5/6
*LOVING MY BEST* *FRIEND’S FIANCEE*
EPISODE 5
*Val’s side of the story continues*
Clara finally *recovered after spending agonizing weeks at the hospital but unfortunately for me our *relationsh!pnever recovered and right from the moment* she was discharged started avoiding me. I couldn’t really believe* a woman would abandon her man and wedding plans just because of a singular mistake from her man. It was *something so very incomprehensible.
I had seen friends who their girlfriends caught in the act yet their relationsh!ps never ended. Why* was mine so different? I couldn’t help but wonder over and over.
As days *progressed I found relief in drinking and started drinking heavily. It was as if my life was alre-ady over. I just didn’t know where to start or how* to go about things. Well at least I will soon be a father. I always consoled myself with the thought and yes about Queen, I decided to pay her a visit and see how she would receive me.
On that fateful Thursday afternoon I showed up at her salon, smiling sheepishly. She was so shocked to see me. It was very obvious with the way she froze as her eyes fell on me. She quic-kly left her salon and joined me outside.
‘’what brings you to my salon Val. I’m really surprised’’ she managed to mutter as she scanned me with her eyes.
‘’I c@m£ to see how you and my baby is doing’’ I answered. She scoffed.
‘’which baby?’’ she asked
‘’the one you told me before your wedding’’ I answered quic-kly.
‘’well I’m sorry; it was something I made up back then. You can see I’m happily married and any child I have now belongs to my husband’’ she softly explained. This time it was my turn to scan her with my eyes. She still looked as S-xy as she used to. Evil thoughts quic-kly flew into my head.
‘’you ruined my relationsh!pwith Clara, what makes you feel I will allow you to keep yours huh?’’ I asked. She kept quiet.
‘’I have a *whole lot of reasons to destroy your marriage. At least I can come to claim your first child and even if I’m not actually the father the dust it will create will be enough to end your marriage’’ I threatened.
*
‘’Chidi is very loving and un-derstanding. My marriage can never fail’’ she tried to argue faintly.
‘’that’s your business’’ I scoffed
‘’so what is it you want? I know you didn’t come here only to threaten me’’ she asked. I smiled.
‘’well since I’m no longer in any relationsh!pat the moment. We can continue from where we st©pped. If you can come to my place this evening for us to have a good time and you make me happy, I promise not to do anything that will ruin your marriage’’ I proposed. She kept quiet as she pondered over my proposition.
‘’this evening’’ I said once again, smiled and left her without waiting for a reply. It was a proposition I felt she would take and yes as for me I really didn’t have anything in mind yet for her only that I nee-ded a woman that moment to satisfy my urge.
———————–
*Queen’s side of the story*
My wedding went swiftly as planned even though it was a very low key wedding due *to the fact that we didn’t have much time for something much more robust. I was happy things settled the way it went without much drama. I equally was happy that Clara never actually found* out that I was responsible for the tension between her and her fiancée. I even paid her some visits at the hospital and she never for once confronted me over anything.
Slowly I began to forget my relationsh!pwith Val as I learned to manage my husband and concentrate on other things. To be frank I regretted the *role I pla-yed in destroying my friend’s relationsh!pbecause I was carried away by S-x and I never knew Val still remembered me till the afternoon he showed up at my salon* with his threats.
I knew I had *to comply to keep his mouth shut because he was nothing but a broken animal that was looking for someone to drag down with him. I knew he meant every threat he* *made and I knew he had nothing to lose at this stage. I regretted ever telling him about the* pregnancy. It really was one of the so many mistakes I made.
Later that evening, I called my *husband to tell him that I would be coming home late due to a home service I was going to render to a customer. Afterwards I proceeded to Val’s house with a pounding heart because* I really didn’t know what to expect in his place.
Val welcomed me with a smile as soon as I showed up at his door, ushered me in and served me a drink. I just was very nervous as I took his drink. Of course I no longer trusted him. He could even be setting me up for all I know.
Minutes later, he c@m£ close to me, ca-ressed my shoulder and slowly reached for my brea-st. I never resisted him. If that was all he nee-ded, I had no problem giving in to him.
Few minutes later we were in his room where he did to me what he knew how best to do. I couldn’t st©p myself from screaming out as he li-cked and knacked me with great abandon, front and back, igniting my whole b©dy with fire.
‘’I want you to make me a promise’’ I demanded from Val in one of the evenings I spent in his place.
‘’what do you want?’’ he asked curiously.
‘’that you will never attempt to break up my marriage’’ I solemnly demanded. He quic-kly shrugged.
‘’I won’t have any reason to do that as long as we are cool together’’ he answered while I looked away with a bit of disappointment. Yes it was fun hanging out discreetly with him but I nee-ded no telling that our affair won’t last long. I had this feeling that ‘once my pregnancy becomes advanced and I st©p visiting him that he would start acting funny’. Moreover there wasn’t any way my mind would ever be at peace with him at the corner.
‘’well I promise not only to be giving you S-x from now on-wards but I will now be cooking and washing for you as well whenever I have the strength. So plea-se don’t ever think of betraying me’’ I offered. He giggled and k!$$£d me.
