Billionaire Heiress of Lasgidi, page 25
"I don't know. I'm not Banks."
I sipped the drink through the long black straw in the glass, briefly glancing at her before settling it on the stool.
She was wearing a polka dot wrap dress that was inches above her thighs. It drew attention to her full curves and played up parts of her body she’d hidden beneath less figure-hugging clothes before now. The type of dress I could have never imagined that she’d wear. Before she set eyes on my father and a different side to her began to emerge.
Last night, I saw her sneaking into Tokunbo Carew's study close to midnight, at a time when she thought no one was watching her.
I liked Aunty Nurse. But I didn’t like her with my father.
"I think he misses you but you have eyes for the Ryan boy."
"I don't have eyes for anybody," I muttered. My whole body was yearning for him in a way that thoroughly fucked with my mind. I had gone to say that I loved him even if I had never uttered those words to anyone and I wasn't sure what it meant.
Was it love that drove a wedge between my parents? Was love what was making Aunty Nurse follow my father like a dog on heat? Was love the reason I was acting senselessly, ignoring the madness that was Lili Odumosu and behaving so recklessly around a boy I just met?
The idea of falling in love so easily and so quickly felt stupid but it also felt real. It felt like the most tangible feeling I had felt since I was fifteen, violated and stripped of everything that once made me curious and interested me.
My phone rang and it was Layal. She wanted to know if I was still interested in coming to the LGBTQ-themed art thing she told me about at that party that went south. The one where Lili purposely had Banks come to.
"Yeah, sure Layal. I'll find the location."
It was a good excuse to rid myself of Aunty Nurse but when I stood, she said, "I'm sorry if it feels like I am sharing your father's attention with you. He just understands me and he's so sensitive. It's hard not to like him."
She was being honest. But her honesty pricked me, making me more uncomfortable.
"Maybe tone it down."
She chuckled. "Tone it down? We mostly talk about you."
"You like him. You don't sneak into his Office at almost midnight to talk about me."
"Nimi!" She gasped.
"What? Am I lying?"
She shook her head, exasperated. "Yes, I have confided in him a few times but what brought us together was you."
"So now stay away from him. Now that I am having a better relationship with him, stay the fuck away."
She gasped, struggling to reduce her exasperation to the barest minimum."Nimi, what has gotten into you? That was rude."
"Rude is not knowing your place."
I stormed within, ignoring the Butler who was asking me what I wanted to eat for dinner. The exchange with Aunty Nurse had me heated and I sent a quick voice note to Ryan.
It was as cold as the message he dismissed me with after fucking me.
"I hate you and stop sending me gifts like I'm some ass to you!" I yelled at the end, hitting send before I changed my mind.
My heart raced as I covered the stairs, heading to my room in seconds.
Layal's event couldn't have come at a better time.
The ride in the back of the Limo was most welcome as it gave me some time to pull myself together before the event. Outside the premises, Aaliyah argued with an older man and plastered a smile on her face the moment she spotted me making for the exclusive cafe where Layal was holding her thing.
"Baby Carew! Look at you showing up to a small art thing like a newly minted Heiress," she said, her words accompanied by air kisses.
"Aaliyah Al-Hassan, always a pleasure," I said, grinning. "Ahan is that your man?"
She dismissed the guy who sauntered towards his car with a hand, "He's an idiot who wouldn't know what he needs if it slapped him in the face."
There was hurt in her voice as the glass doors pulled open for us to walk through the marbled floors.
"You okay?" I asked and that smile returned as if it never left.
"Sure. Why not?"
A few guests were sitting in the cozy cafe where Layal's event was taking place. I recognized a few Writers whose works I had been obsessed with when I still nursed dreams of becoming a Writer. The hall was filled with both known and unknown writers, a sort of networking was also currently ongoing. It was six weeks to the Scrivener West African competition and I knew almost everyone in this room who needed their big break had sent something in.
The realization detached me from my surroundings in a heartbeat. I wasn’t even sure writing was what I wanted to do. I wasn’t sure if in those years that I abandoned it, I would have outgrown it if I indeed pushed it.
A buzzing sound in my purse drew my attention to my ringing phone.
“Banks, I’m not home.”
“Yes, I know. I’m here. When are you back?”
I looked around, willing to drown myself in the conversations and the crowd more than I was interested in returning to the Carew mansion.
“I don’t know. Maybe evening.”
“I will wait.”
It was a decision he’d clearly come to logically. Otherwise, why would he want to spend more time with me in a home where every breath we drew seemed to draw us increasingly apart?
“Okay.”
I ended the call. Aaliyah was wrapping up a conversation with a friend. It gave me a few seconds to take another look around the room.
Was this even a space for me?
There was chatter and laughter in the room, music from the Lijadu sisters began playing on a low volume.
"I heard you and Ryan are sneaking around now. That's so cute! He's never given his heart you know." Aaliyah was back and so was that zing with which she spoke all the time. Her knee-length knotless braids swung as she moved her head to fully gaze at me.
