Chapter 40

Breakfast this morning is a simple affair, fried bean cakes, corn pudding with milk and sugar, and some freshly baked bread. The meal takes me back in time to my childhood when my mother would prepare this combination on Saturday mornings, after hours of cleaning the house and the surroundings. Sunday mornings were for rice and delicious chicken stew. Ah… the good old days.

“I should give my chef a raise for putting that big smile on your face,” says Dominic who is watching me with a curious smile on his lips. “I didn’t know you are such a big fan of bean cakes. Or is it the silky-smooth pudding that’s making you happy?”

I chuckle. “Neither. Although, this food has certainly taken me back in time to my childhood. It was my mother’s go-to breakfast for Saturday mornings.”

“That’s sweet. I don’t have such memories. My mother never cooked, so there isn’t a meal that I enjoy that I can attribute to her culinary skills.”

“Aww…” I say softly.

“Not ‘aww’. I’m not complaining. You can’t miss what you never had. I just find it amusing when people say certain foods remind them of their mother’s cooking. I can’t relate to that.”

The doorbell rings at the front door, preventing me from responding to his statement.

“Expecting a guest?” I ask Dominic.

“No. I wonder who that could be this early in the morning,” he muses.

“Aren’t you going to get the door?” I ask.

“That’s Sarah’s job,” he answers.

“Oh,” I say, feeling a little embarrassed to have forgotten that rich people don’t answer their own door because apparently, that’s too much trouble for them.

As if on cue, Sarah appears in the dining room to announce Dominic’s guest. “Sir, Miss Pamela is here to see you,” she says with a blank expression.

“Well, tell her to come here and join us. It’s not like she’s a stranger,” says Dominic.

Sarah clears her throat self-consciously before speaking again. “I already invited her in, but she said she would rather not.”

Dominic is surprised. “I beg your pardon?”

“She says you should come and meet her outside,” Sarah adds. I can tell that having to deliver this kind of awkward message is making her uncomfortable.

“I don’t understand what sort of game Pamela is playing, but I am not interested. Tell her I said that she either comes in and talk to me here, or she can simply leave. I have no patience for her juvenile games.”

“No, Dominic. Don’t say that,” I tell him softly. “Please, go to her. She may be feeling embarrassed to face me after yesterday’s episode with your parents. She’s probably here to apologize to you for the part she played in all of that.”

He sighs, then drops his spoon in his half-empty pudding bowl. “Fine, then. I’ll go and listen to what she has to say and then come back right away. We have to get ready for our flight back to Lagos.”

“Sir, are you leaving today?” Sarah asks in surprise.

“Yes, Sarah. Excuse me,” he says and stands up from his seat. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, darling,” he tells me, then leaves the dining room to go and meet Pamela at the front door.

As usual, Sarah gives me a haughty look before following her boss out of the dining room. I don’t know what the woman’s problem is, but she is starting to get on my nerves seriously. Alone, I finish my meal and begin to scroll through social media on my phone. I haven’t video-called my daughters today, but I intend to do that as soon as Dominic gets back from his chitchat with Pamela so that they can say hi to him too.

Speaking of which… I check the time on my phone and realize that Dominic has been gone for more than twenty minutes. What could he and Pamela be talking about for this long? Wasn’t she just here to apologize to him on behalf of his mother for her behavior towards me? What else are they talking about? My curious mind can’t seem to stay quiet; I just have to know what’s keeping him out there for so long. I get up from my seat and make my way to the living room where the front door is slightly ajar. The closer I get to the door, the more I hear Dominic’s and Pamela’s voices, speaking in hushed tones that still carry into the house, letting me become privy to their conversation. I know it is intrusive and very inappropriate to eavesdrop like this, but I just can’t seem to help myself – I must know what they are talking about.

“You are being ridiculous, and you know it,” Dominic says. “How can you even say that?”

“Because it’s true and I know that deep down inside of you, you know it too,” replies Pamela. “I mean, let’s be real here – don’t you think it was oddly convenient that her children suddenly got kidnapped after she met you? And ‘luckily’ for her, you happened to have the unlimited resources to rescue them in record time. Come on, Dom. You’re smarter than that.”

“So, what are you insinuating?”

“I am not insinuating anything; I am saying that that incident seemed too fishy to be random.”

“In other words, she connived with her ex-in-laws, who happen to despise her by the way, to get her daughters kidnapped by them so that I can rescue the children for her? Is that what you’re saying? How does that even make sense to you?”

“She probably hoped to get some ransom money, but you swung into action too quickly and bungled that for her, I guess,” says Pamela stubbornly.

“Goodness gracious, Pam! Are you listening to yourself at all? You didn’t even see how the abduction affected her – she was distraught and ended up spending the night in a hospital. What kind of mother would deliberately put herself through such agony?”

“The kind of mother who is determined to score herself some free money from an unsuspecting billionaire at any cost!”

“Stop it, Pam. Don’t talk about Uzezi in that manner. You don’t know her, but I do. And in case you have forgotten, she owns a thriving business that has sustained her and her daughters for the last couple of months since her divorce.”

