Chapter Twenty six
****
"Good morning" His husky morning voice was the first thing I heard that beautiful morning. It was so refreshing.
"Morning" I whispered in response. I tried shifting out of his hold but he simply held on tighter and I just stayed still.
"Thank you" He said out of the blue. My face scrunched up in confusion.
"For what?"
"You won't understand what you did by sleeping next to me, but you will later" He explained and got up before I could reply. His warmth went with him and I sat up, staring at his back which was turned to me.
"I have to go over to my parents' today" I voiced out, and he turned to stare at me.
"Oh" He mouthed. "When are you leaving?"
"Soon" I whispered, getting up slowly. He nodded and went into the bathroom to do his business, while I quickly arranged the sheets.
I went in search of the bedroom he had led me to, the previous night. I brushed my teeth, had my shower and wore my outfit from last night, gray sweat pants and a black t-shirt.
I got downstairs and met him in the kitchen, brewing coffee for himself but he wasn't alone. There was an older woman in the kitchen, and the aroma was absolutely pleasant. No wonder he told me not to bother hurrying up to make breakfast for him.
"Hey" He said, coming over to me, he ushered me to one of the chairs by the kitchen counter and I sat without uttering a word. The woman turned to me and gave a small smile, I greeted her immediately. She answered very nicely and introduced herself.
"I'm Maryjane Okafor, chief housekeeper, but they all call me Aunty May" She said with that warm smile still settled on her face. It was infectious.
"Nice to meet you Aunty May, I'm Lola" I replied, but her eyes were questioning my relationship with her boss.
"I'm David's fr..." I started to say but he cut me off.
"Girlfriend" He said casually and continued with his coffee like he didn't just put a label on what we shared. I gave him a wide eyed glare and he just shrugged in response. I cleared my throat awkwardly and turned back to Aunty May, who had a wide grin on her face.
"Finally" She said and heaved a sigh. David just chuckled and I sat there staring back and forth between the two, apparently puzzled.
"Breakfast would be served in a few, excuse me" I nodded at what she said and watched her stir the eggs in the pan for a few seconds.
I pulled him by the hand out of the kitchen away from Aunty May's reach.
"What was that?" I whisper yelled.
"What was what?" He feigned cluelessness. I glared at him, he still shrugged but I saw a smirk on his handsome face. I groaned.
"Why did you tell her... " I hesitated.
"That you're my girlfriend?" He completed.
"Yes, that" I huffed, bit my my lip, tapped my foot looking at everywhere but him. Why? He was staring at me so intensely, I couldn't meet his gaze without getting all mushy on the inside.
"You don't want to be my girlfriend?" He sounded hurt. I still wasn't looking at him, but that question perked my ears and I turned to him swiftly.
"No... I mean yes? Wait, what does that even mean?" I blabbered nervously. He laughed, he laughed so hard, I had to kick him in his shin to shut him up. It was so embarrassing.
"Okay okay" He cleared his throat and I turned to him again.
"I'm sorry, I didn't ask properly"
"Titilola Gregg, will you be my girl? I'm serious about you, we're adults and right now, I don't want anything casual..." He pouted, then sighed.
"I'm not good at this..." He looked so frustrated, it was cute. I giggled.
"Okay" I said with a smile and his eyebrows rose in askance.
"Okay what?"
"I'm not gonna say it" I stated in finality, spinning around on my heels, when he caught me all of a sudden. My back landed on his chest, while he placed his chin on my head with his arms wrapped around my waist. I smiled at the gesture.
"So it's official?" He asked.
"Yup" I popped the 'p'
"Now let me go, I'm hungry" I shoved him off me playfully, we laughed it off and headed for the dining table where we had some sumptuous breakfast.
****
"You're sure you don't want me coming with you?" He asked for the thousandth time and I just rolled my eyes at him.
"I can handle this David" We were seated in front of the estate where my parents resided. After much insistence, I agreed to him dropping me off but I made him promise to not go in with me. I needed to handle things myself.
"Okay call..."He was saying, I interrupted.
"Call you in case of anything, got it"
"Come here" He urged and I went into his arms. We stayed that way for a while before he let me go in. I watched him drive off before walking in. I called Laila and she came out to get me.
"Hey" She whispered when she saw me. She pulled me into a hug that I returned eagerly.
"Are you okay?" She asked concernedly. I nodded, even when I wasn't sure of myself.
"Let's go" She held on to my hand as we trudged in. I looked around warily as soon as we got it.
"Mum and Dad are out if that's what you're worried about" She voiced out my thoughts and I smiled.
She knows me too well.
She smiled back then her expression turned serious.
"We have to talk,let's go to my room" I simply nodded,I did not have anything to say.
We were seated on her bed, facing each other,then she came at me with questions.
Oh brother!
"First of all, where were you?"
"David's" I answered casually and she narrowed her eyes at me. I knew that look.
"Gosh! Tolani nothing happened" I exclaimed and she sighed in relief.
"Why did you run off like that?"
"What did you expect me to do?" O countered.
"Never mind that, I'm just glad you were in safe hands"
Now, it was my turn to ask.
"What happened after I left?" I tilted my head for effect.
"Dad was furious,he called it sheer cowardice to run away from issues. He warned us to never pull that stunt of ours, ever again. Then of course, he compelled me to come live here till Yemi would come get me" I froze at the mention of her husband.
"Chill, leave my marriage first. Mr Wole swelled with indignation at the manner in which you left his son hanging after the proposal" I cringed on reminiscing that awry moment. Laila went on...
