CAN’T HOLD MY TEARS SEASON 2
EPISODE 24
In just two days, Amara had experienced a happiness that couldn’t be rivalled by any other. The joy of motherhood! All her worries that her son would hate her had been for nothing. It was as if they had been together all along. Kelvin had obviously told Sam every single detail about her and showed him pictures. Everything Sam did fascinated her. They had spent two days together but Amara couldn’t stay a minute without seeing him. He bec@m£ the air she breathed, the one that brou-ght a smile to her face. But there was still that lingering pain. The sadness that engulfed her whenever she thought of what she had done to Kelvin. She had called him countlessly but his line wasn’t going throu-gh. Mr Sinja also didn’t know of his whereabouts. He said that he had practically vanished after telling him to take Sam to her. She wondered where he might be and how he was doing. Was it selfish of her to wish that he would still come for her? That he would forgive her? She sighed. She wouldn’t blame him if he never wanted anything to do with her. But she couldn’t help or st©p herself from wishing.
She ran her f!ngersthrou-gh the hair of Sam’s slee-ping form. He behaved more like Kelvin with each pas-sing minute. Kelvin has transfered his caring and loving nature to Sam.
Mr Sinja peeked his head into the room. “You can’t take your eyes off him” he murmured with a smile.
She hadn’t heard him come in but she wasn’t surprised. For the past two days, he had been coming over repeatedly and strangely, she liked it. She smiled back. “He is so adorable” she murmured, careful not to awaken him.
He closed the door behind him. “He sure is” he said, then stared at her for some seconds. “You might nee-d to come out to see someone” he said.
Amara nearly jumped out of the be-d. “Is Kelvin here?” She asked as hope flared in her.
Mr Sinja’s eyes looked sad now. “No. It is another person.” He responded and Amara deflated instantly. “I am sorry. We caught the person behind all that happened recently. The people Kelvin positioned close to your place caught her as she tried to sneak in yesterday and I think you might nee-d to see her. You might be shocked though”
Amara swallowed. Right now, she wanted to be done with it all. She alre-ady had her son in her arms, she didn’t want bitterness of the past to cloud her relationsh!pwith her son. She knew what she must do and this would be the first step. It was high time she started ma-king the right decisions in her life. She would do it for Sam! She would do it for Kelvin. From what her father said, she knew that the person would be someone she knew and she swallowed. “Okay” she breathed and after glancing at her slee-ping son, she followed her father to the door. He opened it for her and she took a de-ep breath before stepping out of the be-droom.
Despite all her outrage, Amara couldn’t st©p the startled g@sp that tumbled out of herl-ips. Two guys stood before her, but they were not her concern. She stared in horror at the person who had very nearly crumbled her life and company.
“Tola” she g@sped.
********************
“Hello Amara” Tola said and a dry smile coated herl-ips. “We meet again”
Amara stared in horror. Surely there was some mistake. It had been years but she remembered Tola very well; just as much as she remembered Tina. They had been her pillar when she went throu-gh hell in Alex’s house. How come she was here being accused of being responsible for her misfortunes? “Tola. What is going on?” Amara glanced at Mr Sinja. “There must be a mistake somewhere. This lady here is my friend”
He nodded gravely. “I was equally stunned. Not everyone who smiles at you actually love you my dear”
Tola smiled drily. “There is no mistake Amara, I did the damage to your company and wrote all those notes”
“But… but why?” Amara g@sped out. “We were friends. You, Tina and I were friends”
She laughed humorlessly. “I thought so too. I thought you loved us both equally but I was proved wrong. When you gave us money to start up businesses, you gave Tina more money than you gave me. It was painful then but I let it go. You had done what no one had done and I loved you for it, but then, I got really angry when I discovered years later that Tina kept in contact with you but did not tell me anything. We talked often and I mentioned always how much I missed you and wished to see you again but she never told me that you both were in contact with each other, not to mention the fact that you both did business together.” Her mouth twisted in disgust. “I was so angry when I found out. It only went to confirm my suspicion that you never truly liked me. You never truly forgave me for my initial hostility towards you, despite all I did, even sacrificing myself for your child’s safety when you were pregnant.”
“That is not true, I always loved you. I met Tina by chance and because she wouldn’t go, I had to maintain relationsh!pwith her” Amara countered. “I didn’t want to have anything to do with the past, that is probably why Tina couldn’t tell you”
Tola snorted like she couldn’t believe her but continued. “I got angry but didn’t plan vengeance until Alex approached me. I once d@t£d Max and Alex felt that Max was interested in you so he got me to get Max away from you.” Amara was stunned to hear Alex’s name in the matter again. “I was helped into your company by the security who also told me of the drawer where your secretary keeps her spare key to your office. I hid Tina’s bag there hoping that you would suspect her and that would bring an end to your friendsh!pbut unfortunately, I didn’t know that she had been admitted in the hospital.”
