****
Femi's POV
When I woke up the next morning I realized Sonia was already awake, I looked around the room; I noticed the wardrobe was open but there was no sign of her. I was about getting up from the bed to look for her when she came in through the door. Sonia was dressed in a red flowing gown which I remember buying for her, she had already applied some makeup and from all indications; she wanted to go out.
"You're up already?" she asked
"Yes, it seems you have somewhere to go to?"
"Yes" she replied
"Where in particular?" I asked "you look like someone dressed for a date"
"You're funny" she laughed and sat on the chair in front of the mirror.
"So where are you going to"
"I want to see my friend- Bimpe"
"Okay, I could drop you off"
"Nevermind, I know you must still be stressed out from yesterday" she shifted her gaze from the mirror and gave me a flirty smile.
"You seem like you'll be leaving very soon, what about your house keys"
"I'm very far from done" she giggled "you should just go take your bath and maybe eat something; there's still food left over from yesterday"
"Alright"
I dragged myself down from the bed, picked up my towel to hit the shower while Sonia was just so concentrated on her makeup.
In less than thirty minutes time, I had already changed into a pair of jeans and a navy blue polo shirt. I took in the last spoon of rice and drank some water from the glass cup, I wasn't ready to go home yet but I had to leave Sonia's place since she was going out; I just thought it wise to maybe pay my friend Jacob a visit. I had not spoken with him since we last saw at the bar; that was like some weeks ago. We don't even talk on the phone; I had to stop at his place at least to know how he was faring.
I went back to the room and I discovered that Sonia was still in front of the mirror doing something with her hair.
"You ladies really spend a lot of time in front of mirrors" I joked.
"I guess it's in our genes" she said cracking up the atmosphere.
"I intend to stop at Jacob's place, maybe spend an hour or two with him"
"Yea, you should. Have you given him a call to know if he's around?"
"It totally escaped my mind, I'll call him later"
"You and surprise visits" she said smiling.
"Lest I forget; you've not sent me the fifty thousand I asked you for, I really need it to fill up my wardrobe"
"I'm sorry I forgot, I'll do that right now"
I immediately dialed the USSD code and transferred the money to her bank account and a notification sound came from her phone right away. She took a close look at her phone the screen
"I've received it, thank you very much love. You're the best"
"It's nothing" I said trying to impress her.
I sat on the bed and placed a call to my long time friend- Jacob.
"Hello good morning" I said
"Good morning Femi, this one you called me today, hope all is well"
"What do you mean now, things have being tight if not you know I would have called you"
"I'm just saying, you've forgotten about me na since we're no more on the same level"
"Don't say that, you've been my friend and always will. Infact I even called because I wanted to know if you're around so I can pay you a visit"
"Wow… I must say I am very surprised, well I am at home; you can come this morning or maybe later in the afternoon"
"Okay then"
"Be seeing you" Jacob said.
I ended the call and turned to Sonia who was deeply engrossed in her makeup.
"Should I get going or I should wait for you so we can go together" I asked.
"Femi I've told you not to bother yourself, you can be on your way; I'll take care of myself"
"Okay" I told her "I'll be leaving now since you insist. See you later"
****
I arrived Jacob's residence; it was a very big bungalow and the compound was very spacious. One of the best advice I gave him was that he should have his own house. Who knows maybe the landlord would have being on his neck by now.
I knocked gently on the door and Jacob opened.
"Ah! My man" Jacob said delightfully as we shook each other's hands. I went inside and sat on the long couch.
"Long time, no see" I said
"You just forgot about me" Jacob laughed
"It's good to see you man. You're looking very good"
"You're not bad either" I said "how have you been coping since that incident that happened"
"It's all God o, I took your advice and went back to my boutique business and by God's grace I've being able to earn a living"
"Wow that's amazing" I said
"Yes, I've even employed a sales boy so that I can have time for other things"
"Wow that means this your business is really yielding profit"
"Yea, you know; I'm just lucky that I was able to survive the trauma and that God gave me another chance at life. Even though the injuries are gone; the scars still remain; you see; I lost contact with my wife and kids. There's no one to call me father and no one to call me a husband I just hope you've turned a new leaf after what happened to me"
"Of course, one wouldn't need to be told after seeing what you suffered. It's just that I've being having some issues with my wife and Sonia has seriously being putting a lot of pressure on me to divorce her"
"Femi don't tell me you're still with that Sonia" Jacob said in shock
"I still have plans to get married to her" I said sheepishly.
