Tobi was every lady’s dream man and he knew it. Sophisticated, tall, dark, handsome and rich, you would think he hadn’t experienced a single tragedy in his life. But that’s not the case. Having lost his parents at a young age, he was raised by his uncle whose wife and sons hated him with an unwarranted passion.
But all that hatred didn’t stop him from achieving his dream. Right now, he had a lovely wife and children who adored him. He was the CEO one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the country, which he inherited from his late uncle. His uncle had faith in him above his own sons. And he hadn’t disappointed him yet. Life was good and everything in it.
He stood in front his tall mirror in his classy master bedroom. Satisfied about his impeccable appearance, he grabbed his suitcase and headed downstairs to the dining room. His children, eight years old Lara and six years old Nonso, were already having breakfast. They were in their school uniforms. And they were arguing. He smiled.
“Hey, guys.”
They stopped arguing and beamed at him. “Good morning, daddy!”
“Good morning.”
Amaka, his wife entered carrying his breakfast which she set in front of him.
She sat beside him and smiled. “There you go. You’re already dressed for work?”
“Yes, I have a conference call with the Minister of Health and the board members in the office this morning.”
“I hope there’s no problem?”
“No, no problem at all. We’re just going to decide if we can sign a deal with our new product.”
“Oh, okay.” Amaka said and they began to eat.
Tobi looked at his kids. “So guys, what were you arguing about?”
Lara spoke up immediately. “Daddy, I was telling Nonso that it’s good to brush your teeth before eating every morning.”
“No, it’s good to brush your teeth after eating so you will not have a smelly mouth.” Nonso argued.
“Brushing your teeth after eating is bad.” Lara said.
“No, it’s not bad.” Nonso countered.
“You don’t know anything.” Lara shot at her brother.
“It’s you that don’t know anything.” Nonso shot back.
“Stop it both of you.” Tobi intervened. “It’s bad to argue during your breakfast. Now eat.”
“Okay, daddy.” Lara said. “But please tell Nonso to brush before he eats breakfast.”
“No, daddy. Tell Lara to brush after she eats breakfast.” Nonso countered again.
“It’s brush before eating.” Lara argued.
“No, it’s brush after eating.” Nonso refused to agree.
“Before!”
“After!”
Tobi looked helplessly at his wife. Amaka snorted at him. “Don’t look at me. They’re your kids.”
While Amaka went to drop the kids at school before going to work, Tobi drove to his office. As soon as he stepped into the building, “good morning, sir” “good morning, sir” rained all over the place from his employees. He simply nodded to them and went to his office.
His secretary was already on desk.
“Good morning, sir.”
“Good morning, Andy.”
“Sir, a call came for you from the Managing Director of Pharmex Limited earlier.”
“Alright. What about the board members?”
“They’re waiting for you at the board room.”
Tobi nodded and went to his door. Then he paused and looked back, suddenly disturbed. The secretary had gone back to typing on the computer. The other employees were minding their business. Everything appeared normal. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was following him.
The feeling persisted even when he closed for the day and he was stuck in traffic on the way home. He kept looking over his shoulders but he couldn’t catch the stalker. He didn’t like feeling like this. A man in his position was a prime candidate for kidnap and ransom.
His phone suddenly rang. He jumped. And checked the caller. It was his wife. He answered the call.
“Hello, honey.”
“Hi, babe. Where are you?” Amaka asked from the other end.
“Traffic. Heading home. What’s up?”
“Can you branch to the mall and get some provisions, please? I forgot to tell Edith to buy them. And I’m already home.”
“No problem. Anything else?”
“Nothing. Thanks, Honey. Love you.”
“Love you too. See you later.”
He ended the call and smiled, forgetting his earlier worries. Typical. Amaka was forever forgetting things. It drove him crazy sometimes but it was also one of the things he loved about her. He didn’t understand why after nine years married to her, he still found her forgetfulness adorable.
“Please stop at the mall. Madam wants me to pick up a few things.”
His driver smiled. “Okay, Oga.”
