EPISODE 10
Soft jazz music filled
the room and in the air was the scent of richly perfumed candles. She blinked
again and got off the bed. She was naked. Her clothes were not sprawled on the
floor. They were neatly folded on the couch by the wall of the bedroom. She cringed
as she started to recollect what happened the night before.
“Good morning.” Toba
said walking in. He was dressed for work in a suit and tie that fit him
perfectly.
“What time is it?” She
said, searching for the clock.
“Not to worry. Your
last day of work was last week Thursday. You can stay in bed today. Idris will
go to the market to buy foodstuff. You can give him a list of whatever you need
to make us dinner today. Your parents and mine are coming over in the evening.”
She heard everything he
said and she was starting to have a headache trying to assimilate everything.
She remembered what
happened the night before. He drove her to his place and locked her in his
bedroom. He started to drink and say a lot of horrible things to her. Then he
pushed her to the bed and despite her screaming and scratching, he forced
himself into her and wouldn’t stop for such a long stretch of time. He did it
twice and threatened to go again if she didn’t stop weeping.
“I’m going to the
police. You raped me. I’m going to put this out on social media, Toba. I am
going to ruin you. I don’t care how powerful your family is. You kidnapped me
and raped me!” She started to weep.
He went over and sat
beside her.
“I just couldn’t resist
you. You’re so beautiful, Tony.” He held her face. She pushed him off.
“I’m not going to marry
you.” She said.
“Yes you are going to
marry me. I think March will be a good time. You should start thinking of a
date to tell our parents this evening.” He said.
She tried to get off
but he pinned her down.
“What do you want from
me?” She cried.
“Your loyalty, you
whore!” He yelled angrily.
He stood up and ran his
hand over his head.
“What? How dare you?”
She continued to cry.
He grabbed his phone
and opened a link then threw it in her laps.
“Oh my God!” She
screamed. She recognized what this was.
He sighed.
“I felt bad for what I
did. But this? You’re a liar. A hypocrite. A two-timing manipulator!”
She cried as he
sprawled out those hurtful words.
The night before, when
they arrived at his premises, he started to apologize again then he got a call
from one of his friends and he excused himself to answer it. He said it was
important. She was still sitting in the living room, trying to figure out what
was going on when he stormed in and pushed her into the bedroom and locked her
up. She hit the door and screamed and cried. They were alone. His houseboy only
worked 6am- 6pm. No one could hear her because he had loud music playing in the
living room.
She looked at the clip.
Jimi had finally made good on his threat. It was the sex clip. Her face was
very conspicuous. So were her buttocks and her breasts and everything else. The
video had been edited to read “Lagos Big Boy Toba Akinyemi’s Wife-to-be is a
cheerful giver”. Jimi’s face was also shown. He had nothing to lose. She
couldn’t help crying.
“I…I’m sorry. I didn’t
know he was going to send it to you.” She cried.
“I thought you would try to convince me and say it is photoshopped.” He said angrily.
“I…”
“Maje sent this to me.
He said the man in the video is your ex and he sent the video to him because he
knows it will get to me. He’s asking for Two Million Naira if I don’t want the
video to go on Instablog and all the other blogs.” Toba said.
She went on her knees
and held his legs.
“Please…I should have
told you. I’m sorry. It was once…and it was that time we had a fight. Please.”
“You did this and you
still had the right to be mad at me for chatting with Feyisara. I didn’t even
sleep with her after that first time.” He said.
“Babe, please.” She
cried. “I was confused.”
He chuckled.
“At least we are even
now,” He said. “I need to get to work and sort things out.”
She nodded.
“What should I make for
dinner?” She said in the midst of tears. She knew there and then that she no
longer had any choice.
He grinned evilly and laughed.
“Any nice three course
meal for your parents and your in-laws.” He said.
She nodded. She was not
a good cook. But that was not the time to say anything about that.
“Oh my God!” She
screamed. She searched for her phone. She couldn’t find it anywhere. It was
Monday. Her meeting with Mrs. Pius was for 8a.m at her office in Ikoyi. The
time was about twenty minutes past 8 already. Her head still hurt horribly. The
migraine seemed stubborn.
“You’re looking for
this I presume.” He held her phone.
She reached for it but
he took it away and put it in the inner pocket of his jacket.
“Toba please. I have
the job interview today. Please.” She cried.
He shook his head.
“I told you I don’t
want a career wife.” He put his hands in his pockets. “There’s Forty Thousand
Naira with Idris. If you need more money, ask him to call me. Don’t think you
can run away. I’ve asked security not to let you out.” He gave her one final
look of disgust before he walked out and headed downstairs.
