The trampled rose episode 9
The Trampled Rose (episode 9)
Isn’t it funny how the people that hurt you the most, tend to react a different way when the table gets turned?. There’s a popular saying that goes “If you can’t eat it, then don’t serve it”. Don’t hurt someone and expect them to worsh¡p the ground you walk on because the world certainly doesn’t revolve around you. Just imagine the audacity Brandy had to walk into Tochi’s house and claim right, after all the hurt and pain she caused him. What gave her the effrontery to disrespectfully look at Ashley from head to toe, just because she found her in Tochi’s house at such ungodly hour?. If only Brandy knew that Tochi had already filed for divorce and the papers were already in his possession waiting to be served to her, I believe she would have gotten her acts together that evening and stopped claiming rights that wasn’t hers. Well, It’s safe to say that the confrontation of a lifetime that would forever remain in Brandy’s heart was about to go down but it’s apparent that she wasn’t ready for the bomb that was about to be detonated right before her. Too bad she came with a ‘table knife’ for a ‘sword’ fight.
Immediately Brandy made her intentions known that she was there to take back her Man and Husband, Tochi lost his cool and automatically entered into ‘Beast Mode’. He angrily got up from the dinning table and walked to the livingroom where the ladies were standing. “The joker and clown of the century goes to you Brandy. How dare you walk in here after close to a year since you cheated and betrayed me with my best friend? Do you think you own me or something? What makes you think you can just walk in here, disrespect my guest in front of me and claim rights that isn’t yours? Do I look like a fool or toy that does your bidding? Listen to me and listen very well, whatever we had as a married couple dissolved the very day I found out you were pregnant for my best friend. Do you know the pain and heartbreak I went through because of what you did to our marriage? I would have died if it weren’t for people like Ashley that gave me reasons to live again. I am not your Husband anymore and I’m certainly not your Man so rephrase that sentence. You know what? I think you are right on time for a surprise I have for you. This is perfect timing and I believe God wanted you to come here today, so as to save my lawyer the stress of coming to your house to serve you our divorce papers. Just hold on for a second and I would be right back” he said and walked out of the livingroom to another room in the house.
While Tochi was gone, Ashley stood quietly in the livingroom and didn’t utter a word to Brandy who seemed to have climbed down from her high horse. A minute later, Tochi came back with a brown envelop that contained the divorce papers. “Take this! We are officially done. My lawyer would go back and forth with you on the divorce and just so you know, I have already signed my own part and I’m waiting on you to sign yours so that this marriage would be a wrap. Don’t waste my time in fulfilling your own part of the bargain because if you try to frustrate me by delaying or refusing to sign your part of these papers, I will come for you with everything I have and will take back all the properties I’m willing to let go for you; like the house you are currently staying in and the stocks, bonds and investments I got for you. Please don’t try me for your own good. Your presence is never welcomed here so don’t ever stop by at my house again because if you do next time, I will call the police on you. It’s time to leave; bye bye!!” He said.
At that moment, the wh0le atmosphere was tensed and on fire. Brandy was dumbfounded and shocked because she didn’t see the divorce coming at all. Goosebumps covered her wh0le body as she took a walk of shame out of Tochi’s house. If only she knew her unexpected visit to reconcile with her husband would end that way, she would have just stayed back in her house that evening. Too bad the table had turned and it clearly wasn’t in her favour this time around.
When Brandy left Tochi’s house, he called the attention of his gateman and warned him never to let her in again. “Ok sir, I won’t” the gateman said after a stern warning was issued to him. When the hostile atmosphere had died down a little that evening, Tochi knew he had to apologize to Ashley who had been mute all through the drama that unfolded. He walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “I am so sorry for everything that happened tonight. You didn’t deserve such disrespect and treatment on your very first visit to my house. I had no idea my ex-wife was coming over and I promise you that this would be her first and last visit to this place. Please don’t take anything that happened here to heart because it isn’t about you but rather about the person who feels it’s ok to hurt someone and show up nine months later to their house to spill rubbish. I am still hungry and can’t wait to devour the dishes you cooked for us. Please let’s go and eat and forget everything that happened this evening” he calmly said.
Being an unproblematic lady, Ashley accepted Tochi’s apology because she knew all along about his marital woes. She knew about everything that happened to his marriage with Brandy so it wasn’t too much of a surprise to witness such drama unfold between them. Shortly after she accepted his apology, they went back to the dinning tabe to continue from where they stopped. The joy of the evening was restored and they had a good time. When they were done eating, they had long conversations before finally retiring to bed in different rooms.
While Tochi and Ashley had a good time throughout the rest of the night, we can’t say the same for Brandy. When she arrived home that night, the reality that she was never getting back with her husband hit her very hærd. As she read through the divorce papers, bitter tears flowed through her eyes. “How did I get here in life? Why did I do such a thing to myself? I had a perfect marriage, with a perfect husband that loved me more than anything in the world. How did I throw such a beautiful thing away without blinking an eye?. I have sadly become a shadow of whom and what I used to be and this is sadly all my fault. I have lost my husband for real and I guess the lady I saw in his house this evening is my replacement. Was the shortlived pleasure and fantasies with Mavin worth it? Why did I throw away diamonds in search for stones and how did I let such a good man slip away?. I am clearly finished!” She soberly said as she looked through the divorce papers. All of a sudden, it felt as though her wh0le world was crumbling with no chance of getting wh0le again.
