Episode 19
The next morning, Diana wakes up before everyone, she goes to the kitchen, opening and closing the fridge and cabinet.. bringing out pasta, raw meat and condiments.
The perks of staying in a rich manâs house, it is always stocked.
She set about making breakfast, she wants to do it before everyone woke up, she wanted to leave them no choice other than to eat what she made, she was a good cook, that she could pride herself in at least.
By the time she was done, she heard the door opening and closing, she covers the pot and exits the kitchen and heads back to her room.
Mama Tito didnât see her leave the kitchen as she began to tidy the main parlour.
She quickly showers , arranges her room, adorns one of the new cloths he got her, she wears her ring, then she pauses staring at it for a long time, a bittersweet smile on her face. Sighing she leaves the room, she meets Emeka coming down the stairs.
âMorning Deeâ he reaches her, pulling her to him, instead of kissing her he dips her and places a kiss to her forehead and raises her up, she smiles
âI didnât know you were taking dance lessons..â
âOh well, I need to be able to dance for our wedding now abi?â
She looks up to see Olive coming down, her face changes, she looks at Emeka, he seeâs the reflection of Olive in her eyes, he read her mind âNothing happ-â
âI trust you, but stillâ she cuts him
âI know, I asked you to come with me last night you said noââ
âBecause I trust you and I know you wouldnât do anything you shouldnâtâ
âAnd what do you think he did?â Olive leans forward âYou going somewhere this early Dee?â she mocks
Diana ignores her, she raises her hand and brushes Emekaâs shirt âCan I tag along, I need to go see a friend, my car isnât here yet so..â she trails off
âSure Dee, anything for you, let me grab my briefcaseââ
While he goes upstairs Olive takes the remaining steps down â Doesnât it bother you, that I spent the whole night with him⊠maybe even helped him shower?â
Dianaâs jaw flexes, âNo!!â
âWhy?â
âBecause men like Emeka are rare and they wonât fall for you even if you are standing naked, his little boy wouldnât even standâ Diana stated matter-of-factly folding her arms.
Olive stares at her, her lips curls into a smile, and then she laughs a slow-too-loud laugh
âWhy are you laughing?â Dee frowns
âOh no reason just that..â she steps closer âWho told you itâs a little boy, for a woman who is territorial about her man, you know nothingâ with a wink Olive walks away
Diana turns to watch her leave sharplyâŠ
Does that mean.. does that mean Emeka and her are⊠areâŠ
She was going to follow her and demand to know what she meant when the stairs cricks, she turns, it was Mercy coming down, she was dressed, she was probably going to her shop. Another time Olive.
âMama, good morning. I am going out, I want to go see my friend, but, I have made breakfast, please come eatâ
Mercy doesnât answer her.
Diana turns and walks away, at least she wasnât shouting at her. She enters the kitchen âMama Tito, I have already cooked breakfast, so you donât need to stress yourself, let me help you set the tableâ
Mama Tito opens the pot to look into it, she frowns âYou would have left it for me, you donât know what they like to eatâ
âIf they taste it they would like it, my fiancĂ© wants to head to work so he has to eat first, come, let us set the table â
She walks away lifting trays and plate..
Mama Tito sighs following her.
Emeka comes down to meet them âHmm something smells nice, what did you cook Mama Tito?â
She looks at Diana, âI wasnât the one who prepared itââ
âBaby, please come eat before we leave, Mama , please â
Mercy was reluctant and she showed it.
âMama?â Emeka turns to her âAt least appreciate her effort, hmmââ
Mercy goes after a few minutes to the table, Diana dishes and places the food before, she places Emekaâs own toO, she dishes another plate⊠instead of giving it to Olive she seats down facing Emeka.
Olive smiles, she gets up and makes her way round the table âYou must realise that this is Emekaâs house, not yours⊠you may be wearing that ring but you arenât his wife..â She dishes herself a plate, taking a seat and putting food into her mouth
âYet!!â Diana cuts stiffly
âPlease ladies,â Emeka steps in âby the way Olive when is your trip backâ that was pleasant news for Diana, Emeka could see the smile spreading across her face, His motherâs was one of sadness
âOh in a few daysâ Olive says between mouthfuls
âOkay, remind me so I book you your ticketââ
Diana looks up smiling at him, finally, she would leave, thank God
âOkay Emekaâ
Mercy reluctantly puts the food in her mouth, it was nice, she could cook, doesnât mean anything though.
