‘It’s over, James….’ Maria whispered as blood trickled down her hair. The look in her eyes was that of unfulfilled satisfaction and …grief. James looked at her in shock, like he couldn’t believe the present situation. He stared at her lips, the necklace on her—the one he once gave her—and her dark eyes. ‘Why?’ he managed to stutter as he gasped quickly. ‘You hurt me!’ Maria replied, seething with hate. The hate could almost be felt. It was a bright night, with the moon shining on them like a sharp contrast to what was happening. ‘I love you, Maria… even now.’ James stammered as he stared up into the bright moon with a heavy sigh. The moon’s reflection glinted on his eyeballs as he breathed his last. ‘See you in hell’ she whispered and stood sharply. She stared at him for ages before walking off to her car. As she drove off with her heart in her mouth, it was starting to rain.
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Maria and James had dated for 8 years before their once enviable love turned into hatred. It all started when Maria caught James in bed with her younger sister, Tinel. She and Tinel were inseparable before the ugly incident. Tinel was a final-year art student at a leading university in Nigeria. Since the death of their parents at a very tender age, Maria had to take on the mantle of parenting even if she was just five years older than Tinel. Maria was the sole sponsor of Tinel’s education with her cosmetics business. Maria was a BBL specialist making quite some money as she could afford a semi-detached 2-bedroom duplex in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos. She was home early one afternoon due to her early-stage pregnancy when she caught her sister and her boyfriend having sex in her bedroom. ‘Baby… I can explain’ James’ plea infuriated her as she stared disappointedly at both her sister and her boyfriend. The two people she loved the most in her life had just betrayed her. She felt her world crashing heavily at her as thick betrayal filled the air.
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‘Tinel… how could you?’ She asked her sister with a shaky voice as a nauseous feeling rose in her chest. Her sister looked at her in disgust and said, ‘Well… I love James! I have always loved and will always love him. Why do you always have the best things?’ ‘What…’ Maria had responded, speechless. ‘Yes, I deserve the best things too. And before you gaslight me with the bullshit that you sponsored my education, feeding, blah blah blah, just know that you are not all that’ Tinel responded without an iota of remorse. James broke the silence while attempting to hug Maria, ‘Babe… I am very sorry. It was a mistake…’ ‘Don’t touch me!’ Maria had snapped at him, her heart beating as she turned to her sister. ‘Get the f*** out of my house, you ungrateful slut!’ ‘Of course, you hag!’ Tinel spat at her face. Maria furiously gave her a deafening slap. To her surprise, Tinel slapped her repeatedly and Maria lost her balance falling on her belly. This made her pass out as she bled and lost the pregnancy.
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The next days that passed was hell for Maria as she grieved for the loss of her baby and her love. James was her only hope in love and that was gone. She felt the knife of betrayal stabbing through her heart with each passing moment. Her sister had left her house and moved in with James. To worsen matters, James only drove her to the hospital and dumped her there. No one checked up on her, not even her sister who had hurt her. She had to recover all alone and stay alive with the doctors’ help. She swore to revenge on the situation and deal brutally with James and Tinel. Afterall, life isn’t worth living, she thought aloud on her way home. The house which was once a bubbling place filled with love and liveliness seemed dead with it’s atmosphere heavy with agonizing memories. The shadows that clouded her mind were darker than those of the household items casted on the wall around her as she cried herself to sleep every night and woke up with a painful heart.
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Even her business suffered with her absence as she left its operations in the hands of her personal assistant. Her mental health had reached its breaking point as she soil herself within the lonely embrace of her house as days went by. All she did was cry and stalk James and her sister online like a psychopath. Her sister, Tinel, on the other hand did not hesitate to post videos and pictures of herself and James having fun on social media. It was as if Tinel knew that her elder sister would be watching. It broke her heart more to see that in those social media posts, James seemed to be happy with Tinel. What did I do wrong? Am I ugly? What’s so special about Tinel? Why did James betray me after 8 years? She asked herself rhetoric questions. She decided that she was ready to take her revenge until the last drop of her blood. Afterall, what is life without James! She thought to herself. No, life is better without James in it! She thought again.
