A GAME
OF LOVE
AND OBSESSION
Chapter 21
Theodora thought about what Jesse said and realized it was a good idea. She had to inform the police and her parents. She had gone throu-ghenough torments un-der the roof of Newman. It was about time she stood up for herself before she goes to her early grave. Thoughts about committing suicide had flooded her memory for some time and she knew she would act on those thoughts with time. She went into a pensive mood for something and Jesse knew that she was thinking de-eply about what he said. “Thank you very much, Jesse for the advice. I think I should be on my way now,” said Theodora. Jesse was shocked at that statement. “why?” he asked. “You just gave me an advice and I nee-d to act on it now! I am going to see my parents from here. I have to tell them everything. I can’t keep all these things from them,” Theodora said and took her leave.
Sandra met Desmond during her break time. He was so anxious to know what Sandra had to say that couldn’t be said on phone. Had she gotten herself into another trouble? Had she been fired? These thoughts ran throu-ghDesmond’s mind while he stared at Sandra waiting for her to start the conversation. “Desmond, say something. You are making me nervous,” said Sandra. “Me? Making you nervous? You are rather making me feel uncomfortable. You said you wanted us to discuss an issue. So I am waiting for you to commence,” Desmond responded.
Sandra thought she had gathered all the courage to break up with Desmond. But, it seems her courage wasn’t enough to go straight to the point. She looked at Desmond and saw a guy who would do everything possible to make her happy. How could she break such a heart? She felt bad about the decision she had taken earlier. She wondered if she should continue with her mission. There sat across the table an innocent guy who knows nothing except to shower her with love and attention. Who wouldn’t have wished for such a treatment? Sandra felt terrible about herself. She felt like an insen-sitive person to even think about breaking up with Desmond.
Upon careful consideration, she thought it wise to spill the beans. There was no way she could continue to be in a relationship with a guy and be thinking about another person. The whole thing made her feel she was cheating and she hated that feeling. She nee-ded to set things straight and that begins with telling Desmond the truth.
“Desmond , you have been so good to me all these years. I want to begin by saying that I appreciate all that you have done for me. The times you were around even when no one was. You are indeed an angel. I never thought that this day would come and it grieves my heart that my fears has finally come to pas-s.”
Desmond was confused at this point. He didn’t know where Sandra was going with her speech. He initially thought she was appreciating him for all the sacrifices he had made all the years he had been with her, but her diversion into matters of grief really confused him. “What are you talking about, Sandra? Is someone dead or what?” Desmond asked anxiously. “Please Desmond, don’t make this ha-rder than it already is,” Sandra responded. Her sharp response stunned Desmond. He remained quiet and only listened to her.
“As I was saying, I have watched you throu-ghall these years trying to win my heart. The truth is that, I sincerely wanted to give you my love, but I couldn’t . The more I tried to love you, the more difficult it became. The only feeling I had towards you was that of a big brother. When we met recently due to the accident, I wanted to give it a try. I thought maybe it was fear that was keeping me bound. I thought maybe if I get more intimate, I will come to love you like how you love me. But, that wasn’t the case, Desmond. I have tried, believe me, but all to no avail. I keep thinking of another guy while I am with you. I can’t keep on with this pretense. I can’t watch you any longer investing your time while I know it wouldn’t yield anything. I am in love with someone else ,Desmond. I am sorry, but that is the truth, “ Sandra said and buried her face.
Sandra was expecting Desmond to speak after she was done with what she was saying. She waited for some time, but she didn’t hear anything. She looked up finally to see what was preventing Desmond from speaking. She saw tears streaming down Desmond’s cheek when she looked into his face. Sandra was lost for words at the time. She didn’t know how to handle the situation. There was nothing she could do to help the situation. She couldn’t console Desmond because she was the cause of his pain and she couldn’t also retract what she said because she meant every word of it. Desmond finally broke his silence and spoke.
“Sandra, why would you do this to me? Have I done anything wrong in loving you with my everything. I even loved you in moments when all had forsaken you. What else should I do to prove my love for you. When you accepted my proposal, I thought my dream of having you as my wife had finally come to pas-s. I didn’t know that it was a mirage. I didn’t know I was daydreaming. You have broken my heart, Sandra. I am de-eply hurt by your constant rejection,” Desmond lamented.
Sandra could ba-rely look into the face of Desmond. It was time for her to go back to the office, but she felt glued to her seat. How could she leave Desmond in such a state. Her news had changed his mood drastically. Desmond finally stopped shedding tears and spoke. “Sandra, I want to let you know that you can’t do away with me. I will never give up on you. Like always, I will be waiting because I know you will come back to me. I will see you later,” Desmond said and went away. Sandra sat in her chair for some time and thought about what had transpired between Desmond and her. Although she felt sorry for doing what she did, she knew in the heart that it was the right thing to do. Now, she was free to follow her heart.