An hour later Emeka is driving out with Diana in the car, but she is frowning, âYou seemed happy to see me this morning, now you are frowning with us alone, speak to me Deeâ
âAre you sleeping with her, Olive?â
âWhy would you think thatââ
âBecause, because she said your..your..erm, she insinuated that..â she trails off blushing
He laughs âOlive was just pulling your legsâ
âWhat sort of joke is that, what do you both do in that room at night?â
âIf you are so bothered why didnât you come to me last night as I requested, I was going to send her to the guest room but you refused, why are you acting jealous right now!â
âI am not jealous I just donât like the fact that a woman who claims to be your friend is insinuating that she wants you all to herself and she is sleeping on the same bed with you and knows the size of⊠you knowâ
âYou wanted me to send her out of the room? You know it was my mother who asked her to stay thereâ
âYes I know and yes in fact I do know it was your mother and yes I want you to start tonightâ
âDone! Happy?â
âHappier when she leavesâ
âShe is leaving, answered prayers!â
ââYou have no idea!â
âSo where are you going to now?â
âTo see my friend, Grace, I donât think you would remember her, she used to be my best friend in school, she is-â
âI remember herâ he states making a turn into her streets, he looks at his side mirror, no matter how many times he tells his securities not to follow him when he is driving alone, they donât listen, he could make out their cars a few cars behind him, he sighs, perks of a rich man. He shakes his head, Diana is talking
âOkay, wow thatâs nice, well she is my great friend, I am sure she would want to see you too, she would be my chief brideâs maid and allâ she claps her hands together smiling from ear to ear
âWhatever makes you happy!â
When he finally stops the car, she turns on her seat âYou have a good day in the office okay?â
âOkay, you too!!â
She stares at him for a few moments, then she leans and kisses him lightly on his lips and steps down, Emeka turns away, a frown replacing his smile as he zooms off, he wipes his lips.
âCome in Diana, but sorry I am a little busyâ Grace opens the door for her and steps away, Diana is looking around, she drops her bags
âWhat is going on here, why are your things packed into boxes? Donât tell me your landlord asked you to leave? D–n, your rent expired a month agoâŠoh dear!!â Diana grabs her to hug âWhere is Jnr?⊠look you donât have to worry I will ââ
âNo silly, well yes my rent had expired but that is not the reasons I am parking into my new place, already moved some things, Jnr is with the babysitter at the new house, I needed time and space to move my things without him disturbing me, the truck would soon be here to take themââ
âI donât getâ âDiana seats down âDid the a—–e of a father finally take responsibility? Oh wait he proposed, has he left his sluts and finally want to settle down, take care of his kid?â
âNope!! And he has a nameâ
âI donât care, he is an a—–e, an a—–e he isââ
Grace smiles shaking her head, typical Diana, see everyoneâs fault spot on but not hers âI got a job, accommodation and an officially car, good pay⊠the whole shebang!!!â
âoh weeeeeeehhh that is niceâ she stands up and hugs her friend âSee, you arenât entirely poverty stricken, check you out now⊠so where is this place, how much is the pay, where is your address so we can celebrated the new houseâ
Grace pulls away frowning , âDid you see Emeka Yesterday and todayâ
Diana knocks her brow âYes, why? What does he have to do with anything?â
âA lot! Emeka gave me a job yesterday and made all of this happen, I got my life back because of him and I am no longer at the mercy of Tobi, junior gets a better bright futureââ
Diana is shocked then she seats down slowly âFor real?â
âYes!! We ran into each other yesterday, one talk led to another, and viola!! This morning I got the call, they said I should move in immediately, I got the keys, I got the car⊠and a full months pay alert⊠isnât God.. God? Isnât Emeka a blessing? oh I am so happy I wanted to call and tell you but figured he must have told youâ
She shakes her head âHe didnât, he was the one who dropped me off, he didnât mention it even when I mentioned I was going to see my friend and called your nameâ she fingers the ring staring into space, her mind troubled, her heart filled with a different sÂŁnsat!on she hasnât been used to.
Grace stares at her, looking at the big diamond ring, then her mouth drops open âItâs a lie, he proposed with this?⊠oh my God!â Grace squeals as she held Dianaâs hand and gushes over the beautiful ring , after a few minutes she pauses âShouldnât you be jumping all over the place Diana?â
Silence.
âWhat is it Diana?â Grace is worried
Diana stares down at her hands, âThat is what I want to talk to you about, I and his mother had a talk, no more like, a talk down. His mother said some bitter things to me, really bitter, so many awful things to me, about me, about himâ
âWere they the truth?â
Diana nods
âAnd how did it make you feel?â
âShame!! Guilt! Remorseful, maybe disgusted about the person she described me to beâ
âMaybe you do have a heart in there after allââ Grace says more to herself than to Diana
âAnd now, everything I do or think weighs down on me, she told me how Emeka suffered a lot, both of them, him especially having double pain of his father and me, the way she spoke, from a place of pain and anguish to have watched her son go through so much and I wasnât there to give him a shoulder when he needed me Grace, I wasnât there..â she sniffs, her heart pulls, her eyes tears up, she sniffs again, she wipes at it.. why the hell was she crying? She sniffs again and wipes her tears.