"Tana couldn't even look me in the eye and barged out of the house in the midst of all the drama because Tunji was yelling at her..." She sighed.
"In summary Lola, there was a lot of chaos last night"
"Wow" I said. Nothing else came to mind after that, I was short of words.
"I'm not getting married to Tunji" I said more to myself than Laila.
"Well Tana's pregnancy just made things all the more complicated" She said thoughtfully. What was she talking about?
"No" I shook my head. "I mean, I didn't reject the proposal because of their baby, I would never have accepted in the first place. David and I are together now and I don't feel anything for Tunji especially after what I heard last night" I explained.
"Hold up, you're dating David?" She grinned. I blushed and filled her in on how it happened.
"I'm happy for you but I do hope it's enough to get you out of this sticky situation with Tunji" She said, giving me a pat on my cheek. Just then I remembered something.
"You said you were going to tell me everything, like everything that's been going on behind my back, not just about last night" I folded my arms, and intensified my stare seeing her discomfort.
"There's a lot of things going on. Lots of secrets, and with the way you handled things yesterday I don't think you can take anymore of it" I was about to counter her statement when I heard the main gates open and tires screeched in. I got alarmed but Laila didn't even move a muscle.
"What is going on?" I whispered and she kept mute, an unreadable expression on her face.
"Let's go"
I do not know how I got there but in a matter of seconds, I found myself in the lounge in front of my parents, The Oluwoles', the Davis' and Adetokunbos'.
This is gonna get messy.
I muttered greetings to the elders present and glared at the two young men who were busy engaging in business talks like there wasn't a weighty issue hovering over our heads.
I could feel all eyes on me, or maybe that was what I thought.
"Cowardice isn't a very admirable trait Titilola" My dad spoke up all of a sudden. I looked up at him and shifted my gaze back to my feet.
"May I know the reason why you turned down my son's proposal?" Mr or should I say chief Wole asked, he had recently gotten a chieftaincy title and preferred to be addressed as such.
I opened my mouth to speak but once again he beat me to it.
"I thought you two were getting along well, you even live together. What happened?" He continued whining. What had Tunji been telling this man?
"Sir, your son and I are not in any relationship and I'm not getting married to him" I said firmly.
"Is it because he cheated and got your friend pregnant..." He chuckled and Yemi's father joined in. "Men cheat all the time my dear, you just have to forgive" That struck a nerve. He was trying to make me see reason with them.
Disgusting!
I shook my head, in a bid to stop myself from lashing out.
"There's nothing between Tunji and I and there never will"
"What do you mean?" Tunji's mother suddenly spoke up.
So you can speak...
"Ask him" I answered, glaring daggers at the person in question, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
He cleared his throat and shook his head.
"Come, what is that one supposed to mean?!Ogbeni! Open your mouth and speak" His father half yelled.
"Dad it's complicated" He finally huffed.
"Well I'm in a relationship and I would not be getting married to anyone else" I said without thinking. Was I really considering getting married to David? It was too late to rephrase my statement, seeing the reactions from everyone else.
"Ehn?" Everyone except Yemi's parents voiced.
"Who is this person?" My dad sneered.
"You'll meet him soon" I answered without blinking.
"Doesn't he have a name?" My mom eventually spoke up. I had been dying to hear her voice. It felt like she was absent the whole time.
"Never mind that Felicia, until I meet this person, this engagement stands" My dad said coldly, giving no room for arguments.
"In the meantime, you would go back to working with Tunji, maybe that would rekindle your feelings" Chief Wole blurted and I almost retched in disgust.
"I would do no such thing" I turned to my parents who looked astonished at my blatant refusal. "My freedom party is in a few weeks and I plan on opening my own design studio after that"
"And what's the fuss about me getting married to him? What exactly are you all hiding?" I questioned angrily. Why wouldn't they let me be?! And then it hit me. How could I be so dumb? How could I not read the writings on the wall?
"This is about my trust fund, isn't it?"
Silence.
That was all I got in response, I could see the guilt written on my mother's face but my dad kept his cool demeanor, acting indifferent as always.
"How much is this trust fund? Why wouldn't you all let me be? Why can't I have any peace of mind?!" I yelled, almost in tears.
"My friend stop being dramatic. Don't act like you don't know your father owes me three hundred million naira and that's the exact amount your trust fund will give to me" Chief yelled at me and you can imagine my shock. Three hundred what?! I had no idea I was that rich.
"Three what?!" I turned to my parents, then to Laila.
"How much is yours?" I asked.
"Two fifty" She answered casually. She was sitting next to Yemi, I almost face palmed but there was no time for any of that yet.
"What?!" I whisper yelled. "Why's hers less than mine?" I asked no one in particular.
"Well, you're the special one" Tana said sassily out of nowhere.
"Now, you stay out of this" I pointed my index finger at her. I was beyond disappointed in her. Why would she let a man come between us like that?Why would she hide everything from me?! She was supposed to be my best friend! My sister from another mister!
"And if I don't?" She retorted but recoiled when her 'baby daddy' sent her a warning glare.
"Now, now, we don't want any cat fights here" Yemi's father spoke up.
"I didn't come here for all this. I came here for something more pressing" He cleared his throat turning to face my sister who looked like she was going to melt in the next second.
"Tolani, it's about time we sort out this issue and you give me what's mine, don't you think?"
"She doesn't owe you anything" A new voice echoed in the living room and a man I had never seen before came into the room, but he bore a striking resemblance to someone I knew.
Something told me that the drama in my life was far from over.
Oh Lord help me!