Sandra left the coffee shop to the office. She met Jesse already back at the office. He was sitting in the exact position he had sat in the morning. “I have been waiting for you, Sandra. So you couldn’t even wait for us to go to lunch together? I told you I will come back for my answer. It has been a longtime and I nee-d to know the way forward,” said Jesse. Sandra walked across the room and sat in her chair.
“Jesse, I have thought about your proposal. I had to make sure I wouldn’t be making a mistake by being with you. The fact that we are in the same office is even a distraction on its own. But, I can’t deny my feelings for you anymore. I have loved you since the day we met and I had secretly wished you will propose some day. I was scared when that day came because of what Jasmine did to me. I am not scared anymore because love conquers all things,” Sandra said. Jesse watched Sandra and listened with a rapt attention while she spoke.
He was glad Sandra didn’t turn down his proposal. He got up and hu-gged her. “I will always love you, Sandra. I will never let you down. Please, let us keep this fire of love in our hearts burning. We will be the happiest couple ever, “ Jesse said and smiled. They hu-gged again and separated because they didn’t want any of the workers to chance upon them. Before Jesse could sit, Theodora walked into the office. She jumped on Jesse and hu-gged him. “Jesse, you are such a darling. I would have given you a ki-ss if this wasn’t your workplace for giving me such a brilliant idea. I love you, Jesse. You are my angel,” Theodora said as she still hung on Jesse. Now, Sandra couldn’t believe her eyes and ears. What was happening? She remembered Theodora as the lady in the portrait that used to hang on Jesse’s wall. What was happening to her minutes old relationship? She got angry and stormed out of the office.
A GAME
OF LOVE
AND OBSESSION
Chapter 22(Semi Final)
He was glad Sandra didn’t turn down his proposal. He got up and hu-gged her. “I will always love you Sandra. I will never let you down. Please, let us keep this fire of love in our hearts burning. We will be the happiest couple ever, “ Jesse said and smiled. They hu-gged again and separated because they didn’t want any of the workers to chance upon them. Before Jesse could sit, Theodora walked into the office. She jumped on Jesse and hu-gged him. “Jesse, you are such a darling. I would have given you a ki-ss if this wasn’t your workplace for giving me such a brilliant idea. I love you, Jesse. You are my angel,” Theodora said as she still hung on Jesse. Now, Sandra couldn’t believe her eyes. What was happening. She remembered Theodora as the lady in the portrait that used to hang on Jesse’s wall. What was happening to her minutes old relationship? She got angry and stormed out of the office.
When Jesse realized it, he quickly got out of the grips of Theodora and chased after Sandra. “Sandra!! Sandra!! Sandra stop!! Wait and listen to me!” Jesse screamed after her. Sandra maintained her pace. She was so angry at Jesse to an extent that she didn’t want to turn to look at him. Jesse increa-sed his pace and soon caught up with her. “Wait, Sandra!! What is the meaning of this!?” he asked. “Are you seriously going to pull up this card? You want to use reverse psychology on me? Isn’t that, Theodora? What is she doing in your office? Look at the way she was all over you! To an extent of telling you she loves you!! Wow!! I didn’t see this coming! Do you know the price I had to pay to be in this relationship And for what!?? Eh!? For you to return to your ex-girlfriend!?” Sandra lamented.
Jesse listened attentively for Sandra to finish with what she was saying. “Sandra, you nee-d to calm down. It is not as you think it is,” said Jesse. “Why, do you think I am blind or deaf!? What do you take me for? I saw what the lady said and did in that room. I can see you can’t get over her. Go back to that room and continue what you have started,” Sandra said in anger. As soon as she finished her statement, Theodora walked in on them. “You don’t even have to bother going back to the office. She has brou-ght herself right here in the corridor. Please, let me excuse both of you so that you can have ample time to catch up for lost times,” Sandra walked out on Jesse and Theodora.
Jesse was confused as to what was going on with Sandra. They were happy just moment ago. What happened? It seemed that no happiness had existed before. Theodora smiled at him and walked closer. “I can perceive that is your new fiancee. Don’t worry, she will come around. We ladies are like that. We tend to be jealous when we see another lady encroaching our space,” Theodora as-sured Jesse. “I don’t un-derstand what is wrong with her. I have never seen her behave this way before,” said Jesse. “My dear, that is the power of jealousy. It makes one do things they never imagined they could do. Trust me, everything will be fine,” said Theodora.
