#TENDER_BEAUTY_2 (Life after the wedding)
EPISODE 7
I stood right there, at the entrance of Oyinade’s office, staring in utter shock. I could not believe my eyes. Oyinade was definitely oblivious of the fact that I was in the office as she held on to Richa-rd like a lifeline. Richa-rd tried to detach her on sighting me but she clung to his shi-t, too busy crying. I had left my office for Richa-rd ‘s, when I saw Oyinade’s door open. I wanted to bypas-s it and come back later to see her but a familiar shi-t st©pped me. The alarm went off in my head as I stepped closer and I instantly bec@m£ convinced that Richa-rd was there. I did not remember common courtesy which required me to knock before entering, I just pushed the door wi-der and there, before me was Richa-rd holding a crying Oyinade to his che-st with his arms all over her.
Richa-rd pushed Oyin away and her shock was evident when she saw me. Tears filled my eyes to the brim but I refused to give them the plea-sure of seeing me in tears. I ran out of the office which was alre-ady chocking me. I heard Richa-rd calling but I ran out like a crazy heartbroken teenager to the amazement and shock of the staff. Thank God we had a staff entrance so the patients could not see me. I could not hold the tears as I ran, it c@m£ cascading down without st©pping. I could not st©p, no, I could not. I felt like throwing up, and I did. Thank God no one was there.
I felt Richa-rd ‘s approach even before I heard it. I sprung to my feet, desperate to get as far away from him as possible. He called me over and over but I turned a deaf ear, wiping more tears fruitlessly from my face.
Richa-rd gr@bb£d my hand fiercely from behind. “What is wrong with you, Bell? Would you at least let me explain” he yelled, looking angry.
I shook myself out of his grasp. “Let me go” I shouted.
“What you saw was nothing. I… she was going throu-gh an emotional breakdown caused by her fiancé and -”
“And what? And you decided to offer yourself as a substitute?” I said with pure anger.
He looked outraged and pained. “What? You don’t trust me? For how long have you had doubts in me honey?” he said folding his arms around his che-st.
“That girl told me… she told me yesterday but I did not believe her. I trusted you cos I thought you loved me” I kept on lamenting, vibr@ting with tears of anger and hurt.
“What nons-en-se are you saying? What girl? What did she tell you?” I was confused.
I just could not st©p my tears and even though Richa-rd was de-eply angry and hurt, he could not bear to see me cry. I saw it in his eyes, the way he shifted nervously in confusion. I bec@m£ very dizzy and everything rotated around me. I felt Richa-rd ‘s arms around me in an instant but I still summoned strength to ask him to get his filthy arms away from me. He did not seem to hear or probably wasn’t re-ady to comply because he held me firmly and I pas-sed into a realm of nothingness.
********************
Oyinade jubilated like she never had in her life. She never expected things to turn out the way they did. She had merely wanted to put ideas into Richa-rd ‘s mind by pressing herself to him. She could not imagine anyone being immune to her charms. She had also hoped that if luck shined on her, she would have someone see them who could carry the gossip to Belina.
She had planned on seeing Belina though, just to taunt her with words but she doubted that words would have gone very far knowing that Belina was a psychologist and could deduce truth from lie with a glance. A wi-de, evil grin spre-ad across her face as she dialed Ronke’s number to give her the good news.
********************
Richa-rd held Belina in his capable hands, racing towards the hospital. His heart was pounding wildly even though he knew that she just fainted and would awaken soon.
“Bell… sweetie c’mon wake up” he kept on saying as he carried her. He entered throu-gh the staff side and some of the staff members were around him in an instant. They placed Belina on the stretcher and wheeled her into one of the rooms. Richa-rd was denied entrance and he stood outside fuming in veiled anger which was just a camouflage for the de-ep worry in him. He wanted to vex his power and authority as the head and owner of the hospital in order to enter but he knew that the doctor was doing what he was paid to do. Ap@rt from that, he is not one to be found guilty of pride. If he had been in a better state and if it hadn’t been Belina, he would have guessed what the matter was without waiting for the doctor’s report. He would have guessed it right from the start but some things just skips you when you are with the one you love.
Doctor Felix approached with a smiling face. Even if Belina were awake, Richa-rd still could not see why he should be smiling so excitedly.
