"Common man, let's get out of here" Chris urged, pulling Leo towards where his car was parked. They opened the car and both sat inside, not saying anything, just staring into space, each man left to his own thoughts.
After some minutes of silence, Leo opened the glove compartment and brought out a packet of cigarettes. He removed one for himself before extending the rest towards Chris.
"Cigarette?"
"Yeah, thanks." Chris also removed a cigarette from the pack and they both lit up.
"Don't, Leo..." Chris suddenly said after smoking for a while, breaking the silence between them.
"Don't what?" Leo asked in confusion not understanding what Leo was driving at.
"Please don't fall in love with her man..."
"I'm not falling in love with her..."
"Oh, you're not?..." Chris asked with a raised eyebrow. "You could have had me fooled then."
Leo sighed deeply. He didn't even attempt to. argue with Chris because he knew what he said wasn't far from the truth.
"I don't understand Chris. I don't understand what's happening to me anymore...
As much as I hate her, why do I feel jealous when I saw her with another man?...
Like why does it felt right to be with her on both times that I saw her?" Leo seriously asked, looking straight into Chris' eyes with deep lines of concentration etched into his forehead.
"Why do I feel like killing Dave Arinze right now?"
"Maybe cos you're already falling for her..."
"But I hate her!" Leo replied Chris with lackluster.
"With everything I heard about her from grandpa, I should be able to hate her with passion!... How can I still fall for her!?... It's not right man. It just doesn't make sense to me! There must be a logical explanation for why i'm acting this way."
"Well, she's diabolical, a prostitute and a manipulator!" Chris said with certainty. "Is that explanation logical enough for you?..." He asked Leo, looking at him intently like he wanted the point he just made to sink into Leo's brain.
"Being with a woman like Fola is still better than being with somebody like her. I'm sorry but you'll have to do everything in your power to fight against this feeling you're developing for her since marrying her is inevitable.
You'll have to be professional about your dealings with her because you cannot afford to fall for such a foul woman! Never, ever forgets that! Work on hating her, don't give love a chance!
***
"Would you like to go to the wedding with me?" Dave immediately asked Emma when the kiss was over. He likes her and since he's almost thirty-six, there's is no point in wasting time. He wants to start showing her off to his family and friends.
"Is this some kind of a date? Emma asked tepidly with lack of nothing to say.
"Well, it's not such a bad idea... Or is it?" Dave asked again just like he asked before he kissed her earlier. He wanted to know if she was feeling the same way he was feeling.
"Dave... I'm sorry, I... Emma called his name and hesitated for a bit, shaking her head with regret. She shouldn't have kissed him. She should have just let him understand how she felt about relationships right when it was obvious to everyone that he likes her.
"You're a good man... Just that, I'm not the right person you want to start anything with right now... I-I have issues that I'm yet to resolve which I couldn't bring into a relationship with another man.
"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" Dave asked sincerely. He was a medical doctor who believed he had seen it all, and since he likes Emma, he's ready to stick with her no matter the issues she's having.
"If it's that easy... This is something you wouldn't understand even if I try to explain it to you. Hell, I don't understand most of it myself so..." She trailed off and shrugged her shoulders. "I just don't want to try something with you and then screw it up in the long run...
Can we please just be friends... For now at least?"
"Only if you agree to go to the wedding with me. Dave said with a smile." Most women would give an arm and a leg just to be acquainted with the Arinze family. She was the only one who has ever rejected him which only made him wanted her more.
Friendship is good. It's a base for them to get to know each other anyway so he's not bothered by her offer of frienship because he believed they're still on the right track.
"Yes I will go to the wedding with you" Emma finally agreed with a smile.
***
Not minding her status, Fola sat on the floor of the now-empty lounge with a bottle of whiskey in hand. She was crying and at the same time drinking straight from the whiskey bottle.
Her makeup that was professionally done early that morning was now so messed up it was running down her face in heavy, inky, and colorful rivers, making her look like she was made up for a Halloween party.
"Men are scum!" She cried and hiccuped drunkenly, gesturing with the bottle held firmly in her hand.
"I practically groveled at his feet before he agreed to celebrate my birthday party with me. How could he have left me here because of another woman? A woman who never wanted him for that matter!...
She was with another man, and I saw the look on my boyfriend's face when he went after her... Oh my God, so satisfying!... Now he knows how it feels to be rejected. So, so satisfying!" She laughed hysterically and took another swig from her whiskey bottle.
"Did you see the mocking look on their faces when the MC asked for my boyfriend to cut the cake with me and your brother was nowhere to be found?" Fola asked Tola, Leo's sister who was sitting on the couch opposite where she was sitting on the floor.
"It doesn't matter anymore. Pull yourself because we have a bigger problem on our hands right now than you whining about a party."
"What bigger problem? I don't want to know about it! I hate him! I hate you!... And I'm done with the Salvador family! Men are scum and your brother is the lowest of them all."
"If you insist... But don't come crying and begging me as usual when you're sober. I'll help call your driver to come pick you up." Tola said with a sneer before walking out of the lounge