Chapter 26 THE RISE OF ANOTHER

E V E

Ladies ---- what do you do when you've got a man, yet another man is hell-bent on being more than just friends with you?

Hold that thought for a bit.

First, I need to pacify my boyfriend who's about to breathe fire on Nathan if I don't do something to stop him.

Ah! Nathan . . .

The bane of Aurey's annoyance, right now.

I know talking isn't going to do anything thing to stop him from beating him to a pulp, so I try my best to catch up with him, but his legs are so long, his strides so determined, that by the time I try to latch onto his arms, I miss and fall flat on my romp --- ouch!

The dizziness that greets me is destabilizing, to the say the least.

"Princess!" Desperation coats his voice as I feel myself being lifted. He cradles me against his chest like a China doll and I close my eyes and hold onto him, feeling his muscles strain with each movement. "Why do you want to hurt yourself?" He whispers into my ear.

Because you're trying to start something, not good.

I feel myself being placed on something soft and I open my eyes to see him standing over me, concern lacing his eyes.

"You were going to confront Nathan, weren't you?" It slips from my lips before I can stop myself.

Unfortunately for me, I said the wrong thing, because his head snaps back like I'd just slapped him. Something akin to anger but much closer to rage, and another emotion I can't quite place, flashes in his eyes.

"So you're on a first name basis with him now?"

"No, it's not ----"

Oh! But it is true.

I make a disgruntled noise at the back of my throat as I reply him. "Would it make you feel any better if I put a 'mister' before his name?" I raise a brow, waiting for an answer from him.

Anger sizzles in his eyes as he fixes me with a steely gaze, but it flickers, and then he slumps onto the bed beside me with a deep sigh.

"Did he touch you? Is this some reprisal thing because of what I . . . did to his sister?"

I let out a sigh of my own and shake my head before I turn to face him. Suddenly, I'm tired, tired of everything. Tired of his caveman antics, tired of having to be on the receiving end all the time.

This seems to be a bad case of damned if I do, damned if I don't.

"Talk to me, Eve!" His voice comes out stern. Unyielding, brooking no-nonsense.

So I stand up and face him. What I have to say and do will hurt him, but I think it's long overdue. "I think we need some time apart from each other."

Stupid.

So stupid.

So very stupid.

I'm the most stupid being that ever walked on this earth.

Why did I just say that when I don't even mean it.

I brave a glance at him, my heartbeat picking up feverishly, but he's deathly still. He seems to be carved in stone, except for the rapid rise and fall of his chest, and then I see a flicker of movement as he expels a heavy breath. Without even turning to me, he says in a low voice. "I think you should leave."

Heart squeeze magnified to a hundredfold.

I blink rapidly, not sure I heard him well, but when he gets up and walks out without looking back, without even saying anything else, I know he's done.

Feels like death has been visited on me as I pick up my bag and drag myself out of his room, willing my feet to pick up their sluggishness.

As I step out through the gate and onto the street, I flag a taxi, but just before I get into it, I turn around and take a long look at the bungalow, wondering if I'll ever see it or it's occupant again.

With a heavy shake of my head, I climb into it and curl up into a ball.

It's over, and I just want to die.

*

Two things happen three days later. One memorable, the other, not so much. The latter leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, making me ponder on the way forward.

I've been going to Pan Atlantic City to oversee the work as head project manager and not once have I seen Aurey. Dipo tells me he's quite busy with something else, but I know better.

He's deliberately avoiding me.

What he doesn't realise is that as each day passes, my heart becomes hardened towards him. He's giving me the chance to do without him, be without him, and I'm coping. Maybe not so well, because he's been deeply ingrained in my system, but I'll live.

In the same vein, someone keeps having fresh bouquet of white roses delivered to me at six in the morning, perking me up considerably.

That person doesn't miss a day.

There's no card, no number, no written words, just . . . nothing.

Maybe it's a ghost.

My excitement peaks, thinking its Aurey, but then it dies when I realise that's not his style. He won't hide behind flowers to get through to me.

He'd badger me with texts and calls. Probably pay me a midnight visit in the process. Might even climb through the window to get through to me if I decide not to pick his calls.

So who can this mystery person be then?

Then a week after, I get a text message from an unknown number.

Hope you like the flowers I gave you? I'll give you a clue as to who I am. The first alphabet of an African country is the same as the first alphabet of my name. Guess who?

But I can't for the life of me figure out who this mystery person is. It's got 'male' stamped all over it. A female won't send me roses ---- white roses at that. Neither would she sound like she's serenading me unless she's a lesbian, in which case she'll be wasting her time.