Jesse was almost done for the day at the office so he asked Theodora to wait for her in the company’s waiting room. He told her he would be with her in no time. Theodora agreed and went to the waiting room. There were a lot of things she nee-ded to tell Jesse. Jesse came to the waiting room in thirty minutes. “Please, let us go. I can see you have some exciting news to share,” said Jesse as he led the way out of the company’s building. “Of course, I have an exciting news to share. And I will explode if I should keep it bottled up. Please, let us go to my car. We can talk there,” Theodora suggested. “If you say so. Please, lead the way to your car,” said Jesse .
Theodora led the way to her car. Before they could enter into her car, another car pulled up
behind them. Three muscular guys came out of the car and charged at Jesse. Jesse didn’t know what was happening. All he knew was to escape from those guys as fast as he can. He didn’t even think about it. He took to his heels and the guys chased him. Newman got out from the car. He went straight to the now horrified Theodora. Theodora was mortified. She thought she was done with Newman’s threat forever. Fear was her evident friend at that moment.
“You think you can do whatever you want and walk away with it? I told you not to tell anyone about my secret and you went ahead to tell your parents. Do you know what those stupid parents of yours did? They called my aunt to inform her. Now the whole village knows about my activities. Everyone is calling me a ritualist and it is all your fault. You will pay for this, trust me!” Newman exclaimed. “Boss, the guy has run away. He was too fast for us,” said one of the muscular guys. Jesse had outrun them. “Get hold of her and let us go,” Newman commanded the guys. They for-cefully pulled Theodora into Newman’s car and drove off. One of the guys took Theodora’s car and drove behind them. Theodora was sore afraid. She feared for her life. Newman had warned her to remain quiet or pay with her life. Was that a threat or he actually meant what he said?
Jesse came back to see that Theodora’s car was gone. He immediately took a taxi to a nearby police station to report the incident. Since Jesse wasn’t around to see Newman’s face, he didn’t know who was after him. In fact, even if he had seen Newman, he wouldn’t have recognized him. He wrote his statement to the police and decided to go to the house and return later to check if they have any leads.
Meanwhile, Desmond had come to pick Sandra from work without the knowledge of Jesse. She was so angry with him. She nee-ded someone to talk to and the only person that came in mind was Desmond. Desmond didn’t waste time in coming to get her. “What is the problem, Sandra?” Desmond asked. “I am sorry Desmond for the way I treated you this afternoon,” said Sandra. “Please, I don’t think that was an answer to my question,” Desmond insisted. “I just got into a fight with, Jesse,” Sandra confessed. “Jesse… Jesse.. Oh, the guy I met at the hospital. The one you said you are working with?” Desmond asked. “Yes, Desmond,” Sandra answered. “Why? Is he giving you a ha-rd time at work?” Desmond asked again. “He was the guy I told you I am in love with,” Sandra confessed. “Actually, we started our relationship today. We had a disagreement some hours ago and I am worried, Desmond. He should have called by now,” said Sandra.
Desmond looked at her for some time before replying. “Tell me what really caused the problem,” Desmond requested. “I went straight to the office after we met at the coffee shop. Jesse was already in the office when I got there. Actually, he had been pestering me for an answer to his proposal. I decided to give him answer after I had sorted out things with you, which I did. Immediately after i said yes to his proposal, his ex-girlfriend came to interrupt our nice atmosphere. She came and threw herself at him and even tried ki-ssing him. She even told him she loved him. Can you imagine!!? She didn’t even have the courtesy that I was present in the room. So I got angry and left. Jesse ran after me and tried to explain things. But, I was so angry to listen. Jealousy was eating me up at the time,” Sandra explained. “You shouldn’t have done that, Sandra. You should have allowed him to explain himself. Maybe it is not as you are imagining,” said Desmond.
Desmond drove Sandra to her house. Sandra knew she had made a mistake by jumping to conclusion. What if Jesse wouldn’t want to see her again? What if Jesse judged her as a jealous and an impatient lady and decides to end everything? That was a possibility she wouldn’t want to hear. She would be so shattered because she loved him very much. Tears welled up in her eyes and she began to cry. She got out of the car still crying. Desmond crossed over to her side and hu-gged her. Sandra sobbed and held on ti-ght to Desmond. “What is happening here!? So this is your solution to the problem? I see,” said Jesse as he walked away in anger. Jesse had come to see Sandra to explain things better to her only to find her in the arms of his rival. He couldn’t stand the sight of what he saw so he walked away. Sandra quickly left Desmond and ran after Jesse. Jesse was so brokenhearted that he didn’t have the emotional stamina to listen to her. Relentless Sandra continued to follow him. She implored him to listen to her, but Jesse would have none of it
Tbc…