A Troubled Soul

LAST WEEK On BBs: We saw the real reason why Jenny was bitter in a rude awakening. Wale seeks for a divorce and Eniola is still in love with ‘Mice’!

guys…please check out this wonderfully constructed ode on catwalq’s blog: An Ode to JENNY…..

READ ON……………..

His laptop intermittently displayed his screen saver- a stunning picture of the Lagos Island beach. His pen and paper also sat isolated on his computer desk. It had been this way for the past one hour. He hated writing, and especially now, as he was trying to compose an apology to Jenny and at the same time request a meeting with her. It helped that he was working from home. He could not face being in the same premises as Sade and Jenny. He had not stopped thinking about Sade and if there was one thing that bothered Wale, it was the fact that he had no control over his emotions.

The first time he thought he had fallen in love, it had been with Jenny. Her wit and youthful exuberance had infected him that day at the supermarket. She had been serving him and had teased endlessly about his dependence on ready made food. He had flirted with her in return and had asked her for a date. To his amazement, she had agreed and after three dates, had fallen quickly in love with him, just as he had with her.

They soon moved in together and when Jenny had offered him marriage, in order for him to get his British passport, he had willingly agreed. Life was not easy for an immigrant without the necessary documentation in a foreign country. Three months after their quiet wedding, the problems started. Jenny slowly lost her wit and enthusiasm and replaced it with countless accusations and out bursts of anger. He soon got fed up and walked out on her- not caring or giving a backward glance at the life they had built together over the years. He realised now that the way he’d felt about Jenny was totally different from the way he was feeling about Sade. He loved Sade with a fierce passion and it killed him to know that he could not have her. If situations were slightly different, he would have proposed marriage- it was the first time in his life that he thought of proposing to a woman.

A laughter reverberated in the near distance and he hissed. Eniola and her boyfriend were talking in the kitchen. Things like this made him eager to move out of the flat; the need for privacy. Now, he desperately needed a glass of water, but he did not want to intrude. He had never met Eniola’s boyfriend, but he knew that the person was not Nigerian. Fifteen minutes later, the kitchen was still occupied. He could not wait any longer. Stepping out of his room and into the kitchen, he raised his eyebrow at Eniola who was leaning comfortably on a very good looking white man.

Eniola saw him come in and she smiled widely. The effort of her smile was irrelevant and Wale could tell that she really liked this man. “ Wale, finally, we are at home at the same time- come, let me introduce you to Myles, my—” Eniola glanced at the man who winked at her in return as she giggled. “Boyfriend” said Myles, as he quickly planted a kiss on her forehead. Wale felt like throwing up. The last thing he needed was to see his flat mate looking so happy in love, while his own love life had no direction. He nodded a hello and walked towards the fridge, gingerly filling his glass cup with water. From the corner of his eye, he saw Myles turn to Eniola to continue their conversation. “ ….so, what happened?” Myles was asking. Eniola, who was obviously into continuing their conversation, eagerly replied “… you won’t believe that out of like 60 men that wanted to get hitched to her; Sade married Bode and we all ended up coming to the UK together- is that destiny or what? My best friend got married at twent……”

From where he was standing, Wale’s hands began to tremble visibly. Within seconds, the glass cup he was holding slipped out of his hand and he watched helplessly as it came crashing to the floor. Myles was at his side in an instant. “Are you OK- was it something I-she said”? He was staring at Wale strangely. “N-No, nothing I mean, I’m fine- sorry about that” Wale replied as he stepped over the shattered pieces of glass and shut the refrigerator door, while carefully avoiding his gaze. The man was making him feel uncomfortable. Eniola shook her head in disbelief as she reached for a broom and began to sweep up the mess. Wale stood in the kitchen for about two seconds before apologising again and walking back to his room. As he shut the door, he heard Eniola say “sorry about that; my flat mate, he is a weirdo sometimes.. Yeah… as I was saying; Sade is the most beautiful friend I have- you have to see her to believe- isnt it sad? her husband is the most horrible…..”

Wale froze behind the door and listened as Eniola chatted away, gradually revealing what he had not bargained for. He shut his eyes and groaned. It was simple, yet incredibly complex- all this while, he, Wale Ogunbiyi had been in love with his flat mate’s best friend.

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Ingrid was cleaning the Coker-Williams residence with her usual passion and dedication. If anyone took her job seriously, it was Ma. At 60, she still maintained the excellent standards of cleanliness and hygiene as she had first demonstrated 40 years ago when she started her career. Her wonderful ability to cook delicious meals from different cultures had secured her numerous jobs over the years, including working for the Norwegian ambassador to the United Kingdom.
When she turned 55, she decided to slow things down a bit and had looked for a local job. To her delight, Mr Olabode Coker Williams had given her the opportunity to do so; even offering her a room to live in during the week. Bode, as he was called by all, had been single when she had first started working with him 5 years ago. She’d watched as numerous women came and left. She minded her business and never questioned him, even when most of the women left with bruises. One day, Bode left for his home country, Nigeria, and returned with a beautiful woman as his wife. Ingrid had been delighted; Bode was ready to settle down at last. She’d expected to be fired after the wife moved in, but Bode had kept her on, much to her surprise. As things turned out, Ingrid found herself and Bode’s wife- Sade, forming a strong friendship. Sade stopped calling her Ingrid and started to call her Ma, showing the respect of a well brought up one.

Ma loved Sade like her own daughter and since she had no children of her own, she began to nurture Sade as their love and friendship grew with the years. So deep was the affection that Ma had wept the first time Bode had hit Sade. She had listened in horror as he had repeatedly slapped her face, while Sade had cried with pain. Each day, Ma would pray that Bode would learn to love and appreciate the beautiful woman that God had given him, and each day, things got worse. Naturally, Ma began to hate her boss- she soon concluded that Bode was not fully human- he had an animalistic way of being aggressive to women, especially Sade.

She began to help Sade out with every thing she needed, even going as far as arranging for a doctor to terminate the pregnancy that Sade had been carrying for Bode. To her dismay, Bode had discovered what Sade had done and had almost killed his wife.

Ma stepped back to admire the Swarovski crystal piece she was shinning. It was perfect. She walked away from it and moved on to her next object. Suddenly the phone rang; cutting deep into her thoughts. She looked at it and sighed. It hardly rang, and when it did, no one ever picked it up- but Bode himself. She decided to ignore it and listened as the caller began to leave a message:

“Good afternoon, this is Monsieur Brenaud from the Catholic Languages College. I am calling to check up on our student, Mrs Coker Williams, who has not att——-” Ma walked towards the answer machine and grabbed the receiver.

“Good evening” she replied, glancing at the wall clock “The Coker-Williams Residence”

“Oh, hello, I would like to speak to Mr Williams please” the voice was heavily laced with a French accent.

Ma clutched the receiver tightly. Bode was upstairs in his study. She could not allow this man speak with Bode.

“He is away on business” she whispered as she lied. She heard Bode coming down the stairs, calling her name.

“Well, I will leave a message for him, as we are concerned that Mrs Coker-Williams- his wife has not attended lectures since the course commenced. As part of the college poli–”

Bode was in the hall way and making his way into the living room. She hoped her apprehension was not obvious. “Not interested-thank you…” she interrupted the caller as she quickly hung up. She turned her back and faced Bode, who was leaning against the door way and eyeing her warily. When he spoke, his anger was evident.

“Did you not hear me call you? Who was that? Why did you pick it up? Are you deaf?” he pushed past her and reached for the phone.

Ma gulped and replied “some foolish c..company m…market research”. She laughed nervously as Bode dialled 1471. Ma held her breath and began to mentally recite her Hail Mary. She exhaled with relief as the operator reported the number as unlisted. Bode smashed the receiver in its cradle and pushed her out of his way as he walked into the dining room.

Ma hurriedly finished her dusting and retreated to the kitchen to serve dinner. She had always suspected that Sade did not attend that college- her wise old self knew that Sade was doing something else, maybe working for a nearby company. She would have to protect Sade by not allowing Bode to find out about that phone call. But for how long could she protect Sade for- surely the college would call again? Her days in the Coker Williams’ household were numbered. She just needed a sign to give her the courage to resign.

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Eniola and Myles continued to talk till very late at night. She had studied him continuously since they first started to date and he seemed very genuine. Why then was she not at peace totally? She felt as if there was something he was hiding but she could not exactly say what it was. Maybe it was the occasional phone calls that came in from his office- No, that wasn’t it. The office calls were strictly business; that much she knew. Besides, he only ever spent a few minutes on those calls anyway. Why then was she worried? Instincts – maybe? Myles was tickling her and she began to laugh. “A penny for your thoughts?” he asked as he planted tiny kisses on her lips. “Make it a pound- I’m not that cheap” she replied as she chuckled. She was just being paranoid, she concluded. Myles Browne was sweet and loving and she was falling in love with him. She had no doubt that he felt the same way. She pushed the nagging thoughts behind her as she started to tell him yet another story about Sade’s marriage. He was sensitive to Sade’s situation and it helped Eniola to be able to share her friends’ burden with someone else.

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After a hard days work, Ma usually retreated to the room she occupied in Bode’s house. Although it was tiny, she loved the room and the comfort it gave her. It was directly opposite the attic, far away from all other rooms. The attic was never used, and having her room up there ensured Ma the privacy she needed for her meditation. Sometime last month, she began to hear voices around 4 am from the attic. Because her room was at the far opposite, she could not actually make out who’s voice it was, until one day when she had crept out of her own room to try and listen.

To her horror, it had been Sangeya- Bode’s illegal wife as Ma liked to call her. Ma did not believe in the traditional marriage by ‘dowry’ payment. When Bode had brought a slightly pregnant Sangeya into the house, she had been taken aback. She knew her boss was cheating on his wife regularly, she just never expected him to bring a woman into the house as his second wife. From the first day Ma set eyes on Sangeya, she knew that the woman was up to no good.

Her suspicions were confirmed the first time she heard Sangeya on the phone, talking to a man. Over the month, Ma had put her pieces of information together and had concluded that the child Sangeya was carrying was not Bode’s- it belonged to the man she was always speaking to ; and scariest of all, that Sangeya was stealing from Bode. Ma knew that Sangeya had cleverly stolen the Van Gogh painting from the sitting room and had it cloned -only an expert art dealer would be able to tell the difference. The original painting was worth millions.

Ma had worked on shining that painting for years, and even she would not have noticed the difference, but for the tiny scratch she’d made on the original Van Gogh, 5 years ago. The scratch was not obvious, and one would have to stare at it for hours to be able to tell. The fake paining which now sat downstairs did not have that scratch, she had checked it again last night and she was now certain that Sangeya had stolen the original painting, and replaced it with the cloned one. She knew that if Bode ever found out, Sangeya would be in grave danger. Her boss had a violent temper, and he did not spear anyone that tried to cross his path.
Her kettle stopped boiling and Ma made herself some herbal tea. Once done, she settled to sleep; it had been a long day.

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At 4.45 am, a piercing scream, followed by the sound of shattering glass woke Ma up with a start. She rushed out of her room and ran downstairs. The front door was wide open and Bode’s back was turned to her. Sade stood next to him, shivering and whimpering. Ma suppressed her own scream as her eyes registered on what was causing the chaos.

Sangeya lay sprawled on top of Bode’s car. Her broken, bloodied body had indented the roof and the windscreen shattered. There seemed to be blood flowing from every where. Sangeya’s eyes were half closed, while her slightly agape mouth poured blood slowly. Even from where she was standing; Ma knew that Sangeya was dead. She turned to Bode, who was hysterically trying to revive Sangeya. “she- she fell from up there” he pointed to the attic “ Don’t die on me, my love… my baby.. don’t, help me some—” Sade screamed when Bode said the word ‘die’. Bode tore his gaze away from Sangeya’s lifeless body and turned to Ma, who was numb with shock “Ingrid, d…did you see anything- anyone…?” he cried; the agony in voice overwhelming.

Ma fled up to the attic. Once up there; she saw the open window; with a stool next to it. Ma stood at the entrance of the attic and just stared at the stool, while the police and paramedics arrived. A police man rushed into the attic after quickly flashing his badge. He scanned the area and looked out of the window. He bent down beside the stool and picked up a piece of paper. Another police woman arrived and walked towards him; her look questioning. He handed her the piece of paper “ she left a note- second suicide in one night- this job sucks” he muttered tonelessly.

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Sade sat in the kitchen and held a mug of hot chocolate. Her hands were still shaking. Ma sat opposite her and watched in silence. No one spoke for the first couple of minutes.

” maybe she was troubled….?” began Sade “did she ever say anything to you…?”. Ma shrugged in reply. Sade sipped her drink “I hear pregnancy causes severe depression…what do you think?” She looked up at Ma, expecting a response.

Ma stood up and walked out of the kitchen, quietly shutting the door behind her.

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Competition: Can you guess what happens in the next chapter for the Coker- Williams Household?

Winner gets an action packed , thrilling..exclusive sneek preview into the next two chapters before EVERYBODY ELSE!!!…

Thanks and God bless
Bimbs

The Rude Awakening

LAST WEEK on BBS: Wale and Sade meet for dinner, and she pours out her heart to him about her marriage to Bode. As they kiss goodbye, Jenny continues to watch them…. READ ON

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Dear Mr Ogunbiyi,

Thank you for your interest in PJ & co Solicitors, we have set out a list of guidelines to help inform your decision, we hope to hear from you soon, should you fall into one of these categories……………

In order to get divorced, you have to have been married more than a year and show that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. There are five ways is in which you can show that this is the case. These are:
The other party has committed adultery and you find it intolerable to live with them;
The other party has behaved in such a way that you cannot reasonably be expected to live together;
You have been separated for two years and the other party agrees to get divorced;
You have been separated five years;
The other party deserted you more than two years ago’

The divorce procedure itself is usually straightforward…………………..

Wale felt a bit of relief as he read the letter. There was no reason why the divorce should not go through easily. His marriage to Jenny had never existed. Wale wished he could see Sade and share this information with her. He felt she had a good chance of getting a quick divorce on the grounds of adultery and battery. He closed his eyes in pain as he imagined it. He could kill Bode Williams, for what he put her through. Sade was his heart. He needed her. He loved her. Wale opened his eyes abruptly and groaned. He loved her! All this while, he had loved Sade Coker Williams- another man’s wife. He did not even realise that he had fallen in love. He had been too busy chasing her, and enjoying her laughter that he could not exactly pin point when it happened. Sade, I love you, I need to see you. Wale knew it was useless talking to him self in the dark, but it helped to voice out his thoughts.

Next week, he would start with Jenny. He would send her an email first, and then request to meet with her. He needed Jenny to forgive him, and most importantly, they had to talk about the need for a divorce.

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Eniola was on the phone with her mum. Myles sat on the sofa behind her and blew kisses at her. He was making her giggle, and her mum was getting agitated.

“What is funny? – I say what is happening? No more Femi abi?”

“Mummy, no more Femi, I am seeing someone else now… you will love him”

She could hear her mum smile and whisper “baba Eni, Eni has found a handsome young man for us o! Praise God o”

“my daughter, you see, I told you that Femi was useless… is this new man a lawyer too?”

“Mum, he is an engineer” Her mum shrieked with joy and Eniola burst into laughter

“Engineer? My beautiful daughter, you pick well- is he from Ijebu like you?”

Eniola hesitated. “No he’s-”

“Ilesha ?? – Ilesha people are not bad, but you will pound yam o” Her mum laughed at her own joke, while Eniola signalled Myles out of the room, with her eyes pleading. He nodded and left.

“Abeokuta then?” Her mum was expectant.

