WHEN LOVE JUST HAPPENS : EPISODE 31 – 40
EPISODE 37
The blogs were beginning to lose interest in Jane and Jeffery’s relationship as they were now occupied with other trending gossips. This would have brought joy to Jane’s heart but then she knew it was just a matter of time before Mr. Okafor’s son found her out. She couldn’t continue hiding in Jeffery’s penthouse forever, at some point she would have to go back to her apartment and get back into the real world, then what?
It was already a week since the news of her relationship with Jeffery came out in the open and Jane was almost running mad from moping around the house. It’s either she was watching the news or she was watching a movie on Netflix and all of these things were beginning to drive her crazy, what she wants is to get back to work. Jeffery was always out for work most part of the day and when he comes back, he does try his best to keep her company before he retires to his home office and continues with the work he couldn’t get done at the office. When she complained he was overworking himself, he explained to her that he was investing in a new business venture so that required more of his time.
WHEN LOVE JUST HAPPENS : EPISODE 31 – 40
After watching her fourth movie for the day, she decided she’s had enough and decided to go on YouTube in search of some new food recipes she could try out, after all she always complained of not learning enough new meals because of work, so now that she was jobless she could as well learn them.
she was on YouTube searching for videos of the meals she could try out, when a notification popped up on the screen of her phone indicating she had a new message on WhatsApp. She decided to ignore it until she was done with watching her videos but more messages kept coming in from the same number. So she decided to open the message, it was from an unknown number and it sent her a document, which was followed by a message: open it and find out for yourself.
Jane immediately became curious and opened the folder. What she saw was shocking; she thought she wasn’t seeing clearly so she decided to look closely. But it was still what she saw the first time she still saw again; it was pictures of Jeffery kneeling in front of a lady and proposing to her, they looked so much in love with each other. There were pictures of two of them together on the beach and other times they were in a restaurant. And there was one where both of them were in a hotel room lying on the bed, both scantly clothed.
Jane thought it could be a prank or something, probably an April’s fool but they weren’t in April, this was October and no one goes about joking with something as sensitive as this. So she decided to chat the person up and get more information.
Jane: Who is this?
This is Tania.
Jane: Sorry Tania, have we met? Because I can’t seem to remember you
Tania: No we haven’t, but I assure you that if you don’t leave my man alone, we are going to meet and trust me it’s not going to be a pleasant meeting. Jane.
Oh so she even knows her name already?
Jane: I’m sorry who is your man?
Tania: Jeffery, and you had better leave him alone because we are engaged to be married soon. Don’t be deceived, he doesn’t love you and he is just using you to kill time until I return for us to get married. And I am back so back off bch!
Jane thought maybe she was dreaming, this must be a nightmare. She pinched herself, it was real. She wasn’t dreaming, Jeffery truly does have a fiancée and they were going to get married. How could she have been so stupid to believe he was in love with her? She opened the document and went through the pictures again it was truly Jeffery who was in those pictures and he looked so happy in them.
How could he do this to her? What did she ever do to deserve such treatment from him? Why did he have to lie to her? Nobody ever asked him to. Here she was planning their future together, it was as if life was playing a joke on her. When she couldn’t hold her tears anymore, she started to cry, she wept for her foolishness, her stupidity and her gullibility. For ever believing her life was going to get any better, for believing she deserved a better life than what she was ever used to.
She curled up into a ball on the kitchen fall as she wept for own life and all she has been through. How was she going to face the world? Her colleagues? If the blogs should get wind of this, they are so going to have a field day with it and there will be no one to protect her from them.
She cried until she had no more tears or strength left in her, she finally drifted off to sleep.
Jane tried running away from him but he was getting closer. she had to run fast or he was going to catch up with her. She tried running faster but something seemed to be holding her back. She tried fighting it off but he held her hands. So she decided to scream for help maybe someone would hear and come to her rescue.
“Babe! Babe wake up”
Jane opened her eyes to see Jeffrey sitting next to her on the kitchen floor holding her hands and shaking her to wake up.
“You were having a bad dream, it’s fine I’m here now” he tried pulling her into a hug but she quickly pushed him off.
“Babe it’s me, you need not be scared I’m here now”
“The more reason I need to get away from you” she pushed past him as she got off the floor. She noticed it was already getting dark outside and with the look of things, Jeffery just got back from work.
“Babe what are you talking about? I was really scared to see you on the floor I thought something had happened to you”
“No need for the pretenses Jeff” she bent down and picked up her phone from the floor. Jeffery who was still shocked at her response kept staring at her.
“What do you mean by pretenses?”
She didn’t give him any reply instead she went upstairs to the room they shared to pack her things.
“Babe what is going on?” Jeffery asked as he followed her into the room
“I should be asking you, what is going on Jeffery?” Jane asked as she tried to fight back the tears which were threatening to fall down her cheeks. “What am I to you? some pawn you can play games with?”
