It was shock that registered in his heart when he first read the message; Extreme shock that led his heart to beat anomaly. He closed his eyes not knowing how to respond. He flung his cell phone aside and matched to the terrace of his house. He had travelled to escape the entire trauma but, whoever said you couldn’t run from your problems was very right. Dubai was a beautiful city. He loved it so much. He loved the natural beads of sweat and extreme heat, accompanied with iced drink and feet massages and every luxury he could ask for. Here, he was a free man.
No one knew him except that he was a stunningly rich man on vacation.
The sun was always smiling and it always seemed natural unlike the Nigerian weather that seemed more of a torment. What had brought him here hadn’t left and he wasn’t planning to leave until it did completely.
He went towards the couch where his phone had gotten to. It wasn’t damaged though he knew the blackberry would have its after effects soon. He wasn’t interested in any foolish interview.
He toyed with the phone for a full second. He looked up to the maid standing by his side ‘any other thing sir?’
He stared at the untouched champagne and scones ‘yes, that would be all Marissa’ he said and watched as she walked off. He thought and then made up his mind; he would do the interiview for ‘hello ladies’ magazine. He would tell them any interesting fact including the fact that his wife was a backstabbing prevaricator who had left him in the middle of the third year of a wonderful marriage. Ok, she wasn’t exactly all that but she deserved to be called that for leaving him hanging because she was tired and the marriage wasn’t anything close to wonderful.
‘its ok’ he had said when she broke the divorce news. ‘it’s ok, I’ll be fine wrench’ he said and then as he came to terms with the news, he took a priceless 1600 glass rosette and threw it at her. It didn’t hit her and she wasn’t going to sue for assault. A full year had gone since the divorce and he hadn’t still come to terms with not eating a good cooked home-made meal. He still expected a peck on his cheeks on bed every morning, whilst he lay off in dreamland. But she was gone, gone for good, at least, until this heart throbbing message.
He picked his cell ‘hello Ope, I would do the interview. That’ll be great’
He wasn’t sure if that was the response she expected but oh well, the world would be thrilled to know the kind of woman his wife really was…
****
Miya turned away in dismay as she replaced the receiver. He had just accepted. That should be good-not bad. But-the awkwardness-of it all-
She sighed. He was taking it all wrong. he could have said no. If she knew him well, she knew his plan.
Their marriage beginning had been blissful both working extra-hard. They built a Rome empire in the suburbs of their estate in lekki, attended the finest of parties, enjoyed cocktail for dinner-but then the house was empty. There were no kids to keep her company on the weekends when she wasn’t working and he’d travelled on business. She got bored and poured herself into her writing. Soon she hardly saw him not that she came home later that 5pm. The bags under her eyes began to grow as she slept little and wrote more and more. When she put a full stop at the end of her last sentence each night, three to five pages already written, he wasn’t still home yet.
Then she got messages, flowers, and chocolates from him but it didn’t fill her empty heart.
When he did come home, his kisses meant nothing to her. The elegant age old Egyptian ornaments and trinkets looked like plastics. She didn’t feel anything in her any more. Her shape was still perfect but she worked extra hard at the gym. One day, her assistant told her to see the psychologist. But she believed she was strong until one night.
She lay almost asleep and he came home with the biggest smile anyone could ever have and he saw the blood dripping from her wrist.
‘what happened’ he asked too concerned.
‘I slashed myself’ she said drunk. He could smell cigarette, alcohol and he saw the white powder-oh no!. Then it hit him like a thunderbolt and so, he hit her and beat her but not to pulp.
‘where did you get this from’ he asked
She was helpless. She was crying. She couldn’t answer. She wasn’t even sure what she had been doing with it but she sure knew she didn’t use it. What shocked her was how he’d hit her.
‘you’re a shame to women’ he had said and as he was about to walk out of the master bedroom, she said ‘you’ll be hearing from my lawyers’
He didn’t look back. He’d just kept walking.
she saw her psychologist the next day. She was dressed in the finest Sue Wong dress ever. It was a short lace white strapless dress-cocktail material and yet, she wore it. she made up and talked like nothing had happened the day before.
‘he hit you’ the woman repeated
‘yes. And I’m only telling you this because I have decided to get a divorce. I’m a strong woman, I’m close to the most powerful women in the world. What would they think of me if I said my husband beat me up’
‘remind me how old you are and how long you’ve been married’
She smiled ‘two and a half years-I’m twenty seven’ she said ‘and before you judge me, my mother became the president of her own women society at twenty five so, I’m lagging behind’
That was how the supposed therapy session had gone.