Amara swallowed the lump in her throat. So all of this! All the drama was because she had been too closed off, trying to seal off her past. Could she even find it in herself to blame Tola?
“Alex told me about the child and that was what formed that last note I s£nt” she finished, looking a bit remorseful now.
Mr Sinja shook his head. “You and Alex deserve to be locked up in the same cell so you can both tear each other ap@rt.” He said then faced Amara. “I would have a police suit filed against them once you give the approval Amara. They should clearly pay for the damage and pain they cost you”
Amara just stared dumbfounded for some minutes, taking in the information she just got. Everything she heard surprised her, but not as much as her feelings did. Naturally, her old self would have had them locked up but for how long would she hold on to the pain of the past? If she continued to seek vengeance, she would never move forward. She would never be happy. She had to learn forgiveness, and even though it seemed illogical, she held the hope that if she could probably forgive everyone who offended her, Kelvin might be able to also forgive her.
Swallowing ha-rd she shook her head. “Let her go” she said f0rç£fully.
“What?” The four pairs of eyes in the room looked at her like she had lost her mind but she smiled. Tola looked shaken.
“Tola would never have done such a thing, I made her. You did not deserve to be shut out of my life the way I did and I am sorry” Tola’s eyes grew misty. “Sam is alive today p@rtly because of what you did years back and I would never forget that. If you would forgive me for what I did Tola, I also forgive you”
Tola looked about to cry. “Why are you so nice? Why can’t you get angry?” She seemed annoyed at that.
“I am tired of being angry Tola, I have carried anger in me for more than six years and it has done me no good. plea-se forgive me Tola. I actually miss our friendsh!p”
Tola swallowed as Amara approached her. They stood face to face, staring in agitation at each other, but they couldn’t stay like that for long. Drawn to each other by the memories of friendsh!plong forgotten, they pu-ll-ed each other into a ti-ght hvg. Amara felt it then! A kind of peace that comes with forgiveness and letting go. She smiled happily. “Thank you Tola”
CAN’T HOLD MY TEARS SEASON 2
EPISODE 25
Even though it had been ha-rd to leave Sam even for a minute, she had to step out of the house for the first time in three days. Sam was at home with his grandparents – Mr and Mrs Peters, who couldn’t let him out of their sight for even a second. Amara on the other hand, drove to Reliance, feeling anxiety eat away at her. She was putting her past behind her. Now, looking at the positive side of all that had befallen her, she could boldly say that ‘all things had worked together for her good’. If she hadn’t met Alex and gotten pregnant, she would probably still be in the village, since her parents were not even rich enough to sponsor her university education. Everything that happens in a human’s life is for a divine reason, one that cannot be easily deciphered by the feeble minds of men. Now she appreciated the mistakes she had made in life, for those mistakes have crafted a br@nd new woman from the naive village innocent that she once was. Now, she had become a f0rç£ to be reckoned with in the society; a woman that cannot be easily deceived by minute things. She had become wiser, better and stronger, all thanks to the past she had once seen as the bane of her existence. Now she had reasons to thank Alex, because, he had unknowingly led her to becoming a better and happier person.
With a sigh, Amara parked her car and alighted. She craned her head to the back to look at the building that towered over her. Reliance! Never had the name of a company suited its owner so well. Closing her eyes briefly to muster enough courage, she walked into the company. The company radiated Kelvin’s ess£nce and strength and she smiled happily, proud of the man she had fallen in love with. Her heart pounded wildly. She was relying on the hope that Kelvin was here. She had been to his house and called him several times; she couldn’t begin to think of what she would do if he wasn’t here. She approached the receptionist with a shaky smile on her face. “Hello miss, how may I help you?” The lady asked.
“Errrr… I am here to see Mr Kelvin Johnson” her heart pounded loudly in her ears.
“I am sorry Ma’am, he is not here at the moment”
Amara deflated and her knees almost gave way beneath her. She felt the overwhelming urge to cry. “When would he be here, maybe I can wait” she squeaked.
“Actually, I think he is out of town, he is not always in Lagos for long.” the lady confided.
“Do you have any idea where he might be or when he would be back?”
“Mr Johnson never tells us about his movements ma’am, I am sorry. He usually is at our other br@nch in Abuja but he is not there currently.”