“Babe I’m at a loss here, what are you talking about?”
“You see that right there? that is what I fell fall for. You are so good Jeffery”
“Will you just tell me what is going on already!” Jeffery demanded in an angry tune.
“This is what is going on” Jane handed him her phone to see the pictures she was sent.
Jeffery took the phone from her and as he scrolled from each picture to the next, he said nothing his expression wasn’t readable either.
“How did you get these?” He asked after going through all the pictures.
“Does it matter how I got them? You are engaged Jeffery! Engaged to be married and you kept leading me on, deceiving me into believing you loved me! and all you can say is how I got the pictures? you are unbelievable!”
“Babe it’s not what you think, I can explain”
“You need not explain anything. You know; when I first heard it I told myself it wasn’t true. Jeffery couldn’t hurt me. Then today she chats me up telling me you two are engaged I ..” Jane couldn’t finish her statement as those tears finally had their way and came down. She angrily wiped them off with the back of her palm and cursed herself for being weak.
“Jane you are getting it all wrong, it’s not what it looks like just let..”
“I don’t want to hear it, I think we are done here. Goodbye Jeffery”
She picked up her handbag and ran out of the house, what was the point in packing her clothes, when he was the one who bought them for her?. They were only going to remind her of him.
She kept running not knowing where she was going, or where to get a cab to take her home. after ten minutes of walking around and not knowing the way out of where she was, and without anyone in sight to ask because it was about to rain and everyone seemed to be in their various apartments, she kept walking, hoping to find the way out or someone to give her the direction. And then it started to rain heavily. She could barely see the next step she took and just then she tripped and fell. Whoever she wronged must be very angry at her, she thought.
As Jane tried to get off the ground, she felt a strong hand scoop her off the floor. She let out a loud scream using her fist to hit whoever it was, as it was already dark and she couldn’t see the person’s face.
The person carried her and placed her at the back seat of a car. It was then it dawned her who it was; Jeffery. He got into the car, turned on the heater and started to drive in the opposite direction.
“Jeffery what are you doing? I am not going back to that house”
“Where do you want to go then?” Came his cold voice.
“I want to go back to my apartment!”
“Fine then”
“What?” Jane asked not quite understanding.
“You want to go back to your apartment, so I’m taking you back there”
WHEN LOVE JUST HAPPENS : EPISODE 31 – 40
________
*A week later*
“Jane you have to go out, it’s been almost a week since you left Jeffery’s house, and you have refused to leave the house”
“Amaka please leave me alone, I don’t want to go out. Besides I don’t want to risk running into any of those crazy bloggers”
“You think placing yourself under a house arrest is going to make any difference to them? They will still write about you if they want to, so please put something on because we are leaving this house”
“Amaka I can’t, I can’t go out, I don’t want to, so please just let me be”
“For the past one week you have done nothing but sit and mope around, you have practically turned into a zombie, when I leave for work I come back to find you in same position”
“No that’s not true, I change positions” Jane said trying to defend herself.
“Oh really, like moving from one side of the bed to another abi?”
WHEN LOVE JUST HAPPENS : EPISODE 31 – 40
This past week has been nothing but hell for Jane, since the day Jeffery dropped her off at her apartment, she has not seen or heard from him. Few days later there were pictures of him and his supposed fiancée all-over social media and blogs. Tania his fiancée told every blogger and whoever cared to listen that Jane was a gold digging whore who wanted to snatch her fiancé from her, simply because she was out of the country for her master’s. In all of these Jane never saw Jeffery’s statement of him either denying or confirming what was being said about their relationship. And that made matters worse for Jane because she would at least have some sort of closure if Jeffery confirmed or denied it. Instead he just kept silent.
Some bloggers and gossip magazines tried reaching out to Jane to hear her own side of the story, at first she felt the urge to oblige them and let the world know she wasn’t what they thought of her. But then again she knew they weren’t reaching out because they cared but to increase their reach and make themselves popular. One of them even offered to pay her just so she could grant them an exclusive interview. She was trying her best to maintain a low profile as much as she could, so far she hasn’t seen or heard from the Okafors, hopefully they haven’t seen or read about her.
“You know you are being overly paranoid right? The Okafors can’t just waltz in here and take you away. At least not with Jeffery’s guards who are fully armed to the teeth watching this place”
“What are you talking about?”
“How would you know when you are always indoors? Jeffery has security watching us, one even follows me to work, I know they try to be discreet but I see them following me from a distance whenever I’m out”
“Why would he do that? I thought I made it clear I didn’t want anything from him?”
“Jane don’t you think you are overreacting?”
“Overreacting you say? The guy is engaged to be married and you say I am overreacting? Like he.ll I am!”