“You call that tiny trinket shop a thriving business?” She chuckles. “Don’t be silly.”

“What is it to you, anyway? I’m the one in a relationship with her, not you, so why are you this bothered on my behalf?”

“Because I care about you, Dominic. I am only looking out for you like I have always done. I know you like this woman very much, but she is just an opportunist gold digger like all the other unworthy women who have come and gone out of your life. And me, I have been here all along – holding your hand through the tough times and laughing with you during the good times. I know how this ends, Dom, and I’m sure you know too. When she has had enough of you, she will leave, and I will still be here for you.”

There’s an awkward silence after Pamela’s declaration, and for a moment, I fear that Dominic will march angrily into the house and catch me behind the door, shamelessly listening in on his private conversation with the woman whom he has always called his childhood friend. I know I should walk away now if I don’t want to be caught, but I can’t seem to make my legs move. I remain rooted in my hiding spot, waiting to hear what will happen next.

“I don’t want to be weird, but why do I feel like there’s more to these things you’re saying to me?” Asks Dominic suspiciously.

“Of course, there’s more to them, Dom. I have been a part of your life since we were little kids. I have always adored you and waited patiently, hoping that one day, you will see me for what I am to you and not just as your childhood friend.”

“My God, Pamela. What are you saying?” Dominic sounds perplexed.

“I am saying that I love you, Dominic,” Pamela confesses emotionally. “I have loved you for as long as I can remember, and I have gone in and out of romantic relationships with the hope that one of them would cure me of how I felt for you, but none did. None ever did, Dom. It’s you I want, but now I am afraid that this woman might take you away from me before I get a chance to let you know how I truly feel about you. I love you, Dominic. I love you with all of my heart, my body, and my soul. I love you with every fiber of my being. I love you the way a woman loves a man, not as a brother, but as a lover and companion. I truly love you.”

“Pamela,” I hear Dominic gasp incredulously. “What about Adora?”

“We broke up last month. She wanted more than I was willing to give emotionally. I just couldn’t connect with her on a deeper level as she wanted.”

“Damn, Pamela. I don’t know what to say,” says Dominic.

“Then don’t say anything, Dom. Words don’t really matter anyway, only actions do. Don’t say anything, just feel.”

Silence descends on them again, and I wait patiently for the next round of confessions from either of them. A few seconds pass and no words are forthcoming from either of them, so I begin to grow suspicious. What are they doing? Are they just standing there and staring at each other, or what?

I finally step away from my hiding spot and pull the door open to see what is going on out there, and my heart drops to the floor when my eyes capture the scene outside – Pamela and Dominic are in each other’s arms, their lips locked tightly, in the most passionate bout of kissing that I have ever witnessed in my life. I’m not sure that Dominic has ever kissed me with this sort of fire before, and my fingers unconsciously curl into fists out of a jealous rage that suddenly starts to spread all over my entire being.

“Well, isn’t this something?” I say angrily and watch with satisfaction as they both spring apart immediately. Dominic looks like a deer caught in headlights, while Pamela looks… disappointed.

“Uzezi, please, I swear it’s not what you’re thinking,” says Dominic, resorting to the age-old excuse of a man caught red-handed cheating on his partner.

“What do you think I’m thinking, Dominic?” I ask him. “Today must be my lucky day; not only did I get to hear your so-called childhood friend call me a bad mother and a gold digger first-hand, but I also get to watch the two of you kiss each other like long lost lovers. This is the kind of story that inspires a great soap opera, don’t you think?”

“Uzezi – “

“Don’t say my name,” I snap at Dominic, cutting him short. To Pamela, I say, “I’ve always known that there was more to your friendship with Dominic than you let on, and that’s why I’m not surprised by this drama that has just unfolded before my eyes here. My instincts never lie to me, so I can confidently say that I saw this coming. You know what, he’s all yours. You two are perfect for each other.”

I turn to leave, then pause and turn back to face Dominic. “I am going inside now to book a commercial flight back to Lagos for myself. Please, do not try to contact me after today and please, I beg you in the name of everything that you hold dear – stay away from me and my children. I don’t want to see you or ever hear from you again. This is the end of the road for us, so please, stay away from me. Forever.”

With my heart breaking in smithereens with every step I take, I walk back into the house, careful not to let the tears in my eyes fall and shame me in front of the stone-faced Sarah who has just walked into the living room from the dining area, probably to look for me and Dominic.

“Oh, hey Sarah,” I say cheerfully. “You can relax your facial muscles now and go ahead and smile if you know how to. You won’t be seeing me here anymore. I am leaving finally and permanently. Yay!”

For the first time since meeting her, her granite expression cracks to reveal her surprise and then confusion. I walk past her regally and climb the stairs to go to Dominic’s suite to start packing my bag. Good riddance to all these haughty, disrespectful people who act and talk as if I am beneath them. At this stage in my life, I don’t have to condone such negative energy for any reason.

I deserve respect and I will have it, whether Dominic’s family and the people with who he surrounds himself, like it or not. If walking out of his life is what it will take for me to be respected, then so be it.