“Mum- his name is Myles- he is an English man”

Her mum did not reply her for what seemed like minutes, and Eniola was about to hang up when her mum spoke again.

“Ehn; Mice?”

“No mum, Myles.. with a Y… Myles- Browne”

“Myllllesss ko, Kilometre ni” she hissed. Eniola was shocked.

“ a white man ehn? Ehn Eniola, did we send you to London to marry white-oyinbo?” Her mum’s voice had gone up an octave and Eniola could sense her own irritation too rising.

“Mum, he is a white man, yes. He is a wonderful—“

“Shut up your small mouth. He is a wonderful what? Nonsense. Don’t you watch CNN? Ehn”?

“Mum STOP calling him Kilometre. His name is Myles and I like him very much, I don’t care what you say, I tried a Nigerian and look what happened”

Her mum suddenly dropped her voice now and was attempting to speak softly.

“Eniola, my darling child, what of Wale? Wale is a nice young bachelor abi- Marry Wale! You even live together already! Why Mice?”

Eniola sighed. It was useless. It would take more than one phone call to convince her mum.

“mum, don’t worry, Ill think about it ok”

“Ok my dear, please my dear, we don’t want Mice o…” Her mum hung up and Myles came back into the room.

“You ok?” he asked concernedly.

“Yeah… I guess… She’s not going to bend easily”

He gathered her into his arms and kissed her lightly on her lips

“Its fine, I’m not going away from you… Come, let me make you dinner”

“Let me shower first ok?” Eniola grabbed her towel and went into the bathroom. She heard his phone ring as she stepped into the shower. As Myles answered the phone, she tried to listen to him speak but his voice was muffled as the powerful shower hit her. She was loving this man so much already. Her mum could not take that away from her. Eniola began to sing as she enjoyed the blast of water massage her body……

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“JT, don’t call me when I am with her- I warned you already” Myles whispered, glancing quickly towards the bathroom door.

“MB, you are taking too long, it’s been 2 f**king months; this was meant to be over last month, why is she still—-?” the voice bellowed back with anger

“JT, I need time to do this…I am getting there… Just don’t call me when I am with her- she’s not exactly dumb you know”

“We have a friggin assignment here Myles, not a bloody love triangle- shit Myles, what the hell is going on there? Are you not ready for this? Is this another f**king Sumalee… ”

Myles inhaled sharply and JT immediately apologised “I’m sorry MB, I shouldn’t’t go there, Just do this soon”

Myles was silently fuming. JT had no right to go there. He had just hit a nerve.

“Fine JT, Ill do what the hell I can and you can bloody well leave my life alone” although he was whispering, his voice was cold and angry. JT apologised again and hung up.

Myles stared at the bathroom door. Eniola was singing. His heart sank.

This was getting too complicated.

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That night, Sade could not sleep. She sat up in bed, sobbing, with her knees drawn up to her chest. She was half expecting Bode to charge into her room. But as the clock ticked away into 4 am, nothing happened. In the stillness of the night, she was making decisions. The first thing was to hand in her notice of resignation to Sims & Sims at the end of the month, giving them one months notice. The second was to tell Wale that she loved him. She owed him that- he had brought her happiness, without pushing. He had made her laugh, smile and finally cry. She wished Eniola could be by her side. Eniola would love Wale- maybe not approve of him, giving the circumstances, but she would love his personality. She had bought a new mobile phone a long time ago and had called Eniola endlessly. She was sure her friend had changed her number for it repeatedly led her to voicemail. The phone lay in her bag; switched off perpetually. She could not risk sharing the number with anyone, not even Wale, for fear of Bode finding out. The phone was only there to make those urgent calls as her departure date drew nearer.

Suddenly she heard a sound that made her still. She strained her ears, and she could hear a muffled voice on the phone. It was feminine- Sangeya’s. Sade crept out of her bed, towards the direction of the voice. Walking slowly and quietly, Sade realised that Sangeya was in the attic, above her bedroom, but far away from the suite she shared with Bode. She stepped into her bathroom and shut the door, and Sangeya’s conversation became clearer. Sade was completely stunned at what she was hearing. Sangeya’s deep Zimbabwean accent was completely gone, instead she spoke in a clear British accent, and occasionally using some phrases which Sade imagined was Shona- Sangeya’s native ( zimbabwean) tongue. Sade knew she should walk away, but she couldn’t, she needed to hear what was going on:

“I need you to calm down… baby; it’s difficult for me too… I miss you so much too, but trust me … you know that the chipunguzani, bastard thinks I am his wife- it’s a nightmare trying to act like a stupid, sick, illiterate puppy….” She paused for a moment before she spoke again “I have them, its all here with me” her tone was hushed and urgent.

“Don’t make this complicated, just work with me chikomba, my love, work with me…” Sangeya paused and Sade reckoned that the other party was speaking. Then she continued “my love, Its done- next month-first class…” Sangeya paused again, a lengthy one this time and Sade was about to retreat when Sangeya finally spoke: “Chikomba, your child is due in 3 months… in 3 months you will hold your dangwe– first born child” then Sangeya muffled a sob… “Mwana, I love you too, I can’t wait to be with you. ”

Sade was visibly shaking. Sangeya had hung up but Sade stood staring at the door post for 10 minutes, not daring to move. When she was finally able to budge, Sade walked to her bed and crumpled into it. She lay wide awake until the first ray of sunlight shone into her blotched eyes.

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At the crack of dawn Jenny woke up with a throbbing headache. She trudged out of bed and stumbled into the tiny bathroom she shared with a young Italian man. Reaching for the cabinet, she popped a Prozac tablet into her mouth and gulped some tap water before staggering back to her bed. She lay on the bed and her eyes focused on her bedroom ceiling. She blinked several times and shook her head. She could see babies. Tiny babies laughing and pointing fingers at her.

Suddenly, Jenny was remembering…………..

“Although your fallopian tubes may have been blocked by the numerous surgeries you have had; we are almost certain that the condition you have is treatable, Jennifer. The doctor had pronounced her name in a way that had made her want to scream in agony. Medicine has revolutionised; Laparoscopic surgery to open the tubes is an option, or better still, in virto fertilisation. I must say, that there is a low 10 percent to a high 70 percent chance of your being able to conceive again; depending on the severity of the blockage and the amount of scar tissue that develops after surgery. We need to do further tests……………. At that point, she began to scream obscenities at the startled doctor, who had done a good job of trying to calm her down until that moment.

Jenny wiped her tears as the image of the babies cleared away from her vision. They were haunting her; her poor babies she had killed. It could never sink in that she may never be able to bear children. She’d had 5 abortions for Wale. Two of which he knew of. She had told him the first time and he had freaked out, begging her to please abort the pregnancy because he was young and penniless. The second time, they had fought over it. Jenny wanted to be a mother, a mother to his children, and he had denied her that. He had driven her to the hospital and waited while she was in surgery. The third and forth; she did without his knowledge.

When Wale had walked out on her, Jenny had been 3 weeks pregnant, but like the previous two, she had kept it from him. She had determined to keep this child at all costs, without Wale’s help. but she had miscarried the fifth- a little boy. The baby had grown to its 6th month before it had come down in a painful and agonizing way. The surgery to remove the dead foetus had almost killed her. She had been hospitalised for 6 weeks before she quietly slipped into depression. She had written to him, numerous times, but he had never replied. She made up her mind after her 50th letter that she would avenge the death of her babies. She heard foot steps and as her flat mate made his way to the bathroom, cutting deep into her thoughts. She listened as he showered before her mind willingly slipped back from where she stopped…….

After she was discharged on the condition that she saw a psychiatrist, she had continued in depression, doing nothing but sleeping and plotting revenge against Wale. Then, one glorious day, 4 years after she broke up with the bastard, her cousin who had come to stay with her in an attempt to cheer her up and had told her some information that had changed the course of her destiny. Her cousin revealed that her best friend, Allison Mason had just taken over a company called Sims & Sims from her father. Her cousin had confided in her that a certain Wale Ogunbiyi worked for Sims & Sims, and Allison was considering promoting him due to his hard work and dedication to the company. Her cousin had shared the information in good faith, even suggesting that Jenny made peace with Wale so she could move on in life. That day she had known what to do. She quickly found her way to becoming acquainted with Allison, and from there, sold to Allison her desire to work for Sims & Sims, albeit on a very low salary, although at managerial level. It had been difficult convincing Allison, but a lot of research and evening classes on management had done the trick.

Allison gave her a chance to join her in running the company her father had entrusted her with; allowing her just six months to prove herself worthy of the position, and Jenny knew that she did not need 6 months to destroy Wale- she’d planned do it in three months and disappear- until she realised that Wale had involved himself with Sade Coker Williams, and then everything had changed. Now Allison was becoming impatient with Jenny’s incessant low performance, and Wale was enjoying life with another man’s wife. It seemed that she was going to loose this battle after all, unless……….

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Thank you all for reading BBs- I update BBs every Monday ( or at least I try to)… God bless and see you next week Monday…

Special thank you to Chinese eyes for helping me with this particular chapter- ur the smartest; bestest friend ever..

I have removed BBs from my labels because I need to work on the story from scratch, and fine tune it, so if you are new to my blog and need to follow the story, please email me:bimbyladsblog@yahoo.co.uk

The Long Kiss….goodbye

Last Week on BBs: Finally, the sun seemed to shine after the rain for Eniola as she went on a date with Myles Browne- the hot Engineer she’d bumped into. However, a lot is beneath the surface that Eniola may not see.. READ ON…..


………..Sade could not believe she’d been seeing Wale for three months. Three beautiful months of her life- her happiest months since she’d set foot on the English soil. As she stepped into her jeans, she had mixed feelings. She had managed to send a considerable sum of money to her brother, and her plans were going well. Another 2 months and she would be free… but did she want freedom? She knew she didn’t really want to. As much as Bode assaulted her, she wanted to stay on so she could be near Wale. She powdered her nose and wore her hoop earings. A part of her wanted to be excited, but the other part of her reminded her that tonight had a main purpose–to let go of Wale and her fantasies. She had managed to convince Bode that she had a group seminar at the college this evening. To her surprise, Sangeya had chipped in for her, and Bode had agreed, giving her the condition that she ensured she was ready to be picked up by 8pm on the dot. Mickey had been instructed to park at the College and wait for Sade for the entire duration.

As she stepped out of her room, Sangeya was standing in the hall way, eyeing her and rubbing her now heavily pregnant tummy.

‘Why you go school- always?” She asked. Sade smiled. “Sangeya, school is the only way for you to secure your future”.

“I want money, so I no need school” she turned her back on Sade, which was amusing.
“I hope you won’t need school Sangeya” Sade grabbed her text books and ran into the waiting car.

Once they arrived at the college, Sade thanked Mickey and handed him a £50 note. Please drive away for a beer… please… she willed him to obey her thoughts with all her might. Mickey looked surprised as he collected the note. “What’s this for Madame?” He asked

“It’s a Friday, you don’t really have to sit here and wait for 2 hours till 8pm, why don’t you go for a ride and come back when I am done?”

Mickey could not hide his pleasure, even though he tried to. “Why, thank you Mrs Williams, I shall be at the Lion pub, 10 minutes away from here, if you need me, that is?”

Sade piled her books into her hands and slammed the car door shut. “Enjoy your evening and see you at 8pm”.

She watched him speed off as she dumped the books into her big black Marni hand bag; which she slung across her shoulder and walked quickly to the office. Once in the comfort of the ladies bathroom, Sade took off her jeans and revealed the lovely dress that was tucked in. She quickly pulled off her earrings and placed her diamond studs where the hoops had been; then hurriedly kicked off her trainers and replaced them with her Renè Caovilla stilettos. When she was done, she walked back to her desk and sent an email. She could not wait to be with Wale once again- even if it was for the last time.

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Wale sat in his office as he made finishing touches to a proposal he had to submit to his CEO before Monday. He glanced at his wall clock. It was 6.15pm. Where was Sade? She had said she needed to go home to change first, although Wale did not see anything wrong with what she had worn earlier on in the day. He still could not believe that she had agreed to go on a date with him. He had not wanted to ask her at first; for fear that she would get angry and lash at him for trying to lure her to adultery. But he had and to his surprise, she had shyly said yes, she would come to dinner with him. He stood up from his desk and walked to the window. He could not believe that 3 months had passed since they first set eyes on each other- and for three months, he had met her every single day for lunch; and he had not thought of any other woman. He stared at the bustling city below and sighed. The London skyline was beautiful. What was he getting himself into? They never spoke about it, but Wale knew that they were dating. He took a deep breath and frowned. Did he not say he was going to put a stop to it? Why then was he taking her on another date- not at lunch hour but a proper dinner? She was married! He wondered why she was not stopping him. What was she hiding? Wale did not understand why Sade was elusive. She refused to talk about her marriage, or her personal life. He knew she had a best friend called Eniola- she often talked about her and had complained once that she had been unable to reach her for a while. At first he’d wondered if it could be the same Eniola he shared a flat with but had dismissed the idea for there was no way Sade and Eniola would be that close and he wouldn’t know-. He would have seen Sade at the flat at least once……

His email alerted him and he walked back to his desk. Sade was back in the office and ready to go. He grabbed his jacket and logged off his P.C before walking downstairs to meet her.

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Wale had chosen a lovely restaurant near the office. Sade had insisted on a small and not so conspicuous place. He felt somewhat under dressed as he studied Sade’s stunning midnight blue dress and shoes. She carried a big black bag that seemed a bit heavy and out of place,but she refused when he offered to assist.

They ordered their meal and began to chat at once. They had never run out of things to talk about since they’d started having lunch together.

Tonight though, Sade looked different. Her beauty seemed to be on a different level. Perhaps it was the subtle make up she wore, or the tiny diamond studs in her ears. “You look sensational”. He did not like commenting on people more than once during a date, but Sade broke all barriers. He had commented on her four times already. She smiled demurely.

“How is married life?” he asked for the hundredth time since they’d had their first lunch. He was expecting her to say her usual “fine, thank you” before quickly changing the subject. But she took him by surprise. “I dont love my husband” she began, slowly playing with her her straw as she continued “…even if I did, he’s destroyed the little I felt for him by bringing in a new wife… she is 18”.

Wale did not know how to reply to that. He twisted the edge of his napkin instead. The food arrived. “She is from Zimbabwe and she is pregnant” Sade continued. Wale looked into her glass cup to ensure that there was no alcohol in it. It was pineapple juice. Sade saw his look and laughed dryly. “ I am not drunk Wale, I just need to talk- will you listen?” Wale did not reply. He knew that Sade would take his silence as a yes. Sade looked at Wale and picked at her food. “I need to talk” she repeated herself. He reached across the table and held her hand. “Sade, we all have our burdens, if you want to share yours with me………”

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Sade bent her head as she began to tell Wale about her marriage. She did not realise how much burden she had been carrying until this day. She gradually unravelled her history right from when she met Bode at 19 through to how she had applied for a job at Sims & Sims – “so, you see, right now, I am meant to be at a seminar” she included with a sigh. She wanted to be as open as possible with Wale, and did her best. She did not reveal the knowledge she had of Bode’s business. There was no point in sharing that sort of information.

Sade had to stop talking when she realised that Wale was not responding. She was about to ask him why he was silent when she thought she saw his eyes glistening with tears. He looked away quickly and blinked several times. Unsure of what to say, she sipped her drink.

“I’m sorry, Sade- I, oh my goodness- the son of a bitch– Im sorry—-” Wale was apologising to her as he tried to regain composure.

“Ssh… its ok, I am ok” Sade laughed lightly.

