Lies, Lies And More Lies✔️

70: Name Your Price

"Then, why are you doing all of this? Teaming up with Candice, putting Naborhi in danger and now, you're moving to Benjamin. Is this some kind of revenge? What's your end game for God's sake?" I asked, frustrated by all of it. What was it going to take for Ruby to leave us all alone?

"I told you that I'm going to ruin your life. I meant that, so, brace yourself cause I'm just getting started." With that said, she began to walk away but I grabbed her upper arm and pulled her back to her previous position.

"What did I do to deserve so much hate from you? I know, growing up, we were always at each other's throats. We never liked each other, I know that but things were never this bad, Ruby. What changed?"

"Stop with the pretense! You know exactly what you did!" She yelled, staring at me in disgust. I shook my head, clueless. "You really don't know?" She scoffed, shaking her head.

"If I did anything to upset you, I'm truly sorry. I just want us to bury this age long hatchet and go about our very lives." I apologized for the sake of peace. I couldn't remember what I had done to make her so upset and that seemed to piss her off even more.

"I don't want your fake apology! I just want to ruin your life like you ruined mine!"

"Ruined your life? How the hell did I ruin your life? What did I do that was so bad that you're punishing me this much?" I yelled. What was she talking about? Ruby was always the one that wronged me. I never would have attacked her if she hadn't attacked me first.

"Dayo." She said and I waited for her to elaborate but she didn't.

"Who's Dayo?" I asked, not recalling a Dayo. The name rang a bell but I couldn't seem to recall who he was.

"My surgeon ex-boyfriend, Dayo." She said and I recalled him instantly. Dayo was the man Ruby had brought home for last year's Christmas dinner. He was the one she couldn't stop bragging about. I held back an eye roll as I recalled the torturous day.

"What does he have to do with anything?" I asked, once again not fitting the pieces together. What was the connection between Dayo and myself in all this? I didn't even know the guy.

"He has everything to do with it!" She screamed at the top of her lungs and I jumped in surprise at her shrilling voice. "He was my everything! We were going to get married and start a family but he dumped me because of you!" She poked my chest really hard and I winced from the pain she inflicted.

"How is it my fault? I don't even know the guy!" Ruby was being unreasonable now. Her accusations couldn't even hold water. This entire time she was making my life a living hell because of some guy I had nothing to do with.

"You may not remember him but he remembers you." Ruby gave a humorless laugh. "He knows everything about you, Tiara and once he found out I was your 'cousin from hell', he ended things with me."

I paused as I heard her last sentence. Those words 'cousin from hell' rang a bell but I couldn't remember where I had heard them.

"Dayo is Daniel's best friend. Daniel Effiok, your ex."

"Right." I drawled as I recalled my ex.

Daniel Effiok was a guy I dated shortly after I got back to Nigeria. We dated for a few months but the relationship couldn't survive his constant party lifestyle. He had turned me into someone I wasn't and I was stupid to have let him. I had learnt my lesson after we nearly got into a car accident while returning from the club on a Friday night. He had been driving under the influence and it had been God that saved our lives that night.

I could remember Dayo. I had met him once at a party. I couldn't remember much though cause Daniel, a few of our friends and I were drunk even before he arrived. Dayo had dropped us off as Daniel was almost passed out drunk and Dayo hadn't been drinking that night. He was the only sober one in the group and had snatched the car keys away from Daniel when he attempted driving us home. That was the only time I had met Dayo. However, I could remember Daniel talking about him. They had been friends since they were in pre-school and Dayo was the only one who could pull Daniel back to his senses. He was the responsible friend that had saved Daniel's ass their whole lives.