THE REAL FOE

"What the hell do you want?" I snap at Mayleen, who is standing at my bedroom door. If only I knew it was her, I wouldn't have bothered to open the door.

"Peace offering." She is holding two cups of coffee. Since when did we become this friendly to offer each other coffee? And isn't it too late to make peace after everything that has happened?

"That might be poisoned, for all I care." I retorted to her.

"Come on." I leave the door open and walk back to my bed, and she invites herself in behind me and shuts the door. This woman is so confusing. What is she up to now?

"Say what you want and leave. I was retiring to bed before you decided to disturb me." I say.

"I have a lot to tell you, so you need things." She hands me one cup of coffee as she starts to sip the other.

"I want the other one." I say. She might have put some poison in mine. The amount of hatred she has for me is too much. I don't even know why I am not kicking her ass out. She hands me the coffee she was drinking, which I accept, but still with doubt. "So what do you want? To fight or to warn me to stay away from Ejay?"

"To warn you about Ejay." She pulls the swivel chair and sits in front of me while I scan around the room. "Don't worry, there are no CCTV cameras in this room." She adds.

"And how do you know?" I ask.

"I know. And I wouldn't have chosen to talk to you about Ejay here if there were cameras. I value my life, as miserable as it is." That makes some sense. She is not that stupid to risk her life, because Ejay will not spare her. For some reason, I am interested in what she has to say. Maybe I can ask her about her relationship with Ejay, because theirs is not a normal relationship. But still, Nelly is sleeping in the room just opposite mine. What if she eavesdrops on us? She is so mischievous. My instincts don't trust that woman. There is something fishy about her. Or maybe I am having trust issues because I don't know my enemies.

"Nelly might hear you. I do not want her to know what is happening to me."

"That snake? I took care of her. She won't be waking up until after six hours or so."

"What?" I snap.

"She is sound asleep. I diluted some sleeping pills in her coffee. She is probably in her first dream tonight."

"You are a witch! A real witch! You realize that that is my friend you just drugged, do you?"

"Friend? Are you sure? Are you sure that that snake bitch is your friend?" I keep quiet. The words to defend Nelly have just disappeared from my mouth. "Well, let me enlighten you. That Nelly is the real witch. You and she have no past at all. She was never your friend, and she still is not. You only met her for the first time the day she showed up here."

My head is starting to spin. This is confusing. How now?

"I do not understand. If she was not my friend, then how did she find me? How does she know all that information she was willing to give me to recover my memory?"

"That was a plan well planned by Ejay. She is his spy. He hired her to try and find out if you remember something from your past and if you are investigating that accident."

O. M. G! And here I was, feeling like a bitch every time I snapped or yelled at her. I was thinking that she cared about me. And how am I worried for her life? Oh my goodness! She really made a total fool out of me. So, that is why I did not feel any connection with her. That is why I could not bring myself to open up to her.

"But why would he hire someone to spy on me? Wasn't that the reason you are here?"

"You and I have been at odds with each other. So, there is no way you could tell me anything."

Wow! Bingo, Ajay! Game well played.

Now I get it. That is why he has not bothered to ask me about the dream I had before. No wonder he hasn't even bothered to ask about my supposed friend. He must be enjoying fooling around with me. I am glad I did not tell her anything or entertain her nonsense about helping me. Those two idiots

"You know what, Gia?" Mayleen spoke. "I admire your courage, and that is what pissed me the most about you, because it is something I never had. For all the years I have stayed with Ejay, I have let him use me however he wanted. He ruined my life, and to console myself, I embraced the probability of him loving me, even though I doubted if he had a heart to love. He could toss me aside for a while and have some fun with other girls, but in the end, he always returned to me. That gave me some hope that someday he might settle for me completely. But then you came in. I saw how he looks at you and how he protects you; he wants you by his side all the time. That served as an awakening blow for me. I saw you as a threat to the only hope I was holding on to. I lost all the hope I had. I hated you. I wanted to make you suffer, but instead, I am the one who suffered because Ejay could not stand to see you get hurt. He became so ruthless with me. The beating and even sex became part of the punishment, and so I had to wake up from my horrible dream and embrace the fact that I was just an object to him. I meant nothing to him." She stops to wipe away the tears from her eyes. She looks hurt, and I feel bad because this is all because of me.

"I am sorry; I never meant for any of that to happen to you." I say.

