Obianuju Episode 32

OBIANUJU
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Written by Pr!ncess Juliet
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Episode 32
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Peace at last
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Ademilade

Th£ moment I opened my eyes, I felt th£ colour dra!n from my face. I was paralysed to th£ spot, th£ menac!ng aura hold!ng me !n a t!ghten!ng grip.

“Obianuju”. I mumbled and dis£ngaged from th£ hug to stare at h£r .

h£r face , which had been flu$h£d , was now ashy pale , and h£r l¡ps were compressed.

“Baby”. $h£ smiled weakly. “are…you…..al…alright?” $h£ spoke with difficulty.

I nodded s1©wly, my eyes mov!ng up and d©wΠ h£r b©dy and only th£n did I notice th£ gunsh°t wound on h£r right shoulder.

My wh0l£ b©dy shook with terror and cold sweat ₱0ured d©wΠ my b©dy.

$h£ took th£ bullet ,my girlfriend took a bullet for me!

“Why?” I asked !n wh¡spers

” I ….couldn’t…..bear … to ….. see ….. you ….die”

“Sh*t!” I mumbled under my breath£ and faced th£ bas***d who had been watch!ng us !n silence , an odd expression on h¡s face.

“you are [email protected]!$fied hun?” I fired at h¡m.

h£ opened h¡s m©vth to speak , and th£n clamped it shut.

“have you seen what you have caused?”I half yelled

“Obianuju “. h¡s l¡ps quivered. “$h£ is bleed!ng”

I looked d©wΠ at h£r bleed!ng shoulder wound and h£ld h£r close to me.

“Please we need to take h£r to th£ hospital”. I s¢r**med

“Sure”. Dave agreed and th£n faced Pr!nce.

“Take th£ girl to th£ nearest hospital”

“No”. Obianuju clutch£d desperately at me . “I …want .. to….stay … with you, I ..want to be sure… you are….safe”.

Is $h£ kidd!ng me?

“I will be f!ne”. I a$$ured, not sure of my self.

$h£ [email protected] ©vt loud as m©r£ blood gu$h£d ©vt from h£r wound.

“h£lp… is …. com!ng”

Panick!ng, I carried h£r !n my arms and laid h£r gently on th£ floor; th£n I ₱v||ed off my sweatshirt, tore ©vt a piece and wr*₱ped it @r0vnd h£r shoulder, ¢ar£ful not to hurt h£r.

h£r face grimaced with pa!n at th£ process.

“Sorry!” I said softly.

$h£ gaze !nto my eyes for a while, and th£n $h£ drew a deep breath.

“h£lp … is … com!ng”. $h£ repeated, breath!ng evenly.

h£lp is com!ng! what is $h£ try!ng to say? or wait! are th£ police on ……..I let my thoughts trailed off wh£n I noticed Pr!nce stand!ng !n front of us.

“What do you want?” I asked coldly

“I need to take h£r to th£ hospital”. h£ replied with a scoff

“No way”. I retorted . “I can’t leave h£r with a cold-blooded murderer like you”

“And what is that suppose to mean?” Dave butted !n and I s1©wly shifted my attention to h¡m.

“Do you want h£r to bleed to death?”

“why do you ¢ar£?” I looked daggers at h¡m. “you were th£ one who sh°t h£r right?”

h£ faltered and wiped h¡s face

“I didn’t do that on purpose and you know it.

“Like seriously!” I scoffed . “Is that th£ best defence you have got?”

“Shut up!” h£ barked . “Obianuju is a girl I ch£rish and I wi……..

“Ch£rish!” I cut !n , clearly confused.

why !n th£ world would h£ ch£rish my girlfriend?

“Yes! h£ said boldly . “and that is m©r£ reason why I want you ©vt of th£ way”. h¡s voice was filled with raw anger and hatred.

I stayed motionless, star!ng at h¡m !n disbelief

so h£ hated me all along!

h£ cont!nued. “so please do me a favour and die”

with that, h£ lifted th£ rifle and c*cked it as quietly as h£ could .

“Pr!nce!” h£ called , h¡s gaze still fixed on me . “take th£ girl ©vt of h£re, I wouldn’t want h£r to witness h£r boyfriend’s death”

“no! no!no! Demi… please … don’t .. let … h¡m….kill….you”. Obianuju pleaded weakly

I bit my l¡ps and clench£d my fist t!ghtly, avoid!ng h£r gaze.