‘’my dear I will never try to betray you’’ he promised but de-ep down all I now thought of was nothing but how to get rid of him. I really had to do something fast but no idea c@m£ to my head ap@rt from poisoning him.
‘’But how do I go about it without raising suspicion?’’ I wondered faintly.
Two days later I nervously approached a very popular ‘herbal’ seller in my area everyone knew by the name BABA. According to stories I heard about him, he had herbal drink for any type of problem. Snake bite, gonorrhea in fact everything and I felt perhaps if I could tell him that I nee-ded to poison someone after stating my reasons he might help me. It was a risk I felt was worthy to take.
I waited at his small shop till his last customer left before first narrating my problem to him. He patiently listened till I landed on what I nee-ded from him. He nodded and stared at me for few more minutes without saying anything, which got me very nervous as I wondered if he would help me or not. Opening up to him was a calculated risk and I made sure I painted a very nice pitiable picture for him. I told him ‘’I’m a pregnant married woman whose ex is threatening to sleep with even with my condition because of a mistake I made by telling him of my pregnancy *before getting married. I told him any day I would st©p slee-ping with him that my ex could* *end up breaking my home and ma-king my child a bastard. I explained that my ex was a very bad man keen on ruining my marriage by coming for the child he earlier abandoned which he isn’t* even keen of raising if he should have him’’.
‘’well I thought for Igbo people, once a bride price is paid on a woman’s head, any fruit from her belongs to her husband?’’ Baba finally queried.
‘’I don’t know about tradition. I don’t even want my child to be a subject of controversy. I want him to have a happy home’’ I insisted breathlessly.
‘’can you pay two hundred thousand naira for a concoction?’’ he finally asked, settling my nervousness with his demand even though his price was outrageously high.
‘’two hundred thousand naira is too high BABA. plea-se collect fifty thousand naira from me’’ I pleaded, infuriating him with my bargain.
‘’woman I ordinarily don’t do this. I only listened because of your condition. I don’t like seeing children from broken homes because I grew up in one. The concoction I intend giving you is something that’s untraceable once you mix it in his drink, especially fruit jui-ce, the one you process at home. No doctor can ever discover anything from his blood. It will slowly destroy his immune system and all his organs without him noticing till it’s too late. Death is swift once it gets fatal. So if you can’t pay one hundred and fifty thousand naira just forget it and leave my office’’ he explained further. I knew I couldn’t argue with him. I hastily nodded in agreement because he had exactly what I nee-ded. Yes I never intended being a murderer but I had to protect my unborn child.
The next evening I brou-ght Baba’s money and he prepared an odorless liquid for me.
‘’if you can get to blend orange or any fruit to make a fruit jui-ce, just add the content half sh0t of whisky cu-p for a medium sized water bottle. By the time he finishes it, s£nd him more and more. By the time you are due to deliver you will see the result’’ he explained while I smiled in contentment.
The next evening, I paid Val a visit with my Greek gift. A very sweet home made jui-ce to buy his heart as I claimed to him. He was so surprised and happy that I would care so much as to take my time to make such jui-ce for him
‘’yes dear I’m doing all these so that by the time I have my baby you won’t try to act smart’’ I told him truthfully but he misinterpreted my words and smiled happily as I safely kept the drink in his fridge.
LOVING MY BEST *FRIEND’S FIANCEE*
EPISODE 6 (FINALE)
*Val’s side of the story continues from the next day after Queen’s last visit to his ap@rtment*
I never really expected Queen to leave herself completely *for me the way she did after I threatened her and since I had nothing to lose at that moment enjoyed every attention she gave me. She* even offered cooking and *washing for me, something I never requested but then I un-derstood her reason for all* the gesture. She badly wanted to save her marriage *and was willing to do anything to see it throu-gh. *Fighting with me or opening up to her husband would be a very bad move* from her p@rt which she knew and the best choice was ma-king me happy while I satisfied her in return.
—————————
*
I checked my time which displa-yed *6:30pm; I breathed de-eply as I recounted every single thing that* had happened so far between Queen and I. It *really wasn’t a very plea-sant memory but an eventful one. I did things I regretted, things that ruined* me and things that got me in my current situation. I couldn’t even imagine how Clara was living her life without me. I couldn’t imagine her falling in love with someone else. I really messed up big time.
With a sigh I slowly headed *to my fridge to fetch the fruit jui-ce Queen brou-ght for me the previous evening. I hadn’t t©uçhed it since she left it for me and I felt my lonely evening was a ** good moment to have a good drink. As I opened the fridge, I heard a knock on the door. I quic-kly shut the fridge and hastily went to check who could* be knocking by that hour.
I couldn’t believe my eyes with who I **saw. The person standing at my door by that very hour was Clara. I was so speechless* , so shocked and so surprised.
*
‘’you won’t let me in huh?’’ I heard her say softly, bringing me out of my shock with her words.
‘’oh my God’’ I couldn’t help but scream. I never prayed for her visit, I never asked God for such miracle yet he found me worthy of such.