Amara left the place dejected. She had never felt such pain and emptiness. She was worried, nervous and scared. She didn’t even want to imagine anything bad happening to Kelvin. How would she live without him? How would she contain the fact that she might never see Kelvin again? No! She refused to give up. She would find Kelvin no matter the cost. Blinking back unshed tears, she drove away from Reliance.
********************
s£nator Bello followed the doctor into his office with a grave look on his face. It had been several days of turmoil. It seemed his life had suddenly turned into a world-clas-s circus displ@ycentre. First, it was the issue of Alex’s parentage, now this! He swallowed ha-rd as he settled in the chair facing the doctor. “Just tell me my son is going to live doctor” he said instantly without preamble. He couldn’t lose everything in his life all at once! First his family, his wife, now his son? How could he live on when he had literarily nothing to live for?
The doctor looked down and sighed. “He would live sir”
s£nator Bello re-leased the breath that he had unconsciously been holding. “Oh thank God! Thank God!” He looked up like he was gazing directly at God.
“But…”
The s£nator froze. “But what?” His voice rang out loud and clear, panic clinging to his every muscle.
The doctor looked around again before his gaze finally settled on the s£nator. “Sir… I am afraid the accident affected his spinal cord”
“What? So… i mean… what is the effect?” He asked dre-adfully.
“Due to the examinations carried out on him, I fear he has p@rtial paralysis” he declared.
“What?” The s£nator jumped up. “You can’t be serious! How can my son be paralysed?”
The doctor shifted. “Not complete paralysis, only p@rtial. Some p@rts of his b©dy have gone numb and would not respond to command, however, there are some p@rts of his b©dy which are still functioning to capacity.”
s£nator Bello racked his f!ngersthrou-gh his hair, then, drew in a de-ep breath. “How long will this last?”
“With due thera-py, we might be able to bring his b©dy back to its full capacity in the long run, but I can’t promise anything”
The s£nator walked out of the doctor’s office with sagging shoulders. He couldn’t come to terms with what he had just heard. It was so disheartening! How would Alex take this news? How would he be able to bear this state he now found himself? Mr Bello entered the waiting room and three women jumped up. His wife, Alex’s mother and Alex’s wife. They all looked at him with grave expressions on their faces. How could he tell them that Alex would be confined to a wheelchair, reduced to nothing more than a liability on everyone? The news was more than he could handle himself.
From the corner of his eyes, he watched his wife walk up to him. The one plea-sant thing that Alex’s accident had achieved was that it had succeeded in bringing him closer to his wife. He couldn’t tell if she still wanted to go throu-gh with the divorce, but he would enjoy this time with Katherine, because despite knowing that Alex wasn’t her biological son, she had stayed put in the hospital throu-ghout the waiting trauma. He turned to her just as she stood before him, eyes filled with compas-sion. Unable to hold back, he pu-ll-ed her into a ti-ght embr@ce. Just like a mother would console a grieving child, Mrs Bello offered what little consolation she could offer.
********************
Amara entered the church with her heart thudding wildly in her che-st. Amara looked round the empty church, filled with only numerous chairs. It had been years, almost ages since she stepped foot into a church. She missed it. She missed that close intim-acy she had once shared with her maker. Would God reject her? If he did, she knew she surely deserved it.
She walked until she finally found herself standing next to the altar. Sighing de-eply, she knelt down before the altar, allowing silence to envelope her thoughts. Closing her eyes, she opened her mouth and – for the first time in years – prayed.
********************
Amara entered the eatery with an excited Sam clutching at her arm. Sam hadn’t st©pped asking for a cu-p of ice cream all day and since Amara couldn’t deny him anything, they were at the eatery to buy the ice cream. She walked to the counter and smiled at the uniformed ladies. She opened her mouth to order for two cu-ps of ice cream when suddenly, Sam’s high pitched scream caught her full attention.
“Daddy” Sam suddenly screamed and snatched his hand from hers.
Amara turned around so fast, she nearly lost her footing. It was like one those slow motions she had watched countless number of times, but now, it seemed like she was the cast in one of those movies. Her heart slammed wildly against her che-st, almost breaking out of it as her eyes collided with Kelvin’s. Her breath caught in her throat and she gr@bb£d the counter for support. Was it real? Was she really staring at Kelvin? His pres£nce, despite the distance, enveloped her s-en-ses, leaving her completely and utterly breathless. Her eyes were as large as two hvge doughnuts. Kelvin! Kelvin is here! She couldn’t believe it! Neither could she move a limb. She was practically glued to the ground, staring at Kelvin like an idiot as he stood, close to the entrance, also staring at her.
