《IMADE AND JAMAL》 Chapter two: Shes in the past. Chapter two: She''s in the past. JAMAL. "Jamal?" I still could not believe it. Of all ces to meet Imade, it had to be at mypany. My ce of work. After I had already nned a thousand ways to avoid her or anything to do with her, she shows up right in front of me and I temporarily froze when our eyes met. I had no idea how to react. I thought of just walking away from her but knowing Imade, she would have made it her mission to know why I ignored her and I didn''t want that to happened cause it wouldn''t end well for her. Should I have at least acknowledged that I knew her instead of denying to know herpletely? My guilty conscience tries to reason but at the end of the day, I still think I did the right thing. Acknowledging I knew her would put me in an ufortable situation and at the moment I can''t afford to be in any kind of situation. "What''s on your mind?" A voice interrupts my thoughts and I look up to see Natasha standing behind my table with her usual one sided smile. "Hello beautiful." I greet with a wink, earning a dimpled smile from her. "What can I do for you?" I add quickly, watching as she sashayed seductively towards me and immediately sits my thighs. Typical Tasha. "There''s only one thing you can do for me right now and I''m pretty sure, you know what I''m talking T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. about." She whispers quietly and if that was her attempt to be seductive, she wasn''t doing a bad job at it but unfortunately for her, I wasn''t in the mood at all. My mind was too preupied with thoughts of Imade and I was curious to know exactly what her job here is. "I know what you want Tasha but unfortunately I''ll have to take a raincheck on your invitation, I''m currently busy but I promise, I''lle throughter, okay?" I tell her calmly and nt a quick kiss on her lips to avoid her temper tantrum. "Does your sudden mood have anything to do with thedy you met earlier?" She asks suddenly, with a slight frown on her face. "And how did you know I met ady earlier?" I retort cluelessly, although I already knew the answer to my own question. "Just answer the question Jamal. Is your bad mood because of that intern you met earlier?" She asks again, this time sounding upset. "Why? Are you jealous?" I reply with a yfulugh and her frown deepens. "Just answer me Jamal. Who is she?" She questions and knowing her as well as I did, she wasn''t going to back down till I told her. "She''s just an old friend." I reply quickly, hoping she would let it go but instead something about my reply seemed a little funny to her and I raised my brows at her wondering why sheughed. "Give it to me straight Jamal, she''s one of your past conquests, right? And let me guess, you broke her heart, just like you always do, am I right?" She asks with a short mockingugh and the confidence she had whilst saying all that, slightly infuriated me but I was able to calm myself down and wear a fake smile on my face. "She''s not a past conquest Tasha, she''s an old friend and she was a good one but now she''s past tense and I''d rather she remained that way, okay?" I tell her off quickly but as usual, her synthetic head didn''t get the memo. "Hmm... Seeing you getting so defensive over her is making me feel slightly anxious. Should I be worried? Is she supposed to bepetition? If so, I don''t think she''s any match for me as a rival. She''s way too nd, boring and I know, she''s not your type." She says proudly and confidently and I could not help theugh that escaped my lips. "Wow! Your confidence is scaring me. You seem way too sure that she''s not my type but what if she is? You know I''m not one to enjoy the same thing for too long. I love to switch and taste every vour avable." I state calmly and I could immediately tell that my reply had provoked her as I expected and I mentally chuckle at how easy it was to y with her emotions. "I know you can''t be serious Jamal. That nd loser can never be your type and I''m confident about that because I know you well and I know you hate slow girls like her and she obviously has burden written all over her so my confidence has a reason." She scoffs and I yawn. "This is getting tiring Natasha. You didn''t even meet this girl and yet you already know what she looks like. Don''t you ever get tired?." I ask and she smirks. "As you already know, I hatepetition and I don''t mind you fooling around with any rat thates your way but don''t you dare get attached to any of them. Remember, they''re just pass time and they should not cross that line." She warns sternly, cing a quick kiss on my lips before walking out of the office. "Crazy bitch!" I mutter to myself as soon as she leaves, wondering why I still keep her around me. Well truth be told, she''s not someone I can easily get rid of and I genuinely cared about her even if sometimes she infuriated me to no end. I contemte on whether or not to leave the office but decide against leaving since I still haven''t found out what Imade does here but whatever it is she''s doing here, she''ll have to stop cause she can''t be here. I can''t allow that. ??? "Jamal, you''ve barely said a word since we got here. What''s wrong with you?" Daniel asks worriedly. "Nothing bro, I''m good." I reply calmly, gulping down another cup of water. "Well, it doesn''t look like nothing to me." Joshua chimes in randomly, earning a scowl from me. "Mind your fucking business, you prick!" I hiss back at him and he scoffs. "Someone forgot to take their anger management pills today. Why don''t you be a good boy jamjam and take your pills to avoid acting out like a fucking toddler." He jeers at me and I turn towards to hit him but Daniel was quick to pull my hand back. "Stop it you two! Stop acting like children." He warns and I hear Joshua scoff beside me. "He started it by being a prick. I was only asking him why he looked gloomy. Not that I care though." He says and I roll my eyes. "Next time, don''t ask if you don''t care." I snap back at him. "I''m sorry to say this guys, but sometimes, you two embarrass me and I''m starting to think we shouldn''t be hanging out together. I shouldn''t be dealing with your bad energy." Daniel says all of a sudden and we simultaneously turn to him with a what the fuck are you saying look on our faces. "He says too much nonsense, let''s ignore him." Joshua says boredly and I agree with him. It wasn''t exactly the first time Daniel would say such nonsense but he never really meant it cause at the end of the day, we were his best friends and he loves us. "Let''s order something quickly cause that weird dude is starting to stare at us like we''re beggars or something." Joshua points out and we look towards the direction to see an elderly man giving us the stink eye but trying to hide it with a tight lipped smile. "Maybe he thinks we''re just going to drink water and leave, some people do that a lot and it''s pretty upsetting." Daniel exins and I chuckle a little before calling for a waiter. "Can we get a waiter!" I yell out and almost immediately my phone beeps in my pocket, distracting me temporarily. I look at my phone and see it''s a text from Natasha. I ignore it and look back up at the waiter and to say I''m beyond surprised to see the person standing right in front of me would be an understatement. "Uncle Jamal?" She gasps dramatically and I mentally roll my eyes. Typical Lde, always dramatising. A look of surprise and curiosity grew up both Daniel and Joshua''s faces but I ignore them and turn to face the girl in front of me. "I''m sorry, do I know you?" I ask, pretending to be stunned. Both Joshua and Daniel keep staring at us curiously and I could tell Joshua was itching to say something stupid but Daniel''s re seems to be stopping him. "So you''ve forgotten me? I''m hurt o. Well, I don''t me you sha,st time you saw me I was just a short twelve year old with K-leg. It would have been a miracle if you had recognised me." She says with a sheepish grin and I almost smiled back at her. Keyword almost. "I still don''t remember you miss, can you just take our order? We''re starving." I tell her calmly to avoid sounding too rude or harsh. "Oh, I''m so sorry sirs, I got carried away. It''s just, seeing him made me very excited but I guess he doesn''t even remember but it''s fine. I''m Lde Adeleke, an old acquaintance." She replies me trying to sound bold and less embarrassed but I could tell she was disappointed. "What would you men like to have? Here are our specials for today." She hands each of us our menu and quickly points out the specials she mentioned. "This looks good. I''ll take beef stew. " Daniel chirps excitedly, handing the menu back to her. "I''ll take the same thing." I tell her quickly and hand over my menu. "I''m vegetarian so I''ll take fish and chips instead." Joshua says and hands her his own menu. "I''ll be right back with your order." She replies with a curt nod and walks away. "Bro, don''t tell me you were banging a twelve year old girl!" Josh exims immediately she was out of sight. "I knew you were crazy but dude! She was twelve! Didn''t you have any shame?" He yells a little and I was thankful Daniel hit him, if not, I would have done it myself and it would not have ended well. "Watch what you say Josh, people are listening." He whispers harshly and the idiot scoffed nonchntly. "You should be reprimanding him instead for being a pedophile." He hisses, I grunt. "Stop saying nonsense you fool. Why would I be sleeping around with a twelve year old? What the actual fuck bro! She''s just the little sister of an old friend of mine." I blurt angrily, regretting thest sentence. "Oohh, so you recognised her and still denied it? Why?" Daniel asks and I sigh. This wasn''t supposed toe out. "Yes, I recognise her but I don''t want to acknowledge both she and her sister cause they''re in the past and I want them to remain that way. Her elder sister used to be my best friend but after I moved, we lost contact with each other and now I no longer give a shit about them so please, respect my decision and shut your mouths." I warn sternly. "Wow! You''re really very selfish bro and I''m very disappointed in you but oh well, it''s your business, not mine." Daniel shrugs and quickly turns his attention to his phone. "Did she like you? Were you two lovers?" Joshua asks, I frown. "Not lovers just best friends. She always used to be there for me but at this point in my life, I''d prefer it if she stayed in my head as a memory from the past. She''s aplicated person and I don''t need such people in my life." I reply him and he nods in understanding. "Complicated girls are really the worst! I can''t even deal with girls in general. They''re very annoying." He says irritatedly and although I don''tpletely agree with him, I kept quiet since I understand why he hates women. "Did you like this girl? Does she have a name? Have you met her since you came back?" Daniel asks curiously. "Bro, he just got back to Nigeria like a week ago and you expect them to meet just like that? Life isn''t exactly Hollywood, ya know?" Josh replies him and I roll my eyes. "Well unfortunately, my life seems to be ying out like Hollywood cause I met her at thepany earlier today and ended up running to her sister on the same day!" I tell them and a smug expression appears on Daniel''s face. "Now, who''s the fool?" He retorts at Daniel who simply ignores him. "Here''s what you ordered." Lde returns with a smile stered on her face as she ces our food on the table. "Thank you very much." Daniel says to her, making Josh and I look ungrateful for a meal we''re paying for. "You''re wee Sir. Enjoy your meal." She replies him and immediately scurries away. "I don''t think you should avoid them. They are your old friends." Daniel speaks up after shoving a spoon fool of beef stew in his mouth. "Ipletely disagree bro. Avoid them like a gue cause things with people like them never end well." Joshua argues and I throw him a dirty look. "Look guys, let''s just drop the subject. She''s old news and I really don''t care what happens to her anymore. So mind your business and forget they even exist, okay?" I warn strictly and they both nod positive although I could tell Daniel wasn''t too happy with my decision. Chapter 1: Prologue. Chapter 1: Prologue. JAMAL. "You''re leaving?" Imade asks as tears slowly start to stream down from her eyes. "Don''t cry Imade, you''ll make me cry." Jamal whispers quietly, cing a hand on her cheek to wipe the tears. "I honestly wish I could stay here, with you like we''ve always nned but my parents are refusing to listen to me and my hands are tied. I''m so sorry." He tries to exin but Imade wasn''t having it. "We promised to always be there for each other. You know you''re my best friend and besides you I have no one else. What am I supposed to do now?" She replies in frustration, still trying to understand why his parents suddenly want him to study abroad even after he has already started schooling in one of the best private universities in Nigeria. "You''ll be fine my little boo boo, you''re a big girl now. Let me make you a promise, I''ll make sure to call you and text you almost everyday if not everyday so you don''t miss me too much, okay? I won''t ever forget you as long as you never forget me too. You promise?" Jamal tells her and he could feel her rxing a bit more. He knew it would take a while for her to get used to not seeing him everyday, deny he''d miss her terribly. Himself and Imade had always been inseparable and even if he