Grace is shocked staring at her, was she crying, was Diana really actually crying? Wanda!!! What did his mother say? What words of her that had caused Diana to cry, Diana never cries about the pains she causes another, not even about a man.
âAre you crying?â
She shakes her head and wipes her eyes âTell me, am I a bad person Grace? Was I everything she said, was I? I was young and stupid and did everything I did for fun, for money for material satisfaction and it was great. I didnât think twice when I left him, didnât regret when I said all those things to him ten years ago, I didnât think of him ever for those ten years. I jumped from one man to another chasing the money and yet where did it leave me? Alone, sad, miserable without one sticking it out to love me for me, and after ten years I am still that stupid girl, who chases men for their money and not for love and⊠I may remain so because I have no love in my heart, not even for the one who loved me then, not even for Emeka who still loves me now. This ring, itâs beautiful. Itâs expensive, same as everything he got for me yesterday, treating me like a lady, his woman, his queen and ..and â she lets the tears flow..
âAnd what Diana â
âI feel nothing, nothing. Other than shame and guilt, and it all started when his mother told me who I was to my face and I couldnât say anything to defend myself because itâs the truth. Everything I touch hurt and breaks, I broke him Grace, I broke the boy that loved me, and I will break again this man who loves me still and I⊠I feel shame and guilt for what I am about to do to himâ she cries
Something had changed with Diana, she never feels remorse, she never felt nothing for this men she ruined and used and takes what she can from and leaves, she was heartless and she didnât care. But could it be, could it be she is already falling for the man Emeka and she has no ideaâŠ?
âHow about you donât do it Diana?â
âI canât , I already started, I want to marry him, I want to enjoy all that he has, I want to bask in his splendor and his wealth, I⊠I deserve itââ
Grace shakes her head âDoes he deserve you Dee? Does he deserve someone who wouldnât love him for him, his heart, his body, his entirety? Does he deserve someone who would only stick it out with him when the going gets good and not until forever and for worse, does it feel good knowing you are lying to him? Ask yourself, if truly his motherâs words touched you in places no one could, donât you think your guilt and shame means anything?â
âMeans what?â
âThat you have started developing feelings for Emeka?â
She shakes her head âI donât love him?â
âDoes this Olive⊠when you see him close to her, does it make you jealous?â
âYes, it does! I even have nightmares of them together!!â
âThatâs a first sign of having feelings for someone when another is trying to take your placeâ She stares hard at Diana âDo want to hurt him the way you did before? Ten years ago?ââ
The tears roll out âI wanted to, I wanted to take it all, gather as much as I could as his wife, and leave him, because I donât stay with one for long, I wanted toâŠbutâŠright now I donât want, I donât want to hurt him the way his mother told me I did. I wasnât there, I dint see his pain, I only wonder what went through his mind then, how he managed to pick himself up. I donât want to anymore, I donât want to marry him when I am lying to him..I⊠I â She cries â I donât know anymore grace, I feel shame and guilt, that is why I donât want to push him with this Olive, because maybe she was his friend when I wasnât⊠I am tolerating her, she even insinuated they slept together â
âDid he deny it?â
âYes!!!â
âMaybe he is telling the truth, even if he isnât, you left me for so long, you canât crucify him one woman from his past who was there for him , you cheated on him countless times, I am not justifying his actions I am just saying, trust is betterâ
âBut I felt this certain pain in my chest thinking if they are together, every time I hurt, I feel this pain and his motherâs words, as though her prayers were pricking my conscience. I donât want to hurt him I donât, but I also donât want to leave him, he treats me like a lady, cares for me, shows me love, he even stood up to his mother for me and made her accept me even though itâs a long journey, now, he gives you a job and a better life, without being boastful about it. The maid in the house? He takes care of her and her son and God knows what other good deeds he does.
