Chapter Fifty-Seven

The Master of Ceremonies was a very lively man, and he saw to it that the reception was just as lively. All the guests were having the time of their life, laughing to his jokes and dancing to the music the live band were delivering.

Money was pouring in from all places for the newly wed couple. There were those who were spraying them thick fat wads of crisp notes, they were doing this the traditional way by throwing it with their hands onto the couple. But there were the ones that were using money guns to shoot neat streams of money high into the air.

It even got to a stage there was so much money on the floor, it was like carpet and people were walking all over it. There was a lady whose job it was to pick it all up, she was hustling all over the stage and picking the money, then she would disappear into a side room where Adaeze had to guess she was keeping it all.

And all this, the couple were yet to have their dance. She could only marvel at what it would be like when they had to dance.

The blatant display of wealth was just something else altogether, she doubted that such a thing will even happen at her own wedding, despite the fact that she was sure there will be billionaires there.

And she also noticed that most of the people spraying the money were friends of the groom, it was then she began to wonder what her friend’s husband did for a living. Because it could mean that they were in the same line of business.

Food was shared, along with drinks. She decided to stick to soft drink this time around, but she ate to her satisfaction.

All through the event she was chatting with the ladies beside her, they had bonded a bit after the crazy night they had all gone through at the club. Many of them were not really seeing it as anything major, it was probably just another Friday for them.

Other than that, they did not really have much to say to each other. Especially when they knew she would be returning to the east in the next few days. Only one of them mentioned that she was planning a trip to Anambra later in the year, and she could schedule a meet-up. Ada told her no problem.

Although she doubted she would honor it. The time could come and she would no longer have the urge to see her. But then, it was all till then. There was no need making decisions based on what could and could not be.

Soon enough, while the guests were rounding up their eating, it was time for the couple to dance. They went out to the middle of the stage and began to display their moves. They were dancing nice and easy, Abike was not showing off even half of the crazy dance she had done last night. If she did the family of her husband would probably call everything off in a heartbeat.

The money sprayers came again, and this time they came with vengeance. It was raining money, it just kept on pouring in on the couple, more and more wads kept being thrown upwards and more streams were shot upward, and the rain on the couple was nonstop.

Even the live band had their share, some of the crisp notes landed in their section, and it was theirs. When the lady that was picking the money tried to go there and take them, the look they gave her, even without stopping their music, was enough to change her mind in a heartbeat.

And not just that, the MC as well got to have a share. Where he stood any note that filtered to him, found its way into his pocket. He was smart about it, but Adaeze saw him slip more than one notes into his trouser pockets.

It was insane. It was now like a pool of money and it was all over the stage. At least, nothing less than ten million alone had been sprayed on the guests. Had that not covered for more than half of the entire wedding expense? She wondered if planning a wedding here in Lagos was more expensive than planning it in the east.

Because she knew how much they had spent so far for her own upcoming wedding. What a lucrative way to make back what you have spent.

Soon, the couple were tired of dancing and had to return to their seats. The lady that was picking the money hurried across the entire stage, packing it all up. It took her about four trips before the stage was clean and normal once again.

And then, it was dance! Dance!! Dance!!!

Everyone took to the stage to the stage to dance, including all the ladies that were with her on that table, they were all eager to show off their dance skills. As she watched them, she realized she was not as free as they were. They were so carefree about everything and eager to try out things while she was reserved and was always looking for motivation before she got anything done.

She needed to learn how to free herself a little and grab whatever fun she could. But then, is that not what she had come to Lagos to do? The main question though was if she was going to revert to her old self when she returned to her fiancée back in the east. Or if she would embrace the changes she had worked on and use it to channel her life in the direction of her choosing.

She picked up her purse and was about to go and join in on the dance. Just as she got to her feet, a cold hand closed over her wrist, startling her. She turned and saw that it was Tunde, again!

“Guy, you have to stop this!” She cried, wrenching her hand from his grip, “why can’t you just call me like a normal person? Do you just get off on all this scare tactics? Because it is not funny.”

“I am sorry, I do not know why you are startled though. You are at a wedding, you need to free yourself.”

“Duly noted, now if you would excuse me…”

“Hold on, do you want to dance?”

She looked back at him, and then she let out a sigh. This guy would just never give up, would he?

“No, I do not,” she lied to him.

And then she sat back down, crossing her hands across her chest and keeping a scowl on her face so he would see that she was not in any way happy with him.

“Good,” he muttered as he pulled out the chair beside her and planted himself into it. “Because you and I need to talk.”

“Talk about what, Tunde?”

“You said you were going to get back to me.”

“Well, in case you have not noticed, I have been too busy enjoying your sister’s wedding. Hope you don’t mind.”

“You do not have to be sarcastic about it, I am being serious here.”

“No, Tunde. You are being a joke, this has to stop now.”

“So, are you saying that my confession to you does not mean anything at all to you?”

She looked at him and shook her head, “no, it does not. Can we end this conversation now?”

“I do not believe you,” he told her pomp and plain.