was trying so hard not to break down in tears for her sake, his heart broke. He was leaving his best friend, sister,panion and the person that understood him the most. No one could ever rece her. Imade''s heart hurt. She knew she was being selfish but she couldn''t help it. Jamal was her life, her best friend and her love and he was leaving before she even got a chance to tell him how she really felt. "Will youe back?" She asks. "Surely, I''lle back and when I do, I''ll make us official." He replies with a smile that melted Imade''s heart. Her eyes lit up immediately after hearing his words. ''Us'' the word made her heart jump for joy. She didn''t want to ask further questions to stop her heart from exploding. It still hurt that he was leaving but at least now she had something to hold on to. He loved her just as much as she loved him and that was enough to reason to be patient with him. "Promise me you''ll never forget me Jamal. You''ll call as promised, text me goodnight before you sleep even if it''s morning here, I don''t mind. You must text me good morning and tell me you''re safe and you''re happy and most importantly, don''t let any oyinbo girl take my ce. You promise?" She asks, with a childish pout and Jamal couldn''t help the chuckle that escaped his lips. "I promise baby girl and you should do the same o. Don''t rece me, ever!" He pouts and she giggles. "I love you Immy, never forget that." He adds, nting a quick kiss on her lips. "I love you too Jam Jam." She replies with a smile, engulfing him in a tight hug. She held on to him like her life depended on it but he didn''t mind as he inhaled her flowery scent, hoping he''d never forget her alluringvender scent. He was definitely going toe back for her, he loved her and nothing would N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. ever change that. Two yearster... "He forgot me. He finally forgot me!" Imade yelled in frustration. He hadn''t called or texted her in over a month. She tried calling him several times but he never answered. She was frustrated and afraid. She hoped nothing had happened to him and she also hoped he hadn''t forgotten about herpletely. For thest two years, he''d kept his promise. He called, texted, video called and even sent emails. He was determined to make sure she didn''t feel his absence and although it wasn''t the same, she still appreciated his effort and was happy he still loved her. What exactly could have gone wrong? She knew her Jamal would never leave her hanging for no reason. It was times like this that made her wish her family was affluent enough to travel abroad so she could at the very least visit Jamal once in a while. She didn''t care if he forgot her at this point, all she wanted to know was if he was alive and well and she sincerely hoped and prayed that he was. Jamal was furious with himself and with life. The sudden news of his parent''s death was definitely not his idea of a birthday present. He twentieth birthday was officially hisst birthday. He hated that day and he med himself for his parent''s death. If only they hadn''t decided surprise him on his birthday by flying back to the States, they would have never fallen victim to a ne crash. He curses himself and his birthday, cried himself to sleep and at a point couldn''t sleep without using pills. He became a wreck. He couldn''t concentrate on anything or anyone. The memories of hisst conversation with his dear mother reyed in his head a thousand times and the guilt ate him up each and everyday. He missed her, he missed his mom so much. She was his mini god, she never failed to support him and she always encouraged him and he killed her. He killed her. His father was strict but he still loved him because at the end of the day, he knew his father loved him and only wanted the best for him and yet, he caused their death, simply because of his stupid birthday. No matter how many times he''s told not to me himself, he''ll never stop living in guilt. He was never going to forgive himself. Chapter 4: My Imade. Chapter 4: My Imade. JAMAL. "So she''s an intern?" I ask, failing woefully at masking my surprise. "Yes dear, but she seems very intelligent and trustworthy so I''ll do as you asked and keep her under my wings." My aunt Lydia, assures me and I sigh in relief. At least she was impressed by her. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. "Thanks a lot auntie. I owe you one but please do me another favour, take care of her and don''t let her get anywhere near Natasha. I don''t want her involved in Tasha''s jealous fits and I''d also prefer if this stays between us. You know how Tasha gets when she feels threatened." I tell her and she stares back at me with a bored expression on her face. "I think it''s high time you put a name on this weird rtionship you have with Natasha. Like I''ve always pointed out, I don''t like her attitude but she has being a part of your life for seven years now, following you everywhere like a housefly and yet you only tag her as just a friend." "I know for sure that you''re sexually involved with her and I know it''s none of my business as well but I''m your aunt and I wish the best for you. The rtionship you have with that youngdy needs a proper name before her obsession with you gets out of hand." She blurts out sternly and I bow my head slightly in embarrassment. "I''m not looking for anything serious with anybody auntie and as for Natasha, she and I are as you said lovers but it''s nothing too serious, at least to me. I genuinely care about her and would do anything for her but I''m not interested in putting a name on anything." "I like where we are and I already told her where I stand and we''re both cool with it. I don''t need to tell her I love her before she gets the memo, she already knows she''s my irreceable gem." I exin to her and she''s sighs defeatedly. "I will never understand that rtionship but if it makes you happy, then I have no problem. I''d just advice you to keep that rude girl on a leash. She needs to know her ce and stop going around throwing jealous fits and embarrassing herself. Talk to her." She advises and I nod in agreement. "I''ll do as you say ma but please don''t forget to help me with Imade and also keep this a secret from her, I don''t want her to get the wrong idea." I remind her and she furrows her brows. "You''re starting to confuse me o, young man. What''s your deal with this youngdy? Are you a secret admirer?" She inquires and I roll eyes. "She''s just someone I feel guilty towards and I feel the best way I can make it up to her is to protect her from the shadows. I don''t like her and I want nothing to do with her personally." I reply her and she shrugs. "Whatever you say my boy. Just make sure I see you at work tomorrow or else you''ll hear it from me." She warns and I chuckle quietly, engulfing her a quick hug before watching her get in her car and drive off. *** The next day... "Have you had lunch?" I ask Natasha, who simply ignores me and continues to admire her newly polished finger nails. "Are you for real Tasha? Are you really going to act like this?" I ask boredly, hoping she''d snap out of it but she didn''t and that partly infuriated me. She knew how much I hated the silent treatment and for whatever reason, she''s doing things I hate to taunt me. Firstly, she wore a yellow coloured dress, knowing how much I hated that colour and now she''s paying zero attention to me and focusing more on her stupid nails. "Fine, I''m leaving." I say in frustration, hoping to get a reaction from her but I got nothing. Absolutely nothing! Her eyes remained fixed on her nails and she didn''t even spare me a nce. "If you''re mad at me, you need to speak up and tell me what I did wrong. You can''t keep ignoring me like I''m some talkative parrot!" I yell at her in frustration and bam! That got her attention as expected. Knowing her like I did, I knew one thing she didn''t like was getting yelled at. Itpletely infuriated her. "Do I have to be mad at you Jamal? Did you do something that you think might annoy me? Do I look angry? Or is your guilty conscience catching up with you?" She retorted and I deadpanned. Is she joking with me? "I have being in your office for thest hour and you''ve said absolutely nothing to me. What exactly am I supposed to make of that?" I reply confusedly and sheughs, herughter irritating me beyond words. "You know what, I think you''re a little unwell. How about you take a break today to clear your head and when you''re much better upstairs, we''ll talk." I say to her angrily and turn to leave. "Wait Jamal!" She calls out but I ignore her and I leave. She can''t take out her anger on me and expect me to just ignore andply, I''m not her puppet. "Jamal!" A voice calls out and I turn around expecting to see Tasha but I''m beyond surprised when I see Imade instead walking towards me with an unreadable expression on her face. "You again?" I ask, attempting to sound upset and irritated. "Sorry for disturbing you Jamal but we need to talk and I know you supposedly don''t know me and you have no reason to actually talk to me but I promise I''ll make it quick." She says confidently and I''m stunned and at lost for words. "Jamal?" Another voice calls out my name again and this time, the voice belongs to Natasha and the stone cold expression on her face screams deadly jealousy. "Who are you?" Tasha asks as soon as she stood face to face with Imade who was noticeably shorter than Tasha. My eyes scan back and forth both women thinking of how best I could handle the situation without Imade getting hurt in anyway. I knew how Tasha got whenever her insecurities got the best of her and if I don''t interfere quickly, she might lose it. "Good afternoon Miss. I''m sorry if I''m interrupting but I need to speak with Mr Jamal for a few minutes." Imade replies her, still sounding as confident as she did earlier. "And what business do you have with him?" Tasha asks and that was my cue to chime in. "She''s a friend Tasha. I''ll let her say what she has to say and you and I can talkter." I tell her calmly and hurriedly try to drag Imade away. "No, I won''t allow that Jamal. She''s nothing but a mere employee and she needs to know her ce. I don''t care if she''s a friend or whatever but whatever she has to say, she can say it outside thepany but as long as she''s in here, she''s obligated to focus on work and work only. So as your boss and your employer, I''m demanding that you get back to work." She persists and I mentally roll my eyes at her flimsy excuse. Can she be any less annoying? I wonder to myself, thinking of a way to get out of here without drawing unwanted attention. "I''m on my lunch break miss, so I have the right to talk to an old friend. I promise I won''t take up much of his time." Imade tells her straight and I struggle to hold back augh when Tasha''s brows twitched in a funny looking way. "So Jamal, do you want to go with her?" Tasha asks, turning back to me and I shrug nonchntly. "Yeah sure. I''d like to hear what she has to say." I reply and she sighs calmly before turning back to an expressionless Imade. "Okay fine, but please make it quick cause he and I have some unfinished business. By the way, I''m Natasha Opara, his assistant CEO." She says directly to Imade and I was certain, that introduction was more like a warning in advance. It wasn''t exactly a new tactic from her. "I''m Imade Adeleye, and I''m new here. Hopefully, you can guide me through how things work." Imade replies with a small smile and I unconsciously smile a little at how rxed she looked. She was still as cool headed as I remembered. My forever patient and rxed Imade. "I would normally say, it''s nice to meet you but there''s nothing nice about this meeting. So if you''ll excuse me, I''ll see around. See youter babe." Tasha replied, nting a quick kiss on my lips before strutting away elegantly. For the first time ever, I wished she hadn''t kissed me so openly, especially not in front of Imade who still wore an unreadable expression on her face. "Did going abroad turn you into a coward? Or did I just never notice you were one?" She asks, and I''m immediately taken aback by her tone. "Let''s talk somewhere more private Imade. Follow me." I reply her through gritted teeth and I''m partly relieved when she obediently follows behind me. I walk her to the elevator and we head to my office, which was located on thest floor. The minute I step into my office, I offer her a seat and she quietly agrees and sits opposite me on the sofa. "What is it you want to say?" I ask her, trying to contain my anger from the previous remark she''d made earlier. "I know you don''t owe me any exnations Jamal and I''m not expecting anything from you but I need to find peace with this situation and to get that peace, I need to understand why in the world you''d deny knowing me. I even thought you had amnesia or something but it turned you were denying me on purpose. Why?" She asks and I''m only partly surprised that she figured out I lied. Although I knew she''d eventually find out, I didn''t want it to happen so soon. "If you are expecting an apology from me, then you''re wasting your time Imade. I have nothing to be sorry about. I didn''t acknowledge you because I didn''t want to and I''m not apologetic about it." I tell her straight and she lets out a bitterugh. "I don''t need you to apologise to me because you don''t owe me anything. I just wanted to see for myself, how the new you works and now I get it. You don''t want me in your life and