I LOVE YOU, BUT…. (Part 15&16) – OPEYEMI AKINTUNDE

Part 15
I LOVE YOU, BUT….
Opeyemi Akintunde

“Lara!”

“ Lara!”

Baba Shagba called out to his last wife. He knew he dare not call any of his senior wives. His senior wives had lost respect for him, because of the lack of money to care for them. The only thing keeping them with him is the oath all of them entered when he married them.

His last wife, Omolara who was just 18 years old entered his trap when she came looking for a charm to tie down her boyfriend 2 years earlier at 16 years old. Prior to that, she had come for exam charms which he did for her, but he was surprised when she came back wanting to tie down her boyfriend. Baba Shagba had been pissed at her, so he decided to punish her by charming her in to Marrying him. He had seen how full of virtue she was. He gave her a portion to drink. Stupidly, she drank it and started loving him instead.

“ Yes Baba..” Lara replied

“ We are having a visitor this night, she will be sleeping in your room for two weeks.”

“ Ok Baba” Lara said obediently

“ Never!” Chigozie shouted from her room. Chigozie was the fourth wife. She was the wife before Lara.. Chigozie married Baba Shagba willingly so she wasn’t charmed like the three other wives. She and the first wife were the ones free from Baba Shagba’s love charm.

“ You want to bring another woman in here.. Never… Tufiakwa … I will be the one to kill her”

“ I am not bringing a new wife Chichi… She is a blind woman I want to treat”

“ You ? Treat a blind woman? Since when did you start treating blind women. Is it not only love portion you are good at?” Chigozie mocked him

“ Chichi… I don’t have time for this.. Winter is already bringing her…”

“ Winter..! Oh I see! That woman abi? So she has decided to bring you a wife?” Chichi said

“ Chichi, don’t be a joy spoiler, come ooo” He pulled her away from Lara and two of his wives that had joined the conversation

“ Chichi, 1.2 million Naira is at stake here… I promise I will give you 100 thousand Naira if you cooperate with me. I promise you I am not marrying her… it is a long story…”

“ I am not going anywhere, so I have all the time to listen to the long story.” Chigozie insisted

“ Ok… Winter….” Baba Shagba explained everything.

********

Beauty couldn’t believe she had agreed to stay with a strange herbalist for a while, but as it was, Winter was the only person she had and she had no choice but to follow her advise.

*******

Pamilerin laid on the bed thinking about how the day went. She had gone for an X-ray and to her greatest surprise, there was nothing wrong with the Leg. The doctor advised her to stay indoors for some days and be off her feet. He told her the pain she was feeling could just be a traumatic pain.

She watched her husband sleeping calmly like a baby. She thought about her outburst earlier. That was not her person.

“ Pamilerin, you need to calm down. “ Pamilerin advised herself.

Her phone rang again. Her mother had been calling all afternoon but she was not in the mood for any drama.

On a second thought, Pamilerin knew if she didn’t pick up the call, her mother would call all night.

“ Hello, Maami”

“ Ha! Pamilerin… What is it? You want to kill me?”

“ Mummy, I am sorry… I was busy all day…”

“ Busy all day? Where are you?”

“ At home… Where else do you expect me to be at this time of the night?”

“ You mean you are fine? You are not sick? You don’t have headache?” Ajoke said

“ Why are….you asking me all that?”

“ Nothing ooo, I am just concerned!”

Pamilerin hung up…

“ What is Maami up to ? What has she done? Is she trying to attack me? Is she the cause of my leg pain?” Pamilerin reasoned

“ I need to stop picking her calls before she hurts me. “ Pamilerin quickly blocked her mother from calling her.

“ I have had enough trouble for a day” Pamilerin dropped her phone by her bedside table. Her leg was still hurting but the pain relief pills and injections the doctor had given her had subsided the pain.

“ God, I hope to be better by tomorrow “

*******

Winter alighted from the taxi that brought them to Baba Shagba. She held Beauty’s hand as they walked towards Baba Shagba’s compound. Beauty could smell that awful smell and cloud of darkness that was over the house they were entering… She could hear a voice from behind telling her…

“ This is not the solution… This is the solution”

“ Lift your leg… We are about entering the compound.” Winter said. She couldn’t wait to dump Beauty with Baba Shagba. She had only two weeks to execute her plan .

