Chapter 59

Tunji paced back and forth.

His hands in his pocket as he did so. He was trying to understand everything Adunni just told him.

He stopped in front of Adunni before he spoke, "You mean, my brother brought in a woman and went after the woman? I'm still confused."

Adunni sobbed silently, she had called Tunji when Lanre had left to tell him about everything that happened. Tunji rushed down to his brother's place to see for himself.

"It can't be Lanre. My brother doesn't pick up girls, he doesn't." Tunji didn't know how to explain to her that Lanre wasn't a man who chased after different skirts.

"I am telling you, she wasn't dressed like a prostitute or anything but he brought her to his place and his arms were around her," she explained.

Tunji face palmed himself, took in a deep breath and exhaled. "If you see the woman, would you recognize her?" Tunji asked her and she nodded her head.

Tunji knew that there was only one woman who could make his brother lose his senses and that was Sewa. There was no way Lanre would bring in any other woman if not Sewa.

He took out his phone from his pants pocket and searched on facebook. After a long while, he finally saw a picture of Sewa and he showed it to Adunni.

"Is she perhaps the one you saw?" He asked her. Adunni got up from the chair she was sitting on to take a closer look at the picture.

The skin between her brows creased as she tried to decipher if the girl earlier was the same in the picture. "This is her, the girl he brought earlier," she said after a short while.

Tunji felt like exploding. He couldn't believe Lanre had betrayed him by getting back with the woman who almost destroyed their relationship. He clenched his fist, trying to keep his temper at bay then he forced a smile to his face.

He didn't know how to console Adunni, nor did he know how to tell her, the lady she saw earlier was and probably still the love of his foolish younger brother's life.

"Who...is she?" Adunni stuttered, her heart fearing for the truth she knew not of.

Tunji inhaled and exhaled, he placed his palm on Adunni's arm and caressed them. "Do not worry, everything would be fine," he said, hoping his words were reassuring enough.

"Tell me, who is she?" Adunni demanded.

"Wow! I thought he hated her?" Adunni asked, after hearing Tunji's long story in summary.

"He doesn't. I just knew he didn't hate her. I came to realize something, he didn't hate her, he hated the fact she lied to him and the fact she couldn't be just his alone. He was hurt and broken."

"So...does this mean..." Adunni swallowed a painful lump in her throat. "Does this mean, he and I are impossible?" She asked, knowing the answer herself.

"Do not..." Just as Tunji was about to speak, Lanre entered his house with a smile on his face but it changed when he saw Adunni and his brother.

"The man himself has graced is with his presence," Tunji chided.

Lanre wasn't expecting to meet anyone in his home and at this time. His eyes met with Adunni and his heart clenched. He felt guilty.

He slowly walked towards them with the aim of apologising to Adunni and telling her who his heart resides with. "Mind telling me where you went and where you slept?" Tunji asked him.

Lanre ignored Tunji's words as he walked towards Adunni, who folded her arms across her chest with a pained expression on her face.

"I'm sorry," Lanre muttered once he was in front of her. He knew sorry was not enough yet he felt that was all he could say.

Tunji scoffed, "Sorry? Lanre why?" Tunji asked.

"Why her? Aren't there any other? Is she all in your mind? What does she have that others do not have?" Tunji asked him.

Lanre was speechless. He didn't know how to explain to his brother because he knew how far his brother went for him during his days of misery. He felt guilty because he had broken his brother's trust.

"Adunni..." Adunni cut him off. She got up on her feet, sniffled a little before she spoke, "It's fine."

"I am actually hurt because you neither accepted nor rejected me. You left me in-between with hope that we had a chance. But you love her, don't you?" Adunni asked.

"The way you looked at me and the happy expression on your face when you were with her showed the difference. She makes you happy and no matter what I do, I can't."

"I am not a lady to fight over for a man. If she is who you want, it's fine. I wish you the very best."

Tunji couldn't believe all that Adunni has said. He couldn't believe she was giving up on him so soon. "Adunni, what are you saying? You are going to marry him, no other woman will," Tunji lamented.

Lanre was in short of words because he never expected Adunni to be a very cool woman, he knew she was cool but not to this extent.

"Tunji," Adunni called. "He smiled when he came in but frowned when he saw me. Ever since I've known him, he rarely smiled. I knew within my heart he didn't like me as much as I did yet I had hope. I had hope in my heart because I believed he was scared of falling hard in love after his last heart break." She swallowed a painful lump in her throat, finding it hard not to break down while she was speaking.

"He loves her. He wants her and he left with her. No woman in this world would try to come in-between two people when she knows in her heart, that man will never love her as much as she wants him to."

"Anything I do will not change my position in Lanre's life. I am a woman who wants true love. I want my man to be obsessed with me but with Lanre, I will never have that so instead of fighting for a relationship that would eventually hurt me more..." She trailed off, quickly wiping off the lone tears that rolled down her cheek.

"I would rather leave peacefully." Lanre's heart sank. Even though she was trying hard, evidence of hurt was laced in her tone.

"Unbelievable!" Tunji scoffed.

"You will leave my brother?" Tunji said, more like a question. He turned to look at Lanre.

"You see the gem you have just lost all because of that woman!" Tunji spat out.

"I am so disappointed in you Lanre! I am so disappointed! That woman pushed you into almost killing me! That same woman is also a woman I slept with in the past, yet you want her?"

Lanre stomach churned as he imagined Tunji on top of her, fucking her but he quickly took his mind off it. "It's in the past, do not bring it up," Lanre muttered.

Tunji scoffed, "You will be with that same woman who you know I slept with? Do you think mother would be happy..." Lanre cuts him off.

"Please do not bring it up!" He said through gritted teeth.

"She slept with you, that's fine. She slept with many, that's fine. There are other women who have slept with numerous men too and they are married. No fucking woman needs to be righteous or be a virgin to be loved!" Lanre defended.

"I have no issues with that and I've put that past me so please," he put his palms together, "Do not ever bring it up. I love her irrespective of her past."

Tunji was flabbergasted by his brother's reaction. He opened his mouth to say something but closed his back as no words were forming in his head.

Lanre turned to look at Adunni. "I am really sorry. I know my apology doesn't matter but I really wish you forgive me. Trust me Adunni, you are a very nice lady, any man who has you would be lucky but my heart is already taken by another. I really like you as a person and I hope we can still be friends irrespective of our past."

Adunni forced a smile to her face after wiping her tears off with the back of her palm, "It's fine. Be sure to invite me to your wedding," she said.

She moved closer to Lanre and wrapped her arms around him and he did the same too. "Lanre I hope after you marry her, I get to see those parts of you I never saw." Those were her last words before she took her bags and left his house.

Now that she was gone, Lanre prepared himself to face his already angry brother.