*EPISODE 9*
(MY SOULMATE)
When Vanessa dropped her phone after talking with Chris’s mom, she checked her time and it was already 12:am. Then she stepped out of her room and walked into her parent’s sitting room.
There she brought out an alcoholic wine from her father’s wine rack. She sat down and filled her glass cup. Without further hesitation, she gulped the drink down her throat all at once. And as soon she emptied her cup, tears came rolling down her cheeks.
She sobbed as she kept refilling her glass cup over and over again till she consumed half of the bottle of the alcoholic wine. Then she burst into tears all over again Sobbing bitterly.
“What exactly did I do wrong?. Chris why don’t you love me?.” She asked now completely drunk.
She sat there thinking about her life till it was 3 am. She got up and went back to her room where she quickly reached for her car keys, Cap and jacket. Then without hesitation, she dashed out of the house straight into her car, started her car engine and drove away.
At exactly 3:30 am, Vanessa was standing at her driver’s door. She knocked severally before he woke up and opened the door after he had confirmed who it was at the door.
Yawning helplessly, her driver asked,
“Good morning Vanessa. what brings you to my house this morning?. I hope all is well?.” He asked rubbing off sleep from his eyes.
Ken lived in a one room apartment. As that was what he could afford at the mean time. He was just a young man who was building his life from scratch.
Without saying a word, Vanessa slowly kept pushing him backwards till he landed on his bed. Then she took off her cap and jacket. Now she was left with her night wear. The young man was still trying to figure out what exactly was going on when Vanessa started touching his manhood. He flipped out in confussion and asked.
“What’s the meaning of what you are doing?.” He asked pushing her off his body.
“Ken. Can you please make love to me?.” Vanessa pleaded with a pitiful look.
Ken was a 27 year old university graduate who after graduation, had gone through series of job hunting but got no job in return.
One hot afternoon, Ken ran into Vanessa at a mall while he was returning from where he had gone to apply for a job . He was starving and had no money on him. He then swallowed his pride and went into begging but none of those he approached offered to give him money. Then he spotted Vanessa stepping out of the mall. He quickly approached her and pleaded with her to please give him some cash so he could get something to eat for he was seriously farmished.
Vanessa took pity on him and deeped her hand into her hand bag. She brought out some cash which she gave to Ken. Ken was overwhelmed with her generosity that he broke into tears saying,
“A graduate had suddenly become a begger in broad daylight.” He said shaking his head in anguish.
Vanessa took great pity on him after hearing his story and offered him the job of being her personal driver. Ken didn’t bother to know the amount he was going to be paid. As he desperately needed a job.
“What?.” Ken asked totally dumbfounded with Vanessa’s request.
“Make love to me Ken. I beg of you. I really do need a man right now.” She pleaded.
“You are drunk Vanessa. Your mouth reek of alcohol. Why not get some sleep so we can talk about this later in the day?.” Ken asked holding her hands.
“No Ken. I’m not drunk I really know what I’m doing. Please this is the only way you can repay my kind gesture towards you.” Vanessa said with tears in her eyes.
But unknown to Vanessa, Ken had feelings for her all these while but was scared of getting into trouble by confessing how he felt about her.
Ken insisted and stood his ground. Then out of anger, Vanessa stood up and threatened to go meet another man since Ken wasn’t man enough to satisfy her. Then Ken had no option than to give in to her demands. They went for different rounds till Vanessa was tired.
They both dozed off after the act and when Ken woke up, he didn’t find Vanessa next to him. Instead, he saw a piece of note beside him. He quickly picked it up and read.
“Thanks so much for last night Ken. You helped relieved me of my stress and I’m grateful for that. I would like this to remain between us. And please let’s act like none of this ever happened.” The letter said.
Ken angrily scrambled the paper and threw it away.
“What just happened?. Did she just used and dumped me?. She has indirectly insulted me just because I don’t have money. But one thing is sure I must make this money and come back for you Vanessa.” Ken said clenching his fist.
Gloria woke up to meet Chris sitting next to her and staring tirelessly at her.
“Good morning.” She greeted yawning and stretching her arms.
“Good morning my sunshine. I hope you had a good night rest?.” Chris asked pecking her on her forehead.
“Yeah. Just that I still feel sharp pains down there.” She said.
“Now I feel bad. How do I remedy this situation?.” Chris asked feeling bad.
“Don’t worry about me Chris. I’m sure I will be fine with time.” Gloria said.
“I prepared hot tea for breakfast. And I’ve boiled hot water for your bath. Maybe the two can help you get out of pains.” Chris said holding her hand.
“You are such a gentleman man Chris.” Gloria praised.
“And you are such a virtuous and unique woman. And I promise to stand by you till the end of time.” Chris said kissing her hand.
“So I’ve been thinking. What name would you like our children to bear?.” Gloria asked smiling profusely at him.
“Well, I have always wanted to name my first daughter Zara and my first son Collins.” Chris said smiling profusely.
“Collins and Zara?.” She asked.
“Yes sunshine.” Chris answered.
“That’s nice. What was I expecting from someone who spent most of his life in the western part of the world?. In this case, i will have to handle the tribal names. Before you end up giving my children ancestral names.” She teased and they both burst into laughter.
Back at Ogbuefi’s mansion, Chris’s mother went to her husband and convinced him to give their son the opportunity to prove himself by letting him attend the upcoming business convention in his place.
“Chris has never gone in place of me before. And besides, those American investors are usually difficult to convince which is more reason why i must go there myself.” Chief Cosmas said.
“For how long do you intend spoiling our son?. Cosmas you and I will be gone someday. And if that happens, how do you expect Chris to effectively run the affairs of your firm, if you don’t start training him now?. All he’s been doing these past few days is hanging around a woman. Is love all what he’s good at?. Let’s trust our son this time by sending him to the states to meet and secure a deal with our foreign investors. You never can tell how good he is until you have given him a chance to prove himself.” She said.
