©️Opeyemi Akintunde
“ Why did you move your things into my room?” I asked trying so hard to control my irritation.
“ I thought we should let Roland have my room so he will stop disturbing us” Leni said Laughing, with her eyes glowing in the night.
“ No, Leni, don’t let us lose our individuality because we want to get married, you have to stay in your room..” I said
“ From the movies we watch, Couples stay in one room” Leni said
“ This is not the movies, this is real life!” I said firmly
Leni got the drift. She could tell I was pissed.
“ I will pack up” She said curtly
Leni got into the room and started picking up her stuff, I saw her tears dropping from her eyes.
“ Leave it!” I said
I could not watch her cry and stay normal.
Leni didn’t obey my ‘leave it” call. She kept packing her stuff and returning it to her room. She had gone to her room twice before I gathered enough strength to stand up and stand in her way..
“ I said leave it” I said grabbing her and all she did was break down in tears…
“ Why do people reject me and treat me like I am a burden, first my birth parents, Marcus and now you are treating me like I am a burden” Leni said to me
“ You know you can never be a burden to me, it’s just that it’s beginning to feel weird, like I am committing a sin. Reality is beginning to dawn on me and I am beginning to see that you are better as a sister to me than a wife.”
Leni stepped back from my embrace and looked at me like I had just stabbed her heart…
“ What are you saying?” She asked
“ This is not about you, it’s about me, I am beginning to see myself as inadequate, I feel you deserve someone richer than me” I said trying to find my way out of the whole mess
“ Richer ?” She didn’t understand
“ Yeah! As a brother, I want you to have a good life, have a wealthy husband who will take care of you and Roland.
I don’t want to be selfish,because the truth is, I don’t fit that description.” I said pleadingly
“ Stop It F,D, I am not after Riches, I am after Love” Leni said
“ And I don’t think I can love you as I should, I think you should go back to Segun.“ I said and with that statement, I moved away from her and walked to the living room. I really wanted to leave the house, but I knew Leni could not be trusted to stay in the house alone. She could try suicide. She had tried suicide twice when Marcus turned his back on her.
She followed me…
“ F,D, you used me… You just needed someone to sleep with, and I stupidly fell for it” Leni said as a matter of facr
“ You know that’s not it Leni” I denied.
“If that’s not it, what is it? Say it, say the truth?” Leni confronted me
“ I thought I could give you the life you deserved, but…” I started to say,but Leni cut in
“ But you sudddenly realized I am the single mother who doesn’t fit to be the wife, let me guess, you will prefer a girl like Shalewa?” Leni said in a rush
If a pin had dropped in the room, we would have heard it…
She was right, I would have prefered Shalewa as a wife than Leni, not because Leni was a Single mother , but I saw her as a sister, there was nothing more to know about her. There was nothing interesting about her…
“ This has nothing to do with you being a single mother, the truth is I can’t see you more than or other than my sister” I said
“ It’s okay, another disappointment. I will survive this too” Leni said raising her hands up as if to surrender
That broke my heart and I cried…
‘ I am sorry” I said
“It’s Okay, guess this is my life, just like name, ENITIOLENIYAN SUGBON ONIOLORUN” { A person who has no one, but has God)…
Leni went into her room and I could literally hear her wailing. She had locked herself in again…
Over the next two weeks, Leni made sure we never saw, she was always in her room locked in when I got back, and before I woke up, she was out of the house. I tried reaching her over the phone for the two weeks but she never picked my call.
Finally, Shalewa returned and She looked breathtaking.
I had returned from work and from outside I could hear Leni’s loud & happy laughter, a laughter I had missed. I walked in to meet She and Shalewa seated. Shalewa on seeing me rushed to give me a hug.
“ My brother who only checks on me once every two months”
“ Shalewaaaa… Oh My Goodness, My Doctor in the building. Won’t you put me in your suitcase when you are leaving, I need my skin to glow like yours”
“ It’s the Lord’s doing” Shalewa said happily
“And it’s marvelous in our sight” I said
“ You guys are looking good too, although Leni
looks lean, Are you part of the fitfam” Shalewa joked
“ You could say that!” Leni replied
We all laughed and chatted about everything and anything…
However, we couldn’t hide the truth from Shalewa that long, because she said…
“ God told me you guys have done what you ought not to do!” she said out of the blues
“ I don’t know what it is, but from the look of things, you guys are not as close as before, Did you have a fight”
She asked
None of us said a word…
“ Don’t tell me you guys…?” Shalewa said and without her completing her statement, Leni burst into tears and I couldn’t stop mine…
“ Why?” Shalewa said and somehow I noticed a look of disappointment in Shalewa eyes towards me. She stared at me and I could read a lot of unspoken words of an expectation cut short.
Was her disappointment as a result of what happened between Leni and I, or was there more to the look in her eyes?
To be continued