“I am so sorry sweetheart, sorry for everything you have been through-”

Sade did not expect an apology from Wale, but she took it in still. “ its ok, its not your fault, you only found me attractive like all men do, but who was to know that I would…” She exhaled loudly. It was hard pouring out her feelings to him.
Wale’s eyes widened as Sade spoke. “Who was to know that you would what Sade?”

Sade tore away from his gaze and Wale felt himself melting. How beautiful could a human being be?
“ that I would fall for-find you attractive ” She wanted to be careful not to say the wrong thing. “listen, I cannot do this Wale, I have been thinking about you everyday… ever since I set eyes on you…. She gulped as she felt the tears well up. “But we can’t be together, we cant, I can’t….” She was now crying and Wale had to get her up to her feet and walk her out of the restaurant. They stood by the side of the restaurant in the dark corner and he held her close.

“ I know, Sade, I know… before I spoke to you, I dreamt of you, when I spoke to you, you haunted me. You have been a part of me, even before I knew it”

Sade loved the feeling of him, his faintly scented cashmere jumper warmed her face. “I guess we can’t see each other anymore, the attraction will go away, I know we can’t be together, and there is no poi-“

Sade was stopped mid sentence. Wale was kissing her forehead. His soft lips made her shiver in pleasure. He kissed her eyes, then her nose, and then, slowly, he kissed her lips, parting them expertly with his tongue. Sade felt herself fall and Wale grabbed her firmly, without removing his lips from hers. It was the most sensual, electrifying kiss she had ever experienced. He broke away and Sade saw that he did have tears in his eyes.

“We can be together Sade; lets fight this together….I don’t think I can live without you, let me in, Let. Me. In. ”

Sade stiffened and shook her head. “Wale, it’s for your own good, I am no good for you; in a matter of months, I will be gone… find someone else… I know you will… but when you do, please don’t hurt her, don’t hurt her like Bode hurt me…..”

Wale wanted to respond but Sade had pulled away from his grip. She was walking fast towards Sims & Sims and he did not follow her. He watched as she disappeared into the night, and for a long time, Wale stood in the dark, shielded from the world, and allowed the tears to flow freely.

As he wept in the silent corner of the pub, away from the laughing crowd, he knew for the first time how much Jenny must have hurt when he had abandoned her. He was sick to his stomach as he realised that he had hurt Jenny just the way Bode had hurt Sade. it had taken this wonderful woman to let him know how much he must have damaged Jenny. It was time to speak to Jenny. It was time to beg her for forgiveness.
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Jenny watched Sade break away from Wale’s grasp and shook her head in disgust. What a bunch of losers! It did not look good for Wale. Maybe she told him off!! She high fived the air as she got up from the dusty floor surface she had sat on for 2 hours. Dusting her self, Jenny tucked her camera and note book into her rucksack. This was fun! Snap! Snap! Snap! She could go on for ages taking pictures of the two love birds as they dined and kissed. And what a great shot that made! Wale had kissed the woman with so much passion that she had closed her own eyes. And then the bastard had cried. She had seen him bend over with his head in his knees. For pleasure, she took 10 different shots at great angles. He was in love- no doubt- the sorry excuse for a human being. Jenny had followed them all through for the last two months, and she almost felt sorry for Wale. He seemed to have changed so much since he met this woman. Poor Wale! Tut-Tut! Pity, pity… PITY it was this pathetic designer wearing Sade Coker Williams that made him a smarter person. She had monitored Wale all through, expecting him to make a dash at another woman, but No! Wale had been good- the devil had been good!. Jenny laughed hysterically and a couple that were strolling past her quickly increased their pace. “They think I am mad, don’t they?” … “Well, I am not mad! Jenny Jones is not mad!” she hissed back at them, careful not to raise her voice, in the unlikely event that Wale saw her from his distance.

She grabbed some earth and squeezed it through her fingers; enjoying the feeling of dirt mingled with stones in her palms. Now that the woman seemed to have cut him off, her plans had to change slightly. She cursed and spat into the ground. She hated having to change her plans so many times. This damned woman had better stick to this decision. She would not take it lightly if the woman came back into his life. Time was running out. Very soon, that foolish geek at the IT department of Sims & Sims would soon figure out that she did not really need to monitor Wale’s emails for quality control as she had said. Very soon, the whole of Sims & Sims would soon dig into her records and discover that she was on medication; that she had forged the medical report that certified her fit to work. That she was not adopted into a Nigerian family and worse of all, that she was married to the bastard she had come to destroy. Soon, they would all know that she was a woman on a mission. Time was running out. She started to walk away from the restaurant, slowly at first,then stealthily broke into a run behind Sade; taking care to pace herself- for she could not afford to make mistakes.

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Sade ran blindly through the park, towards the college. It was 8.13pm. Mickey would be waiting for her. She wiped her tears and slowed down to kick off her shoes and throw them into her bag. With no time to wear her jeans, she expertly wrapped her jacket around her firmly and walked through the open gates of the college, waving at a uniformed security guard who was nodding off in sleep. He looked suprised to find a student at the college so late especially as there were no scheduled actvities. Sade walked up to the main entrance, counted to 10 and walked back towards the car park. She fervently hoped that Mickey would not notice her lateness or her lack of bottoms.

Once Sade was in the car, she was relieved that Mickey was ignorant of the time or her appearance. He had been arguing with someone on his mobile phone and had paid no attention .

She would wear her jeans once she got to the house. She hoped the hallway would be clear of Ma. Bode would not be home. Sangeya should be asleep by now. She jumped out of the car and tip toed into the hallway. It was empty, and dark.

Sade stole into the first bathroom in the hall way and wore her jeans, hurriedly tucking the dress into them. She washed her face off any signs of the tears she’d just shed and pushed the bathroom door open quietly; ready to run upstairs to her room for a good cry.

Sangeya was standing right outside the door of the bathroom.

Her shock could not be disguised as her eyes locked into Sangeya’s- the lights were switched on and Sade’s diamond studs sparkled harmoniously with the chandelier.

“You no go school” she whispered, nodding her tiny head like a child who had just discovered the truth about Santa Clause. “You lie to Bode”

“Hi Sangeya” Sade made an attempt to sound chirpy. “I am really tired, can I, can we–” she tried to push past Sangeya, but Sangeya thrust her tummy in front, making it difficult for Sade to move.

“The earring, not the same like before” she paused and cocked her head to an angle. “The top-is not top, is dress….” Her hands flew to her mouth. “…Is dress! You go party!”

Sade looked down and grunted. Her dress was not well tucked into her jeans. The sides were bulging and some parts of the dress were hanging loosely on the side of the jeans.

She looked up at Sangeya. The girl was tugging at her black bag.

“Sangeya, will you please stop it” Sade had to whisper for fear of waking Ma up.

Sangeya laughed. “So, you no foolish! You beautiful, you smart- you—!” she let go of Sade’s bag and continued “ ha! Me too want party! Take me… take me!”

Sade groaned loudly. What did Bode see in this child? “Sangeya, I did not go to a party, I went to school” her voice was shaking and she struggled to control herself.

“you meet man?” Sangeya was grinning from ear to ear and Sade was beginning to wonder if she was mentally all right. ” big eye- you cry? Sade, you cry today because of man?”… She pointed at Sade’s eyes, which were devoid of makeup, but slightly swollen.

Sade had to stop this madness. Sangeya was hitting dangerously close to home. “Sangeya, I need to go to my room” she pushed past Sangeya successfully and began to run up the stairs.

As she ran, her hand bag fell open and the contents flew out, cascading down the stairs. Sade stopped in her tracks and turned back.

Sangeya had picked up and was now holding the pair of her Renè Caovilla shoes and nodding decisively.

“This shoe is cost- You go somewhere- no school” she held the shoes up and Sade sighed. Sangeya was suddenly looking upset“ You lie for Bode, I not stupid” She hissed.

Sade trudged back downstairs,snatched her shoes from Sangeya and walked back to her room without uttering another word.

It had been the worst day of her life. She had said goodbye to Wale, and now Sangeya knew that she had lied about her whereabouts. Sade shut the door to her room and sank to the floor. She began to cry with the little strength she had left in her. She did not know what would become of this night. She was sure that Bode would beat her black and blue when Sangeya told him the truth, but she was prepared. The pain of being hit was much better than the pain of saying good bye to Wale, a man she had now fallen in love with………..

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At home a few hours later, Jenny poured herself a glass of wine. She was still in high spirits. The tiny wall in her room had no allowance for any more pictures. Still, she would not be deterred. She tore off a few of Wale’s old pictures and stuck on the new ones she’d just acquired. Stepping back to admire the work, she nodded in satisfaction. She was proud of her self. Her wall held over 400 pictures of Wale, and now she had the most recent picture of him in tears. She picked up a picture of Sade and stabbed it with a pen. She could still not get the fact that Sade had kicked off her shoes and had stopped to wear a pair of trainers instead. She’d watched in disbelief when Sade ran past Sims & Sims into a privately run language college. Spending less than 2 seconds in there, Sade had emerged and had entered a chauffeur driven car, which Jenny was sure had not been at the restaurant. Why did Sade go into a college first? She gulped her wine and focused. Suddenly Jenny exclaimed as she put the pieces together and began to clap loudly. Sade deserved an applause. The bitch! She was a smart ass wasn’t she? even Jenny was humbled at Sade’s meticulous planning. She looked at her notes and grinned. Sade may be smart, but she was the brilliant one. Thankfully, She had caught the number plates just in time. She couldn’t wait to find out the address to which the car was registered to. She hoped that Wale and Sade would play into her hands one more time; she needed them to. She emptied her wine bottle and burped. Who was the genuius that’d said revenge was sweet? She would love to take him to dinner. Revenge was the sweetest thing ever. It was what she lived for.

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Thank you for reading BBS: someone complained that they get logged out of my page after about 3 minutes… does anyone else experience this? please let me know..

The Video Man with A difference….

Oga.. Oga gaaan ni for some people o.. but before I even yarn, let me congratulate the latest MRS S- my darling….congratulations on your recent wedding. Your life is a testimony to all of us that God does not fail- may your life be full of love and happiness forever in Jesus name. Amen.

where was I ? ehen… I was saying that it is oga for some people. why abi? ehen, wait jare let me talk– you too dey shake. It is this yeye video man I am talking about o- infact, the nonsense and jagbajantis the man told me has taken a few weeks to sink in… What is wrong with African men and women?? Why can’t we do jobs with the same zeal and vigour that an oyinbo man will? Ehn? Abeg commot there- before you start to defend your business… most African women/ men you hire to do jobs for you deliver crap; and they expect you to pay.. thunda faya their yansh- come and squeeze me for your money.. bingo like you..… …

Ok … why am I ranting? thats how I hired this video man from Ouagadougou abi wetin be the country- the one where they speak faranse? not french o (the broken French- that I hear real French people don’t understand..)- I sha hired him to record and capture a very special occasion for us. That’s how the man called me a few weeks back to tell me my video was ready, I was estatic that he had done a very quick job and asked when I could come and get my CD. You can imagine my anger when he told me quite plainly that the first 3 hours of the recording had no sound. I was livid. I was reluctantly reminded of the warnings my mother had dished out prior to my hiring this faranse man. … “Always hire more than one video man for important occasion…always- no matter the cost, or the recommendations you hear” I had grunted in reply and totally ignored her. My mum had reasons for warning me so severely. Let me share the story with you.. oya siddon make i give una that gist briefly…. see as your eye dey blink– you tooooooo like gist!! me sef I gbadun you.

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A long time ago, Mama bimby had an important meeting with some of her ex school mates. It had been 20 years since they had graduated from secondary school.. Every one was doing great and no one had died… In recognition of such achievement, they decided to throw a massive 20th year anniversary party-.

Now you can imagine, the meeting was packed full, and everyone had ideas of how to make the party the best ever. Some people volunteered to bring food, while some decided that they would cover the drinks… Na so dem turn to mama bimby, oya wetin be your own contribution? Mama bimby think am well well.. “Ill ensure the whole event is covered on video” she replied, nodding her head eagerly… ” Ill hire a recommended video man to ensure that every single moment is captured”…. yes,…”leave the video cover to me”.

A few people nodded their thank yous, but many were concerned. One lady spoke up ” Mama bimby how kind of you to offer, but with video, why don’t we all contribute to hire a professional videographer who will supply a whole team to capture the day- it is an important day that MUST be well covered… lets hire at least 3 video men?” The lady looked around as she spoke and many people nodded in agreement… What she was saying made a lot of sense…

Mama bimby did not find it funny… “No o… Insult! I will pay for it myself… e ma worry, the video man I will get will do correct job”

And so mama bimby was awarded the duty of ensuring that the whole day was captured on video…..Hunting she went, in search of a recommended video man..
” always work on recommendation” was her motto for major event planning…. On this occasion, Papa Kayus was recommended by 2 friends who swore by him
” papa Kayus will almost embarrass you with the way he will capture the event” they said. Mama Bimby was happy.. Off to Papa Kayus she went…

Na so as mama bimby locate papa Kayus, she decided to interview him briefly to be sure of his capabilities… He greeted her well and handed her his business card: – PAPA KAYUS, VFF, MSB, ABC…the video man with a difference…”… was boldly inscribed on the cheaply printed card. She decided to ignore his raggedy looks and faulty English ….’ after all,, its about skills’.. Right? WRONG!!! lol

Eyeing the business card, she said; ” Papa Kayus, I have worries o, even though you are qualified, my colleagues want me to hire more than one video man, but I hear you are as good as three”

* laughs modestly*… ” ahn madamu, I don findeo mariyam babangida, I don fideo for NTA, King Wasiu barrister, Ebenezer Obey.……. No findeo I findeo wey no good.. madamu, no hire anoda persin o.. I fit…”

” papa kayus, this day is an important day for us o.. it is our old girls school party- celebrating 20 years since we graduated” Mama Bimby felt the need to stress the importance of the event.

” madamu, hinfant…… I will do a wondavoo job”

” I be votograver too- I snap voto…” ” I go school o” He added, pointing to his business card.

Mama Bimby was not totally convinced, and going against her instincts, she hired him…and so, Papa Kayus and Mama bimby shook hands on their newly formed partnership.

The day came and Mama bimby saw as the Papa Kayus declined food and drink to go up and down; ensuring he was capturing every single speech, handshake, dance, cough, sneeze, and mess of all the party guests.

Papa Kayus climbed trees, jumped on tables, scattered chair arrangements; and stood annoyingly behind VIP’s and as he vigorously covered the whole occasion:

Mama bimby was pleased. she smiled and waved at everyone as if to say ‘ see as Papa kayus is videoing the whole event with uttermost dedication– next time, TRUST ME“

Three weeks after the event, Papa Kayus has not come to meet mama bimby with videos. Mama bimby decided to wait another 2 weeks before she paid a visit to papa kayus filming studio. The following conversation ensued, and I report:

” madamu welcome… siddown” he grabbed a dusty chair and pats it.

* ignores him and hisses* “papa kayus, this is nonsense now? Where is the video for the 20 year anniversary you filmed??””

” feem?”

” Papa kayus, don’t make me loose my temper.. The party you covered for us 5 weeks ago? The guests are beginning to ask for it and I need to have the 50 copies I ordered now”

“hoookaaaaaaaaaaay!… the feeeeeeem for the school… madamu, I dey come..”

Papa kayus nods eagerly and trots towards a camcorder- which was resting on a three legged table. He carries it and inspects it for several minutes. Mama bimby is tapping her foot impatiently and eyes him. He is now staring at the lens of the camera and as he does so, he widens his eyes almost to the size of saucers.

