Love and Hate

Drama

Just like the stranger predicted, an invitation came in for Ramirez daughter's birthday.
Ayanfe didn't even know he had a daughter until that day but that was the least of her problems, she had to find a way to look for her son and friends in the house without raising any suspicion.

One thing her family had always avoided was bad blood with another Family.
They rarely attended parties that had to do with gangs and that saved them from unnecessary beef but she had to go for this one and she couldn't storm the party with men flashing big guns and doing a mini rescue.
She was working on a mere meeting with a stranger and she was desperate enough to see some truth in it but she wasn't stupid enough to act without thinking.

Timi was worried because since their son was taken away from them, his wife had barely slept. She was always awake at night either staring at the wall lost in her thoughts or crying silently.
He walked up to her and rubbed her shoulders in a soothing way.
"I want to go with you"
"You can't. You should wait here for me and Tomide"
"I'm not asking as your husband but as a member of this family, it is my duty to accompany you and assist you on any mission, let me go with you" he took her hand in his and placed a soft kiss on it.
Ayanfe understood he wanted to ease her burden and she couldn't stop him. She nodded her head softly and embraced him while praying to God that the worst doesn't happen.
Timi enjoyed the warmth of her embrace and remembered what he had been thinking of. He lowered his head and whispered into her ear "I think I have a nice plan".
.............,,,,,,,,,......................

Back at the Ramirez mansion on the day of the party, few heads of gang families were present at the Ramirez mansion, they all sat at the table waiting for the empty seats to be filled while drinking wine and talking amongst themselves.
They all knew that the merry atmosphere was just for show, in the outside world they were mortal enemies and could behead themselves the next minute but whenever it came to gatherings like that, it became an unspoken rule for them to play nice to one another.
All eyes were on Ramirez immediately he entered with a young woman next to him, they all eyed her wondering who she was and why she was with him.
No one could boldly raise their questions above a whisper to satisfy their curiosity.
Bella had no choice but to sit between Ramirez and the Braids girl, she took a minute to look around even though all eyes were on her and she noticed that two seats were empty.
Someone started heaping food on her plate and it was Braids girl.
After putting a generous amount on her plate she looked up at Bella and smiled "Eat up, it's Maria's special dish".
Bella seized her from head to toe and concluded that she was high on drugs that night.
If someone else had dished the food, she would have scoffed the whole plate down but it was the devil's spawn and there's probably poison in it.
Everyone carried on with the delicious food on the table but Bella kept sipping water like juice.

Moments later, a man and a woman walked in and Bella would have spat the water out of her mouth if she hadn't swallowed it seconds ago.
She kept her eyes on Ayanfe as Timi pulled a seat out for her.
She wondered what business Ayanfe had with her abductors. Bella kept her eyes on her friend hoping she would notice her and see that she's here against her own will but Ayanfe was so good at avoiding her eyes till dinner was over.

After dessert, more wine and pretentious friendliness was the next on the list.
Some people congratulated Braids girl on turning a year older and getting closer to leading Ramirez fort.
Soon everyone started filling out of the dining room to talk outside or around the mansion but Bella remained seated hoping that she and Ayanfe would be left alone at the table but before the last person could leave, Ayanfe stood up and made her way out with Timi leaving her there.

Bella's eyes burned and tears were about to spill out, a maid started clearing the table so she held her tears back.
Her room seemed like the safest place to be right now and she almost laughed at her own thought.
The room given to her by her abductors became somewhere she considered safe.
She slowly made a beeline for her room so she could cry in peace and sleep her sadness away.
She took off her shoes and got under the duvet without taking off her clothes, she was about to lay down properly but she sighted someone by the door.
It was Ayanfe and she was holding a child in her hands.
She slowly walked towards the bed and wiped a tear off Bella's face. "Did you think I'd leave you here?" 
Bella couldn't answer, she was just relieved that Ayanfe was there with her at that moment, all she could do was let the tears flow.
"Don't cry anymore, we'd be on our way home soon"
Home, she hadn't even had the comfort of home in a very long time but it seemed like what she needed to hear right now.

Ayanfe placed Tomide in her arms and pressed a kiss on his forehead.
Bella examined the boy and he looked like he hadn't been fed properly.
"He was in this place with you the whole time and I just realized, I'm sorry I took so long to come and get you my child" she rubbed the boy's forehead gently and stared at him like a mother would look at her child whom she loved the most in the world.
Ayanfe's phone beeped and that was her signal to get back to the party.
She looked around and spotted a wall clock in the room.
"Bella, listen we are getting out of here soon but I have to go now and make sure this doesn't flop"
Bella nodded her head like a child taking instructions from her teacher.
"In 5mins, a maid would come and get you. She's on our side and you have to trust her. No other maid is allowed to see you without permission so I'm sure she's the one that would come in here. Go with her and you'd meet us outside and we'd be on our way home like nothing ever happened. Ok?"
"Ok" Bella nodded her head continuously and that was enough to assure Ayanfe that she got everything she said.

She pressed her lips to her baby's head one more time and left the room.
She walked past Maria on her way downstairs and she knew the plan was going well.
The people downstairs were still talking and she blended in like she never left before.
"Mrs Coker" she spun around immediately and it was the one person she  felt like beheading.
She had only seen photos of him but she recognized him immediately and he seemed exactly like what her uncle had defined him to be.
"Good evening.."
"Ramirez, call me Ramirez" he stretched his hand out and she placed hers on his. He slowly brought her hands up and kissed it softly.
It was a perfect opportunity for Ayanfe to ball her fist and punch him hard but too many lives were depending on this encounter.
She remained quiet and let him act his little drama.
"It's so sad but I keep hearing whispers that someone took your child, is that true?"
The sly fox took her child and friends and he's here pretending to be the last person to know about it. She played along and nodded her head in affirmation.
"If you ever need my help, I'm here for you. Your uncle and I go way back and it's obligatory that I help the family out"
"Thank you so much, I'd let you know if I need you" she got tired of acting and turned to leave him behind because she was running out of time.
"Except you've found him"