CHAPTER 50

Linda's friends and colleagues, Jack and Nathan came around to visit her as they have been doing since she was brought to the hospital. They were discussing and Linda was telling them that she is not sure that she wants to stay around anymore because she wants to relocate and they are the only two people that she's telling about it. Nathan was surprised about the new development as he thought that she loved Josh so much and wouldn't leave him because she's also having a child. "Why are you leaving? Is everything okay between you and your lover or is he the one responsible for what happened to you?" Linda only smiled and told him that if it was Joshua who wanted to take her life, she would have been dead since a long time ago because she is in his hospital and also in his care. She made her friends understand that she can't tell them the person who tried to take her life so the best thing that she can do is to leave town because that's the only way the person will stop coming after her. She also told them not to tell anyone about it because if Joshua comes to know of what she's about to do, he will try his best to stop her and that will not help her and her baby at all because that will put them in more danger without him knowing. She told her friends that she wants to do what was best for her and her baby because her baby has tried a lot by staying with her despite everything that she has been through.

Her friends asked her if she has seen her mother because they got scared by her situation and couldn't help but contact her mother. "So you two are the ones who brought her here? You should have known better that I would rather die than have her come to rescue me. You need to have seen how she has been lecturing me since I woke up. She said that I brought her so low to the level of little boys who are not worthy to be her driver to start talking to her. She blamed me for my situation and told me how I've brought shame to the family by being pregnant out of wedlock and also told me that I live in a cubicle that is not even fit for the maids back home. She's been telling me about how I need to go back home with her and all of that blah." 

Jack and Nathan felt sorry that they invited her mother over. They feel like they are responsible for her inconvenience because if they had not called her mother, the woman would have never known where her daughter was let alone coming to inconvenience her life. They wondered what kind of a parent Linda's mother was because no reasonable parent will come and start scolding their child who has been through a lot. Even though she wanted to scold Linda, she should have held on for her to get better. Jack took a deep sigh and said "who are the little boys that she was referring to because I can't remember Nathan and I meeting her let alone having an argument with her."

"The little boy that she was referring to is Joshua. They had an argument before I woke up. I learned that my mother was accusing him of being responsible for what happened to me. She even went as far as threatening to arrest him and that was where Joshua also lost it and spoke to her in a disrespectful manner even to the point of telling her that he will call the security to throw her out. As both of you can see, I am tired of all this drama so I just need a break. I don't know for how long I'll be back or if I'll ever come back here. Two of you have been very nice and helpful to me so it will be very bad if I do not inform you that I am leaving here and just leave like that." 

The three friends hugged each other as the guys told her that they will miss her because she has also been a great inspiration to them. Linda is a very talented architect and they know that most of their designs wouldn't have been possible without her. Even some of the jobs they got also came through her and for that, they are very grateful. It also saddens them that someone could make an attempt on her life and she is refusing to seek Justice against the person by choosing to flee. Even though it saddens them, they still know that it's better to be a coward and live sometimes than to be a brave man and die because he who fights and runs away will live to fight another day. As they were leaving the hospital, they knew that this is the last time that they will see Linda in a very long time.

Linda sat on her bed and was looking into space after her friends left. She had a flashback to the day when she was attacked at her apartment by Cherry and Joshua's mother. She also remembered the hurtful words that Joshua said to her and if not that her friend Jack had come in that morning, only God knows what would have become of her. As much as her heart wants her to forgive Joshua, she just can't because, despite claiming that he loves her, he's a very poor judge of character. There were some words he said to her on that day also which she can't forget. Joshua accused her of always judging him while she felt that the only thing she does is try to make a better man out of him but she never knew that that was making him work on his toes every time that he is around her and that is not the kind of man she wants to get married to. She wants a man that wants to change for himself and not because she is asking him to. She told herself that any day Joshua stops being a boy and decides to become a man, he can find any lady of his choice and become a good husband to her but as for her, she is leaving because she wouldn't want Cherry and his mother to kill her and her unborn child. She told herself that it's not every battle that comes a person's way that the person should fight. Sometimes, you just need to advise yourself and run away from unnecessary battles that could take your life or cause you harm. On one hand is Cherry and Joshua's mother, on the other is Tracy and his numerous women and she cannot deal with all of this. Joshua needs to man up and decide what he wants because right now, his indecision is making his mother rule his life indirectly.

Linda knows that her mother is waiting for her at home and because of that she will not go back home. She has asked Jack and Nathan for some money which will use to get out of here before she orders for a new debit card from the bank and pay her friends the money which they've lent her. She promised herself that she will disappoint her mother by not going back home.

She stood, went into the bathroom, and changed into the clothes that her friends brought for her, came out, and left the hospital.

Before stepping out of the hospital, she had already ordered a ride because Jack brought her phone back to her. A few minutes after she came out of the hospital, her ride arrived, so she got in as the driver drove away.

