Chapter 40—Mide’s Other Side

David made one more visit to the restroom after his slight confrontation with Iceman and Mide's resolve to take the party pill. This particular one was very long as he threw his fists in the air and lashed out his anger in the empty bathroom. Iceman was beginning to seem more irritable, and Mide was starting to act more like a jerk under the influence of party pill.

What was he thinking, coming to the bachelor party? Of course, Mide would pick his friends over him!

He puffed a sigh and calmed himself. Maybe it was time for him to head home, he thought. No more trying to be nice to Mide, or anyone. It wasn't like he was being missed anyway, the three women they met in the club had replaced him already.

He straightened his shirt before taking a deep look at the mirror.

"Come on, Dave, you can do this," he pepped himself up.

He was about to head for the door when he suddenly felt the urge to pee. He cursed at himself for having too much to drink before he moved to ease himself.

And then, he heard a voice announce its presence.

"Hey, man"

David turned his neck to see Patrick stride away from the bathroom door to a water closet beside him.

"Hey."

David returned his face to the front but could hear Patrick unzip his trousers before allowing his pee tinkling down the toilet sink.

"Them beers do take a toll on ya, don't they?" Patrick laughed with a big grin.

David, on a normal day, would have cut back with another joke, but this time, he only replied with a slight chuckle. He returned his gaze to the toilet sink before Patrick spoke again. "Listen, Dave, about Iceman," Patrick said. "Don't take his attitude to your heart, man. He's just got a little temper issue."

"A little?" David raised a brow.

Patrick chuckled. "Okay, maybe more than a little." He zipped back up before he continued. "Look, it's not his fault. His masculinity just gets the best of him sometimes."

David replied with a slight nod. He too was done, and they both moved on to wash their hands.

"So, no hard feelings?" Patrick said with a hopeful smile.

David studied his expression for a moment before he replied. Patrick had come to check if he was mad and not because of a full bladder. And it probably was of his own accord.

"No hard feelings," David repeated.

"Great!" Patrick beamed. "Now, let's get back to the party. Stella was rocking the shit out of Mide with a lap dance before I left," he added as he slipped his hands around David's shoulder before they left the restroom.

David was eager to see the scene Patrick had described, but to his surprise, what he saw was Stella straddling Mide's thigh while he devoured her lips in a blazing kiss while Iceman and the other two cheered them on.

Patrick didn't seem surprised, though.

"Damn, looks like they've taken it up a notch," He let out a devilish grin.

"What the hell!" David barked in anger.

He charged towards them immediately, shoving Stella off him before landing a sucker punch right on Mide's lower chin. It happened in a flash, but Patrick was quick to react and hold him back before he could swing another blow. Iceman quickly stood between him and Mide, putting his hand forward to keep him at bay.

"What the hell is wrong with this guy?" one of the girls muttered in disgust.

"How could you?" he exploded as he struggled to free himself from Patrick's tight grip on his midsection. His knuckles began to throb in pain, but that was nothing compared to the anger he felt inside.

"How could you betray her like this? With a random girl you met in the club!"

The ladies were about to clap back with a madness of their own, but Mide motioned them to let go. He got to his feet and told Iceman to step aside right after telling Patrick to release David.

"You know what, Dave, the only reason I'm going to let the fact that you just punched me slide is because my cheeks are so numb, I could barely feel it. I think every part of me is numb right now." He paused and gave a hysterical laugh as he looked around at everyone. "But I promise to give you the beat down of your life if you touch me again." His playful expression turned sour almost immediately. "What exactly is wrong with you, huh? I invited you here so we could have some fun together and relieve whatever tension we had. But it seems you had something else on your mind throughout."

"You want to know what exactly is wrong with me, right? It’s the fact that her choosing you over me is killing me, and that is what is wrong with me!" David snapped. "And here you are, defiling all the love and trust she has in you. Does she even know about your past with these guys?"

"She knows nothing, and it's going to stay that way," Mide retorted. "Nothing is going to ruin this wedding for me. I've put in too much to fail now."

"What?" David gasped in confusion.

"Mide, that's enough!" Iceman cautioned.

"No, no, it's okay," Mide said, putting him at ease. Then, he turned to face David again. "I like Korede very much, Dave. But do you really think I would want to get married this early without any genuine reason?"

