LOVE & JUSTICE! Episode 5.

To read the previous episode, click here

*****

(Joseph)

I saw Lucky rapidly end the call, shoved her phone inside her purse and zipped it. Her facial look was gloomy and anxious. I noticed she was in a hurry to leave. I swiftly got up on my feet to stop her from walking away.

“What is it?” I asked her. “You look worried.”

She heaved a heavy sign, touched me lightly on the left arm. “I have to go home now. I will call you later.”

“Is everything okay with your grandfather?” I knew he was sick.

Firstly, she responded with a very weak smile. Her fingers were trembling, she tried to compose herself, but was unable to. I knew something was definitely wrong. “My grand dad is fine but I just have to go home now.”

I took my glance to the path of Sebastian and Kate inside the swimming pool. They were staring at us. I stared back at my girlfriend. “Why do you want to leave now?”

“I do not want you to worry.” she said and took her hand off me. “We will talk later.” 

“Won’t you dry your body? Your clothes are wet.”

“I will go home like this.” Lucky said, gave me a quick peck on my dry lips and waived at her friend and Sebastian. They waived back. She said to me. “I don’t want to bother Kate. Please, help me tell her I have to go home now.”

“No problem my love.” I expressed. 

“I love you.” 

“I love you too.” she was about to walk away when I held her right hand. “I will walk you to your car.”

Lucky smiled broadly. “Thanks love.”

After I escorted Lucky to her car and she drove away, I went back and saw Kate out of the pool, cleaning her face, arms and legs with a dry towel. I searched for Sebastian but he was nowhere in sight. I informed her about the message sent by Lucky. She only responded with a nod. I asked after Sebastian.

“He went to pay for the bills.”

I said okay, waited for him to come before I go home. After Kate finished drying off her hair, she came to stand in front of me. She balanced her hands on her waist.

“I am not afraid of you and that’s why I will speak my mind.”

I stared at her puzzled. I had no idea, why she would say such a thing to me. “Have I offended you?”

A smile flashed from the left corner of her lips. Kate dropped her hands, look closely into my eyes and spoke. 

“I like you but I still do not like you.”

I was surprised. “I don’t think that is a compliment.”

“Whatever.” she said in a rude tone. “I know my friend thinks she’s in love with you but I think your fake attitude has blinded her. You think you can fool everyone, but you cannot fool me. Let Lucky go. You cannot offer her anything and I will advise you to leave her before it will be too late for you to realize that she is not the woman for you. You will lose everything!”

“Is that a threat?” I asked her in a stunned tone. I had no idea she thought I was a gold digger. “Are you threatening me?”

She did not give me a reply; instead, she spilled out more tantrums. “Lucky is my bosom friend and I will not watch you break her heart. I know you are not the one for her, go and look for your type!”

“I can take insult from anybody, but I will not be threatened. My relationship with Lucky is none of your business. I know it will not be a smooth road for the two of us but we will surely overcome it.”

“That is nonsense! You will never be with her! I know you are after her money.”

“I genuinely love Lucky and no one is ever going to stop us. I will fight for her.”

“Fight?” Kate asked in a sarcastic tone. “If it’s fight you have to do, that means you have a lost the battle already.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think your one and only love has informed you that she is supposed to get married very soon.”

“I do not understand you.”   

                 

“My friend is supposed to marry a man that has the money to take good care of her. You have a rival Joseph and his name is Dominic.”

“Who is Dominic?” I asked. My heartbeat was pounding very fast.

“I do not have the answers to that question.” she replied. “Ask your girlfriend and if ever you have the opportunity to sit before the Okoye’s, know within your heart that you have failed. You will never marry Lucky Okoye.”

Sebastian cleared his throat attentively and it stopped me from asking her more questions. I was disturbed by the man she called my rival. I know I will surely meet Lucky’s parent’s one day and I am prepared for that day to come. No matter what happens that day, I will let them know how deeply I have fallen for their daughter and I will make a promise to make her happy for the rest of our lives. I loved Lucky. I was madly in love with her.