She slowly walked in and sat on one of my single chairs while I sat on the other one as I scanned her with my eyes. She really appeared to have added a bit of weight and different. . Of course I alre-ady lost count of days I last saw her. I had to give up on her when I noticed she was doing everything possible to stay away from me and living very far away helped her achieve it.
‘’I can’t believe you are here Clara. Let me get you something to drink first’’ I managed to mutter, as I got up. She softly smiled.
‘’I can’t believe I’m in your house either, anyway let’s talk first before anything’’ she replied, st©pping me with her words.
‘’I’m *pregnant Val. I never wanted to tell you because of what you did. You broke my heart and after our* wedding couldn’t *hold because of my sickness, I felt maybe God wanted us to go our separate ways. But I have thought things throu-gh. I have consulted family and religious* people and everyone advised me to give you a second chance for the sake of my baby. I’m capable of being a single mother but I won’t like to deny my child any privilege. So I’m in your house with this question. Am I still welcome in your life? Are you re-ady to be a responsible man?’’ she asked, shocking me with every single word that escaped herl-ips. I felt cold shiver all over me as I rushed to her side.
‘’yes I’m re-ady. I have been so hopeless without you. Let’s rebuild all I destroyed. I beg of you’’ I prayed from my heart.
At that moment I was re-ady to forget everything about Queen, her pregnancy and whatever we had going. I was so re-ady to call her the next day and tell her to forget about me and face her marriage. I couldn’t lose this opportunity of having my life back with the woman I had always planned spending the rest of my life with.
‘’now we are done talking. You can now offer me something and I hope it’s special’’ she said pla-yfully. I nodded with all happiness and headed to my fridge.
I quic-kly rushed to my fridge as if I had any quality wine inside. Luckily i heard Clara’s voice again.
‘’Val I know nothing is in your fridge. Just get me cold water plea-se’’ she demanded sweetly, leaving more smiles on myl-ips. I obeyed her demand and served her water.
We spent the rest of the night discussing about life and the future. We never ate that night and I believe it was just the happiness that was too much for any other thing.
———————————-
Clara headed back to Enugu the next day, leaving me a very happy and fulfilled man. I wasted no time in meeting Queen and settling issues with her. We ended everything we had going that very day. I returned home and disposed her food and the drink she made for me. I had to re-move everything about her from my life in order to move on with the second chance life gave me.
———————–
*Queen’s side of the story continues*
My conscience never gave me any piece of mind after I left the poison in Val’s fridge. I was so scared and nervous.
‘’will everything work out without giving me away?. Will I be able to live the rest of my life with such guilt? What if it fails?, what if Val finds out?’’ I wondered over and over. I couldn’t even sleep.
Two days after, I got a call from Val, his tone sounded so different and my heart froze.
‘’hey can we see today?. It’s very urgent’’ he asked quic-kly.
‘’sure of course, Should I come over to your house this evening?’’ I asked.
‘’no I will st©p by at your shop around 10am and wait for you in my car’’ he answered, leaving me more confused as ever .
To cut the long story short, I didn’t have to wait for long before I found out the reason he so urgently wanted to see me.
‘’Clara is back and with my child. We have gotten back together’’ he announced excitedly as soon as I joined him in his car that fateful morning. I could see very clearly how happy he was.
‘’I just c@m£ to tell you that whatever we have currently should end. Clara is back for real and still your friend since she never discovered anything. So I would like us to face our various families and forget whatever happened in the past. I have nothing against you anymore and I want you also not to have anything against me. You can have your child peacefully and enjoy life with your husband. I believe we will continue seeing each other, though this time as family friends’’ he offered while I breathed de-eply, shrugged in resignation and nodded.
‘’I’m happy for you Val. I wish you the best’’ I congratulated him.
Minutes later, I watched him drive away. I couldn’t get myself to ask him about the poisoned drink I gave him but then I remembered Baba saying that the poison would only work when taken over a length of time and only a bottle wouldn’t be enough to kill him. I prayed for his welfare as I regretted the money I wasted procuring the poison.
Few weeks later Clara and Val had a quiet wedding with few guests. Our two families remained family friends till this day. But unfortunately for me, I lost my baby at the point of delivery. I had a still birth and I never questioned God about it because he knew his reasons.
I still remember as Val and I exchanged glances as he visited me at the hospital with his wife. I could bet I saw a bit of joy in his eyes. The only thing that could have bound us forever was gone and we were forever free from it all. I could have killed him to keep my secret. He could have been long death if not for God’s favor. I could have been a murderer. I was lucky to get my relationsh!pand life back in the end.
But friends whenever you are engaged or in a very serious relationsh!pdesist from any temptation that could hurt your relationsh!p, it’s never worth it and never ends well no matter how sweet it looks in the beginning. And dear ladies, plea-se use your head whenever a guy tries to tempt you no matter how you feel towards him. Most times when things go wrong we the women carry the most blame. Sometimes you see a beautiful girl full of life commit suicide and you never would believe what led her to it.
The END