I stood right there, at the entrance of Oyinade’s office,
staring in utter shock.
I could not believe my eyes.
Oyinade was definitely oblivious of the fact that I was in the office as she held on to Richard like a lifeline.
Richard tried to detach her on sighting me but she clung to his shirt, too busy crying.
I had left my office for Richard’s,
when I saw Oyinade’s door
open. I wanted to bypass it
and come back later to see
her but a familiar shirt stopped me. The alarm went off in my head as I stepped closer and I
instantly became convinced
that Richard was there. I
did not remember common
courtesy which required me
to knock before entering, I
just pushed the door wider and there, before me was Richard holding a crying Oyinade to his chest with his arms all over her.
Richard pushed Oyin away and her shock was evident when she saw me. Tears filled my eyes to the brim but I refused to give them the pleasure of seeing me
in tears.
I ran out of the office which was already chocking me. I heard
Richard calling but I ran out
like a crazy love-struck
teenager to the amazement
and shock of the staff.
Thank God we had a staff entrance and the patients
could not see me. I could not hold the tears as I ran, it came cascading down without stopping. I could not stop, no, I could not. I felt like throwing up, and I did. Thank God no one was
there.
I felt Richard’s approach even before I heard it. I sprung to my feet, desperate to get as far
away from him as possible.
He called me over and over but I turned a deaf ear, wiping more tears from my face but it didn’t stop.
Richard grabbed my hand
fiercely from behind.
“What is wrong with you, Bell?
Would you at least let me
explain” he yelled, looking
angry.
I shook myself out of his grasp. “Let me go” I shouted
“What you saw was nothing. I… she was going through an emotional breakdown caused by her fiancé and –”
“And what? And you decided to offer yourself as a substitute?” I said with pure anger.
He looked outraged and pained. “What? You don’t trust me? for how long have you had that doubt honey?” he said folding his arms around his chest.
“That girl told me… she told me yesterday but I did not believe her. I trusted you cos I thought you loved me”
I kept on lamenting, vibrating with tears of anger and hurt.
“What nonsense are you
saying? What girl? What did
she tell you?” I was confused.
I just could not stop my tears and even though Richard was deeply angry and hurt, he could not bare to see me cry. I saw it in his eyes. I became very dizzy
and everything rotated
around me. I felt Richard’s
arms around me in an
instant but I still summoned
strength to ask him to get
his filthy arms away from
me. He did not seem to hear
because he never left me
and I passed into a realm of
nothingness.
**********
**********
Oyinade jubilated like she never had in her life. She never expected things to turn out the way they did.
She had merely wanted to
put ideas into Richard’s mind by pressing herself to him. She could not imagine anyone being immune to her charms. She had also hoped that if luck shined on
her, she would have someone see them who could carry the gossip to Belina.
She had planned on seeing
Belina though, just to taunt
her with words but she
doubted that they would
have very far known that
she was a psychologist and
could deduce truth from lie
with a glance. A wide, evil
grin spread across her face
as she dialed Ronke’s
number to give her the
good news.
**********
**********
Richard held Belina in his
capable hands, racing
towards the hospital. His
heart was pounding wildly
even though he knew that
she just fainted and would
awaken soon.
“Bell… sweetie c’mon wake
up” he kept on saying as he
carried her. He entered
through the staff side and
some of the staff members
were around him in an
instant. They placed Belina on the stretcher and wheeled her into one of the rooms. Richard was denied entrance and he stood outside fuming in veiled
anger which was just a camouflage for the deep worry in him. He wanted to vex his power and authority as the head and owner of the hospital in order to enter but he knew that the doctor was doing what he
was paid to do. Apart from that, he is not one to be found guilty of pride. If he had been in a better state and if it hadn’t been Belina, he would have guessed
what the matter was without waiting for the doctor’s report.
He would have guessed it right from the start but some things
just skips you when you are
with the one you love.
Doctor Felix approached
with a smiling face. Even if
Belina were awake, Richard
still could not see why he
should be smiling happily.
“She is alright sir but asleep
now” he said still smiling.
Richard breathed deeply as
a sign of relief, still curious
though. Doctor Felix was
deeply happy for the couple
as he had been part of their
waiting period. He is a year
older than Richard but he
respected him more than
he could ever respect
someone five years older than him. Apart from Richard being his boss, he had taught him humility. He treated everyone equally and even though he was
probably the youngest millionaire in Nigeria, he was not puffed up with pride. The same goes for the ever beautiful Belina, he thought. The relationship Richard shared with his wife was one that he would
wish to have if he finally
found the right person.
He held Richard’s gaze with a grin, wondering how he could have missed that fact considering his unequalled
doctorate skills.
“Congrats sir, you are going to be a father”
Richard blinked and swallowed hard. “W… what are… what are you talking about?” he stammered.
Kelvin expected this.
“Your wife is pregnant sir”
TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW
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