I couldn’t let h£r see th£ tears !n my eyes.

“Coward!” I cursed at Dave, seeth!ng with anger.

Surprise, th£n disbelief crossed h¡s features.

“what did you j√$t call me?”

“A coward”. I repeated,yell!ng even louder.

To tell th£ truth,i was so s¢ar£d, but I couldn’t j√$t die like a chicken , I wanted to fight for my life .

h£ scoffed. “Do you even understand what it means to die?”

“Of course I do”. I retorted ,bolt!ng upright. “but what I don’t understand is why you betrayed a member of your gang”

“For money and for love”. h£ stated , glanc!ng at Obianuju

“Love”. I laugh£d bitterly. “and do you th!nk $h£ will ever love you? no Dave , you are only be!ng delusional”.

“You bas***d”. h£ ru$h£d to me and h£ld my throat so t!ght that I could [email protected] breath£, p!nn!ng me [email protected] aga!nst th£ wall.

“Call me delusional one m©r£ time and i would give you th£ s1©west and most pa!nful death”

“You are delusional”. I gr!nned , dar!ng h¡m to do h¡s worst.

h¡s eyes sparkled fire and h£ punch£d me [email protected] on th£ face .

I felt a sharp cut , and th£ warm blood tricked s1©wly d©wΠ my ch£ek.I gave a short, bitter laugh and struggled !n va!n to free myself , h¡s grip on me was firm.

“Let… go…. of …. me”. I [email protected] , unable to breath£ properly.

h£ smirked and aimed th£ th£ gun at my h£ad.

“Good bye Ademilade”

All of a sudden , we h£ard th£ wail of a police siren and ab©vt five to seven gunsh°ts went off.

“Th£ police”. Dave muttered and let go of me !n an !nstant.

I fell to th£ floor , cough!ng and retch!ng , to catch my breath and wh£n I did , I crawled all th£ way to Obianuju.

“Uju! I called h£r name softly, hold!ng h£r !n my arms, but th£re was no response.

h£r eyes were closed , h£r sk!n warm still and h£r breath!ng s1©w and ——Fa!nt ..

I became alarmed. is $h£ loos!ng unconsciousness? no! no! It can’t be .

m©r£ gunsh°ts sounded !n th£ air , caus!ng panic b£tweeΠ Dave and Pr!nce.

“What are we go!ng to do?” Pr!nce half-yelled “Escape”. Dave pla!nly answered

“That is not possible”. Pr!nce retorted. “th£ wh0l£ build!ng is f**k!ng surrounded by th£ f**k!ng police .

Despite my dark mood , I smiled !nwardly.

so th¡s is th£ h£lp “my baby” was talk!ng ab©vt!

Impulsively, I picked h£r up !n my arms and began walk!ng to th£ entrance.

“And wh£re do you th!nk you are go!ng?”Dave thundered.

I stopped short, fac!ng h¡m

“Th£ police are already h£re , you should surrender”

“Over my dead b©dy will I do that”. h£ yelled hysterically . “we are all go!ng to die !n h£re togeth£r”.

“No boy , you are go!ng to die alone”. a voice said beh!nd me.

quickly, I turned @r0vnd and saw two scary—look!ng police officers with big guns.

One was short , and th£ oth£r tall.

“Put d©wΠ your gun”. th£ short one barked, po!nt!ng h¡s gun at Dave.

“Never”. Dave raised h¡s gun !nstead, aim!ng it at th£ man

“Dave!please don’t do th¡s”. Pr!nce begged and put both [email protected] up !n surrender. “Let us j√$t go quietly with th£m”

” I am go!ng to go d©wΠ fight!ng”.Dave rasped through gritted teeth.

Th£ police officers exchanged glances and smirked .

“Go ©vtside”. th£ tall one told me and I nodded ,with©vt compla!nts .

I urgently needed to th£ take my girlfriend to th£ hospital!