Another second or two passes before Papa Kayus suddenly jumps up and exclaims:

” madamu……………………m’ogbe oo……yeeeeeeeeee!! yeeeeeeeee!! ORI IYA MI OOOOOOOOOO” (my mothers head o)

Mama bimby jumps too as she thinks there is impending danger…

” Papa kayus.. What is it?? ki ni? What…??”

Papa kayus ignores Mama bimby and lifts the camcorder on his head… still exclaiming…

” Ori IYAAAAAAAAAA MI OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO””

” papa kayus will you stop shouting and let me know what the problem is… where is my video…”
Papa kayus is panting; while still holding the camcorder on his head…

” madamu.. yeeeeeee… iya mi o.. iyaaaaaaa miiiiii…. the feeem… the feeeemm.. ees…. haf…. DELETI”!

My mum thought she did not hear correctly…

” Papa kayus.. What did you say happened to the video?””

” the findeo………….. haf delete”.

“WHAAAT?”

“madamu… I feem….. walahi!! I feem efritin…* wails and spins around*……I feem o!!…I feem efribody…… but I look am now.. I no see am..,…. no findeo .. it yaf DELETE!!”

My mum understood perfectly well what she was hearing. Papa Kayus had deleted the film? After jumping on trees and destroying the seating arrangements… he had nothing to show for it??

Wanting to curse his whole generation out, she decided to leave his studio before she committed murder. The real problem was how she was going to explain to 50 ex secondary school mates that she had gone to collect the videos and papa kayus- the video man with a difference deleted the recording. Needless to say folks, after that event, My mum hires 5 video men at a mininum for ANY EVENT- I repeat, ANY EVENT.. even if its is to capture her daughers’ first time driving a car: Oloye Film, Akin Video, Ikemefuna Films; Aliu Mogaji and Sons with one other will be there to capture the event… did i hear someone say.. Once bitten 5 times shy?

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So my dears… what do I do with this faranse video man? I have called my mum to tell her what happened and she was silent for 10 minutes before she changed the subject. She acted like I hadnt even said anything- I dey fear o.. the day she will decide to talk!??!- Mummy you know I love you! 🙂 ……meanwhilly, anyone has ideas of solutions?? how do I get sound back on a video o?!!

to now add atarodo on top of the injury; the faranse man asked a very very very very stuuuuuuuuupid question just before I hung up in anger…..

” madame…zid any one elze captwure l’ evant- maybe wiz telephone?”

Ehn o.. yes… every body did… becasue I sent them message to bring phone to come and be videoing our event… hiss …thunda fire your faranse yansh.

People like this make me scream. Wo, I am going to eat jare…

See you tommorow evening… thought to use this post to cool u down and allow me work on a very HOT chapter.. lol…Sade, Wale, Sangeya and Jenny return with a bang tommorw

ciao…

Bimbs

Sunshine after the rain?………

LAST WEEK on BBs: Eniola meets a stunning man and Wale tries to take Sade for lunch. He sends her an email, and as he waits for her reply;he gets a call from Oni, his parents’ driver instead! Isnt it sometimes a crazy world we live in?.. especially when you want something so bad!… READ ON

………The email came through to Sade and she read it 5 times. She found her self repeating.. you cant say no…. what a confident twerp! She would in no way go out for lunch with him after how she had disgraced herself the last time. She had closed her eyes!! Even now, three weeks after, she still felt stupid when she thought about that incident. She began to type her reply… “Wale, thanks for your offer but I don’t see why we need lunch for you to apologise, you didn’t do anything”. She clicked the send button and waited anxiously.

Three minutes after, her email notified her of a reply. She clicked it open with thrill, she knew he would beg and ask her to please reconsider. Then she would say no again and again.

‘Ok, that’s fine, enjoy your evening‘ Sade read with disbelief. He was dismissing her, just like that without a fight?

Fine. She would enjoy her evening. Sade shrugged and resumed her work, but deep down she wanted him to email her again… He did not.

When it was 12 noon, Sade grabbed her hand bag, and made her way to the bathroom to touch up on her face, satisfied with the way she was looking, she strolled out of the office at 12.05pm, and decided to have lunch at La Ponti pizza, after all.

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Wale saw her reply and smiled lazily. Typical Nigerian woman! That was why he had gone off them for a long time. Ok then, he would not bother her. He had vowed not to bother her if she said no and he was sticking to his vow. He did not want to intrude in a married woman’s life, and now was the time to stop,-.

Glancing at his wrist watch, and realising it was 12.15, Wale grabbed his jacket and made his way out of the office to have lunch. No point going to La Ponti pizza since he won’t be having company, he’ll get a sandwich nearby instead.

As he walked by La Ponti pizza, from the window, he saw her. She was sat at a table, and staring into space. Her food was set before her. She looked sensational, even in deep thought. Move on Wale, Move on… His wiser inner self warned; but he could not. He would go in and say hello, just this once- for five minutes.

He strode assertively into the restaurant and smiled. An attractive lady whistled at him as he walked towards Sade.

“This seat taken? He asked and he sat down without even waiting for an answer.
She looked at him and he was almost sure he saw a look of pleasure cross her face.

“ is the food that bad?” He was looking at her still full bowl of lasagne.

“ no.. I’m, no, it’s nice” Sade hated it when she was caught off guard.

“so…. I see you accepted my lunch request without letting me know? He raised his eyebrows in question, still smiling.

“No, I didn’t- I mean, not your lunch request, I thought to try it out myself” Sade replied, with her head cocked to one side. She was studying him.

“ Ok”- he glanced at his wrist watch – “We have just 30 minutes to have lunch, I challenge you to tell me a tiny bit about this stunner- who I know is happily married, but has managed to invade my dreams for the last one month..” he paused and winked..…”and Ill bore you about this ragged man sitting opposite you- should you wish to listen” he added as he pointed at him self.

Sade was amused at the fact that he called her stunner. He was so forward. She decided to tell a bit about her self; she knew she had to be careful not to disclose too much information.

Wale was listening intently to every word she said. She didn’t say much about her self, so far, but he knew she had an accounting degree and had been married for four years. They talked about generic things- Nigeria, politics, marriage, education–but Wale made sure he joked as much as he could, and he was pleasantly surprised to find her laughing at his jokes. Within minutes, both had begun to laugh and chat as if they had known each other for ever. For Sade, this was the first time in her life that she had felt at ease with the opposite sex. It was so wrong, but it felt so frigging right. For Wale, he had never enjoyed a woman’s company as he enjoyed Sades’ that afternoon. He knew he should leave her and continue his lunch elsewhere, but he couldn’t. He wanted to continue to make jokes, and talk to her. He wanted to do anything to make Sade Coker Williams reveal the dimples in her dazzling face.

As both of them laughed; totally engrossed in their conversation, they did not see as Jenny stood outside the bar, hidden behind a tree, watching them intently before angrily and vigorously taking notes in her little book.

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……It had taken Cell-Mobile 10 days to send her a new sim card. Eniola had been offered her old number, but she refused and requested for a new number instead. Her old number would only mean that Femi could reach her when he wanted. It was time for a new beginning. Now, it seemed that the new number had brought her a bit of good luck as she was concluding a conversation with an employment agency.

“Yes, yes, thank you, I can start on Wednesday” Eniola gushed, using her best voice, and trying hard to curtail her excitement.

“See you on Wednesday and congratulations once again” the voice replied.

Eniola thanked her, hung up, gave a shout of elation and began to dance. She had been offered a Job!! Finally! After everything, a small law firm which was not too far from her house had offered her a job which required her to help out with the cases on a junior level. She couldn’t believe it! “God is soo good”… she began to sing as she rummaged through her black hand bag, searching for the details of the address of the company again. She needed to carve the address into her mind so that she would not be late to work when the time came.

As she searched through her bag, she found a crumpled piece of paper. Thinking it was the address; she opened it and was surprised to have found a number written on it.

She remembered whose number it was. It was for the Brad Pitt of a Wentworth Miller she met three weeks ago. So that’s where the number was. She had searched for the number in that same bag and had not found it. She sat on her bed and studied the number. Should she call it? Was it being forward? She would call it. She was tired of being cautious. She missed Femi, but she would never go back to him while he was ; still married. No harm in harmless dating.

She looked at the number again as whispered the digits out. She dialled the number and it rang immediately. Eniola gasped and hung up. She didn’t even know what to say. She hadn’t caught his name! The second time, He answered on the third ring, his voice sounding every inch like what Eniola had imagined.

“Hello?” he drawled, his accent was surprisingly not heavily British.

“Hi, Um- Hi” Eniola stammered and paused. The stranger was silent; expecting her to speak.

“Um- I, you, we met when I bumped into you 2 or 3 weeks back- my bag fell and you hel-”

“Two weeks, 5 days and 10 hours exactly” He interrupted.

He remembered her!
“So did you have to attend speech therapy lessons eventually? He teased and Eniola relaxed.
“Actually yes, I have a repeat session today” she laughed, and so did he. She liked his laughter.

“So, I am taking it that you are calling me because you want us to have that drink that I owe you?”

Eniola’s instincts were screaming:’say yes! say yes! “No, not really, I’m just calling to say hi”

“Ok then, if you’re calling to say hi, can I then use that opportunity to ask you out to dinner- Friday at 8pm?”

Eniola clenched her fist in joy. He wanted to have dinner with her? She walked towards the mirror. He found her beautiful enough to want a date with her?

“Actually, I would like that very much, thank you”

“ great, ill pick you up at 8pm on Friday…… send me your address and please, come hungry, I have a heavy appetite” She laughed at his cheekiness.

“Ok see you then- wait!” Eniola hesitated before adding; “I- I’m not, I don’t even know your name”

He laughed before replying, “you amaze me already, I thought you were never going to ask- name’s Myles…. Myles Browne”

“Myles Browne”……. Eniola mouthed his name.

“Eniola Rhodes” she replied… “But you can call me Eni”

“Ill call you Eniola…. It’s a beautiful name” He surprised her by pronouncing her name exactly as she would have.

He hung up a few seconds later and Eniola spun around her room dancing uncharacteristically before slumping on her bed, dizzy from spinning. She’d scored twice in a day, a job, now a date!

She wished she could reach Sade and tell her everything that had just happened. Gosh! Sade did not even know that she and Femi were no longer together. She was sure Sade would have even picked pretty dresses out for the bridesmaids to wear. She dialled Sade’s number again, and sighed as she got the voice message. She was worried, but she knew she could not go to Sade’s house, her friends’ husband had forbidden her from visiting. She left a voice message as she informed Sade of her number change. “Lord, I know my friend is OK, please take care of her and find a way for me to reach her” Eniola prayed silently before jumping out of bed to find a stunning out fit for her date the following Friday- she had to get it right.

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As Wale drove home from work in his new company car, he began to think about how much his life had changed since the day Jenny re- entered his life. Since that day, everything had been different. He had gotten a promotion and a car, and he had also been given a chance to get to know the most amazing woman he had ever met, after his mother.

He smiled as he thought about the last week. He had spent every single lunch break with Sade. Sade resumed work at 8.30 and left at 3.45 each day, hence making their lunch slightly shorter than an hour. He did not know why she left work that early, for she was quite unwilling to give out a lot of information about her self. He was fine with it, he would not push. Every time, they had lunch, though; Wale discovered that He loved being with her. She was wiser than he was. She spoke with the maturity of someone who had been through a lot in life. He found it amusing that she wore the most expensive clothes and had the most exquisite bag and shoe collection he had ever seen in his life- he assumed that her husband must be a very wealthy man. She invaded his thoughts every day in every possible way. For the first time in his life, Wale discovered that he did not think about sex. All he wanted was to hear her laugh. He was content in her laughter. She never spoke about her husband, which Wale found a bit puzzling, considering the fact that she’d initially said she’d been happily married. Wale also found it baffling that she had never held a mobile phone, nor did she receive phone calls. He had asked for her number, but she had politely refused. He understood, she was a happily married woman and he was an intruder. What he did not understand was why she always met him for lunch; never complaing or talking about her husband, and especially why the sadness in her eyes always dissapeared whenever she saw him.

As he turned his key to allow himself into the flat, He heard some music in the hall way. Eniola too was back from work-and she was singing along to the tune. He had not spoken to her in what seemed like a lifetime, due to the pressures of his new job. Besides, Eniola too seemed preoccupied lately. He could hear her on the phone till late, laughing and chatting with someone. He had no doubt that it was a man. Maybe she was back with Femi after all- women!

“Ens- sharrap! Your voice is making oxygen scarce” he joked as he knocked on her door.

Eniola opened up her door and leaned on the door way, blocking his view from her room.

“Busy man, how now? How have you been- I can see the money is rolling in? She asked as she eyed his nice suit.

“What can a man do? Eh? I hadn’t seen your big nose in a while and I just wanted to say hi and check up on you?” he replied as he dusted his suit.

“Ok, see ya” She attempted to shut the door but Wale used his hand to deter it.

“Wait -Eniola, you are a woman, tell me, if you were a happily married woman, would you have lunch every single day with a single guy?”

“Wale Ogunbiyi, what are you up to? Who is the married woman? My goodness Wale!!” she groaned loudly and slapped her forehead.

Wale laughed dryly. Eniola was a drama queen.

“There’s this Nigerian girl in my—-”He started to tell Eniola about Sade but she interrupted immediately.

“Save the story Wale, Can’t you stay off women for what- one month?! A married woman??!! Wale, please don’t go there” she added firmly as she attempted to slam the door again. He grimaced as he hit his arm on the door.

“Ouch! Eniola, be patient…am I that bad? OK, I know, I am that bad- was that bad” he raised up both arms in mock surrender. “But, Eniola, that’s the thing, with this woman, I don’t want to sleep with her! I just want to hold her and make her happy…. You know.. Like make her smi-”

“puh-leeeze Wale! I just want to hold her and make her happy!” Eniola interrupted him again. “All you think about is sex, sex, sex. You are arrogant, immature and most off all, selfish- If I were you, I would steer clear of a married woman and continue my nonsense with the likes of those foolish girls that you carry about.” ” the woman must be a stupid, shameless fool for even thinking of committing adultery- with anyone” she added.

Wale stepped backwards in shock. Eniola was usually rude to him but this was serious. The look in her eyes proved that she meant every single thing she had said. Gosh, he really was a mess.

“ Eniola, I know, its true, I am horrible, but I have never felt this way before with this woman- I am so attracted to her and I think she is attracted to me too.. I can see it in her eyes..Oh my days! Eniola I cant stop thinking about her, but, I don’t want to sleep with her- well, not mainly” Eniola rolled her large eyes. “If only she was not married” he added, almost to himself.

Eniola had heard enough… “Wale, abeg! I take God beg you, don’t come and disturb my peace with your tales of love. If in the highly unlikely event that you still feel like this in the next 3 months, maybe I can then offer you genuine advice, but for now, my dear, take a cold shower- The shameless thing IS MARRIED!- gosh! women of nowadays cheat like crazy!”.

“Ok, whatever- you dont have to insult her”. He sighed wearily “but let me even tell you a little bit about her maybe you can–” Wale pleaded.

Eniola rolled her eyes again, hissed and slammed the door to her room before he could even continue.

Wale sadly retreated to his room and started his laptop. Deep in thoughs, the first thing he typed when his Google page displayed was: ‘List of UK divorce lawyers- specialising in complex cases’.

It was time to put his life in order.