"I know. It was just me and my stupid jealousy. I brought it upon myself. I was so blinded by my anger towards you that I forgot how merciless Ejay can be to anyone who goes against him." She stops to take a deep breath, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes, and continues looking at me. "So you finally accepted him? You are going to be a couple now?" I know this will hurt her, but I don't want to lie to her.

"He left me with no choice."

"But do you love him?" For crying out loud, hell no! I just do not have a choice. And these new discoveries about him are making me hate him even more. How could he toy with my mind like that? Bringing me a fake friend just to trick me? He is a sick bastard.

"Do you?" I ask. I want to understand what she feels for this man who made her endure so much pain.

"No. This is anger. This is hatred. There was no love between us from the beginning. The first time we had sex, he rapped me with his brother."

"Wait. He what?" So he is also a rapist? This monster is the king of all evil. "When was that?"

"About ten years ago. I was coming from the market one evening when a speeding black van stopped right in front of me. Before I could even scream, I was forcefully grabbed and thrown into the van, and it sped off. Up to date, I don't remember what happened that night. I woke up the following morning tied up on a bed and all naked, and my whole body was in pain. After a few minutes, two men walked in, Ejay and Ljay, and they had their way with me again, switching turns. My screams made them wild on me. My body could not stand the pain anymore. It was too much, and I blacked out. The next time I woke up, I was in another room with the angry voices of two men screaming at each other. It was the same men, Ejay and Ljay. They were arguing about some girls who had escaped from the club, and the argument ended with one man dying in front of my eyes. Ejay killed Ljay in cold blood, and from there I was taken to the main club, and I was introduced to this BDSM sex with different men every day. But every time Ejay wanted sex, he came to me, and that is how I ended up being tied up to this monster."

"Jesus! That is horrible. That is so cruel."

"I had to make peace with it to be able to live. I don't talk about it because every time I remember those incidents, I hate myself. I lack the meaning of this life. Sometimes I don't understand why God allows some things to happen."

This is immeasurable pain. pain on top of pain!

"I am so sorry, Mayleen, really. But, you know, I admire you. I do not think I am as strong as you are to handle all that. I would have gone completely mad. But you are strong. And you do not have to hate yourself. You were incapacitated. There is nothing you could have done to defend yourself against two monsters. Look at me. I have millions lying in the bank, but here I am, living under the mercy of Ejay."

"But you have the potential to do something, Gia."

Huh?

"What do you mean?"

"The monster is deep into you, but I am sorry. Don't be deceived that Ejay can love someone, and I am not saying that because he could not love me. Now, there are two reasons why he is acting like that with you. I have never seen him so insecure, possessive, and protective of someone. One reason is that he is obsessed with you, which explains his possessiveness and maybe the protective part. Why he is so insecure is something I don't understand, and that is what you need to find out, Gia."

Double sense from someone I considered my enemy!

"But how can I do that? He is watching my every move."

"You need to find a way if you don't want to end up like me and the rest, and you do not have time. You are going to Mombasa, right? Look for a detective over there and dig up your past. Run away if you can, but you better hide well. Save yourself from this mess while you can, Gia. If you come back to this place, if you come back to this monster, you will have thrown your life into a pit. He will never let you go, and trust me, you will live with regrets the whole of your miserable life with him. But whatever you choose to do, be doubly extra careful, because Ejay does not forgive betrayal. With a slight mistake, he will forget his obsession and will not hesitate to blow your brains out. You have just one chance, Gia, only one chance to either change your life and live happily forever, or ruin it forever."

This is a tough one. I won't deny that being free from Ejay will be the best thing that can happen to me. But can I go back on my words to Ejay? What if I run away and he finds me eventually? They say that some enemies are just imaginary enemies. If someone had told me that I could sit like this with Mayleen talking and listening to each other, I would have laughed at that person. But here we are. I did not know behind this arrogant and troublemaking girl was someone nice and of good will. Someone who is carrying a lot of burdens Someone with so much pain and hidden scars that she does not want anybody to know about Someone with a good heart

How slim is my chance of getting away from Ejay? Because the more I am learning about him, the more I am hating him with passion, and the more I am fearing for my life. As I fathom about what chance to take, I will not let Ejay know that I know anything, not even about his spy, whom I have been feeding in my house, thinking that she is my friend. I always felt indebted to her, but it now turns out I owe her nothing. In fact, she owes me big time. Be ready, Nelly. Someday, I will come to collect my debt, and I will collect with interest.

In the meantime, what chance do I take?