"Yes and I've learned my lesson quite alright. I know I made very bad choices in the past, but don't we all? I mean am I not supposed to be considered, forgiven and given a second chance? How long do I have to continue paying for my sins! I'm ready to make up for the past and you of all people should be helping me convince Stephen about how much I still love him!"
"After what you have done, Susan, you deserve nothing! Absolutely nothing! I know that you had already thought this through before you chose to deceive me into having sex with me! You also know too well that what you did is bound to cause a rift between you and Anne and probably destroy our relationship and all that we had built over the years and yet you went ahead and still tricked me into having sex with you!"
"And like I said before, there's no denying that you enjoyed it as much as I do, so stop being such a crybaby and get over it! If anything..." She folded her arms and lifted her chin in a proud manner now as she completed her sentence, "...you should even be grateful that I gave you the pleasurable relief that you have long anticipated!"
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Jerry asked, puzzled now. "I've never made any advances towards you or given you any hints that I wanted to have sex with you!" He said in defense.
"Oh, your sweet fiancée has been telling me everything! Every single thing, Jerry! There's nothing she hides from me! She is just like a running tap around me and she was the one who told me how you have been
begging her to give you some ever since we arrived here."
"And you had to take advantage of her trust for you?! Fine, I get it that Anne is your best friend and she confides in you about almost everything but did you have to pay her back this way by luring me into having sex with you for being too open to you?"
"Not my intention though." Susan said with a wicked smile. "Anne is Miss Two-goody shoes and while everyone else had always seen her as the good girl, I've always been scorned and tagged as the bad girl. Anne brags about how things are working out for her, probably to make me follow her example but it pisses me off because I end up being jealous!" She spat in contempt. "She has it all while I've nothing! I don't even have a man to call mine! So, I actually did what I did to assure myself that even though things do not seem to be going well for me or just as I had planned, that I could still get any man I want!"
"Then it's high time I really made it clear to her that you are a wolf in sheep's clothing! You are a terrible friend and she deserves somebody better! She has to know that you wish her ill luck and that's why you are so bent on destroying our relationship just to feel yourself better about yourself!" Jerry said coldly.
"Really? You are really going to tell her all that?" Susan was completely unfazed. "In fact, how do you intend to do so? Are you just going to tell her that we had sex?" Susan chuckled wickedly now. "You know, Jerry, I actually consider you to be a very smart person, so I don't think that you'd want to shoot yourself in the leg by telling your fiancée that you just had sex with her best friend in the bathroom! Fine, she'll be devastated and probably break up our relationship, but you are the one who has more to lose here because you are the one who's emotionally attached to her not me. I could move on and easily put all these behind me but you will lose everything, Jerry. So, I'll advise that you keep this little secret of ours between us and speak no more of it. Although, I wouldn't hesitate if you still want a taste of me a second time." She finished the last sentence in a sultry tone as she slowly ran a finger from the side of her neck, down her collar bone, over her right breast then drew circles around her nipple with the finger. "I'm a girl of many rounds and what you and I had in the bathroom was only a tip of the iceberg! I bet you loved the way I squirted all over you, didn't you?"
"Know what, Susan?" Jerry said in a very serious tone now. "Stay-far away-from-me for your own good! Even if I can't forgive myself that I failed to follow my instinct when I felt a difference while having sex with you, I don't want you anywhere near me anymore! In fact, run whenever you see me or take an alternative route instead or I might just be forced to make good my threat by strangling the life out of you!... I'll let this slide this once, but know this, it's only a matter before you get what you truly deserve!" Jerry hissed, turned and stalked out of the room but before he got to the door, Laura quickly but quietly snuck into her room and closed the door softly while he stalked down the hallway without noticing.
★★★
While still watching the game, Violet noticed that whenever Stephen was with the ball, he made a pass to everyone else on his team but never passed the ball to Eric who kept holding out his hands on several occasions. Soon, Eric ran towards Stephen who was about to make a basket and slapped the ball off his hands since he kept hoarding it, and a fight almost broke out after Stephen immediately retaliated by shoving Eric in the chest who had also confronted him about being biased in the game.
The sudden altercation ended the game abruptly and several people quickly spilled into the court to help the team members in separating both opponents from dishing out blows to each other. The men began to exchange words even while being restrained by people.
"Why do I have a feeling that this is about you, Violet?" Anne asked as they all still remained in their spot, watching the scene with arms folded under their chests.
"It's the game, not me." Violet murmured.
"Really? Those two will never get along, you know? I think you should go in there and fix things." Doris advised.
"Get in the middle of a fight? Hell no!" Violet shook her head. When the argument grew heated, more people trooped in to intervene and even if Violet grew nervous about how the altercation was escalating, she tried to maintain a calm and impassive demeanor.
"Well, you won't just stand there and watch them beat themselves into pulps, will you?" Anne asked now, her tone now raising a bit in worry. "Just please go in there and fix this!"
Violet shrugged a shoulder and replied, "They are big boys, Anne, they should iron their differences out. I really don't want to get involved."
Just to, they heard Eric yell at Stephen: "You did that deliberately to get back at me because of Violet!"
"Then I hope you got the message clear?! Stay the hell away from her!"
"I told you that you were the cause." Anne said in a sing-song tone without looking at Violet.
"Stop forcing it! She doesn't want you! She wants me!" Eric retorted. "If you were man enough, you'd have had her since! She's got the hots for me!"
Violet frowned now as the other ladies turned to give her a questioning look. "Well, I didn't say that." She quickly told them and when she returned her attention to the men, she noticed that Stephen had broken out of the group and was now advancing towards her in a menacing manner. At first, she was surprised and puzzled but when she saw the look in his eyes, fear slowly crept into her now and she swallowed hard.
