Song of the chapter: Thats What I Like by Bruno Mars
...
"I said, I want to keep-"
"I heard what you said, dammit!" Tobi roared, slamming his fists on the table making her to jump in surprise. The plates jumped too, food spilling on the table, but that was the least of their problems.
"No. You can't. That's breach of contract." He said, leaning on his chair, trying to be calm.
"The contract says that I'm giving Tobi Ademi a baby, not babies. So you're only entitled to one baby." She pointed out and he glared at her, glared at her for being so right.
"It's about the money shay. Fine. I'll give you another twenty million naira for the other baby."
"It's not about the money." She snapped.
"Then what is it then? Why do you suddenly want to take the child? You and I know that you can't take care of a child, you can barely take care of yourself. Taking care of a child requires a lot of money Abena. You have medial bills, school fees, house rent, and all of that stuff. You think I don't know, all the money I pay to you, you don't have a dime left."
Her breath hitched.
"I don't care where your money is going, but my child isn't going with it. You can't separate my children, especially when you don't have any money to take care of them." He finished, looking her straight in the eyes, her teary eyes.
"But I'm their mother too." She said quietly.
"No!" He stood up angrily, and pointed a finger at her accusingly. "You are not their mother. You're the carrier, an incubator. This is what you were paid to do."
She flinched at his words.
"Don't get your role twisted. And mark my words, I would take both my children." He said, storming out of the room.
He then walked back in, took his plate of food, added another piece of chicken to his plate, and stormed out, muttering some things incoherently. Although he was extremely angry, a part of him was filled with regret.
He wished he could take back the words he said. But he couldn't.
...
The next morning, Abena stood by the blender, making herself a smoothie. She had turned it off, then Tobi walked in, and opened the fridge. He took out a bottle of water and began to gulp it down when his phone started to ring.
He answered the call. "Hello?"
Abena then turned on the blender, really loud, then he started to shout over the phone. After his call, she turned it off and gave him an innocent smile.
"What the hell was that?" He asked.
"What?"
"If you think immaturity is going to get you to win, you must be mistaken. You have forgotten that I'm Tobi Ademi. I get what I want, no matter the cost." He warned and stepped out of the house.
...
"What do you mean by she's right?"
"I've checked the whole contract Tobi. Twice! There's not one part that says 'babies', everything says 'baby'." Joseph explained.
Tobi had gone to his house since he couldn't go to his office, and explained the problem to him.
"For the love of God, you're my lawyer. You didn't even think of that?" Tobi snapped.
"Well how was I supposed to know that the girl was that fertile?" Joseph shot back.
"I don't know! At least it was a possibility. You should've thought about it." Tobi shouted.
"This was your idea Tobi. If I remember correctly, I was against it. And when I told you to mail the information to me, you told me, and I quote, 'Don't change a thing.' So as your lawyer, I was listening to my client and obeying his wishes."
"Joseph-"
"No! Don't pin this on me! You have a problem that you caused, take the blame and look for a solution. It's not always someone else's fault. The great Tobi Ademi is capable of making mistakes too." Joseph said and Tobi looked down.
"Sorry man." He said and Joseph just nodded.
"No problem. You're frustrated. Have you tried offering more money for the other baby?" Joseph asked.
"Yeah. Apparently it's not about the money. She's developed that bond with them, and now she won't listen." Tobi replied.
"Yeah, that was the tricky part about this contract. Women always develop a bond with their unborn kids." Joseph explained.
"Yeah well, she should disconnect the bond or something. I don't care. I just want my kids. The two of them." Tobi said and Joseph nodded.
"I''ll see what I can do."
...
A week flew by and they hadn't spoken a word to each other. The house was quiet, Abena stayed in her room, except for the time she had to go to the kitchen. She cooked for only herself, avoided him at all costs, and when they happened to be in the same room, they ignored each other.
She thought of getting a job, one that would pay much so she could save enough money for later, but then she remembered what happened the last time she tried and shook her head.
She wasn't taking any chances.
She checked her account balance with the iPhone that Tobi gave her. She had no money. And after Tobi pays her for the last time, the only money she would have left would be fifty thousand naira.
That would be just enough to rent a one room apartment and enrol Demi into creche so she could have time to work.
She had already planned it.
An additional baby?
What was she thinking?
She can't take care of another baby. She could barely take care of herself and Demi.
She hated that he was right. That he could see through her.
She had to give in, she already had enough to take care of. She couldn't add more to her plate.
She buried her face in her palms, and sobbed quietly.
...
Tobi walked into the house. He was tired from his day of work, and the fact that he was trying to figure out a way to get Abena to comply to his demands was stressing him out.
Such a stubborn woman.
As he shut the door and walked into the house, he saw her standing in front of him. Her eyes were puffy from crying and she looked like a mess.
Still beautiful though. She looked beautiful in everything.
