I *AM ENGAGED*
(Betrayed trust) (Episode 4)
I felt like one bath in cold Ice. I felt instant fever. I was like a patient who had received the news of an incurable sickness. I felt like one who had just been diagnosed of HIV. I held my steering wheels firmly with my both hands, and I stared piercingly at Temi’s gate.
I could not believe what my eyes had seen. This was a lady that claimed to hate Dayo when I told her about the break up story, and how Dayo had treated me. This was a friend that called Dayo and threw random curses and insults at him in my defence. At some point, I had to beg her because I felt she was taking every thing too serious.
I remembered how I snatched the phone from her hands, when she tried to call one of her sugar daddies who was a general in the army. Temi said I was too soft and compas-sionate. She shouted at me to handover her phone to her.
“Allow me make I make one phone call na. Allow me Kemi.” She thun-dered in anger.
“Allow me plea-se. Which kind yeye the smell like this? Why Dayo go do you this kind thing? Is he mad? After all the suffering and endurance? After all the $h!t you have taken from him? After all the b©dy wey you give am? You mean say him chop you, shine congo, come break up with you like that?
“Kemi I no fit take that $h!t. You too soft. Kemi I swear to almighty God you are just too soft. Give me this phone let me make just one phone call. Make I call General make him s£nd boys come pick that bastard up. I wan show am say no be everyb©dy friend he fit use as a toy. Give me my phone make thun-der punish person pikin head today.” She rushed towards me like an angry dog.
Temi had lots of sugar daddies. These men were men of timber and caliber. These men held high positions in the country. Most of them had companies in and outside Nigeria. They were very wealthy and very connected too.
General Abdullahi Yusuf, was one of the generals who had fallen in love with Temi. He was Temi’s number one man – her number one sugar daddy amongst the rest.
Temi loved him the most because, she claimed he was a man who had packaging. This was when she returned after spending weekends in his guest house. Temi c@m£ back with lots of white leathers filled with provisions and cloths. I rushed to hvg her happily. I knew Temi will definitely bring home something for me.
“This your General love you o.” I grinned happily.
“Ah ah you wan try? My General has packaging.” She boasted and danced.
“He package for pocket, for r0m@nç£, for love, and even for be-d. That man is just too perfect. He has all I nee-d in a young man. I really wish my General wasn’t that old. I wish I was his first wife. I wish he was a young man like your Dayo.” She spoke.
General Abdullahi is a very handsome Fulani man, who has five wives and twelve children. He is also a grandfather to Six grand sons. This man was within the agerange of sixty to sixty-five years old.
He loved Temi so much to an extent he planned ma-king Temi his sixth wife. He showered Temi with lots of pres£nts and cash too.
General Abdullahi bought Temi her third Camry during her last birthday. It was a car that cost close to five million naira. He was a man willing to do anything to make Temi happy. It was throu-gh Temi that General Abdullahi got to know me. He knew my close relationsh!pwith Temi and admired our friendsh!p.
Despite d@t!ngTemi, the General still had an eyes for me. He had once approached me secretly to tell me how the image of my bu-ttocks in his head, had left his man-hood standing £r£¢tlike a NEPA pole throu-gh out the night.
He told me that he was willing to marry me and make me his sixth wife, if only Temi agreed to be his fifth wife. Temi trusted me. She trusted me so much not to steal her man from her, that was one reason she was not disturbe-d despite the advances the general threw at me.
If Temi had made that call that very day, Dayo would have been seriously dealt with by the general. General Abdullahi would not have taken it likely with him. He would have brou-ght down fire and bream stone on Dayo, and made him regret ever treating me the way he did.
Despite my persistent pleading for Temi to let the issue slide, she still promised to get Dayo arrested. She promised to teach Dayo a lesson. She promised that he was not going to get away with it.
But now I wondered why Dayo was driving into her compound freely like one who owned the house. I wondered what he was doing in Temi’s house on a Saturday morning.
I raised my hands in frustration and hit the steering wheel severally. I could not believe that the one I had come to seek comfort from, was now the one who brou-ght me pain. The friend who had stood beside me and advised me, was now the one who had turned to bite me. The friend on whose shoulders I had come to weep on, was one of the reasons I cried.
I have always known Temi to like Dayo as a person. Temi had always had an eyes for Dayo. She had always admired his personality. She had supported him from the very start. Even when he did wrong, she gave me a thousand reasons why he was still better than other men out there. When I tried to break up my relationsh!pwith Dayo, Temi threatened to snatch him from me if I tried such. But I felt that was only a mare threat to get me jealous, so I hanged onto my man.
Temi had told me, how she wished she was the one d@t!ngDayo. She had always told me how lucky I was to have Dayo as my b©yfri£nd.
Her love and admiration for Dayo, had began when Dayo organised a surprise birthday p@rty, to celebr@te Temi’s 24th birthday celebr@tion.