Kate turned to Sebastian and kissed him on his cheeks. “I should be going now. We will talk later on the phone.”

He agreed and hugged her. She swing her waist and eyed me as she sauntered to the where she parked her vehicle. The moment we saw her speed off, I looked at Sebastian. “I will like to thank you for your hospitality. I am truly grateful.”

“I have done nothing yet.” he said, smiled and gave me his hand for a handshake. I shook it.

“I will be going home now.” I said.

“To think and have high blood pressure?”

“Excuse me?”

“Women.” he said and shook his head. “They will only give you headaches and heartaches. The only way you can survive in this universe is never to fall in love with a woman and make her one of your priorities. You will be disappointed at the end of the day. I will not advise you to go home, I heard what that slut said. I will take you to a club or my hotel, you can meet other women there, I will pay for their services and you will have a nice time.”

I didn’t know if I should get angry or cheer at him but I was sad. “I will not be alone at home. My mom will be there.”

Sebastian exploded into a loud laugh that onlookers gave us a look. “You want to go home to your mother, so that she can breastfeed you?”

I shook my head and smiled. “She will advise me on what to do.”

He told me we should go and enter his car and talk. We proceeded and hopped inside. “You talked about your mother giving you an advice on your love life, what I will tell is to advise yourself first. Don’t you know what you want?”

“Of course I know what I want.  I want to work harder, become successful and be with the woman I love.”

“Here we go again! A woman will only slow you down. I heard what Kate said about the other man. I will advise you to let Lucky go. Do you want to die on top a woman’s matter?”

“Nobody will die. I love my woman and I believe she loves me too. If the other man was going to cause a problem in our relationship, Lucky would have told me. I think Kate does not like me because I am not as rich as them.”

“Tell Lucky to choose between her family and you. She will run away from you.”

“I can’t tell her that. That is selfishness.”

“Are you calling me a selfish man?” he asked in an annoyed tone. I could see his eyes red.

“That is not what I mean and I am sorry if what I said offended you.”

He gave me a stare for few seconds and rubbed his chin before talking. “Apology accepted but I will tell you what I think of your affair with your woman. I will not deny the fact that she is beautiful. I know she does not like me…”

“She likes…”

Sebastian cut me short. “Wait…let me finish. I know how she feels about me but I do not give a hoot about that. What I know is, she is beautiful and for her to choose you instead of a wealthy bachelor, that tells me she loves you. If her parents does not accept you, do not beg or try to prove anything. If her parents want their daughter to be happy, they will accept you willingly.”

“It’s not going to be easy.”

“If you think it won’t be easy,” he said. “Let her go. To marry is not by force. Without her, you will focus more on what you want to do and achieve it as fast as possible. Women are distraction. When you have the money, they will flaunt their body for you. Whatever color, species, body shapes, name it, you will have them all with a click of two of your fingers.”

“Don’t you know the adage that says, behind every successful man, there is a woman?”

“Arrant crap!” Sebastian uttered. He turned on his ignition. “Let’s go to my hotel, I have to change. We will talk better when we get there. Right now, I want to list to Emergency by Dbanj.” He searched for the CD inside his pigeonhole, saw it and took it to insert and play.

I was shocked by his words. I tried to cover up for him when Lucky told me he was arrogant. I did not want to agree because I felt he was being open-minded. Maybe I was wrong, maybe Lucky was right about him. Staying with him inside the car was of no use, but if I told him to stop his vehicle for me to come down, he would know I was not comfortable with him any longer. I liked him but his behavior was getting on my nerves. I wondered how his family coped with him. I suspected his cousin was not happy that was why she gave an excuse and left us. She must have being embarrassed. First impression really matters but this man that sat next to me at my left side did not care about that. Even if he was trying to be impartial, he was doing it in a wrong way. I admit he is wealthy and influential but he should not rub it on anyone he comes across with. I am certain with his attitude, he would have offended a lot of people but what do I know, I have only known him for some hours and I could tell what he was capable of doing. I relaxed my back on the chair and gazed at my side mirror to watch the blue sky and think of what Kate said to me.