"Abena, I don't have time for this jare-"
"You win. You can have the both of them." She said quietly.
"Huh?"
"I said, you win. You can have the both of them." She said, louder.
"Hm. Why the sudden change of heart?" He asked, a smirk slowly tugging on his lips.
"Well I can't take care of a child right? You said that yourself." She said. "I can't take care of a child when I already have one to take care of." She blurted out in anger.
His smirk disappeared and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "You have a child?"
"So it's okay Tobi. Because everyone I love is always taken away from me. My mother, my father, my little sister. And Demi was almost taken away from me, but you gave me an opportunity. Stupid and reckless, but it paid the bills. And now, the two children are going to be taken away too. But that's okay, because I can't take care of them. Because I'm used to it. That's okay." She said, her voice shaky.
"Abena-"
"Dont come close to me you bastard!"
He flinched at her words and stood, rooted in his spot.
"You called me an incubator Tobi. Is that what you see me as? Not a human being, an incubator. You're proud and selfish! You're a snob and you think you're better than everyone else abi! And I hate you for that. I hate you because you have the ability to make everyone else seem like dirt when you're in the room. You're a selfish, manipulative, controlling, sonofabitch!"
She ran up the stairs, muttering Yoruba profanities under her breath and he couldn't move.
He was supposed to be happy. Happy that he won. So why did he feel like every word she said?
...
Tobi walked past her room after he ate dinner, alone.
He didn't remember the last time he had dinner alone.
He knocked on her door and heard her crying. "Go away." She said in a shaky voice.
He walked inside anyway, and sat down beside her on the bed. She looked away from him, and he sighed.
"Abena. I'm sorry I said all that stuff about you." He apologized.
"No you're not. You meant it. All of it." She shot back and he shook his head although she wasn't looking at him.
"I didn't. I was angry and I wasn't thinking straight. And I'm sorry. Ma bi nu." He said quietly.
"You're so-"
"Cruel? Rude? Selfish, manipulative, controlling, and a sonofabitch? Yeah I heard. A really nice girl who I was mean to said that. "
She chuckled and looked at him. He pulled her into a hug, and she relaxed in his arms.
"Are you sniffing me?" He asked in an amused tone.
"Leave me jare. You smell nice." She said.
"I'm sorry Abena." He muttered.
"It's okay. But you owe me a lot of chocolate." She laughed and he shook his head.
"I'll do anything to see you smile." He whispered in her hair.
She smiled in his chest, her heartbeat speeding up at his words.
"Why do you always say my name? You always say 'Abena' when you're talking to me in almost every sentence." Abena asked.
"Because it's sexy. I like the way it rolls off my tongue." He said and she laughed, rolling her eyes.
"Abena. About your family?"
She sat up and looked at him. He just aksed the question she hated.
"It's okay if you don't want to tell me. Just know that I'll always be there." He said.
"Thanks. But I want to tell you anyway. My dad died a few years back. He had a heart attack when he caught my step mother sleeping with his assistant CEO. They had been planning to take the company away from him, and his death just completed the mission. I couldn't take over because my dad had done some legal stuff that would only let me take over when I was done with university. So the assistant CEO was supposed to take over, but he played my step mother too.
He took all the money and left. Disappeared from the surface of the earth. We couldn't find him. The company crashed, we had to sell our house and move to a mini flat. I had to drop out from school. It was hard. And that witch just didn't care. She expected more but did nothing to help."
"I'm sorry. What about your child?" Tobi asked, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"He's not mine Tobi. He's my sister's. My nephew. My sister got raped at sixteen. I was just twenty one. She died giving birth to him, and he just happened to have a hole in his heart. That's where all the money went." She explained.
"Abena if you need help or anything. I can take care of the bills." He offered and she shook her head.
"No. Don't pity me. I can take care of myself." She said vehemently and he decided to drop the topic if he wanted to avoid a fight.
"Okay. What about your mum?"
"She died when I was five and my little sister was just born. We had an autopsy and it said that she was poisoned but we all ate the same food and the police said there wasn't enough to investigate so the closed the case."
"You've been through a lot Abena. I feel like such a dick." He said.
"You are." She replied and he laughed.
"Come on. Let's go and watch a movie. I have caramel popcorn." He grinned and she jumped off the bed.
"Why are you still sitting down? Stand up jare. I'm picking the movie." She said, pulling his arm but she wasn't able to move him.
"Babe. You really think you can move all this muscle and hotness?" He asked, gesturing to himself.
"I didn't see any muscle, or hotness. You're just fat." She joked and he lifted an eyebrow, pretending to be angry.
"Fat?" He asked, standing up and following her out. "There isn't one ounce of fat on me. Admit it, I'm hot."
"Whatever lets you sleep at night Mr. Ademi."
...
"You apologized?"