In the middle of it, on the way to the book launch, she got a call from her husband. He loved her even though he wouldn’t be able to make it. her reply was shallow and she didn’t care but at the venue, she saw her gigantic teddy bear. Just like the ones she’d always wanted as a child.
She texted him ‘I love it but we’re still going on with the divorce.’
He begged and stooped so low but her no was no. then the fights began and voila, they got their divorce.
But after the divorce though he got all the property-somehow she wasn’t interested in it; she began to hurt and crave for him. She missed him. She missed love as an entity. Her dad was able to get her a nice job, a bigger house but it all made her remember the emptiness she had inside.
For two years, they didn’t speak to each other after the breakup except for glimpsing each other at brunch and dinners giving by the state or senators or any dignitaries. A wave and that was it. Once or twice, she’d seen him with another woman and she’d gotten so green-eyed, she drank herself to stupor.
Then she started working hard again. Two books, one which was #3 best of according to punch and #2 according to guardian.
Then the magazine had asked her to do an interview for the discovery of the mystery man in her first novel. She had said no first but the editor had threatened her-except he declined. She was hoping he would. Then the call this afternoon almost a full hour after she had sent the message to his phone in Dubai. She heard his deep masculine voice which was yet so subtle. She was to fly into Dubai first thing the next Friday for the interview. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her.
A dream she had wished didn’t come true.
****
She walked briskly into the bright orange house. it looked like it had feminine touch but she didn’t notice any pictures of any woman lurking around. She told the maid to tell him they had arrived. She brough enough crew for the interview to ensure no awkwardness. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. Stuff like this didn’t happen to the average woman. Why would she be assigned to do an interview for her own book? There were other people made for that. She sat on instruction of the maid and waited while the photographers and make up artists began to set up. her smile began to fade as she heard a female voice and then a graceful laughter from upstairs. She tried to maintain her calm. But she couldn’t. then she shouted ‘morgan! Do hurry up we have no time to waste’
The laughter stopped
She could feel eyes on her and an awkward silence that she didn’t like.
‘be right down’ he said slowly but wasn’t down for another two hours. In frustration she sat at the edge of the chair watching him come down with the lady gracefully in a scala platinum paiette vintage dress. She was very jealous realizing it made her own dress look drab. She was wearing a scala dress too but it was not as beautiful as that. She wondered how in the world that had happened a strange coincidence.
‘opeyemi’ he said with a smile. he was the only one that called her by her native name ‘welcome to my humble vacation abode’
‘yes’ she said having no idea of what to have said. He looked so fresh, it was obvious his new companion had been taking good care of him.
‘would you like anything before we start?’
‘no thank you’ she said
‘this is Tolani by the way’
She wanted to shoot him as she shook the ladies dainty hand. Why hadn’t he said what she was to him?
They stared at each other for what seemed like eternity. Even his companion’s seductive touch on his hand hadn’t been able to make him break away from the bond. ‘I love you’ she said and suddenly the bond broke. Whatever connection they felt for that twenty seconds broke into pieces.
‘I mean I love that you are doing this for me’
‘yeah’ he said less moved by her words.
‘I need something strong-alcohol’ she said faintly
‘oh, I see you’ve not changed one bit’ he said refraining from smiling. He was serious.
‘what do you mean?’ she asked hoping he wouldn’t say a thing about her past drinking habbits.
‘common, don’t deceive yourself’ he said ‘you were a drunkard’ he said his hand firmly on his white kaftan.
She withdrew a little bit ‘I only took to my drinking habits because you were never there for me’
He also withdrew.
‘I cant do this’ she said ‘please pack up?’
‘why? You seemed pretty sure it was ok when you said you were going to divorce me?’
‘I did because I thought life would be better without you since really I was without you’
‘is life better now?’ he asked calm
‘we should talk in private’
‘They have a right to know’ he said folding his arms.
‘ok, life isn’t better now and it wasn’t better then. I want you back desperately.’ She screamed in anger.
‘I begged you’ he said shaking his head ‘tell me how that wasn’t enough’
She nodded. She’d hoped just maybe they’d fall into this sort of frantic conversation just like novels and TV and get back together. It seemed she was wrong. ‘I’m sorry. I’ll go.’
She said and walked out. She now remembered why they weren’t together and realized it was better that way. There are people we threw away for a reason we shouldn’t forget. She still loved him but she dared not forget why she left him.
Though she had nothing-her job gone, she felt at peace having let that last piece of her heart’s song out.
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