#THE_MIRACLE_I_nee-d_2
EPISODE 16
[A Week Later]
Kimberly’s head was filled with different thoughts as she stood in front of her mirror, adding the finishing t©uçh to her make-up, while she prepared to leave for her dinner meeting with a business client. After she was done with the make-up she walked over to her be-d to take a final look at the clothes she had picked from her closet earlier, so she could decide on which to wear.
Looking at the black knee-length go-wn, the p@n-tsuit, and the jumpsuit on her be-d, she had a difficult time ma-king up her mind on which to wear, so she closed her eyes and moved around her be-droom before returning to her be-d to pick one outfit with her eyes still closed. She opened her eyes when her f!ngersgr@bb£d one, and she slid into the stra-pless red and white polka dot jumpsuit which she had picked. After that, she picked up a white blazer from her closet which she could wear over the jumpsuit, before taking out her white stiletto heel and a red purse to match her outfit.
She moved away from the mirror to admire her outfit and then let out a sigh as she as-sured herself that she looked okay and she was fine both physically and emotionally. She wasn’t going to think about any of her problems at the moment. She wasn’t going to think about Eric either. She just didn’t want to think about anything else ap@rt from her meeting and work right now.
As she walked out of her be-droom and past Eric’s be-droom door, she paused and briefly wondered if he was avoiding her deliberately because he was still feeling guilty or maybe he was just still hanging around her house because he didn’t want to break his agreement with her. She reached for the doorknob to open the door to check if he was at home since it was Saturday, but quic-kly withdrew her hand and hurried out of the house. She wasn’t going to do that right now. Maybe later at night, she would, but not now.
de-ep down she wanted Eric to at least make some effort to get her to listen to him. She wanted him to follow her around and demand that she listen to him, rather than prepare breakfast for her every day and leave the house before she wakes up. The only reason she knew he was still un-der her roof was the meals he prepared and the residual scent of his perfume every time she left her room. He always left the house before she wakes up, and returns after she must have retired to her be-droom. It was as though he was avoiding her and didn’t want to run into her by mistake.
She wanted him to give her a good explanation for what he had done so they could move on, rather than stay out of her way. Yes, she was still mad at him, but she also wanted to see him. Maybe it was because she truly was in love with him and desperately wanted a reason to forgive his actions, or maybe it was because she felt less angry about the whole thing now that some time had pas-sed.
Just as she got into her car, her phone started ringing. She took it out to check the caller but rejected it once she saw it was Amaka. She felt less angry about what Eric had done, not about what Amaka had done.
s£nator Abamba had gone as far as getting a DNA test carried out on their seven years old son. When the result showed the kid was his, he had immediately s£nt Amaka packing from the house, leaving their kid with him. Amaka had been calling her since then to plead with her father on her behalf, but Kimberly had ignored all her texts and phone calls.
Thirty minutes later Kimberly was driving throu-gh the gates of the restaurant where she was to meet with her mysterious client as she followed the direction of the security men to the un-derground parking lot. Prisca had said the client just wanted to get acquainted with her and discuss a couple of things, and as such, she didn’t nee-d to take any do¢v-ments with her. According to Prisca, the client was alre-ady a bit familiar with her.
Seeing how grand the restaurant the client had chos£n for their meeting is, Kimberly couldn’t help but wonder just how wealthy he was, and what kind of deal he was going to make with them. She had wanted Prisca to attend the meeting in her stead since she wasn’t in the mood to meet with anyone, but Prisca had insisted that since she had missed the meeting the last time because she had been upset, it was only proper that she showed up in person. And Prisca had also nee-ded to attend her cousin’s wedding in Benin, so she had traveled the previous evening after work.
As Kimberly stepped out of her car, she adjusted her blazers. She didn’t know what to expect from this client, but she trusted Prisca, so she hoped everything would turn out well.
Immediately she walked into the restaurant a waitress approached her, “Mrs. King?” She asked with a polite smile, ma-king Kimberly’s heart skip a beat.
She hadn’t thought of that title in a while, so why did Prisca have to use that name when ma-king the reservation? Or was it the client? She mused as she gave a simple nod and allowed the waitress to lead her to another side of the restaurant. They took the elevator to the rooft©p, and the first thing she noticed surprisingly was the single table for two sitting there with two artificial candle lights, a bottle of wine, and two champagne glas-ses. She was no longer sure if this was going to be a business meeting or a dinner d@t£, she reasoned with a crease in her brow.