With a h£avy sigh, I ru$h£d ©vt of th£ room and that was wh£n th£ gunsh°t sounded.

it was so loud that it shook th£ wh0l£ build!ng,but I didn’t stop ,i kept on runn!ng till I got ©vtside th£ build!ng and saw a large number of police men ly!ng !n wait .

Unbelievable! did th£y all come for me!!!

“Demi! Demi!”two police women called as th£y ran to me. “Are you all right?

I stood frightened,star!ng !nto Obianuju’s face.

“Please h£lp my girlfriend”. I muttered, my voice barely audible.

“Sure”. one of th£ women stooped and touch£d h£r foreh£ad . “Jeez! $h£ is burn!ng up, what happened to h£r?”

“$h£ got sh°t !n th£ shoulder “. I grunted my response.

“Oh dear! I th!nk $h£ is unconscious”. th£ woman stated , stretch!ng h£r arms wide . “[email protected] h£r over , I will get h£r to th£ hospital”

“No thanks , I will do that myself

$h£ smiled lightly. “I understand how you feel, but th¡s is not th£ time for emotional s£ntiments. Your girlfriend is loos!ng blood and needs ……..

“F!ne! F!ne!”I cut !n and gently placed Uju !n h£r arms.

Loos!ng blood! I didn’t like th£ sound of it!

“Blessed hospital right?”

“Yes!” $h£ nodded , and with that, $h£ scurried off.

“and please make sure th£ doctor attends to h£r on time”. I called after h£r

“Okay ooooo”

I followed h£r with my eyes and watch£d h£r place Obianuju |ns!de one of th£ van rear seat; th£n I looked d©wΠ at my [email protected] , my bloody [email protected]

Oh God! Please protect my girlfriend!!

“It must have been tough for you”. a familiar voice said beh!nd me——-Tobi!!!

I turned @r0vnd , fac!ng h¡m

“h£y!” I smiled lightly

h£ returned th£ smile . “how serious is th£ !njury?”

“not that bad”. I retorted, look!ng on at th£ van as it drove ©vt of th£ bushy compound.

“Sh*t!” h£ bit h¡s l¡ps . “I never knew Dave was such a beast . I mean how could h£ hurt an !nnocent h£lpless girl”.

“h£ didn’t hurt h£r”. I said !n a levelled voice. “h£ loves h£r too much to do that”

“Love!” Tobi repeated, clearly confused.

“Yes , th£ bas***d told me h¡mself”

“If h£ truly loves h£r”. h£ cont!nued,a look of disbelief on h¡s face . “why th£n did h£ shoot h£r?”

I looked away , not know!ng how to tell h¡m that $h£ took th£ bullet for me , that $h£ is !n pa!ns because of me.

“Demi!”

“what!”I huffed , meet!ng h¡s gaze.

h£ smirked. “$h£ took th£ bullet meant for you right?”

D**n! why must h£ be so smart!

“Yes!” I let ©vt a deep breath£ and h¡s Jaws dropped.

“Mehn! that little girl is one of a k!nd. Firstly, $h£ used my bra!ns and now th¡s”.

“Used your bra!ns! as !n how?” I asked curiously.

“$h£ deceived me !nto com!ng h£re”

Oh! so that is why $h£ came h£re all alone!

“You with my phone right?” I changed th£ topic

I needed to call my dad and !nform h¡m ab©vt h¡s so-called wife .

“No”. h£ shook h¡s h£ad slightly. “It is with Susanna”

Susanna! that b**ch! I h£ard a loud bang !n my h£ad.

“What th£ h£ll is $h£ do!ng with my phone?”

“$h£ saved you man”. h£ said calmly . “that girl is th£ reason why you are still alive”

I stared blankly at h¡m, what th£ h£ck is h£ talk!ng ab©vt?

h£ cont!nued. “$h£ was th£ one who told me Dave’s wh£reab©vt, $h£ was th£ one who saved th£ day. $h£ wanted to br!ng th£ bas***d d©wΠ so $h£ pretended to be h¡s personal b**ch”

“Oh! was th£ only th!ng I could say as I was so d**n speechless.

$h£ took a h*g£ risk for me!

“you should thank h£r”

“Of course i will do that”. I nodded s1©wly. “Can I Please make use of phone?”

“Sure”. h£ reach£d !nto h¡s pocket , unlocked th£ phone and [email protected] it to me.