Dinner was a
collaborative effort of Idris and herself. She had decided on bread and pepper
soup as appetizer, Jollof rice and chicken as main course and fruit salad and ice
cream as dessert. They were easy meals to make and she thought it would impress
Toba. She was still making the fruit salad when she heard him drive into the
compound. Her heart skipped beats out of fright. The Jollof was not yet ready. She
hated the situation she found herself in. Her world was crumbling faster than
she had ever imagined. All day she had cried and thought of Mrs. Pius. Her
chance had gone out the window just like that. The woman would never take her
seriously. She thought of Dan but there was no way to reach him. She didn’t
have his number memorized else she would have used Idris’ phone to contact him.
Kiky changed her number a few months back and she didn’t know it at the top of
her head. Her parents were the last people she could call. She didn’t want them
to have any idea about what she had gotten herself into.
“Welcome.” She said as
she saw Toba open the kitchen door.
He looked at his watch.
The time was 5.50pm.
“Idris you can leave as
soon as the food is ready. Tony, go get dressed. We are meeting our parents for
dinner at Eko hotel.” He said and headed for the bedroom.
She stared at Idris in
confusion. Idris looked confused as well. He didn’t know what to say.
“Madam no vex.” Idris
said. That was all he could say. He knew obviously that she was not a kitchen
champion and he felt so much sympathy for all the time and effort she had put
into making the dinner happen.
She smiled and left for
the bedroom. Toba was getting out of his work clothes.
“Hi.” She said softly.
He turned to look at
her.
“Hey.” He said blankly.
“Why did you change
your mind about dinner here?” She said.
He shrugged.
“I changed my mind.” He
said.
She sighed.
“Toba please. I’m
sorry. I’m sorry I accused you of all that. I’m sorry about the video and
everything. Please. What do you need me to do? I’m really sorry. Please…just
let me go. Don’t let me make this harder for both of us. If we break up he
won’t have any reason to ask you for money. Please.” She pleaded.
He pushed her aside and
went into the bathroom.
***
She was wearing the
same outfit from Sunday night. She didn’t have any clothes at his house and she
hadn’t gone back to her own apartment. Thankfully she washed her underwear in
the morning and dried them with the Drying machine in the laundry. The drive
down to Eko hotel was loud with silence. She could literally feel the ice berg
poking in her heart from the cold attitude. When he parked, he closed his eyes
for a bit and then looked at her.
“They’re here already.
If you mention a word of what happened, trust me you will regret it.” He said.
“Toba…please…why are
you doing this?” Her voice shook. She held his arm but he shook her hand off.
“Here’s your phone.
Tell them your battery was drained if they ask. They might have tried to call
you.” He handed her the phone.
It was switched off.
She switched it on as she got out of the car. Toba held her hand as they walked
together into the reception and he helped her as they descended the wooden
staircase leading to the restaurant downstairs by the pool side. She was a bit
confused at his gesture but then she realized it was to hide the dirty laundry.
Of course, their laundry was soaked in extreme stinking filth. She wondered how
many more disguises would cover it up.
She went on her knees
to greet his parents and she hugged her own parents. The whole kneeling thing
was just to show the in-laws-to-be that she was cultured. She knew her mother
would love that for she could see her beaming with pride already. Her father
asked if she was okay. He noticed she wasn’t her usual bubbly self.
After some introductory
talk and ice breakers, his mother went straight to the point. She asked if they
had picked a date. Toba looked at her. He had food in his mouth.
“Um…February ma.” Tony
said reluctantly.
“Oh…that’s good. That’s
less than four months from now. These children.” His mother laughed. Her mother
joined in on the laughter.
“Such short notice to
start coughing out huge sums of money.” His father said and all the parents
burst out laughing.
“So is February for the
traditional wedding or the destination wedding?” Her mother asked.
Tony looked at Toba.
He cleared his throat.
“I have an announcement
to make.” He said.
Everyone’s attention
turned to him, including Tony’s. Her heart was skipping beats. She had never
been that nervous.
“Go on dear.” His
mother urged.
He smiled.
“I am calling off the
wedding.” He said.
They were all silent.
Not because they chose not to speak but because they didn’t know what to say.
Tony didn’t know if to be relieved or not.
“Ki lo sele? Are you
fighting each other?” Her mother asked and his father asked same as well.
“With all due respect
sir,” He looked at her father. “Tony is a loose woman. She is a dog and I can’t
marry a woman like her. She is absolutely undomesticated and I thought I could
live with that but I can’t be with a woman with no morals…no virtue…” He went
on.
She wanted to faint.
She wanted to pass out on the spot. But it wasn’t happening. She started to
weep.
“Are you insane, Toba?