David glanced at Patrick and Iceman, who shook their heads.

"What the hell is he talking about?"

"The thing is, David, my dad is out in the search for a successor, which is crazy, right? Because, hello, I'm your son! I should be the one to inherit your empire. Isn't that right?" Mide let out another crazy laugh again. "But Chief Otunba is choosing to give my birthright away simply because he doesn't see me as worthy," he muttered. "And even when I tried to make amends, he didn't stop seeing me as a prodigal son who wasted his wealth on anything money could buy…That was when my aunt had an idea." He chuckled and slumped back to the couch. "You see, my dad might be living in the States, but one thing he still has is his African mentality. Aunty Bukky suggested that if I got married to a nice girl like Korede, my dad would finally start to see me as a responsible child because, hey, one who takes good care of his family should be able to handle a multi-million-dollar company, right?"

David's eyes grew wide in anger.

"You bastard! You don't love her. You just needed her to appease your father!" he raged and charged at Mide, but this time, Patrick was quick to hold him back.

Mide laughed. "Well, Korede and I were already dating, so I didn't see the need to look for someone else," he replied. "Plus, she was quick to accept my proposal after only a year of being together because she wanted to forget about you…You know you broke her, right? I mean, I know she started the breakup, but you broke her first."

"Shut up!" David yelled.

The smug expression on Mide's face made him boil in pure rage. Patrick's grip wasn't enough to keep him this time as he squirmed away and pounced on Mide.

Unfortunately, Mide was aware of his attack this time. He caught David's punch in midair with a firm grip on David's wrists and deflected his other hand to the side before ramming his head to David's chest.

David staggered backward at the impact, but Mide wasn't done yet.

"I warned you not to touch me the second time," he said before swinging a blow that landed right underneath David's left eye. David slumped immediately to the floor, helpless and defenseless as he groaned and turned in pain.

Patrick was about to pull Mide off him, but Iceman held him back.

"Let them handle their issues like men," he said, admiring the chaos.

As he expected, David didn't get up, and Mide proceeded with kicks and stomps on David's midsection, cursing and swearing at every blow he dealt on David.

Finally, Iceman became bored. "Alright, that's enough." He pushed Mide aside. Patrick shook his head in disbelief.

With heavy pants, Mide spat on the ground close to David, who was now rolling and coughing out blood-tinged spittle. "Get out."

Every part of his upper body ached severely. Patrick had to rush to help him up properly, but Mide wasn't pleased with the pace it was getting done. He bellowed at a bouncer, who came rushing to the scene. "Hey, get him out of here," he ordered.

They watched in silence as the bouncer helped David out of the VIP lounge. Patrick looked around at stunned and speechless expressions—and at Stella, who held her phone camera steadily pointed at Mide.

"What the—give me that!" he barked and snatched the phone from her.

But he was too late. She was recording live.

** ** **

"Babes, you need to see this!"

Korede and Tracy ignored Fatima until Esther who was looking over her shoulder shouted. "Oh my, isn't that Mide?"

They immediately rose to their feet and crowded Fatima. On seeing Mide, Korede covered her mouth in shock.

"Jesus! Who is he beating like that? And why are his friends just watching?" Tracy shrieked.

Just then, Fatima's eyes recognized something. "Hold on, isn't that David?" she asked. "Yes, it's him! I remember that shirt."

Korede could hear her heart race a lot faster.

"What was he doing at the club with Mide?" Esther sputtered with a recoiled expression.

"Mide invited him," Korede stammered. "I didn't know he was going to attend but…I thought they were cool. What's going on?"

Without waiting for an answer, she picked up her phone to call Mide. He didn't answer.

"Maybe you should try David. I mean, he is the one hurt here," Fatima suggested.

Korede nodded and did as she said. "He didn't pick either," she muttered.

"Damn, I sure hope he is okay," Tracy said.

But Korede couldn't bear to sit and hope. She had to know for sure.

"I have to check up on him," she said, then headed for the door.

"What? Why?" her friends asked almost simultaneously.

"I have to make sure he's okay," she replied without looking back.

"You want to leave for his place by this time? It's already late!" Esther pleaded.

"I don't care. I have to go," Korede replied before storming out of the room.