Chapter 38 Chapter Thirty Five

Chapter Thirty Five

'Here we stand, waiting and watching every move of the actor. When he cries, we cry. Oh look! What is he doing now?'

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Mayfair Residence

Lagos

Denola.

Jadesola looked at her  brother suspiciously, where was he going with this?

"wait a minute Denola, so you mean to tell us that you already knew about Amanda's identity before the drama that broke out that night?" Davina asked surprised.

Denola nodded and stood up from his seat. 'I kept waiting for her to tell me the truth but she still wouldn't. It pissed me off, I was living with an imposter but I couldn't even confront her. And everyday she'd look at me and lie about how she loved me but she was deceiving me" Denola sighed crossing his arms against his chest.

Davina shook her head "She wasn't lying when she said she loved you, no she wasn't lying about that" Davina said.

Denola nodded "maybe not, but she was lying about every other thing" Denola responded.

Jadesola studied her brother. The more she looked at him, the more she realized that Denola had been very relaxed after the court hearing. Too relaxed for a man who'd just became a widow.

"continue.....What did Hakeem say when he came to South Africa?" she asked.

"Hakeem came to South Africa but he wasn't alone, he brought an ally with a plan" He began.

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Some months ago

South Africa.

Denola.

"Hey man, you okay?" Hakeem asked Denola for the umpteenth time since they came into the hotel.

Denola shrugged "you tell me, should I be okay? I'm the one who screwed all odds and married an imposter. Till today, I can't decipher what she wants from me or why she married me, I'm starting to think everything was a ploy from the beginning. We bumped into each other so many times, it couldn't have been coincidental"

Hakeem shook his head "but you thought it was fate" he said

Denola scoffed "don't start now, I was an idiot. Now I want to stop being an idiot, that's why you're here. Talk to me, how do I go about this?"

Hakeem nodded "do you want to leave her?" Hakeem asked.

Denola looked at him in disbelief "of course, how can I stay married to a woman who would build a relationship based on lies?"

Hakeem sighed "she must have her reasons" Hakeem defended.

Denola glared at him "did you come here to support me and help me out of this messy situation or defend my deceitful wife?" he asked irritated

Hakeem cleared his throat "I'm sorry Denola, I should have told you about Hassana sooner but...." Hakeem was saying when Denola cut him off.

"hold up a moment. You should have told me about......wait! You knew? Wait a minute, you knew Amanda was an imposter?" Denola asked in shock.

Hakeem nodded slowly and watched as betrayal, hurt and confusion painted Denola's face.

"but how...how could you possibly have known?" Denola asked confused.

Hakeem took a deep breath this time before starting "your sister started investigating Amanda after the first time you brought her to the estate" Hakeem explained.

"she confided in me and I checked her findings but that's not all...there's something I'd like you to know."

"You mean you knew all along, even before I got married to her and you said nothing?!" Denola yelled.

"you were freaking in love with her, you even went ahead and married her secretly. I didn't want to ruin your fantasies!" Hakeem answered.

"that's no excuse bro, you should've told me!" Denola shouted.

Hakeem sighed and rolled his eyes "It's in the past now Denola. Instead of jamming heads and pointing fingers, let's work together"

"There's nothing to work on, I've decided to confront her. When we get to Nigeria, I'll divorce her and fight for the custody of my child" Denola said harshly.

Hakeem nodded "I'll support whatever decision you take but there's someone we need to see and discuss with first" Hakeem said.

"What are you talking about?" Denola asked.

"Oh you'll see" he said as he locked eyes with Aliu.

***

Hakeem could tell that Denola was slowly losing it as Aliu rattled on and on but they all needed to talk about it and look for the way forward.

"Wait....hold on a minute. Not only did she change her identity and lie to my entire family, you're saying she's married to another man and she has another daughter?" Denola asked heartbroken.

Aliu nodded "Look man I know you probably hate your wife now but we have a bigger problem. Hassana ran away from her husband and changed her identity for a reason" Aliu said.

"I don't fucking care about that, what kind of woman abandons her husband and her child, what's the guarantee that she won't abandon I and Kamilla too?!" Denola raged.

Aliu shook his head "Your wife is not a bad woman, whatever she'd done was out of fear for the monster that is Kadin" Aliu said.

Denola swallowed, Amanda had her faults but it was true that she wasn't a bad person. "This Kadin is her ex husband?" he asked.

"Still her husband Denola, they never divorced" Hakeem corrected.

Denola buried his face in his palm. "What the hell have I gotten myself into. I should have listened to my parents, my sister...." Denola began before Aliu cut him off.

"There's no use crying over spilled milk. You're married to the woman already and you have a baby with her" Aliu said. "At first I wondered why Hassana had run away, she had everything. A good husband, money and everything she wanted. I couldn't understand why she'd stolen from him and left with his child" Aliu continued.

"You say she left with the child?" Denola questioned.

"Yes, she tried to hide the child from Kadin but we found Jemila eventually. After we spoke Hakeem, I realized that I might have noticed that their relationship was a little odd. Some days she was truly afraid of him, sometimes she looked lost. He was abusing her Denola, that's why she ran away. She also did it to protect Halima, the only woman I truly loved. The happiness Kadin took away from me" Aliu said venomously.

"I'd have done anything for Amanda, if she'd come clean to me from day one, I'd have done anything for her" Denola said

"I have no doubts Denola, but this is not the time to abandon her. She needs you, she and Kamilla. Kadin won't rest  till he has your wife" Hakeem said.

Denola snorted "well, she's also his wife. Maybe he would be open to sharing" Denola said humorlessly.

Aliu shook his head "You'll be dead the day Kadin finds out about you, you and Kamilla" He said.

Denola sat straighter "I know you hold your man in high esteem but he couldn't do more that an fly in my city. My daughter and I are safe" Denola said.

"And your wife?" Aliu asked.

"Amanda does not exist, I have no wife" Denola said stubbornly.

Hakeem turned to him angrily "Do you want your daughter to grow up without a mother. I know that prick Kadin, when he gets tired of abusing Amanda, he'll sell her out to the wolves. Put pride and anger aside and help your woman!" Hakeem said.

Denola remained silent but Hakeem knew his head was in the right place.

"So I have a plan, first we need to recruit Halima. Leave that to me, I'll try to contact her and explain to her, secondly Hassana can't know our plans, we can't take risks. She might try to run away again or do something worse. Thirdly, we need to get Kadin to Lagos, it'll be easier to take him down that way" Aliu looked between the guys.

"I know how to do that, Atalia and Jadesola can do that on their own and we don't even need to ask them" Hakeem said.

"My mother and my sister?" Denola asked.

Aliu and Hakeem nodded "That's a story for another day. As for Hassana's marriage to Kadin, it'll be terminated. I handle all Kadin's business and arrangements. I'll find a way, all I need is skillful cooperation from you two. Denola are you a good performer?" Aliu asked mischievously.

Denola looked a little perplexed but answered him nonetheless "I'm not a performer" He said.

"Well you're a businessman, you should know one or two about role play. Gentlemen the court is ours, are you in or out?" Aliu asked.

Denola looked at Hakeem who was staring back at him, he trusted Hakeem despite everything so he knew he could trust this Aliu.