Unfulfilled Promise 2 episode 41

Unfulfilled Promises
SEASON 2 (FINAL EPISODE)
Episode 41

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Eric and Aunt Vien were alarmed when they saw her appearance as they came into the
hospital room the following morning. For an answer to their enquiry, she gave her aunt the book and begged Eric to take her home.
When she had rested and refreshed herself,
she told Eric all that she had readEric was stunned.
“While I don’t in any way support what she did,
I understand now,” Oleng quietly said in the silence that ensued.
She thanked her son for giving her the diary.

When they all went to the hospital later in the
day, one look at Aunt Vien told them she had
gone deep into the diary also. Her eyes were
red and puffy from weeping. Her sick sister was
still sleeping.
“I didn’t know. I didn’t know she felt that waywhen you would cry for me. I didn’t know shewas hurt. She hid it well and even made it look
as if she hated you because she couldn’t marry
Umoh. I didn’t know. I didn’t know,” she said as
tears rolled down her eyes again.
She felt so guilty for not trying her best to helpher sister. She had thought her inhuman because when their beloved mother had died
in an accident, Linda hadn’t cried Now sheknew indifference outwardly but hurting
inwardly was her way of grieving. Linda had never wanted to look weak. She continued
shaking her head in sorrow.
When Mrs Akpan woke up the following day,
she could barely talk. Oleng held her hand and
said, “I understand.” with tears running down
her eyes and showed her the diary. The dying
woman had nodded and tears had run down
her eyes too.

##########
A month later, Mrs Akpan died in her sleep Her doctor was surprised she had made it that long.
He felt maybe it was because her family had been with her every blessed day. They hadtaken her home and Oleng had resigned herjob to take care of her mother. Not that she
had really needed the money from the job
because Eric could take care of them and she
still had Dave’s inheritance money also.
Eric (Jnr) had been inconsolable when she
covered his grandmother’s face with the sheet.

Oleng had tried to hold him and at the same time stop herself from weeping also. He had
refused to go back to school in Chicago until the
last day he’d say goodbye to his grandma. Shehad then called Eric and Aunt Vien, who had had to go back to Uyo, to tell them the sadnews.
They had all mourned her in different ways butwere glad there had been peace among them
before she died, though she had really sufferedbefore her death. She had depended on everyone around her for cleaning up, eating
and even going to the toilet, she hadn’t even been able to talk.

The once vibrant, arrogant and bossy woman had been reduced to a state
a little better than a beggar on the street. Oleng had been amazed that she could easily forgive.her mother for all the pain and sorrow she’d caused her in her life. She had her selfless fiancée to thank for that. It really paid to be
surrounded by the right people.
A week after her burial, late Mrs. Akpan’s lawyer.called them to read her will He informed them that she had changed her will a week before
she was taken to the hospital Oleng felt it was to wipe off their names for keeping her grandchild She and Aunt Vien were surprised at how wealthy she had been She had invested in a lot of things They were even more surprised
when the lawyer read the things she had left them She had even left something for Erica.

The bulk of her wealth went to Eric, her
grandson, but wouldn’t come into it until he was thirty in order for him not to squander it before maturity More shocking was the fact that she left a tidy sum of money for Segun, her
gateman, who had taken care of her when Eric left.
He beamed with joy even though he was in shock He was grateful he hadn’t listened to his.fellow gatemen who had been urging him to steal all the money he could get in the house
since she had been too weak to even stand and run away from the house. Others had even.suggested he rented a lorry to park away all the
valuables in the house for sale It seemed his goodness to his late employer had paid off. He
had more than enough now to start the
business he had always wanted and bring his.wife and small son from the village He was glad.he’d been good to her.

