True life story

THE AGONY OF LOVE-Episode 33

September 1, 2016

5799

Ojo Oluwasegun .A

Amara was super aware of Kelvin’s presence behind her as
she unlocked the door to her apartment and opened it. What
on earth was wrong with her? She wondered. Surely it would
not just take a week of encountering Kelvin to shake her six
years resolve, would it? Anger developed in her, causing her
to clench her fist as she walked in ahead of him; anger at
Kelvin for doing this to her and also at herself for being so
stupidly childish.
Amara watched as his eyes took in her sitting room and she
squirmed nervously, knowing what he must be thinking. She
turned away from him and put some distance between them,
not wanting to see in his eyes what he felt about her cold
sitting room. She reminded herself that cold is what she
ought to be now.
“I can see your intense effort at keeping emotions at bay
Ara” he murmured gently and she turned to stare at him
scathingly.
“What can I offer you?” She asked drily, more out of
necessity than enthusiasm.
His eyes burned bright with something she could not name.
“Amara!”
“Excuse me?” She asked, stiffening.
He moved some steps closer. “You can offer me Amara, the
woman I knew years back; the woman I glimpsed for some
seconds minutes ago. That is one offer I would never reject”
Amara stiffened her spine and glared at him. “Why do you
wish to awaken what is long dead? My past was filled with
pain, do you seek to take my mind back to a time where all I
knew was misery?” She asked incredulously. “Is that how
much you despise me?”
Kelvin swallowed hard and took few steps which brought
him face to face with her. Despite the effect of his nearness,
Amara refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing he
affected her, so she squared her shoulders and craned her
head backwards, glaring up at him. Kelvin’s eyes bore into
hers, as his dark unreadable eyes bore into her angry ones.
The atmosphere was tense, and when Kelvin did not seem
to be ready to speak, Amara’s anger increased a notch. It
can be highly infuriating when your tirade of anger is
returned with absolute silence. Kelvin’s gaze roamed her
face, coming to pause slightly on her lips. Her breath caught
in her throat and suddenly she forgot to breathe. She knew
now that she had let her anger blind her against the dangers
of coming so close to Kelvin. Or had she intentionally used
her anger, knowing he would come closer? Wanting him to
come closer?
Anger and confusion glued her to the spot and Kelvin’s hand
came up suddenly to trace the gentle curve of her cheek.
She gasped softly and his eyes caught her and held them.
His gaze was intense and flaming as his thumb lightly traced
her bottom lip. Amara’s heartbeat was deafening even in her
own ears and she was certain Kelvin could hear it. She
forgot to breathe as Kelvin’s eyes dropped to her lips again
as his thumb ever-lightly brushed her bottom lip again. Just
when she felt certain that he would bend and kiss her, his
hands vanished and he turned away from her. She was so
stunned that she stumbled slightly, her weakened knees
swaying slightly. Amara blinked away the tears of
disappointment that burned in her eyes, angry that she had
even entertained hopes of kissing him.
Kelvin raked his ten fingers through his hair in complete
exasperation. He shouldn’t be doing this; he knew this so
well, yet, he couldn’t control the overwhelming feelings he
had whenever he was with her. God knows he isn’t the man
for her, and even though the thought of another man with
her was enough to fill him with too much rage, he knew he
couldn’t have her. Amara needed a far better man than he.
His jaw clenched hard. “Why… don’t you freshen up? You’ve
had a long day”
He hadn’t finished his statement when he heard her move
and seconds later, he heard what should be the door to her
bedroom close firmly. He closed his eyes and released a
shaky breath, willing the uncontrollable desire to have her in
his arms to vanish. But he knew it wouldn’t. Even without
seeing her, he had been trying, for more than six years,
seeing her only made his desire more intense.
**********
**********
Alfred advanced towards Hannah menacingly, but the frail
woman refused to quiver before him like any mediocre
cleaner would. She stood her ground as he advanced, a deep
scowl on his face.
“Listen to me woman” Alfred spat out through clenched teeth.
“You might have been misled, but I am not the sweet smiling
charmer the press paints me to be” he declared. “Believe
me, I can be your worst nightmare, don’t try my patience”
Hannah lifted her chin as her eyes watered. “I promised
myself that I would not do this; that I would not be tempted
to tell the truth. That is why I left Abuja several years ago. I
was content knowing that you were with people who could
cater for you. But seeing you today, I couldn’t stop myself.”
“What rubbish are you uttering woman” Alfred Bensonwed
angrily, clenching his fists dangerously.