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Eniola was pacing. She did that any time she was nervous. It was better than the stammering. She looked at her wall clock. It was 7,30pm. He would be here soon. Maybe she should cancel? Did she look ok? She had spent the whole week trying on dozens of dresses. She looked into the mirror and eyed her self. She usually wore little make up and today would be no different. A bit of lip gloss and powder for the shine would do. Her hair was natural so she combed it up in an afro and wore her best black dress. She tilted her waist and admired her back side. Yes, she did look nice. OK, so she wouldn’t cancel.

She couldn’t believe that she was actually going on a date! With a white man! She laughed as she remembered how she and Sade had said they would never date white men! Nothing about the colour of course, it was the culture. Eniola knew that she was so set in her Yoruba ways that it would take a genius of white man or any other non- Yoruba man to date her. Her phone rang and she jumped. It was Myles. He was downstairs. Grabbing her shoes and taking one final glance at her self. Eniola stepped out of the house. She was going to enjoy today as much as possible. It was time to live life again.

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As Myles drove towards the restaurant, Eniola found herself laughing and talking to him like they had known each other for ever. He picked a cosy Thai restaurant in Chiswick. He was a perfect gentle man as he opened the car door for her and held out her seat for her in the restaurant.

As they got talking, she learnt a few things about him. He was 35 years old. He worked as a civil engineer with a rail company. He had lived in Nigeria, Dubai and the UK. “That’s why my accent can never be well placed” he explained. He had never dated a white woman because he loved black women. Eniola had blushed when he said that. He was a Christian- although not born again- he believed in God. Eniola could work with that. She decided that she would minister to him to be born again if they did have a relationship. They argued about life, love and sex. Eniola told him she did not believe in sex before marriage. He told Eniola she was nuts. They both laughed.

The food came and Eniola had never tasted such luxury. The rice was spiced with basil and chillies that made her eyes water. For a non-african man, Myles sure loved his chilli. He wolfed down the peppers and even cleared Eniola’s plate for her when she’d complained that she couldn’t eat any more. To her utter amazement, he could say some words in Yoruba, and he understood the language vaguely.

Eniola had mango sorbet and coconut ice-cream made with semi skimmed milk for desert. Myles teased her all through and accused her of watching her weight as he dug into his full fat milky sundae. The meal was over and both of them suddenly fell silent. Eniola was watching him. No, he did not look like Wentworth Miller, he was better looking in a nerdy way. He had a habit of pushing his glasses up his nose each time he laughed. He was attentive to every word she said and for the first time in her life, Eniola felt like a woman.

“You are beautiful” Myles spoke first, interrupting her thoughts.

She blushed and looked into her lap. “Look up at me” he commanded and Eniola found herself obliging. “You are beautiful” he affirmed and this time around she smiled into his eyes. He reached out for her and held her hand in his.

“ I know its only our first date, but I have never had this much fun with any one, not even when I lived in Lagos with all those beautiful women” … “ I don’t know why, but I feel like I want to see you again…. Do you want to see me again?” His blue eyes were shining with so much affection that Eniola gulped. This was all going too soon. 6 weeks ago, she had walked out of Femi’s house vowing never to go near a man again. She should slow things down a bit, maybe ask him to give her time to think…

She found herself saying “Yes, I will see you again… and again”

Myles dropped her at home an hour later. They joked and laughed all the way to her house. He walked her to her door step and asked her to close her eyes. Eniola thought he was going to kiss her and she made up her mind that she would push him away if he did, but she closed her eyes.

He leaned towards her and kissed her forehead. “Goodnight my angel, thank you for bumping into me that day” and with that Myles walked to his car; ignited the engine and drove off.

Eniola smiled sweetly and walked into her house. How wonderful the night had been.

As she shut the door to her flat and sank to the floor in sheer bliss, Myles continued driving for a minute or two, before pulling over his car. He picked up his phone and dialled a number… He flung his glasses off and winked at himself in the rear- view mirror as he waited for an answer. It was answered on the second ring. Myles spoke without confirming who it was…..

“ JT, I have secured another date- we are one step closer– I told you I was a bloody genius!!!”.

“MB, I hate to admit it, you are a genius- needless to say, your good looks helped matters–“

” Whatever JT, I am the best– but you can’t bloody accept it” and with that; Myles hung up the phone; threw his gun into the glove compartment and sped into the darkness of the night……………

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Thank you x 10 for reading BBs… gosh, its not easy doing this.. but as a committed writer (can i get an AAAMMEEN somebaady?!!!)…I go dey continue the story…. see you next week!! blessings!
P.S: i found a working title for the series: ‘Like a woman’s fury’…if you have heard of this title before, please let a sister know o.. make them no sue my ass.
enjoy ur weekend…(sorry I posted before Monday, i thought to leave this with you over the weekend…)

Bimbsxxxxx

This Crazy World…

LAST WEEK On BBs: Sade and Wale realise thier intense attraction for each other was deepening; unknown to them, Jenny is all too aware of this fact. It was the beginning of deeper things to come… READ ON

……..Eniola had not heard from Femi in 3 weeks and she was surprised at the fact that she did not miss him as much as she thought she would. She had been busy applying for jobs and he had crossed her mind a few times, but not long enough to cause a great impact. She wondered if she was weird for not really missing someone she thought she loved with all her heart. Maybe she hadn”t loved him as much as she thought she had. She sighed as she walked down the road towards the library to continue her job hunting. Truthfully, she was tired of job hunting. She had applied to about 100 companies in the last 3 weeks and all she got was the usual… “Unfortunately, your application has been unsuccessful”…. It made her mad. All she wanted was something along the lines of Law, the course she was studying. But no company was ready to hire you without the relevant experience. Eniola hissed at the irrationality of the situation. How could you get the experience when no one would hire you? She was running short on cash and her rent was due in a few weeks. She decided that she would call Frank at Callacab- her old job, and see if he had any openings available. She dialled his number and hated herself for doing so.

He answered on the first ring.

“Frank Mbachu- Emu Beee Hay (MBA)- of CallaCab. How can I help” Eniola giggled as he announced his MBA.

“Frank!! It”s me, Eniola” her attempt at enthusiasm was flawed.

“En-who? Ohhhh Eniola, rannaway Eni” He sounded very happy to hear from her.

“I didn’t run away Frank, anyway, I am back now, and I am wondering if-”
Frank interrupted her before she could finish speaking..

“Eni, I told you before, I am British born. You cannot come and go when you want” He paused for a second before adding “there is no job for you anyway, we hired Olachi, who is better than you, and is Igbo too- from my Village”

Franks’ Brit- Igbo accent seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. She suddenly realised that going back to Callacab was not the way forward. She felt foolish now as she held the phone in her hands.

“Its ok Frank, I”m sorry I called, Ill be ok, thanks” Eniola was about to hang up when Frank shouted her name.

“Frank yes?” she asked.

“You know, Eni- bebe, you are beeriful , even if you are Yorowba”

Eniola was struggling to curb her laughter. Was Frank going to ask her on a date? Was he trying to toast her? Oh my word! She thought.

“And I was just thinking, whether you know, me, Frank MBA, take you, for a rendezvous….”

That was it! Eniola burst out laughing at the moment he said “rendezvous” …. Who on earth ever asked a woman out with those words? She was laughing hard and could not control her self. She heard Frank hiss and hang up. Eniola kept on laughing so hard that she did not see that she was walking into someone who was rushing to catch a bus.

The sound of her body slamming into another person”s chest was harsh. She staggered and fell backward, her handbag crashing onto the hard pavement, the contents spilling out, she watched in dismay as her sim card and phone landed into a near by drainage with a loud thud. She heard a man ask “are you all right?” Eniola sat on the floor and was dazed for a second. Her phone had broken and she began to scamper for her handbag and its contents.

“Let me help” the stranger offered, and Eniola saw a white hand reach down to gather her stuff for her. She looked up into the face of the person she had bumped into, and her mouth dropped open.

The first thing Eniola thought was “Wentworth Miller- Prison break”. He was the most handsome white man she had ever seen in her entire life. He wore a pair of glasses and through them; Eniola could see that he had piercing blue eyes. His blond hair was cropped short. No!- Brad Pitt Eniola thought again as the man continued to help her gather her stuff. She was just staring at him- she wished her mouth would close.

“I can understand you enjoy bumping into strangers, but do you enjoy sitting on the floor and staring open mouthed at total strangers too? He smiled at her and his face revealed a dimple on his left cheek. He was holding out his hand to her.

Eniola ignored his hand and shut her mouth with a snap. She struggled to her feet and collected her hand bag, before stammering ”t-thank you”.

“not your fault” he answered, “actually… “Its mine” He winked at her and Eniola felt herself swaying… “ egba mi…I”m going to faint” she thought.

“so since I destroyed your phone, and possibly impaired your speech, I owe you a drink” he continued to speak and Eniola was just staring and blinking like a doll.

“here” he scribbled something into a paper…” when your speech is back, call me, and we”ll grab a drink or two” He thrust the paper into her hand and smiled.

“Hope you’ll call” he added before turning back and hopping onto the approaching bus.

Eniola watched the bus speed away before she whispered

“B-b-but, what is your name……?

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It was midnight. The house was quiet and everyone was asleep- everyone but Sade. She sat up in her bed and was thinking. Her mind was working overtime now that she had an idea of how much she was earning after deductions. She needed 6 months for her plan to fully materialise. She looked up in the dark of her room and silently prayed. “Lord, please let me get out of this marriage- alive”. She could hear some movements in the hallway. Bode was home. From the foot steps, She assumed he was walking towards her.. The foot steps got closer and closer. Sade”s heart was beating. She was hoping that he would not come into her room. She was not ready for assault today. Usually, she had been successful in severing her mind and soul from the attack, while her body was being assaulted. But, her encounter with Wale had unlocked something in her. She suddenly wanted to be loved; she was desperate for someone, anyone to love her. Tears slid down her smooth face in the silence of the night. The foot steps stopped right in front of her bedroom door and paused. Sade closed her eyes tightly and gulped. He was definitely coming. “Lord, let it be quick today, please” she prayed again, silently. Suddenly, the foot steps retreated, and began to walk away, and with each step, her husband went further away from her door step. Sade was relieved, he had changed his mind. She stealthily leaped out of bed and tip toed to the bathroom. She needed to be sure he was gone. He was. There was no one by her bedroom door. As she tip toed back to her bed, She heard a voice. It was Bode. He was whispering, he seemed to be on the phone, and possibly in his study. His voice was muffled and Sade strained her ears hard, hoping to listen to what he was saying.

“ Did you do it?” Bode whispered, “I don”t care” he paused, “ill double it” he swore… before adding “No, I SAID, no traces- No, just the Wife, and the two pretty faces- square them all”. His voice was urgently impatient.

Sade chilled from where she was standing. Her heart was pumping. Who was he trying to harm? Who was them? She could not afford to stand by the bathroom any longer for she heard as the door to his study shut silently, and the footsteps started to sound again, this time around, they were getting nearer. He was coming back to her room.

Sade leaped in two strides and sank into her bed. She shut her eyes tightly and pretended to fall asleep. Fear gripped her and she almost let out a scream of despair. He had entered her room. He walked up to her bed and flung the duvet off her shivering body.

Slapping her twice he whispered “wake up, you beautiful bitch”.

Sade forced her eyes open and began to mentally sever her mind from what was about to happen.

“Sangeya is not like you, not as beautiful…, but you will not give me a child, even after 4 years”…. He was growling and drawing lazy lines across her bare skin. His touch made her cringe.

“Sangeya’s child will carry on the Coker- Williams heritage, but you will remain my wife- my beautiful, untainted wife……” He was climbing onto the bed now. And Sade had frozen in fear.

He was brutal but was over in a few minutes. He bit into her neck deeply before he jumped off her bed.

He reached the door and stopped. Sade was afraid that he was coming back for another round, but he spoke instead… “I love you, forever and ever, you are mine” “ anyone who tries to take you away from me, dies first, before you follow” he added before shutting the door ever so lightly and creeping away.

Sade sat in bed for 4 hours, after the assault, weeping silently, before finally falling asleep out of sheer exhaustion.

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Five days after that incident, she sat at the breakfast table that Ma had laid and tuned to the Nigerian News Channel. There was breaking news- the family of the late Senator Kumi Daniels had been declared missing. His wife and two beautiful daughters seemed to have vanished from the surface of the earth- the mother had picked up her children from school and that was the last they heard of them, four days ago. The Nigerian police force had swung into full action in ensuring that the family would be found safe- international assistance was being sought from the UK and the USA to ensure their safety”. The remote control fell out of her hand as she listened.

Realisation dawned on her as to what had become of this innocent family. She now knew who Bode was referring to as ‘them’ during his hushed phone conversation.

Suddenly, she began trembling in her seat and had to be forced to her feet by Ma, who held her in a cuddle and soothingly assured her that all would be all right.

If only Ma knew.

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The next few weeks were uneventful for Wale. He settled down considerably well in his new role and enjoyed every single minute of it, the freedom of being able to delegate to other staff was exhilarating. So far, nothing unusual had happened with Jenny. He hardly saw her, and when he did, she just scowled at him as her eyes twitched; he found it amusing that she always carried an exercise book with her, even after the training, but apart from that, Jenny remained harmless. Wale was more relaxed now; he could concentrate on work and life now that it appeared Jenny was not after his life as he first thought. Although work was going on fine, emotionally, Wale knew he was a mess. He could not stop thinking about Sade. He had avoided her for the last 3 weeks since their lift encounter, and it seemed like she avoided him too, for he had just not seen her since that day. He realised that he missed seeing her beautiful smile. He had typed an email out in his inbox and saved it in his draft since that day, while he contemplated sending the email to her. Now, as he sat at his desk, he realised that he would take the chance. He knew he was treading on dangerous grounds. But he could not sleep! The woman had come into his life to totally disrupt it. If she replied saying no, he vowed that would never disturb her again. He would respect the married woman”s wishes.

He re-read the email again: “ hi stunner, I’m having lunch at La Ponti pizza this afternoon at noon, I would like a chance to apologise for my ungentle manly behaviour the last time I saw you in the lift… you know you cant say no. He edited a few words and changed the time to 12.30pm, before clicking on send.

As the email went through his heart was beating fast. He decided to count one to twenty, hoping that by the time he reached 20, she would have responded.

He was on number 17 when his phone rang, completely startling him. He glanced at the caller ID and it was a withheld number. Maybe Sade had found his number and was calling to say she would love to have lunch with him…

“Hello?” he asked cautiously, deepening his voice to make it sound sexier.

“Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssstaaaa chairman, director Wale of London.. yes yes…”

Oni, his parents” driver; screamed crazily at the other end of the line.

“Oni, how are you?” Wale could not hide the huge disappointment and irritation in his voice.

“PRAI- PRAI- PRAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIZEEEEEEEE da Halmighty baba Father” Oni was deafening Wale”s ears by the second.

“I say, Messista Wale, Meessta Wale, I say PRAI- PRAI- PRIASEEEE— Not wanting to risk blocking his ear drum totally, Wale interrupted him quickly.

“Oni, I am at work, what is it this time?”

“ I was drifin to Ikorodu for mummy, mummy say you don become director of London- PRAI- PRAI-”

Wale interrupted him again.. “Yes oni, I got promoted, is that why you called? Thank you and good by-”

Wale was about to hang up when Oni shouted “WAIT SA” with so much effort that the lady sitting next Wale rolled her eyes and muttered something about ‘peace and quiet’

“ meeesta Wale, eleyi ko da o, eess not good. Why you do me and Muli like diz? I say I want nokia and t-shat, you no answer. Meesta Wale, God go blezz you o. amin o, plis, for Muli…”

“Oni, ask mummy to give you N10, 000 from the money I sent her, and please don’t call me again, I WILL CALL YOU” Wale needed to emphasise the last part of his statement.