Ipletely understand that but for the sake of our old friendship, I didn''t deserve to be denied and I just came here to end things on a proper note." "Thank you very much for making me worry about you for ten good years of my life. Thank you for denying me without any form of remorse andstly, thank you for finally showing me how much you don''t worth a second of my time. That is all I wanted to say, excuse me please." She says calmly with a curt nod before getting up to leave. "How did you find out? I ask the first question that popped in my head and she halts her steps temporarily. "That is, absolutely none of your business." She replies me and walks out of the office, leaving me to process everything that just went down in a matter of minutes. "What the hell just happened?" I wonder out loud, still trying to figure out how she found out I recognised her. I would have suspected my aunt but she was on her way to a business trip earlier and I doubt she would have had the time to chit chat with a mere employee. Well, I should be thankful to whoever it was cause I finally felt free and less guilty towards her. A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I can only hope our paths never have to cross again. Chapter 5: Drunk in love Chapter 5: Drunk in love Imade. Anger is an understatement to describe exactly how I feel right now. I wasn''t angry at Jamal or at that stupid wench that kissed him, I was angry at myself. I was angry at myself for being a fool, I was angry at myself for being easy, for being trusting and for waiting for a man like an idiot and depriving myself of the love that I rightfully deserved. Honestly, I wouldn''t me Jamalpletely because at the end of the day, it was my decision and my choice and I chose to wait for him and like a fool, I got dropped in the worst way possible. "Hey, are you okay?" A familiar voice asks and I look up to see Joseph looking back at me with a concerned expression. "Uh... Yeah, sure. I''m fine. Do you need something?" I ask. "You don''t look fine though. Your eyes are a little swollen and reddish and your face looks slightly swollen as well. Did something happen?" He persists. "It''s nothing too serious Joseph, just another bad day." I reply him tiredly, hoping he''d realise that I wasn''t in the mood to talk. "Does it have anything to do with what I told you earlier? And please don''t lie to me cause it was after I told you that you suddenly left and now since you got back, you''ve been in a sour mood. Should I have kept my mouth shut? I''m guessing I should have but believe me I honestly had no bad intentions and I''m sorry if it caused you any trouble." He blurts nonstop and I mentally rolled my eyes at how talkative he was being. "I should actually be thanking you for telling me. It was exactly what I needed to wake up from a long dream." I reply him and I meant every word I said. If it wasn''t for him, I would have continued fooling myself and hiding behind the false hope that Jamal probably had amnesia and that one day he''d eventually remember me. What a joke! I mentally scoff at my foolishness. "Well then, I guess I''m not to me. If you need anything, anything at all, you can always call on me. I''ll be happy to help you." He says assuringly and I offer him the most genuine smile my face and my mood could muster. "Thanks a lot Joseph." I say to him and watched him walk away before cing my head on my table. A sudden knock on my table jolted me out of my sulking time and when my head looks up, my eyes meet with Temde''s unfriendly pair. "How may I help you Temi?" I ask and she scowls. "Are you supposed to sleep at work?" She retorted and I sigh in frustration, wondering why in the world she was so hell bent on making my life a living hell. "I wasn''t sleeping, I was thinking and besides, we only have fifteen minutes left before work period ends and as you can see, I''m less busy which means I have the right to take a breather and think. So if you have nothing important to say, please walk away." I hiss back at her in frustration and stares back at me with a scornful look on her face. "Well, I can''t say I really me you anyways. I me the corrupt nature of this country that allows good for nothings like you to get undeserved opportunities. I''m pretty sure you''re one hundred percent certain about getting hired and that is why you''re not even afraid to sleep at work when you only started to work here yesterday." She snaps with so much bitterness and I''m beyond amazed at how much venom was dripping down her voice. "What do you have against me? What did I ever do to offend you? I barely know you and you already painted the worst picture of me in your head. What exactly is your problem?" I asked her, honestly wishing she''d give me an actual response that would exin the real reason for her actions. "Well, you could say I hate people who believe sleeping around will help them achieve sess. I hate cheap women like you who would desperatelyy with any man just to climb up the sessdder. That, is the exact problem I have with you cause you''re one of those women and mere seeing you, makes my blood boil with pure disgust!" She spat at me and my jaw drops. I have never felt so much hatreding from one person in my entire life. She has only known me for two days and look how badly she already hated me. "Listen Temde, I honestly don''t know what your problem is and I won''t say I care but if you want to hate on someone, don''t hate on me. If you want to vent at someone, don''t vent at me. If you want to shove your bitterness down someone else''s throat, don''t try to shove it down mine cause I won''t swallow it. Your perception about me is solely your business and I don''t care about what you think but I''d prefer those thoughts remain in your head and they should stay buried in there." "I won''t allow a stranger like you to defame my character without reason and let me warn you clearly, if you spout any of this nonsense out to anyone else and spread any false rumors about me, I will not hesitate to report you. Be warned and if you''ll excuse me now, the time is 6pm which means my work N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. here is done." I snap back at her strictly, packing up my bags and getting ready to leave. "I don''t have to spread anything cause everyone already knows how you got in anyway." She replies confidently and I smirk. "Unfortunately, I can''t be bothered by mere office gossip when I have better things to do with my time. It''s too bad those of you gossiping have nothing better to do with your time. I guess bad mouthing people makes you feel superior and better about yourselves, too bad. How very disappointing!" I reply her sarcastically and she hisses angrily before walking away, fuming. I sigh in relief immediately she was out of sight and I thanked God for giving me the patience to swallow her insults without reacting immediately. I''d be honest, her words really cut deep but after everything unfortunate that has happened to me as ofte, her words were nothing but another situation I can always overlook. *** 7:30pm~~ At a bar... "I''m a fool Angy. I''m a very very verrryyy big fool. I am foooolll!" I drawled childishly before breaking into guffaws. "Imade, I think you''ve had enough to drink. You''re already going past your limit." Ang warns but I ignore her and take another gulp out of my fifth bottle of beer. "You''re never irrational Imy and I don''t think this bastard you''re mouring over is worth your tears and your sadness. You said it yourself that he''s with another woman now and he told you to your face that he wanted nothing to do with you, so why are you still wailing over such a useless being? You should even be happy that now you can finally live your life to the fullest without feeling obligated or bound to anyone." She says as an attempt to get me to stop drinking and Iugh out loudly, taking another swig of my very cold beer. "Angy, you have no idea how it feels." I say to her and immediately burst into uncontroble tears. "I s..spent ten good years of my life praying for Jamal''s safety. I lived ten years of my life worrying about him and missing everything about him. Do you want to know how I consoled myself every time I felt lonely?" "I would stare at an old picture I had with him and assure myself that he was going toe back and that I''d finally get the chance to do everything I''ve refrained myself from doing with him. I sometimes cried myself to sleep, dreaming, hoping and praying that he''de back safely and in one piece and G, what did I get in return?" I asked rhetorically, wiping my flowing tears with the back of my hand. "Ang, I am broken. I feel lost, destroyed, alone and tired. On one hand, it''s my mother, on the other, it''s my little sister and now I have to deal with this wretched feeling of despair that''s clouding my soul and honestly, it hurts Angy, it hurts like hell and I don''t know how to let it go." I hit my chest repeatedly, letting out the tears I have being suppressing for thest decade. "My heart hurts seeing you like this Imade, this isn''t you. This person is not worth all this pain you''re going through my friend. Snap out of it please." She pleads with me calmly and I could tell from the way she spoke that she was trying really hard not to cry as well. "I can''t help it Ang. Everywhere I look I see that skinny bitch kissing him and it makes me boil with rage and disappointed. And at the same time, it makes me feel so inferior and insignificantpared to her. She looked so elegant and so gorgeous and I just stood in front of her looking like a peasant. I can''t help how I feel right now Ang and I really wish it would just stop!" I raise my voice slightly, taking multiple gulps from my drink before pausing to cough out a little and catch my breathe. "You''re not inferior Imade and that is something I can assure you of. For now, let''s get you home so you can get some rest." She tells me and gently pulls away the bottle from my tight grasp. I resist a little but soon after, a sudden feeling of tiredness overwhelmed me and my head started to spin, my legs felt rather weak and wobbly and I started to feel dizzy and nauseous. My legs were about to lose it''s bnce but Ang was quick to hold me back up although being the shorty that she was, she found it quite difficult to hold on to me and I could barely walk or even see anything around me. "Let me help you." A strangely familiar male voice offers to help and when I look up to try to see who it was, all I could see were his blurry features that looked awfully familiar. "No, thanks." Ang refuses but the familiar stranger persists and their back and forth banter continuously made my head spin and thest words I heard before I passed out were. "She''s a colleague from work." Chapter 6: You belong to me. Chapter 6: You belong to me. JAMAL. "I am not apologising to anyone because I''ve done nothing wrong!" I yell back at Daniel, already feeling irritated by how persistent he was being over an issue that was absolutely none of his business. "You know you were wrong Jamal. Apologising when you''re wrong is not a crime at all. Look how devastated that girl sounded because of you and I can tell by the look in your eyes that you weren''t happy to see her that way which means the sensible part of your brain knows you were wrong to treat her like that. Now do the needful and apologise to her." Daniel rants on and I sigh in frustration. "Joshua, please tell this idiot to leave me the fuck alone and stay out of my business." I say to Josh, hoping he would be sensible enough to interfere but as usual, the idiot added fuel to the fire. "I''m not gonna lie Jamal, you owe that girl an apology, it''s very necessary. By the way, you never told me she was so hot. I mean damn bro! That girl is fire! And your stupid self don''t wanna get burnt when I''d dly let that hot butt burn me anytime, any day. You are so stupid, you know that." He says and I couldn''t help but sneer at him. Why do I even bother with him? Asides going out with women and spending money, he had nothing else to offer. "You just had to ruin it, you idiot." Daniel hisses irritatedly earning a light chuckle from an unbothered Josh. "Sorry not sorry bro." He teases and I roll my eyes. "But on a serious note bro, you need to apologise to that girl cause from that little scene that we witnessed earlier, it''s obvious she''s hurting bro and I won''t lie, you''re being a fucking son of a bitch right now and it''s very immature. Don''t you always call me the immature one? Now look at you." He adds mockingly and I couldn''t help but sigh in frustration. "You two should just let this go. I already did my best by asking you to help her out and yes, I feel bad for not acknowledging her but I had my reasons and you need to respect my decision and stop criticising me. Imade is a good person and all but right now, I''m not ready to have her in my life. She''s not good for me and I''m not good for her either so staying away from her benefits us both." I exin to them hoping they''d drop the subject and stop persisting. "She doesn''t have to be a part of your life Jamal, the only thing you need to do is apologise to her, talk to her about things and then you can both put the past behind you and move on properly." Daniel insists and I kinda understood where he wasing from although I still n on rejecting his advice. "Listen Dan, I''ll try to talk to her but I won''t force anything. If she refuses to talk to me, I won''t force her. I still want nothing