They stopped at the mall’s parking lot. He stepped down and walked inside. He picked a basket and began to shop. Suddenly, he stopped as the feeling of being watched came again. Damn, what is wrong with me? He thought.
Then he turned and froze.
“Hi, Tobi. Longest time.”
Tobi was speechless as he stared at the beautiful woman that smiled up at him.
“Anita?” He said softly.
“Wow, I didn’t think you would remember me.” Anita replied.
Tobi continued to stare at her. Anita used to be very skinny as an undergraduate. Though she had a pretty face. Gone was that skinny girl now. The woman standing before him was stunning with the right curves in the right places. The years have been good to her.
“How could I forget you. I just thought I would never see you again.” He blurted and immediately regretted it when he saw Anita’s smile slightly freeze.
Tobi grimaced, embarrassed. “Uhm, can we go somewhere quiet and talk?” He asked.
“Sure.”
“Okay, let me quickly finish shopping and I’ll meet you at the bar.”
“Okay.”
At the bar, they sat across each other and sipped their drinks in awkward silence.
Tobi finally broke the silence. “So, how have you been?”
She shrugged. “Fine. Finished school. Now working.”
“That’s great. Were you able to open a salon like you planned.”
“Still working on it.”
He nodded and they continued to sip their drinks. He shifted uncomfortably. “So, uhm, how about the… you know…”
“The baby died.” She interrupted flatly.
“I’m sorry.”
“You should be.” She replied slightly showing her anger.
He flinched. “I am. Please forgive me.”
She gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s okay. It’s past now. There’s nothing to forgive.”
He smiled gratefully at her and brought out a complimentary card from his wallet. “Here’s my card. I know I messed up. But I want to make it up to you. If you need anything, anything at all, please let me know. And I will be there.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
She took the card and smiled. “Thank you, Tobi.”
That night, Anita entered an abandoned uncompleted building. A middle aged mad was waiting for her. He was holding a file.
“Did you bring the documents?” She asked coldly.
“Yes.” He handed the file to her nervously.
“Are you sure they’re real?”
“They are. You can check.”
She began to go through the documents in the file.
“What about my family?” The man asked in a pleading voice.
“Are you sure?”
“As sure as I am that these documents are real.”
“They’re real. I can assure you.”
“Great. You can go now. Your family is waiting for you.”
The man nodded and hurried out. Anita continued to glance through the documents. She smiled in satisfaction. Now she had everything she needed, it was time to strike.
The next morning, while she was packing her bags in her hotel room, Tobi and Amaka were playing husband and wife play in their master bedroom. By the time Anita checked out of the hotel and entered a cab, Tobi and Amaka were downstairs in the kitchen. He was ‘disturbing’ Amaka while she cooked.
“Honey, you’ll make me burn breakfast.” She giggled as Tobi smooched on her neck.
He purred seductively. “Let it burn. We’ll make another one.”
“What if the kids wake up and catch us like this?”
“Then they’ll know Daddy loves Mummy and he can’t keep his hands off her.”
“Tobi!” She gasped in mock scandal.
He blinked innocently at her. “What?”
They heard the doorbell ring in the living room. Tobi groaned in annoyance. “Who wants to interrupt our moment this morning?”
She pouted playfully at him. “Oh, you big baby. Go and answer the door.”
“I’ll go if you come with me.”
And together, they left the kitchen to the living room, holding hands. Tobi opened the door.
And Anita smiled up at him. “Good morning.”
Without waiting for their reply, she dragged her luggages inside. Husband and wife watched her, stunned.
“Anita, what are you doing?” Tobi finally asked.
She showed him the complimentary card he gave her the previous day. “You said you’ll be there whenever you need me.”
Tobi stuttered. “I did. But not like this.”
Amaka stared at her, confused. “Excuse me, who are you?”
Anita smiled innocently at her. “Oh, he didn’t tell you. Hi, my name is Anita. And I’m your husband’s wife.”
Watch out for Episode 2 on Thursday. Please don’t forget to like and post your comments on the website as well as on our facebook page, twitter and other platforms. Cheers!