and adjusted her gown a bit before walking towards the entrance. Loud music was booming from inside as she proceeded further into the building. She retrieved her ID from her clutched purse and handed it to the bouncer at the door before she was allowed to walk inside. Aria took a deep breath to steady her mind the moment her eyes settled on the crowd of people scattered inside the slightly dim hall.
**"Miss Davis?" His voice resounded in her ears yet again and jolted her back to reality. Her eyes traveled from his face down to his fingers that were tightly wrapped around her wrist before settling back on his face again in disbelief. Aria was a nervous wreck at this point as they stood staring at each other. "How_how did you?" She began to stammer but he caught her off guard with a question of his own as he pulled her another step closer. "I should be asking you the same question Miss Davis but_" he paused and looked at her more intently and even sniffed the air around her. "Are you drunk?" He asked her with a frown before releasing his grip around her wrist. "Me drunk?" Aria had asked with a giggle and staggered backward, away from his intimidating presence but still close enough to smell his cologne.She could recognized it an
**Aria lay coiled up in this king size bed that was just so extra soft and comfortable, enveloping her in this warm bubble and luring her senses into a much deeper slumber. Speak of serenity. She snuggled closer into the warm duvet wrapped around her and signed in comfort before she quickly dozed off again. Fifteen minutes later, she was startled by a sudden movement beside her and was jolted a little but not enough to wake up as she only rolled over on her side and continued to sleep peacefully. Jezz... It wasn't long before she felt something poking her from behind and not withstanding, she scooted towards the edge and just kept sleeping_not willing herself to be bothered at all by whatever the heck that was. She was sure the world was still fast asleep for her to be awake. After all, she ha
** Not once did she look back or bother to listen to whatever he has to say next as she kept rushing out with quick steps. All she could think about was getting as far away from him as possible. Aria has been scarred for life!Fifteen minutes down the road and outside the building, she was seen waving down a taxi to get her home. It was already 7:30am and the sun was yet to crawl out of its hiding place giving her a chance to get home before her nosy neighbours does. Once she was seated at the back seat of the taxi, and even told the driver where she was going. She just leaned back against the side window not willing her mind to dwell on anything else. The last thing she remembered was Lizzy begging her to stay a little longer with her at the bar last night and nothing else. It was as if a thick dark fog was hovering around in her head and clouding her memory from peeping through.
** "What are you doing here?" "Can I come in?" Frank asked with a puff of breath. Aria only scoffed at his audacity. "Can you come in you say?_how did you even find me?" "Please! Just hear me out" he begged and took an inch closer and causing her to back away from him in fright. Aria could barely stand the man presence not to mention having him another inches closer. Her decision to unlock her front door was a bad one she regretted every bit of it. "If you are here to talk about what happened between us then just go away. I just want to forget it ever happened so please spare me the details" She was about to close the door at his face before he reached out and stopped her half way. "No_wait please! Just give me some few minute. That's all I need" She was momentarily lost in her own t
**Aria stood at her doorway with arms akimbo while staring back at a smiling Lizzy who seemed completely clueless about how betrayed and hurt her friend could be feeling. Lizzy reached out and pulled Aria into a bear hug and just kept holding her. She pulled back after a while and scanned her face over with careful eyes. "Oh my God Ari. Are you Okay?" Aria said nothing in reply. She still couldn't understand why Lizzy was acting as though she was worried about her when she could have done all that last night and kept her from falling prey the previous night. "Say something girl!" Lizzy had shook her over the shoulders. "What do you want me to say?" Aria had snapped angrily at her friend and even broken free from her hold. Lizzy was shocked at her reaction and decided to ask why she could be act
Seven years has gone by so quickly_and nothing has changed with the Okoji's as they seemed to be growing side by side and deeper in love with each other with each passing day.Frank was still the perfect husband and father to their daughter. Even his staffs at the office could swear that he was now a better boss than what he used to be. With the new promotional policy that include a fat cheque and family trip to vacation outside the country during the holiday season was enough to make him the best employer of each year.To say everything was moving on well was an understatement. Their lives was close to being perfect.Aria on the other hand would visit her parent occasionally with her daughter so she could get to meet her cousins and grandparent. She decided to quit her job at the publishing firm at some point just so she could focus more on spending as much time with her family as she possibly could while taking up writing as a side hobby.Her litt
Thirty minutes later, Frank walked into the private room where Aria was admitted and placed little Evergreen who was still sleeping in her carrier on the sofa right beside the bed.Feeling overwhelmed and emotional, he plopped down beside her on the bed before caressing the soft skin on her cheek.The heart monitor was beeping as if it was counting her heart beat on a steady repeat. Her oxygen tube was sticking out of her nose uncomfortably. Aria chest was barely rising and falling under the sheet she was nicely tucked into.Aria looked more asleep than in a coma. Her thick mass of brown hair was brushed backward and hidden under a blue hair net to avoid getting in the way.Her skin look really pale without getting much sunlight as she has been kept in that room for way too long now. The white curtains covering the window was half drawn to allow only a bit of air into the room.Frank took hold of her IV free hand in his and gave it a little s