“ No…” Beauty froze all of a sudden. “ I am not going in there!” “ Take me back home… it’s better I die peacefully than die here. The darkness I feel around here is enough to kill me. Winter take me back home or take me to my grandmother’s place. “

Winter felt like slapping her…

“ Your grandmother? who you haven’t seen in how many years, who you deserted after you started making money”

“ Winter, she is still my grandmother, she would accept me and help me.”

Winter was trying so hard to control her anger. If only Beauty could see how her eyes shone with so hatred.

“ I am not taking you back there… I know what is right for you and HERE… is where you are going to be for now!”

“ Winter, Take me from here now!”

*******

Winter was haunting Freeman’s dream. It wasn’t in a s€xual way but rather everything Winter had said to him at the lounge was replaying itself in his dream. It felt like Winter had recorded those dreams she said she had on his mind. The dreams were playing back.

Freeman saw himself and Winter having business meetings, he saw her taking him to meet other wealthy investors. He saw them travelling together to all the countries she had told him she had visited. He saw them entering different pr!vate jets…

Freeman woke up smiling.

“ I have hit my money bag, Thank you God for bringing Mrs Winter into my life” He said to himself.

Part 16
I LOVE YOU, BUT….
Opeyemi Akintunde

Freeman couldn’t wait for the day to break. His heart yearned to call Mrs Winter and ask to meet with her again. He could sense that he and Mrs Winter would do great things together.

It was 4am and all he could do was think of why the clock of that was ticking slowly.

Pamilerin on the other hand moved in pain in between her Sleep, she wanted to wake up, but the drowsiness wouldn’t let her. In between her sleep, she saw Freeman walking towards their Closet. He kept bringing out and trying out different suits, ties , shirts…

In between her sleep, she kept wondering what he was up to…

” Is Freeman planning to go out even with this pain I am going through?” Pamilerin thought.

*********

Beauty’s eyes didn’t feel sleep all through the night. The mosquitoes came in their numbers attacking every exposed part of her body. Beauty couldn’t help the tears that flowed on their own to the side of her eyes.

Though she was getting accustomed to the continuous darkness that clouded her day and night, she didn’t think she could bear sharing the room with a pr€gnant stranger. She had been told she would be sharing the room with one of the herbalist’s wife.

On entering the room, she met the rude shock of knowing that she would be sleeping on a mattress on the floor, when she had a soft comfy six feet by six mattress in her home. To make matters worse, she would be sharing the room with a pr€gnant woman whose body was smelling urine…

” Just two weeks….” Beauty encouraged herself…

” But two weeks in this place can actually kill you” the inner voice in her revolted.

*******

Winter had spent the better part of the night, ransacking Beauty’s house. She combed the house of her gold jewelries. She stumbled on the documents of two properties that Beauty had bought.

Winter got into her car by 6am and drove to Rennaissance Apartment, it was one of the expensive ocean view shortlet apartments. Winter needed a place Freeman could meet up with her unnoticed and unhindered…

” One s€xual time with him was is all heeded”….

TWO WEEKS LATER….

Pamilerin had become a shadow of herself. That was the fifth Specialist hospital she had been in the last two weeks. They all had been saying the same thing…

” The leg looks good from the Xray. The pain will subside”

Pamilerin knew the pain was not subsiding, rather the intensity was high.

The pain was not only limited to her ankle anymore, it had taken her whole leg.The pain had gotten to her waist.

She was seated in front of an orthopedic doctor who was saying the same thing, but he added…

” Madam…can I give you an advice… I think this leg issue is more than a physical leg problem. I have a friend who is a traditional bone therapist.You should see him”

” Traditional bone therapist? Like a Native doctor?” Pamilerin asked wondering if a medical doctor was referring her to a herbalist…

” Yes, they can fix Spiritual bone problems , of which I can tell you categorically that this leg of yours is having serious Spiritual problems “

” I am a Christian sir, I can’t go to a Native doctor for help” Pamilerin said. Her voice was weak. Fear gripped her heart at the realization that the leg pain was a Spiritual case.

” Then I am sorry ma, for recommending it to you” The doctor said as he quickly changed his concerned look to an angry and emotionless look.

*********

Ajoke was still angry at Pamilerin. Ade, her neighbor had confirmed to her that Pamilerin had blocked her line from calling her. Ade had used his number to call Pamilerin’s line and it rang before he quickly dropped it. To confirm that she had blocked Ajoke, He had called Pamilerin’s line using Ajoke’s line, but the call kept ending on it’s own.