*****

(Lucky)

I arrived home and went directly to meet Nathan in his room. He was playing a video game and he stopped immediately I knocked and entered. I sat down beside him and grabbed the half glass of whiskey on the stool in front of him. I drank a little before Nathan snatched it from me.

“You don’t have to damage your kidney because of Dominic!”

“Look who is talking.” I said to him. “Were you not drinking from it before I walked in? What does it do to you; make your liver grow bigger?”

He roared into laughter. I could see his gap tooth that I admired so much. He changed his facial look into a serious one and looked at me. “Father needs to see Joseph before he travels. That will determine if Dominic will come along with him.”

I sighed. “I know. I will speak to Joseph about it. Why do you want to travel with him?”

“He said he needs to go sort out a business deal in three weeks’ time. He wants me to accompany him.”

“But you said, you are travelling in three days’ time.”

“Yes but I can change father’s mind to postpone the trip. I am also thinking he should give you the Company before he leaves. If he does not approve of your affair with Joseph and still prefer Dominic, it will be difficult for him to transfer his Construction Company to you.”

Our father revealed to us that the Company was for me and my brother will inherit the estate. “I know and that is why you will persuade him to postpone the trip. He has to see Joseph. You have not told me why you are not coming back with him.”

“Dad wants me to stay back and take a one year course.”

“What about your final clearance in your school?” I asked in a concerned tone.

“I will do that before I leave.” he replied me.

“What happens when I want to wed? Will you come?”

“Of course I will!” he blurted out. “I can never miss your big day. I also want you to introduce grandfather so that he can talk on his behalf if father says no.”

“I will do that. We keep talking about father,” I said in a worried tone. “What about mom? I know she likes Dominic a lot.” 

“Dad has the final say. I really want Joseph as my brother in law.”

I smiled brightly. Those words made me so cheerful. I tapped him on the shoulder to remind him to escort me to a jewelry store during the week.

He gave me a side look. “Hmmmm, someone wants to buy her boyfriend something nice.”

I smiled hard. “What makes you think it’s for Joseph?”

“I never mentioned his name.”

I slapped him lightly on his head. “Leave me alone and mind your business!” I said to him in a playful tone.

Nathan laughed again and flaunted his teeth at me. I was relieved to have him by my side. I was definitely going to miss him when he travel out of the country.

*****

(Joseph)
We arrived at White Sebastian Hotel. It was a painted white three storey building. I opened my mouth wide as I entered into a beautiful and well designed, organized atmosphere. The respect his employees showered on Sebastian when he arrived left me speechless. The place was classic and very neat. This man success at his young age captivated me. I wanted to ask how old he was but that was irrelevant. It was either I was older than him with a year or he was older. 

His manager was a man that appeared to be in his late forties. He led me into a private bar, a waiter served me fried snails and an alcoholic wine while I waited for Sebastian to freshen up and dress. I sent Lucky a text to inform her where I was and she sent me a reply that I should be careful. I had almost finished eating my snail when I saw him. He strolled towards my direction and sat down beside me. He wore a white polo, brown shorts and a gold necklace caressed his neck. Another waiter came with a red label, a bottle of coke and a glass cup.

She left us alone and he opened the bottles and poured some quantities into his cup to drink.

“If you can tell me how snail has helped your life,” Sebastian said after taking a sip. “I will start to eat snail.”

I crackled and drank the wine from my own glass cup. “It’s my favorite, that’s why.”

He smiled at me and sat upright. “Have you made up your mind to leave Lucky?”

“What?”

“Okay….tell me what you will do if her parent refuses to take you because you are not rich?”

A difficult question needed an honest answer. I thought and answered him. “It is not about my status that bothers me.”

“What could be more ‘deadlier’ than that?”

“I am an orphan.”

Sebastian widened his eyes and dropped his glass cup on the table. He folded his hands and stared at me. “You are an orphan?”

“Yes.”

“Oh my God!” he exclaimed. “I had no idea. I thought you said you have a mother?”

“She’s not my real mother.” I replied. “The woman raised me up like her own child.”