*Frank felt awfully uncomfortable as he sat between his mother and best friend in the nearly filled courtroom with a clenched jaw that clearly expressed his dislike for being there.He rather be home with his daughter or at the hospital with Aria but that moment was because of her and missing out on the final court hearing against her captor was not an option he'd like to consider.To think that Henry was pleading not guilty to all the charges levied against him, causes every blood running through his vein to boil with anger and the hair on the back of his neck to stand on edge.Henry has no single act of remorse in his heart not even after all he has done.Aria was in a pitiful condition because of him and it would be over his dead body to see him walk out of there, a complete free man. He already made sure of that by hiring one of the best attorney he could find.His lawyer, barrister Roland_ has assured him that Henry wasn't gettin
Frank sat with blood shot eyes as he searched Sandra's face for anything that proofs that all she had told him was nothing but pure lies from the pit of hell but the more he looked at her, the more he realized it was nothing but the absolute truth.His hands was balled into a tight fist by his side with muscles trailing the walls of his neck at the shocking revelation.Frank was beyond livid at that point as he was struggling against whatever anger that was coursing through his veins at none other than himself."How?" He growl at her."It's all started when you left for London and your father offered me a job to be his secretary. I thought he did it because of how close we were but sooner than later_I found out his real reason for doing it" she took a pause before she continued. Her eyes barely meeting his due to the shame and guilt that was all too visible to the eyes."I tried everything possible to resist him but not for long because you were go
**It's been two whole month already and Aria still hasn't woken up from her coma. Even though the doctors had assured Frank over a month back, that her chances of waking up was pretty high but even at that, she still hasn't shown any sign of waking up other than the little twitching of her hand that had occurred more than twice during his frequent visit.The doctor had explained it to be her reflexes but Frank would rather not give up on her recovery_reflexes or not. That was the only proof that she was still in there and could also hear him talking to her too.Frank made sure to visit every single day as the hospital was practically his second home at that point. He spend most of his time there beside her bed and making sure she was getting the treatment she needed.He wanted to be right there when she wakes up. The first person she looks at and have her know how much he has missed her and finally be able to see her beam her charming smile at him
Frank had arrived with Aria back at the hospital some minutes later and refused to leave her side even for a second as he was mounted protectively by the door of the theatre.Both his mother and friends stood beside him in silent. No one was willing to say any word out loud as their head was hanging low in silent prayers for everything to turn out well.They had endured so much during this few days and couldn't bear to face any more than they already had been made to go through."She will be alright man" Kelvin had assured him with a gentle tap to his already tense shoulders.Frank only gave a small nod in acknowledgement. Probably too overwhelmed to say anything as he continued to glance ahead.Lizzy stood by the far left beside Frank's mother with tense shoulders. She could barely look Frank in the eyes when she was let in as well. Her guilt was eating away at her grief.Lizzy couldn't believe she had played a part in her friend's misfortu
**Frank continued to pull relentlessly at his restraint over and over again while trying to break free and reach for Aria who had passed out cold on the bed at this point.She hasn't lifted a finger since Henry had abruptly left her on the bed and hurried out the door without a word.Frank knew something has gone wrong and was dying to get to her and began dragging the chair he has been tied to across the floor in a bit to get to her. Even though he kept calling at her, he wasn't sure if she could even hear him which only fueled his need to break free.He was half way across to her when Henry returned and rushed over to her side on the bed and scooped her into his arms for a moment before placing her back gently against the bed."What's happening to her" Frank had hissed angrily at him but Henry gave no reply as his only focus was on Aria and getting her to respond somehow.He cursed under his breath a few times after he felt
*Aria has no idea how long Henry has been gone but she knew he'd be back soon and had to move faster. She hurried back to the bathroom and searched for anything sharp but found only an old toothbrush stuck at the trash can and quickly retrieved it.Breaking off the edge against the hard floor, she rushed over to the door and began to use the edge to pick the locks in hope it would come off.She could feel the hard imprint of the locks pressure, pressing against her palm but she was far from giving up.It was either now or never.She was half drenched in sweat and her own tears by the time the lock finally came off. Her joy was short lived when she felt another wave of pain shot through her and making sure to draw a wail of agony from her lips.The contraction was becoming more frequent than normal. She noticed the warm liquid trailing down her thighs and knew her water has broken.The inevitable was about to happen and
*"So where are we travelling to" Aria had asked Henry out of the blue still munching on her chicken.A little smile creep up across his face at her question. He wasn't expecting it but he was happy she was showing interest in his proposal.He was expecting her to resist some more and not agreed readily. But either way he was eager to give a reply."We can travel to anywhere you like. Just say the word and we are out of here" he spoke enthusiastically."So you are telling me that you'd throw away your career and whole life just to run away with me?""Not exactly but for now, yes!. We can always settle somewhere and I could start up a clinic there" he explained with a thoughtful look in his eyes.Aria only replied with a small nod. Still deep in thought. She was processing a lot at that moment without giving away anything.If Henry was willing to give up everything then it could only mean one thing. He won't hesita