Sharply, I typed !n my dad’s number and dialled it .

h£ picked it halfway through th£ third r!ng!

“h£llo! who am I speak!ng with please? h£ asked politely

“It is me Ade”.

“Ha! Ade! My son! Thank God! How are you? Are you hurt!ng? Is your stomach hurt!ng? ch£st nko? are you ………

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” I cut !n , dryly . “wh£re are you?”

“I j√$t got to th£ Lagos airport”

“F**k!” I cursed silently

“h£n! I didn’t h£ar you, what did you say?” h£ asked

“You should go [email protected]¢k home”. I said, ignor!ng h¡s question

“why?Is it because of m©r£mi?” h¡s voice was so low.

“Yes”. I answered. “but how did you get to know?”

Th£re was a pause and th£n h£ cleared h£ throat.

“I got a call from Asokoro Police station that m©r£mi confessed to plott!ng your death”

“Okay!” I urged h¡m to cont!nue as I was still confused.

m©r£mi! why was h£ call!ng h¡s “precious wife” by h£r first name? who made h£r confess? how did $h£ even end up !n Asokoro police station.

My Dad cont!nued. “erm th£ private detective I hired f!nally solved th£ mystery beh!nd your mum”s death. Th£ rat poison used !n kill!ng h£r is lethal and can only be found !n a particular store, th£ store keeper was questioned and $h£ confessed sell!ng th£ poison to……erm ….. to…….erm

“To who?” I s¢r**med !nto th£ phone, I was already gett!ng impatient.

“your step -moth£r”.

My h£ad literally exploded and a deep feel!ng of anger and hatred surge through me.

“wh£re is $h£?” I asked coldly

“Asokoro police station”. h£ replied. “$h£ was arrested very early th¡s morn!ng and…..I hung th£ call on h¡m.

I couldn’t listen to h¡m any longer , I was so pa!ned and hurt .

“Mum”. I s¢r**med loudly, alert!ng Tobi who was still beside me…

“h£y! h£y! Demi”. h£ h£ld my shoulders, try!ng to calm me d©wΠ. “what is wrong? what happened to your late mum?”

I wh¡mpered and my legs collapsed underneath me

“My step mum killed my mum”

“What!” h£ retorted !n shock

“and also planned on kill!ng me”. I completed , hitt!ng my ch£st to calm d©wΠ my panic.

h£ let ©vt a deep breath£ and squatted d©wΠ !n front of me.

“I know it is pa!nful, but you should be grateful that th£ truth is f!nally ©vt , at least your mum can rest !n peace now”

h¡s words burn !nto my h£art and a light smile escaped from my l¡ps.

“Thanks man”

“It is noth!ng” h£ patted my shoulders lightly . “so put yourself togeth£r and let’s go to th£ police station”

“why?” I asked calmly

“To give ©vt statement and also to…..h£ stopped mid s£ntence, h¡s gaze beh!nd me.

“Aha! Aha! th£ bas***ds are f!nally ©vt”

I looked [email protected]¢k j√$t !n time to see Dave collapse on th£ ground, h¡s [email protected] on h¡s right leg as h£ tried to ¢©Πtr0| th£ h£avy bleed!ng.

so h£ is not dead!

A good th!ng though, as I would love to see th£ bas***d spend th£ rest of h¡s life beh!nd bars.

“Will you stand up my friend”. a police officer barked at h¡m .

“Officer Abeg na , make h£ rest small”. Pr!nce who !n tears begged .

“rest hun!” th£ officer repeated , and what followed next was a thunderous slap across h¡s face.

“Blood of Zachariah!” Pr!nce exclaimed, hold!ng h¡s [email protected] to h¡s ch£ek.

I said m©v£”. th£ officer repeated and began dragg!ng Dave…..

Tobi laugh£d loudly. “That serves th£m right”

“Exactly”. I got off from th£ floor and dusted my trousers

” let us go”

“like th¡s”. h£ retorted, star!ng at my ch£st.

Jeez! I completely forgot I was bare ch£sted, no wonder those female cops were star!ng at me!

h£ ₱v||ed off h¡s sweater and [email protected] to me

“Wear th¡s”.

I sh°t h¡m a grateful look and hurriedly wore th£ sweater.

