'Thanks, Iman, you're the best friend in the
world' Narissa smiled.
The weekend was a boring one for Obinna as he
tossed and turned uncomfortably on his bed.
Usually, when Asa was still with him, they'd go
out for a walk or play scrabble but there was
none of that now.
He thought about what had transpired between
himself and Iman; they both had not planned
for it, it just happened and it felt so good. He
felt like calling her, felt like talking to
someone but he decided against it, he didn't
want to become a bug.
He felt peace as he thought about her; while he
was having a bad day, she had shown up and
lightened his whole world. He wondered what
she had seen in him. There was nothing special
about him, yet she had made him feel valuable.
He had not bothered calling his sister, he
believed she was in good hands. Ekene was
rough but he was equally protective. His
thoughts ran their course in his head until the
ringing of his phone brought them to a halt,
maybe Iman was calling.
'Ekene' he muttered his brother's name, he had
sent him an email. Obinna clicked on the
attachment, what did he want now?
His hands shook as he stared at the picture of
an unclad Nkoli lying next to Ekene on the same
bed.
'How could you do this to me?' Obinna's hands
shook as he stared at the picture. So Nkoli had
actually dumped him for his brother? Had they
been cheating on him while he was in a
relationship with her?
His eyes brimmed with tears; Ekene was
heartless, his brother had clearly shown raw
hatred for him.
'I am not a failure' he whispered to himself
and rose to his feet. Pacing the room did not
get the image out of his head; he decided to
call Iman, maybe meeting up with her could
distract him from what he had just seen.
'Pick up, pick up' her number wasn't going
through. He slipped on a shirt and decided to
leave the house, strolling would do the magic,
it'd rid him of depression and loneliness.
His heart raced swiftly, his breath was rapid,
the pain of betrayal was worse than death
itself.
He had not walked far from the house when he
felt a sharp pain in his legs and he fell to the
ground.
'Oh my God' a young man shouted and rushed
out of a blue Hummer Jeep.
'Iman, Iman' those were the last words Obinna
spoke before he collapsed as the pain was too
much to bear.
Ife was an industrious young man, he was rich
and he loved to be free. A frown twisted his
handsome face into something macabre as he
joined his father in the car.
'I am doing this for you son, it's time for you
to settle down. It is my job to find you a good
wife and that's exactly what I am doing'
Engineer Martins stared at his only son.
'First, you tricked me into coming home with
you; now this? This is the modern world dad,
parents no longer arrange partners for their
kids. I can't believe I am sitting next to you in
this car' Ife complained.
'Son, don't worry, you'll get to meet this girl
soon, she'll make an excellent wife and she is
very beautiful' the older man smiled.
'And you know this how?' Ife rolled his eyes.
'Her father was my very good friend back in
the day, we were college mates' he answered.
'Well, I am only following you to this girl's
house out of respect but I assure you, the
choice is mine to make. You cannot force me to
get married' Ife spoke his mind.
He wasn't ready to be tied down by any woman;
he loved to hang out with different women,
have sex, party and all that. Marriage wasn't a
subject to be considered in the nearest future.
'Okay, the choice will be yours to make but I
know you'll like her' his father was very sure.
They fell silent for a while, Ife thought about
the recording he'd sent to Ekene, his sexual
encounter with the pretty celebrity. Narissa had
boosted his ego, if Narissa, a T.V personality
couldn't resist him, no other woman could. Now
that he had won the bet, he decided it was
time to get rid of Narissa, he would break up
with her soon.
'Here we are, make sure you are polite' his
father advised as he drove into the compound.
'I am not a kid' Ife murmured.
'Who do we have here? Engineer Martins and
his son, you're most welcome' a middle-aged
woman received them.
'Ife, this is your mother-in-law' his father did
introductions.
'Pleased to meet you ma' Ife offered the
woman a polite smile.
'Is that Martins the great?' A man joined
them, Ife knew instantly that this was his
father's friend.
'Come here old man' his father laughed.
Ife watched the man closely, there was
something oddly familiar about him especially
his eyes. Maybe his vision was blurred but his
eyes resembled Narissa's.
After her studio session, she left with Iman to
see her father; she prayed silently that no
harm would come to him.
'So what if you actually like this guy your
parents have arranged for you?' Iman asked.
'Hell no, I have feelings for Ife and no man
can take his place for now' Narissa shook her
head.
'Really? Has he ever discussed marriage with
you?' Iman asked.
'Not really, has the Obinna guy called you
since?' Narissa felt uncomfortable discussing
Ife with Iman.
'No' Iman replied. She had not regretted what
had transpired between her and Ife, but the
way her friend stared at her made her
bothered.
'You shouldn't have slept with him, he
apparently thought you cheap, that's why he
hasn't called. A guy is supposed to call after
the sex or at least text or visit to show that's
not all he came for.' Narissa explained. Her
experience with Ife had shown her that he truly
cared.
'Must you keep reminding me of what I did? I
only told you because I didn't expect you to be
this judgmental.' Iman had to be honest.
'Judgmental? No, I am only speaking the truth,
I don't want you to nurse feelings for this
lowlife and get yourself hurt in the process'
Narissa shrugged.
'Wait, are you doing this because I tried to
interfere in your relationship with Ife?'Iman
was getting irritated.
'No, Ife is a perfect gentleman, I can't say the
same for your one-night stand Romeo who has
probably moved on' Narissa gritted her teeth.
Iman felt deeply hurt, Narissa was clearly
mocking her; she decided to let it die. She had
not checked her phone since morning, maybe
Obinna had sent her a text or something; she
pulled it quickly from her purse.
'Here we are' Narissa drove into the compound.
'Stop the car Narissa, stop the car' Iman's
heart raced as she read the text message.
'What happened?' Narissa arched a brow.
'My phone has been in silent mode, Obinna had
called me three times' tears welled up in her
eyes as she read the text.
'Is that why you are crying?' Narissa wondered.
'A strange number called me seventeen times
then sent this text, he had an accident and
needs surgery urgently' she showed the text to
her friend.
'How is that your business? Surely he can sort
himself out. What if he is a criminal and
somehow knows about your rich background?
What if this is a trap?' Narissa suggested.
'No, I know this hospital, it is a teaching
hospital. This is real Narissa, I have to go see
him. He has no one.' Iman fetched her bag.
To be Continued....