 Because Linda has told Joshua to stay away from her, he stopped going to check up on her and only hears how she's doing from the nurse appointed to her. The nurse went in to check up on Linda because she will be discharged the next day but the nurse was surprised when she didn't see Linda in her ward. She checked the bathroom and when she also did not see her there, she thought that Linda had gone outside to take a walk but she still felt the need to report this to Dr. Joshua.

She and Joshua began to search the whole hospital after she told him that Linda was not in her ward but unfortunately she was nowhere to be found and after searching for almost ten minutes, he gave up because it became clear to him that she was nowhere in the hospital. He went into her ward and found a note which she left on her bed. He looked at the nurse and said, "did you see this the first time you came in?" The nurse replied truthfully that she did not check the bed, so she has no idea if it was there the first time or not.

Josh picked up the note and on it was written, "Thanks for your help but I'm out of here. Don't bother searching for me because you won't find me. Stop being a boy and grow up. Find a woman and become a responsible husband to her."

Josh thought that he was reading the words on the note wrongly as he read it again and kept reading. He read the note five times before walking back to his office and picking up his car keys. He ran out of the hospital and began to drive above the speed limit as he told himself that even if Linda wants to leave town, she will first go home to pack up her bags. He was praying in his heart that she was still at home as he hopes to meet her and not let her leave but unfortunately when he got to her house, he only met her mother who was also waiting for Linda to arrive from the hospital the next day. She had already packed up Linda's bags and when she saw Josh coming in, she put on a defensive mode and was ready to kick him out of the house but she was surprised when he ran in like a mad man shouting Linda's name all around.

 She walked up to him to attack him as usual. "You incompetent doctor! Why are you here looking for my daughter? Isn't she supposed to be at your hospital? If anything happens to Linda, I promise you that I will not rest until that pigeonhole you call a hospital is shut down." Joshua ignored her ranting and kept searching everywhere but she was nowhere to be found. He walked up to her and gave her the note which Linda left behind as he said "Linda has never been a quitter. Your arrival caused all these troubles for us. We always settle our misunderstandings until you came around. You and I know that your daughter cannot stand your presence so why did you come to ruin our lives and even trying to force her to leave with you?"

"Little Joshua, the last time I checked, I was not the one who was asked to grow up in this note. It was you and I'm really happy that my daughter has come back to her senses. This is the reason why the presence of a mother in a child's life is the most important. I arrived and she received sense to leave little boys alone. The case is settled already so what are you still doing here? Run along little boy and grow up."

 Linda's mother does not care that her daughter has run away because the fact that she has left Joshua alone is enough to make her happy. She was very happy when Joshua could say nothing to her and just turned around and left. It was obvious that he was pained by Linda's rejection and her taunting. She remembered the words that were written on the note again and said "wow Linda, you are truly your mother's daughter because those words were savage."

Mrs. Ejike never intended to kill Linda but she did not know that Cherry has other plans. the injection that was given to Linda was supposed to make her paralyzed for an hour but Cherry went behind her godmother's back and made another deal with the dealer from who they got the illegal drugs. She told the dealer to triple the dosage because she wanted Linda dead. Mrs. Ejike was surprised when she heard Tracy say that Linda was rescued and taken to the hospital because she knows that the drug is not supposed to have a lethal effect. After thinking for a while, she blamed it on the immune system as she felt that Linda's immune system was not strong enough to take the drug because there was no way she could suspect Cherry of playing a different game behind her.

Cherry does not know that Linda is no longer in the hospital as she sneaked into the night to complete the job which the drug could not do. She paid a nurse so that she can gain access into the ward but unfortunately for her when she sneaked in at midnight, she met a different person there and she quickly escaped because she felt that a trap has been laid for her. When she got outside the hospital, she was breathing very hard as she feels that she just narrowly escaped a trap. She went back home that night and couldn't sleep because she was very worried and she kept looking towards her door as she was expecting the police to call me at any moment. A new day came and there was still no news so she's summoned up her courage and contacted the nurse whom she had bribed previously and the nurse told her that Linda had left the hospital.

 Wild Cherry was busy sneaking into the hospital that night, Joshua was having a good time with five ladies in a hotel room. He told himself that Linda left him and told him to grow up because he decided to change for her but he will show her a new way to grow up. He went back to his old ways of having multiple sex partners and tonight, he decided to have five because it has been a while that he did something like this. The five ladies pleasured him till morning before he finally fell asleep out of exhaustion. The ladies did not leave immediately as they also decided to rest along with him but when he woke up a few hours later, he immediately discharged them and told them to get out because he was done with them.

Before Joshua met Linda, he can have sex with as many women as he wants to and will not feel remorse but after what he has just done, his conscience was weighing heavily on him and he hated himself more.