WriterKing

Paul was having the worse day of his life. He has completed school but was without a job and had to return home to stay with his mom. And when the parents of his girlfriend, Talatu, insisted that she marries a doctor working abroad, Paul was devastated.
But out of the blues, Eric, his school friend, called. Eric had a plan…it was sinister and not strictly legal, but if executed properly, it would make them rich and Paul would have Talatu back.
When Eric’s simple plan ran out of control, and took a turn for the worse, Paul found himself not only fighting to keep his dream going, but also to keep himself alive.
But Paul is fueled by a need for revenge and his determination to reach the billionaire status keeps him going. He must have his full revenge on Talatu who had abandoned him and on her parents who have openly despised him.
Would his plan of becoming a billionaire come true? Would he have his revenge on the people who he trusted but who despised and stabbed him in the back? And at what price would he get the satisfaction he so desperately yearns for?

DESPISED: SOON TO BE A BILLIONAIRE'S DARK REVENGE

I swayed to the right and to the left with each turn the truck took until my body ached to no end. The smell of vegetables remained with me throughout the journey and the planks under me creaked with every movement and bit my buttocks occasionally. The moon came out later that night and kept me company to the early morning hours.

I looked at my hand in the darkness. I couldn't see it, but I felt the throbbing pain like the pain from a bad toothache. I fell asleep again a couple of times but the pain and the bites from the planks forced me awake to discover we had reached Lokoja. I couldn't tell what the time was, but I guessed it was around three in the morning. Sani parked amidst the other trucks, lined up beside the expressway. I stood up and stretched, feeling the cramps biting my legs. Voices came from the front of the truck, and I walked to the back to find out what was going on.

The town was awake, and people moved about as if it wasn't the middle of the night. I saw Sani walking toward one of the shops, lighting a cigarette up. His boys were bent near the tires, peeing.

'Hello,' I said in Hausa, 'why are we stopping?'

'We want to pray,' he said, standing up and adjusting his trousers. 'After that, Sani will see his concubine. We will be here for a while, so relax.' He waved and then they walked toward one of stores leaving me staring after them. I walked to the edge of the truck and let the content of my bladder took a free ride to the ground.

I walked around the truck for a couple of minutes to circulate the blood in my legs and then sat back on the woods. I sat for a while, feeling the pain in my hand coming back and thinking about what the gang was doing to Mr. Potter. Has his wife arrived? I thought about him and Tolu until I fell asleep again.

I woke up to the voices around the truck and felt the pain in my hand waking up as well.

'Sule, Ahmed, get in,' Sani shouted in Hausa. 'We are leaving now.'

The engine roared to life a minute later and the truck surged forward, going out of the line and joining the expressway. I swirled to the right and to left, like a pendulum, and the pain in my hand got worst as if the devil had pitched his fork on it.

We passed through towns and villages and got to Abuja some minutes after nine o'clock. After Abuja, we stopped briefly at Keffi; Sani bought pap and beans cake for me to break the night's fast. He saw my hand as I was taking the bowl of pap from the girl serving it but he said nothing. I thank him and eat in a hurry.

We got to Jos five hours later. I alighted after the Hilltop School's gate since they were headed to Farin Gada.

'How do I get the fare to you?' I asked as I came to the driver's side.

Sani smiled. 'Don't worry about it; I took you for free.'

'Thank you so much,' I said. 'God bless you and your family.'

He nodded and surged the truck forward. I stood and watched the truck until it disappeared after circling the Plateau Hospital's roundabout. I walked toward the hospital and took the road to Abattoir. The streets looked smaller and the less busy compared to the ones in Lagos, but my heart weld with pleasure at their familiarity. I felt the dread of the past week drifting away from my heart like ice melting from a mountain top.

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