Chapter 25
Olivia visited!...
Unlike her son, Olivia Bestman was nice to Sophia only because she was family.
She was a woman of glamour and exotic styles, Who loved going out of her way to do things for her loved ones. So when she visited, she came with her chef from her home and some maids saying she wanted to prepare a nice large dinner for her son and his wife.
Surprisingly she wasn't cold towards Sophia. They spoke when necessary and what was necessary.
Jason wasn't around as usual when his mother arrived but she was unperturbed, just carried on with her business, ordering the maids around making sure the dinner was exquisite. She wanted to have dinner with the new couple.
Sophia sat in her room facing her vanity mirror preparing herself for the dinner which by all means she wanted to avoid. Its been two days since the incident with Jason and his girlfriend and the cold between both of them was freezing.
Even outsiders could feel it. She avoided him so much that she now preferred to eat inside her room to avoid bumping into him. Even her best times in the evening she spent in her room reading a novel or surfing the net.
Zara helped her with her hair, the only nice thing about her and she took care of it well. even if she lacked in so many places Sophia wouldn't want to disappoint her dead mother who taught her as a little girl that a woman's pride was in her hair.
Sophia would smile every time her mother Cecilia told her that. It sounded absurd why a woman's pride should be a small part of her body.
But as she grew, she subconsciously took extra care of her hair, sometimes forgetting to eat on her school days.
She smiled as she recalled the past.
"Is the hairstyle funny?" Zara asked, bringing her back to reality.
"Oh... What?."
"You were smiling at your hair in the mirror so I thought maybe I was doing it wrongly" Zara confessed her fear.
"No it looks very nice I just was only thinking about my past you know. I was so silly" she chipped in. Zara nodded.
"I understand, I've done more silly things than you can imagine, some I can never speak with my mouth and some I can handle."
Sophia was surprised at her forwardness, she didn't expect her to be so blunt. Not wanting to make her feel bad Sophia smiled.
"Sure, when I was in sec school I used to like this boy, he was the quiet but brilliant type and I loved brilliant people. So my friends advised me to tell him how I felt. do you know what I did?" She spoke drastically.
Zara shook her head watching Sophia intently.
"I borrowed his note and in the middle, I wrote him a poem and a love letter. Then returned his book to him in hopes he would read it and maybe he might also feel the same as me. but he gave it to his friends and they all mocked me. Though the whole school didn't know so I was saved a bit but I felt so open, I wanted the ground to open and swallow me. I found out my friends set me up to be disgraced. Cos the guy had a nice record of turning girls down and I didn't know!" She finished and laughed alongside Zara at her story.
"Your friends were mean, but where are your friends now I mean you only have doctor Stanley visit you. why don't they visit?" Zara sat on the bed
She smiled and turned to Zara.
"You see, everyone has their own lives to live and most of them were stuck-up bitches. In the uni I had more male friends, though Dad was sick then so I had to go to school from home and had no chance to make more friends."
"I understand, I admire how strong you are Ms. You had to go through all of this and still be strong and smile, I wouldn't have. I would have taken my life" Sophia gasped unable to hold her shock.
"Why? There is hope as long as there is life" she assured. Zara just shrugged.
"Am only living a good life now because Mrs. Olivia helped me. If not, I would have been dead or jailed for life. I did things to survive, both silly and terrible things, and am not proud of any of it. She found me when I was almost giving up hope and saved me. And when I see what you go through in the mornings or during your therapy sessions, how you endure the pain just to walk again and still smile and laugh, I wonder how resilient you are. but he doesn't see you... at all" She spoke carefully allowing her last words to linger in the atmosphere.
Sophia wanted her to elaborate more but they were both interrupted by Sabina who announced dinner was ready so Zara left.
***
Dinner was very awkward!...
Olivia sat at the head of the table with Jason by her left and Sophia by her right. She chatted on and on not minding the coldness between the couple.
Sophia and Jason avoided eye contact by all means but Sophia managed to chip in one or two things in the conversation since Jason had refused to speak only when asked.