##########
Eric looked at the white girl seated in front of him and felt like moving across the table that.separated them to put his hands around her neck Yolanda was sniffing and weeping into her handkerchief.
It was a day to his wedding He came to put finishing touches to his paperwork in his office since he wouldn’t be in for a while Yolanda had
called him that morning to tell him she was in the country and had insisted on seeing him. Eric had gro-ned and wondered who had invited
her to his wedding He had agreed to meet her in the office for thirty minutes and what she’d
told him had blown him away. He cringed in revulsion at the thought that he had once been.crazed to think he wanted to marry her.The
jezebel hussy had been after him for ages..Eric cleared his throat. “Yolanda, please humour me. Tell me the entire story all over again.”
Yolanda slowly raised her head up and made a great show of wiping her mascara stained face.
She sighed.
“I must say I fell in love with you at first sight. I
mean…I had a huge crush on you Like the size of California. I was heartbroken to discover you had a girlfriend, a beautiful African at that I wanted you for keeps I had to resort to drastic
measures. I was so glad you decided to go camping with us when I noticed you were moody ‘cause you had a fight with your girlfriend. I was scared when you fell very sick and we had to cut short the camping but a friend of mine laid the idea in my head of telling your girlfriend off you during that period. I was scared at first but when I saw you were ill for some days, I felt fortune was smiling
at me When Damian took you to the doctor, I got Shane,my brother, to hack into your laptop for
your password. I never told you he was a
professional hacker. I saw the message you sent to her informing her that you were going camping and might have bad network reception
there didn’t delivered I was shocked beyond words when I saw your girl’s message about her
pregnancy I felt horrible I knew it was the endof any chance I had with you so I just had to delete it. I got Shane to hack into her yahoo mail and send a breakup message to you from
the long-distance relationsh¡p saga I heard about Africa. He also made sure all the incoming and outgoing messages were diverted and we kept monitoring it. With shaky hands, I also took your phone and sent a breakup message to her concerning the pregnancy.

I’m so sorry. I was driven by maddening
jealousy and possessiveness.I thought you.would turn to me for comfort after the break.up but was disappointed when I realized my.plan had failed ’cause I realized your heart had
been captured for life It didn’t stop me from.trying over and over again to get you to date.me and sleep with me, but I remained in that.disappointment for years because you didn’t even notice me It always amazed me that you
never took notice of me yet you remained
moody after so many years of losing her You.even became an alcoholic that time you came back from Nigeria in search of her. I really wanted to tell you the bad thing I did.over the years but couldn’t because I was so
scared you’d hate me for life. When Damian told me you were finally getting married to your childhood sweetheart, I knew I had to come tell you since it seemed safe to say what I’d been
keeping for years since you guys are back
together again.

Eric, I’m so sorry. Please find it in your heart to forgive me. I was young and foolish.” Yolanda
ended her tale with sniffles.
Eric was silent again So, this self-centred
jezebel hussy had caused him and Oleng so much pain for nothing! She was the reason why they’d been apart and had even lost their son.
“Are you here for the wedding?” He asked into the silence. Her face was flushed with relief. “Yes I so want to see you two joined together for the sake of my peace of mind.”
“Well,” Eric began quietly. “That means you’ll never know peace because I don’t want to see your ugly face at my wedding. In fact, I never
want to see your sorry self ever again.”
Her face crumbled and she placed her hands on the table in a passionate plea for understanding.

“Eric…” “You do not realise the pain you caused us just
because you wanted me to date your ugly self. To think there was a time I wanted to marry you because you were always there hovering around me like a lost puppy with no bearings.
That thought spent only a minute in my head Each word was like a wh¡p to her Eric’s teeth clenched. “By the time I’m through with your
brother, he’d run away in fright whenever he sights a laptop.” Yolanda’s jaw dropped. “And as
for you, you better go and join the secret
service or something If you could plan such a devious thing and keep it a secret for years, then that’s your calling. The time you spent wasting away, chasing me all over America, you
would have put it in your studies instead of becoming a drop out now and a mortuary attendant.”
She burst into tears.