to do with her." I reply him sharply. "Well before you cut things off, at least get me her number or you know what, never mind, I''ll do it myself." Joshua chimes in and I frown. "Don''t you even think about it Josh or I swear, I''ll kill you." I warn him immediately. "Don''t tell me you''re actually jealous Jamal? How ridiculous!" He scoffs, eyeing me suspiciously. "I''m not jealous you fool. I just know Imade well enough to know that jerks like you don''t fit her profile. I might not want anything to do with her but I won''t let you y with her emotions. So back off and don''t test me!" I warn him again. "Fine, whatever." He drawls boredly before gulping down the rest of his drink. "Now to change the subject, Jamal, what exactly is going on with Natasha?" Daniel asks and I''m lost. "What do you mean by what''s going on? Is something supposed to be happening?" I ask. "Well, she called me earlier today and asked me if I knew anything about your rtionship with Imade and I told her to ask you but she ims you''re not being straight with her and she doesn''t like the fact that you keep avoiding her questions. As usual, I could tell she was just being jealous so I ignored her." He exined boredly and I rolled my eyes. Now Natasha''s constant fits are definitely starting to irritate me. "Bro, you need to put that girl in her ce by standing up to her. Her obsession is starting to creep me the fuck out." Joshua tells me and this time he was right. Natasha needed to know her ce and stop trying to pry into every aspect of my life. "I know she''s extra and all but she''s definitely a good person but I will talk to her and try to get her to stop overreacting." I assure them but part of me knew, it wasn''t as easy as it sounded. "I don''t mean to sound rude or anything but I doubt that youngdy will ever stop. You need to pick a side with her, is she your friend or is she your girlfriend? You know she''s in love with you and well, it seems you might like her in your weird type of way so what exactly is stopping you from putting the right name to your rtionship with her?" Daniel asks. "Love? You think I love her? Do I look capable of actually loving someone?" I teased and he scowls. "Don''t make me hit you Jamal. You''ve always mentioned that she was special and all that so that must mean you feel something stronger than friendship for her." He tells me and I calm down a little to think of a perfect reply. "I don''t think he loves her. I think it''s merely a physical attraction. He loves being with her but only when he''s horny." Joshua chimes in randomly, earning a light smack on the head from Daniel. "Don''t let her hear you or she''ll kill us both and if I''m being very honest, I love Natasha but it ain''t that deep boys. I''m definitely not ready tomit to any woman. I love my freedom and my sanity. Rtionship equals stress, stress equals insanity, insanity equals to an unhappy ending and I''m not cut out for such a disastrous life." I tell them and they both stared back at me with confused expressions on their faces. "Young man, you''re definitely unwell. You need to see a doctor." Daniel replies inly before excusing himself from the table and walking off to the restroom, leaving me with Joshua who didn''t waste time to start taunting me with his cruel jokes. *** "You''re avoiding me Jamal and I want to know why!" Natasha yells angrily as soon as she barged into my office disrespectfully. "You need to learn how to knock first Natasha. You can''t just walk into my office whenever the hell you please." I snap back at her and she gasps. "So all of a sudden, it''s a problem? Now you''re demanding that I knock before I walk into your office? Since when did my showing up out of the blue start to piss you off so much? You are changing Jamal and I don''t like it one bit cause it''s irritating me!" She hurled at me furiously and I stare back at her confused. "I don''t think you''re doing well Tasha. Something is definitely wrong with you so I would advice that you take a break from work until you get better cause this raging bull in front of me is very far from normal." I say to her harshly and she deadpanned. "Did you just call me a raging bull Jamal? You actually have the effrontery and the audacity to call me a raging bull? It''s cause of that low ss good for nothing bitch, right? She''s the reason you''re treating me this way, am I right?" She retorts and I roll my eyes boredly. "Don''t you get tired of sounding like a broken record? It''s always the same thing with you Tasha. You see me with someone and you immediately start to imagine a nonexistent rtionship. If you can''t stop being so insecure then there''s no point talking to you cause at the end of the day, you''ll still throw your stupid, unnecessary jealous fits. So I''m gonna ask you to leave if you''re only here to annoy me." I tell her harshly and her face goes nk. "You''re kicking me out of your office? You''re actually kicking me out like for real? What the hell is wrong with you Jamal? How can you treat me this way after everything we''ve been through together? I don''t deserve this and you know it! But it''s okay Jamal, I''ll rx and I''ll stop shouting at you but you have to promise me something." She says and I look on curiously. "Only if it''s reasonable." I reply her. "Well, I promise to stop assuming things and throwing unnecessary tantrums but you also have to promise to stay away from that girl, Imade or whatever the hell her name is. I don''t like her one bit and I hate the idea of seeing you with her. Can you at least do that for me?" She asks and I sigh. "This is what I''m saying Tasha. You''re jealous of someone that I have nothing to do with. She and I are old friends and we may get to talk asionally but it doesn''t read any meaning other than the fact that we''re acquainted. If you can''t keep your jealousy away then it''s your problem but you will not dictate who I can talk to and who I can''t talk to." I tell her straight forwardly and she sighs frustratedly. "Can''t you just try to understand me Jamal? I don''t like that girl one bit. I can tell she still has something for you and I can''t stand the idea of having her close to you. I don''t care if you tell me I''m jealous or whatever all I can tell you is that I don''t like seeing you with her." "If I could, I would fire her immediately but I just don''t want to seem petty so I''m holding back the urge to kick her out. You need to understand me Jamal. I have every right to be ufortable." She blurts out and I struggled to hold back myugh. The fact that she even thinks I care about her unending jealousy seemed very funny to me but knowing N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. how impulsive she was, I didn''t want to trigger her into making any rash decision byughing out loud. "I don''t know what else to say to you Natasha. Let me make it clear that currently Imade and I are not friends, so your jealousy is not necessary but we do have pending issues to sort out and maybe, just maybe we might but I don''t n on making an effort cause I don''t really care. So, I''ll appreciate if you respect me and stop with the jealousy. Like you said earlier, we''vee a long way so trust me." I say to her and her facial expression seemed to rx a bit. "I''ll trust you Jamal. Don''t make me regret it." She replies before leaning in to nt a quick kiss on my lips. "I''m leaving now, I have a meeting to attend to but as soon as I''m done, I''ll meet you at your ce." She adds quickly. "Okay, see youter." I reply tiredly, watching her strut out of my office like she owned the ce. If I didn''t care about her so much, I''d have most definitely thrown her out of my life but unfortunately, that wasn''t happening anytime soon. Chapter 7: Hes mine. Chapter 7: He''s mine. Natasha. "Kemi, at this point, it''s no longer funny. I feel like Jamal is slowly slipping from my fingers and I don''t like the thought of losing him one bit." Iin angrily to my best friend, kemi, feeling the need to vent out my frustration. "But you said it yourself that there''s nothing going on between them now, so why are you so stressed out? Is it until this guy finally leaves you before you stop being an irritant? Will you be satisfied when that happens?" She replied and I''m shocked. "Kemi, you''re supposed to support me. I''m your friend and you''re supposed to understand me. That girl and Jamal had something and I''m sure about it although Jamal has stylishly tried to deny it but I''m not buying any bullshit thates out from his mouth. The way she looks at him Kemi and the way he looks at her, it''s crazy! I can practically see the crazy emotions that shes through his eyes and it''s sickening Kemi. It''s very sickening!" I reply snappily and she sighs. "So what do you want to do? You already said he denied it so confronting him again will only worsen things with him. I don''t know this girl you''re talking about but the Jamal I know is too selfish to fall in love, pardon my bluntness but you know it''s true. He''s very mean and love doesn''t seem to be on his to do list. I''ll never understand why you still stick with him sef." She tells me, shaking her head. "I stick with him cause I love him Kemi and I''ve spent seven years by his side so trust me I''m not willing to let one stupid skank take him away from me just like that. That man is mine and I don''t n on losing him anytime soon!" I tell her sharply and she scoffs. "You''ve wasted your life for seven years standing by a man who has refused to fall in love with you. He repeatedly disrespects you by sleeping with every whore that crosses his path and barely a month after returning to Nigeria, he''s already in another entanglement. You better start thinking with your head and not your heart. That stupid jerk does not deserve you at all." She says harshly but I refuse to admit that she''s actually right. "It doesn''t matter anymore Kemi. I already have him on my mind and in my heart and there''s no going back for me. It''s either gonna be me or it''s no one else. I won''t allow it!" I snap back at her and she simply shakes her head before turning her attention back to her phone briefly. "So what are you going to do to separate them? She works at thepany so they could run into each other anytime, how do you n on avoiding that situation? Well, can''t you just fire her?" She asks and I sigh. "If only it was that easy Kemi. If I do that, he''ll get mad at me and also firing her will make me look petty in front of her and I don''t want that. I want her to be intimidated by me but if I fire her, she''ll probably think I''m insecure and I definitely don''t want that imagery in her head at all." I tell her quickly and she chuckles. "I''m happy you know you''re insecure, at least, you can admit that obvious fact." She mocks and I scowl. "Fall in love first before you attack me for being in love and about that silly girl, I think I have a way to get her out of the picture. I''m not sure if it will work but if she''s as weak as she looks, then definitely, she''ll break down by the time I''m done with her." I tell her with a sly smile ying on my lips. "So what''s the n and how may I be of help?" She asks. "Well for now, you don''t have to do anything. I''ll just focus on frustrating her for the time being and hopefully, if I apply pressure, she''ll quit her job and my hands will be clean." I respond and she smirks. "I hope it works out well for you. My only advice for you is; don''t let your feelings for this guy turn you into something that you''re not. That Jamal guy is not worth two cents of your energy. He''s selfish, stubborn and he''s cold. He won''t hesitate to kick you to the curb once he feels you''re no longer useful. As your people would say, Otu okwu ezigo onye mara ihe. So my dear, be very careful." She warns calmly before picking her bag and getting ready to leave. (A word is enough for the wise) "Don''t worry Kemi, I''ll be fine." I assured her confidently, earning a light shrug and a quick hug from her before walking her out of my apartment. ????? Imade. Today has to be one of the worst working days of my life. Simply stating that I was in a bad mood would be a grave understatement to describe how horribly my day was going. Mrs Momodu Hamzat had made it a mission to make my stay in thispany as hellish as she possibly could and unfortunately for me, Mrs Brown wasn''t avable to help me although I''m not sure if I had the courage to ask her for help especially after finding out she''s Jamal''s aunt and I didn''t recognize her. Just in case you''re wondering, yes, we''re acquainted. She sometimes used to tutor Jamal and I when we were in primary school and that was almost twenty years ago. So it''s no surprise I didn''t recognise her. Back to my horrible day, Mrs Momodu had definitely earned a well deserved spot on my list of people I believe should not be alive because of how inhumane they are. She had adamantly insisted that I did all the work that was supposed to be split between Joseph, Temi and I, forgetting that I wasn''t even a week old in thepany. I have actually lost count of the number of times I''ve had a telephone stuck to my ear, reminding several clients of their appointments, setting new appointments, setting up clients with agents that were appropriate for their choices and also constantly informing the agents and brokers of their new set appointments, the new houses that were avable and so many duties that an intern should not be in charge of. As much as I love working hard, I knew perfectly well