Chapter 72 THE CONFRONTATION

By now, it should have been crystal clear to Sobrina that Pastor Melvin was toiling with her heart, or that there was not going to be any happily ever after for them both, since she had been seeing Pastor Melvin - regularly and in unwholesome situations - with the other lady. But apart from the fact that she was totally in love with him, he was also behaving in a ridiculously confusing manner. He had gradually - by taking it one after the other, week after week - kept all their agreement about blocking her phone number, and her accounts on social media, to prevent excessive emotional interference between them. And had kept to his word about being accountable and transparent to the authorities - Pastor Davies. Even though the pastor used his accountability and transparency as information with which to torment Sobrina, and therefore undermining the total reason he had given for it, which was to keep her safe in the relationship.

Sobrina thought the Reverend was acting on his own, without the consent of Pastor Melvin, and chose to keep it so, by refusing to complain to him about the Pastor's weird behavior.

Sobrina needed to talk to Pastor Melvin. She'd finally succeeded in selling her smartphone within the week, in order to raise a little money for her Dissertation defense presentation. Therefore, the only place they could meet was in church.

She approached him, and he began trying to get away.

"What is wrong?", Sobrina gently questioned him.

"Sobrina, stop talking to me", he murmured.

"I don't understand. What is going on?",

"Sobrina, stop talking to me", he repeated, in the same murmuring tone.

"Is everything alright?", Sobrina was saying, when she didn't notice Miraya approach them from behind.

"What is wrong with you?", Miraya shamelessly shouted in the church.

"What?", Sobrina questioned, she'd been so lost in the conversation that she hadn't heard what the other lady had said.

"What is wrong with you? why can't you stay away?", Miraya screamed at her.

Sobrina hadn't seen it coming, she would have prepared a very hot slap for the lady's face, Pastor or not.

"Did you hear her?", Sobrina questioned Pastor Melvin instead. She now also had to raise her voice, because Pastor Melvin had moved a few paces away. He returned to the two ladies.

"You will see what I will do now", he gently said to none of them in particular, looking from one to the other, and began walking towards the pulpit in front of the church, where Pastor Davies was standing, attending to people. Sobrina didn't want to follow him, but he turned around and looked at her - which was one of the ways they communicated without speaking - and she followed him.

"I told Sobrina to stop greeting me", Pastor Melvin gently reported to Pastor Davies, when they arrived in front of him, standing side by side. He had changed the narrative.

"Sobrina, stop calling Pastor Melvin!", Pastor Davies shouted, his voice carried a tone of finality and warning.

Pastor Melvin had changed from 'stop talking to me' and said instead to stop greeting him. But Pastor Davies had a different reprimand.

Sobrina had earlier told Pastor Davies that she had sold her smart phone, so how did he know that she was finding ways with which to communicate with Pastor Melvin?

Sobrina noticed Pastor Davies looking at Pastor Melvin's face in the process, "for now", he added in the same tone. Whatever he saw there had made him change his speech.

Pastor Melvin turned around and left Sobrina still standing there. Sobrina was surprised to hear Miraya screaming insults from behind her. She turned around to find the lady displaying all kinds of disgraceful body movements, shouting things she couldn't quite understand, because the band group was playing loudly, very close to where they stood.

"Leave this matter. I'll handle it", Pastor Davies said to Miraya.

Sobrina slowly walked away, after Miraya left. She found Pastor Melvin standing in the darkness, outside the church building. It happened that he had quickly sent Miraya home, and decided to walked home with Sobrina. He followed her from a distance, afraid his plan would crumble with what Miraya had done. He made sure Sobrina saw him following her.

Sobrina refused to approach him. She was angry with him, thinking it was his fault that Miraya had openly insulted her.

Even though Pastor Davies hadn't shown it, he was also enraged. Whatever he'd seen on Pastor Melvin's face had triggered very terrible alarms in his mind. "What a frustrating situation. This guy is such a watermelon, and this lady has proven undestroyable", he thought.

He took off the cloak of pretence and began to openly threaten Sobrina in the weeks that followed.

But Sobrina relied on Pastor Melvin's promises, "I would never hurt you. If there's anyone trying to hurt you, it's not me, Soby". She relied on the man she once knew, and gave explanation to everything that was thrown at her. She knew there must be an explanation, since he was doing all he had promised by being accountable and transparent, and never broke up with her. Each time she texted Pastor Melvin using other people's cell phone, Pastor Davies would confront her the following day, and warn her to stop texting him. Threatening her with all manner of things. That way, she knew Pastor Davies had accounted to him as he had promised.

Sobrina decided Pastor Melvin would tell her by himself, if he wanted her to leave him alone. Not someone else.

Pastor Melvin also increased the way he stared at her in church. He made sure she saw him staring. It pleased Sobrina, she thought this other people were just crazy and their heart lay together.

She continued to text him using other people's cell phones. She thought they needed to lie low a bit. For his sake, she remained in Gracedome, even though they scared her shitless, until she finished with her Dissertation defense, and decided to go home for her own safety.

She had completed her studies, but the University refused to accept her completed Dissertation, because she was owing an extra tuition and therefore she couldn't receive her certificate. Her ex husband had been planning to clear any outstanding debts after her academics, as he had been very helpful in providing her with financial support all through the study, but now she'd left him and so she decided to abandon it all, hoping that soon, Pastor Melvin - whom she had actually broken her marriage for, and who was a staff in the University - would come and marry her as promised. And they would together either clear her debts, or probably get it waved, as a favor for the wife of a staff in the University. But was Sobrina hoping for too much and putting a lot in the hands of fate?