She scoffed at that as she looked away, “you actually think I care about if you believe me or not? Do not be silly, Tunde. I do not give a fuck. All I know is that I have told you, what you choose to do with the piece of information is up to you.”

“Huh… so you do not feel anything for me?”

“Nothing at all,” she felt it sounded harsh, but it was better than telling him she hated him. Which was what she was feeling at the moment seeing how he had been treating her since today. And it would have even been worse if she chose to lie to him just to spare his feelings, worse for him and bad for her. And she was done with all his drama.

“Just give me a chance,” he told you. “I promise to make you love me.”

“How? By sneaking up on me and breaking my arm?”

“Please Ada, drop that tone. Why would I break your arm?”

“You have tried it twice today already, I will assume any tone I damn well please.”

“I am sorry, okay? I just want you so badly. I can see our future, I just need you to see it as well.”

She stopped what she was doing then and turned to face him, staring at him, “what did you just say?”

“Our future together, I can see it. I will make you see it as well.”

“We have no future together, Tunde. I know who my future belongs with, and he sure as hell is not you.”

“Who is it?”

“Who else, my fiancée of course.”

It was as if she had shot him in the heart, his eyes widened for an instant, “your what?”

“My fiancée, Tunde. Your sister did not tell you? I will be getting married in about a week from today.”

All the color drained from his face as he stared at her in disbelief, “that is impossible. Why are you saying these things? What are you gaining from hurting me like this?”

With a sigh she pulled her phone from her purse and fiddled through the photos until she came across the copy of her wedding invite. Then she showed it to him, placing the phone of the table before them.

“Do you believe me now?” She asked him as she saw his eyes become misty. It was all there and he could no longer deny it, “That is my fiancée, a multimillionaire. But he is not even compared to my father who is a billionaire. I am sorry about how things went with us. It should never have happened in the first place, and I made a poor judgment. In my defense, I tried to end everything a long time ago but you kept on insisting and kept on pushing. I did not want you to find out this way.”

He could not take his eyes away from the phone, she reached over and picked it. Then she locked it and slipped it back into her purse.

“You are a liar, Ada. And you are a cheat who uses people for your whims.” He told her, his voice was quiet, but despite the live band performing, she heard him clearly. “Do not tell me you are sorry when you know you do not mean it, you knew you had a fiancée when you invited me to your hotel room. And all these while, you said nothing. You were just messing with my feelings, did it give you joy to know that I was head over heels for you and you were not even willing to reciprocate.”

“Tunde…”

“You are a bitch, that is what you are. And I hate you for this.” He pushed away from the table and surged to his feet, causing some heads to turn their way, “thank God the wedding is over, I would not have to see your face again. At least the only thing good that came off our short acquaintance is that I now know what a snake looks like, and so do you.”

He turned and walked away, moving quickly through the chairs and tables as he hurried towards the side exit.

“Fuck…” she groaned as she watched him leave.

His bitter words were ringing in her head long after he had left the building and was out of sight. Did she truly deserve everything he had said? Was she that bad a person? Had she only been using him just to make herself feel better?

Why had she not told him she was engaged from the get? After all she had told Femi, Musky had known and she had also told Ken. Why did she keep that piece of information from Tunde? Had she been hoping something like this would happen? Making herself available when she knew she would not be?

But then, why had he not asked questions about her? Tunde had his sister, why did he not ask her about the woman he claimed to be in love with, she was sure Abike would have told him she was engaged in a heartbeat. Why did he just make assumptions and then went all out with his emotions like that.

Like who does that?

He even called her a snake, God, was she so bad?

Her conversation with him ruined the rest of the day for her, and all the joys and cheers going on around her held no meaning. She just wanted to go back to her hotel and sleep.

It hurt her a lot that she could cause such an amount of hurt and pain to a person, even without meaning to. Everything that had happened with Tunde had been unintentional and nothing but that.

They had sex just once and afterwards her eyes had opened that it was a bad idea, she tried to stop it but he kept insisting. They never had sex again, but they did oral one time. And that was the last time they got intimate. How the hell was she to know that he was in love? She had thought it was just lust that he was feeling?

And then how could all that love turn to hate in the blink of an eye?

She looked again in the direction he had gone, Tunde was the kind of person that could cause a lot of trouble. As a matter of fact, he was trouble. She had seen him for what he was that day they had sex, but she had chosen to close her eyes to it because of how she had been feeling. And now she might be suffering for it.

What if he did something stupid just to get back at her? What if he tried to pay her back in her own coin?

She let out a curse, she should never have shown him who her husband is. Now all he had to do was look him up on facebook and he would get his account. From there they can begin to chat.

The thought was scary. Everything she had planned so carefully and meticulously could come crashing down in just one second because of the irrational feelings of one man!

Her fist tightened over her purse as she fought the urge to go after him. She could make it worse. It could be that it was not even on his mind and she went and put it in there. She was going to just take things easy, and handle things as they come.

But she was done with the wedding, it was time for her to go back to the hotel.