“You can’t understand, no matter how much I explain.
Katherine and Benson needs to be here. That is the only way
you would understand. Please…”
Alfred glared at her for some seconds, wondering why he was
even still listening to the deranged woman. But she had
called his mother her maiden name; only close people knew
that name. He groaned in confusion and picked up his
phone. The last person he wanted to see was Mrs Benson, the
woman who had effectively destroyed his life. He gritted his
teeth and dialed a number, turning to glare at the woman
claiming to be his mother.
“Hello dad” he said, immediately he heard a grunted hello on
the other end.
“Are you just calling to explain what you went to do in Lagos,
leaving my company without informing me?” Senator Benson
rasped over the phone.
“No, I am calling because it seems you have some
explanations to give me dad, and it would be physically”
“What are you talking about Alfred?” The senator asked.
Alfred paced angrily. “There is a really sticky situation here
that only you and your wife can explain before I lose my
mind. You have to be here as soon as possible”
“What rubbish are you saying Alfred” the senator Benson wed.
“For goodness’ sake dad, just take the first flight to Lagos
tomorrow and bring your wife with you” Alfred yelled back and
hung up furiously. He turned to look menacingly at the
woman standing just a few steps away. This ragged woman
who looked terribly malnourished couldn’t possibly be his
birth mother, right? He shook his head to discard the hedious
idea and glared dangerously at Hannah. “For your sake, I
hope there is an explanation for all these, because of not, I
would make you loath the day you were born for disturbing
me”
**********
**********
Amara came out of the bedroom still dressed in the same
cloth. She couldn’t imagine herself changing her clothes or
taking the shower she really needed with Kelvin so close.
She had never had a man in her apartment and it felt so
strange, especially with the frizzling tension between both of
them. She had however washed her face after standing
immobile in the room for more than fifteen minutes. It had
seemed rude that she would leave her guest all alone for
that amount of time but she wanted to gather her wits
before again subjecting herself to Kelvin’s dominating
presence.
Kelvin wasn’t in the sitting room but the sounds she heard
from the kitchen told her Kelvin had gone out of his way to
make himself feel at home. She walked on silent feet to the
kitchen, as the delicious aroma of boiling stew drifted to her
nostrils. She stood silently at the door as Kelvin came into
view. He opened pot on fire to survey the content, then
closed it again. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his
elbows, revealing strong muscled hands. Muscles rippled
beneath his shirt as he did something on the cabinet that
Amara could not see, blocked effectively by his hard
massive body.
“I hope you like what you see” Kelvin stunned her by saying,
with a smile in his voice.
Amara shifted, like she had just been caught stealing meat
and stared at his rigid back. She wondered how he knew she
was there, she had thought her feet were silent enough.
“What makes you think I am doing that uhn?” She asked
indignantly.
“You have always had the habit of doing just that” he replied,
then turned his head from what he was doing to look at her.
Amara gripped the door frame firmly as his eyes landed on
her. Seeing Kelvin in her kitchen was definitely something
she won’t forget in a hurry. She would probably enter the
kitchen every time and remember Kelvin’s position beside
the gas cooker.
“You have always been too full of yourself” Amara retorted.
Kelvin’s eyes took a quick sweep of her still unchanged cloth
and humor flashed in his eyes. “Thank God not everything
has changed in us” he called back and Amara suspected the
sentence had a double edge. With him turned, Amara could
finally see that he had been cleaning the cabinet. Her legs
finally unlocked, leaving the hypnotized state they had
formally assumed. What on earth was always wrong with her
brain whenever she sees Kelvin?
“You shouldn’t have done this” she said automatically,
avoiding his gaze as she entered the kitchen. “You are a…
guest; you shouldn’t be cooking in my kitchen.” She said. She
made sure to remove herself from a very close proximity of
Kelvin, refusing to have a repeat episode. “Thanks though”
she murmured, more out of necessity. She noticed that he
had somehow located the soup she had kept in the freezer
and was boiling rice. Hunger gnawed at her insides and she
realized that she was actually truly grateful to Kelvin for
taking the initiative to get her something. He had always
been too thoughtful and sweet; any woman woman would be
lucky to have him. Tonight marked the second time Kelvin
had almost kissed her but turned away at the last minute.
Amara found herself wondering if there was actually a lucky
woman in his life already. It had been years; surely he must
