Roses And Thorns #11

“You had no right, Haliru. You had no right” Tehilah said in the coolest voice she could muster. Her anger was boiling up to the brim, but she was trying her hardest to rein it in.  Even in her anger, she could see Haliru’s good intentions, but it didn’t change the fact that he had made things more complicated. If the child was born and looked like Wale, she was going to be in trouble and even her career could be destroyed. It would be the biggest scam since the Buhari government, and she didn’t ask for it.

“I just want to help. I have been trying to tell you how much I love you” Haliru turned her to face him. They were in his office, where Tehilah had marched to, with the anger oozing out of her pores. He was surprised that she was speaking so calmly, even though he wasn’t fooled. He knew Tehilah and she could just increase the decibel of her voice anytime.

Tehilah on the other hand had never thought that Haliru felt so strongly about her, but then doubt crept in. Hadn’t Wale professed his undying love for her, what came out of it? She scoffed and walked away from Haliru. When she got to the door, she turned to look at Haliru.

“I am terminating my contract with this company” she announced and left, before Haliru had a chance to fashion a reply.

“What just happened?”Haliru rubbed his head in confusion. All he wanted was to wipe the shame off the face of the woman he loved, but now, even their friendship was gone.

***

Adara sat in the coffee shop just a few blocks from Bamanga. The cup of coffee in front of her was almost empty, but the chestnut cake on the plate remained untouched. Her mind was in a million places. She kept asking herself if trading Haliru’s love was the best decision she took many years ago. Her mind wandered right back to the past, when she was the center of Haliru’s world.

Adara met Haliru when his father was still alive, and when Haliru was the vice president of Bamanga.  Haliru’s elder brother Musa was the president, and he was only in that position because he was the eldest son. Haliru’s father loved Haliru more than his older son, but he never showed it. He was always reproving Haliru, while the older son was left to do as he please, even stealing company funds.

Haliru and Adara met when Adara came to Bamanga to apply for a job. She was not book smart but Haliru liked her at first sight. It was the days when he had a weakness for fair skinned ladies. He asked her out and they began to date. After finding out that her family was poor, he took over her responsibilities and gave her everything she wanted and more. Eight months after they met, he engaged her with a big diamond ring, in a lavish engagement party.

After the engagement, Haliru’s father became terribly sick and all decisions regarding the company fell to Musa, Haliru’s elder brother and that was when things changed.

Musa began to openly pursue Adara and she also flirted with him. Musa promoted her to the position of Head of Finance, despite Haliru’s disapproval due to Adara being ill equipped.

“You would rather give me, than put me in a position where I can earn my own money?” Adara had a shouting match, right inside Musa’s office.

“I have persuaded you to continue your studies even in the best schools abroad, still you linger. You would rather get a position you are not qualified for?”

“Enough already, she gets the position and that is final” Musa sat, breaking up the fight.

Another bomb fell when Haliru found that Adara had sold the engagement ring. When he asked her, Adara lied that it was for a family emergency.

Few months later, Haliru’s father died and in his will, he transferred all his major assets to Haliru and left shares for Musa and Adara as his intended daughter-in-law. This was the beginning of the feud between the brothers and their mother was unable to mediate. Musa was not going to let everything go, since Adara had begun to shun him.

In a surprise interview, Musa let the cat out of the bag.

“My father left everything to my brother, not because he is better than me, but because he feels guilty and also for gratitude”

“What do you mean?” the anchor prodded, as her eyes lit up. She knew when a dirty secret was about to be opened. She could see the wicked gleam in Musa’s eyes.

“He was sleeping with Adara, my brother’s fiancée”

“Wow” the anchor exclaimed.

“Adara is a delectable woman, it was hard for the old man to resist her seduction” Musa continued, with a smirk on his proud face.

“Correct me if I am wrong. Are you saying, Adara was seducing your late father?”

“Yes, she came on to him, same way she came on to me. We have all had slices of her. She thought I was next in line after my father and secured her place by sleeping with me. She even broke her engagement with my brother by selling the ring, but poor Haliru was too dumb to see”

“I feel no remorse because I stole his woman, same way he stole my father’s love from me”

After that interview, their mother had a heart attack and died after few months being in the hospital. Musa loved his mother and felt bad, but still he blamed Haliru for it all.

Haliru broke up with Adara, but he couldn’t send her away because she was on the board of the company. A terrible mistake his father had made.

“And I will come back into your life, one way or another” Adara heaved a breath. She had made a wrong calculation in the past, but now she was going to make sure she hit the mark. The only thing standing between her and her goal was Tehilah.

She saw the way Haliru looked at her and knew he had fallen for her, but she was not going to let Tehilah into Haliru’s life, even if they were having a baby together.

“Let’s see how you have that baby, bitch” Adara thought just as she saw Haliru walk in through the door. She had not forgotten this was his favorite coffee shop.

Adara waited for him to be served his coffee before joining his table. He almost choked when he saw her over the brim of the coffee cup.

“What are you doing here?”

“This is a free coffee shop, Haliru” Adara retorted.

“Well, certainly not this table”

“Look here Haliru, I have a stake in this company and if you don’t terminate our contract with Tehilah,  I will make the board vote for it”

“It is too bad you have shares in a company you neither invested in nor affiliated to, thanks to your excellent bed skills. However, this publishing company is my project and the board has no say in it” Haliru moved closer, such that their faces were an inch from each other’s. “I have watched you go after every woman that came into my life, but I let it go because they weren’t worth it in the first place. This time is different, because I will crush you until there is no place in this world for you to hide, if you go after Tehilah”

“You think you are in love with her, but really you are still in love with me. These mediocre are your way of compensating for my absence in your life”

“You say it like you are trying to convince yourself. You had your chance Adara, now get out of my life for good”

“We shall see about that” Adara stood up and walked out of the coffee shop with angry steps.

***

Tehilah was home alone, cooking spaghetti in hot sauce. She didn’t feel like eating, but cooking was the only way she could keep herself from thinking how messed up her life really was. As she was stirring the spaghetti, her doorbell rang. She smiled thinking it was her best friend in the universe, Bimpe.

“Coming girl, you don’t have to bring down the bell. I just installed that” she said as she walked to open the door.

She pulled the door open, but instead of Bimpe, Adara was at the door, wearing sweatpants and a hooded sweatshirt. The anger in her eyes, made Tehilah step back.