“Interesting,” I said because I knew that he still hadn’t.
Aaliyah talked heartily about Ryan. He was always gloomy. He had a rough patch. Lili wanted to die for him.
It was as if someone made a montage of Ryan's sexcapades and non-existent dating life and plugged it on a big screen. She talked colorfully about him. How he was a good guy and how though she believed he was misunderstood she always knew he would make a good Lover.
The words humanized him and worsened how I felt.
I didn't come out trying to escape him only to walk into a human Wikipedia page of Ryan.
"Hey, Nimi. I'm glad you could make it." Layal was dressed in a red silk shirt and orange leather pants. She looked impeccable, her makeup although slight, accentuating her flawless face.
"Ryan really wanted you to be here. He made sure your favorite Author came. Please come. Anike Amodu is waiting."
She pulled me through the crowd as Aaliyah waltzed into a corner and continued chatting in high spirits with the guests. How did Ryan know who my favorite author was?
Anike Amodu was waiting in a corner, looking as if she was hoping to be saved from a conversationalist who talked about his new book. It was something that discussed the ‘thematic’ ideas of ‘patriarchy and matriarchy in the 21st century’ and the absolute dearth of ‘big male allies’ in the mainstream feminist conversations.
It was the sort of conversation one had with Anike Amodu. She was arguably the most celebrated, decorated, and most recognized author from the continent in recent times. Her accolades were endless and just recently two of her books that were made into films won two Oscars. One of those Oscars was for Best screenplay.
I stood before her as her gaze finally settled on me and she opened her mouth. Her words became instantly inaudible, my mind reeling with the realization of what was happening.
The realization of who I had become.
An heiress, a privileged kid who could meet her idols in a heartbeat, a terrible girlfriend, and a fucking rude person.
The words I spoke to Aunty Nurse flashed through my mind.
What I did to her six days ago. She didn’t even know about that yet.
Was this new me who I hoped to be?
“...Did you eventually get around to finishing The Jewel’s Lion? I thought the idea was quite interesting. When can I see it?”
Her voice had finally broken through my thoughts. She fell silent, waiting for a response to her question.
“The Jewel’s Lion,” I began, wondering how she knew about a half-finished piece I have long abandoned. “I haven’t touched that in years.” The last time I acknowledged it was on an IG post from years ago. The same post where I talked about how Anike Amodu’s works inspired me.
She didn’t utter a word but I was certain that she was lost as to why she was in the middle of the room filled with people who were dying to talk to her and kiss her ass talking to someone so clueless about their future.
Was I a Writer or not?
“Well, sometimes we struggle with words to convey what we really want to say. Maybe open up to the things around you, your new world.”
I nodded quickly, unsure of what else to say.
She gave a polite smile and walked towards the bar area.
Of course, I met my favorite Author for the first time and the first thing she needed after talking to me was a drink.
Her lips must ache from having to utter those words.
How did Ryan get her to do this?
I felt embarrassed as if he was currently in the same room with me, watching as I blew the chance to impress someone who could have easily become a Mentor.
I walked briskly towards the bathroom, Layal and Aaliyah were nowhere in sight. It gave me time to go somewhere I could calm myself and recuperate from that disastrous encounter.
Raised voices halted me as I made it to the bathroom door.
I was about to turn around and give the people arguing some privacy when I heard Layal’s voice.
It was calm and controlled as usual and even though she seemed furious she wasn’t screaming her words.
“Since you want to argue about this how many times has that guy had you making poor decisions I am so sure you will regret five years from now?”
“You can’t be sure of my life. This is my life!” Aaliyah screamed. “I am the one getting a procedure that doesn’t hurt anyone and nobody really gives a fuck about it but you. It’s not that serious. It’s just birth control.”
“Aaliyah the Doctor said those particular options he wants you on aren’t good for you.”
“He said I had to be ‘properly monitored’ if I insist on using them.”
I should leave. These sisters were handling a matter so serious it couldn’t wait for them to get home.
Still, I lingered by the entrance, as if realizing for the first time how crazy everybody’s life really was.
The Al-Hassan sisters may be the ones screaming in the bathroom right now but everyone else around me was dealing with one crazy situation or the other.
Lili was acting out because of reasons I knew had to go beyond the fear of losing Ryan. Aunty Nurse was obsessed with the first man who listened to her since she became an adult. Ryan was shutting me out but demanding to be let in and at the same time drowning me in gifts.
“What I am trying to say here is that you shouldn’t make a decision that serious with someone like Gafar Mohammed.”
“Layal, for the thousandth time it’s not that serious.”
“Not if the side effects are crazy, Aaliyah.”
“They are but I love him and they don’t matter.”
“Aaliyah, he doesn’t love you. He’s using you. He can’t get over Muna Carter and now he will exploit your innocence and-”
“I am not innocent. Young doesn’t automatically mean innocent.”
“I know. But you are displaying a lot of innocence and ignorance as we speak. Aaliyah I can’t let you do this.”
“Then be prepared to stop me. Because I will.”