“N10,000? Emi? N10.000.. Mesta Wale, PRAI- PRAI- PRAISSS DA LORNNN FOR U O.. PRAINSE DA MIGHRRIE…JESU”……

Wale hung up quickly and suddenly he began to laugh really hard…. He turned to the lady next to him and said “isnt it a crazy world we live in”?

Just then the reply from Sade came through….

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Thank you for reading BBS.. see you next Monday- I will have to update weekly now,
( every Mondays) because i need ‘thinking time’ lol..Its kinda hard trying to pull this story off without thinking it through well…. please bear with me and manage Weekly update– God go blezz u…tank you ;0)

p.s: i am not a smell fetish o. lol. i just love a man that smells good, and my fav fragrances are davidoff cool water and armani code, both of which my husband wears.. he he!

p.s.s: Lol. I did not make up Sangeya’s language o, i did my little research just for u! it is actually zimbabwean language.

The beginning.

LAST WEEK ON BBs: As Sade struggles to come to terms with Sangeya as a new wife to her husband, she and Wale meet in the lift. Could this be the start of a dangerous liaison? READ ON……

….Wale was the first out of the induction room once the leader announced lunch. He did not think he would sit here and have lunch with the rest. He needed to get away from Jenny; it felt as if she was sucking the oxygen out of the room during the first 3 hours of the induction. Jenny had said nothing all day, she had just been writing some notes in her training book as if her life depended on it. Wale was amused. Maybe, Jenny did not come to seek him after all, maybe she was here to work, and maybe things would be ok.. He wasn’t convinced, but it helped to think along that line.

He stepped into the lift and cursed slightly when the lift stopped a few seconds later, to open on the floor directly below the induction floor. He hated lifts, especially when they stopped on every floor, he wanted to be alone in this lift to think and enjoy the ride down- his thoughts were interrupted as she stepped into the lift. It was Sade, the woman who had invaded his dreams long before he she would ever imagine. She looked stunning again. Her tweed suit was well fitted to her slim body and her hair was swept back behind her ears. She held in her hand a classy channel hand bag. Wale gulped and nodded his hello at her. Shoot! Meeeeeeen, this na fag up… see as I dey do like chicken.. Wale, sharpen up.. c;mon he thought to himself. Sade smiled back at him but did not speak. The silence was deafening.He decided to speak first.

‘ sooo…you are kinda new- right?’
She liked the way he said ‘kinda’ and ‘right’- she loved his smell!.
‘Yes I am… – getting used to it’ she replied, acting totally noncommittal.
‘Ok…I know I’ve seen you around and all, but I have never formally introduced myself’ I’m Wale Ogunbiyi’
‘I know who you are – I am Sade Coker Williams’ she responded, looking steadfastly at the numbers displayed on the lift as they descended through the floors. 6-5-4…..
‘Mrs?’ Wale asked, raising his eyebrows and grinning. Her side view was perfect, he saw as the lift fan blew her hair slightly around her ears. He wanted help her place the stray hair back in place. He clenched his fists instead.

Sade glanced at him. What perfect eyebrows!… ‘Yes… Mrs… happily married Mrs.. ’ ‘- to a wonderful man’ Sade did not know why she added that statement.

Sade smiled and massaged her 3 carat diamond engagement ring, which was nested above her wedding band.

Wale saw her smile and followed her gaze. He looked from her massive diamond ring to her face. Too bad, she was happily married! She just said so!

‘Shame’ he muttered

‘What did you say?’ asked Sade looking up again to the lift indicator… 3….2…. the lift would soon touch down.

‘I said it’s a shame- It takes more to convince me’ Sade tore her gaze away from the lift indicator which showing their arrival on the first floor and looked at his face-into his eyes. The air was suddenly hotter than normal and her body involuntarily broke out in goose pimples…

‘c-convince you of what?’ she barely whispered.

Wale did not know what was wrong with him. His body was acting strangely, his heart was beating and he was almost sure she could hear it. His body moved, and he stepped closer to her- so that his face was a few inches away from hers. He looked deeply into her eyes, which were hazel brown.

‘That you are not as happy as you think…that…. You… need something….. Someone…’ He too was whispering. Sade was almost sure he was going to kiss her. She did not understand why her body was betraying her like this, but damn, she wanted to be kissed by this stranger. She leaned closer to him and closed her eyes….

Ground floor! Shrieked the computerised voice in the lift as it bumped to a halt and slid open. Sade jerked away from Wale who appeared amused by it all. He winked at her and stepped into the crowd, quickly disappearing before Sade could say another word.

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Once in the safety of the corner, Wale stopped walking fast, his heart was pounding hard. What the hell just happened in there? Did he just say to a MARRIED woman that she was lying? That she needed someone? Was he mad? This confidence he had inherited from his father would not destroy him one day! He wiped his hand over his hair. She was stunning. He knew he had thought about it many times, but it was confirmed as he stood close to her, and smelt her body. Her eyes were brown! Which Nigerian had brown eyes? This was bad. Wale had never felt this attracted to anyone in his entire life. It was like a force was pulling him towards her. He recalled what just happened again. She had closed her eyes.. Had she? …. Could she? ….. Was she attracted to him too? Or was it because he had exhausted her with his remarks? Wale sat down on a near by bench. This was nonsense. He knew he had a whole lot of issues ahead of him in Sims& Sims with Jenny around. He did not even know what the future held for him in this company, and now, there was another woman who was trying to complicate matters….

He knew what he would do. He would stop thinking about her – it was easy, he could stop thinking about Sade, he had seen many beautiful women and he could control his thoughts towards them. Sade could not be different. He got up from the bench and walked towards the deli. He was here for a reason, and that reason was to rise to the top, and also to tackle whatever issues he had with Jenny while he was at it. The last thing he needed was an attractive woman to mess things up for him….. He would avoid her at all costs, and stop thinking about her, or even dreaming about her.

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Wale was back in the induction room half an hour later. The trainer was talking excitedly and showing some power point presentation, explaining something about the growth of Sims and Sims. An hour later, the excited leader was still talking. Wale had not heard one thing he’d said. His mind had been on one person. Sade Williams. No matter what he did, he could not get her out of his head.

From the other side of the induction room, Wale did not notice as Jenny studied him. He did not perceive that Jenny knew him well, too well. He did not see as she made notes of his countenance in her exercise book. He did not know that instead of making notes to accompany the training, Jenny was writing, updating something:

10am…. W walks in and avoids me, sits next to Olivares
11am… W looks around the room and stares at me…. Hopeful… Hopeful… hate him.. HATE him
12.05pm… W walks out for lunch,
12.35 pm…W comes back from lunch… Oh no! There is a look on his face… I know that look… It is the look he had the first time he saw me, only this look was more intense. It is the look of attraction, intense, profound attraction… deeper than the attraction he had for me… I know!!… The bastard! He has just seen a beautiful woman that shook him up….

1. 37 pm…..W is still thinking about this woman… He is not listening to the trainer….this woman must be special, she must be striking. She must work in this office, or very near by…

Then suddenly Wale snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at Jenny; her head was bent, almost too close to her book, and she was scribbling something vigorously. Wale shook his head and resumed his thoughts on from where he had had stopped.

Jenny continued to scribble hysterically, drawing circles and squares on the paper, crosses and triangles… before eventually writing in bold… FIND WHO THE WOMAN IS.

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Sade was picked up from the French school at 4pm on the dot. Mickey was never late. She sank into the comfort of the car seats and closed her eyes in exhaustion. She still could not get over what had happened earlier on in the lift. The fact that she had closed her eyes! How stupid she must have looked! And the nerve had looked amused. Had she parted her lips too? ‘Oh my days’!!!!! Sade groaned loudly and Mickey pressed the brakes.

‘Everything all right madam?’

‘I’m fine, thank you’ Sade was curt with Mickey. There was something about him that she did not like. He was slimy and had a way of ensuring everything that she did, got back to Bode. She knew he watched her every move and Sade had to be extra careful around him.

Arriving home half an hour later, Sade was surprised to find the dining room had been re-arranged. The sitting room too had changed. The paintings had been moved, the furniture position altered. She stood in the sitting room and just stared. Just then Ma walked in.

‘Mrs Williams- you are back?’

‘Ma, how are you? – What happened? asked Sade as she pointed to the direction of the paintings.

‘it was….-‘ Ma began…..

‘Sangeya’ completed another voice. Sade spun round to face Sangeya.

‘I change sitting room’ Sangeya re-iterated.

‘Oh’! Was all Sade could say.

‘I do my sitting room, how ever I want, I hate it before’ Sangeya was walking round the sitting room, and talking to no one in particular. Sade and Ma just stared.

‘ too rich people, no style- As for me, I belief in Rarama sezvinonzi uchafa nhasi’ Sangeya continued, looking into space, with a dazed look on her face.

Ma looked at Sade…..’ what is she saying?’ she whispered. Sade shrugged ‘I don’t know’.

Sangeya spoke ‘Ingrid, teerera– LISTEN…I said… Rarama sezvinonzi uchafa nhasi– live as if you will die today’

Ma nodded and left the room. Sade turned to follow suit when Sangeya stopped her.

‘Why you take rubbish from him?’ she asked, sizing Sade from top to bottom.

‘I am not going to grace your question with a reply’ replied Sade as she started to walk out of the room.

Sangeya laughed. It was a throaty laughter, like someone who had been smoking for 50 years. ‘Foolish woman, only beautiful, no brains’ Sangeya continued to laugh.

Sade increased her pace, and before long, she was in the comfort of her room, safe from the insanity she called home. She snuggled into her duvet and began to replay the day’s events in her mind, slowly and carefully. She wished she could be like Sangeya and ‘live like she would die today’. She was no Sangeya, She was Sade Coker Williams. She sat up in bed and pondered. She had to stop this. Wale would only slow down her plans. It was dangerous for him. It was worse for her. What if she fell for him? Sade shook her head stubbornly. No! She could not fall for him. She was only attracted to him. That was normal.. or was it? Where was Eniola when she needed her? Tomorrow she would buy a new sim card and a mobile phone, She had Eniola’s number written somewhere, she needed advice desperately… but on second thoughts, she would not say anthing to Eniola. Sade shook her head again as she weighed the thousand thoughts that flew across her mind. There was no need to raise false alarm, nothing had happened yet. If it got worse, she would find a way to reach her best friend and share, but for now, she would put a stop to her emotions. She would stop thinking about him and focus on her escaping from Bode. Yes, she would avoid him at all costs.

Satisfied in its new determination to stay clear of Wale;her tired physical body fell asleep; but Sade Coker- Williams’ spirit remained awake, yearning, hoping, wishing for Wale Ogunbiyi.

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At the other end of London, Jenny lay awake for hours, going through her notes. She laughed loudly as she recalled the look she had seen on Wale’s face earlier on- The Bloody Bastard. Now, she had to tread carefully and watch more intensely before she acted. Her left eye twitched in agreement with her emotions.It seemed to twitch more often since she stopped taking her Lithium pills. She would take the pills later, for now, she had a mission, and she would fulfill that mission if it was the last thing she did on earth. She brought out her pen, and once again, began to write vigorously, not stopping to rest until the crack of dawn……

The story has just begun.

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Thank you for reading BBs, see you next week( not sure about Monday but most likely) I love the feedback I get from everyone so please continue to comment, email, and of course, criticize- anon and non- anon.. lol
have a fantantantantantanbulous weekend! lol…

Dangerous Liason-

LAST WEEK ON BBs- Eniola decided that it was over between herself and her cheating ex- fiancee Femi, it was time to close that door of her life and move on. Sade is caught off guard with the arrival a new woman in her home…… READ ON

….All this was not making any sense to Sade. Her eyes travelled the room and rested on 2 suitcases which stood boldly in the hall way. She turned to Bode for an explanation, who simply grabbed Sangeya’s hand and held her expanded waist closer to his. ‘Ingrid- serve dinner for two, best china in the house; NOW’ Bode barked at Ma, who had been standing in the dining room. Ma scurried away to carry out his orders.

Sade smiled bitterly as the situation struggled explained it self. This must be his new catch. Sade was used to Bode’s adultery only that he had never brought them home. This though was different – Sangeya shook Bode’s hand off hers and took a step towards Sade.

‘Your first wife?, so, If he no tell you, I tell’ she started, speaking in a slight broken English with her deep Zimbabwean accent that made it difficult for Sade to understand her instantly.

‘I never wanted baby, never wanted to marry’ her pronunciation of ‘marry’ sounded like ‘merry’. It amused Sade slightly.

‘ Bode cannot listen, always stubborn’ she continued, and Sade glanced at Bode when Sangeya called him stubborn, half expecting Bode to lash out at her or even slap her. On the contrary, Bode looked on at Sangeya with interest.

‘Now, I make foolish mistake, get pregnant, and zoom! He gone to Zimbabwe, gone to pay dowry, for marriage, I not want school, but I want money, I want clothes, I want Gucci… I am 18, young and beauti-’ Sangeya continued speaking, while gawking at their exquisite sitting room which was furnished to the teeth with delicate French and Regency furniture. A nice collection of expensive paintings decorated the walls; including a Van Gough–which of course was Bode’s most prized possession; followed by his Aston Martin. Sangeya seemed to have an acknowledgment for class for she squealed in delight when her eyes rested on the bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal 1990 which was standing contentedly in the Bar.

‘Enough!’ shrieked Bode suddenly interrupting his pregnant new wife. Sangeya stepped back and held up her hand and spat into Bode’s face; ‘Not me! Never dare shout at me- never ever shout at me, I, your WIFE, not your slave’

Sade’s mouth dropped open as the drama in front of her unfolded. This 18 year old child was speaking to Bode in a way that no one, not even his mother could. She was also pregnant for her husband? And Bode had gone to pay her dowry and she was now his wife? Everything did not make sense, but Sade wisely digested it sooner than later.

Bode held Sangeya’s hand which was still held up. ‘Honey, I don’t want you to shout in your condition, come, let’s go and get you rested’ Bode pulled Sangeya past Sade and led her wobbly figure towards the stair case. Mickey, the chauffeur grinned as he heaved Sangeya’s Louis Vuitton suitcases behind them.

Sade watched their retreating figures and sighed. She was hurt, but she was relieved. Her husband had met his match. The foolish man was too blinded by lust to see that this 18 year old child would finish him in no time. At least, he would get an heir- what he always wanted. Sade smiled suddenly as she realised that this could work to her advantage if she was smart. Sangeya could be a huge blessing in disguise. With Sangeya around, she could continue to work for Sims & Sims, without Bode noticing. Also Bode would not rape her now that he had a nice lay in the house, better still, she could escape quicker than she thought. It was time to fully pour herself into her escape plan. Something she had to do, without putting herself and her family in danger.

Sade ran her fingers through her hair and looked at Ma, who had been hiding in the dining room and watching them. As she approached, Ma looked very sorry indeed for Sade. ‘Ma, I am ok, it’s not that bad, honestly’ Sade said softly, although her eyes glistened with tears. Ma moved closer to Sade, held her crucifix to her lips before whispering something that Sade knew that Ma had been meaning to say for a long time… ‘<strong>Mitt Barn, Destroy the bastard; grind him to powder- and then let that dog of a child lick him up- Amen’

Sade smiled at Ma. Ma called her Mitt barn, Norwegian for ‘my child’ when ever she meant something. ‘Ma, there wont be powder for the dog to lick, by the time I am finished’. And with that, Sade wiped her tears with the back of her hand, turned in her heel, and raced upstairs to her haven, to rest her over burned brain and body. She woke up a few hours later and pushed the recent events to her memory bank as she struggled to pick a dazzling outfit to wear to work.