Starting life afresh isn’t a bad idea but it certainly isn’t easy; especially if you masterminded your downfall from the initial height you once used to be. So many people never fully recover from a downfall even after they have made the decision to start life afresh. Brandy had everything going on well for here in life, why ruin it and start life afresh when you could have just maintained it?. It’s sad to see Brandy go through all she was going through, especially because it wasn’t entirely her fault for betraying her husband. Her lonely state played a big role in her infidelity and it wasn’t like she gave in on the go but the bitter truth is that she still gave in regardless.
Before you walk down the aisle and say “I do” to someone, you have to bear in the back of your mind that your marriage won’t always be rosy. I believe most people go into marriage with a lot of unrealistic expectations and that’s why there’s a high rate of infidelity and divorce. You can’t make a vow before God to stick to someone through thick and think but chicken out on your very first trial and crisis. What happened to being faithful to your partner regardless of how long it takes? What happened to your “for better and for worst” vows? Did you just say those vows because it has become a norm to say it at weddings or you actually meant every word?. If you can’t take the heat, then stay out of the kitchen. If you aren’t ready to totally commit and stick to your partner through thick and thin (expect your life and mental health is at stake), then don’t bother entering the union called marriage because it isn’t for the faint hearted. It’s apparent Brandy wasn’t emotionally, mentally and physically ready for marriage, hence the reason she couldn’t handle a ‘two years apart’ test her marriage faced. She ruined her marriage by getting pregnant for her husband’s best friend in just 20 months her husband was away in Canada working for a better life for a wife that called another man’s name on bed while in cloud nine. No matter how you would want to justify Brandy’s actions, the bitter truth is that she failed as a wife and sadly deserved whatever was coming her way. A stitch in time saves nine; she would have amended her ways before her affair got out of hand and ruined her marriage. Too bad she didn’t and let things get our of hand the way it did.
The following day was Saturday so it meant that Tochi had a lot of time to spend with his guest. Ashley was scheduled to return back to work at the resort on Monday so it meant they had little time to themselves. Tochi wanted the little time to be worth it so he took her out for fun activities. They went to the cinema to watch a movie, afterwards, they went to a restaurant for a launch date. From the restaurant, they visited an art gallery for sightseeing but Tochi bought few art pieces for himself and for Ashley too. As the day began to draw to an end, they made their last stop at a live band event.
As the music played and people began to dance, Ashley was dragged to the stage by one of the live band singers. She was shy and had smiles all over her face as she mimicked the singer’s dance steps. Tochi cheered her as he danced to the soul lifting music. When Ashley finally got her rhythm, she walked towards Tochi and held his hands. “Dance with me” she requested and he gladly accepted. They danced, laughed and had so much fun. For a moment, nothing else in the world mattered except the two of them dancing.
That day was one of the best days of Tochi’s life because he saw a wh0le new dimension of life he wasn’t used to. Ashley had a bit of everything in her. She was fun yet reserved, a bit younger yet wise, energetic yet soft spoken, playful yet respectful, hærdworking yet kind and sacrificial. What more was he looking for that wasn’t in her?. At this point, it’s safe to say that Tochi had fallen deeply in love with Ashley without realizing yet the extent to which he had fallen. However, it was just a matter of time before he cracks and pours his heart out to her and that time was close by.
After a wonderful time spent that day, they tiredly retired home. “Thank you so much for today, I had so much fun” Ashley happily said when they got home. “It’s nothing, you are welcome” Tochi replied with a smile on his face. They freshened up individually, had dinner and watched a movie in the livingroom room together before saying “Goodnight” to each other. Ashley slept in the guest room again while Tochi slept in his room. That was the best sleeping decision to avoid ruining their friendsh¡p by getting intimate when they weren’t officially in any relationsh¡p but were just close friends.
All through that night, Tochi couldn’t sleep well as he thought of ways to make his love intentions known to Ashley. “I really like this lady and have to act fast before someone else makes a fast move on her. She is legit the only person I see myself ending up with in the near future so I have to act fast” he thought to himself. On the other hand, Ashley couldn’t sleep too because she was thinking of Tochi as well. It gradually dawned on her that she was beginning to fall for him but was a bit scared because she wasn’t sure he felt same way. Due to that uncertainty, she decided to keep her feeling enclosed. However, the unexpected happened the next day as she prepared to leave for the resort.
The weekend was over and it was time for Ashley to head back to work. That morning was an emotional one as Tochi drove her down to the airport. They talked about random things as they headed for the airport but deep down in their hearts, they knew they were in love with each other but were still concealing their feelings. After a 27 minutes drive, they arrived at the airport and sat in the waiting section for the departure announcement. While they waited, Tochi carried Ashley’s bag and held her hands. The gesture was nice and it made her smile all through the waiting period.
Finally, it was time for Ashley’s flight to leave so the announcement was made. Immediately they heard the airport’s announcement, they got up and gave each other a “Goodbye” hug. As their hands loosened from one another, Tochi didn’t know when the golden words “I Love You” left his mouth.
As Ashley stood there shocked, she asked to be sure she heard right. “What did you just say” she calmly inquired and Tochi repeated “I love you so much”. Without hesitating, she reciprocated and responded “I love you too”.
At that moment, the butterflies in their stomach couldn’t stop dancing for joy and before their mind could properly process everything that was happening, Tochi leaned forward and planed a soft k-ss on Ashley’s l-ips.
End of episode 9 😉
Stay tuned tomorrow for the final episode to see what happened next.
✍🏼 Written by Sonia Okehie