“I…I…don’t even know what to say. Look at me complaining I don’t have a father when you have none of your real parents. You don’t even know where you are from. I am truly sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. I think it is my destiny.”

“I do not think God wants you to be an orphan. I am sure he has plans for you. I do not need another accountant in my company but I could help you secure a job in a friend’s firm. He will pay you very well.”

“I don’t need your pity. I will continue with my job. I have been helping an old classmate of mine back in the university to sell cars. My mom, I mean the woman that took care of me is unaware. I have been saving the profit I made through the sales. I know things will be better soon.”

“What you are making is peanuts! I cannot tell you what to do but if you think it’s okay for you, no problem! I could get a private investigator to locate your real family.”

“No. If I wanted to find my real family, I would have done that a long time ago.”

He heaved a sigh. “Look at me questioning God why I don’t have a sister or a brother. You have none and you are still grateful to him. I am supposed to have a twin brother but he died after childbirth. I never met him, my mother only told me what happened and sometimes I blame myself and even her when she’s trying to control the way I live my life. I have to be grateful for having her, my uncle and my cousin Wunmi. I have to be thankful to him for everything that I have. It is the grace of God that I am also well connected with prominent people in the society.” 

“You owe your mother an apology for blaming her for the death of your brother.”

“I know and I will do that when I go home. You can follow me and meet her.”

“I think that should be another day.”

“You are still thinking of Lucky, right?”

“I will lie if I say no.”

Sebastian uplifted and called a waiter to get his driver. He said to me. “I think you should go home and rest. I will give you my office card. You can visit me and we will go to my home one of these days.”

I smiled at him. “Thank you very much.”

He smiled back. “You are welcome.”

******

(Joseph)

I got home late in the evening. My mother was in the living room waiting for me. I told her why I came late and she pointed to my dinner on the table and went to her room to sleep. I could not eat; I stored my food inside the fridge. I spoke to Lucky on the phone before I went back to bed. We planned to meet on a Tuesday at lunchtime in a restaurant. The following day after church, I received a call from Sebastian. He called to invite me to hang out with him but I was not feeling too well. I promised him, I would visit his office during the week. He told me he apologized to his mom for blaming him for the demise of his late twin. He said she was still in shock and she has not said anything because she was dumbfound, thankful and also happy that he apologized.

*****

Lucky and I finally met in the afternoon. I was so happy to see her. She had no makeup on her face, yet she was still very beautiful. I was wearing a white shirt with a black tie and black trouser. Lucky had made another hair that suited her face. 

“I think you have an explanation for your attitude that day at the swimming pool,” I said. “What really happened?”

“My father wants me to marry a childhood friend of mine that lives in the United State of America. He will be coming back to Nigeria very soon.”

I felt as if someone threw a heavy rock at my chest. “You mean Dominic?”

She reacted back with a shock facial expression. “How did you know about him?”

I had no intention to cause a rift between Kate and her. “Forget about how I knew about him. Should I be worried?”

“No!...My father thought I was not in a relationship and he thinks Dominic seems like the perfect man for me to marry. I will be the CEO of the company very soon and he believes I should have a husband.”

“Does that mean I should propose to you?”

“Do you?” she asked in a curious tone. 

“I am ready to make you my wife.”

She continued to look into my eyes.

I touched her hair, nose and leaned to give her a light kiss on her lips. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I would love to see your parents and tell them how I feel about you. I need to let them know that I am very serious.”

“I will inform them about it and whenever my dad and mom are ready to meet you, I will let you know.”

Her eyes were excited and a wide-ranging smile melted on her soft lips. “You mean the world to me Joseph. I don’t know what I will do if anyone tries to stop us from being together. I will not be able to live without you. Hold on.”

She lifted her Chanel handbag, unzipped it and took out three small cases. She opened them. She gave me a gold necklace with a photo locket; the second one had the same thing. She wore it round her neck.

“You should wear your own,” she said. “And check inside the locket too.”

I opened it and I saw her picture. I smiled at her and checked her own. My photo was there. I promised her, I would wear the necklace all the time.

