What happens when your carefully planned life comes crumbling down? Funmilola Olarenwaju had her life planned out...owner of two orphanages and a top class restaurant; single and NOT AVAILABLE!!! Brought up in a Christian home with God's love in her...
Collins Babalola already worked everything out. There was no way Antonio and Funmi would back out of the wedding. He knew they would reject the proposal so he made plans and spoke to a few journalists of some of the biggest and most watched Television stations in Nigeria as well as well-known wedding magazines to announce the engagement. Just as expected, the next morning after Funmi's home coming party, the news had spread across the country. Antonio tore the newspaper in his hand and sat down on his executive swivel chair in the office. Just then his girlfriend walked in holding another newspaper that carried the news of his engagement to Funmi. She threw it at him fuming.
"Explain yourself!" Antonio kept his calm like the gentleman he was; one of the reasons she had fallen in love with him. Nothing fazed him. He is the kind of person to keep calm with storms raging all around him.
"It is an arranged marriage Sharon. I found out about it last night." He stood up gracefully from his chair and came around to where she stood now crying her eyes out.
"You know I hate it when you cry. I promise you I have it all under control."
"Are you sure?" She said in a childish tone.
"Yes darling." He hugged her and smiled. "Let us elope."
Sharon pulled back immediately. "Elope? That is your grand plan? You want your family to get me killed along with my parents? No!" Still Antonio maintained his calm composure
"Plan B; I will marry her, divorce her then marry you."
"But she is from an influential family just like yours." She said fretfully.
"My dearest Sharon, they can't hurt us. You are everything she's not. She might have a good heart but she is not even half as beautiful as you are inside and out. And you know what else? I could never love her." This reassured Sharon and she smiled. She suddenly looked at her watch,
"Work calls darling." He bent down his head to give her a kiss but she stopped him.
"Fix this mess Antonio and we can go on a nice vacation afterwards."
"I like your idea my love. Off you go and I will call you later." He kissed her forehead. Smiling brightly, Sharon blew him kisses and left.
Antonio sat back down on one of the sofa in his office. He loves Sharon too much to let her go. No! Not even saint Funmi could break them apart. He suddenly stood up, grabbed his car keys and left the office. He was told she had taken the day off and might be home resting when he called her office line.
That is not an issue at all. I will visit her at home.
*****************
Funmilola cried herself to sleep the previous night and had woken up with a head splitting headache. The last checkup she did at the hospital revealed that her asthma was under control and was given a new inhaler. She sat on her green leather sofa in her living room to relax with a cup of cinnamon solution. She felt like just shutting the world out and drown in self-pity. She sighed heavily as she thought about this turn of events. Why would her parents do this to her? What were they thinking? How is she going to get out of this mess? Thankfully Antonio was against it as well.
Suddenly a knock at her door disturbed her thoughts. Who could it be? She got up and opened the door only to find Antonio staring blankly at her.
"You!" She cried in spite of her pounding head.
"Please leave." Funmi said but he just gently moved past her and walked in. He looked around at the simply furnished living room and shook his head.
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This girl was too simple and definitely not his type.
"What brings you here Antonio?" She asked softly. The headache was worsening.
"I came to tell you to back off. I don't want to marry you Funmi."
"Old news," Funmi thought with a roll of her eyes.
"First of all, I am in love with someone else and you are not my type. You are way out of my league so inform your parents too so they can back off." He added the last bit with a smirk. He made up his mind to be hostile from now on otherwise, his politeness could be easily misinterpreted for "liking" Mother T.
"I do not want you either Antonio. I made that clear already so please get over yourself." She said with a much politeness as she could.
"Please take your leave." She said gently. "I have a terrible headache so please leave."
Antonio looked at her face, smiled and replied, "Funmi, I don't love you and never will. You are not even that pretty...just a plain Jane with a golden heart."
A sharp pain travelled from her left temple to her forehead and to the entire head full force. She sat down gently and said,
"I beg you in the name of God to leave." She held unto her head with both hands and added, "Please leave now."
"I will leave but just know that you will never have a place in my heart." With that said, he left.
Funmi stood up and walked to the bathroom carefully like her head would fall off. She opened the faucet of the wash basin and splashed cold water on her face. Upon lifting her head up, she muttered to herself,
"I am wonderfully and fearfully made." She sighed as the throbbing on her head increased.
"Maybe I should go into dry fasting on this issue...I should huh."
****************
"Funmi is not shaking in her decision! Your son too is adamant! Are you sure you will save us from this?" Bimbo Olanrewaju was beyond frustrated. She had come purposefully to meet her best friend, Bimbo Babalola for the issue at hand. The two women met through their husbands several years ago. They hit it off when they realized they had same name and their husbands were best friends.
"Antonio loves Sharon. I wish we could put an end to all this. As you already know, he is not a fully devout Christian like our daughter Funmi. She might detest him just for that and he too might ending up hating her in the end. But our husbands refuse to listen to us." Bimbo Babalola replied sadly.
"Do you know that Richard might ruin us all if Funmi continues to act like this? He will not rest until he sinks her dreams by marrying her unless Antonio who has a much greater influence, saves the day." Mrs. Olanrewaju said added with concern.
"Don't forget that if they marry, there will be a great enhancement to our companies' image. It is indeed a great match despite everything." Mrs. Babalola said and quickly added,
"By the way, how is Funmi doing? I hope the headache is gone now."
"She didn't say much but kept on saying she doesn't want to be disturbed." Her mother responded with a deep sigh.
The two women grabbed their glasses filled with juice, each worried deeply about the marriage proposal. If Funmi and Antonio remain defiant, it is the beginning of the end for the Olanrewaju family.