“Now we can go”. h£ smirked and led th£ way , as we walked toward a black Camry.

“whose car is th¡s?” I asked

“My uncle”

“Oh! Is h£ h£re?”

“Nope”. h£ popped th£ p. “h£ stayed [email protected]¢k at th£ police station”

“what ab©vt my car?”I looked @r0vnd

“at th£ station”

“Okay”

Open!ng th£ car door, I slid !nto th£ pa$$enger seat and h£ also did th£ same at h¡s own end.

“erm can we please go to th£ hospital first?” I Pleaded

“because of your babe right?”

I nodded . ” I am so worried ab©vt h£r”

h£ smiled lightly. “$h£ will be f!ne , I already messaged my girlfriend to go stay with h£r”

“Thanks”. I muttered, lean!ng [email protected]¢k on th£ seat.

“You are most welcome”

With that , h£ started th£ car and drove ©vt of th£ bushy compound, h£ad!ng to th£ police station, Abobi police station.

*

Th£ police station was jam packed with people and cars, such that th£re was no space to park.

Tobi had to sqv££se !n b£tweeΠ two Honda jeeps to park.

“Nawa ! why th¡s many people?”h£ asked , h¡s [email protected] on th£ steer!ng wh£el as h£ parked properly.

“I wonder oooo”

Alight!ng from th£ car , Kewe and Bola ru$h£d to us

so th£y are even part of th£ people!

“Demi! Tobi! Awfar na?” Bola greeted , look!ng at me , Tobi and th£n [email protected]¢k at me.

“I am f!ne jare”

“Juliet nko?”

“$h£ is !n th£ hospital”. Tobi answered and th£n both sigh£d !n relief

“Chai! if you see th£ way my h£art dey b**t eh£n”. Kewe rasped , hold!ng unto h¡s ch£st . “Abeg I no wan h£ar th¡s k!nd news aga!n”

“You won’t”. I a$$ured, smil!ng.

“but how did you get to know ab©vt it?”

“Social media”. Bola waved h¡s phone,

“Han!han!so f*st”. Tobi retorted and Kewe Chuckled

“Demi is th£ son to a top politician so what do you expect”

I smiled weakly and leaned aga!nst a random car.

Tobi cont!nued. “Tony and Kunlezy nko?”

“Th£y are |ns!de giv!ng th£ir statement”. Bola replied . “Everyone is so happy , we are f!nally free from th£ clutch£s of Dave….

“Yes oooo, no m©r£ cultism”. Tobi’s stated . “we can now……h£ trailed off, look!ng @r0vnd th£ compound.

“Obianuju’s car nko?”

“Did $h£ make use of it? I asked and h£ nodded s1©wly.

“oh! th£n it should be at th£ camp”

“I will go get it”. Bola volunteered and I sh°t h¡m a grateful look

“but what of th£ keys to th£ car?”h£ asked me

“erm”. I ran my f!ng£rs through my hair . “It would be erm ….. |ns!de h£r…. yes …..h£r bag”…

“Okay”. h£ nodded . “wh£re is h£r bag?”

“Tobi and I exchanged confused looks

h£r bag!!wh£re is h£r bag?

“erm it … should … be |ns!de th£ car”. Tobi answered

“Yes, |ns!de th£ car”. I supported h¡m.

“You both are crazy”. Kewe smirked and th£n Faced Bola

“should !ncase you did not f!nd h£r car Key , make use of m!ne”. h£ took h¡s car key ©vt of h¡s pocket and [email protected] it to Bola .

“It is a master key and can open all doors”. h£ boasted , gr!nn!ng from ear to ear.

“Okay oooooo”. Bola rolled h¡s eyes and walked past me to h¡s car.

“Thanks man”. I appreciated Kewe.

h£ shook h¡s h£ad slightly. “I should be th£ one thank!ng you, your brought us ©vt of bondage”

“No I didn’t , Susanna did”. I corrected

Speak!ng of which, my eyes wandered @r0vnd for h£r and I saw h£r lean!ng aga!nst a Toyota hilux black jeep, h£r gaze on us.

“A m!nute please”. I excused myself and walked up to h£r

“h£y!” I greeted

“Demi”. $h£ smiled shyly

An awkward silence occurs for m©r£ than ten m!nutes occurs, and th£n $h£ asked

“Juliet nko?”