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She then took on a new ‘responsibility’ for both Tinel and James. If I can’t be happy, they can’t too! She thought to herself as she planned her revenge. Maria stepped out of her house for the first time in weeks one evening with a resolution in her heart. Come what may, I don’t care what happens! She damned the consequences of her intending actions as she started her car and drove off to her favourite restaurant to get a good meal. As she stepped into the restaurant, her heart dropped as her eyes met with James and Tinel having lunch at her favourite table… the one in which she and James had their first date… and their frequent dates. She felt her blood boil to the highest temperature as the floor seemed to spin beneath her. Tinel glanced at her, giggled, and kissed James on his cheeks.
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Maria walked on to a seat at a corner of the restaurant and beckoned on a waiter who took her order. As she tried to keep her calm, James on the other hand seemed uneasy. Maria tried to ignore the tensed atmosphere around her and listened to music from her headset. She was lost in thought when she felt a shadow casted upon her. She looked up and saw a handsome young man standing in front of her. ‘Hi. May I join you?’ He asked in a baritone voice. ‘He is one nice handsome man! But they are all the same!’ She thought to herself. ‘Young lady…. I’m sorry to bother…..’ He said feeling sad to have disrupted her peace. ‘You may sit if you want to!’ Maria replied with a bit of aggression in her tone. The handsome man sat with her giving her the most heartwarming smile. ‘Why did you do that?’ she asked vulnerably. ‘Do what?’ he asked. ‘Smile at me even when I was dismissive?’ She replied. He smiled and replied, ‘Because I understand that your reaction might be due to some storms in your life. I could be your friend and help you calm them.’
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As Mariam and the handsome man engaged in a conversation over lunch, James was overwhelmed with jealousy and unease. Despite the hurt and betrayal he had caused her, he certainly didn’t want any other man close to her. He didn’t seem to care that Tinel was with him that moment. Everything Tinel was saying to him seemed to fade off his concentration. He wanted one thing – Men away from Maria. He kept glancing at Maria and the man with her. His selfish heart sank to see the man making her smile. ‘What is that guy saying to her to make her smile?’ he thought within himself as he came to the realization that he had lost her. He glanced at Tinel in front of him chatting away and felt a sudden disgust rise within him. ‘Can you keep mute for a minute!’ he retorted. Tinel who was visibly upset retorted ‘Why are you staring at her? Your focus should be me now, you idiot!’ Then, she stood up sharply and made her way to the restroom. As he watched her stormed away, he stood uneasy and wandered to a nearby sofa in the restaurant.
‘It was nice talking to you, Stanley… But I need to take my leave now’ Maria said to the handsome man with a dry smile on her face. ‘Certainly, I could drop you off… If you don’t mind.’ Stanley responded with a smile. ‘Oh never mind! I drove myself here in my car. Thanks for offering anyway.’ Maria told him. Stanley nodded and pressed further, ‘If you ever need a friend to talk to, I am one to consider’ He offered her his digital business card which she took reluctantly from him. ‘Thank you’ She stood up and Stanley walked her to her car. She got into her car and stared at him. Beneath sad countenance was a spark of gratitude. As she drove off, Stanley’s heart was filled with hope. He felt she was special and should belong somewhere safe…. in his arms. He knew she was going through some tough times but he didn’t know what it was. All he knew was that he was going to be there for her and love her deeply. He was drawn to her the moment she stepped into the restaurant earlier that day. Although he could see that she seemed burdened, he still mustered the courage to speak with her. As Maria drove home with a blank stare on her face, her mind thought of a lot of things.
The next few days after felt empty with each passing second. She was losing her mind and felt really helpless about it. Seeing her sister and ex-fiancee destabilized her more than she would have ever imagined. It took all her willpower not to break down at the restaurant or cause a scene. Seeing Tinel taunt her on purpose made her question if they were really sisters. Thinking of it brought tears to her eyes as she felt like life was meaningless. She didn’t even respond to Stanley’s messages nor did she pick his calls. She was in an emotional turmoil and felt very depressed. Then came one afternoon when she had just had a long bath to cool her tensed muscles, she heard a knock on her main door. She wondered who it must be to have accessed her gate to get to her main door. It’s my P.A! She thought to herself as that is the only person who had checked in on her a few times to fill her in with updates on her business and to keep her company. She had once given her P.A a spare key to the house. She didn’t treat her like a mere employee but like an acquaintance. The knocks on the door jolted her from her thoughts into reality. ‘Rita, since you have a key with you, you might as well come in!’ She called out as she opened the door sharply. Her heart almost jumped out of her mouth when she saw who it was.
