“IN LOVE WITH MY BROTHER’S FRIEND”
Episode 11
Emeka and Shalewa escorted Remi to his room.
“Calm down, guy,” Emeka advised.
“Don’t tell me to calm down. You saw him coming out of her room half-dressed.”
“But he said nothing happened.”
“He is my friend, and he is not supposed to get involved with my sister.”
“Have you ever considered that maybe they are in love?”
“Love, my foot.”
Remi paced back and forth, frustrated. Emeka and Shalewa exchanged concerned glances, unsure of how to console him.
“Remi, you need to hear them out before jumping to conclusions,” Shalewa suggested gently.
Remi scoffed, dismissing the idea. “I can’t believe Babs would do this to me. After all these years of friendship…”
“You can’t tell the heart who to love. Babs has been in love with Kemi since she was sixteen.”
“So, because he is in love with her, he decided to betray me?”
“He never acted on it. Did you ever wonder why they stopped talking after Kemi travelled?”
“I asked him if anything happened with him and Kemi ten years ago, and he looked me in the eye and lied.”
“Babs has proven himself to be a true friend over the years, and you know it. But Kemi is no longer a teenager; she is a full-grown woman and responsible for her actions. It’s obvious she loves Babs. If after ten years, she’s still acting like this, then you know this is important to her.”
“She can be with anybody else but not any of my friends.”
“Is that how undeserving you think of us? I thought we were friends, and we would stick our necks out for each other, but obviously, I am wrong. It has always been about you, Remi. You don’t care about your friends because if you did, you would have known that Babs has been suffering since Kemi came back.”
“You know that is not true. I care about you both, and we have been through so much together. But I can’t accept it.”
Emeka sighed, sensing the depth of Remi’s struggle. He wanted to make Remi understand that relationships, like life, are complicated and don’t always follow a script.
“Remi, sometimes things change, and we have to learn to adapt. Babs is still the same person you’ve known for years. If Kemi wants to be with him, why stand in the way of that?”
Remi clenched his fists, torn between his loyalty to Babs and his protective instincts towards his sister. Shalewa watched him carefully.
“I know this is hard for you, Remi, but love doesn’t always fit neatly into our plans. You may not like it, but you have to respect their feelings,” Shalewa chimed in.
“Think about it Rem, would you rather Babs settles for an unhappy marriage than be happy with Kemi? It’s getting late I need to go get my wife.” He walked out.
Remi, frustrated and overwhelmed, collapsed onto a chair.
“It’s true, you know, what he said about Babs and Kemi being in love,” Shalewa asserted. “The first time I met Kemi at the party, I could feel the tension between her and Babs, and I was watching them throughot our time here; they couldn’t seem to stop gazing at each other.”
“This is ridiculous.”
“Why so? Kemi is a mature woman, and if you truly care about your friend, then this will be the best way to show it. So, is the wedding postponed?”
“What do you mean, is the wedding postponed?”
“Because you always put Kemi first. I don’t know if, with all that happened tonight, you are still going ahead with the wedding.”
Remi stood up and held Shalewa’s hands. “How can you even say that? This is our wedding, and I won’t allow anyone to disrupt it. I’m sorry if it seems I put my family first. I love you, and you are my number one priority from now on.”
“Okay, I believe you.”
“I’m sorry if I come across that way.”
Shalewa looked into Remi’s eyes, searching for sincerity. After a moment, she nodded, accepting his words. Remi breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that she understood.
‘It’s fine you go talk to Babs; I will go be with our guests.”
Babs hurriedly followed Derin, desperately attempting to explain himself.
“Listen to me, Derin. Nothing happened, believe me.”
“How can you embarrass me this way? You made me a laughing stock amongst your friends.”
“Derin, I’m sorry you walked into that situation, but trust me, it’s not what you think.”
“You came out of her room half-dressed. I asked you if you had history, and you said no.”
Babs sighed, realizing the gravity of the situation and the hurt he had unintentionally caused. “I should have been more transparent with you, Derin. But I need you to understand that nothing inappropriate happened between Kemi and me. It’s not what you think.”
Derin crossed her arms, her expression a mixture of anger and disappointment. “How can I believe you, Babs? ”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I messed up, and I should have been more upfront. Kemi and I have a history, yes, but it’s complicated. It’s in the past, and it doesn’t change anything between us.”
Derin remained silent, processing the information. The tension lingered between them, “I’m going to my room don’t follow me.”
Derin walked away, leaving Babs behind. He felt devastated and couldn’t believe the event that unfolded that night. He felt sad and angry that again his flesh failed him. He was supposed to be angry with her Kemi but how could he be when he understood why she did it? She seems to be the only one fighting for their love. Babs retreated to his room, seeking solace in prayer, hoping for clarity and understanding amid the emotional turmoil.
As soon as Derin reached her room, she placed a phone call. “I think we have the perfect excuse for me to execute our plan.”
“What happened?”
Derin recounted the events of that night over the phone. Her mysterious confidant on the other end of the line replied, “Excellent. Proceed as planned, and keep me updated on any developments.”
Derin ended the call, a sly smile playing on her lips.
She dialled her parents and relayed the details to them. In turn, her parents reached out to Babs’s parents. It appeared that Babs was in for a tough weekend.