“You are amazing.” I complimented Lucky for her kind heart. She gave me the third case to open it for myself. When I did, it was a Michael Kors wristwatch.

 “I can’t accept this.” I said to her.

“Why?” she asked.

“It’s very expensive. I can’t.” I gave it back to her.

Lucky shoved it inside my hand again. “It’s not about the price. I engraved your name on it. You can check it out!”

I turned the back and saw the words she inscribed on it. It was ‘Joseph, the man for me’ I was shocked to say the right words to her. “Thank you is not enough for what you have done. I know the fee will be on the high side. I do not want you to get me any more gifts; this is more than enough for me.”

“I am happy you like it,” she said and assisted me to wear the watch on my wrist. I grabbed her close to me. 

******

On a Thursday, after I finished my work load for the day at the office, I took an excuse and went to see Sebastian at his office. He appeared so happy to see me again. His wore a fitted suit, the scent of his perfume penetrated into the air of his office. I sat down opposite him and he offered me a cold drink. We talked like longtime friends. 

I wanted to leave by 4pm when one of his accountants came to give him a report of the money he had collected and spent. He dropped it on the table and Sebastian told him to come back for it after he had signed it. He left us. Sebastian carried his phone to press and I took a quick glance at the report. The total amount was massive. I saw the list of the money he collected on some particular dates, I calculated, and I found something odd. 

“I think the total amount is incorrect.” I said to Sebastian.

“He put his phone on his glass desk and looked at the sheet. “My accountants don’t make mistake.”

“No one is above mistake. Do you even crosscheck before you sign?”

“Joseph,” he called my name. “I pay my accountants well and they can never dupe me or take my money illegally.”

“Do you have a calculator so that I can calculate the money in front of you?”

He did not say anything. He called his secretary to give him a calculator. She did and left. I added every amount on the report and the total amount was completely different from the one on the document. Sebastian rose up in a furious mood. He asked his accountants to see him in his office immediately. They came and he told them, they had cheated by giving him a false report. Two of them had no idea, it was the accountant that came to give him, that wrote the report.

“You are fired!!” Sebastian spat out. “Three million is not a huge amount of money but I will not condone a cheat in my Company!!”

The man laid on the floor and began to plead for forgiveness. His boss told him to get out but he begged and began to weep. He said his mother was in the hospital, he had four children and a pregnant wife to take care of.

"I don't care! You have his job!!” Sebastian said to me. I felt pity for the man and I joined him to beg.

“I know you need this job,” he said to me. “Why are you begging for him?”

“He has promised never to do it again. Forgive and forget.”

He shook his head repeatedly, stared at his weeping employee and pointed at me. “You should thank this man. If you ever try this nonsense again, I will not only sack you, I will arrest you! Get out from my sight before I change my mind!!”

He thanked his employer and me continuously before he hiked out of the office. Sebastian looked at my direction. “I don’t think you have any idea how much I pay that man. You have lost an opportunity to work for me.”

“He was truly sorry for what he did. I can’t take his job just like that. He deserves a second chance if he is ready to change.”

“I don’t care about change! You can see the government promised the people change but nothing has been done about it. You have really made me angry but I will forgive you if we hang out later today."

I smiled, agreed and went home to change into a dark blue Jean jacket and brown trousers.  I went to meet him at a relaxation center. It was a coincidence that we wore something alike but I felt he wore an original jacket. 

  

******

Lucky called me during the weekend that she had informed her father about me and he had given me a date to visit his house. She spoke to me with an elated voice.

I called Sebastian to let him know about the outcome, he wished me good luck. Few days to visit Lucky’s parents, I went to see Sebastian in his home. His mother was eager to meet me. When I arrived there, I saw his mom and he introduced me to her. She was quiet and nice to me. She hugged me tightly and I felt the warmth of a mother. I could not explain the look on her face but she was excited to see me. She told me I could visit her whenever I liked. She served us food and we ate to our satisfaction.