Tobi nodded, answering him for the fifth time.
"You. Tobi Ademi, apologized?"
"For the sixth time, yes."
"Wow. The world is coming to an end. Pigs are flying. What is-"
"Guy shut up jare." Tobi cut him off, slapping the back of his head.
"It's just surprising. You should marry her. She's good for you." Joseph said and Tobi glared at him.
"Shut up jare. You've started. I don't want to marry. Leave me alone." Tobi replied.
"Aw come on. You guys are perfect for eachother." Joseph whined.
"Go away. Abi is it by force? No! I don't want to marry her. She's nice and all but, no." Tobi stated.
"You like her." Joseph wiggled his eyebrows.
Tobi stood up, hiding the smile on his face. "I have work to do."
Joseph laughed as he watched his friends retreating figure.
"You didn't deny it!"
...
"How about, I take you out next week? Not this week, I'm loaded at work, but next week?" Tobi asked.
Abena was making Afang vegetable soup, and he was lazing around in the kitchen. She looked up from the vegetables that she was mixing together in the pot.
"To where? I'm not going to one of your clubs again. It's weird." She replied with a smile.
"Anywhere you want." He shrugged. "As long as I'm with you."
"That's so cheesy." She laughed, pretending to be unaffected by his words.
"Girls like cheesy. Especially you Naija girls." He teased. "Abi you don't like?"
He was stepping to close to her, and she averted her gaze to the soup she was stirring.
"The food is ready. Be useful for once and bring the garri so I can make eba."
...
"Tobi, have you seen my-" Abena stopped when she noticed that he was talking to a guest.
"Oh my God I'm so sorry. I didn't know you had a guest. I'll be in my room, sorry." She said, going back up the stairs.
"No. Come back. This concerns you, I was just about to call you." Tobi said, gesturing for her to take a seat.
She sat down, and looked at the man sitting beside Tobi. He looked really familiar.
"Abena, this is Francis. Remember him? He helped me find you when that... thing happened. He's a private investigator." Tobi said, and Francis gave her a small smile.
"Oh. I remember you. Thank you. Is this about what happened?" She asked.
"No. Actually, I want him to look into your mothers case." Tobi said.
Abena shook her head, pushing back the tears that threatened to fall. "The police closed the case a long time ago. There's nothing we can do."
"It won't be treated as a police case. It is a private investigation. All we would do is find out the truth, and then, send it to the police to prosecute." Francis explained to her.
"Abena. Look at me." Tobi said but she kept on shaking her head. "Baby. Look at me." He tried again, and she looked at him.
"Let's find out the truth, okay? All you need is the truth."
Silence stretched between them, and then after a while she nodded, and gave a sad smile.
"Good. So do you remember anything about your mother. Enemies, fights, anything?" Francis asked, bringing out his tablet to write down whatever she would say.
"I don't know. I was five at that time. I hardly even remember her sef." Abena said.
"Anything at all?" Francis pushed her.
She stared at nothing for a while. Thinking and searching her memory for anything. Then suddenly, she looked at Tobi, with a triumphant glint in her eyes.
"My father. Every time we had a memorial service for her, he always said that before she died, she spent her last moments with her family and her best friend." Abena said, giving a small smile at the thought.
Then suddenly, it struck her like lightening. The day she left home, the words of Bridget, her step mother.
"You're just like your mother."
"We were best friends, yet she stole him."
"My mother's best friend was my step mother."
...
Tobena is back people !!! ☺
Phew!
Finally posted this chapter. This was a real rollercoaster of emotions. 😰
What do you think about Tobi's words in the beginning? Too harsh?
And Abena's attitude? Too childish?
Now you guys know Abena's story, sad shay? What do you think about Bridget?
What do you think about the chapter? Like it? Hate it? Neutral?
'Ma bi nu' is Yoruba language meaning 'don't be angry'
Naija means Nigeria/Nigerian.
Afang is a vegetable soup from Calabar, a state in Nigeria.
Garri is made from cassava and it's used to make eba.
This question is for NON NIGERIANS please. Anyone that can answer it would get a shout out in the next chapter that I would be posting on Friday. If you have the answer, just comment. First person to get the answer wins 😉
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*What does Omo Naija mean? *
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Okayy, moving on...
This chapter is dedicated to one of my besties and my adopted big sister ❤ chinyereobi
Song of the chapter reminds me of Tobi. I dunno why ☺
For those of you that have started nominating your favourite characters from The Contract for the Nigerian Watty Awards, THANK YOU 😀
If you haven't done that yet, please do. Info was posted in a part called The Nigerian Watty Awards (Please Read Again)
Advice, suggestions, criticism, they are welcome. Let me know what I'm doing wrong or right.
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Vote - You! Don't leave here without pressing that star button 😉
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Keep on being amazing, my lovely bananas;
☺
- Timi