that if I dared to continue this way, I''ll end up having a heart attack and I''ll probably start to grow gray hair overnight. "Imade, do you need any help?" Joseph''s voice asks worriedly and I almost wanted to be selfish by epting his offer to help but after hearing Mrs Momodu threaten them with their jobs earlier, I couldn''t bring myself to say it out. "Thanks but there''s no need, I''m almost done." I refuse politely. "Are you sure?" He insists and I nod quickly to assure him before paying attention back to the list of clients I was looking over and fixing with agents. "Okay, goodluck." He replied faintly but I was so engrossed in my workload, I couldn''t even reply him. It was almost 6pm and time for me to leave but first I head over to Mrs Momodu''s office as she N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. instructed to give her the number of new appointments I was able to set and also she nned on contacting a good number of themter to enquire about mymunication skills. Madness, am I right? I knock lightly on the door, waiting patiently for her permission toe in which came almost immediately. I walk in hurriedly and I''m immediately surprised to see a familiar face sitting right opposite of Mrs Momodu. "Good evening ma, good evening miss." I greet calmly, whispering out thest part on purpose. "Good evening Imade. Oh, and meet Miss Opara Natasha, she''s the assistant CEO of this prestigious "There''s no need to introduce us. We''ve already met." Miss assistant CEO quickly tells her and she immediately stares back at me surprised. "Ma''am, this is theption of the clients and agents that you requested for and I alreadypleted every other thing you asked me to do." I quickly tell her, hoping she would hasten her typical speech and let me leave this ufortable atmosphere. "Okay, drop it on my table, I''ll review itter. You may leave." She replies sharply and I couldn''t be more thankful. "Have a good evening." I politely say to both she and miss Natasha, getting ready to walk out peacefully until someone decided to call out my name and she didn''t even attempt to pronounce it the right way. "Emade, let''s talk briefly before you leave." She says and I frown. "It''s Imade miss, not Emade." I correct quickly but she simply turns back to Mrs Momodu, whispers some incoherent words to her before getting up and urging me to follow behind her. "I apologise for dying you but I can assure you, I won''t take up much of your time. I know it''s surprising that I would want to talk to you since I barely know you and we have no real reason to have any kind of conversation but I just thought it would be really nice if I could rify something with you." She starts and judging by herst sentence, I immediately guessed she only wanted to mark territories and throw subtle warnings. Pfft, how childish. "I know that yourself and Jamal have some unresolved issues and I also know that you''re both not on the best terms right now. As expected, you may be wondering how it''s any of my business cause it actually isn''t but I just wanted to apologise on his behalf for any inappropriate or rudement he might have made. I know sometimes, Jamal says things without thinking so I''m apologising on his behalf cause I know that deep down, he doesn''t mean a word he says." She says and I deadpan. Was she being serious right now? "Errm... I don''t know what he may have told you but Jamal doesn''t owe me an apology. He and I are old friends and it''s as simple as that. They are no attachments between us and I doubt we''ll have any reason to interact. I honestly appreciate your concern but your boyfriend and I are not friends so there''s no reason to apologise to me on his behalf. So please, if you don''t mind, I''d like to leave now. I have somewhere else to be and it''s important." I reply her as calmly as I could, trying my very best to hide any form of irritation in my tone. No matter how irritated I was by her false facade of an apology, I still had it at the back on my mind that she is my boss and that she would most probably be happy if I gave her a good reason to fire me. "Okay then I guess I really shouldn''t be wasting your time. Thank you for your patience and have a good evening." She responds back with a small smile before walking away almost immediately. I stare back at her retreating figure and as much as I hate to admit, she was alluring. There was this domineering aura she had and I most definitely envied that about her but right now, I had to focus on my mom and try as much as I can to delete Jamal and anything that had to do with him away from my memory so that I can finally find peace and break away from this ten year old curse that has weighed me down over the years and maybe the first step is, getting a new job. Chapter 8: Ice Cream Chapter 8: Ice Cream IMADE. "So Khali, how is everything at home? Hope your parents didn''tin too much? Cause you can''t imagine how many times your mom called me asking of you. Is everything fine at home?" Ang asks worriedly immediately we settled down on our table at the ice cream parlour. Judging from the sour look on Khali''s face, we could already tell that things weren''t fine and she''s most likely already in big trouble with her parents. Unfortunately for Khalidat, she happened to be the only daughter of wealthy and popr business guru, Alhaji Tawaab Ibrahim Suilemon. For those that didn''t really know her, her life was a blessing and they could even swear she was living her best life especially being the daughter of a billionaire and also the only female child of her father with four elder brothers and two younger brothers but unfortunately, Ang and I knew just how far from blissful her life was. Being the only female child in the family, excluding her mother and her step mothers, Khalidat''s life has always been controlled by her father and her elder brothers who believe they have theplete right to unfortunately for her, her mother never disagreed with their opinions and this propelled them to continue making all the decisions in Khalidat''s life without taking her personal opinion or interest into consideration. "See Angie, I won''t even bother lying to you cause at this point cause I''m frustrated, I don''t know what to do. The minute I stepped my feet into that house, Alhaji immediately unleashed the beast in him and it was so bad that I could barely sleep at all. The insults, the threats, everything he said killed my good mood and I''m still trying to recover from it." She replies with a sad tone and I couldn''t help but feel terrible for her since I knew she didn''t deserve to be treated this way. "Did you tell him about the good news that you''ve still not shared with us?" Angie asks jokingly and her face lights a little. "Nah, I couldn''t bring myself to tell him cause he''ll definitely find a way to ruin it for me so I n on keeping it away from my family for as long as I can. Anyways, the good news I was jubting about is that I, Khalidat Safiyah Suilemon has officially signed a new deal with a famous artist in Madrid and that starting next month, my paintings will be disyed in his gallery and it will also be disced as one of the rarest art pieces for his next exhibition." She announces with a broad smile on her face, immediately earning an excited squeal from Ang and I. "Omg Khalidat, that''s great news! I can''t believe it! Finally, you''re going international." Ang squeals in excitement and immediately Khalidat''s expression turns sour and her eyes became teary. "I wish my parents can be this happy for me honestly but at this point, I know it''s probably never going to happen." She says and I instinctively reach out to her and squeeze her palm in mine. "They will definitelye around one day Khalidat. All you have to do is make sure you''re sessful so that when they seen how far you went on your own, without their support, they''ll appreciate your effort and they will personally congratte you." I tell her calmly to encourage her. "You guys, let''s leave anything sad at the back of our minds today and focus on only the good things. For example, Imade''s new job is something we can talk about." Angie suggests and we both agree with her. "To be honest, the only thing I''m curious about is this Jamal guy that you suddenly met with again. I mean, I''ve known thatpany for a while now and I never imagined the CEO would be the same dude you''ve been gushing about for years now." Khalidat chirps excitedly and I rolled my eyes. "Can we not talk about him? I don''t want to ruin my mood." I tell her but of course, that wasn''t going to happen. "No o, I want to talk about this guy that has held my bestie''s heart for ten years. It''s still shocking to me that of all times to run into him, it had to be now that you''re in need of all the help you can get. I still don''t think it''s coincidental." Khalidat says and I frown. "Abeg abeg, no bring that onee here. That dude is worthless and as far as I''m concerned, this sudden reunion was and is still nothing but an unfortunate coincidence. You need to see how depressed Imade was over this guy. Imade that doesn''t like to drink in public, drank to the extent that she got so drunk and a total stranger had to intervene and help me carry her to the car. Lord knows that if I ever meet this Jamal guy, he''ll regret every hurtful word he said to my friend." Ang chimes in angrily. "Angie, you need to calm down. This issue is not that deep to me. I just feel like over the years he moved on from the silly promise he made to you and that alone shouldn''t evene as a surprise, I mean, this things happen and remember I told you a few years ago that promises like that don''t always fall into ce. You were just the childish one and now that realisation has hit you, drop whatever you felt in the trash and move on." "If you see him anywhere, ignore him and show him he no longer holds any importance in your life. Period!" Khalidat tells me bluntly and I sigh. "You''re only saying it like this cause you''ve never being in my shoes. You need to see how perfect he looks Khalidat. The dude grew up to look like an artwork and lord knows that if I tell you I hate him right now, then I''m lying cause I don''t hate him one bit. Yes, I''m angry at him but I don''t have any hateful feeling towards him." I confess shamelessly and the light smack from Ang was what greeted me as soon as I said what I said. "This is why I can''t leave you to make decisions on your own. You''re too childish and silly with your thoughts. Why would you still consider that fool as handsome and you even have the effrontery to hype him in my presence. If you''ve refused to have sense, I Ang, will forcefully make sure you have sense." Ang res up and I couldn''t help but stare back at her confusedly. "You see this girl ehn, you''re too extra." Khalidat says directly to a fuming Angie. "What do you mean by extra? So you like the way she''s still gushing over that guy that already has a fianc¨¦e? Are you going to keep encouraging her stupidity?" Angie attacks back and I honestly understood where she wasing from. She is only trying to look out for me but her reaction was still not necessary but it is understandable. "See ehn, all na cruise. You said it yourself, this guy has moved on. There''s nothing Imade can do about it, so if she foolishly wants to keep admiring the guy, let her do it at her own peril. You''ve advised her enough and whatever she feels can only be controlled by her so,marin ba nawa bane, it''s none of my business." Khalidat replies her boredly. "Let''s just drop Jamal''s name and focus on other things. He''s no longer an important figure in my life so he should not be... Oh Father gracious lord!" I cut myself short when my eyes almost popped out their socket immediately theynded on two familiar figures walking into the ice cream parlour. "Lord God, why me? What did I ever do to deserve this?" I cry out in frustration and the confused expression on both Khalidat and Ang''s faces deepens. "Babe, wetin happen? You look like you''ve seen a ghost." Angie quickly asks and instinctively, I cover my face with both my palms. "Don''t look now but the table behind you Ang, towards the far left, Jamal and his girlfriend just sat there." I tell them and they both deadpan. "No freaking way Imy! Tell me you''re joking girl. Are you freaking kidding me?" Khalidat blurts out and it was obvious she was just as surprised. "You no go vex if I look him face bah? I wan see how the mumu you dey praise upandan be like sef. If he no fine Imade, na straight up insult you go chop from my hand." Ang blurts out randomly and I roll my eyes at her. (You won''t be mad if I look at him, right? I want to see how the idiot you love to praise looks like. If he''s not worth looking at, I won''t hesitate to insult you.) "Did he really have toe here? Of all ces to be? And he just had to bring that ugly witch along with him. Ugh!" I vent in frustration, feeling very irritated by the sight of both of them sitting together with stupid smiles on their horrible looking faces. "Imade, calm down na. Your eyes are already turning red with jealousy." Ang mocks and I hiss. "Can we leave already? I don''t want them to see me." I tell them sharply with an irritated tone and a bored expression. "Uhm, Imy, you know we just got here like a few minutes ago and leaving just like that without even enjoying our ice cream doesn''t make any sense, especially if we''re leaving because of somebody that''s supposedly no longer important to you. How about you just ignore