Sebastian persuaded me to spend the night. I called Sister Theresa and Lucky and told them about it. They told me to enjoy and have a nice time. He wore a blue polo and gave me a red one. He showed me some funny pictures on his phone.

“My mom really likes you,” he said to me after we went to his room to play a video game. I told her you are an orphan, she was sad to hear it.”

I sighed and thanked him again for his hospitality. His cousin Wunmi called him, after he spoke to her; he gave me the phone to greet her. I did and she sounded happy that Sebastian and I had bonded like brothers.

He took the phone from me after the call and gave me my pad to play the game. “I will beat you tonight Joseph! Let the game begin.”

I laughed hard, I pressed the start button to play a football match with Sebastian.

*****

The day had finally arrived for me to meet the Okoye’s, my girlfriend’s parents. I reached the home of Lucky and she came outside to take me inside. I wore a black suit that Sebastian gifted to me. I wore the leather shoe I bought the previous day and the wristwatch my woman gave me. She was very thrilled but nervous.

Lucky led me to see her grandfather in his room. The two of us had spoken on the phone before. He approved of our relationship and prayed for his granddaughter and me. Nathan came and told us we should go back to the living room and it was not advisable for his parents to go there and not see me. I shook her granddad’s hand, thanked him and left with Lucky. We sat down together and waited.

I rose up on my feet when they came into the sitting room and I prostrated on the floor. It was a sign of greeting in my culture. Before Mr. Tom sat, he shook my hand after I uplifted and Mrs. Thelma eyed me and joined her husband on the sofa. There was no sign of a smile on their faces.

Lucky’s father cleared his throat and spoke. “I have asked my daughter few things about you before you came. I am aware of the kind of job you do but how will you take good care of my daughter when you earn peanuts.”

I glanced at my girl. She looked at her father with surprised eyes. I guess she never expected the question. She probably thought when they see me, they would support our relationship. I stared at him.

“I am not a lazy man sir,” I replied. “I am ambitious and ready to work harder. I know my salary is not enough but with my savings and my job, I will take good care of her. I am ready to do anything to make her happy. I sincerely love your daughter.”

Mrs. Thelma hissed.

Mr. Tom said, “You should know my daughter is very rich. Is that not the reason you say you love her?”

“No sir.”

“I do not think you are serious. I have not seen an engagement ring on the finger of my beloved daughter. I know a better suitor ready to put a ring on her finger and wed her in a church.”

Lucky and I exchanged glances. I swallowed and stood up. I dipped my hand into my right pocket and took out a gold ring. I used part of my savings to get her an expensive one.

She hopped on her feet and stared at me. “You did not have to get me a ring so expensive,” she whispered. “I would have understood.”

“You deserve the best.” I said and looked at her parents. “I wanted to show the both of you that I am truly in love with your daughter. I am not after her money, I only want her care and love.” I went down on one bended knee and asked her. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes!!”

I slipped the ring into her finger and she gripped me with a tight hug and kissed me. I released myself from her and stepped back. I wanted to sit down but Mrs. Thelma ordered me to remain on my feet.

“You did not have to put a ring on her finger in front of us,” she said in a harsh tone. “I don’t know the lies you have told my daughter that made her believe the both of you are in love. I and my husband will not fall for that!”

“Speak for yourself woman!!” he husband articulated.

She grumbled and yelled. “I can never agree to their union! It’s Dominic I want for a son in-law!”

“I cannot tell the future,” Mr. Tom said in a stern tone. “You might be richer than me or even my daughter later in life but I cannot the risk the life of my daughter, and my unborn grandchildren in a man that has no idea where he is really from.”

“Father!” Lucky uttered in a stunned tone.

My heart dropped.

He continued, “My daughter will refund the money for the ring and the ring too.”

“Never!!” Tears engulfed from the eyes of Lucky and down to her face.

Mrs. Thelma grinned at her hubby.

He added, “I do not want to ask you anymore questions,” he said. “This is my final say. Lucky Munachi Okoye will never involve herself with an outcast. You are not permitted to enter into my home and see Lucky again. My daughter will never, ever marry a bastard.”

*****

To be continued on Sunday evening.