There he was, standing in the doorway like he had the right to be there. Maria felt a deep feeling of irritation and something else she could not describe. ‘What the hell are you doing here!’ she snapped angrily, her heart racing. James stood there watching her, his eyes an icy stare clouded with desire…. for her. ‘Won’t you invite me in, huh love?’ he asked with that husky voice she knew. Maria felt a rage rising from deep within as she attempted to bang the door on his face. He swiftly swung the door open from her hands and stepped in. Maria gasped in surprise as he pinned her to the wall unexpectedly with his breath heavy on her. She felt a mixture of feelings as she thought within herself, ‘What does the betrayal want?’ ‘I saw you with a guy at the restaurant. Found yourself a new guy so fast huh?’ he said with an intense stare as if he could read her mind. ‘How dare you show your horrible face here, you demon!’ She snapped at him angrily with bitterness on her face trying to break free from his grasp. Then, he kissed her unexpectedly. As he kissed her deeply, she felt a whirlwind of emotions. One part of her wanted to push him away, scream her hurt, and chase him out of her life for good. However, another part of her she is starting to dread wanted him so badly. As she raised her palms to push him off, she found herself placing them tenderly on his muscular chest. They kissed deeply for what felt like ages.
Before she could stop what was happening, she was already in bed… with him, savoring each passing moment with the hard feel of him… in her. The passion she felt was one that she hasn’t felt before as he thrusted in and out of her passionately. It was one missed with hate. When the waves of passion was over, they both slept off immediately in each other’s arms. By the time she woke up, he was gone. She felt betrayed again as she felt disappointment and disgust wash over her. How could I do this to myself! She thought dejectedly with pain in her heart. She should have just pushed him away and told him she hated him so much that she never wanted to see him again. She felt dirty within herself as she thought a lot of things. This man was playing with her emotions. He was doing two sisters! As she wallowed in her thoughts, her phone beeped. She saw a message from Stanley, the guy she had met at the restaurant. Without thinking, she blocked his contact immediately. ‘James is enough heart ache already,’ she thought to herself. The thought of James and what she had just done with him disgusted her so much that she hated herself. She went to the bath and scrubbed herself like a muddy rabbit cleaned by its owner.
Then, her phone beeped again. This time from James. ‘Sorry, it was a mistake. Let’s act like what happened never happened’ he said dismissively when she picked the call. She screamed as she felt disgust swelling from the pit of her belly, ‘You slimy disgusting….’ James hung up on her abruptly and this infuriated her the more. She tried calling back to speak the piece of her heart but James had blocked her. Feeling dejected, she sunk to the ground sobbing. The love she once felt for James had now turned into a deep seethed hatred. Her phone beeped again and this time when she looked at it, her head spun to see a message from her sister, Tinel that read, ‘Stay off b****! He’s mine and will never be yours. He told me what happened and how you were so worthless enough to seduce him. He’s mine and will always be, you loser!’ She blocked the number and fell deeper into depression.
Maria felt the sunray beaming through the windows to her face as she woke up. It has been days since the day James came to her house. She was depressed and never left her bed. She simply laid there drifting in and out of consciousness, thoughts, and nightmares. She gasped in shock to see that she was not alone in the room. With her weak body and a banging headache, she looked around to see Stanley sitting on a couch in her room with concern on his face. ‘I thought you’d never wake!’ He said to her with a warm smile. ‘How did you get in?’ She asked with a dry smile as she watched him make her a cup of tea. ‘Well, someone decided to block me and I was wondering what I did wrong’ he responded handing her a cup of warm tea. Maria felt guilt wash over her as her eyes met his. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said absentmindedly. Stanley stayed with her all day comforting her with kind words as she reluctantly confided in him on what has been happening to her. As he listened to her, he felt his love for her blossoming with each passing second.
Stanley and Maria became very close friends much to Stanley’s delight as he was happy to finally have Maria to himself as a friend. ‘Let’s take our friendship a top-notch higher,’ he said to her one evening as they played video games together at his favorite game center. ‘What do you mean?’ she asked with a concerned look as he dropped the bombshell, ‘I love you, Maria, and would really want you to be my woman.’ There was a long silence between them as even a pin could be heard when dropped to the ground. ‘I… am not ready, Stanley’ she responded as her mind drifted painfully to James and her sister. ‘I understand Maria. You can take all the time you need to heal’ Stanley responded with a whisper as he felt a pang of pain in his heart. ‘No Stanley, I am not just ready to love again. I see you as a friend and nothing more. Never will I ever love you ‘ She said dismissively.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>To Be Continued<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
