AKWAUGO
PART 43
Dubie came back upstairs. He went to have a bath while I sat bored changing the channels on the television hoping to find a channel of interest. He came out in his pyjamas and asked me to go and change. I took another shower and came out. It was past 9pm. I wanted to sleep.
“I am tired, can I go to bed?”
“Feel free. The bed is yours”
I laid on the bed and covered myself completely. I reminisced on the activities of the day. I felt I should have insisted on being taken to a hotel. He had been a gentleman all this while; he still hadn’t crossed the line. His friend bringing girls over was another issue for me. Did he sleep with babes he just met? Was he reckless s-×ually? He hadn’t given me any cause for concern thus far but…. I drifted off while still reminiscing.
I woke up to feel someone was in bed with me. I almost stood up in a startle when I turned and saw Dubie asleep beside me. Did he come to bed with me? I thought he would sleep in the sitting room. I was surprised he was asleep. He made no attempt toward me. I quietly came down from the bed to ease myself. I was almost out of the bedroom to sleep in the sitting room when he called out to me,
“Come back to bed. I told you I won’t touch you unless you ask me to. The rug is very uncomfortable to sleep on”
I came back to bed. So, he wasn’t asleep or my getting off the bed woke him up. He turned to face me when I laid down and smiled at me. He then said, “I dreamt of you sleeping beside me for the past few weeks and I was excited. I am even more excited about seeing it happen. Thank you for staying. You are very safe with me”
It took me a while to fall asleep and I eventually did. I didn’t realise how tired I was. I had no care in the world for the next three days. I decided to enjoy my stay as he had given me as-surance.
I woke up to the aroma of food. I took up from the bed, prayed and went to the sitting room. I could see Dubie and his boy arranging the breakfast table.
“Good morning”
“Good morning babe. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, I did. Thank you. What’s going on? Isn’t it too early to eat?”
“It’s at 9am. Go and take a shower. By the time you are throu-gh, breakfast will be ready”
I took a bath and got ready. I wore an oversized neon green coloured lightweight t-shirt and leggings. I walked into the sitting room to meet a sumptuous breakfast. Dubie wasn’t joking at all. We were served toasted bread, omelette, bacon, grilled sausages and tomatoes. It was served with baked beans and beverage of choice. I enjoyed the meal. I felt he was going overboard but he seemed to enjoy spoiling me with food.
“I am going to the office today. Would you like to come?”
“Sure, I would love to”
“Ok. I will take a shower while you wear something nice”
I knew what I wanted to wear. I brou-ght out my black three-quarter trousers which clung nicely to my body, and my black sleeveless blouse with a high ne-ck and bu-ttoned own at the back. I set my makeup and applied light makeup of foundation, powder, eyebrow, eyeliner, sculpted li-ps and a bronzer. Emeka came out of the room when I had just finished my makeup. I stood up and asked him, “how do I look?”
“You did this makeup yourself?”
“Yes. Even yesterday’s makeup”
“Where did you learn?”
“Uju taught me”
“I see. It is lovely. And simple. Are you ready?”
“A second’
I went into the room and the closet. I brou-ght out one of the new perfumes Emeka bought for me and sprayed it. I loved the fragrance; it was fruity and flowery at the same time. I brushed my hair, wore a long chain on my ne-ck and took the boots to wear outside. I took my handbag; one of the few designer handbags Emeka got me.
‘Are you set?” Dubie asked.
“Yes, I am”
We drove to Ikeja where his office was. He had a big car lot with a good number of exotic cars. His office was a bungalow by the side of the car lot. As we stepped into the office, I met his secretary. She was a very light-skinned girl with long black weave. She was wearing a skin-ti-ght stretch dress that had several colours. She smiled when she saw Dubie but the smile ceased when she saw me. I ignored her. Dubie led me into his office. I took a seat on the couch while he sat behind his table. I admired his office. It was spacious, had a bookshelf, a side table with two chairs, four single leather couches with two side stools and a centre table. His table was made of mahogany wood and he sat on an executive chair. This guy was young, how did he make so much money? How was he this comfortable? I had questions.
The secretary came in with some docu-ments. That was when I could see her hands. She had very dark knuckles and her hands were reddish. It was just her face that was worth looking at. I realized, she was no competition. I took out my phone and was scrolling throu-ghpaying no attention to both of them. There were messages from Uju. She asked how I was and she asked me to call her as soon as I could. I didn’t want to call her when Dubie was with me because I knew she would bring up Emeka and it would upset Dubie. I chatted with her instead.