“Now get your fat ass from that chair and leave my office If I so much as see you within ten.feet from me or get a message or a call from.you ever again, prepare to spend the remaining
days of your miserable life in jail with the keys thrown in Niagra Falls. Get out!”
The white girl stood up and rushed out of the office mumbling apologies Eric had to take in deep breaths to calm himself He was livid. She’d caused so much heartache and felt just apologising would make things right again.
Bitch!
He called his sunshine to cheer him up. He told her what just transpired.
“Wow! Imagine her deviousness and
callousness!Wasn’t that too harsh, Ricky? You the forgiveness preacher should forgive her.
Eric grimaced. “Enough already with the
forgiveness! We forgave Dave and you mother, didn’t we? Besides, she’s the originator of all the pain we went through Maybe with time I’d forgive her, but right now, I feel like wringing
her ugly neck.”
Oleng laughed heartily. “Anyway, I’m too happy to even begin to remember the harm her deviousness caused I’m just happy her plan.failed.”
“Me too.” He leaned back on the chair. “We.have a few hours to go before you become Mrs. Conrad.”
Oleng laughed again She couldn’t help doing that these days She was so happy Aunt Vien had jokingly told her to go and have her tear.ducts removed since she wasn’t using them.again and they were probably worn out from.the way she’d abused them over the years.
“I can’t wait.”
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“I now pronounce you, man and wife. Dearly beloved, I present to you Engr and Mrs Eric Conrad.” The priest declared as Eric and Oleng faced the congregation.
There was a thunderous applause Oleng knew she was grinning like a ninny but couldn’t help it. This was a dream come true She felt she would just burst with joy A lot of people came to hug and congratulate them.
They had sent invitation cards to only a few people, mainly family and friends because Oleng had changed her mind about having a large weddingIt had been a girlish dream of hers but now that she already had two kids,
there was no need for that They were however shocked at the turn out Their old school mates and friends came,even some of Eric’s friends from abroad
At the reception, Oleng scre-med when Shana Twain came out from the back of the banquet hall where the reception was being held She sang the song Eric had been playing for her every night, which had slowly become their
song as she gradually walked to the front of the.hall where they sat Eric led her to the dance floor with joyous tears in her eyes at the lyrics of the song-

” You’re Still The One.
When I first saw you, I saw love
And the first time you touched me, I felt love
And after all this time,
You’re still the one I love
Looks like we made it
Look how far we’ve come my baby
We mighta took the long way
We knew we’d get there someday
They said, “I bet they’ll never make it”
But just look at us holding on
We’re still together still going strong
(You’re still the one)
You’re still the one I run to
The only one that I belong to
You’re still the one I want for life
(You’re still the one)
You’re still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You’re still the one I k-ss good night
Ain’t nothing beter
We beat the odds together
I’m glad we didn’t listen
Look at what we would be missin’
(You’re still the one)
You’re still the one I run to
The only one that I belong to
You’re still the one I want for life
(You’re still the one)
You’re still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You’re still the one I k-ss good night”

After they had danced and sat down, Eric
turned to his wife and smiled.”Have I told you I.love you today?” he asked as he took her in his arms
She c*cked her head as if she was thinking and.smiled. “Let me see…emm…I think a thousand.times already.”
They laughed and k-ssed. Just then Eric (Jnr)and the three years old Erica came to meet them and hugged them In a week from now,.he would be going back to Chicago again He had only come back home because of the
wedding He had left for Chicago after his
grandmother’s funeral, though he had pleaded with his parents to start schooling here in Nigeria because he didn’t want to be far from
them but they had insisted he finished junior high there before coming back to Nigeria They.were all going with him to Chicago, Oleng and Erica having just acquired their international passports They were going to Miami, Florida
for their honeymoon after dropping Eric off in school.

Oleng looked at her children talking excitedly with their father and smiled. She felt so contented.
Looking back, all the trials had been
worth it It had made them stronger and their love deeper. She would make sure that all her promises to him of yesteryears wouldn’t remain unfulfilled
Love is indeed the greatest thing!

Epilogue is next.
To be continued