CHAPTER 116- TIME TO MOVE ON
CHAPTER 116- TIME TO MOVE ON
Weeks had gone by, and no one had heard anything from Asher. Kiya had still been left in the safe house because the NBI believed she'd be in danger as long as Claudia hadn't been apprehended.
They allowed her some privileges, though, like Amarah coming over to visit and then going to public places, well accompanied by armed men for their protection.
"Hey babe, you have got to stop crying and move on," Amarah said as she came into the room that Kiya was in. Despite her trying to wipe her tears quickly to hide it, her best friend knew. Her red eyes and swollen face gave it away.
"I messed up big time, Ama, Asher loved me so much, and I broke his heart. I can remember the look of hurt and, worse, disappointment when I last spoke to him. I'm a terrible, terrible person, Amarah," Kiya said in between tears.
"It's okay, babe," Ama said, rushing to her and letting her fall apart in her arms. "It's okay, you're not a bad person, Kiya; you were just doing your job."
Kiya sniffed, wiping her nose. "It was still a bad thing, whether it was work or not," she said to Amarah.
She just stayed there for some more minutes, and when she got up, she felt a wave of dizziness hit her, and she suddenly felt the intense urge to throw up. She ran to the bathroom and hurled up everything in her stomach.
Amarah was right behind her, shifting away her hair from her face. After a few minutes, she felt slightly better.
"Hey, I think we should go to the hospital," Amarah said. "This is your fifth time in the last three days you've been throwing up, and you've not been able to keep much down; heck, you barely eat anything."
"I'm sure it's nothing," Kiya said. "I'm sure I probably just caught a bug, or it's just the whole issue that's going on that's messing with my gut. I'm sure if I get some rest, I'll feel better."
Amarah nodded, but she didn't look convinced, and Kiya noticed.
"Okay, fine," Kiya said, raising her hands in mock surrender. "If I throw up again, we can go see the doctors; is that fine?"
Feeling more reassured, Amarah nodded and smiled at her friend. She carefully helped her up from the bathroom floor, helped her clean her face and led her to the bedroom. She then left to make some chicken soup.
Kiya lay on the bed, and after a while, she took out her laptop to work. The NBI had placed her on some paperwork duty so she doesn't stay idle while the investigation is still ongoing. She hated the fact that she had been taken off the case, but she felt it was best, and she had made peace with that.
She wasn't supposed to be kept in the loop concerning anything that had to do with the case, but she had somehow begged the IT guy to leak any information he had access to with regard to the case to her. The IT guy obliged, considering it didn't hurt for him to be owed a favour by her.
She, however, hadn't gotten much of an update concerning the case. The hands of the NBI were tied if Asher didn't agree to help them. The only info that gave her some sort of joy was info concerning Agent Harry. He had been caught trying to flee the country with the large amount of money he had collected from Asher as a bribe, so now he is undergoing trial, and it isn't looking good for him at all.
Asher had blocked Kiya everywhere but his email. She opened his email address as she stared at the over hundred emails she had sent him, which contained a mix of apologies and pleadings for him to help the NBI out. He didn't reply to any of the emails.
She started typing, and this time, she didn't type an apology. She simply typed, "Hi Asher, I had a job, and I did it. It got you hurt, and I will forever deal with the pain of hurting you. I know it's a far reach for me to ask you to forgive me, but I really hope someday you do. This is the last email I will be sending you, and I just want to say I really did love you, and I will forever love you because you encapsulated the full meaning of love, and if I ever find something even close to what you demonstrated love to be, then I will know that I am really loved by the creator of love. I hope you have a good life after this, and I hope you never stop loving as genuinely and purely as you do because every person deserves to experience love in the way you show it at least once in their lifetime. I am forever grateful I got my share of it, despite the circumstances, and as much as I regret hurting you, I don't regret every moment spent with you, and I don't regret anything we shared. Please take care of yourself, Asher, and know that you'll forever have a part of my heart. For the last time, I love you, Asher Smith. This is goodbye."
She hit the send button as a drop of tear fell on her laptop. She gently took off the promise ring she had on and gently placed it in her jewellery box just beside her bed. She knew it was time for her to move on. If Asher couldn't forgive her, then their story has come to an end.
She had one final person she needed to talk to. She had to have a face-to-face with her and know what role she played in all of this. Even if the NBI kept her off the case, she had to figure a way to meet her.
She texted her a short message: Please meet me at the cinema. Please come in a disguise. She was going to make it as though she and Amarah were going to the movies, and if Suzan agreed to show up, they would get a seat beside each other where they could have a talk. Kiya had questions that she needed real answers to, and she was sure as hell that Suzan wasn't dangerous and didn't really have a role to play in the disappearances.
Okay, which of the cinemas? Suzan's short reply came in, and Kiya sent her the address of the specific one.