Ajoke became angry. She swore to leave Pamilerin to suffer whatever was coming to her, as she would wait for her to come begging for her help when her husband’s girlfriend had dealt with her Mercilessly…

” A baby chicken who feels her mother is worthless and runs away from her under her mother’s wing, will know the worth of her mother when the hawk comes calling” Ajoke had resolved in her heart.

********

Winter was prepared for Freeman. Freeman had been playing hard to get for the past two weeks. They had been having their meetings at the lounge of the apartment she was staying . She had always offered to give him a drink at her flat, but he always turned down the offer.

Winter had promised him an initial investment of 500million, which she told him was part of what she inherited from her late husband.

That day was the day she was meant to sign it off.

Winter heard the sound of the apartment bell…

She knew he was around. She had opened the door halfway. He didn’t have to use the bell. She had told him, she was having a bad period…

15 MINUTES EARLIER

” I am around! Unlike you, you are not here yet! Is everything alright?” Freeman texted

” Everything is not alright… I don’t think we can have our meeting today. I can’t come down ” Winter had replied..

” Why? What’s wrong?” Freeman replied. Freeman was not going to let the devil destroy his chance of a lifetime.That was the day of her concluding on the investment.

” Just having a bad period day”

” Bad period day?”

” Period as in Menstrual pain..I wish I could get some pain killers but I can’t even lift myself from the floor where I am laying ” Winter texted back while sipping her champagne. She knew how it was going to end…

” Can I get you some pain killers?” Frreeman said and Winter laughed out loud. Freeman was following the script line by line.

” Oh! That would be nice of you…I am in Apartment G05. Thanks” Winter replied

Winter turned off her data. She knew how it worked. She didn’t want to give him the chance to call and say he couldnt come to her apartment.

Winter knew it was time…

She got into one of her crazy night wears that only a castrated man could resist the temptation of sleeping with her.

*******

” This is two weeks already, I want to go back home. The eye treatment is not working and besides I believe Freeman’s wife is no longer chasing me. Also my friend Winter has obviously gone back to her husband. At this point, let me just go home” Beauty said to Baba Shagba.

Beauty had told Lara, her pr€gnant roommate to help her stand by the entrance of their room, so she could speak to Baba Shagba on his way out of his own room. Baba Shagba’s room was adjacent to theirs.

” Well, you have few days before your 21 days from the sun will be over, once it’s completed, you are free to go.”

” What has the past 18 or so days done for me, my eyes still see darkness… Whatever you are doing is not working and I am done… I just need my phone to call someone who can take me out of here”

” Ok…but your phone is not with me. Your friend took it with her.”

” No, before she left, she told me she gave it to you and if I needed to call I should tell you. I have been asking you for the phone and you said I needed to be off any form of contact and that you would give me the phone when I was leaving…so why the lie now?” Beauty said

” I am not telling you lies… Listen Woman, you are still here, because your friend wants you here, the moment she doesn’t want you here again, you can leave” Baba Shagba said angrily leaving Beauty and Lara at the entrance of their room.

*******

Winter left the door halfway opened, she wanted him to walk into the room…She had a great sight for him to behold…

The ringing of her phone interrupted her s€x appeal positioning. On looking at the caller ID, she knew she had to pick up the call. It was BS; short form of Baba Shagba calling.

” Hello, Baba Shagba…What is it…this is not the time ooo”

” Listen, your fowl wants to get loose”

” Tie her … Or is she too strong to tie.. I need some days more.”

” I should tie her?” Baba Shagba asked for clarity sake

” Yes tie her!” Winter said affirmatively before ending the call abruptly.

*******

” I should tie her..” Baba Shagba said smiling mischievously

” That’s my Speciality…. It’s been a while since a woman loved me and its been a while since I slept with a new woman…” Baba Shagba said laughing with excitement.

He was about to do what he knew how to do best. He was going to tie Beauty down with his love charm.

” Lara, Lara! Come here!” He called his last wife

” Yes Baba!”

” Go and kill a Male and a female chicken for me, Kill both and cook it together. When you are through bring the whole pot to me”

CLICK HERE TO READ ‘I LOVE YOU, BUT…’ (PART 17&18) – OPEYEMI AKINTUNDE