As Stephen drew closer to her, she began to slowly back away, scared that he might actually come hit her. She was almost on the verge of turning and fleeing for her life when he suddenly seized her by the wrist, snatched Eric's shirt from her shoulder and flung it away, then he yanked her against his sweaty chest, slipped a hand into her hair to cup the back of her head then pulled her into a deep kiss much to the astonishment of everyone and even Mrs. Eweala who had been watching everything from a side-balcony.
Everywhere was instantly silent as everyone stared at them in awe, including Susan who had just returned to the court after she had heard the noise of the ruckus from the main house. When Stephen finally broke the kiss, Violet stared at him in speechless shock then slowly swept her gaze towards their spectators, including Eric who was shocked.
Without saying a word, she placed a hand on Stephen's chest as if to keep a distance between them as she slowly backed away from him. Her shock at being completely caught unawares and kissed by Stephen in public just to prove a point to everyone was now instantly replaced with anger. Suddenly she turned and angrily hurried away from the scene while Stephen wondered what he had done wrong because her reaction was just not what he had expected.
"Well, congratulations!" Eric said as he picked his shirt off the ground and flung it over his shoulder. "You have succeeded in pissing her off!"
As Violet blindly walked towards the house, she almost bumped into Mr. Michaels who had just stepped down from his car, having returned with his wife from the visit. The elderly man quickly caught her by holding her shoulders before she could run smack into him.
"Violet, watch it." He said a bit softly.
Violet looked up now and quickly stepped back. "I'm sorry sir." She apologized, averting her gaze so that Mr. Michaels will be unable to read anything in her eyes.
"Where are you hurrying to? Who's chasing you?" Mr. Michaels asked in concern and looked up just in time to see his son walking towards them. "Is something wrong?" He asked Violet again.
"Dad!" Stephen called out now as he drew closer. The others were already trooping towards them from the basketball court.
"Son." Mr. Michaels stared at his son inquiringly while his wife walked around the car to join him.
"I know who I want to settle down with now!" Stephen said boldly while the people began to form a circle around them. "I want-"
Before he could finish it, Violet interrupted, turning to face him. "Don't you dare!" She hissed. "I know exactly what you are doing and I'm not going to let you do it to me a second time just to satisfy your ego! Never! You don't love me and you never have! You are only doing this because you are jealous that someone else actually wants me! You have always been stuck up on your ex and then you hurt me even more when you had sex with Grace! So I bet you, Stephen, leave me alone! Let me enjoy my life! You don't have to come ruin things when it's actually beginning to work for me! Stay away and don't you ever pull such a stunt on me! Ever!" She warned, turned and stalked into the house.
When Stephen tried to follow her, his father quickly placed a hand on his chest, stopping him without a word. His eyes showed it all that he wanted his son to give Violet some time alone. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Stephen heaved a sigh, turned and angrily walked away to look for an isolated part of the house where he could be alone. He didn't even show up for dinner a few hours later and his younger brother, Emmanuel had to go in search of him after dinner and found him sulking by the swimming pool and drinking from a bottle of alcohol.
That night, while Violet had a shower in the bathroom, Grace approached the open door and called, "Violet?"
Violet slowly turned to face her with the water still dribbling down her face and body. "Yes?"
Grace admiringly stared at her body then commended. "Damn, you have such a hot body! No wonder the stripping and pole-dancing business is going so well for you."
"Thanks, but I'm sure that's not why you came to intrude on my privacy." Violet said without smiling. She was still obviously pissed about what had happened earlier that evening.
"Of course not... I actually came to tell you that my mother wants to see you." Grace answered.
"What for?" Violet asked with a small frown now.
"Well, I wish I knew." Grace said as she leaned away from the door. "She wants you to see her in her room once you are done with your bath." Grace said, turned and left.
★★★
Mrs. Eweala who was clad in a nightgown was sitting on the low stool in front of the dresser mirror when a knock came from the door.
"Come in." She said aloud.
The door opened and Violet hesitantly stepped into the room. "You asked to see me, ma." She said as politely as she could.
"Yes dear, come further in and close the door." Mrs. Eweala said as she pressed some lotion into her palm, rubbed her palms together then creamed her full face. The lotion smelt so nice and its scent soon permeated the atmosphere in the room.
Violet did as she was told but stood close to the door. "Is there something you want me to do for you, ma?" She asked, trying to hide how awkward this situation felt for her.
"Yes of course..." Mrs. Eweala replied then pointed at her bed. "Please take that from the bed."
Violet approached the bed and took a rectangle-shaped paper from the foot of the bed then read the words on it. "A cheque of Six thousand, eight hundred dollars?" Violet lifted her head to give the woman a confused look.
"Yes... that's approximately two point five million in naira." Mrs. Eweala explained. "And it's for you, that's if you want it."
"And why are you offering me this? I have never asked you for any financial assistance." Violet was even more perplexed.
Mrs. Eweala smiled. "C'mon, don't be a naughty girl. No of course not, you have never asked me for money, but this is just an act of generosity from a mother figure to you."
"Generosity?" Violet was skeptical. "Why do I have a feeling that I have to give something in return for such an amount of money?"
"Clever girl." Mrs. Eweala smiled, impressed. "Yes, you have to give something in return for that, and trust me when I say that it will just be a little something."
"And what can that be? I don't think that I've anything that's worth this amount of money and I'm most definitely not selling my kidney too." Violet said firmly.