THE HEART OF A WOMAN = EPISODE 4
Unfortunately things changed as soon as Kelvin returned to Abuja in January (the following year).
His calls drastically reduced, leaving me with no choice than to be the one making all the calls. Yet whenever he answered, his voice lacked the normal affection and care. Of course i aired my fears to him, but he waved them off giving countless reasons for his change of attitude. Work stress, fatigue and so on.
I wasnโt convinced but swallowed my fears. I gave him the benefit of doubt thinking with time things would improve, but on the contrary it worsened. It really got to a stage when he began finding it difficult to answer my calls.
โPlease baby Iโm in a meeting, Iโm busy, Iโll call you laterโ soon became his pattern of answering me. Sometimes he called back in the middle of the night, most times he failed to keep his word.
I really wasnโt happy. I was broken and dejected. I began feeling his absence. I began getting lonely, i slowly slipped into total despair.
Then i got fed up. I couldnโt take his behaviour any-longer. I decided to sneak up on him which was very unladylike but necessary.
Thinking of it now, i blamed myself for totally surrendering to him and giving him all i had, even as he failed to introduce me to his family during the festive period we spent together. It really crossed my mind that period, but i kept my feelings to myself because it was his duty as a guy to bring up the topic, moreover i never saw it as an issue since we were engaged. I truly loved Kelvin with all my body and soul. The kind of love i had for him almost made me lose my mind.
I travelled to Abuja to see things for myself. To satisfy my curious mind and set my fears at rest. I knew Kelvinโs behaviour was out of the ordinary, but i never allowed my mind to believe that he could be cheating on me. The engagement ring on my finger was still a strong prove of his affection, I believed. Yet it never stopped my heart from p******g furiously as i got close to his apartment that fateful Saturday.
One thing about love is that it never discriminates. It happens to everybody, both young and old. Once it happens, you are at the mercy of your inner-most feelingsโฆโฆ And when it crashes, it comes crashing down with a force more deadly than a plane crash that whatever remains of your heart thereafter will be as good as dead.
Alighting from the taxi when i got to my destination, i called Kelvin on phone.
โHullo dear, how are you doing?โ he greeted as soon as he answered my phone call,
โIโm cool, hope you are at home?โ i asked sweetly,
โSure, Iโm just restingโ he answered,
โBeautiful. Iโm right at your doorโ i informed him with a laugh,
โHuh!โ he exclaimed,
โserious?โ he managed to ask,
โJust open the door jareโ i commanded and hung up with a smile.
_____
Kelvin was extremely shocked to me. The expression on his face as he welcomed me said it all. Of course he had every reason to be surprised but shocked?, no he had no reason to be shocked.
However he tried his best to act cool and loving by making sure i had a very wonderful evening. He took me out for a lovely dinner and later wrapped it up with a very memorable s*x..
I must confess that his behaviour played down my fears but as a woman it never stopped me from noticing how nervous he was and how he fidgeted each time his phone rang. I felt he was hiding something but then i waved my fears aside In other not to be too nosy since i was being treated nicely without anything serious to complain about.
โi know i havenโt been caring as i used to be, but it shouldnโt have stopped you from notifying me on time that you were coming. At least it would have enabled me to prepare and set things right for your visitโ he whispered as we held each other after making love. I smiled without saying anything. All that was going through my mind that moment were prayers. I was praying for happiness. I was praying for our relationship. I was scared, terribly scared.
โso how long do you intend staying with me?โ he suddenly asked, surprising me with the question. I breathed deeply and closed my eyes.
โone week dearโ i replied calmly, even though i felt the question was a bit insulting, since i just arrived barely seven hours ago.
โwow thatโs wonderfulโ he murmured and kissed my forehead, leaving me extremely clueless on what next to expectโฆ.
I woke up early the next day, probably around 4:30am to hear Kelvin making a phone call in the sitting room.
His voice was very low, preventing me from getting much of what he said, but the little i heard almost exploded my heart, bringing up my suspicion to a very alarming level.
โyea you know iโm just tolerating and pretending because i feel grateful and indepted. Iโll call you laterโ were the exact words i picked up and it left me wondering if he was actually discussing me over the phone.
He returned to the room seconds later to see me sitting on the bed. He drew close and stared at me with concern.
โHey whatโs up? are you alright?โ he asked,
โYeah just woke up. Couldnโt find youโ i answered with a fake smile.
โi was speaking to a colleague concerning a little deal that didnโt go right. I had to make the phone call in the sitting room in order not to disturb youโ he explained convincingly, but my mind told me he was lying.
โso letโs go back to sleep my dear. I really have lots of engagements to honour later in the dayโ he said and forced me down on the bed.
After breakfast, he left me all alone in the house and headed out. I really felt bad watching him leave, but had to wear a smiling face and pretend as if all was fine with me.
I had no reason to stop him since he claimed it was work related, but i knew better than to believe the silly lie.
โWork issues on a Sunday morning huh???โ
However I took the opportunity to visit Gen. Johnson later in the day, using the visit to thank him for the help he gave to me by getting a Job for Kelvin. I spent close to an hour with him before heading over to Lydiaโs house in Kubwa.
Lydia was my age mate and a family friend. She was lucky to get married at the peak of her youth. She married a naval officer at the age of twenty five. A marriage blessed with two cute kids. She equally was the person who arranged and set up Kelvinโs apartment when he moved over to the capital city the previous year and as a true friend kept minute tabs on him, though the information she supplied werenโt much nor anything appalling.
I showed up at her house at exactly 3pm that fateful Sunday.
She was very glad to see me.
โi truly donโt understand what you see in that boring Owerri you folks call the Eastern heartland. Move over here jor and set up a restaurant, i bet you will make much more than what you earn in Owerri over hereโ she joked as we hugged.
โhmmm madam know all. Leave me jare, where will i get legit land or a decent site in this Abuja without getting scammed a hundred times over. Abeg free that matterโ i laughed,
โas if you donโt have connections in the right place to buy even Aso Rockโ she joked.
โI came to see how well my fiancรฉe Kelvin is doing. I came into town yesterdayโ i informed her seriously. She breathed deeply and shrugged,
โhmmmm how much do you trust that guy?.โ she asked curiously, making me nervous with the question.
โwell we are engaged. Have you forgotten we chatted about it all through Christmasโ i answered with a smile.
โwell, there is this girl who works in his office, he usually hangs out with her almost every weekend. But Iโm not sure if anything is actually going on between them. They always look serious together, so i donโt know if itโs just work things or something else. I have seen them a couple of times at Mrs Ladipoโs eatery. Emmm Oh God I have forgotten the name of the place. Itโs just in front of my hair salon. I donโt know why it always skips my memory. You know Mrs Ladipo nah? The woman you once gave things to bring for me some years back in U.Sโ she explained carefully, piercing my heart with the little information she gave me.
โWhy then did you keep such information away from meโ i asked, instantly feeling dizzy and sick.
โAre you okay? You donโt look too wellโ she asked, jumping to my side and holding me with concern.
I just didnโt understand what happened to me that moment. The sitting room began revolving around me. I had difficulty breathing while body slowly drenched with sweatโฆ
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