I walked away speedily but Cynthia got up and ran after me. Ogechi and her
manager were confused but however joined her in
pursuit of me. Cynthia started screaming
“Stop right there!” The attention of the
people got directed to us, especially me
since I was the one on the run. No guests
tried to stop me; instead they gave way
when I got close to any of them as none
knew how dangerous I could be. I ran so
fast and located a dark secluded area just
by the beautifully trimmed flowers outside
the building and got rid of everything I
disguised myself with. I then mixed up with
the crowd but was so careful not to let
Cynthia or Ogechi see me. They found the
items I disguised myself with and
concluded there was an impostor in the
midst of them. The cops were called
immediately as panic spread among the
guests. That was the end of the party, and
the guests were advised not to leave the
premises, as it was safer than the lone
street outside which harbored renowned
thugs and outlaws, one of which was
believed to be present in the party.
Cynthia got worried sick about me. She
thought something bad had happened to me
which warranted a strange fellow to be in
possession of my cell phone. She tried
calling me again, but I had switched off the
phone. The cops showed up soon enough
and started searching the premises for any
possible suspects. I didn’t have to hide
from the cops; I only had to hide from
Cynthia and Ogechi. If the guests had not
been advised to stay back at the premises,
it would have been easy to vacate the
building along with the multitude of them.
But if I tried to do so alone, I would be
giving myself away to the last people in the
planet I wanted to be seen by.
I made sure to be in the center of the
crowd, where no part of me could be seen
by any of the two. The cop’s search didn’t
yield any positive results, so they stuck
around to secure the place till the light of a
new day approached. From where I hid
myself, I saw Cynthia crying and refusing to
be consoled by all who tried to do so to her.
Ogechi didn’t stop consoling her despite her
refusal to be consoled. It was then that
reality dawned on me. I had complicated
issues in my life by holding unto my
feelings for Ogechi while having a romance
with Cynthia. I regretted everything I had
done. I said to myself; Ogechi had moved
on with her life without me all these years.
It’s true she still loves me, but she would
certainly move on with her life without me.
I had thought I could easily get around what
I and Cynthia shared, not until I saw her
lamenting and blaming herself for letting
me embark on the trip to Oklahoma. “If I
had objected, this wouldn’t have happened”
she kept saying. There and then, I made up
my mind for the last time that I was going
stick to Cynthia and let Ogechi go.” After
all, if Mariana hadn’t come up with the
video thing, Ogechi may have yielded
completely to Ck’s advances. Who knows?
My only prayer was to leave Ogechi’s house
to my hotel room and call Cynthia as
though I was just checking on her, and then
act surprised at whatever she told me
concerning what just happened. I also
planned to get rid of my cell phone and tell
her I lost it somewhere I couldn’t
remember, but the problem was leaving
Ogechi’s residence. The cops were
everywhere, and any unusual move will be
questioned. That would certainly draw
attention to me. So I just kept my calm but
my heartbeat ran so fast like I was guilty of
a deadly crime. Some guests felt
uncomfortable outside and demanded to go
inside. I joined them and went inside in
order to make sure I was truly hidden from
the eyes of those girls.
As we marched inside, I turned away from
the rest of the guests and made for a very
secluded part of the building where I could
actually monitor the movements outside.
My plan was to monitor to know when
Ogechi and Cynthia left so that I could
seize that opportunity and leave that
premises for good. I didn’t find exactly the
kind of place I was looking for, but where I
found could serve that purpose to some
extent. I didn’t know what section of the
house it was but I opened the door and
went in, for people barely came around
there. There was also a window from where
I could monitor some activities going on
outside the building. The section I entered
was two times the size of a standard
bedroom and was filled with jewelries,
designer dresses and shoes, and the likes.
I concluded it was Ogechi’s wardrobe. I
went to the window of the room and fixed
my eyes on all that was going on outside in
order to know when the time for me to
make my move came.
I eventually slept and snapped out of sleep
at about after 4am. Everywhere was very
calm. There was no noise and movements
again. I could only see the police from the
window moving and speaking to each other
while constantly looking at their wrist
watches to confirm what the time was. I
noticed that guests were freely moving out
of the premises without being stopped or
questioned by the police. I knew they were
doing their underground investigation
anyway, but nothing about me suggested
any ill impression, so I could also join the
guests and leave. Perhaps it was time for
me to leave and end everything without
anyone getting hurt except me by my
conscience. I was determined to tie the
nuts with Cynthia the moment I left that
place because I didn’t think I could bear to
see her heart broken. Ogechi wouldn’t have
any problem moving on without me. She
even said something like; IF FATE BRINGS
US BACK TOGETHER when she was telling
her story that night. So I guess FATE
DIDN’T BRING US BACK TOGETHER.