As Sam got closer to Kelvin, Kelvin had to take his eyes off Amara. His eyes brightened in an animated fashion and he scooped him up in the air, the way he used to. Sam squealed in delight, giggling happily. He had missed him so much. Lowering Sam, Kelvin squ-atted before him. “How have you been son? Your cheeks look bigger” He said, pu-lling Sam’s cheeks pla-yfully.
Sam was smiling so wi-dely, the smile engulfed his entire face. “Mummy has been giving me too much food.”
He glanced at Amara who had finally moved a bit closer, with a cunning smile. “I am sure she has. Have you been taking care of mummy?” He asked Sam with a raised eyebrow.
Sam grinned proudly. “Yes daddy, Sam has been a very good boy. Promise”
Kelvin chuckled. “I am sure you have.”
“We c@m£ to buy ice cream daddy” Sam said, looking longingly at the counter.
“Really? Which one are you buying for mummy?” He asked, with a mischievous glimmer that Amara knew too well.
“Chocolate ice cream. Mummy said it is her favourite”
Kelvin’s eyes slowly moved to Amara’s as his eyes heated. “Of course.” He whispered to Sam, still looking at Amara. “Chocolate ice cream is the sweetest I have tasted” his gaze lingered on herl-ips and Amara’s face turned red from embarras-sment. This is not the scenario she had imagined when she thought of the time she would meet Kelvin. She swallowed as his gaze slid back to her face. “Ara” he whispered. How could Kelvin make her feel so alive by just whispering that?
“Kelvin… I…” she stammered.
“Kelvin” a high pitched woman’s voice pierced the tension between them and Amara looked up to see a stunningly beautiful woman walking towards Kelvin. Kelvin straightened to his full height as the woman got to his side and poked pla-yfully at his side. “I told you to wait for me, how could you leave me behind?”
He smiled at her. “I am sorry baby”
CAN’T HOLD MY TEARS SEASON 2
EPISODE 26 (FINALE)
“Kelvin” a high pitched woman’s voice pierced the tension between them and Amara looked up to see a stunningly beautiful woman walking towards Kelvin. Kelvin straightened to his full height as the woman got to his side and poked pla-yfully at his side. “I told you to wait for me, how could you leave me behind?”
He smiled at her. “I am sorry baby”
Baby? Baby? Amara saw red as she glared at the two of them. What was going on? Fury and uncontrollable jealousy ate at her as she glared at the pair before her. Could this be Kelvin’s girlfriend? She almost expired at the thought. She had to get out of there fast before she embarras-s herself by crying at their feet. They were beginning to draw stares in the eatery. Was it a coincidence that every time she was in this eatery with Kelvin, she always managed to draw people’s attention?
“Aunty Tricia” Sam squeaked and jumped on the lady, who gr@bb£d him fondly. Oh great! So Kelvin has introduced my son to his woman! Oh perfect. Amara’s blood boiled h0t. All thoughts of apologizing to Kelvin was forgotten as she snatched Sam from the ‘Aunty Tricia’s hands.
“Let’s go Sam” she said instantly.
“But I want to stay with daddy” Sam complained.
“He has a guest” she said firmly and started to move when the lady’s giggling voice halted her.
Tricia looked up at Kelvin. “I think she is jealous”
Kelvin was staring at Amara with an unre-adable expression on his face, but an amused expression crossed his face at Tricia’s comment. “It seems so”
Amara’s fury spiralled beyond control and she bit her ton-gue to st©p herself from causing a scene, more than enough people were staring alre-ady. “Let’s go Sam” she almost dragged Sam along in her rage. She blinked away the bitter tears that clung to her eyes. As she got to the door, she pried it open but the door didn’t budge. She pu-ll-ed at it again but the door remained glued to its sp©t. She whirled around to yell at someone, anyone, as long as the door was opened. What her eyes collided with froze her to the sp©t.
“Amara Peters, will you marry me?”
Amara’s eyes were so large, they engulfed her entire face. She couldn’t see clearly as tears blurred her gaze. She wiped at her eyes vigorously until she could see clearly.
Kelvin’s heart hammered against his che-st as he knelt down at the middle of the large eatery, waiting for Amara’s response. What if she says no? Oh no! He mentally shook his head. He couldn’t negatively now. He swallowed ha-rd as the hand holding the ring box shook nervously.
“Marry you?” She croaked out, grasping the handle of the door behind her.