"Look Femi I advise you to desist from any extramarital relationships before you lose your home"
"Haha" I laughed, Jacob was surprised to see that I was rather unperturbed.
"You know; it's very funny to see that you of all persons is the one giving me such an advice." I said jokingly.
"Femi this is no joking matter o, you better listen to me before it's too late"
"See I know why you're saying all these; you think Sonia didn't tell me about how you wanted to have s3x with her"
"Femi this isn't just about Sonia, I don't just want you to go through what I've been"
"This your advice is good but you see that Sonia, I can't leave her. You won't understand what I'm saying until you meet her on bed; chai Jacob you go bow" I burst into laughter.
"Femi the bad guy, you never still change" he said laughing hysterically.
"The girl sabi" I said
We spent some hours together, we discussed; politics, our career, and a lotta other things. I had a good time with him just like it used to be.
Frank's POV
After what happened yesterday, it would take more than divine intervention for my parents to remain together. When my dad came back; I expected him to at least apologize so that everything will be settled peacefully but things went from bad to worse when he started shouting. I ran out of my room to see if I could listen to their conversation but the next thing I heard sounded like a punch in a Chinese movie. Could it be that he was beating my mom.
I couldn't help it; I wanted to push open their door when my dad immediately stormed out of the house. The situation had become really bad; it had gotten to a stage of no amends. Who ever thought that it would get to this point.
****
I heard a loud horn and then the sound of the gate opening. I immediately jumped up from my chair to see who it was and to my surprise it was my dad.
I opened my door and ran as fast as I could to alert Esther who was watching a movie in the living room.
Esther's POV
I was more than happy that Femi did not sleep at home last night; at least I was able to sleep comfortably without the fear of his presence. Femi warned me not to touch anything that belonged to him including food but since my aunt was around I was able to eat and carry out my usual activities.
I sank into the couch in the living room as I watched the television. I was having a good rest and every bit of the movie thrilled me.
Suddenly Frank ran inside like someone being chased by a lion.
"Esther!… Esther! My…my"
He paused to catch his breath
"What is it" I asked.
"My dad is back" he managed to say.
"What! It thought it was your mom"
"No time for long talk" he said "if you love yourself then you'll run inside your room"
Fear gripped me and in a quick reflex I raced to my room and bolted the door.
I had barely entered inside when I overheard Femi speaking with Frank
"Where is your mother" he asked coldly
"She went out" I heard Frank reply
"How about that useless girl, I hope she is not still in this house"
"She… she is inside" I heard Frank reply..
"What!!" Femi shouted aggressively
I immediately began hearing fast paced footsteps getting closer and closer to my doorstep. My heart began pounding; I felt as if my heart would leave my body. The footsteps were nowlouder than ever and finally halted at my doorstep. Femi tried opening my door but it was locked.
"Esther you are trying me, so you are still in this house. Didn't I warn you?? You want to see what I can do before you leave right…no problem. Very soon you'll see my other side" he said and left.
I couldn't be more grateful to God; it was obvious that my stay in the house was getting dangerous by the dad. I had to leave soonest.
Jennifer's POV
I saw Damian come in with a bottle of yoghurt and a glass cup.
"Good afternoon ma" he greeted
"Damian, how are you"
"I'm fine ma"
"How is school"
"Fine, thank you ma" he said and dropped the drink on the glass table before me
"Ma please before you go I have something very important to share with you" he said moving his eyes around to see if anyone was nearby.
"What is that" I asked
"Actually, I overheard your discussion with my dad"
"You heard everything?" I asked raising my eyebrows.
"Yes ma but you don't have to be worried"
"Why shouldn't I?"
"Ma you see after hearing what your husband did; I concluded that i'll be wicked if I decide not to tell you about this"
"About what?" I asked curiously.
"Ma I just hope I'm doing the right thing by telling you and I hope you won't react wrongly"
"I won't, you can go ahead and say whatever it is you want to say"
"Ok… Ma your husband was actually forcing students to sleep with him not until Mr. Jacob was caught and punished"
"What?"
"That's not even what I want to tell you, everyone in the university knows about what he does but there is the particular girl that he takes very seriously. Most people say he's planning on getting married to her"
"Hmm, I'm very skeptical about this your story o Damian. So do you know the lady's name?" I asked doubtfully
"Yes…her name is Sonia"
My brain immediately recognized that name; I quickly brought out my phone from my purse and clicked on my gallery. I scrolled down till I got to the picture I was searching for.
"Is this her?" I asked very tensed
"Yes" Damian answered. "That is the lady"