I was right. Emeka was devastated. He couldn’t believe I had moved on after waiting for him. I honestly didn’t wait for him; I was waiting for me. She asked me to please talk to Emeka because he is very down. I explained to her what happened when I spoke with Emeka. I didn’t want that reaction from Dubie again. I can only talk to him when I am back in Enugu. She acknowledged no man will be happy to hear me talking to another man. She promised to talk to Emeka before their honeymoon trip on Sunday. She asked me to be safe.
I used that opportunity to gist Chiamaka about my trip. She was genuinely happy for me. She asked if Dubie and I had done it. When I said no, she asked me to find out if he is worth it so I don’t cheat after marriage. At least, she knew in that regard Amanze was good. He was a good provider too. But his wandering eyes. I cut her short and asked when the wedding will be. She said after she had her daughter. I was happy to hear that. Amanze took responsibility.
Someone walked into the office angrily. I felt the impact of the door slamming. I looked up; she was a well-dressed lady. She was wearing a skirt suit; held a designer bag and I loved her shoes.
“Dubem, what is going on?”
“What are you doing here?” he asked obvious displeased t her presence.
“I am asking you what is happening? What did I do wrong again? Tell me”
“You are embarras-sing me in the presence of my guest. You know how much I hate that”
“Who is she?” she asked pointing at me. I didn’t wait for him to respond, I picked up my bag and left the office for them.
I went outside the building thanking God I dressed very nicely to his office. I really didn’t care to know who she was. I didn’t nee-d all the drama. I found a chair in front of the lot un-der a shade and sat there. A guy came to buy a car. He left the car he came to buy to talk to me. I was polite and turned him down nicely. He left and I went back to my phone. Different guys came to talk to me. I wondered why. I changed position just beside the office. As I settled in to go back to social media, a man walked up to me.
“Why would you be un-der a shade instead of an airconditioned room. I was told you are my nephew’s guest. Let me give you a treat in my office while you wait for him to sort out his issues with Isioma. My name is Ken, what’s yours?”
Before I could answer, I saw Dubie walking hurriedly towards us. He took only five steps with his long legs and was right beside his uncle. He exchanged greetings with Ken, turned to me and said,
“Let’s go in”
“Is your visitor gone?” I asked.
“She’s leaving now. Come with me” I didn’t move. I sat still. “Please” he added. I could hear a desperate plea in his voice. I stood up and he held my hand and led me to his office.
Inside his office, the lady was crying. I wanted to ask what was wrong but I decided to mind my business.
“Isioma, I told you from the beginning of the year I had found someone. I didn’t deceive you. I never promised to marry you. I have shown you respect. Nne, my wife is around now. I don’t know who told you I came in with a woman that made you rush here. You have embarras-sed me today. I forgave you for uncle Ken but you should have known, I can never marry you”
“Why did you rush out when they told you uncle Ken was with her. You should have tested her too to see if she would fall”
“She won’t. I didn’t want to put her in harm’s way because uncle Ken can be ruthless if the girl refuses. We both know that. She’s innocent. I had warned you about him. You shouldn’t have talked to him or gone to see him even when I said no. You were too desperate and it is ha-rd to forget”
“I was un-der pressure. He got my number and promised to give me the deposit I nee-ded, which he did. He gave me more than I nee-ded”
“You paid a price for it. Is it still there? Another banker paid the price and he moved it to her. You are just a body count to him. I asked you to be patient but you went behind me. You thought I wouldn’t find out. He wants my girls and he will do anything to have them. You fell prey just like many others. I forgave you but honestly, I’ve moved on”
Isioma turned to look at me while I pretended not to notice. I was so happy I was looking good that day. She was also light-skinned but not poorly bleached like his secretary. She was beautiful with a pointed nose.
“Dubem, I am not ashamed to ask for one more chance. I promise you; it won’t happen again. I forgave you for Nkoli can’t you forgive me for this one-time mistake?”
“This is different. My uncle will continue to be in my family. I can’t leave you alone with him because it can happen again. I can’t live like that”
She couldn’t counter his last statement. I could see she was defeated. She reduced her voice and said, “One last time. Let’s meet at my place tonight. This girl I am seeing will not be able to handle you”
I didn’t hear what he said but she stood up and left while sizing me up. Was I upset? Yes, I was. She was also an ex who came boldly to make trouble. I felt I handled Emeka better than he handled Isioma. I could feel his eyes on me but I kept mute. He continued his work as though nothing happened and I was on social media posting the pictures from the wedding Uju sent to me. I was reading and replying to comments on my various posts. He asked me if I was hungry and I replied no. I continued on my phone while he went out to meet with customers that nee-ded his attention. His secretary brou-ght me a bottle of malt and water. I thanked her and went back to what I was doing. By 5pm, he closed for the day. We went to ICM (Ikeja City Mall) to watch a movie. I hadn’t been to a cinema before so this was exciting. We went to Shoprite to shop. He also ordered pizza. We had a light conversation on the way home about the movie we watched. I had a good time in the evening.