“But you haven’t heard his own side of the story, everything might not look as it seems”
“Oh really? What exactly could that be? Is it the fact that he is engaged or that he kept leading me on just to make a mockery of me?” Jane was already shouting, Amaka could see she was pained, she was at loss of what to say to her.
“Jane, all I’m saying is; just try to look past your pain and hear him out”
“Hear him out? You only hear someone who is talking, I haven’t heard or seen him since the news came out”
“He brought you back to the house remember? I’m sure he must have tried talking to you on the drive down here, and he did try reaching out to you but you blocked his number remember? cut the guy some slack”
“Are you taking his sides? Aren’t you supposed to be my friend?” Jane asked angrily.
“I’m not taking sides, just being on the side of reason, I think you should talk things out with Jeffery, I don’t even know what to say anymore abeg” Amaka was frustrated herself, every time they had this discussion it always ended in an argument.
“And listen to more lies? No thanks”
“Okay, if that’s what you want no problem but you and I know you are hurting and dying to talk to him but if you want pride to stand in your way of happiness then no problem”
“Easy for you to say, it’s not your name that is being slandered all-over the internet as a man snatcher”
“I’m sorry dear, you know I’m here for you I just want you to be happy, I don’t want you to throw away something good without even trying”
“I don’t have any will strength to try anymore Amaka” Jane’s voice broke as she started crying. Amaka went to her side on the bed and held her as she cried. When she stopped crying, Amaka still held her.
“Would you like something to eat?” Amaka asked not quite knowing what to say next.
“Hmmmmmm” Jane nodded “but we don’t have what I feel like to eat”
“What could that be? I can go get it for you”
“Are you sure?”
“Jane spill it out”
“Well I would like to eat pizza and banana smoothie”
“You have the weirdest taste in food, you know right? Who eats pizza and smoothie together?”
“I do, now please go get me what I requested for and stop asking too many questions”
“Hmmmmmm this one you are trying to get rid of me, hope you are not up to something?”
“I love my life too much to want to commit $ui¢ide Amaka”
“And just in case you have forgotten, remember our pastor said you will go to he.ll if you commit $ui¢ide”
“For someone who sleeps all through the sermon in church, you did hear correctly this time”
“Whatever” Amaka stood up and went to the wardrobe and threw on a pair of faded Jean with a sleeveless top and threw her cross bag over her shoulder.
“I’m off to get your order ma’am, would you be needing any other thing?”
“That will be all for now” Jane replied smiling.
Amaka stepped out of their apartment and walked down the street where she boarded a tricycle to take her to where they usually bought pizza, when she looked out of the tricycle she could see one of Jeffery’s men following behind in a car. She wondered if Jeffery was really engaged or it was all a set up? But then again those pictures of him engaging another lady looked believable. But why then does he have men watching over their apartment day and night? Protecting them from the paparazzi and any lurking danger? You only do that for someone you care about. The more she thought about it the more confused she got.
When she got to the pizza spot, it was crowded as usual. It was past 7 pm and the place was bubbling with activities, as it usually does by that time of the evening. Amaka went in and placed her order, and she was told it was going to be ready after 15mins so she decided to go get some toiletries from the supermarket beside the pizza spot.
She went to the sanitary pad section, and she tried getting the brand she normally uses but it was out of her reach. “What are these people trying to achieve? Who places a sanitary pad so high?” She muttered under her breath as she tiptoed trying to reach it, then she saw another hand stretch above hers and took the pad.
“How many would you be needing?”
Amaka turned to see her worst nightmare standing in front of her; Dele!
“Yeah right, of all people to run into” Amaka said in annoyance.
“Are you going to take the pad or not?” Dele asked smiling
“Whatever” Amaka angrily snatched the pad from his hands.
“A little thank you, won’t kill, you know?”
“Like I asked you to do it?” Amaka walked past him to another section where she picked out some chocolates for Jane.
“I still can’t figure out what I did to offend you, that would make you hate me so much”
“Please avoid me”
“Come on I’m trying to make amends here”
“Well I think you should focus that energy on helping your friend prepare for his wedding”
“And who says he is getting married?”
“Haven’t you been reading the papers? I Have one question though, why did he have to deceive my friend into thinking he cared for her? What was he playing at?”
“He didn’t deceive her, if it’s anything Jeffery genuinely cares about Jane and these past few days without her in his life has turned him into one miserable man”
“But wasn’t he the one who went and engaged someone else?”
“It’s not in my place to say anything all I can say is that there’s more than meets the eye”
“Hmmmmmm”
“So can you at least tell me my offense, why do you hate me so much?”
“You mean aside the fact that your friend broke my best friend’s heart?”
“Yes aside that, because you hated me even before any of these happened”
“Well I will tell you on the condition that you give me my national ID first”
“How about this, you tell me the reason and then I would give you your ID?”
“No deal”
“Forget your ID then”
.
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WHEN LOVE JUST HAPPENS : EPISODE 31 – 40
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