“These are important clients and investors we are talking about here Agnes.” Cosmas said.
“Which is the more reason why you should trust your son with this business. He is the future of this house hold.” She said.
“Hmmmmmm. I will think about it.” Cosmas said.
When Chris and Gloria finally returned home. Chris father called him aside and broke the news to him.
“Go get ready. You will be attending this year’s business convention in my place.” He revealed.
“But dad?.” Chris tried giving excuses.
“No excuses Chris. If you are able to secure a deal with my white investors and clients over there, then I will make sure nothing stops you from marrying Gloria.” Cosmas said.
“Why involving Gloria in this?. Why trying to use her as a bait?. Fine. I will go there and make sure I return with good news. Just make sure you protect Gloria while I’m gone. She means everything to me father. And I hope you treasure her like I do.” Chris said.
When he broke the news to Gloria, she simply broke into tears.
“Why now?. Why can’t it wait till we are married?.” Gloria cried.
“Come on sunshine. This is for our good. Trust me, once I’m able to secure a close deal with those American investors, I will get to have a say in this house. And my father has already assured me that once I return, we will be getting married. I just want you to wait patiently for me. And please be a good girl.” He said.
He embraced Gloria who could not help but cried profusely on his shoulder.
The next day, Chris got his things ready and travelled out of the country. A week passed and Chris was not yet back. His number wasn’t going through and of course, Gloria had to return to her parents house cause the one month had already elapsed.
She returned to her parent’s house hoping and waiting for Chris’s return. Her best friend Comfort always came around to keep her company and to ease her worries.
On the second week, Gloria was seated outside under the tree. She was busy scrolling through her phone when she received a text from Chris. Out of excitement, she quickly clicked on it but what she saw, sent an unexplainable pain through her heart.
“Hi Gloria. I’m truly sorry for not reaching out to you all these while. The truth is, I’ve come to realize that I no longer feel the way I used to feel towards you. And I think everything that had happened so far between us was a mistake that shouldn’t have happened in the first place. I admit I was wrong to have led you on all these while. But the truth is, I did all I did because I wanted to have a taste of you. And since i’ve gotten what I wanted, I’m done. Please move on with your life. Cause I’ve gone back to Vanessa. And I hope you find someone else who feels same way for you. Do have a great day ahead.” The text said.
She was still trying to digest the message she received when a picture came in under the text. Gloria’s hands were literally shaking in disbelief as she clicked on the picture. Lo and behold, it was Vanessa and Chris laying n***d in each other’s arms.
Gloria freezed. As she let go of her phone and it fell on the ground and crashed. Her eyes sight suddenly became blurry. She quietly sat back on the wooden bench.
At this point, she tried crying but she couldn’t cry, shout or move. She was just stagnant and lost of words.
As if the heavens shared in her pains, It suddenly started raining and Gloria didn’t even notice. She remained seated outside watching herself get drenched by the rain. She quietly stood up and ran to Ogbuefi’s mansion inside the heavy rain. Arriving at the gate, she kept banging till the security man let her in. With anger, she barged into Ogbuefi’s sitting room and started shouting Calling on Cosmas and Agnes.
Unfortunately, Chris’s father had gone out and it was just Chris’s mother at home. She heard Gloria’s shout and came down to the sitting room.
“What’s this noise am hearing?.” She asked Gloria who was dripping wet. “My goodness. Why are you drenched in water?. Look at how you are dirtying my room. What in God’s name are you doing here looking like this?.” She yelled.
“What’s going on. Why is Chris with Vanessa?. I knew this was all your plot to split us apart. But I assure you, I and Chris will overcome all these. Cause we are soulmates.” She yelled.
“Wow!. Brilliant. In your imaginations sweetheart. What do you take my son for?. A fool that doesn’t know his class?. Do you think we run some Charity organization here?. Well my dear, I’m sorry to tell you that, Chris is gone to be with the woman he truly loves. And for your own good, I advise you watch your back cause you never know what will be coming your way. I heard that your parents are both farmers and they are always working. How about I send them back to you with broken legs?.” She asked glaring at her.
“Don’t you there touch my parents or else…” Gloria warned.
“….or else what?.” She cut in. “You should be the one begging for my mercy not the other way round. Right now as I speak to you, your parents are in my custody.” She said.
“What?. You lie.” Gloria said.
“Do you think I have time for jokes?. Why not go home and wait for their return?. Let’s see if you will get to see them again. Now leave my house at once.” She said pointing at the door.
Gloria returned home only to meet Comfort crying while waiting for her. The rain had stopped but her entire body was soaked with water.
“Comfort?.” Gloria called Walking up to her.
“Gloria. Is this love worth losing your parents?. Must you get married into the Ogbuefi’s family?.” She asked sobbing bitterly.
“What are you talking about?.” Gloria asked totally confused.
“Some men came to my house today. They threatened to kill my parents and your parents of I don’t advise you to leave Chris Ogbuefi alone. I thought it was a mere threat until they knocked my father down with a gun. He is currently at the hospital as we speak. I beg you Gloria. Please let Chris go. He is not the only man in the world. If his family doesn’t want you, then I see no reason why you should keep endangering our lives.” Comfort cried.
Just then, someone ran into the compound calling on Gloria.
“Gloria…Gloria…..” The boy called running up to her.
“What is it?. What’s wrong?.” Gloria asked.
“Your parents Gloria. Your parents were attacked by some gun men on their farmland.” He said gasping for breath.
“What?. Oh no….no no no no….” Gloria shouted running to the farm.