“She is alright sir but asleep now” he said still smiling.
Richa-rd breathed de-eply as a sign of relief, still curious though. Doctor Felix was de-eply happy for the couple as he had been p@rt of their waiting period. He is a year older than Richa-rd but he respected him more than he could ever respect someone five years older than him. Ap@rt from Richa-rd being his boss, he had taught him humility. He treated everyone equally and even though he was probably the youngest millionaire in Nigeria, he was not puffed up with pride. The same goes for the ever beautiful Belina, he thought. The relationsh!pRicha-rd shared with his wife was one that he would wish to have if he finally found the right person.
He held Richa-rd ‘s gaze with a grin, wondering how his boss could have missed Belina’s true condition, considering his unequalled doctorate skills. “Congrats sir, you are going to be a father”
Richa-rd blinked and swallowed ha-rd . “W… what are… what are you talking about?” he stammered.
Kelvin expected this. “Your wife is pregnant sir”
********************
Ronke dropped the phone with smiles all over her face. It had been fun and interesting, using her semi-tatafo voice to shake Belina’s trust in her husband. She was very convinced that things were falling in line. Luck even seemed to smile on them because Belina walked in on Richa-rd and Oyin, ma-king it look like a confirmation of what she had heard.
She knew that money would be at her beck and call if Oyin becomes the apple of Richa-rd ‘s eyes. She would be able to extort money from Oyinade as much as she liked, but what if Oyin tried to prove stubborn then? Blackmail would come in handy then, she thought. Surely, she would not risk having their secrets out in the open.
********************
Richa-rd entered the room Belina was in, with tears clouding his sight. He was almost never moved to tears but now, all he wanted to do was cry tears of joy. He knew the news c@m£ at the wrong time but uncontrollable joy was the only thing he could feel. His heart was filled with pride and love; the kind you can only feel when you become a father. Even though he could not see a child physically, he could feel the child’s pres£nce. He could not believe he had skipped the fact that she might be pregnant. He could have easily put one and one together and arrive at this same conclusion. How could he even as-sume she was when they had believed God for the fruit of the wo-mb for over two years? He was sure that despite Belina’s anxiety, she never suspected the possibility of her being pregnant.
He sat by his slee-ping wife, marveling at her increasing beauty. They had had a fight, a misun-derstanding; but even her distrust could not st©p his heart from beating wildly when she was near. He bent over and k!$$£d her lingeringly on her forehead. She had mentioned a girl, he remembered. Who was that? What did she say? And why was it yesterday? All these went throu-gh his mind within seconds but it was overtaken by his heart felt joy. ‘You are going to be a father’, this went throu-gh his mind again and he wanted to scream. He placed his palm on Belina’s tommy, feeling his child inside and the tears he tried to hinder flowed down his face. He wanted to explode. He had to tell someone. He left the room in a hurry to make a few calls.
********************
Oyinade went about her duty with smiles of victory on her face. She had successfully created a discord in that house. Now, the only thing she had to do was s£dûç£him while putting fire in that house continuously. She sp©tted Doctor Felix, being more lively and happy than usual. She had heard people gossiping about Richa-rd and Belina with long worried faces but she had as-sumed that it was due to the way and manner at which they both left her office. She hadn’t noticed the whole drama where Richa-rd carried an unconscious Belina back to the hospital.
“Doctor?” She called curiously
“Miss Oyin, hope your day is going on well” Doctor Felix faced Oyin.
“Very well” she said, meaning each word. “What is going on? You look very happy today”.
Ap@rt from being an exceptional doctor, Doctor Felix is not one to be trusted with a secret. Whenever he is happy about something, he tells as many people as possible. “Oh… I am very happy. Mrs. br@nson was brou-ght in by her husband after she practically fainted” he paused for emphasis. This delighted her. The shock had definitely taken its toll on her. She knew though that Doctor Felix could not be smiling because of this, so she pressed on for the full gist.
“Oh my God…” she g@sped feigning shock. “And?”
“After reviving her, I discovered the obvious. She is pregnant” he squealed.
“What” she exclaimed, her blood draining from her face, leaving her as white as snow.
WATCH OUT FOR EPISODE 8