When we got home, I tried to take the groceries to the kitchen but he refused. He asked me to go upstairs with the pizza and our toiletries instead. I went in to take a shower as it was late already and changed into my nightie. As I came out of the bathroom, he was in the room.
“I thought we would go out tonight. Let’s go clubbing. I am supposed to hang out with my friends”
“I don’t like clubbing. You can go with your friends. I will be fast asleep by the time you get back”
“I want to go with you. It will be fun. You’ll enjoy yourself”
I wasn’t one to be made to do what I didn’t want to do. Emeka had taught me a ha-rd lesson and if I don’t want something, I don’t want it. “Dubie, I am sorry but it is not something I enjoy doing. I won’t stop you, go ahead. You can even take Isioma with you; she would like it but Akwaugo has no interest in clubbing”
“I knew you will bring her up. I dated her. She messed up. I forgave her until I met you. Of course, I can’t marry her but we can be useful to each other in the meantime. She’s a banker”
“It didn’t look like a relationship that has been over since January. Was she one of the girls you had random s-× with when the nee-d arises?”
“Yes, I did sleep with her after we broke up but I told her I had found my wife. When you complained, I stopped altogether”
“How did she know I was around?”
“She has spies in the office”
“Did you have s-× with your secretary too?”
“No”
“Are you sure?”
“Very”
“I’m not going and I don’t want you to show me off to your friends too. I will be here”
“I have a feeling you are not interested in me. You didn’t even challenge Isioma”
“Challenge her? Why would I?”
“As your man. She came for your man. Instead, you walked out”
“Dubie, you are my friend, my good friend and I appreciate how much respect you have shown me. I will not fight any woman for you. Just know that I am not that type of girl. Until we decide on the next level, I won’t stop you from having fun. Go and enjoy yourself”
“What will you be doing here?”
“I will read, check social media and then sleep. It is late”
“You don’t care who I go with?”
“I don’t”
“Ok” He left to take his bath.
I really didn’t care. If he had girls falling at his feet, then he should enjoy it. I went to the sitting room to eat as he had dished out the pizza in a plate with juice. He came out dressed in casuals and joined me. I asked why he wasn’t ready and he said he would leave by 11pm. I would be asleep by then.
By 10pm. I was already sleepy. I went into the room to sleep. I knelt down to pray when I was throu-gh, I opened my eyes and there he was wearing a singlet and boxer brief which outlined everything. I closed my eyes ti-ghtly and looked away before I opened them and laid on the bed facing the wall. He got dressed and came to me.
“Are you sure you want me to be with someone else tonight?” he asked quite seductively. My heart was beating fast. If he had tou-ched me, he wouldn’t have met with much resistance. Was it what I saw or the tone of his voice? I nodded in response. He tapped my covered lap-s and left.
I breathed a sigh of relief when he left. I began to get attra-cted to Dubie because other ladies were attra-cted to him. I was losing myself gradually. I didn’t sleep until very late imagining what he could be up to with Isioma. Was she able to get him into her bed after all? What were they doing together? Was she enjoying what I saw? I was troubled but eventually fell asleep.
I woke up late the next morning. Dubie wasn’t in the room when I woke up at 7:30am. I went to ease myself and check upstairs, he wasn’t home. I was worried something might have happened to him. I called but he didn’t pick up. I called several types but no reply. I was very worried. I left a message. I sent a second and a third and a fourth. He didn’t reply. I became agitated. I called Uju and told her.
“You didn’t go with him?”
“I didn’t feel like?”
“He will be back. He must have drunk a lot and crashed at a friend’s”
I waited for him to come back, in the meantime, I tidied up the room and went to take my bath. Dubie’s boy asked me if I would like to eat, I said no. I came back to the sitting room and waited for him to come home.
Dubie strolled him at almost 12 noon. He said hello to me and went into the bedroom. I was relieved he was back but the lackadaisical nature he exhibited put me off. He went into the bathroom to have a bath while I waited in the sitting room. I waited for him to come out but he didn’t. When I finally went to check on him, he was asleep on the bed with just his briefs on.
Tbc