Chief…” He looked at Toba’s father. Tony’s mother put her hands over her mouth
in surprise. His mother looked just as confused too.
“No I am not. You might
want to have a look at what your daughter is dishing out to men!” He opened the
link on his phone and placed it right in front of her father. Her mother peeped
to have a look. His parents tried to stretch their necks to look at what was
going on.
“Toba, please.” She
couldn’t control her tears. She was shaking. Her head was spinning and spiralling out of control.
“The man she slept with
is asking me for Two Million Naira if I don’t want this circulated on social media. I’m not paying
a dime. I had a meeting with him today and told him to circulate it if he wants
to. I have nothing to lose.”
They all heard the
sound of her moaning in the video. She couldn’t bear it. She ran over to her
parents’ side and smashed the phone on the floor. An infuriated Toba got up and
slapped her.
“Will you stop this
rubbish! How dare you lay your hands on my child!” Her mother interfered.
His
parents were still in shock. His father tried to hold him back. They were starting to cause a scene.
Her father was quiet.
She saw his eyes filled with tears. She had been trying to avoid this. She had
brought shame to the man who loved her most. She went over to him and knelt but
he got up and left.
“How could you! How did
you let this happen?” Her mother cried. She looked at Toba’s parents who were
looking very confused. In the midst of all the confusion, at least one thing
was clear. There was no longer a wedding.
People started to stare
so his parents got up and left with their son. She went with her mother who was
trying to catch up with her father. Their driver had brought the SUV to the drive
way and her father got in. He called her mother to get in too.
“You’re not the girl I
raised anymore. I am ashamed of this person you have become. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
Those were the last words
her father said to her. She saw her mother crying and pleading all to no avail.
…
An Uber had brought her
home. The migraine wouldn’t go away. She didn’t know what to do. She
called
Kiky and told her everything. She wanted to know if her father had calmed down
yet. Kiky said they were not yet home. She missed Feyisara but she couldn’t
have a friendship with her anymore. She checked her phone and saw some missed
calls from Dan. She figured it was about the job with Mrs. Pius. She wanted to
call the woman back but she didn’t know if it was a good time to or not. Dan’s
call came through again and she answered it.
“Hello.” She said
weakly. Her voice was croaked.
“Tony…are you okay?” He
asked.
She burst out crying.
She couldn’t help herself.
“Is everything okay? Where
are you?” Dan asked.
“It’s about the job
right? What did she say?”
He sighed.
“She felt insulted. She
called me and told me that Mr. Wright started to complain about your work ethic
and she still wanted to give you a chance but you stood her up and all sorts. Wait…are
you okay? We can explain to her that something happened…maybe she can find
another position for you. How come you never told me about this all this while?” He said.
She sniffed.
“Another position?” She
asked. She wanted to confirm what he said.
“She employed someone
else today for the position she was going to hire you for.” He said.
“Oh God!” She cried.
“Look, are you okay?
Did Toba do something to you?” He asked. He was worried.
She hesitated at first
but she said; “I’m home. Please can you come over? I need to talk.”
She hoped it was not a
bad idea having another man in her house after everything that happened. But
she really needed someone to talk to.
“Um…I can’t. I am in
Abuja with my woman. Tony…I was going to tell you. We’re having our family
introduction this weekend.” He said.
“Oh…em…okay.
I…congrats. I gotta go now.” She said and ended the call immediately. She felt a tinge of jealousy...although she didn't know if she had any reason to be.
She looked around her
living room. She grabbed a pillow and started to scream. She wouldn’t stop. She
screamed and hit the couch countless times. She couldn’t control her tears. She
had hit rock bottom. Everything was going down the drain. She didn’t have her
old job, she didn’t get the position she wanted, she didn’t have the new job,
she couldn’t correct the impression Mrs. Pius now had of her, she had an active
sex tape which was probably already being passed around, she had lost Toba,
lost Feyi, lost a lot of money, and most importantly lost the love of her
parents and the approval of her father.
She was Daddy’s girl.
They had a really strong bond and she knew that he was very proud of what she
had accomplished in her career even though he always wanted her to come and work
in the family business. She couldn’t get over his last words to her.
She went to her fridge
to get some booze but she knew that it wouldn’t make anything better. She would
only end up drunk on her floor probably in her own vomit. She couldn’t go have
sex with some random person. Sex, she had now learnt, was absolutely ephemeral
and created more vice than virtue to her already growing list of problems.
She knew what she
needed to do.
