After that intense episode, it’s time to get back to the family and all the wahala ongoing…

“What’s wrong with Maa?” Serwaah asked in concern as she moved closer to her parents on the couch. Her father held close to his chest a visibly upset Larissa, who was still quite shaken by the visit to the station, and had broken down after telling him about it.

Daniel wiped her tears and tightened his grip around her as her sobs reduced in sound intensity. “Your mother’s had a really rough day, baby girl,” he said to Serwaah. “Don’t worry, she just needs to let it out. She’ll be fine. You can go back to what you were doing. She’ll be okay.”

She nodded, knowing that the loving man of the house had spoken, so it was settled that her mother would be okay. 

“You’ll be fine, Maa!” she called as she walked back to her room.

Larissa lifted her head and sniffed. “Thank you, princess!” she called back weakly. Shaking her head, she whispered, “I’m sorry I broke down that way, it’s just…”

“No need to apologize, my love,” Daniel rebutted gently. “You know I’m here for you no matter what.”

Larissa nodded. “It is just… so intense. I’m not omnipotent when it comes to who’s lying and who’s telling the truth, but with the way she broke down… her reaction to the memories… just seemed so real. It hurts so bad, Danny. Adamtey was more than just an annoying guy with a sharp tongue. He was a terrible man. How could he do this to her?? How??”

Daniel shook his head. “Hmmmm. It’s unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.”

“I know it’s easy to think she’s just making things up to elicit sympathy. I know that’s probably what you’re thinking right now.”

Daniel shut his eyes and let out a sigh. Larissa knew him almost too well. “Well… yeah. I know it’s cut you up and all, but… I dunno. I still have my doubts…”

“Don’t worry, Danny. We’re not just working on emotions. Barnie and I agreed that we’ll have her go for testing to ascertain how bad it’s been. But baby, believe me, I can feel it. That girl was not telling lies. She truly went through a lot. And even though she’s probably not gonna go scot-free, I can’t let her be out there without any help. Even if I can’t be directly involved, I wanna make sure she recovers from this. It’s more than just physical; she’s mentally destroyed too.”

“Mmmm. So will you join the legal team?”

“Nah, I can’t. My emotions are too invested at this point. But pertaining to her recovery and all, I’ll be involved.”

“Hmm. Alright. Just be careful. You know there’s a political taint on this thing, and Adamtey’s people will stop at nothing to try to rip you up.”

Larissa sat up and looked him in the eye. “I couldn’t give a flying crap about those political animals and their bulls**t. This is a young woman’s life we’re talking about, and if anyone thinks it’s only worth gaining some stupid political points, they’re not gonna have it easy with me!”

“Okay, okay, I understand, baby. Calm down,” Daniel urged gently, holding her hand. Even though there was still a lingering hint of skepticism in his mind, he couldn’t deny that Larissa was very passionate about this thing. Much that she was using language she’d normally rebuke the children for letting out of their mouths. “Do what is best for her, alright? And don’t worry about the outsiders. You know I’ll always have your back. Always.”

Letting out an exhale that seemed to release the fledgling fury from her system, Larissa placed her head back on her husband’s shoulder. “Thanks, Daniel. And, uh, by the way, what I was discussing with you last week, I’m gonna go for it.”

Daniel’s eyebrows arched upward in pleasant surprise. “Oh, sweet! That’s great, Lari! Go for it. You know I’ll always be your number one supporter.”

Larissa smiled as she pulled up her legs and snuggled against him on the couch. “Sure thing, my king. Now can I get some orange juice, please? Been such a draining day.”

“No problem, baby. OSCARRR!! Get your mother a glass of orange juice, please!”

***

“Mmmmm… girl, this wrap is amazing! What are your ingredients?”

“Why, thank you, Dee! So this one is the chicken wrap. Learnt the recipe off the BBC Good Food website. It’s simple, really…”

As she listened to the explanation, Diamond felt like a river of relief had flooded its way into her soul. This was the first time she and Maabena were meeting, and they had barely spent an hour together, yet the vibe between them was just so… authentic. She wasn’t one who had high levels of discernment, but she could just sense that this girl was one who was genuinely interested in the business, and her.

It just seemed like God dropped an authentic person her way every time a problematic human being was taken out. From being heckled and harassed by the entitled pig that was Desert Eagle to meeting the wonderful Edem. Now the backstabbing witch Naa Shormeh had been quickly replaced by this young lady, and she had a wonderful feeling that this was a girl who wouldn’t just be a good business partner, but a great and loyal friend.

“Mmmm, neat!” she murmured as Maabena completed her explanation of the process. “So that’s gonna be the major one you’ll be preparing, right?”

“Yeah, that’s my flagship product.”

“Eeeei, this one too, flagship all come inside?” Diamond laughed.

“Hw33! When it comes to these babies, I don’t use simple English ooo. I don’t play around, sister. The Oseikrom Empress doesn’t play kraaaa.”

“Heyyyyyyyy! I trust you kraaaa!”

“Tenks, tenks. And now that we’re gonna be working together, forgetti! Smooth Wrapz is going global!!”

“Amen, honey!”

The two punctuated that with a high five.

***

Edem sat a distance away from the two new business partners, watching their animated speech with great amusement. Anyone who walked in and found them chatting and laughing together would have thought they’d known each other since childhood, when they had barely spent more than two hours together.