them and enjoy your ice cream? It''s not that hard." Khalidat tells me calmly and my face falls. "Now I know you guys really hate me." I hiss and theyugh. "But wait o, I''ve been staring at this guy and I can swear that he looks very familiar but I can''t ce his face yet." Ang tells us. "I think you''re mistaken Angie. Jamal just got back to Nigeria so I doubt you''ll know him." I reply her but she insists. "I''m sure I know him. I just need to see his face properly and I''m sure I''ll ce his face." She insists, earning an eye roll from Khalidat. "The guy is cute sha, no wonder jealousy dey kill you." Khalidat chirps and I hiss at her. "Erm babes, why is skinny bone walking towards us?" Ang suddenly points out and Khalidat and I simultaneously turn to see Jamal''s girlfriend walking towards our table and I unconsciously bow my head. "Why are you hiding your face?" Ang turns to ask me but I ignore her and keep my head low. T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. "Imade, is that you?" The annoying and familiar voice of Natasha asks and although I nned on ignoring her, a hard stomp on my left foot made me jolt up and ignoring her was no longer an option. That evil cow called Ang. "Oh hi, Miss Natasha." I greet as nicely as I could but I think even a blind person could tell I was forcing it. "Sorry to bother you girls, I just wanted to confirm if it was really you. I just thought it would be rude of me to just ignore." She says and Ang hisses, earning a death re from Khalidat immediately. "That''s so kind of you miss." Khalidat quickly replies and the next thing we know, Jamal starts also starts to walk to our table and my heart freezes temporarily. "Natasha, let''s leave." Those were the first words that flew out of his mouth and I was honestly not too surprised. Knowing how Jamal is, he was most definitely notfortable with whatever his girlfriend was up to. "Wait, you''re the Jamal?" Ang suddenly asks and we all turn to look at her confusedly. "Sorry, do I know you?" He replied and the next thing we knew, Ang picks up her halfway empty cup of ice cream and immediately throws it at Jamal, leaving everybody watching beyond shocked and bewildered. What just happened? Chapter 9: No hard feelings. Chapter 9: No hard feelings. JAMAL. "Can you tell me why in the world you had to approach these hooligans?" I yell loudly at Natasha, who still wore a stunned expression on her face. "Hais, stupid! I hope you know we can still hear you loud and clear and if you dare repeat that word again, I will not hesitate to throw another cup on that empty skull of yours." The psycho who threw an ice cream cup at me, hitting my chest directly, yells at the top of her lungs, attracting more attention from other customers. "You listen carefully to me your stupid ass bitch, if you throw anything at my man one more time, I will not hesitate to lock your sorry ass in jail." Natasha replies her defensively. "If dem born you well, if you know say na your mama and papa born you, try am first. I will throw a thousand cups on this hypocrite''s head and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it." She fires back instantly and I just could not believe how irritating she was actually being. What exactly did I do wrong? I don''t even know her. "Ang, please enough of this now. I already told you I don''t want any trouble so please stop hurling words at them and let''s go." Imade quickly chimes in, trying to hold back her friend. "Imade, leave me o! Leave me o! You do not know why I''m angry so you better leave me alone. If this stupid useless bastard does not publicly apologise to you today, I won''t let him go scot free. He can do his worse for all I care but today today, you must apologise to my friend." The Ang responds aggressively and I furrow my brows in confusion. "What the hell do you mean by apologise? What should I be apologising for? You''re the one who owes me an apology for publicly harassing me even though I don''t know you, so why the fuck should I apologise?" I reply defensively and she chuckles but remains quiet. "Listen Angie, whatever it is he did isn''t worth this embarrassment. This douche isn''t even worth fighting. So how about you just take a chill pill and let''s just go home. Huh?" The other friend with Imade, standing on her right hand side tells her friend and I couldn''t help but roll my eyes at how petty they all are. Did they really think I cared about their petty insults? How foolish. "Listen carefully Imade, you better drag your friend out of this ce if she doesn''t want me to make her regret ever raising her voice at us and for your information,dy with the scarf, you three are the ones not worth fighting with. We do not know you and yet your friend attacked my boyfriend and you both stood there and watched her hurl insults at him and that alone makes you just as guilty as she is and we could get you three arrested." Natasha fires back in my defense and although I was still mad at her since all this is her fault in the first ce, I was still thankful to her for defending me. "You better shut your mouth, you this skinny thing and back to you Jamal, how can you be so heartless and wicked? How could you have sat downfortably watching Imade cry and you still had the effrontery to gulp down a drink. Is that how shameless you are?" Ang replies, this time facing me and now I''m even more confused. "You know what Tasha, let''s get out of here. I can''t be dealing with crazy people on a fucking Saturday." I say to Natasha who immediately agrees with me. T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. "Oh, so now you want to run away? You dare not you fool cause if you don''t apologise to Imade, I will not hesitate to give you a huge bump on your useless head." She goes at it again and I roll my eyes. "If you''re refusing to speak clearly then you and I have no business together and if you in anyway try to physically harm me, I will put you in jail immediately. Have a good day." I reply her quickly, before turning around to walk away but I stop when I hear someone call out my name. "Jamal, please let''s talk privately." Imade requests and I stare back at her with raised brows, wondering what she would want to talk about with me. "What exactly do you have to say to him that you can''t say right here?" Natasha chimes in before I could reply. "No offense miss Natasha but it''s absolutely none of your business what I have to say to Jamal. I just need him to agree to talk to me." Imade replies her calmly and I could already see the fury that burnt in Natasha''s eyes. If there''s one thing Natasha hated, it''s getting politely insulted. "Imade, before you think of saying anything to this guy. Remember when I told you someone assisted you at the bar the other night? Well guess what, that person was actually sitting with this useless fe here which means he must have witnessed everything that happened and was still heartless enough to ignore you. This guy here doesn''t deserve a second of your time because he''s a heartless sicko! Tueh!" Ang blurts out and I''m confused for a while before finally connecting the dots and understanding what she was talking about. "Oh, so that''s why you threw a cup at me? Because I witnessed what happened? How the hell was that supposed to be any of my business?" I ask nonchntly and her jaw drops. "You saw and most probably heard everything she said and you still dare to ask how it was any of your business? You sick bastard!" She yells furiously, about to throw another slightly fuller cup at me but Imade was quick to stop her. "Stop it Ang! Stop it! It''s not necessary, trust me. You don''t have to go this far. I''m fine and I will always be fine, so just calm down and let me talk to him." Imade pleads calmly and I could tell from her shaky tone that she was either really pissed or was holding back her tears. "You still want to talk to him?" Ang asks again and Imade confirms. "So, can we talk?" She asks me directly and I nod positive. "Wait for me by the car Tasha. I''ll be quick." I tell an angry Natasha quickly before leading the way with Imade following right behind me. We head out of the ice cream parlour and I offer to take her to the cafe located at the mall we were in and she obliges immediately with a tired look on her face. We arrive a few minutester and we both take a seat at the first table on sight. "Do you want something to drink?" I ask. "No, thank you. I''m fine. I just want to get this over with." She says almost immediately and I nod in understanding since I also wanted her to say whatever she had to say as soon as possible. "Jamal, what I''m about to ask you has no rtion to anything rtionship but I feel like I need to ask you this so that I can finally move on without ever wondering about it and wishing I had asked. So here goes my question. What happened to you in the States? Did something bad happen or am I simply over thinking things?" She asks and I sigh. "Listen Imade, you need to understand that in life, things change and people change. The person you knew was an old version of myself and I''m not saying I''m apletely different person but a lot has changed about me and you don''t even know the half of it. Now to answer your question, yes, a lot of things happened and most of them I can''t even exin to you cause of how wide it is but definitely things were bound to happen." "I don''t hate you or have anything against you but I can''t live up to those promises I made to you because I''m no longer the same man I was back then. I was young, stupid and in love but right now, I''m none of that and I don''t want to hurt you with my indifference which is why I insist on keeping my distance from you. They are no hard feelings Imade but I''d prefer if you forget about mepletely. I won''t get in your way and you won''t get in mine but if we happen to cross paths, we should simply ignore each other." "Again, I''m not saying all this from a bad side, I just feel I should let you know how I feel." I exin as calmly and as nicely as I could, hoping she would not feel hurt by my words. "I''m going to pretend like you didn''t just avoid my question but it''s all good Jamal. I totally get where you''reing from and I apologise for being silly and for getting angry when I didn''t even have the right to. You''re right, some people change and I''m learning that now. I just wanted to be sure that everything that happened in the States was all good and nothing bad happened but since you seem to be perfectly fine, I''m satisfied. Take care of yourself Jamal." She replies with a slightly shaky tone and a tight lipped smile but the hurt in her eyes were evident and a part of me felt guilty. "Wait Imade!" I call her back quickly and she stops and slowly turns back to look at me. "I''m sorry for everything Imade and I hope one day you can forgive me for messing it all up. Take care of yourself too." I say to her with a tight lipped smile and she responds with a curt nod and a small smile before turning away and walking out of the cafe. *** "What did she have to say?" Natasha asks immediately I walk up to her at the parking lot. "It''s none of your business Tasha. Let''s just go home." I reply her tiredly, getting inside the car. "So now it''s none of my business? You had a private conversation with that bitch and now it''s none of my business? What the fuck are you ying at Jamal? Who the hell are you tryna fool Jamal? You expect me to let it go simply because it''s none of my business?" She rants on continuously and I sigh in frustration. "Listen carefully Natasha. If you don''t get your sorry ass in here in sixty seconds, I''ll tell the driver to drive off and leave you the fuck behind." I warn her sternly and she chuckles. "You wouldn''t dare Jamal. I fucking dare you to try that shit with me and you''ll regret it for the rest of your life." She continuously rants on, wearing my patience out. "Are you getting in or not?" I ask onest time. "I''ll only get into this damned car if you tell me what the hell that bitch had to say to you!" She yells back furiously and I lost it. "B, please drive off." I instruct my driver immediately, expecting Natasha to hop him but when she remains persistent, he does as I asked and immediately drives out of the parking out, leaving a shocked Natasha behind. Lord knew, I wasn''t going to hear the end of it but at this point I could care less. The only thing that lingered on my mind was myst conversation with Imade and the hurtful look she had in her eyes taunted me like nothing else. Did I really go too far with my words or did I do the right thing by being clear with her? CHAPTER 14: HELP. CHAPTER 14: HELP. JAMAL. She stared back at me with a confused expression as if trying to process my presence. I didn''t think I would be courageous enough to actuallye here but after thinking about it all day, I came to a conclusion that paying her a visit might not be a terrible idea. "I don''t mean to sound rude or anything but, may I ask what you are doing here? How did you even get to know my ce?" She asks, with a hint of irritation in her tone. "Trust me, I would not be here if it wasn''t important. Can we please just talk? I promise, I won''t take your time." I request politely. "It''s actually not a problem, I just thought I needed to ask but anyways, you''ll have to give me a few minutes to dress probably. It''s way too cold out here." She replies, swiftly shutting the door in my face and it almost felt like she did that on purpose. I couldn''t possibly say I didn''t deserve it