Tomorrow was the 16th of June, and it was the day of Sims & Sims new management induction. Her department was situated directly below the Induction floor. Somewhere, someone had mentioned that the Nigerian guy had been promoted, She sure would like to have a chat with him…. if only to have a friend……………………….

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It was the morning of 16th of June, and an excited Wale Ogunbiyi stood in front of the mirror and admired himself. He looked crisp. His Pierre Cardin suit had cost him £250, but he did not care. He felt like had become a rich man. He could not wait to tell his parents. He had spent the last couple of weeks clearing his desk for it to be transported to his new floor. Q had been grumpy all through and incredibly jealous. Wale had promised that he would not forget Q in this new post. Q had rolled his eyes in reply and had stomped off. Wale laughed at the memory. He would miss Q.

Today was the induction day for himself, Andrea and the other 6 staff who were new management of Sims& Sims. The best part of the day was when he got to pick his company car. The choice was a Ford Focus or a Fiat Punto- both brand new. Although Sims & Sims was not a market leader, they were better than other small IT companies with their benefits. A 2007 Ford Focus would do him nicely. Wale had picked his colour and had even ‘pimped’ the Focus in his head with alloy wheels and a nice Sony in-car DVD; he would even get the private number plates he had always dreamed off- ‘4 WAL8’. Wale laughed heartily and shot himself in the mirror with his fingers before spraying on his ‘Davidoff ‘cool water’ and heading off to work. As he caught the bus, he was smiling, because he knew that it was only a matter of time before he stopped sharing a flat with Eniola.

The old lady was on the bus again. Stick in hand, wrinkled face scowling at him as usual. ‘Emily, stolen food may be sweet, but the after taste will be bitter, bitter, bitter’ was her proverb for today. Wale smiled at her and thanked her before getting off the bus. He wondered what he owed this psychopath of a woman that she called him Emily.

When he arrived at the new floor he was amazed at how well kept this floor was, in comparison to where he used to work. There was even a water fountain and a fridge in the corner!

An over weight and annoyingly chatty HR lady was there to welcome him and lead him to the induction room. As they walked upstairs, he realised that the accounting department was nearer him than before. He quickly peeped into the department and the gorgeous Sade looked up from her desk. She flashed him a dazzling smile and Wale almost lost his balance as he smiled back. ‘You know, that’s the accounting department’ the HR lady said, seeing as Wale had staggered when they passed by it. ‘That lady is Sade Coker- Williams, who started a few weeks ago- you know, she is likely to be assigned to you as your accountant, so it’s a good thing she smiled it you, she is usually very drawn – you know’ the HR lady said, so fast that Wale feared she would chop her tongue off. ‘You know- she is very beautiful isn’t she; she dresses in the best designers you know. I wonder how much she is paid- how can she afford what she wears? You know, she was the first to wear the Jimmy choos summer collection, you know, not to gossip, but; she is very secr-…’.

Wale was sure he would scream if the lady said ‘you know’ one more time. The HR lady frowned as Wale interrupted her tittle-tattle with the question ‘where are we getting our induction?’ .The lady increased her pace dramatically in response to his question, and Wale almost had to run to catch up with her. Madness on the first day of work as senior staff!

As he was ushered into the same room that he had sat with Allison Mason a few weeks ago when she had announced his promotion, Wale quickly realised that it was arranged alphabetically, depending on your surname. He swiftly sized up the inhabitants of the room and rushed to sit near the table tagged ‘Jonathan Olivares’- Legal Dept Manager’, carefully avoiding ‘Andrea Ogunbiyi- Corporate Manager’ who sat on the left side of Jonathan. Wale’s original seat, which was next to Andrea’s, was left vacant. He hoped the Induction leader would not mind, He didn’t.

Clearing his throat, the Induction leader rapped his knuckles on the table and bellowed with pride… ‘Attention and good morning, Welcome to Sims & Sims. Some of you are new, some are old, but what matters most is that you are new to me, and of course to the post in which you have been specially chosen for. I, accompanied by my colleague, will be training you for a week, after which you will begin in your new role as managers in your field. I will take you through Sims & Sims, as we will come to discover, together, what a challenging, dynamic and different company this is…….’

Wale looked around the room as the induction leader spoke. Every face looked enthused, but one face looked more animated than others, it was Jenny’s face. It was not what the induction leader was saying, that excited Jenny, Wale could tell as he knew her well. Jenny seemed to glow because she was on the brink of achieving something evil- the twitch in her left eye confirmed it. He shrugged his shoulders in indifference and looked back at the induction leader, who was saying… ‘Your lives will change after this day, your lives will be altered after this position, and each of you will affect each other greatly….’

How bloody right the Induction leader was.

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Sade was staring at her P.C but her mind was absent again. She fondled her hair, then her nails, and back to her hair again. She was thinking about how Wale had reacted when he walked by her department. She could almost swear she had seen him stumble. She had smiled, and he had stumbled… what did that mean? Her heart was racing as she recalled the scene. She knew she had an effect on men. There was no big deal about that. What shocked her was the way she was behaving. It had never happened before- not since Bode, but of course, that feeling had been gradually replaced with hatred and contempt in Bode’s case. She could not explain the feeling. It was madness. She had only seen this man twice. Twice! And she could not stop thinking about him. It wasn’t just the fact that he was handsome. It was the fact that he carried an air of confidence around him that she could not explain. And that sparkle in his eye….Nothing seemed to faze him. Now she heard he had been promoted to be deputy head of Data management. ..

‘Sade Williams…Mrs Williams-’. Sade snapped out of her thoughts and looked in the direction of the person calling her name. ‘Sade Williams, your payslip’. It was the HR lady. She was holding a bunch of envelopes in her hand, and was shoving one of the envelopes in Sade’s way, under her nose. ‘Thank you’ replied Sade as she collected the payslip which almost pieced her skin. Once the lady was out of sight, Sade tore the first payslip she had ever received open in anticipation. She gasped as she saw the amount at the top- BEFORE Deductions- £ 2,000. She smiled… then her smile slowly disappeared as her eyes scrolled to the bottom, where the actual amount was after calculations- £1,200- damn! The tax deduction had killed it. Almost half of her earnings had gone to the tax man. Sade did not know that the tax laws in the country really ate into people’s earnings, now she understood why people complained. Folding the payslip away, Sade reached to her desk phone and began to dial an international number. It was answered on the third ring.

‘It’s me’ Sade whispered
‘I know’ the person replied..’ ‘How are you?’ He asked, concernedly
‘I got paid today’
‘I’m proud of you…’ she heard a smile his voice.
‘I’m sending £900 in a few minutes, use it as we discussed’
‘Yes I will, but Sade I-….’ He hesitated
‘Yes?’
‘I-I love you… be careful’ he replied before hanging up.
‘I love you too.. .’ replied Sade to the silent receiver and sighed. She loved her brother with all her heart, and hoped that she was not putting him in trouble by asking him to help out in this plan.

She logged off her P.C and got up from her desk. It was time to send the first instalment to her brother. He was the only person who knew what she was truly going through. She had forbidden him from saying a word to her parents. She could not risk them making a fuss about it in the Coker- Williams’ family home and thereby causing trouble for them selves.

She nodded to a few staff that hung around the corridor, some having lunch, some chattering, as she walked to the lift lobby. A few minutes later, the lift arrived, but it was packed full. She was about turning to take the stairs when the second lift arrived. Sade looked as the doors slid open and the whiff of ‘Davidoff cool water’ fragrance for men invaded the atmosphere. She stepped into the lift and felt her heart thumping as the lift closed on her.. She realised that there were only two people in the lift. Her self and Wale Ogunbiyi ..……..

Thank you for reading BBs- your comments, contributions and ofcourse criticisms are well appreciated…. SEE you on THURSDAY have a great week and God BLESS.

A closed door…

LAST WEEK ON BBs: The Beautiful Sade Coker- Williams, who also happened to be Eniola’s child hood friend was introduced to you, as was her marriage to her husband, who abused her physically and emotionally….For sade, her beauty was nothing but pain. READ ON

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Eniola woke up suddenly and looked around her room in bewilderment. She felt something press against her ribs and she shifted her body. She must have slept off on her laptop while job hunting. She looked around for her phone and saw the flashing symbol of missed calls. Rubbing her eyes, she propped her self up and began to go through her phone. There were 18 missed calls on her phone, 14 of which were from Femi. Her mum owned the remaining 4. She sent her mum a text message saying she was ok, that she would call her soon, as she knew her mum panicked unnecessarily. Her fingers trembled as she dialled into her voicemail to listen to Femi’s messages. Her mailbox was full. Femi had left 10 messages and had clogged up her mail box. Listening to message 1 of 10, her heart broke. His deep baritone voice was laden with heaviness. He was apologising and begging her to please pick up. She deleted it without thinking twice; she did the same for the remaining 9 messages, without listening to them.

Dumping her laptop unto the bed, Eniola struggled to the bathroom to clean up. Wale had left the bathroom a mess. She shook her head in disgust as she started to wash the dirty bathtub.

Her phone was ringing again. ‘Damn! She cursed, dropping the scrubbing brush into the bathtub. It was Femi. She hissed as she rejected the call. It rang again, twice this time.

Hello? She whispered, impatient and heart pounding.

‘Eni, I have been calling you babes… Listen babe, I know I messed up big time, I am sorry’ Femi rushed his words out to her like he knew he was being timed.

Silence

‘… Eniola, I am sorry, so sorry, please let’s meet up tonight and talk it through- pleeeaaaseee’

Silence

‘Ok I know you’re mad at me and all but just meet me tonight for one more time,.. baby, you can decide to tell me to go to hell, after tonight’

Silence

‘En- baby, are u there?’

Eniola sighed. It was hard to stay angry at him.

‘ill see you tonight, text me where’ she responded, her voice crispy.

‘Great, I will.. I’m sorry baby’ he replied before hanging up…………….

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Eniola pressed the phone to her chest whimpered. She missed Femi beyond human comprehension. Allowing her self to see him again was risky and she knew it. But it was a risk worth taking, she would only hear what he had to say and walk out.

Finding the bar 4 hours later, A freshly made up and beautiful Eniola sat waiting. She clasped and unclasped her hands as she looked at the time. She had been waiting for 20 minutes and had not seen Femi. She re-read the text and checked that she was in the right spot. She was. Feeling humiliated at the thought of being stood up; hot tears welled up her eyes and she blinked them away hurriedly. Just then Femi strolled in, clad in a plain white v- neck Hugo Boss T-shirt and a very sexy pair of Diesel jeans, looking extremely handsome.

‘I’m sorry I’m late’, he gushed, at the same time grabbing a chair and swinging it backwards with agility.

Eniola looked at him and said nothing; he was wearing the Armani code fragrance she bought him for his birthday. It blocked her senses.

‘Your engagement ring… where is it? He asked, looking very vulnerable. Eniola ignored his question. ‘Explain your self Femi…’ she said instead.

The other day at my house……’ He began to give details about how he had gotten married to this ‘woman called Taw’ about 4 years ago, due to pressure from his parents. Taw was a neighbour whom he had slept with her once and she had gotten pregnant immediately. The fact that ‘Taw’s’ parents were multi millionaires and friends of his parents had meant he could not ask her to abort the pregnancy. He explained that she was partially-literate and not willing to improve her self in anyway. Her pregnancy meant he had to marry her. Despite her being 6 years older, Femi’s parents had insisted he married her; after all, he’d made her pregnant, and had nothing to loose since her parents were extremely rich- it meant Femi did not have to worry about finances. ‘I met you within a year of my marriage to Taw, but she was heavily pregnant with Oyinkan then and I could not leave her- I curse the day I slept with Taw’ he concluded, his features softening as he made mention of his daughters’ name.

Eniola gazed at him and shook her head to try and clear the horrible words she was hearing. Why on earth was he calling her Taw? Was her name not Tawa? Despite her misery, she laughed.

Femi seemed encouraged by her laugher and reached for her, only to quickly retreat when he saw the anger burning in her eyes.

‘Why did you lie to me Femi? Why did you not just tell me from the start? …How can I believe you now? You based our relationship, on a lie’

Femi looked at her crying face and wiped her tears. ‘ I am so sorry, please Eniola, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I am sorry I messed it up… I- I couldn’t tell you.. I got two flats because of you, I never meant to hurt you…I am s-sorry’ Femi was weeping silently too.

Eniola removed his hand from her face gently and cupped his in her hands.

‘My goodness, Femi, my heart is wrecked, my spirit crushed. I never imagined this would happen to me. Femi, you are a married man, how can I go ahead and plan a wedding with a married man? I would offend God If I were to continue this relationship. With all my heart I love you, with all my heart I will continue to love you, but please, do not ever contact me again…’ She took a deep breath and continued. .. ‘ allow me to pick the pieces of my heart and give it back to God- only he can mend it for me’. Femi looked on as she spoke, his eyes pleading. Eniola got up and picked up her jacket. Femi stood up next to her and began to beg her. When he went on his knees, the crowd in bar fell silent and watched them.

Eniola instantaneously fell to her knees next to him. ‘Femi, I plead just as you plead, with my knees, I too beg. Let me be, and let me heal. If you ever get a divorce, you know where to find me, but for now, please, let me be’.

Femi clutched her hand and looked deeply into her tear glistened eyes … ‘…Eniola, we are not married by English law, I married her traditionally, Taw is not my legal wife, we can make this work.. Just give me time’…

If what he’d just said made sense, Eniola did not hear.

She stood up and ran out of the bar, without a backward glance at the man whom she had loved with all of her heart and might. The man who had founded their relationship on lies so profound, yet so unreal The man to whom she would have said I DO to in 7 months time.. He would have fathered her children- their children………The man with whom she had thought she would never shed tears…..The brutality of life… the injustice of the world….

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Sade finished the delicious meal and made way to her bedroom. Her room was her haven, her sanctuary. She had never shared a room with Bode, and did not wish to. When he needed to satisfy his animal desires, he would creep to her room via the adjoining door and rape her. One night, she had tried blocking the door with her bed, but Bode had been so angry when he found out that he had beaten her almost lifeless.

Only she knew that she could never get naked in front of anyone willingly again. Her body had been battered with scars and bruises. Some healed and sealed for life, some faded, to accommodate a new bruise. Leave him some people would say, and probably do. Leave him? How could she leave him? Did they understand? Where would she go to? Bode had her passport safely tucked somewhere that she could not reach. It was as if he knew that Sade would one day decide to leave him. She had no money. Bode provided for every single aspect of her material needs. Each time he beat her, a brand new exclusive designer bag or shoes would be waiting at her door step. Sade had a luxurious bag and shoe collection that even top models would long for. Her clothes were the finest; the finest silk, the finest cashmere, the finest cotton. Each of these items; given to her as a result of Bode’s battery.

