Repetition Compulsion

34.

The day was cold and windy, but despite this, Sera walked reposefully, and with precision and determination. So much so, that it was almost like she had a purpose, even though she had no idea where it was exactly she was going to. But the cold, as well as the curiosity of where her feet would lead her to was keeping her mind off of Grace, Nahi and the event that had taken place years prior. So in Sera's books, that was a win. 

So, she didn't question herself when she found herself outside Abimbola's penthouse apartment. She didn't question herself when she found herself flashing her staff access card at his security personnel, nor did she question it when she found herself standing in the middle of Abimbola's living room, completely unsure what to do or say when he actually came out. 

She was sane enough to know that none of this was normal behavior, but not enough to stop herself. She decided for once to stop fighting her impulses and to let her body lead the way. She promised herself she would only let common sense lead the way again in the morning, the next day.

She moved towards Abimbola's balcony window, and contemplated throwing herself over, just so she could end it all, once and for all. But then, she stopped herself when she thought about what a job it would be for the cleaners to clean up all the inside pieces of her when they found her body the next morning. She was, after all in the Upper East side, everything had to be kept clean and presentable at all times.

She moved away from the balcony, before she could get anymore ideas. She paced her way around the living room area: the lights were off, so she turned them on, so she could see clearly. She didn't have a plan, yet here she was, wandering around inside like she owned the place. Then, as she was standing in the middle of Abimbola's living room, Sera realized just how far she had gone. 

Why am I here? What am I hoping to achieve? What if I get arrested for trespassing? 

And with that last thought, she decided to walk away, before things escalated. 

"Excuse me. May I help you?", Sera was startled by a feminine voice coming from behind her.

She turned around to see who was addressing her and her jaw dropped as she came face to face with one of the most beautiful women she had ever met.

The woman was tall, with chocolate brown skin, mesmerizing brown eyes as well as long, silky hair that reached her shoulders. She also wore a silky morning gown, and there was no doubt in Sera's mind that she had nothing under it. She was holding a magazine and a cup of coffee in her hand, and she looked extremely cozy in her environment. Sera was very obviously the intruder in that scenario.

"Uhm...I'm s-sorry", Sera stuttered, searching her mind for a believable lie or excuse as to why she was there. 

This is crazy! Why am I even here?

 "I'm Serendipity...Sera. Mr Blake's Personal Intern. I just came by to uhm... drop off uhm...Mr Blake's laundry."

Sera gulped, hoping and praying the lady wouldn't ask her where the laundry was or why she was wandering around the apartment if she only came by to drop off laundry. Luckily for her, the lady did not seem to be interested in all of that. Instead, she continued staring at Sera with a very intense, yet very curious gaze. Something in the way she looked at Sera reminded her a lot of Abimbola. He too had a tendency of staring at you like he could see through your entire soul. The lady took a sip of her coffee before scanning Sera again from top to bottom.

"Mmh...So you're Sera?"

"I...I am...ma'am.", she added hesitantly.

The lady didn't take her eyes off of Sera, which only succeeded in making Sera nervous—more nervous than she was already feeling. Sera scanned the lady too, but a little more discreetly than she was being scanned, of course. She noticed that the lady had flawless skin, she looked like she bathed in milk, like a real life model of an Instagram baddie. She also noticed that the lady was wearing a ring on her wedding finger, though she didn't think much of it at the time. 

"Mmh...pretty", the lady said after a while of silence. Then, almost as though she thought Sera hadn't gotten it for the first time, she moved closer to her with her eyes fixed firmly on Sera's. "I'm talking about you, in case that wasn't clear. You're pretty. No wonder my fiancé is obsessed with you."

Nala had a bit of an accent, but Sera couldn't really figure out what the accent was. Somehow the words just seemed to roll a bit heavily off her tongue.

"Uhm...thanks", Sera replied nervously. She immediately felt really self conscious because this goddess of a woman was standing right in front of her staring deeply into her eyes and so she was forced to observe all her lovely features and compare them to hers, which just made her feel even more self conscious than she already was, to the point where she started to contemplate her whole existence. Then, as she was standing there, contemplating her whole existence, the last phrase the lady had said, rang in Sera's mind.

Fiancé? What the fuck?

"I'm sorry, but who is your fiancé?"

The lady opened her mouth to speak, but before she got a chance to respond, the elevator door opened throwing both her and Sera off. 

Who the hell has an elevator for a door, anyway?

They both turned around to see who had walked in, and surprise, surprise it was Abimbola. As he walked in and took in the scene before him, a rush of emotions played on his face. First, there was confusion, then there was shock, then there was confusion again. Then he walked over to where Sera and the lady were standing and addressed Sera directly.

"Sera...what are you doing here?", Abimbola asked. His voice was low and raspy and his tone of voice matched the confusion that was apparent on his face.

Before Sera could make an attempt at answering him, however, the lady beat her to it.

"Sera, over here was just dropping off your laundry", the lady said, whilst moving away from Sera and moving more towards Abimbola.

Every movement of hers screamed 'seduction' and Sera found she could not take her eyes off of the lady's red lips as she took another sip of her coffee, seemingly waiting for something to unfold between Sera and Abimbola.

Abimbola's eyes swayed from the lady, and back to Sera, and then stayed on Sera for what seemed like the longest time. Sera was now aware of two incredibly hot people staring at her, so by then, her armpits were sweating with discomfort.

"Uhm...I think I'm just gonna leave now", Sera said nervously, whilst taking slow, backward steps towards the elevator. 

No one stopped her. Which was just as well because she really needed to leave and get out of there. The whole situation was making her extremely uncomfortable.

As she moved, she could feel both of their eyes on her, and that's when she realized she hadn't imagined it. Their movements seemed extremely similar—almost like they had been learned. Nevertheless, she clicked on the elevator button, and as she waited for the elevator to come up, Sera turned around and forced a smile on her face.

"Uhm...It was nice meeting you..."

"Nala", the lady finished for Sera. "Nala Gray."

"Right... Nala", Sera repeated, and just then, much to her relief, the elevator arrived. She walked in slowly, whilst focusing really intently on where she was stepping. The last thing she needed was to trip, fall and embarrass herself in front of those two. 

She made it safely into the elevator, but just as the elevator door was about to close, Abimbola's hand stopped it.

His eyes locked into hers, before he took two steps forward, making his way into the lift. Sera's heart skipped a beat.  As they both turned their faces  towards the elevator door, Sera watched Nala's expression from the other side of the lift.

She didn't look mad. In fact, she looked strangely calm as she took another sip of her beverage. Sera could have sworn she saw a soft smile play on her lips just before the elevator doors closed.