I heard footsteps approaching and I hurriedly turned back towards the cafe.
“Aaliyah,” Layal called. There was silence. “If you do this, I’ll have to tell Dad.”
The silence that followed her words were deafening, the cracks the words caused threatening to shake the foundation of the strong bond they clearly shared.
I started towards the entrance because the only thing I knew that would make their exchange worse was if they knew they’d been overheard.
Layal didn’t seem like she would care but Aaliyah was going to hate me for it. If I still had the sense to do something right, I had to bounce.
“Well, be prepared to have your only sibling become your enemy.”
Aaliyah’s words tugged at me as I found the exit and demanded to be taken home.
The images of the past days flashed through my mind and I realized I wanted to settle a few things to the people who were always there for me but whose friendship and loyalty I had managed to take for granted for some time now.
Maybe Ryan was a distraction and Banks was the real thing.
Maybe none of them were to be in my life.
Maybe I also had to stop being an ass to Aunty Nurse because I hoped she wouldn’t muddle things up between my parents.
If their love couldn’t survive those many years ago why did I think it would now?
I sent a quick Whatsapp message.
I glanced at the Driver from the backseat.
There was only one person whose advice meant something to me right now.
And I was going to seek the advice before my life completely crumbled because of bad decisions.
Chapter 18
RYAN
My head thumped. It took me a few seconds to remember where I was.
Yeah, I was blindsided by a guy I thought was firmly bound to a chair while waiting for the father of the girl I abducted the guy previously bound to a chair for. A long explanation perhaps. But not that complicated.
I didn’t try to move.
I knew I was suffering the same fate I had subjected Sule Adeoye to.
However, what I didn’t expect was for him to linger, watching, crouching before me.
“Usually when someone does this, they leave.” I glanced around, trying to adjust my sight to my surroundings.
“I can’t. This place is surrounded.”
“Oh, you didn’t think the plan through then. Sad. Silly. Very on-brand.” I ignored the slight ache from where I was hit. I didn’t have a concussion. Or at least, I didn’t think I did. So maybe just a little bleeding from the side of my head and some swelling that would go away after some painkillers.
“I am going to untie you and you will lead me out of here.”
I chuckled. “And why would I do that?”
He didn’t have a weapon. He’d been abducted on his way to some clandestine meeting. Until he hit me, he was tied to a chair in this empty container, a short distance to the only known exit. Except he was willing to beat a few security guards, he won’t get far.
“Untie me,” I said.
“No. Not until you swear that you will let me leave.”
“I would never agree to that nonsense. Let alone swear.”
He screamed in frustration, kicking the wooden chair he previously sat on.
He rambled, pacing, fury charging every step he took.
“You are a bloody hypocrite, you know that, right? All the wealth your family enjoys and lavishes in was at the expense of millions of Nigerians. It’s how it works in this country when you’re this rich. So you guys aren’t good guys. You are bad people. Just like me, you’ve done bad things.”
I asked calmly, “Is this a confessional? Are you finally admitting to raping a minor?”
“You think revenging for her will wipe off your sins.”
“I don’t think so. I just think you’re a fucking idiot to think you can get away with this. You’re not even sorry.”
“Should I kill myself because somebody was raped?! She was begging for it, throwing herself at an older man like that!”
He struggled with the words. They spluttered from his lips as he went off, venting, screaming.
He was angry that he had to talk about it. He was angry that somehow, his past had caught up with him and he was dealing with the consequences of his actions.
I couldn’t tell if he was a monster. But one thing he was for sure was a terrible human being.
He didn’t deserve to have his bloodline continued, let alone have kids.
He was such a waste of space.
“You can still let me go,” he said. He was frustrated. He stopped before me, throwing his hands in the air. “I would not tell anybody if you let me go right now. But if you don’t, when this is over, I will tell my wife everything that’s happened here.”
“Hmm. I wouldn’t do that. She will be dragged into the mess when you eventually go to jail.”
Left to me, he wouldn’t be in a jail cell. But I also liked to deal with things the right way.
Guys like Malik had no sympathy for people who wronged them.
I didn’t either.
I just liked to believe that I could rein in my emotions before someone got killed. Besides, Uncle Toks asked me to wait. And wait, I will.
“She will understand.”
“Ah, so she’s an idiot too.”
He charged towards me, smacking me across the face, his face contorted with anger. But I could tell that his anger was less important where his frustration and desperation lay.
He wanted out of this arrangement that had been made without his permission.
He wanted to fly, to rise above his blames and soar to the pinnacle of absolution. All at the expense of the people he’d hurt.
I watched his fists ball. I wasn’t sure if he was going to murder me. I didn’t know how deep his obsession with wrecking human lives ran.
I wouldn’t mind if he killed me while I was trying to avenge a woman I was crazy about. A woman I was falling for.
However, if he didn’t kill me, I wouldn’t mind destroying him and everything he stood for.
So if I were him, I’d kill me.
He untied me from the chair, shoving me towards the entrance as he grabbed the same chair he’d hit me on the head with.