That very day, Temi and I had gone to the market to do some birthday shopping, when Dayo’s phone call c@m£ in throu-gh my phone. Dayo asked me where we were. I told him that we had gone to the market to shop. Dayo asked me to come along with Temi to a lounge not too far from where we were. He said he wanted us to meet a few friends of his.
I was interested and excited. Weeks before that, I had a conversation with Dayo about finding a suitable man for Temi. A man who will show her true love just as he was showing me. Dayo laughed. He promised to introduce his friend to her.
When his call c@m£ in on her birthday, all my thoughts went to our secrete plan. Dayo was such a genius I thought.
Minutes later, We arrived the lounge with Temi, and walked into the building. A bucket of shock landed on me when we found Dayo’s friends and some of Temi friends, gathered in circles, singing a birthday song to Temi.
Temi was so happy. No one had ever organised a surprise birthday p@rty like that for her. That very act, marked the undying love and admiration for Dayo. Temi’s heart was bought from that minute.
When she suddenly started defending his actions, that was when I knew that the way to
keep a woman is to win the heart of her friends too. When her friends and family likes you to an extent, the woman becomes your pet. It was obvious that the quic-kest way to calm a friend down, is to go throu-gh her best friend. And that was what Dayo had succeeded in doing without even knowing.
I switched off the ignition of my car, and pu-ll-ed my chair back. I wanted to see where all this ends. I was going to wait right outside, until Dayo leaves the house. There was something fishy which had been going on behind my back for so long, and I was inquisitive and curious to know.
❤I AM ENGAGED❤
(Betrayed trust) (Episode 5)
Minutes later, I felt my throat suddenly become dry like a desert. I realised I was thirsty and nee-ded water to quench my thirst. With my hands, I searched un-der the car seat for the malt Alex had bought me the previous night.
Alex had bought the malt when he realised I had become drun!kfrom the alcohol I consumed. Alex said it was going to help douse the effect of the alcohol I had drank, and also reduce the headaches I felt.
I was so drun!kto an extent, I felt Alex was giving me another alcohol to drink. I didn’t even wait to listen to him, neither did I bother looking at the can of malt he held in his hands. I tossed his hands away and shook my head. Haven noticed I was not interested in drinking the can of malt, Alex placed the malt un-der the drivers chair. before driving me home that night.
I felt relieved when I found the malt lying un-der the chair. I picked it up and like a fish, I galloped its smooth content down my throat.
I leaned my back on the chair, and with my head raised towards the roof of the car, I tried to recall how I had found myself in Alex house, instead of being taken to my own house.
Yesterday was Friday, it was clubbing day. Alex was someone who loved to club on a Friday. He had always insisted that I followed him to the club. But for some reasons, clubbing was just not my thing. I always turned down his offer claiming to be busy. This was one of the reasons Temi always tea-sed me.
Whenever she invites me to club with her on a Friday, I had one excuse or the other to give her. She called me a church girl. Most times, she said I behaved like a reverend sister and was pretending to be the holy person.
“Na only you wan go heaven? Shey me wey the club go enter hell fire na?” Temi will hiss and walk away.
But that wasn’t actually the reason for refusing to club on a Fridays. As a matter of fact, I had grown up in an area where clubs and bars were the raining businesses. I have watched people visit clubs and bars to drink. My mother owned a bar where she sold drinks too. I grew up working in my mother’s bar during my teenage days. It was there I met different kind of men.
I saw the good, the bad and the ugly. I saw those married men with pot bellies that looked like that of a cl@ypot. I saw the bad guys whosel-ips had turned black from years of smoking weed and cigarette, and whose hair looked rou-gh and unkempt like that of a mad man on the street.
I have seen those S-xually starved men, who c@m£ to pick up ladies who will spend the night with them. Most of these men where married men with children and a beautiful wife at home.
I have seen fights break out in my mothers bar severally. I have watched an angry man smash a green bottle on the head of another angry man. I have seen people being stabbe-d with a knife because of a little disagreement.
It was in my mother’s bar I learnt the act of being rude to men who wouldn’t respect themselves. Men who would sp@ñk my bu-ttocks when I turned to walk away after serving them their drinks. Men who would f0rç£fully draw my hands so I could sit on their l@ps. Men who would t©uçh my br£@st and run away, after paying me for the drinks they had drank. Some even attem-pted to k!ssme with their smelling breath that stunk like that of a dogs poo.
The truth was that I hated men from my childhood days. I hated their wild nature. Dayo’s heart break only made it worse for me to accept any other man in my life. I hated clubs too.
I had seen so much in bars and the clubs during my teenage days. There was actually nothing new there for me to witness. I derived no fun there. Visiting any club was only going to dig up old memories I have buried somewhere in my heart.