“$h£ is f!ne”

“Okay”

I exhaled deeply. “Thanks for sav!ng me”

“Oh that”. $h£ blu$h£d shyly. “I only did what had to be done”.

I stared at th£ “pretty girl”!n front of me and th£ only th!ng I felt for h£r was pity.

$h£ has really been through a lot!

“erm I j√$t signed a deal with Topnotch modell!ng agency, do you m!nd modell!ng with me?”

h£r eyes grew wide !n surprise. “Can I really do that? I mean will th£y accept me?

“Of course”. I nodded . “I have th£ right to pick my partner and I choose you”.

“Yeeeeeessss!” $h£ s¢r**med excitedly and hugged me.

I hugged h£r [email protected]¢k and patted h£r [email protected]¢k lightly.

I knew how much modell!ng means to h£r and I hope th¡s h£lps h£r stay happy .

“But why didn’t you tell me Dave forced you !nto cultism?”$h£ suddenly asked

I ₱v||ed ©vt of th£ hug to stare at h£r

“And who told you that?”

“Erm ..I k!nd of overh£ard it”

I smiled lightly. “I was never a cultist, and will never be one”

I am free at last!!!!

*

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OBIANUJU

*

*

I opened my eyes s1©wly allow!ng th£m time to adj√$t to th£ bl!nd!ng light com!ng through th£ w!ndow.

Wh£re am I? I wondered .

I tried to raise my [email protected] to rub off th£ sleep from my eyes , but couldn’t , th£ pa!n was unbearable.

“Oouh”. I w!nced

“$h£ is f!nally awake ooo”. I h£ard th£ wh¡spers of familiar voices and only th£n did I notice th£ two girls !n th£ room—-Funmi and Shakirat.

“h£y!” I smiled lightly.

“Juliet!”Shakirat called my name softly, star!ng !nto my face . “how are you?”

“F!ne!”. I nodded s1©wly, look!ng @r0vnd.

“wh£re is th¡s place?”

“Blessed hospital”. Funmi replied

Th£ word “hospital” made my bra!n c|¡¢ked and th£ memory of all what happened came flood!ng [email protected]¢k.

I sat up !n a huff, not m!nd!ng th£ pa!ns

“Demi! wh£re is h£?”

Shakirat laugh£d . “E be like say you see am for dream”

“Wh£re is h£?” I repeated, ignor!ng h£r sneer

“h£ will soon be h£re”. Funmi replied, a light smile on my face

“Really?” My eyes lit up and $h£ nodded

“Dave nko?” I prob£d on

“Th£ bas***d should be !n Abeokuta kirikiri by now”. Shakirat rolled h£r eyes and we all laugh£d.

Thank goodness! I sigh£d !n relief

“but Juliet what really happened?” Shakirat cont!nued. “I mean what bus!ness does th£ bas***d have with Demi?”

Funmi and I exchanged quick glances

“I don’t know oooo”. I lied

F!ne! $h£ is my best friend, but I couldn’t br!ng myself to tell h£r that Demi is a cultist and …….. wait a m!nute! h£ is now free!!!

“Yippee”. I bounced on th£ b£d excitedly

“What is do!ng th¡s one?” Shakirat retorted , giv!ng me a ₱|@yful glare

“Pbbst”. I stuck my t0Πge ©vt to h£r and $h£ touch£d my bandaged shoulder lightly.

“I j√$t like th£ style th£y used !n bandag!ng it!

Mumu! $h£ have seen toy!

“Eh£n h£n”. Funmi cleared h£r throat ,chang!ng th£ topic

“have you seen Faith face?”

“Yes”. I nodded . “I saw it th¡s morn!ng”

“Not th£ morn!ng face Jare, I mean th£ afternoon face”

Afternoon face kwa! which one is that one aga!n?

$h£ cont!nued. “$h£ came to th£ hostel th¡s afternoon and was ask!ng after you. If you see th£ face eh£n, you will pick race”

“What happened to th£ face?” Shakirat asked. “Is it that bad?”

“Yes oooo, th£ two eyes have almost rem©v£”

“hmmmmmh… Funmi, I give you three gbosa”. I wr!nkled my nose !n disbelief.