Alarm rang in Kelvin’s head. Mr Sinja had encouraged him to take this step. Could he have been mistaken to as-sume that Amara loved him. It had taken days to summon this courage, but now, as Kelvin watched Amara, he had the great fear that the would be turned down. “I love you Amara, with the whole of my being” he said, his heart pounding. He looked at the small crowd in the eatery and yelled. “I love Amara Peters” his voice echoed and he watched Amara wipe at her eyes over and over again. His eyes burned into hers intensely. “I want to spend the rest of my days with you Ara, loving you and our son and every other child that comes along. plea-se marry me Ara”
“Oh Kelvin…” Amara cried and ran to him, going to her knees and hvgging him ti-ghtly. Kelvin clutched her to him ti-ghtly, inhaling her ess£nce. “I thought you wouldn’t want to have anything to do with me Kelvin” she murmured, crying against him. “Oh Kelvin…” she m0@n ed as her tears racked throu-gh her. “I love you Kelvin. I love you so much”
Kelvin pu-ll-ed back slightly, searching out her mouth until he found it. He k!$$£d her de-eply, running his f!ngersthrou-gh the silky mane of her hair. pu-lling back f0rç£fully, he stared intently into her eyes. “Is that yes?” He whispered against herl-ips.
A bright smile slid to her tears stricken face. “It’s a yes” she whispered, then, looking at the crowd of expectant spectators, she screamed. “Yes, I will marry you Kelvin Johnson”
Loud shouts and applause greeted the proclamation as Kelvin sli-pped the dazzling diamond ring onto her f!nger and k!$$£d her f!nger before k!ss!ngher lingeringly.
Tricia cleared her throat and Kelvin and Amara finally stood up. “Careful lovebirds, we have children here.” Then, she stretched her hand to Amara. “I am Tricia Johnson Babs, Kelvin’s sister” she declared with a grin. “I am not his girlfriend, so you don’t have to worry”
Amara felt an embarras-sed flush creep up her cheeks. “I am sorry” then she frowned. “Babs?” She turned to Kelvin. “Babs? That is the surname of the foun-der of br@cket right?”
Kelvin smiled. “That is Max, my cousin”
Amara gaped at him. So that is why Maxwell had looked familiar!
“Yaaaay!” Sam screamed happily. “My mummy is marrying my daddy”
Tricia lifted him to her arms. “That is so right!” She faced the couple. “When is the wedding?”
********************
Kelvin stood all grins at the altar with the most ravishing bride in the continent. He couldn’t wait to whisk her away from the crowd and have her all to himself. The happiness in him couldn’t be weighed by any scale. He smiled at Amara, with his eyes shinning with love and happiness. “I love you” he mouthed and she grinned.
Maxwell stood behind Kelvin, smiling at the couple in front of him. He still couldn’t believe he was exceedingly happy as the best man, but he was. There was a time he had sworn that he would do anything to make Amara his, but now, instead of being angry that he was the best man in Amara’s wedding, he was exceedingly happy. He had never seen his cousin so happy in his life. He on the other hand, felt another type of happiness. He turned to stare at Tina, who was seated with Tola and his heart soared. He and Kelvin had gathered money to fly Tina out of the country where she had un-dergone the Kidney transplant. Now, she was recovering fast from the operation and Max knew he would do anything to capture her heart as quic-kly as she had captured his. Besides, who can resist Max’s charms? He grinned to himself.
Amara had never felt more blessed. Now her life felt complete. Amara looked at the crowd and saw her two mothers, dressed in the same native attire and smiled. Forgiveness pays! She had come to love and forgive Mrs Bello. Only pain can come from carrying anger in your heart and Amara had learnt that the ha-rd way. Tina and Tola win-ked at her and she smiled happily.
“You look ravishing boss” Tega said to Amara and Amara smiled.
“Thank you Tega” she said to her Maid of Honour.
“You can go on a full one month honeymoon boss, Ara P is safe with your P.A” Tega said proudly.
Amara grinned. She had officially made Tega her as-sistant and it was an excellent choice. “I am sure of that”
Kelvin enclosed his arms around his newly wedded wife from behind and Tega literarily vanished as Amara turned to her husband with a bright dazzling smile. Kelvin rained k!sses on her face and she giggled. “What do you say we escape from this place?” He asked distractedly as he k!$$£d her n£¢k.
Amara ran her f!ngersthrou-gh his hair. “It sounds like a good plan” she murmured.
He lifted his bright eyes to hers. “Aren’t you curious about where we spend our honeymoon Mrs Johnson?” He raised his brow.
Amara linked her arms around his n£¢k. “I would go anywhere, as long as I am with you Mr Johnson”
Kelvin lowered his head and k!$$£d her hungrily and she returned the k!sswith equal fervor as she basked in the happiness that Kelvin had brou-ght into her life. They forgot everything and everyone as they dwelt in a world that belonged to them alone. A world where unlimited sacrifices are made for love.
***THE END***
I will like everyone re-ading this story to say one or two things about the story.