Secret Betrayal

Episode 15

Wedding plans for Vera and
Desmond kicked off and
guess who would be the chief
bride’s maid? Your guess is
as good as mine. We went
shopping and bought all the
things for the wedding.

Everything was expensive but
Desmond didn’t budge, he
gave us money so liberally I
was wondering if it were just
the money from Shell he was
using for the wedding.

Then I learnt his community
of friends were a group of
money reeling lads. One of
his bosses had promised to
grant him a Class A wedding
ceremony, since colleagues
from the company were
going to be present. That also
meant he had to spend
without worries as he would
certainly make over ten folds
of whatever he’d spent.

I was by Vera’s side all the
time until the wedding day.
Meanwhile, Collins had been
on my neck to come visit him
again. I told him I had to be
around for Vera’s wedding. He
had to wait until after the
wedding and I’d be all his. He
didn’t like the idea but
seemed to have no other
choice.

On the eve of the wedding,
after we had retreated to our
hotel rooms, Vera had
insisted we slept in the same
room and I liked the idea,
since I’d have the chance to
find out from her why it didn’t
work out with Collins. The
very thing we’d never had the
chance to talk about again,
one that had left me in
trepidation of the future.

I had barely left the shower
when she came in. Vera
looked tired and needed a
bath​ and rest. I told her and
she admitted and went
straight to the shower. I
changed into my nightie and
started watching the TV. It
was a reality show. I was
almost engrossed when my
phone rang. It was d!ckson.

He was at the bachelor’s Eve
party and was wondering why
I wasn’t there. I told him I
wanted to rest and prepare
for the D-day.

“So do you mind me coming
over to pick you up?” He
asked.

d!ckson was just irresistible
but I needed time to talk to
Vera. I didn’t notice Vera step
out of the bathroom. She
grunted to announce her
presence. I turned to look at
her amidst my indecision and
she winked and nodded her
head. Conspiracy! I made a
jeering face at her.

“Hello! I’m still here.”
d!ckson’s voice twittered
from the other end.

“Oh, okay. But I wouldn’t want
to stay out for long.” I replied
and heard a muffled “yes” on
the other end.

In a few minutes he had
arrived and was poking his
head round the door. I had
dressed up and went to join
him. We went down and into
his car then drove off. We
drove around town idly, buried
in a very deep conversation.
When we got to Chisel Park,
he parked and asked for a
walk. I obliged. After all, he
was fun to be with.

He held my hand as we
walked through the brilliant
park with fountains and
flowers and lights
everywhere. Music crooned
from the speakers hidden at
strategic parts of the park.

Other couples either sat or
strolled round the park too.
We found a free casted seat
and sat down.
“Do you like this place?” He
asked.

“Sure,” I searched around
with a thin smile at the corner
of my lips. “It’s so romantic I
must confess. I hate to be
here.”

“You do? I can’t believe you
just said that.” He shot me an
incredulous stare. “Who
doesn’t like romance?”
“Maybe me.” I chuckled.
“Well, it would have been
perfect if I had come with my
boyfriend.”

He smiled and looked away
briefly. “Yeah, Vera told me
you have a boyfriend. So
where is he?”

“I don’t wanna talk about
him,” I snapped.
“So what do you wanna talk
about?”

“Just anything else, maybe
you if you don’t mind.”
“There’s only a little about me
that you don’t know. I think
I’ve told you all.” He folded
his arms.

“Hmmm? Sure? No girlfriend,
fiancée, or even a crush?”

He smiled. “I’m just a young
man who’s in love with a
woman and doesn’t know how
best to tell her.”

I laughed hard. “Who’s this
girl? Come on, just go ahead
and tell her. Look at you, she
might just be waiting for you
to open up.”

“You think so?” He asked and
I nodded. “Well she told me in
the middle of a conversation
she is in a relationship and
since then…”

“That’s nothing. So long as
she ain’t married yet,
anything can happen. That’s
women for you, trust me…”
“Fifi, I’m in love with you.” I
lost the rest of my words as
he cut in and continued. “I
don’t know how you feel
about this but it’s the truth.”
I was lost for words and
began to pick my fingers. He
held my face and stared into
my eyes.

“I… I’m sorry but it’s not
possible…” I refused to look
at him, “I told you I’m in a
serious relationship…”

“Are you now contradicting
yourself?”
I was short for words again,
“Look d!ckson, we’re not
supposed to be here. Can you
take me back to the hotel
now? Please…”

He quickly planted a kiss on
my lips and shut me up. I
didn’t react for a while and he
didn’t let go either. As I raised
my eyes and met his, I didn’t
know what happened, but I
shut my eyes again and
kissed him back.