But this p@rticular Friday, Alex had pleaded with me to accompany him. He was persistent. He made me feel like a bad person when I said no to him. He claimed he was going to watch over me and protect me should anything bad arise. Alex made me feel safe in his hands.
I immediately placed a call to Temi to inform her of my outing with Alex. When I announced to her that I was visiting the club with Alex, Temi screamed.
“My babe don fall in love o. So your bestie like me no fit carry you commot, na Alex finally win. Weldone you here.” She spoke rather jealously.
We both laughed over it before I ended the call.
Even though Temi had known of my relationsh!pwith Alex, Temi had never met Alex before. This was because I refused to introduce Alex to Temi. I did not want to introduce a man that I knew will not last with me – a man I was just trying to study and build trust with. I wanted to get to a certain point in our relationsh!pwhen I would boldly introduce Alex to Temi and my family members too. I didn’t want my relationsh!pto be rushed like that of Dayo and I.
Few weeks after meeting Dayo, the love I felt for him led me into Introducing him to all my friends and family. They saw us like future couples. I flaunted his picture on Social media, and made everyone know I was in a relationsh!p. I did this without Dayo even proposing to me or putting a ring on my f!nger.
Only for Dayo to break up with me years later. I felt so stupid. I still remember how I had to find an excuse to tell those who knew the relationsh!pDayo and I had. To some, I had to tell a lie because I was too ashamed to tell them the truth. To others, I simply faced my fears and shame, and told them the truth.
My relationsh!pwith Dayo was an eye opener. It made me realise that d@t!ngAlex doesn’t really mean I was going to end up with him. So it was best to keep my relationsh!psecrete until I see signs of a future together.
We finally got to the club that evening, and Alex led me to the VIP lounge. It was a very beautiful place, filled with colourful bulbs and expensive drinks, which were neatly arranged in a small mini bar.
On a soft cushion which was just a few steps from Alex and I, I sighted a small girl whose head was placed on the che-st of a white bearded man, with a big stomach which was the size of a drum.
This man was over seventy years old. I turned to look at the skinny girl whose Sk-irt looked like a mini p@n-t, and whose crop t©p looked like a G-string. This lady was in her early teenage years or probably in her early twenties.
“Is this where you visit always?” I asked as my eyes walked round the room like a police officer carrying out an investigation.
“Yes babe. I come here once a while. But I have other clubs I visit. This is just one of my best sp©ts for me.” Alex replied.
“What usually brings you to the club. What fun do you derive from clubbing?”
Alex didn’t really seem disturbe-d with my question. All I just wanted knowing was the man I was d@t!ng. I wanted to un-derstand the man who was soon going to be a fiance to me. Marrying a man who clubs was never my dream as a lady. I detested men who drank and smoked.
Alex claimed that sometimes he just visited the club to drink and just stare at the beautiful and S-xy looking women who danced. After the the p@rty, he then drove home to sleep.
I remember asking Alex if he had ever taken a girl home from a club before. Alex bur-sted in laughter.
“Me? Carry a girl home from a club to my house? A total stranger? Ah common Kemi. I cannot do that jor. I am not that kind of man that sleeps with a prostitute. But I have done that once o. The lady was just too drun!kto go home, so hence my house was close, I decided to give her a ride. She only spent the night in my house that’s all.”
When Alex saw the look of disbelieve on my face, he raised his left hands up and placed his right hands on his che-st.
“Kemi trust me nau. You know I cannot lie to you. I have never taken a lady home with the purpose of slee-ping with her. It was just that lady I took home and.…”
“Alex and what?”
“Okay Kemi. She tried something funny but…”
“I knew it. I knew you have taken a lady home before and sle-pt with her. Look I know how these things
work. I have worked in a bar before o. You see that old man and that girl over there, I have seen such several times. It is not a new to me. So just st©p lying. I love it when a man is being sincere to me. I hate lies.” I spoke in a high-pitched tone.
I was alre-ady getting upset and angry with Alex for no reason. It was obvious that my anger was soon going to spoil the mood. The old memories of my bar and club experience was alre-ady taking over me.
The thought of Alex always visiting the club and claiming never to have taken a lady home just to have S-x with her, sounded unbelievable and unrealistic.
I bec@m£ restless and uneasy. My mood was spoilt within a twi-nkle of an eye.
“Kemi calm down. Don’t get angry again naw. See that was the only lady I took home. I swear to you, she was drun!kand nee-ded help. I cannot lie naw. What will I gain in lying to the woman I love.”
“What was the name of the woman you took home? Tell me Alex. That’s what men do. They take a woman home from a club to satisfy their selfish de-sires, only to fall asleep and wake up the next morning without even asking the name of the lady they had taken home.
” Alex, If you took her to your house you should have had a friendly conversation together. So what was her name?” I asked slightly raising my voice.
To be continued…