have stopped loving her. There must be another woman
now… Amara shifted uncomfortably, angry at herself for
thinking about such mundane things.
Kelvin noticed her discomfort and sought to ease it. “Tell me
about Ara P” he said as he grabbed two dishes. “What made
you go into events? Last I remember, you wanted to be a
medical doctor” he said, passing the plates to Amara, who
turned off the gas.
“After all that happened to me, I didn’t want to chase dead
dreams of being a doctor” she said, glad that she was
talking about her company for a change. “I started learning
hairdressing when I got to Lagos, in order to make enough
money to go back to school.” She told him as she served the
hot rice. “Months after I began, the daughter of my boss was
celebrating her birthday and I decorated the small room she
used.I didn’t think much of it but my boss did not stop
talking about how perfect the decoration was.” Amara smiled
in remembrance. “About a months later, her friend also
wanted to celebrate her son’s birthday and my boss told me
to decorate for her. I enjoyed doing it and when they sang
my praises, I decided that it might be more profitable to pitch
my tent in that line” Amara glanced up to see Kelvin smiling,
albeit proudly. Amara hadn’t felt happier! She wanted to
impress him with her achievements.
Motivated, she continued feverishly, ranting more than she
had done in years as she carried the plates of food. She
barely noticed when Kelvin collected the plates from her,
carrying it instead. “I started with children’s party,
volunteering to decorate, showing them pictures of the first
two birthday parties I decorated. I charged low prices for
those who did not really have much and increased my price
for rich families. I saved all I could until suddenly, a rich
woman who I decorated her daughter’s party, asked me to
decorate a book launch for her.” Amara laughed slightly, too
happy that she could talk freely to someone. “I was initially
scared that I wouldn’t pull it off” she confided, glancing at
Kelvin, her eyes bright with humor as they sat down to eat.
“But, the event would be attended by many of her rich folks
and I saw it as a really huge step. I knew I would get so
many valuable clients if I could make that book launch
spectacular, and guess what, I did just that.” She said
proudly, too excited to eat. Kelvin’s gaze made her feel like
she had emerged the winner of a marathon race. “The launch
was the talk of the town and her friends started contacting
me. I gathered enough money to enroll in a part time school
where I studied Business Management, then, I got myself a
small shop which I used as my office. Ara P grew from
there” she said proudly.
The look on Kelvin’s face was priceless, feeling her with
warmth. Watching her talk had filled Kelvin with extreme
gladness. He had watched her open up, discarding the
iciness. “I am so proud of you” he murmured. “I knew you
could do it”
Amara smiled happily, feeling like a child who passed her
exams with flying colours and faced her food with enough
enthusiasm to finish a drum of rice.
**********
**********
The senator sat in a taxi with his wife as the driver drove
away from the airport to Pristique Hotel. He wondered what
was going on. It had been a very long time since he sat in
such close proximity with his wife and he glanced at her as
she sat, looking out the window in a lifeless manner. She
had done everything a woman could in the past years to
bridge the gap that her mistakes had created, but Mr Benson
couldn’t just forgive her. He hated the coldness between
then, because despite it all, he loved his wife.
The taxi stopped in front of the massive hotel and they both
alighted wordlessly. Alfred had better have a good explanation
to render for hurling him out of his bed this early morning to
catch a flight. As they entered, Alfred approached at the
reception. “Good morning dad” he greeted, ignoring his
mother.
Mr Benson was about to point it out but Alfred gave him no time
to do so. “Please come with me” Alfred said and the senator
noticed that he was angry and ruffled, like he hadn’t slept at
all. Wordlessly, they entered the elevator, listening only to
the humming sound of the machine. Mrs Benson was the most
uncomfortable as the men in her life ignored her. She
blinked back tears as they got out of the elevator and moved
to a door which Alfred opened unceremoniously. Inside stood
a woman who looked vaguely familiar to the two of them but
Mrs. Benson wouldn’t have remembered her if Mr Benson hadn’t
suddenly called her name.
“Hannah?” He called out in surprise as he stared at the older
version of the woman he had known several years back. Mrs
Benson also raised her eyes in recognition.
“You both know her!” Alfred exclaimed in disbelief. “This is
just so perfect” Alfred exclaimed again. “OK! Probably you
both can explain why she thinks I am her son”
Mr. and Mrs. Benson gasped in unison and the senator turned
shocked eyes at Hannah, who looked right back at him.