though. I''m not even supposed to be here after everything but I suddenly felt the urge to get to her personally and talk calmly, hoping she will understand andply with my decision. "Jamal?" Her voice calls out, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You''re good now?" I ask. "Yes, I am. Can we talk here though? I mean, I would be prefer we go downstairs cause I don''t want the neighbours eavesdropping and misunderstanding." She says and I shrug nonchntly whilst she leads the way down. She stops suddenly by a bench side and takes a sit, immediately offering a sit to me but I''m reluctant to sit. "What? You can sit here? Does it look to dirty for your highness?" She drawls with so much sarcasm and after what seemed like hours of contemtion, I finally sit beside her on the bench. "What is it you want to talk about? Does it have anything to do with your girlfriend cause if it does, I''m not interested at all." She spits out with so much venom and I immediately knew Natasha had crossed the line with her. "Firstly, she''s not my girlfriend, she''s a friend and no, I''m not here to talk about her but I got your sister''s message and I''m here to address it and also offer you a solution to it but only if, you will agree to it." I exin and she tilts her head a bit before replying. "I''m skeptical about this sudden solution cause like you said, she is your friend. You might see no wrong in her actions towards me and the solution you propose may not be favourable to me." She replies, earning a light chuckle from me. "I highly doubt, I would bothering here if what I had to say wasn''t going to favour you in any way. As you already know, I can be very ignorant but I know how Natasha is when she gets silly ideas in her head and I can''t let you take the heat for her insecurities." I tell her. "Hmm, okay o. Let''s hear this solution you have in mind. I''m honestly fine with anything as long as the harassment stops." She says with a snappy tone that indicated how quickly she wanted this to be over. "It''s simple Imade. I have spoken to the director at one of my dad''s constructionpanies and I have gotten a permanent job for you with three times the pay you earn here. All you have to do now is quit here and by next week you resume work over there." I say to her and her facial expression switches. She stays quiet for a while as if trying to soak in what I had just exined to her. "I''m sorry to ask but why are you offering this to me just like that? You could have just fired me and saved yourself the stress but why would you transfer me and even worse, give me such a promotion?" She asks with so much doubt in her tone and I heave a frustrated sigh. "Is it that hard to take the job? I mean, I don''t necessarily need a motive but if you must know the motive, take it as a constion for whatever Tasha has done to you." "I honestly wasn''t even aware that she had transferred you to work under her and I''m deeply sorry for whatever you''ve gone through." I apologise sincerely and her doubtful expression eases a little. "She''s the one who has to apologise but I will ept your apology since she''s been this way because of you. The only thing I''m asking of you is that you please, keep her away from me when I get transferred. Knowing how jealous she is, she won''t like the fact that her man is helping me out and she might look for other ways to get to me." She says but I assure her otherwise. "Tasha only has power at the real estatepany. Anywhere else, I''m fully in charge. So you don''t have to worry about anything and if something pops up, let me know. Please." I reply and her previously stiff expression softens. The dim light from the neighbouring house was all I could use to make out the features of her face and I must admit, she is beautiful. Even more beautiful than she was ten years ago, although I could tell by the endless stress lines on her face and eye bags under her eyes that she had being through a lot over the years. "I don''t trust you but I have no other choice but to take your word for it." She says with an adorable pout and I chuckle a little as I remembered just how childish she could be at times. "Just let me know if anything goes wrong. I''ll be on my way now so I don''t make you even more ufortable." I say to her, immediately getting up and she does exactly the same thing. "Thank you for the surprise promotion and for actually being fair. I am honestly grateful for it." She replies calmly and I shrug it off before attempting to walk off to where I had parked my car but the sudden cry from a familiar voice halts my steps. "Aunty Imade! Aunty mi!" A frightened Lde screamed repeatedly till she was only a few steps away from Imade and with the dreaded look on her face, I knew all was not well for sure. "Olde ki lo sele?" An already frightened Imade questions. "H...hospital, call, d...doctor, mommy. Help." She stutters a reply hurriedly and those words alone seem to have been more than enough for Imade''s understanding. Her eyeballs immediately grow twice their usual size and even under the chilly weather, I could already see her forehead break into cold sweats. She tries her best to speak but for unknown reasons, her lips barely produces any sounds and that was when I realised I had toe in and take charge. "Lde, Imade, get in the car and direct me to the hospital immediately." IMADE. The drive to the hospital seemed longer than usual and that only made my anxiety much worse. My head aches like hell and the only thing I can thing about is my mom. Is she alright? Is she going to die? Can I even help her at the moment? Thoughts like this took over my mind and worsened my fear. Jamal seems to be driving as fast as he can and fortunately for me, he asked no questions and he didn''t even make any attempts to speak to me although I could tell by his repeated side nces that he was curious and maybe, just maybe worried, although, I could be wrong and imagining things. "We''re here." His voice informs and Lde and I waste no time before bolting out of the car and rushing into the hospital with Jamal following closely behind us. "Doctor, what''s wrong with my mother?" I ask immediately I spot Doctor Makinde standing outside my mother''s room with a nurse beside him. "Good evening Imade. I''m going to assume you can already guess why I called for you sote at night. Like I predicted, the dialysis treatment is starting to fail and your mother needs the transnt right at this very moment, if not, it may be fatal." He briefly exins. "As you already know, we can notmenced such an operation until payment is made first and if you can''t pay in the next thirty minutes, the avable organ will be donated to another urgent patient and your mother may not be with you for much longer." He adds quickly and I could immediately feel my world crumble. "No, no, no, doctor, that''s not fair. Where exactly can we get such an amount within half an hour? Please have mercy on us na and just save our mother." L pleads with tears streaming down her eyes, whilst I stood there, feeling confused and lost. "I''m sorry L, there''s nothing I can do for you at this point. Let me know how it goes within the stipted time." He replies apologetically and attempts to walk away. "Doctor wait!" A familiar voice calls out to him and he stops immediately. "How much are we talking about here?" Jamal asks. "3.5million young man, and you are?" Doctor Makinde asks with obvious curiosity dancing in his eyes. "Jamal, you don''t have to bother yourself. You already did enough by bringing us here and I don''t want to burden you." I blurt out without thinking and he frowns but makes no attempt to reply me. "Jamal Balogun Sir and I''ll head over to the ount office immediately and settle the payment but kindlymence with the operation to avoid furtherplications." He tells the doctor before asking the young nurse with the doctor for directions to the payment office and immediately walking away from us. "Well, since the young man has decided to lend a hand, I''ll begin with the transnt. Let''s hope for the best." Doctor Makinde says with a small smile that didn''t exactly sit well with me but I brush it off as Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. unimportant. "Thank God for Uncle Jamal o. Where would we have gotten that amount of money?" Lde says immediately the doctor was gone and I sigh lightly, not exactly knowing how to reply to that. Should I be thankful? Obviously! I can''t even begin to thank him enough for this huge favour that I n on repaying back but asides from being thankful, I also felt ufortable and burdened. Now, I''m not only thankful for the new job, I''m also thankful for my mother''s life which means that I owe him much more than I would like and the mere thought of that bothered me. Putting aside my messy emotions, I decide it was best to focus on what was important at the moment and that was most definitely my poor mother, who is currently undergoing a surgical procedure. Any thoughts of Jamal can always be sort out at ater time. Chapter 16: Awkward Visit. Chapter 16: Awkward Visit. IMADE. "Are you serious? He really did all that?" My mom asks a grinning L, who hasn''t stopped gushing about Jamal since our mom woke up. "Yes o mummy. I was even surprised because after how he denied knowing aunty Imade, I didn''t think he would be kind enough to give up such huge amount of money. The thing that now pained me most was Sister Immy''s reaction. You need to see the ungrateful look on her face." She bs on and on, ignoring my death re. "Imade, is this true?" My mom turns to ask me directly but as expected, L doesn''t even let me speak. "Oya lie now! Lie that you did not rudely reject his offer to buy us food and even after he bought food that cost about thirty thousand, you still shenked the poor guy like he didn''t just save our lives. Oya lie! Abi, the way you made him feel so ufortable and out of ce that he had to leave. Oya go ahead and lie!" She attacked sharply and the urge to p her immediately rose. "Lde, you better shut that pipe of yours before I descend on you mercilessly. Abi, ki ni gan? Are you possessed ni or just mental? Cause I don''t even understand you at this point." I yell harshly at her and that seemed to reset her brain as her expression rxes and she remained quiet. "You both know I''m here, right? If you don''t have respect for me, respect the fact that this is a hospital and that some patients are asleep. I did not raise animals o." My mom chimes in with an irritated look on her face. "We''re very sorry ma." L and I chorus apologetically. "Much better. Now, tell me why you weren''tfortable around him Imade. Is it because he denied knowing you?" My mom questions calmly. "Mummy, please don''t mind L. Yes, I was slightly ufortable but it has nothing to do with what you''re thinking. I, unlike my greedy sister here already felt ashamed and grateful that he paid your hospital bills and letting him do more was very embarrassing for me." "I did not want to feel more indebted to him because not only did he pay your bills, he also offered me a full time job at his constructionpany that pays thrice my current sry. Please, tell me why I shouldn''t feel ufortable." I exin to her and I could tell with the look on her face that she was surprised. "Wait o, shebi, he''s the same person that denied knowing you? Why is he being so kind? Abi, he''s trying to get you or something?" She asks with a sly smile and I chuckle in embarrassment. "No ma, it''s nothing like that. He and I are not even friends sef and he doesn''t want anything to do with me." I say to her and she furrows her brows. "Doesn''t want anything but is doing all this? Ahn ahn, that''s not possible now." She replies and just when I''m about to clear her, L cuts me off. "Mommy, I thought the same thing at first o but turns he has one werey girlfriend like this and Aunty yen mad gidi gan, won ti e normal rara." She tells her, earning a softugh from my mom. (That aunty is very mad, she''s absolutely abnormal.) "Kilode to so be?" She asks. (Why did you say so?) "She''s a jealous freak ni o. Her body no dey stay one ce. Afi gidigba gidigbo bi eni ton le." She replies her and now it was my turn tough. (She''s a restless person. Always too hyper like someone on the run.) "Are you acquainted with her?" My mom asks me directly. "She''s my boss at work and she''s the reason he decided to transfer me cause of how psychotic she is and the funny thing is, he''s not dating her. She''s probably just one of his goto girls." I tell her and she shakes her head as if she wasn''t too surprised. "These young girls and clinging on to men like their lives depend on it. It''s actually very..." She was but was cut short when a nurse came walked in. Nigerian nurses and their inability to be polite. She couldn''t even knock. "Sorry to disturb you but they''re two men out there looking for you." She informs us. "Two men? Did they drop their names?" I ask. Original from N?velDrama.Org. "Mr Jamal and Mr David. Should I let them in?" She asks. "Yes, of course. Please, let them in." My mom quickly replies and deep down, I knew my mom and L were about to embarrass the hell out of me. "Okay ma." The nurse replies before walking out. "L, better respect yourself when Jamal is here o." I warn L immediately but she keeps mute with a sly smile ying on her lips. "Imade, be very polite o. I did not birth an ingrate." Mom suddenly warns and I struggled not to hiss at both of them. "Mo to gbo ma." I drawl a reply boredly. (I''ve heard ma.) The door