CHAPTER 45

Tracy was at home feeling sad and

packing up her clothes and preparing

to leave town because she felt that

there was nothing here for her

anymore. She has been crying

since she learned the bitter truth

and she has finally convinced

herself that crying will not solve

the problem rather what she needs

is a new environment and she told

herself that maybe she never really

loved Joshua as she thinks she does.

The Noodle which she cooked has

gone cold and soft as she couldn't

eat it and left it on the dining table

but after making a resolution to

leave town, she went back to the

noodles and started eating it cold.

while she was busy slurping her

noodles with a broken heart, she

heard a bang on her door and

wondered who could be banging

on her door at this time of the day.

She looked around her sitting room

for a weapon that she can use to

attack the person at the door if

he/she turns out to be an intruder.

 She went close to the door and

asked who was there but there

was no answer as the person kept

banging on her door. She would

have looked through the peephole

but unfortunately, her door does

not have one. She carefully opened

the door with one hand while holding

her weapon in the other. She was

surprised to see that it was Joshua

who was banging on her door.

Immediately she opened the door,

he hugged her before she could

say anything and that really surprised

her because the last time she saw

him, he was going after the mother

of his unborn child who is probably

the true love of his life.

Joshua hugged Tracy and began to

cry while calling Linda a bitch. Tracy

wondered how he managed to drive

his car down to her house because

he was dead drunk. She managed

to pull him to the sofa and make

him lie on it. She got a towel and a

bowl of water which she used in

cleaning his face while he kept

whining and crying and saying weird

things. "Tracy, I was willing to change

for her. I was changing for her

because I wanted us to be together.

Every time I look into her eyes, all

I see is judgment about my lifestyle.

Linda doesn't need to open her

mouth and judge you before you

know she's doing that because you

will see it in how she reacts. I never

knew that she was such a pretentious

b***h. I am no longer sure if the

baby she is carrying is even mine." 

 This new development really

surprised Tracy and she couldn't

understand what Josh was talking

about. She paused what she was

doing and asked him "what

happened between you and Linda?

I thought you ran up to her to

apologize. Didn't she forgive you?" 

"She cheated on me, Tracy. I got

to her house and caught her in the

act and even after seeing her, she

was looking at me and daring me

to do my worst because she refused

to move from where she was lying

and did not even try to explain

anything to me. I thought I was

changing for someone worth it but

I never knew that I was giving my

heart to a worthless piece of rag

who didn't care about it at all.

This new development was news

to Tracy because the Linda that

she has met twice does not appear

to look like a cheat. She told herself

that Linda is not her problem rather

she is very happy for Linda's

stupidity. When she saw Linda

coming to the office acting all high

and mighty, she suspected that

Linda will crash very soon because

she was also like that until she met

Darlington and crashed. She has

been given another chance to have

Josh all to herself and she will not

misuse it or let someone else

snatch it away.

She helped Josh to her bedroom

and they slept in each other's arms.

She purposely did not initiate any

sexual acts between them so that

he wouldn't wake up in the morning

and regret it or feel awkward. Lying

down with Joshua on the same

bed again and knowing that

someone's stupidity brought him

back to her made her remember

the Bible verse that says "in

everything give thanks." If Linda

had not walked in on them this

afternoon, Josh wouldn't have

followed her home and seen her in

another man's arms. Tracy smiled

to herself and said so, it is really

true that if one person's chances

don't get ruined, another person's

own won't be better. Linda's

chances with Josh got ruined

and her got better.

Early the next morning, Cherry

barged into her godmother's

apartment with anger resonating

from her as it felt like she wanted

to kill someone. Her godmother

walked into the sitting room and

saw cherry looking devastated.

"what's the matter with you this

morning? Aren't you supposed to

be resting and celebrating that we

have brought down the stumbling

block in your way? Why are you

here huffing and puffing this early

in the morning? Do you want to

demolish my house with your mood?" 

Godmother, we brought Linda down

but someone new is up. For how

long will I keep bringing people

down because I want to be with

Joshua? He seems to be attracted

to other ladies easily but repulsed

by me. We chased him away from

Linda yesterday and he ran right

into the arms of Tracy. I thought

you said Tracy meant nothing to

him? He spent the night with her.

I hope she doesn't turn up pregnant

like Linda because I won't let my

child come in third place. If I let

other women keep having children

for him then what position will

mine be in when they come? I have

always suspected that Tracy wants

him all to herself and now her wish

has just been granted because we

were not there to guide Joshua to

where he was supposed to be which

was either his house or mine." 

Mrs. Ejike held Cherry and sat her

down on the sofa as she told her

"it is true that I am helping you to

chase other women from Joshua's

life so that he can marry you but I

want you to know that I won't do

that forever because it is a man's

world and he is free to have as

many women as he wants to have.

If you want your marriage to last,

do not go around chasing and

fighting women whom you suspect

that your husband is having an affair

with. He went to Tracy's apartment

and spent the night with her but

were you in the apartment with them

to know if they had sex? Stop

assuming because the more you

assume the closer you get to your

divorce when you get married. You

have to learn to deal with certain

matters sensibly and quietly. Don't

worry, we will pay her a visit." Cherry

pretended to understand her

godmother but in her mind, she

said, "of course it must be a man's

world because your son is involved."

The next morning Linda could still

not get up from her bed as she still

feels paralyzed. Her mobile phone

has been ringing without any answer.

She couldn't get up or even turn.

She was just there asking herself

if this is how she's going to die.

Linda promised herself while laying

on that bed that if she escapes this

and comes out alive, she will leave

the country and never return. She

has encountered heartbreak and

wickedness but not to the extent

of someone trying to take her life.