She could get him arrested for battery yes, she could, she was in the UK and this country had law. But she knew she would risk her life and family’s by doing so. Bode was dangerous. He used his stock market as camouflage. Bode had done a fantastic job of hiding this fact. She remembered how she had found out about his ‘dangerous’ side. She had with the help of Ma, obtained a copy of the key to Bode’s study. She had spent days and nights piling through papers, documents and files in desperate search for her passport. To Sade’s amazement, beneath the stock market reports, deep down, hid documents that confirmed his involvement with shady, deadly dealings. The most shocking to Sade was the name ‘Kumi Daniels’ which was inscribed with a black fountain pen on a crumpled paper. The name had a red star across it; next to the name were the letters ‘KCI’ printed in red ink and the date-13th of September 2006. That was the day Senator Kumi Daniels died. After searching more vigorously and putting things together, Sade realised that it was almost certain that the brutal murder of Senator Kumi Daniels had been carefully orchestrated by Bode and his gang for an unbelievable 90 million naira- Bode’s Swiss account had been debited with the amount in its dollar equivalent. The bank statement was hidden in the same study; the money hit his account on the 14th September 2006- the day after the senator died. The senator had been found hung in his bedroom with a typed suicide note next to it. Every one thought it was suicide at first, until the Senators’ wife had insisted on flying his body to South Africa for an autopsy- She was not certain that her husband would have ‘typed’ out a suicide note let alone commit the act. Post mortem results discovered a lethal dosage of Potassium chloride in his blood. KCI was the chemical name for potassium chloride. What amazed everyone was that this particular Senator had escaped attempted assassinations a record 6 times. Bode’s attempt was the 7th, and the only success.

She knew that Bode would waste no time in wiping her dear mother, father and younger brother off the surface of the earth. All he had to do was make a phone call. Sade would wait until the right time to strike. It was more difficult because she had to work for the money to fund her getaway; she would never touch blood money –

Sade shifted her left foot on which she had been leaning for a while, and shook it free of pins and needles. He would be home by midnight. She wanted to sleep before he came home. She knew that he may come and try to rape her tonight, and she wanted to rest her body before the assault. She reached for her contraceptive pills and threw one into her throat. Just then her intercom buzzed. Ma announced that ‘Mr Williams’ was home and demanded to see her immediately. Astounded at his earlier than normal arrival; Sade reluctantly tidied up went downstairs- to listen to what her monster had to rant about on a day that had started somewhat peacefully.

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What Sade saw in the sitting room will be forever etched in her memory. She was young, 21 perhaps, slim, petite and very, very dark skinned, – almost charcoal black. She was beautiful as well. Her beauty was very different from Sade’s though. This young lady had model like features and looked east African. Sade’s eyes travelled from the lady’s head to her waist- her eyes widened in shock as they registered on the young lady’s tummy. Her small pregnant tummy jutted out – 3 or 4 months gone, Sade reckoned. The lady looked down at her black tattooed feet. Bode stood next to her and held her small hand in his.

‘She is carrying my child’ snarled Bode as he nodded to the young lady.

As if on cue, the lady looked up and Sade froze in her step. Her eyes were full of evil and rage. She watched Sade intently and when she spoke, her accent was very different from what Sade was used to. She said only two words:-‘Sangeya, Zimbabwe’……………………

Thank you for reading BBS… see you next monday……
P.s: as for those asking if I will publsih, the answer is , I dont know.. I am not sure… you tell me if its good enough to be published.

Beauty is Pain….

LAST WEEK ON BBs: Wale prepared to resign from work, following his discovery, but he was pleasanty suprised with the wondeful job offer that was presented to him. Was this a blessing or a curse? READ ON…..

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Eniola wanted to throw her mobile phone into the bin. Her mother was screaming down the phone, and she could hear her father too in the background, echoing.

‘which wedding is off? What wedding? ‘

‘mummy, Femi is married, I cannot marry a man who is married’

‘ Femi wo ? our Olufemi? married? No o.. why? When? To who?’

Eniola was very irritated. She had told her mum this story 5 times already., and she found it annoying that her mum kept asking if Femi was married, and whom to.

Eniola ignored her mum and stared into space. She faintly heard her father calling Femi a bastard. Her mum was still speaking.

‘ Ok, you say they are married, ehen, did you see their marriage certificate?’

Eniola could almost see her mum pacing up and down and gesticulating as she shouted…

‘ …or wedding pictures? Eniola? did you? That woman must have used juju on Femi o, I have to call Senior Pastor Gbenro today, we must break and bind.. break, bind, by fire’

Eniola groaned loudly.

‘ ehn? Answer me now? so what will happen to the aso ebi and gele(uniform&head tie) which I have ordered for all our friends to wear? The I.V’s were almost going to print you know? Disgrace is not our potion o.. amen.. amen.. eh, Baba Eni, talk noow….? Her mother paused for Eniola to respond.

Eniola could not believe her ears. How selfish parents could be. She cut the conversation short and slumped on the bed. She needed to speak to someone else, needed to speak to Sade; her best friend, who had become more like a sister over the years. But Sade had her own fair share of worries- besides Eniola could not reach her now, if she wanted to, her mobile phone had been disconnected for some reason. Eniola knew it had to be Sade’s husband’s handiwork.

She thought of Sade and smiled sadly, forgetting her own woes for a minute. Sade and Eniola were friends from childhood. Sade was stunningly beautiful, and it was natural for Sade to have been swept off her feet earlier than most girls. Sade at 20 had married a monster, who had managed to disguise his true self until after their wedding night. Eniola struggled to control her tears as she recalled how Sade had called her a week after their wedding, saying that her husband had changed from the man she’d met one year ago. Eniola was a Christian and did not believe in divorce; but it hurt not being able to tell your own sister- friend to leave an unhappy marriage. That was four years ago. Sade was still living in hell with her husband. She had not heard from her dear friend in 3 months, and did not know what had become of her. The last time Eniola had visited, Sade explained that she had been secretly applying for jobs at dawn, over the Internet, for fear of her husband finding out. She hoped Sade had found a job. It was what her friend needed to be able to draw her attention away from her terrible marriage.

Suddenly, Eniola felt overwhelmed by everything, and wondered how two childhood friends, who deserved nothing but happiness had become like this. Perhaps it was the curse of living abroad. They’d had childhood dreams of marrying at a certain age and living happily ever after. Now, Eniola knew that ‘happily ever after’ was a fragment of one’s imagination. Sighing deeply, she sank to her knees and began to pray- something she had not done properly in a while. She knew that nothing happened by chance, and that there must be a reason why God had let her come this far with Femi before discovering his deceit. She included Sade in her prayers as always, and hoped that her friend would find happiness in her marriage, as impossible as it seemed.

Rising up an hour later and feeling comforted knowing that her prayers had been answered, Eniola switched on her laptop to begin the arduous process of applying for Jobs.

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Sade Coker-Williams nodded to the uniformed doorman standing in front of her husband’s £2.5 million house in the prestigious Chelsea borough of London. She stepped into their house and dropped her bag full of text books in the empty hallway. She was tired and exhausted after a whole day’s work. She had not worked in four years and had forgotten how mentally tasking it could be.

‘Madam Williams, welcome home, dinner is served’ her Norwegian cook, Ma, was bowing slightly at her. Sade smiled and walked towards the dining room. The wonderful smell of roasted duck and grilled potatoes filled her nostrils as her stomach pinged in hunger. Her cook was an elderly woman who had migrated from Norway in the early eighties. Her real name was Ingrid, but Sade’s deeply instilled Nigerian roots of respect forbade her from calling her cook by name. So Ma it was. Ma was at least 20 years older than Sade, and Sade respected her like she would her own mother. Perhaps, that was why Ma loved Sade as her own daughter.

Ma smiled at Sade, her kind features softening with motherly love ‘vous sont comment mon Cheri. How was school today Madam?’ Ma’s French was quite good.

‘Stressful Ma, I really may not finish the course’, replied Sade, as she made her way upstairs to change from her days clothes.

‘Ah, dear, you will, French is a tres wonderful language, I am learning and you know; nothing ventured, nothing gained’ replied Ma as she waved Sade further upstairs.

Once in the safety of her bedroom; Sade switched on the 26 inch, Bowers and Wilkins TV, which was conveniently located above her bath tub as she ran a bath.

She slipped into the warm bubbles and tried to relax her senses as she flipped through the TV channels. It was impossible. She replayed her conversation with Ma and sighed. How had her life become a web of lies and deceit?

It was his fault. Because of him, she packed her bag full of French textbooks everyday as the chauffeur drove towards Sims & Sims, only he did not drop her at Sims & Sims; he dropped her at the French school 1 mile away. Because of him, she had secretly attended Accounting classes by on-line distance learning had bagged an accountancy degree from the Open University in the process. She had secretly applied for a job; deliberately avoiding any known accounting firms, and instead choose a small IT company like Sims& Sims, where she knew he would have no contacts. It was because of him that she took extra precaution to ensure that she did not get pregnant. She would rather remain barren than to share a child with him. She had made a stupid mistake once, and had aborted it immediately she found out. She knew he wanted a child. Hell yes, Olabode Coker- Williams IV wanted a child badly. She remembered his face the night she had conceived. He had raped her as always, but this time, he was more brutal. He had looked into her pleading eyes and had barked ‘Fola-sade, this time around-a son’. Sade laughed cruelly; a son, a male heir- he had to be joking. Yes, she did get pregnant after that event. Since then she had poured contraceptive pills into her Vitamin A-Z pill-bottle, and each night she threw one tiny pill in her mouth in anticipation of a gruesome attack, but with confidence that a child would not be made, as a result of rape.

On discovery of her last pregnancy, she had, with Ma’s help travelled outside London to an unknown doctor for the abortion. She knew it was selfish, sinful even. She knew it had consequences, but she could not help her actions. However, Bode had found out about the abortion; and had beaten her so severely that she had almost lost her eye sight. Of course, Bode flew her to Germany the next day for a reconstructive eye surgery.

She spat the bubbles out of her mouth in disgust, and stepped out of the bathtub. She’d had almost every bone in her body broken by Bode. If this marriage was the price you paid for sinning, then she must be the worst sinner that ever lived.

How naive she must have been, when at 18 she had met and fallen in love with the only son of the Oil and gas magnate in Nigeria and property guru in UK, Chief Lanre Olabode Coker-Williams III. His only son, Bode, 30 at the time was devastatingly handsome and extremely charming. Sade, who had come from an average family, had never thought in her life that Bode would find her attractive. She’d met him when she had visited her uncle’s house, who happened to be Bode’s fathers’ business partner. Bode had set eyes on her that day and had vowed to marry her, at all costs. Bode was not the only man who proposed marriage to Sade at first sight, many men did.

Sade was stunning. Put simply. Her beauty was childlike and untainted. Her smooth milk chocolate skin needed no oil to shine. When she smiled, it seemed like a ray of sunlight had been cast over a gloomy day. Her teeth were well set, and extremely white. Her face was usually likened to a porcelain doll, with dimples in both cheeks so deep; they appeared to dig endless holes into her face. Her eyes were beautiful, hazel brown; tearful often, elated a few times.

Her body was firm and looked like it had been drawn from a catalogue of models. Flat tummy, thin waist and curved hips. She wore little makeup, for make up masked the beauty of the art work of The Almighty’s perfect hands. Sade made no effort to be beautiful; rather, she tried desperately to disguise her beauty, which seemed to have been a curse more than a blessing. The harder she’d tried, the more beautiful she looked. Her outer beauty radiated inside of her. Sade had been compassionate and sensitive, sweet, yet disciplined. Her trusting nature and warm aura drew people to her against their own will. In the recent years, her marriage to Bode had destroyed the most of her inner self. Sade now struggled to hold on to her desire to continue to be how she was before her marriage, 5 years ago.

Sade sighed as she recalled the memories. She’d had 3 weddings, the first with all and sundry in Lagos Nigeria. The second, a week long dinner and suite package with close friends at the Dorchester Hotel in London, the last, 2 weeks with closest of friends on the Island of St Lucia in the Caribbean. They’d flown back to the UK after a month long honey moon in Paris, Spain and the Virgin Islands. Sade had never seen so much money exhausted on a human being. Her husband spent money on her. Lavishly, but not foolishly. No, call Bode a monster, or a lunatic, and Sade would give you a million pounds for precision, but not an unwise man. He was a guru with investments. He did not rely solely on his parents’ money. Bode had built his own empire in the UK, on his own. His vast knowledge of the Nigerian, London and New York stock exchange, coupled with his swift judgment of the stock market was admirable- or so everyone thought. His friends called him the African Warren Buffet.

Her friends had envied her and said so. Her mum had been so thankful of the fact that her only daughter had married young, and well. What more could any mother wish for? If only her mother could see her battered body now. She reached for a brush and began to brush her long silk black hair as her mind continued to wander.

The first time he hit her could never be forgotten. He had hit her countless of times after that, but she did not remember them, only the first one counted. They had been on honeymoon in Spain, a week after their wedding. Sade had worn a lovely bikini that her best friend Eniola had given her during her bridal shower. As she and Bode laughed on the beach, she’d noticed a young Spanish boy in his early teens blush at her before waving. Unsure of what to do, Sade had waved back and smiled at him, after all, he was barely 14 years old. Bode, seeing the exchange suddenly snapped, and within seconds his laughter had been replaced with accusations of adultery. When Sade tried to protest the innocence of the situation, Bode had spontaneously slapped her face three times. The young lad scampered away in embarrassment, but Sade would never forget that day.

She was glad to have been offered the job at Sim& Sims. The pay was not much, but it was a step towards gaining financial and emotional independence from her husband. So far, he did everything for her, and forbade her from doing anything herself. He kept her locked up in the house; for fear that another man would see her and fall in love with her. The last time she had gone shopping at the local Tesco and a male admirer had stared at her openly, Bode’s chauffeur, Mickey had been quick to report to his boss, who had beaten Sade and banned her from Shopping.

The only reason why her husband allowed her to attend French school was because it was an all female catholic Languages college. The chauffeur had been given instructions to drop her at the door of the school, and pick her up on the dot of 4, when the school closed. So far, Sade had enrolled on the French course delivered by the college- duration 3 years. Long enough to gain work experience from Sims& Sims; and definitely long enough to plan her escape from hell. Bode had personally paid her fees- which cost him 10,000 pounds per year. She wished she could siphon the money as part of her escape plan, but her pride would not allow, besides, the only reason why the French school paid little attention to her extreme absences and allow her to disappear each morning was because the hefty fees had been paid in full £30,000. She knew he would kill her if he ever found out that she was not attending any school, but was in fact an accountant, and working for her own money- and planning a great escape.

She got away with it by walking into the French school at 8pm, and stealing out again at 8.15am when Mickey drove off, to begin the 15 minute walk to Sims&Sims. It was her third week with Sims& Sims, and she was loving it. it was like a breath of fresh air. Working was now only thing that kept her sane, especially since Bode had forbidden Eniola, from seeing her, his reasons being that Eniola would ‘corrupt her’.

Sade frowned as she remembered the way he had embarrassed Eniola out of their house 3 months ago, when Eniola had come to announce her recent engagement to Femi, and both had been thrilled with the prospects of having a wedding to plan. Bode had never allowed her to visit Eniola’s house, but Eniola had been always welcome at hers, until that day when something in his head had snapped, and he included her beloved Eniola in the ‘banned list’.

After the incident, her husband had stamped angrily on her mobile phone, destroying the beautiful Bang & Olufsen Serene Mobile he’d bought her. He forbade her from getting a new one; so she could no longer reach Eniola, except she called her from a pay phone. Yet, even the freedom to stroll to a pay phone was a luxury she could not afford.

Her only hope of friendship with anyone was from this new job. Luckily for her, she had just been introduced to, and had chatted briefly with one Wale guy, the only other Nigerian, who was a data analyst at Sims & Sims’ IT department. He’d lost his uncle last week and she had gone to sympathise briefly. She was very surprised to have found him incredibly attractive… there was something about his face…..

Her intercom buzzed and startled her out of her deep thoughts. It was Ma, asking her to come down for dinner before it went cold. Sade took one final glance at her beautiful face and stepped out of her bedroom, to enjoy dinner alone, before the monster she’d married came home from work……….

Thank you for reading BBS and God bless u.. see you on Thursday, by Gods grace…..