By the end of the week one morning, as expected, the doorbell rings and I rush from upstairs down the stairs, almost breaking my neck in the process of getting to the door before mum.

Fresh white roses grace the doorway, but when I check to see who brought it, there's no one there, so I bring the flowers inside and drop them on the dining table just as mum comes out of the kitchen. She raises a cynical brow at me and walks back into the kitchen. By the time I'm dressed and ready to go out, I notice the flowers are now arranged in a vase on the glass table, beautifully adorning the sitting room. I shrug and drag my feet out the door.

After getting an Uber to take me to Pan Atlantic, we hit a bad patch of traffic. Doesn't look like it's going to let up any time soon. It's an absolute standstill.

After a few minutes of mentally bemoaning my fate, I drift off into fitful sleep, but after a short while, my eyes snap open.

I have this strong feeling someone is watching me.

Like a puppet being pulled by drawstrings, I turn my head to the right and stare into the burning eyes of Nathan.

At first, my brain is fuzzy and slow on the uptake, but when the fog of sleep clears, I blink a few times to ascertain if what I'm seeing is an apparition or it's him, but the image remains the same.

Nathan stares at me from inside another car, smiling and waving at me.

I rear back in horror and inform the Uber driver to step on it as cars have begun to move. He does so, but is not fast enough, because Nathan overtakes our car and parks right in front of us, effectively blocking us from further movement, and causing other cars behind us to toot their horns.

I watch with rising fear as he gets down from his car and comes to my side of the car. Unfortunately for me, it's not locked.

He wrenches it open. At least that's what I tell myself. "Hi! We meet again."

It doesn't look like I'm glad to see him, because the next thing I do is blackout.

The next thing I see when I open my eyes is a white ceiling. Rolling the side, I realise I'm lying down on a bed -- a huge queen-sized bed. My eyes travel the length of the room, widening considerably at what I see. It's reminiscent of a hotel room.

Where on God's green earth am I?

I shoot up immediately. "Urrnnnnn." My head feels like it's going to explode any minute. I put up a hand to the side of my temple, hoping for a second it will somehow keep the banging at bay, but that's just wishful thinking. If anything, it doubles.

Somewhere behind me, a door opens and I hear muted steps approaching me.

"Thank goodness you're awake." A familiar voice speaks behind me, and suddenly a face pops into view and I'm shocked to see who it is.

"Nathan! Where am I? What am I doing here?" My voice sounds low and weak.

What is wrong with me? Why do I feel so drained?

"Sorry to break this to you this way, Eve, but you look like shit. Are you alright? Haven't you been sleeping well?" His eyes bore into mine with concern, his hand already making a soothing motion on my back, causing me to lean into him slightly.

And that's when I realise something. "You've been following me all this while, haven't you?" Another growing suspicion begins to takes precedence in my mind, leading me to voice out my thoughts. "You've also been sending me flowers as well?"

He drops his gaze to the floor, but after a few seconds, raises it, and a smile is pasted all over his face, yet he says nothing.

That look is enough for me to know the answer to my questions.

"Why, Nathan? And how did you even get to know my address, and where is this place you've brought me to?" I look around me once more, but everything points to the fact we're presently in a hotel room. "Are you trying to kidnap me?"

"That's not my style, Eve, I prefer to serenade you instead of taking you against your will. But answer me this please, why do you look like you haven't slept in almost forever?" He comes close to me and traces my under eyes with his forefinger. "Is something bothering you?"

Suddenly I can't hold it in anymore. The dam is let loose as I break down into hot scalding tears.

I should be embarrassed - scatch that, I should be mortified. I know I should probably be ashamed of myself for crying in front of a stranger, someone I barely know, but I'm past that right now because I'm not strong enough to keep it together anymore. I need a shoulder to cry on, and that's exactly what I do as Nathan takes me in his arms and I lean my head on his shoulder, wetting his tee with my tears.

Not once does he say anything. Not once does he complain or get offended. Not once does he tell me to stop crying. He just holds me until I cry out all my woes, until I'm spent until I'm not able to cry anymore . . . until I begin spilling out words like a tap.

I tell him everything, and by everything, I mean what transpired between Aurey and I. How I let it spill we needed some space and his reaction to my words. How I felt like dying, how I wasn't getting enough sleep because I'm so in love with Aurey, yet too damn stubborn to reach out to him.

Yes . . . I tell him everything.

He says nothing when I'm done, but his next reaction startles me as he leans into me. At this juncture, I don't need a soothsayer to tell me he wants to kiss me.