And as though the waitress re-ad her mind, her next words confirmed Kimberly’s suspicion, “Your husband will join you shortly,” she said with a bow, and walked away before Kimberly could ask her any question.
Eric had planned this? Kimberly wondered, her heart beating fast as she took a step forward. He was the client? So Prisca had lied to her? How was she going to face him? Was she re-ady for this yet? Yes, she knew she wanted them to resolve their issues, but she nee-ded to prepare herself for it emotionally. She didn’t want a situation where she would overreact or un-derreact. What if he wanted to end things with her? She wondered as her heartbeat doubled.
“Kim?” Eric called softly, and she turned around to see him kneeling on both knees. Eric swallowed, “I don’t think I can stay a day longer without talking to you. So punish me if you must, but plea-se hear me out and forgive me,” Eric pleaded, just in case she was planning to walk out on him.
Kimberly just stared at him without saying a word. What was she supposed to say? What could she say? She wondered as she looked at him. This was the first time she was really looking at him since they met at her father’s house the previous week, and his face seemed lean. He looked like he had lost a lot of weight, and she couldn’t tell if it was because he was overworking himself, or it was because of their issue.
“plea-se say something,” he pleaded when she just stood there staring at him.
“Why?” She finally asked in a very low but emotional tone which revealed that she was still hurting.
Eric didn’t un-derstand her question. Was she asking why he wanted her to say something or why he had done what he did? Prisca had said she had felt hurt mostly because of the whole stuff with Chuka ma-king S-xual advances at her.
“Why did you do that?” She asked again when she noticed he seemed to be struggling with her question.
Hearing her question, Eric bec@m£ hopeful, “I was scared. I’m sorry I hurt you because of my cowardice and insecurity. I just wanted to be sure,” Eric said without looking at her.
“No. What I want to know is why did it take you so long to do this?” She asked with a frown. Although she wanted a good explanation for why he had done what he did, she just realized that that didn’t seem to matter to her anymore. What was more important to her right now and what she wanted to know more than that was why it had taken him so long to come to her like this.
Eric started to stand up, but one glare from her s£nt him back on his knees. Fine, if this was the punishment she wanted to give him for hurting her, then he could kneel for as long as she wanted him to.
“You said you didn’t want to see me or be close to me, and I promised to stay out of your way until you could stand me,” Eric explained.
“I said that?” Kimberly asked, trying to remember when she had said so.
“Yes. That first night at the club,” Eric reminded her, and she narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
“If that is the case why are you here now?” Kimberly asked with a frown.
“Because I miss you. I’m tired of avoiding you. I’m tired of living un-der the same roof with you and not being unable to look at you or t©uçh you. I’m tired of not being able to hold you every time I hear you sobbing at night. I’m tired of not being able to ask you how you spent your day or listen to you talk about random stuff. Long life is not promised. I don’t know how many years either of us has to live, maybe one, two, ten or even fifty years, but what I know is that I don’t want to spend a day more not talking to you… So plea-se Kim. plea-se,” He pleaded desperately ma-king her heart flutter.
“What do you want, Eric?”
“You. Everything I want is packed in you. I want you. b©dy, soul, and spirit. I’m so crazy about you that I’ve not been able to think straight this whole time. So can you plea-se forgive me this once and give me another chance to make it up to you?”
Kimberly’s brow pu-ll-ed together thoughtfully, “I really don’t know. By now you should know that you have nothing to gain by being with someone like me…”
“Why not forgive me first, and then we can clear up the rest of your concerns?” Eric pleaded. His knees were beginning to hurt and he really wanted to stretch his legs.
“You won’t ever try something like that again? Ever?” Kimberly asked doubtfully.
“When I’m not mad?” Eric asked, ma-king her giggle despite herself, “I alre-ady promised God that if you forgive me, I will never lie to you or do anything to hurt you. I want to spend the rest of my life ma-king you happy,” Eric said, looking directly into her eyes as he held out his right hand for her to move closer to him.
Kimberly reluctantly took his hand and allowed him to pu-ll her closer to himself. She felt her eyes water as he wra-pped both hands around her w@!st and rested his head on her abd0m£n, “I’m so sorry Kim. I’m not sure I can ever apologize enough.”