“I am serious oooo, h£r two eyes are now very small”

“Okay oooo I don h£ar”. I bru$h£d it aside. “Did you see Ar!nze today? I asked h£r

“Yes na”. Shakirat butted !n. “h£ was even h£re , h£ left not quite long”

“what did h£ say? was h£ angry? did h£ look angry?” I asked !n a rush .

Funmi shrugged lightly. “not really ,h£ was j√$t worried”

“Okay”. I sigh£d softly.

Suddenly, th£ door creaked opened , and Demi and Tobi walked !n .

“Demi!” I smiled widely.

h£ paused for a moment to stare at me , and th£n ru$h£d to me , giv!ng me a thousand klzzes.

I chuckled and leaned !n close to h¡m

“Are you alright?”

“Sure”. h£ replied , search!ng through my gaze . “What ab©vt you?”

“I am f!ne, it is j√$t th£ pa!n !n my shoulder”

“It will go soon”. h£ a$$ured, brush!ng my ch£eks lightly and I nodded s1©wly

“but what took you so long”. I queried h¡m

“I am really sorry , i had to see my dad off”

“Your Dad was h£re?” I retorted with wide open eyes

“Yes. h£ wanted to come ch£ck on you, but time was aga!nst h¡m”

“Oh!” I exclaimed softly

“I hope you are not angry”. h£ asked, star!ng !nto my eyes

Angry kwa! why would I be?

“No”.I simply answered.

“uhm!uhm”. Tobi cleared h¡s throat and I shifted my attention to h¡m.

“Tobi!”

“Uju! how are you?”

I smiled lightly. “As you can see, I am f!ne”

“Obviously”. h£ stated . “well!well! let me take my leave so you both can have a quiet couple time”

“Exactly”. Demi agreed and Tobi laugh£d

“See you later”. h£ leaned !n to peck my foreh£ad and th£n faced h¡s girlfriend.

“Let’s us go”

“Bye”. Funmi waved ,and with that, th£y left th£ room.

“erm” . Shakirat twisted h£r f!ng£rs. “I th!nk I should get go!ng too”

“Alright! I will call you”

“No, I will call you”. $h£ w!nked at me and scurried ©vt of th£ room.

“Now I am all alone with my Pr!ncess”. Demi remarked , smil!ng.

I blu$h£d lightly and placed my h£ad on h¡s ch£st, listen!ng to h¡s h£art b**t

“Thanks for sav!ng me”. h£ wh¡spered !nto my ears .

I nodded my h£ad s1©wly. “what will happen to Dave now?” I asked softly.

“As per my dad request , h£ and pr!nce would be transferred to Abuja prison. My dad promise to deal with three of th£m mercilessly”

“Three?” I repeated , confused

“Yes”. h£ said softly. “!nclud!ng my step-mom”

“Why?” I raised my h£ad to look at h¡m . “Did $h£ do anyth!ng wrong?”

h£ stared at me blankly, as if contemplat!ng if h£ should tell me or not

“Please baby , talk to me”

“F!ne”. h£ sigh£d. “$h£ was th£ one beh!nd everyth!ng that happened today”

“What! was th£ only th!ng I could say as I was short of words.

how could a woman try to kill a boy who is m©r£ or less like h£r own son!

h£ cont!nued. “$h£ is also my mum’s murderer”

“As !n $h£ killed your mum?” I retorted !n shock

“Yes”. h£ nodded s1©wly

“but how is that possible? I mean I thought your mum died of asthma”

“That is what I was made to believe”. h¡s voice was ¢©Πtr0|led and levelled

“Oh dear! It must be so [email protected] for you to bear”

“Not really”. h£ shrugged lightly. “be!ng with you h£aled up all of my old wounds, and lightened up my h£art and soul. I love you OBIANUJU and I have no regret whatsoever [email protected]||!ng for you.

A warm feel!ng settled !n my stomach , contentment, that h£ was m!ne and m!ne alone …..

*

Be th£re. Be open. Be honest. Be k!nd. Be will!ng to listen , understand , accept , support, and forgive. Th¡s is what it means to love.

*

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Th£ END

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Stay tuned for epilogue….