I suddenly have a rife flashback of Mr. Faseun's treachery, the devastating news of him being Aurey's dad, re-entry of Roxy into Aurey's life through his daughter Stacy and finally, I remember Aurey's stone-like facade when he told me to leave his house, and I make up my mind here and now to let Nathan kiss me.

I close my eyes, meet him halfway, and . . .

Hmm.

Kissing Nathan is like a pleasant walk in the park. There's sunshine and greenery.

No sparks, no tingles . . . it's just pleasant.

No amount of pleasantness can compare to how I feel when kissing Aureliano. Just thinking about it alone, makes my toes curl.

Kissing him makes me feel like I'm in a moving tornado. It's stormy and exciting. You never know what to expect next. Every turn is an exciting curve of endless surprises. The feelings he elicits in me is like no other.

I wrench my lips away from Nathan's and shake my head. I can't even look him in the eyes. I feel bad for him.

"That bad, huh?!" His voice comes out woe begotten.

I have no option but to reassure him it's not him, it's me, so I look into his eyes. He looks crestfallen. This makes me feel even worse than how I already feel.

"I'm sorry, but that should never have happened. I'm Aurey's girlfriend and even though we're going through rough a patch right now, I love him very much."

"That's one lucky dude." He quips, smiling at me.

"I'm the lucky one." Now I can't keep the smile off my face.

I love Aurey and that's that.

"Well, I had to try. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, although. . ." He shrugs nonchalantly. "I don't regret it. If you tire of him, please let me know. I will always be here, waiting, hoping, and anticipating."

Is he serious right now?

I need to disabuse his mind of anything ever happening between us. "Look Nathan, you're a handsome young man. Many women would go crazy falling over themselves to be that woman, but I am solidly taken by the man I love. I am his and he is mine. There's no going back. He's the man I want to spend the rest of my life with, so you need to disabuse your mind of ever seeing me as anything more than a friend."

"Rest of your life, huh? You sure he feels the same way? I mean, I know he loves you, that's apparent for all to see, but the rest of his life --- are you sure it's what he wants? Have you guys even talked about it?"

An odd feeling wraps itself around my heart and squeezes tightly. I recognize it. Fear.

"I . . . yes, he does." Liar, liar, pants on fire.

Nathan stares at me for a bit, but then he gets up. "You know what, I'm sorry I brought you here like this against your will, but you practically keeled into my arms." He throws me a goofy smile.

I nod, understanding flooding me. I decide to test how steady I am by standing up. I'm a bit shaky, at first, but after a few seconds of walking around, I turn to face Nathan who is watching me avidly. "Why did you bring me here, and why are you even in a hotel room?"

He sighs and turns round to where a tray sits with an array of drinks on it. Pouring a shot of whatever's in a red bottle, he downs it in one gulp before turning to me, shrugging in the process. "I was beginning to feel like a freeloader at Femi's beach house, plus I thought . . ."

He doesn't continue. He doesn't need to, because I already know what he was going to say. What he didn't say. "You thought I would come over here to see you regularly, right?"

He says nothing except to shrug. "A guy can dream, yeah?"

"Wrong! A guy can dream, but just not about me, okay! I'm taken. Next question. Why did you send me roses and how did you get to know my address?"

He swipes a hand down his face and shrugs again. "What can I say, Eve, you bring out the caring nature in me. As to getting your address, I'm sorry I can't tell you that. I promised her I wouldn't tell."

Anger surges through me.

I'm going to kill Ebere, for real this time.

Nathan faces me fully and squares up as he speaks in a whisper. Even though there's a bit of distance between us, his words carry to where I'm standing by the window overlooking the busy streets of Lagos. "I'm never going to s ----"

But he doesn't get to finish his statement, because my phone begins to ring shrilly. I look around the room, and spying my bag on a chair near the bed, I walk over to it, feeling more solid on my feet with each step I take.

Without checking who is calling, I pick the call.

"Princess!" Aurey's agitated voice reaches out to me. "Are you okay? You didn't come to work today. Where are you? I want to see you now, please. I need you." And in a much more quiet voice, he continues speaking. "Please . . . don't give up on us."

Tears gather in my eyes as I listen to him speak, but I will them away and nod like he can see me through the phone. "I'm coming over to you now."

After saying our goodbyes, I turn to Nathan who is leaning against the wall and watching me avidly. So I pick up my bag from the bed, dig out my shoes that are peeking out from under the chair, and walk over to Nathan with a bounce in my steps. Once I get to him, I cock my head to the side and smile smugly. "I'm going to get my man."

And I waltz out the door with a wide smile on my face.