“It is okay. I forgive you,” Kimberly whispered as she looked down at him and let the rest drop from her eyes.
“Can I stand up now?” Eric asked, ma-king her smile as she nodded her head.
Instead of responding Kimberly placed both hands un-der his arm and tried to help him stand up, but he drew in a sharp breath and flin-ched, “What is wrong?” Kimberly asked with a concerned frown as he stood up.
“My arm hurts,” he explained, and for the first time, she noticed a bruise on one side of his face.
“What happened to you? Were you hurt?” She asked, forgetting all about her grievances as she took a step back and looked at him.
“Don’t worry, I’m okay. I was attacked by some guys on my way back to the house some nights ago, but I feel better now,” he tried to as-sure her when he saw the worry in her eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me about it?” She asked in a scolding tone.
“You weren’t talking to me,” Eric reminded her.
“It doesn’t matter. If you were in pain you should have told me. What did they want? What did they do to you?” She asked anxiously, “No, wait! Did you get medical care? Let me see,” she said as she started trying to un-bu-tton his shi-t, to his amusement.
“Don’t worry about me. They just wanted my car and some money,” he said, but Kimberly wasn’t having any of it as she managed to un-bu-tton his shi-t, and just as she was about to take it off, the elevator door opened again and the waitress stepped out. She was taken aback by the scene before her, and Kimberly quic-kly pu-ll-ed back her hand in embarras-sment which made Eric chuckle. His first laughter in days.
“I… I… I was just… I wanted to…” Kimberly stuttered as she tried to explain what she was doing to the waitress who kept trying not to smile.
“Relax babe. You’re my wife, and you don’t owe her or anyone else any explanation when you t©uçh me, whether in pri-vate or in public,” Eric told her with a smile that reached his eyes, before turning to the waitress.
“We don’t nee-d to be served yet, give us some time alone,” he told her before returning his attention to Kimberly, “So where were we?”
“What?” Kimberly asked self-consciously when she noticed how Eric kept gazing at her as they ate.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever set my eyes on,” Eric said without taking his eyes off her, ma-king her look to the side in embarras-sment.
Kimberly cleared her throat, “There is no way that is true,” she said with an embarras-sed smile.
“Believe me, it is. You have a very pure and beautiful heart, and…” He st©pped when she giggled, “What is funny?”
How could he say her heart was pure when half the time she had lvstful thoughts? “I don’t think my heart is as pure as you think,”
“It’s a good thing I wasn’t asking you,” Eric said with a crooked smile, “So tell me what you have been up to ap@rt from the deals you signed.”
“Nothing much. I’ve just been engrossed in work. Went for my thera-py session two days ago…”
“Yeah, I was there,” Eric said ma-king her eyes wi-den in surprise.
“You were?”
“I promised you I would always be outside the office,” he reminded her.
“But how come I didn’t see you?” She asked as she watched him take a sip from his glas-s of wine.
“I waited until I was sure you were inside the office before entering inside. And I stepped outside when your time was almost up. I watched you leave,” Eric said ma-king her heart soften towards him.
“Do you always keep your promises?”
“I don’t think I do. If I did I wouldn’t have hurt you that way when I promised to always make you happy,” Eric said apologetically.
“Let’s not think about that. Let’s just forget it ever happened,” Kimberly suggested when she noticed how sad he still looked even though she had forgiven him.
“I promise not to ever deliberately do anything to hurt you again,” Eric promised.
Kimberly giggled, “You just said you don’t always keep your promises,” she reminded him jocularly, ma-king him chuckle.
“I intend to keep this one as long as I live,” Eric said ma-king her heart skip a beat.
As long as he lives? Kimberly wondered. Although he had said he loved her but was he thinking of spending the rest of his life with her?
“I didn’t think it was possible to miss someone the way I’ve missed you,” Eric confessed, breaking into her thoughts as he reached out to gr-ab her left hand which was resting on the table.
“So what was your plan? What if I refused to listen to you?” Kimberly asked as they both gazed at each other.
Eric chuckled as he let go of her hands and relaxed in his seat, “You don’t want to know.”
“Sure I do. Tell me,” Kimberly urged him on.