She told herself that allowing

someone to kill her because of

a man is not worth it. After Linda

was saved by Joshua's father

when she tried to commit suicide,

she came to realize that there is

nothing that's worth taking your

life for in this world.

She was still lying on her bed when

she heard her doorbell ringing

incessantly but she couldn't get

up then she heard her door open

and someone stepped in. At this

point, Linda does not care about

who sees her nakedness. All she

wants right now is for someone to

come and rescue her from this state

which she is in before she dies.

Luckily for her, the person who

came into her apartment is her

friend and colleague Jack.

Jack has been trying to reach Linda

through her mobile phone all

morning but she wasn't picking up

so he decided to go to her house

because sometimes, when Linda

gets very busy, she forgets about

her mobile phone and whoever is

calling her at that moment is on

their own. When Jack got to Linda's

house, he felt that the atmosphere

was strange. He began to ring her

doorbell but there was no answer

and he tried calling her mobile

phone he heard it ring from inside

so instantly, he felt there was

something wrong somewhere

and he was ready to break into

the house if that's what it will take

because he feels that Linda is in

danger. He looked at Linda's door

and noticed that it wasn't locked

so he pushed the door and it opened.

 Jack walked into Linda's apartment

and the silence was unsettling. He

started calling her name but there

was no response so he took out his

mobile phone and dialed her number

again and her phone started ringing.

Right there he knew that there was

a problem so he ran into Linda's

room but saw her naked and ran

out while apologizing for barging

into her room like that. He stood

outside the room talking to Linda

but she wasn't responding so he

walked back into the room and saw

her in the same position where he

met her the first time. 

 Jack walked closer to the lady

lying on the bed and was calling her

name but she wasn't responding. He

got very scared when he got close

to her because he thought that she

was dead but luckily when he

touched her skin it wasn't cold. The

only cause for concern was that

she wasn't moving or talking so he

quickly got a dress from her

wardrobe and wore it on her. He

picked up her phone and luckily Linda

doesn't lock her phone with

passwords so he looked for

Joshua's number and dialed it but

Joshua wasn't responding. He

dialed the number through his

phone and Joshua picked up

sounding drowsy.

When Joshua picked up the call,

Jack spoke into the phone sounding

scared as he said "I think Linda is

dead." Joshua who was suffering

from a hangover immediately

regained himself when he heard

the voice of a stranger saying that

he thinks Linda is dead. Even

though Josh was angry at Linda for

what she did the previous night,

he could never wish her harm. He

quickly asked the stranger where

the stranger was and the stranger

told him that he is in Linda's

apartment but she's not responding

to his voice or touch.

Jack was almost crying by the time

the ambulance arrived in front of

Linda's house. Nobody knew what

had happened to her and he was

surprised because he spoke to her

yesterday afternoon and she was

fine. A few minutes later, she was

wheeled into the ambulance as

Jack ran up to Joshua and was

asking him what happened.

Joshua did not answer but ran

into the ambulance and Jack also

followed. All through the drive to

the hospital, Joshua did not say

anything and only held onto Linda's

hands and was massaging them.

He refused to reply to Jack because

he blames himself for everything.

From the looks of it, she was

injected with an overdose of

whatever substance that made

her paralyzed and she looks just

the same way she looked yesterday

when he walked into her apartment.

He was wishing that he had walked

up to her to drag her while he was

talking to her and she did not

respond. But he let his anger get

the better of him and if her friend

had not walked into her apartment

at this time, only God knows what

would have happened to her.

 Josh could not even look at

Linda's face because the only

thing he feels every time he

stares at her face is guilt and he

is only trying to be a man and a

professional by not bursting into tears.

Immediately they got to the hospital,

she was rushed inside on emergency.

Nurses were working fast to and

fro Linda's hospital ward and Jack

was really scared because nobody

was saying anything so he called

Nathan to tell him what has

happened. "What's the matter, Jack?

What are you saying about Linda is

she okay? And what's the name of

the hospital that she is in? Haven't

the doctors said anything yet? And

please do not forget to tell them

that she is pregnant and also call

that lover of hers to let him know

that she is in danger." Jack already

had tears in his eyes when he told

Nathan "we are in her lover's hospital

because he was the first person

that I called when I met her in that

state but he is not saying anything

to me. She is in the ICU and all I

can see are doctors and nurses

walking in and out but no one is

telling me anything. I am scared

Nathan, I really am. Her eyes were

opened and she wasn't saying

anything or moving. I've never seen

a thing like that in my whole life

and it's really scaring me. I just hope

that nothing happens to Linda

because if anything happens to her,

I know that I will end up having

nightmares of the last time I saw

her for the rest of my life." After

saying those words, Jack

disconnected the phone call.

Half an hour later, Nathan also

walked into the hospital and saw

Jack where he was standing so

he walked up to him and asked

for an update. Jack shook his

head at Nathan as he said "there

is no update. The nurses have been

refusing to say anything as they

keep walking to and fro and

behaving like I am invincible. The

only one who had a few seconds

to tell me anything, only said that

I should wait because the doctors

are tending to her.

Nathan and Jack kept standing

outside as Nathan began to ask

Jack if they should contact her

family and let them know what is

happening. That was when Jack

remembered that Linda has a family

and they need to know what is

happening to her. He took out

Linda's phone that was in his

pocket and went through her

contact list until he saw a phone

number that was saved with 'Mum'.

He was about to dial the number

when he looked at Nathan and

said "are you sure that we should

do this? Do you think that Linda will

want her family to know where

she is or what is happening to her?

Because she walked away from

them a few years ago so I don't

think she wants them in her life."