suddenly knocks and L doesn''t even bother confirming before inviting them in and unsurprisingly, Jamal walks in with David and if I were being honest, he looked amazing. Normally, I only get to see him on official wears but for the first in years, I''m actually seeing him on shorts, paired with a white top that clung to his macho body tightly. He looks absolutely breathtaking. As for David, he wore regr ck joggers paired with a ck T-Shirt that also clung to his body like an extra skin. Both men looked too good to be true honestly but if only L could be less obvious with her dancing eyes. "Good afternoon ma." They both chorus, with David prostrating slightly whilst Jamal only bowed a little, an act I actually appreciated. "Good afternoon young men. Please sit." My mom calmly replies and offers them a sit. Unfortunately for me, L and I sat on opposite sides which left an extra space beside both of us and as expected, Jamal sits beside me whilst David takes a sit beside L. "Uncle David, thanks for the other day." L suddenly speaks up, confusing everyone in the room including David himself. "You''re thanking me for what exactly?" He asks. "For delivering my message to Uncle Jamal. It was very helpful, so I''m grateful." She replies and he nods in understanding before smiling a little. "You''re most wee Lde." He says with a small smile that showed off his deep well (Dimple). "Jamal dear, how have you been all this while? You just travelled suddenly and refused to remember us again. Is that even fair?" Mom asks obviously joking but she did have a point. "I''m very sorry about that ma. It''s not entirely my fault though. I was actually in contact with Imade for a while but after my parent''s death, things got pretty messy for me so I lost contact with Imade." He exins and if I tell you that I''m shocked at the moment, it''s an understatement. "Your parents passed away? When? How? Where?" Mom questions quickly, sitting up to face Jamal properly. "It''s been about eight years now. They died in a ne crash." He replies, obviously notfortable talking about it. "Oh my dear, I''m so sorry. I really wasn''t aware of this. It must have been very hard for you." She sympathises, gently holding on to his hand. "It''s fine ma, God knows best. How are you feeling now ma?" He switches the topic quickly and I almost chuckle at how confused my mom looked for the first three seconds. "My dear, I''m getting better. At least, I''m alive thanks to you and no amount of thank you can "Amen ma, but there''s no need to thank me or feel you owe me gratitude ma. You''re someone I''ve always respected a lot and I''m very happy to know you''re doing better." He replies with a genuine smile that almost touched my heart but I refuse to be a fool twice. He could see me tomorrow and continue with his ''I don''t care'' attitude and I refuse to be hurt again. "Eeyah, God will bless you dear." She thanks him again before turning to face David. Ehn ehn, my dear, I''m sorry for not addressing you earlier o. How are you doing? I already heard your name is David." She says. "Yes ma, David Kwole." He replies politely, obviously unsure of what to say next. "How long have you two being friends?" She asks, I frown. Is that question really necessary? "I''ve known him since college ma." He replies inly. "Oh that''s nice. What do you do for a living if I may ask?" She questions next and that was wren I knew I had to chime in. "Mommy now! Why all this questions? Are you scrutinizing for a son inw ni?" I ask with obvious irritation. "Auntie, how is it peppering you? Did the young manin? Abi, David, are you ufortable?" She defends and I had to hold back a long hiss. "Mommy, ejo, o ti to. E ma fi ejo le won lo." L interferes quickly. (Mommy, please, it''s enough. Don''t use too much talking to send them out.) "You girls don''t have to worry cause Daniel is not bothered at all." Jamal assures and I secretly pinch him to keep his mouth shut. "Jamal, don''t you have somewhere to be?" I ask, facing him directly and a soft, beautifulugh escapes his lips and he keeps quiet for a while before eventually speaking up. "Daniel, I think we should take our leave now. Joshua is waiting for us at home." He says directly to Daniel who eagerly nods in agreement. "You boys want to leave? Why now? It''s been very long since two good looking men like this graced my presence and both my shameless daughters have refused to bring anyone home for me to see but anyways, thank you very much for the visit. I''m very grateful o." She says to them and I immediately wished the ground could swallow me. How embarrassing! "No need to thank us ma. We actually ordered food for your room but the delivery is taking too long so I''m guessing, it will arrive after we leave." Jamal informs. "Food? You didn''t have to worry about that now. My girls can go home and cook something for me." Mom replies. "No ma, they don''t need to bother since they''ve already being through enough stress for thest couple of days. L, take this." He replies and hands L an ATM card. "You already know the pin so pat for the food and if it doesn''te, order another one." He instructs her and I''m dumbfounded. "This isn''t necessary though." I say to him but he ignores me. "Keep the card till the next time I visit and don''t worry, you can use it for whatever you may need, there''s more than enough in it." He tells her and L''s eyes immediately lit up. "Thank you so much, Uncle Jamal." She squeals excitedly before rushing over to where he stood and hugging him briefly. "You''re wee dear. Ma, we''ll take our leave now. I''ll be back sometimeter in the week to see you." He says. "No problem o, my dear. Take care of yourself and thank you again for this one. I don''t even know what to say at this point." Mom replies with a gentle that showed she was just as dumbfounded as I was. "It was nice meeting you ma." David says and mom thanks them onest time before they both walk out of the room. "Omo! Shopping ti ya!" Lde squeals excitedly but neither mom nor I were clear-headed enough to even reply her. I was still surprised and confused and now my fragile heart is about to fall for him all over again. (Shopping time!) Chapter 22: Payback. Chapter 22: Payback. NATASHA. Furious is an understatement to describe how I felt right at this moment. Everything around me seems to be set on reminding me of what happened earlier today and the more it yed in my head, the angrier I became. I have never felt so humiliated and rejected in my life and I never in a million years thought that Jamal would be the first to treat me that way. That brat had the effrontery and the audacity to kick me out of his house right in front of that useless and disgusting skank that calls herself Imade. He looked right at me, a whole me, Natasha Opara, and had the fucking guts to throw me out of his house like I''m some kind of crazy woman or useless beggar. The audacity! He''ll definitely pay for that humiliation. Both himself and that ugly bitch with him will pay for this and I swear on everything I have, I will make life a living hell for both of them. I will not rest until both of them are unhappy for the rest of their lives. A huge part of me feels heartbroken at the moment. Jamal, the man I have sacrificed so much for, the idiot that I have been with for thest seven years of my life, cleaning up his messes, making sure he stayed clean, helping him with therapy, rehab, being his support system all this while, this same man just threw me out of his life for another woman who hasn''t even gone through half of what I''ve gone through for him. He''ll be sorry for this, I swear. He will be sorry cause by the time I''m done with him, he''ll wish he had never met with me in the first ce. I pick up my phone from the table and furiously dial my elder brother''s number. My brother and I weren''t exactly the type of siblings to check up on eachother or anything like that so I''m pretty sure he already knows I''m not calling him for no reason. He and I may not actually be the closest siblings in the world but I know for a fact that I can trust him to help me whenever I needed help and although, I might be of too much help to him due to his reputation, I can always be of financial help. "Hello." His grumpy and rough voice greets tiredly and I mentally roll my eyes immediately. He''s probably drinking and smoking weed as usual which his why his voice sounds so hoarse. As much as I loved him, I was equally ashamed of having him as a brother. My elder brother, Samuel Uchenna Opara is a well-known drunk and a well respected gang leader. He, unlike me, did not have the opportunity to study abroad and at age eighteen, he dropped out of school and started to fend for himself on the streets which eventually led him to be the criminal that he is today. To be very honest, I don''t have the best family background. "Hello, brother Uche. Good afternoon sir. I need your help." I drawl childishly, getting straight to the purpose of my call. "Asa nwa, what is it? Did anybody wrong you? You are not sounding alright at all." He questions with his thick Igbo ent that sometimes irritates me. "Brother Uche, everything is wrong with me. Nothing is going my way brother and I desperately need your help." Iin to him, knowing well that my brother hates it when I''m not okay. Anyint I "Tell me the name of this problem that is bothering my beautiful sister. Shey na pesin abi na thing? Asa nwa, give me a name immediately and I promise you, I will pieces whatever it is." He grunts furiously in his thick Igbo ent and I struggled to hold back myugh. (Asa nwa: Fine girl. Shey na pesin?: Is it a person?) "Brother Uche, it''s a she o. It''s one useless girl like this that''s bothering my life. She has ruined everything I''ve worked for all this years brother. She''s taking my entire life away from me." I exin, struggling to hold back my tears. "You had better not cry for any maggot Chiamaka. Give me a name first." He warns and I immediately hold back the tears to avoid annoying him. "Imade. Imade Adeleye is the reason behind all my problems Uche. Earlier today, Jamal threw me out of his house like I was some kind mad woman because of this useless girl. He literally pushed me out brother and he told me he never wants to see ma again. If you see the way they both manhandled me brother, you''ll pity me. It was humiliating." I exin to him, although I added more spice to the story to rile him up. "So, that oyinbo boy threw a fine girl like you out of his house for another woman? Okay na. Tell me what it is you want me to do for you, I have my people in Lagos and they''ll make sure those two are well taken care of." He assures and I smile. "Brother, leave that Jamal to me. I''ll deal with him personally. The only thing I need your boys to do for now is teach that useless woman a lesson for me. I want her to fear for her life, I want to make sure that anywhere she hears Jamal''s name, she''ll run far away from him." "For now, I don''t want her dead o. You can scare her however you please and let her know that she messed with the wrong person." I exin to him and he immediately hisses. "Oohh, Chiamaka, you know this is what I don''t like. Why not eliminate them once and for all so that they don''t bother you anymore?" He hisses harshly. "Brother Sam, I did not call you to make decisions for me, I called you to help me. I know what I''m doing so just be patient with me and do as I asked." I hiss back at him and he sighs. "So, I should not harm the girl, I should just scare her?" He asks the obvious again. "Yes, just scare her. I want her to know that she has passed her boundary, that''s all. I''ll make my next decision based on her attitude." I say to him and he sighs. "Okay then, you''ll hear from my men soon. They''ll let you know when the deed is done. When you''re ready to eliminate her, call me and I''ll have her head served to you immediately. You know me nah." He assures and I chuckle. "Thank you very much brother and don''t worry about anything, I''ll settle you and your boys very well so be rest assured." I reply and I could hear him chuckle in satisfaction. "I trust my beautiful sister. Always swimming in money. Whenever you''re ready to off that your oyinbo boyfriend, just let me know too. I''ll delete him for you sharp sharp." He tells me and I quickly wrap up my conversation with him before hanging up. No one knows Jamal better than I do. He may seem like he''s all that but deep down, he''s a lost puppy looking for shelter. He hides his pain and despair with arrogance and he''s so careless with everything he has, he wouldn''t even know what hits him till it eventually destroys him. He forgot that I had him eating from the palm of my hands. His entire life is in my hands, his walking away from all this without bringing him to his knees first and the best way to do that, was taking every away from him. Jamal his nothing without his money, power and status and I''ll take everything away from him and he won''t even realise it. My first option was starting with what I had in front of me at the moment; his real estatepany. The verypany he put me in charge of. I wouldn''t have to do much anyways, I already made him sign each and every thing pertaining to thepany over to me so he has no power over it and he isn''t even aware yet. "I''m most definitely ready to take over his position as the new CEO." I mutter to myself with a sly smile before heading out of my house and leaving the nearest bar avable. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!