Chapter 39—Korede’s Big Reveal

“There’s only one pill left. What’s it going to be, Mide?” Iceman asked.

Mide’s gaze shifted from Iceman to Patrick who dangled the sachet in the air. He chuckled and shook his head. He knew what his friends were playing at. Ever since he’d known them, they had a knack of persuasion over him. And now they were at it again.

If he was being honest, he kind of missed it. Of course, not all of the indulgences turned out well in the end. Sometimes they tended to cause more trouble than intended but one thing Mide could agree on was that they were all gratifying.

He looked back at Iceman. “Maybe just this once,”

The women cheered with a round of applause. Patrick and Iceman glanced at each other and grinned.

“Are you sure about that?” David asked, his eyes filled with concern.

“Don’t worry Dave. This isn’t my first time.” Mide winked.

“But you just said—”

“Oh, shut up, will you?” Iceman barked, stunning David into silence.

“Here you go man.”

David watched as Patrick handed the pill to Mide, who glanced at him before putting it in his mouth and washing it down with an energy drink.

** ** **

“I kissed David!”

Tracy and Esther gaped in shock, but for some reason, it was amusing to Fatima.

Esther narrowed a glare at her. “Why are you laughing?”

“I’m s-sorry.” She tried to contain her laughter with her hands on her belly, but it was futile. Then, she placed it over her mouth instead.

“When did it happen? How?” Tracy inquired. “It was in that mansion, wasn’t it?”

“No, it was at the lake.”

“What lake?”

“I don’t know either. He took me there when I was mad at Mide and his aunt,” Korede answered. “The water was beautiful, and I decided to go in for a swim, and then I played a prank that made him run into the water too—“

“Then you two got so close that your wet bodies touched, and your hormones kicked in.” Fatima parted her lips in a devilish grin.

Choosing to ignore her, Esther hissed and turned to Korede. “But it was just a kiss, right? It didn’t mean anything.”

“You wish,” Fatima scoffed.

“Shut up so she can talk, na!” Tracy yelled.

Immediately, Fatima realized how inconsiderate she was of Korede’s feelings. “I’m sorry. Continue.” She motioned to Korede, who was staring deeply at nothing in particular.

“I-I don’t know what to think anymore,” she muttered. “You were right, Esther. I should have kept my feelings in check from the beginning. I thought I had gotten over him, but I was wrong. And when he told me he loved me, I…”

Tracy and her friends all sent glances at each other.

“He told you he loved you? What was your reply?” she asked.

“I told him I was getting married, and he had to move on. But lately, it seems I have been lying to everyone: my parents, you girls…including Mide. And Naomi was trying to show me that this evening, but all did was yell at her.”

“So that was what caused the argument between you two?” Fatima asked.

Korede nodded. “She probably hates me right now…I’m the worst person on earth, girls.” Her eyes welled with tears. “I am getting married to Mide, but no matter how much I fight it, I think I am still in love with David. I don’t know what to do…I’m torn.”

Fatima rose to her feet and sat beside Korede. “Oh, come here you,” she said, embracing her. “It’s going to be alright.”

Soon, the tears came flooding even as Korede tried to fight them back in as Tracy and Esther also got to their feet to comfort her. After a while, the tears reduced to sniffles, but the girls remained beside her. Korede stretched her lips to give a weak smile. Her friends weren’t judgmental after all, and for that, she was glad.

“What do I do, girls?”

“Omo, this is tough,” Tracy huffed. “I mean, you’re getting married tomorrow! Why did David have to come back at all?”

“Well, I’m not surprised, actually,” Fatima chimed in.

“What are you trying to say?” Tracy asked, casting a puzzled look at her.

“Come on, we all know Korede and David didn't actually end things on a good note,” Fatima explained. “Heck, sometimes I barely understand why you broke up with him. You totally ignored him without giving him a genuine reason for the breakup, and then he totally ignored everybody else because of you.”

“So now you’re saying it’s her fault? Gee, thanks.” Tracy rolled her eyes in disgust.

“I’m not saying it’s anybody’s fault. What I’m saying is things were left unresolved, and I am not surprised this is happening, period,” Fatima countered.

Tracy sighed. “Well, I don’t like this one bit,” she muttered. "She is getting married tomorrow for heaven's sake!"

A wave of silence hit the room much after. Then, Tracy turned to Esther. “You seem quiet.”

Esther forced a weak smile. “You’re right. All of this is hard to take in,” she admitted. “But I think everything all boils down to Korede?”

“Huh?” Korede gaped.

“The question is: what exactly do you want?” The way Esther’s eyes were fixed on her made her a bit nervous. “You have to weigh your options and make a choice, babe. Do you want to go ahead with marrying Mide? If you do, then maybe one day, you might forget all of this happened…Or are you willing to risk it all for Dave?”

“So, what, because the guy still likes her, she has to throw away what she had already built with Mide?” Tracy frowned.

“Still, everything boils down to Korede’s happiness, and that is what she should be after,” Esther replied. “Mide is a great guy—we all know that. But the truth is Korede has never been as happy with him as she was with David, despite all his best intentions. But who’s to say that what happened before isn’t bound to happen if she gets back with David?”

They all kept silent to consider her words. Korede buried her face in her hands again.

“Still, we can’t make any decision for her; it has to be her choice,” Esther concluded.

“But this is too sudden,” Tracy objected. “She can’t be too hasty to make such a decision.”

“Then it’s a good thing we got all night, isn’t it?” Esther smiled.

"Awww, that means no more confessions for tonight?" Fatima pouted with puppy dog eyes.

Everyone immediately furrowed their brows at her.

"But we were just getting to the best part!" she wailed.

Tracy and Esther both ignored her and continued to comfort Korede.

At that moment, Fatima's phone made a beeping sound. It was a notification from Instagram. Fatima guessed that it was from a blog, and she was right. But the mellow expression she had when she turned on the phone and swiped to see the video was wiped away by shock at seeing the two people recorded in the video.

"Babes, you need to see this!"