"... And I made sure to always be by his side at every sitting, making sure all these little hunters won't find him a cheap prey. Everyone knew both of us as inseparable and so the girls stayed away even the men" she finished with pride and Sophia nodded with a nice smile.
Olivia was telling them stories upon stories of how she and Ernest made their marriage work out by sticking together by all means. Sophia wasn't enthusiastic about the food nor the stories. didn't Olivia already know that her son was the spoilt and useless one there?
Sophia was pained that society was biased especially concerning marriage issues. They expect the woman to bear every damn treatment meted upon them and still wear a happy smile. That was exactly what Olivia was insinuating, that she should make it work, “how?!” she thought to herself.
Her only hold in her position now was because she was brought up to be more respectful to her elders while Jason sat still and checked his phone intermittently.
Sophia eyed him wickedly, thinking maybe he was waiting for the boring session to be over so he could move on to his next conquest. She could also see fear in his behavior like he was scared of saying or doing anything that would piss her off.
She guessed he knew deep down the consequences of his earlier actions, especially if she ratted him out.
Olivia's voice drew her out of her reverie.
"Dear..."
"Yes?"
"Are you alright? You seem so lost and sad. Is there something you would like to share with us?" Olivia asked while Jason sat stiffly.
Their eyes finally met for the first time since the night and he looked conflicted.
At least two, three seconds passed before Sophia cleared her throat to speak.
"No not really, I tend to do that a lot since after my accident" she murmured but the word accident was more pronounced rubbing it on his face. Jason still tensed, huffed a breath of relief.
"Oh dear, I truly understand it's not easy getting back to your normal routine. How is the therapy going? Jason must be of great help there right?" Jason coughed.
"I mean with the massages and stretches, doesn't he help you out?" Olivia asked in wonder watching Sophia's reaction carefully.
"Um... Well with... With school and everything he's always busy but drops by sometimes. Yeah sure" she covered for his ass the second time.
Olivia looked at her son with the best proud smile she could muster. Jason managed to smile back avoiding Sophia's gaze.
"He has always been soft inside and hopelessly romantic, but he tries so hard to cover up. But I know, am his mother" she told Sophia who almost gagged at the endearment, it didn't fit the person sitting across from her.
"Mother excuse me am fill and I need to take care of some things then... The food was delicious thanks" he stood and left the dining before anyone could reply.
After some time spent with Olivia, Sophia retired too being so tired from the long talk and cold silence. Olivia returned home that night to her husband.
And in the middle of the night, Jason sat in his normal position and sipped on whisky, thinking about his life and how it went from good to bad, very bad.
For the past few weeks, he had struggled to get a good night's sleep with those nightmares haunting him. The nightmares were back and he had no antidote except his whisky.
He sighed dejectedly. Nothing surpassed a good night's sleep. Every night of insomnia meant the whole day was wrecked and uncoordinated. With the lack of concentration, he achieved nothing.
And he was touched that she covered for him after his misbehavior. He was so scared she would tell on him and then risk his fortune ever becoming his. But he never really planned for charlotte to come home with him. He didn't even know it happened until he woke with a swollen mark on his cheek and charlotte sending a series of threatening messages at him.
He had to ask a friend who was with him then. And found out charlotte met him at the club, they danced, drank, and made out before foolishly deciding to go over to his house for the remaining fun not recalling anything else. But sure Sophia must have seen him.
"Uh!! Stupid me!" He reprimanded himself.
Heaven knew it wasn't his intention to embarrass his wife before the maids or to hang out with his ex while he was married and that evening at the club, he was thinking about Sophia and the encounter, and how he didn't deserve her.
Now he blew his chance at ever becoming friends with her or even napping in her bed.
It was one: am in the night and the thoughts of going to sleep bothered him. Maybe she wasn't so angry at him as he thought, besides she didn't spell him out before his mother. That was precisely his thought as he dropped off the whisky bottle and sashayed back to his room but stopped on his track once he reached Sophia's door.
He made to leave, but his legs were already moving towards the empty side of the bed his mind cooking up plenty of alluring and tingly sensations of a good night's sleep.
"Just for tonight, even if it's just for one night" he pleaded in his mind as he lay on the space under the duvet.
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