In tears, she got out
of her clothes and underwear and went to the bathroom. She filled her tub which
she rarely used with warm water and lathered it with fine bathing foam. She lit
her nice scented candles and put on her general playlist on her laptop. She
needed a warm bath to soak in and ease out all the filth in her body and in her
soul. She stepped into the tub and sat in it for a while, thinking but trying
not to think. She listened to the lyrics of the loud songs playing from her laptop.
First there was Davido
bragging about being rich and having a rich father. Then there was Rihanna’s
Disturbia, Chainsmokers’ Don’t let me down, Dido’s Life for rent and a string
of other songs. She continued to cry. She didn’t know what next step to take
beyond the bath. Who would she call? Where would she go? How would she cope?
Slowly, she drifted
into the water and let herself slide in. Her head went in and she put her
fingers over her nostrils and pressed them together. She felt her lungs quiver
and she opened her mouth to gasp for air but she shut it and kept stiff,
waiting for death to come quick. She had no reason to stay anymore. Everything was destroyed by her own
indiscretion.
…
Her
mother had dressed her up in a pink floral dress with a big bow behind. She
wore a pretty straw hat and she was the centre of attention. Everyone looked at
her and watched her sing. She had a nice little voice but everyone was getting
entertained by looking at her cute face. That was her eight year old self.
“My
name is Bose Lewis and I have a presentation to make today,” She started. She
saw her mother clap with so much vigor. Her father watched her and he had his
arms in the air, cheering. Kiky was sitting on their father’s lap and also
clapping.
“My
memory verse is taken from the book of Psalm 46 Verses 1 to 3; God is our
refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not
fear, thought he earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the
sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their
surging.
The
next person was Toba. His memory verse was Psalm 34 Verse 4.
“I
sought the Lord and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.”
His
parents were talking to each other. They were arguing over something. They did
not realize he had spoken until someone informed them. They started to clap but
they did not clap as much as her parents had clapped for her. He sulked and
walked away.
They; all the kids from childrens' church; all gathered in one line and started to sing:
“I
will cast all my cares upon You
I
lay all of my burdens down at Your feet
And
anytime I don’t know what to do
I
will cast all my cares upon You.”
…
Her fifteen year old self:
She
found herself in her bedroom on the double bunk she shared with her sister
Kiky. Kiky slept on the upper bed and she slept down. She always wrote in her diary before
she went to bed. She opened the diary and some of the words she had written
stared back at her.
‘I
will be a great lawyer. I will pass all my exams and I will continue to praise
God all my life if He helps me to pass my WAEC and JAMB at once. I will never
disobey God. If I disobey I will ask Him to forgive me. I will be a lawyer and
a good woman and I will make impact in my world. I will own a car before I am
25 years old. I will buy land before I am 30 years old. I will build a house
before I am 35 years old. I will have a husband who fears God and children who
fear God. I will teach people about the goodness of God in my life.
If
God makes my daddy’s business bigger and better I will forever give glory to
God and tell the whole world that He is a Good God. I will win 100 souls for
Jesus before my 20th birthday.’
She
went on and on in the words of her diary.
Then
she heard her Father’s voice. It was that time when she had an accident playing
football outside the house with the neighborhood kids. He saw her bleeding knee and held her close to his
chest as he rushed to get her into the car and headed to the hospital.
She
remembered all the times he told her he loved her and he was proud to be her
father no matter what happened.
The
last image that flashed through her mind was her mother weeping. She hated to
see her mother cry.
It struck her when she
realized what would happen if she cut the thin thread between life and death. Literally, the
scissors were in her hand already and she felt every nudge to cut the thread. She didnt know where she was. She
couldn’t place exactly what was going on in her subconscious. She tried to step
back but her body was not co-operating. She tried with all of her might but her
legs would not move. She tried to speak, to plead with whatever force was
holding her still. She knew the feeling. It was familiar…like sleep paralysis. It
was that same force as though someone stronger was pinning her down and her
body couldn’t get up. She tried to scream but her voice was in spasms. She didn’t
have the strength to keep her head above the water.
She
heard music. It was a hymn.
When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound,
And time shall be no more,
And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair;
When the saved of earth shall gather
over on the other shore,
And the roll is called up yonder,
I’ll be there.
When
the roll, is called up yon-der,
When the roll, is called up yon-der,
When the roll, is called up yon-der,
When the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there.
On that bright and cloudless morning
when the dead in Christ shall rise,
And the glory of His resurrection share;
When His chosen ones shall gather
to their home beyond the skies,
And the roll is called up yonder,
I’ll be there.
Let us labor for the Master
from the dawn till setting sun,
Let us talk of all His wondrous love and care;
Then when all of life is over,
and our work on earth is done,
And the roll is called up yonder,
I’ll be there.
*YellowShadows10
*FisayoTalabi