But hey, it was great to see they were starting off on the right foot. That had been his major prayer as he and Diamond had made their way to Maabena’s place. After the betrayal of Shormeh, he knew Diamond would be a little bit apprehensive about meeting a new person, even though it was necessary. As things stood, all was going well.

As he watched them, though, it was more than just amusement at their bonding that he felt.

There was something more within. And it was directed at the young lady the Oseikrom Empress was speaking to.

He had always known she was a beautiful lady, and getting to know her and spend time with her had been an exciting journey he never expected would happen. But over the past few days, he was starting to see her in a different light. His mind was fixated on her more often than he would have liked, and whenever he saw her, there was a sharp burn in his stomach.

It had all began with him happy to help out with her business, but it now seemed like Edem was beginning to fall for Diamond. 

***

“Thanks,” Toby said as he took the polythene bag from the attendant in the shop before walking out. Another day of lectures done, and it was time for him to go and enjoy the Don Simon juice he had just bought while watching the latest movie. His course mates had been raving about this movie on Netflix all day, and he definitely wanted to see if it was worth all the hype. 

“Hey you!”

Having moved a meter or two away from the shop, Toby stopped in his tracks upon the sound of that familiar sultry voice. He hadn’t seen her since returning from home that Monday morning. But he knew he’d eventually see her, and have to deal with his conflicted self.

He took a quick breath and turned to face her, lowering his bag. “Hey Delphine.”

Flashing her flirtatious smile at him, she placed a hand on her hip as she cocked her head sideways and asked, “How have you been, Bumpkin? And how did the previous weekend go? Have fun back home?”

Toby raised an eyebrow. Where in the hell did she come up with that nickname?

He shook his head. “Not the best weekend, actually. A family friend got diagnosed with cancer, so…”

The sly look on Delphine’s face suddenly disappeared, and one of genuine concern replaced it. “Oh! Oh! That’s so awful to hear,” she gasped. “What kind of cancer is it?”

“Cancer of the colon.”

“Oh damn! That’s horrible. I’m so sorry to hear that,” she sympathized. “I know what it’s like when cancer strikes. Such a horrible thing, chale. I had an aunt who had breast cancer…”

As she began to tell him her story of her unfortunate auntie, Toby was quite surprised. Her look of concern did not seem fake at all; the mention of cancer had truly struck a nerve of sympathy in her, and as she spoke, there was not a hint of her usual seductive edge.

Not to mention that the story of her aunt’s battle with breast cancer was a pretty sad one.

“… hmm, it was so difficult to handle. Very difficult. I still miss her every now and then. But I hope your family friend makes it. She shouldn’t have to go through what my aunt went through… sorry, gotta take this call.”

She excused herself as she walked away to talk to her caller.

Toby watched her, feeling a new level of attraction to her. Damn! Never seen her being so genuinely sweet. Such a sweet, sexy chic…

Somehow, that bona fide display of concern had triggered him more than he would have ever imagined.

The raciest of thoughts beginning a marathon in his brain, he gulped hard as he began to contemplate truly taking her up on her request that he visit her. At that moment, he was so excited, the thought of being alone in the room with her sounded too awesome for words.

She ended her call after a while, and walked back to him. “You know what? Let me leave you to go settle in your room. I’ll see you later,” she said, rubbing him on the arm before proceeding to walk away.

Herh, what are you doing? You’re letting her go? What dey wrong you? Don’t let that sexy kitten go ooo. Tell her!

“Hey!” he called out. She turned.

He swallowed hard. “So, uh, what’s your room number?”

The familiar smirk appeared on her face. “Oh, uh. 401.”

He nodded. “Cool, cool. I guess I’ll… pass by one of these days.”

She nodded. “Looking forward to it, Bumpkin,” she said as she walked away.

Heading to his room, he could literally feel the angel screaming at him ‘What have you done, boy???‘ He hardly felt any kind of regret at that moment, however. As dangerous as she supposedly was, she had revealed a part of her that had him wanting to get deeper in fellowship with her. And he was not gonna get there without a visit to Room 401.

***

“Oscar, please let me get down here.”

He looked at her in surprise. “Ah, but I always drop you off in front of your house.”

She hesitated, now thinking of an excuse to give before blurting out unconvincingly, “Ummm, I need to… get something for my mum at the shop nearby.”

The puzzled look remained on his face. 

Adelaide had been acting weird these past couple of days, and this request was further proof of that. For someone who was used to being dropped off at the front of her house, this was not the norm.

Especially considering she was the type who always made him know which pit stops she’d make before she got home.

“Oscar, please, I need to get down here. Please.”

The surprised look didn’t waver. He was tempted to ask what was wrong. Because something definitely was off. And her refusal to talk was not helping.

But as she had already done when he asked that the last 5 times, she would most likely insist nothing was wrong, and go on to either end the call abruptly, walk away from him, whatever weird action she was inclined to take. 

He sighed and unlocked the doors. “Fine.”

Adelaide nodded and opened the door. “I’ll see you later, Oscar.” She closed the door and walked off.

He sat there, shaking his head as he watched her walk off. Whatever was the source of this sudden coldness from a girl who had once flashed him numerous smiles while on stage to get his attention was something serious. Because Adelaide was not like that. 

And she just did not want to talk about it.

What the hell is wrong with her?

So Toby is letting his guard down? Ei, this boy! And it looks like some major romance plot may be in the works right now. And about Oscar and Adelaide… hmmm, I wonder what’s going on with them. Stay tuned!