Emeka⊠Emeka deserves all the love and happiness and genuine-ness and perfect in the world⊠and I am far from it, I am. He wants to get married to me but how do I remove this ring that he bought and I love but yet, it weighs me down with guilt?â
âYour materialistic nature and your new self is at war! You are used to this life of material desires doing things that are untoward of a lady, and now..now.. you donât want to anymore. Something is changing in you Diana and I suggest you embrace it. If you truly you donât want to hurt him? then break line and go , break it off, tell him you are sorry, tell him the truth, it would hurt but now he wouldnât have to go through that pain as he did before⊠he would be free, do it Diana!!!â
âI canât! I canât see him with another woman â she cries âI donât know what is wrong with me, I donât even know why I am crying, it just wonât stop, I donât know what I am feeling and why I am feeling what I am feelingâ she cries more
âYou have feelings for him Diana, and if you want to be true to yourself, if you want to truly give this a chance you have to let go of the intention that you came with into this with. That bad intentions, that material atitude? Love for money? All this bad let it go. Love his mother for real, care about his life, love the man and not his money because when a man loves you and the woman he loves gets his heart, he would give her his world and all of his would be yours, but first you need to let go of you Diana, that bad side, let go, seat him down, tell him how you feel, be honestâ
âI donât know how I feel!ââ she sobs
âWell, neither do I, but all I see is a different Diana than what I used to know, and that is a good thing, I am thankful for his mother, she would have no idea what her words had done to you because you needed to see and hear the damaged you had caused another before you begin to reach out to them again, think about it Diana. if I were you, I would leave, forget about him, give him closure and let him start his life a new even with this Olive girl, but if you have started having feelings for him, then you need to let your bad intentions go and love the man for him, strip him mentally of his riches and wealth and just these and love the man Emeka, trust me, everything else you want and never even asked he would give you.â
Diana cleans her eyes, but the tears doesnât stop, Grace pulls her into a hug âWhatever you do, do the right thing Dee, do it right for once!!â
âI donât know what is wrong with me why the hell am I crying?â Diana repeats
âSssshh, there there Dee, there there!â
There really was a God in heaven, she didnât think she would ever see Diana change.
ââSir, Mr Ambross is on line oneâ Agnes knocks on the door and puts in her head âAnd Mr Tayo is hereâ
âLet him inâ
He clicks on the blinking light âYes Ambrossââ
âGood afternoon Mr Odinaka, how are you today? I sent in some reports, have you taken a look at it, our sales are shooting high, just two weeks we are counting profits, its very exciting Sirâ he laughs
Emeka looks up as Tayo walks in âYes I saw it, I think you all are doing a marvellous job, and the Anex project?â
âThat is underway, we released about NGN10 million for it, construction is on track, shipments arrived yesterday, the company paid in the full this morning, that is why I am calling you Sir Odinaka, I also want to thank you, this morning I saw our work and then seeing our bank accounts, it is amazing, in just two weeks? Itâs really overwhelming, never made so much in yearsâ he laughs
Tayo seats down listening,
Ambross continuous â And to crown it all, all those investors that left us because we were down, they are back, old and new wanting to do business with us, especially knowing that you Mr Odinaka Uchendu are our new investor, we are getting calls from them wanting to be part of the company especially for this Anex project that we would be doing with the Chinese Government. Ha Sir, you wonât understand. I will send you the reports of accounts by this week too, itâs amazing, I havenât made this much money in my few years of working but with you and everyone else coming, in two weeks? No there is a God somewhere, I am, back to my stand, I am richâ he laughs
âHold your horses Mr Chikurdi, you forget that my profits would be made from there too?â
âOf course sirâ
âI hope you arenât planning to run with my own money?â
A long laugh âNo of course not Sir, but ermâŠâ
âWhat is it?â
âYou know, I sold my house and erm..ââ
âI thought you said you werenât going to sell it?â
âWell, we were indebted to the bank and other things, so I sold it to pay off some debts and I wonder if I can borrow some amounts of money from the companyâs account, I will pay backâ
âYou just took some amount of money according to the reports to pay salaries, outstandings for the past 8 months and miscellaneous â
âYes sir, it was necessaryââ
âThatâs a given. Okay how much money are we talking about?â
âAbout NGN30 million naira, I will pay it back Sirâ
Tayo was about to say something but Emeka shakes his head âI invested some huge amounts of money back into your company Mr Chikurdi, which was nothing⊠barely scarps I got it out of the gutter, you had nothing, nothing like not even a kobo, in two weeks my money made it what it is now, you havenât even begun to make money from your end, nor invested any naira, now, a few millions are coming in, thanks to me and the first thing you want to do is to take a loan? For what if I may ask? It is your company yes, but it is my money, can you be able to repay the millions I have invested in a week?â
âNo sir!!ââ
âCan you even dream to make that amount of money in all your years put together?â
âNo sir!!â