After scanning through every part of the
outside of the building which my eyes could
see without seeing Ogechi or Cynthia, I
made my move. I exited the room I was in
and shut the door behind me gently, then
made way at once for the front door without
any hesitation. Coming from a corridor, I
found that some doors to the rooms by the
side of it were open, and had people inside
it either sleeping or discussing. Amazingly
some were even making out as though
there was no situation to worry about. I
continued moving till I got to the sitting
room, where there were quite a number of
people talking about various things. It
appeared I was the only on disturbed among
all who were present in that building. Well, I
didn’t have such luxury then. All I wanted
was to leave there in the most unnoticeable
manner ever. As I was peeping to see if
Ogechi or Cynthia were amongst those in
the sitting room, a door to one of the
rooms behind me popped open and I dodged
into an empty room that was just beside me
and shut the door. I didn’t know who opened
that door, but I just feared any such
movements to be Ogechi or Cynthia. So it
was better for me to prevent myself from
being seen before checking to see who it
was than checking first only to discover it
was one of them.
My heartbeat had already accelerated
again, so I remained in that room for a
little bit to calm myself down before
continuing. After I pulled myself together, I
left the room to continue on my way out
but there just so many people in that siting
room that I couldn’t tell if any of the two
girls were there or not. I decided to use
another exit that was less revealing than
the front door. The second exit was
somewhere around the VIP section. I made
my way there to locate it and leave. It was
difficult to find the door. I increased my
pace towards it the moment I found it, but
almost gave up the ghost when the door
popped open and I saw Cynthia wearily
walking in with some people with her trying
to console her. Until that moment, she was
still worrying about me. I gave way to all
the breadth I had taken in and concluded
that this was it. My doom had come upon
me, I thought. But then, it occurred to me
that Cynthia’s eyes were so wet that she
probably couldn’t decipher the still figure
about 20 feet away from her, if at all she
was even interested in knowing who anyone
she saw was.
Immediately, I rushed into the VIP section
and hid myself somewhere, waiting for her
and her consolers to pass before I finally
left. Luckily for me, the light in the VIP
had been turned off. Maybe because it was
night or there was no one there. What a
long night it had been. My cover was
almost blown, but I managed to keep things
together. And now, as soon as Cynthia gets
was away from there, I would leave and say
goodbye to Ogechi and my feelings for her.
I said in my heart; “don’t worry dear
Cynthia; this will be the last time you’ll
ever have to shed tears. I’ll make sure of
that.” The first thing I was planning to hit
Cynthia with the moment we saw each other
again was a proposal. I concluded that
Ogechi wasn’t for me. And I also reasoned
that she would find it easier living without
me than Cynthia would. Cynthia had done
almost everything for me and was also in
love with me. It would be a serious heart
break for her if I ever left her. “Why did I
even come to Oklahoma in the first place” I
asked myself.
After those thoughts and much more, I
returned my focus to the issue on ground.
Cynthia and those with her walked pass the
VIP section, probably heading for the siting
room. The coast was clear. I rose from
where I squatted and made way for the exit
tiptoeing. I got to the door of the VIP
section and peeped out to confirm for the
last time if there was still anyone hanging
around somewhere. I found there wasn’t
anyone and I braced myself up to make the
last move. Just when I was about take the
first step of my last move, the lights in the
VIP section suddenly came on and the
darkness therein was revealed. I froze!
Then I heard a voice from behind me say;
“Who are you? And why are you snooping
around?” I didn’t say anything in response,
neither did I look back to see who was
talking. The voice from behind said again;
“I’m talking to you. Who are you and why
are you snooping around? You better say
something before I call the cops on you.”
When I heard cops, I turned slowly to see
who was talking. OH GOODNESS GRACIOUS
MARY! It was Ogechi’s voice. Ogechi had
been in the VIP all the while, and she was
observing all my moves from the moment I
rushed in there. The moment we saw
ourselves, we both exclaimed
simultaneously; WHAT???
To be continued.