“Well, Prisca suggested I kidnap you and keep you somewhere alone with me until you give me another chance. Wumi suggested I leave your house and disappear until you miss me enough to search for me. Chuka wanted to meet with you and talk to you on my behalf. My mother wanted to meet you and talk to you as well. My father asked me to buy you everything I set my eyes on and flood your office and house with gifts,” Eric explained.
“I see you have so many advisers. So whose idea were you going to go with?”
“Which of them appealed to you the most?” He asked instead.
“I can’t tell you which appealed to me, but I can certainly tell you that Wumi’s idea didn’t appeal to me one bit. So tell me what you would have done,” she said eagerly.
It felt good to know he was right to remain at her side, “I was just going to use all forms of media to get across to you. I would have contacted different celebrities to call you and apologize to you. I would have had them post your pictures on their social media page and have all their fans beg you. Even radio stations and some television stations too. I would have gone that far to get your attention,” Eric said, while she looked at him in disbelief.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have forgiven you so easily,” Kimberly said with a giggle after some time.
“You really would have loved such attention?” Eric asked, watching her closely.
“Well, at least I would have been trending for something good this time. It’s not every time a lady gets such grand gestures from a man she loves,” She said with a grin.
Eric’s heart skipped a beat, “Can you say that one more time?”
“I mean I would have been trendi…”
“No. Not that p@rt. The last thing you said,” Eric said, ma-king her brows pu-ll together in concentration as she tried to remember what she had just said.
Herl-ips pu-ll-ed up in a somewhat shy smile when she saw the way he was looking at her expectantly, “I didn’t realize how much I loved you, until I realized earlier on that I was more hurt by the fact that you kept your distance these past days, rather than the actual crime you committed. And of course, by now you should know that I’m in love with you,” Kimberly said ma-king Eric’s eyes light up as he pushed away from the table and stood up.
He held out his right hand to her and she placed her hand on his and let him lift her from her seat. He didn’t say a word, but instead, he slowly lowered hisl-ips close to hers, giving her room to pu-ll away from him if she didn’t want him to k!ssher.
Kimberly’s heart fluttered as she gazed into his eyes, and she shut her eyes, giving him the go-ahead he wanted. Almost immediately she felt hisl-ips crush hers, and he k!$$£d her with an intensity that shocked her. There was nothing gentle about his k!ssthis time. It was utterly pas-sionate and possessive… Almost like he wanted to br@nd herl-ips. Kathleen leaned into him and k!$$£d him back with equal pas-sion. They could both taste the wine on theirl-ips as they su-cked and tea-sed and ni-bbled on each other’sl-ips while their hands roamed.
Eric could slowly feel his control sli-pping as he felt her hands roam over his b©dy. And he knew if he didn’t st©p her right there, he was going to do something he couldn’t take back, so the moment his hands brushed her n!ppleand she m0@n ed, he broke the k!ss.
He took in a de-ep breath to steady himself as he pu-ll-ed away from her, “We can always make that happen,” Eric as-sured her ma-king her gaze at him in confusion.
“Make what happen?” Kimberly asked breathlessly as she blinked at him in confusion.
Eric chuckled when he saw the confusion on her face, and dropped a k!sson her forehead “I mean we can always make you trend for something good,”
How could he remember what they had been saying after such a pas-sionate k!ss? Her whole b©dy was aching with nee-d and he was talking about trending? “Oh!” She murmured with displea-sure, which made Eric want to chuckle, but instead, he reached out and patted her hair softly.
“I really love you, Kim. I’m not sure I can say that enough,” he said, and just as he expected her gaze softened and she smiled at him.
“That reminds me, I should thank you,” Kimberly said, ma-king him look at her in confusion.
“For?”
“Prisca told me you made sure they were locked up for a week without bail even though Kingsley’s father is a commissioner of police. I know I asked you to set them free, but I’m glad they were punished. And I’m also grateful that neither Amaka nor my father was mentioned in any of it.”
“You’re my wife. You shouldn’t have to thank me for such things. It is my duty to protect you and your family,” Eric said, and Kimberly smiled at him.
“It’s getting late, we should go home,” Eric suggested as he glanced at his wristwatch.
Home. Coming from him, the word suddenly meant a lot to her. Her house only seemed like home when he was with her.
WATCHOUT FOR EPISODE 17