âYou said it, you havenât ever made such amount of money even when the company was in its glory, now, barely two weeks, instead of allowing the money to accrue much, and you keep putting in back and make more, you want to take out!!â Emeka raised his voice âI wonder, is this what you were doing to the company right from the moment you took the company? No wonder it ran into the ground, no wonder no one wanted to help you, why? because you are more concerned in taking and taking and not given into investments. what the hell do you want to do with NGN30 million for from a company that was nothing two weeks ago, donât you have any sense Chikurdi, are you planning to ruin it again with my investments in it?â
âNo sir, I am so very sorryâ
âYou said you sold your house, how much did you sell it for?â
âĂbout er..NGN15 million, but I have other debts I have to cover, and a new house would cost over that amount and car and..â
âThen you go to the bridge and stay if you donât want to get a house as low as your mentality!!â
Tayo tries not to laugh,
âSir, I erm,.. you know I am a married man and my wife, she woman has needs..â
âThen you have no knowledge on how to run a business, I will pull out my resources, because it is apparent that this would end up from where I picked you up from, the gutterâ
âNo sir, please sir Odinaka, I am so sorry, in fact I do not want the money anymore, in fact, I have seen a house that is okay, I will in fact invite you for dinner soon, in fact sir I-â
Emeka cuts the calls,
Tayo whistles âHe is greedy, a shameless thief and a miserable father, forgive me for ever having pity on himâ
âYeah? You are forgiven!â
âSo you bought his house NGN70 million, you put agents and listed a house for sale the same day he goes out looking for a house, he gets that house for NGN30 million, he goes to buy a car for him and his wife, thatâs about another NGN15million gone, he got for her parents and paid their rents .. another NGN20 million gone. Soon, basically the fool spends all his money and is left with NGN5 million if I calculate it right, tell me, how the hell did you plan all these people to know who he is going to contact and you end up taking NGN65 million of your money back.?â
Emeka is smiling âI am a business man Tayo, and I put a lot of planning into this, I have affiliates with some banks, I own shares in some companies and I have bought some companies off people without changing the name, so you may walk into a place and have no idea that I own it, dealers come to me to buy and import cars for them, and I own fleets off cars in garages where it is sold, they buy from me. The houses listed is from my real estate management I began two years ago, the company builds houses and sells it, the company is mine, so you see, he just bought back one of my houses, and my cars, so I wasnât a fool when I okay-ed you and Tammy to sign off on the NGN70 million because I knew it was coming back to meâ
âHmm, but something doesnât make sense, the house and the cars are his?â
âNo!! For a few days yes, but no they are not his. There are always clauses in the files and agreements and release forms, written in full, but someone as impatient as my father and as incompetent as his lawyers always missâ
âYou were lucky the first time, how did you know they would miss it the second, third and fourth timeâ
âEasy, we give them an offer too good to be true; You see a house that should go for more than the price itâs been offered for, but it goes for less, you donât want to lose it and they give you a limited time, you get to decide or you lose a chance of it being yours, what do you do? You quickly flip through the documents, check for the okay necessary things, it suits you, you donât bother with the clause written in view, you pass it, itâs unnecessary. Tell me brother, when you want to read some things or sign up for things online, do you ever, ever read through the terms and conditions or you just click on i agree?ââ
Tayo smiles nodding his head, understanding âI donât bother, too long, too much mumbo jumbos, I click I agree without readingâ
âExactly, I bet you 90 percent of people do that, and he is one and apparently his lawyer is thinking of how much he gets to make so he doesnât bother, I mean half a million for that deal, he would click the agree to it and that is what they didâ
âYou are smart. So what next, what is the clause exactly?â
âYou know what happens when you keep yam in front of an hungry goat?â
âIt eats it?!â
âExactly! I will use his weakness against him, and that is when the clause would kick in, and it wonât be long, I checked him out, found out how he lost everything in the first place, he did everything a man of greed does, spending on frivolous nonsense and not looking to invest in his company, borrowing and spending and the circle goes on, I want him to do the same and seeing him and this call? He will do something worseâ he smiles âThe clause would take effect by month end with or without if he takes the bait, those investors he is happy about were sent by me. But by the end of the month, that is when I plan to uproot Chikurdi and I would do it on the same day with Dianaâs ââ
âAnd about that, how is it going?â
âBetter than I expected, I think she has been bitten by the love bug, I see it in her eyesâ
âWow!! I didnât think you could pull it offâ
âWell..â Emeka laughs âSo, Tayo, how would you like to see Diana Nkenchior, the woman who shattered the boy and birthed the man who wants nothing other than to shatter her to pieces like she did him once before?ââ
âI would love toâ
âI didnât think otherwise, how about on the engagement day, epic yes? Wear your best suit!!â
âReally thought out!! I would have it starched for the occasionâ Tayo replies, they laugh.
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