Three things to never joke with: a heart that beats for you. A hand that once helped you up. A memory that taught you a lesson.✅
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It all happened so fast. One minute he was there, the next he was out of the door. Eva stared at the space he had vacated for what seemed like ages, in reality it hadn't been more than three seconds. How could she forget the face of her tormentor. The man who had in a carrier level was the advocate of her very downfall. He dare come in here to taunt her and rub it right on her face what a loser she had become. Eva hated it. Two men rising from her past to haunt her anew. To drive her into madness. To complete what they had began. The turbulence they ignited to consume her. Only one for a relationship she was unfortunate to be involved with, and the other a man she had worked with.
Eva blinked back tears. She wasn't going to breakdown in front of all the witnesses looking at her as though she had suddenly sprouted a third eye.
Three more minutes and Eva was yet to regain her composure. They all made her uneasy. It all made her uncomfortable. She was at the brink of crumbling to the floor and weeping her anger out. Luckily a colleague of hers rushed in to resume her 2-9 shift for the week. Gladly, Eva handed over took an additional sick permission and left without sparing a glance towards Daniel. They should both drive to hell, Eva mused upon departing the premises. Still she felt the pressure of his intense eyes. She tried to picture the expression on his face when he saw her leaving. Disappointment? Excitement?
"Tomorrow would be better", Eva said to herself. "Why don't I find myself a good man..."
No way. You already know the end of it. Men aren't worth the stress. Besides you know where your fragile heart lies, a tiny voice at the back of her mind contributed.
Fragile? Of course not. Her strong heart is right within the strong barricade of her chest.
You can't fool no one, not even yourself, It repeated tersely as if annoyed she dared disagree.
Eva smirked. Rolled her eyes. In return, earned a vicious pounding of headache that roared so fiercely threatening to explode her skull.
Reaching home, Eva slumped on the bed grateful her sister was not at home because her situation would have been more complicated otherwise. They had always shared every of their secrets no matter how deep it happens to be with each other since they were kids. Five in number, but the two shared an unbreakable bond. Staying together when the rest lived in different states proved how solid their sisterhood grew to be. However for the first time in history, Eva did not feel like letting her on this one. She feared her reaction.
"You home earlier than expected."
Eva, jerked up from the bed. Her heart jumped violently. Taking in the form of Favour, at the doorway, she breathed a relief sigh. "You scared me."
"How did I scare you when I talked to you in the sitting room before you came in here."
"Oh, wow__"
"What troubles you?"
"Nothing to worry about. Caught a meniscal headache."
"Umm, funny." Favour turned the magazine she held.
"My predicament is funny to you?"
"No. I didn't mean that. The comparison. Have you taken any medication?"
"It subsided the moment I arrived home."
"Prepared yam and egg sauce."
"Had enough calories to last me the day."
With a shrug favour, picked a section that had been cooling off in a plate on a table beside the bed. Dipping generously in another plate of mouth-watery combination of egg, tomatoes, pepper, onions and spice; Favour took a bite, shook her head in satisfaction at the taste of it. "Trying to shed more weight, while I'm looking forward to gaining more pounds on my fleshless body."
Eva, chuckled. "Start planning on getting your own bed because we won't be sharing, then." She slumped back. Her hands stretched to her sides. Image of Daniel and his girlfriend popped into her mind. After several futile attempt to eradicate failed, she gave up and instead glared at the ceiling. She slung her arms around and rested it on her forehead to measure her temperature. Winced at the hotness of her skin.
"You okay?" Alarmed favour, dropped the book she was holding to place the back of her hand on Eva's forehead. A traditional way to check ones state of health. "Eva, you're burning with fever. You need to take paracetamol to calm it down before getting treatment."
"Please." Eva, whistled between slightly parted lips. The headache returning in full force she felt it in her temple.
Favour hurried to the drawer at the other side of the bed, pulled it open and extracted a tabled of the white drug. Taking out two pills, she handed it over to Eva, with a glass of water that sat on the table.
When she swallowed it down, Eva's sight was starting to get blurred. The sickness couldn't be blamed on any fever or parasites, but totally on the man flaunting his woman I'm front of her like they never shared anything intimate before. It was so rude of him. So weak of her to also fall for it. Two days of total rest and tranquility is what she need, Eva decided with finality. Work or no work, she needed rest to regain her drained strength.
"Or__" Favour's sudden interruption drew her back to reality. "__Daniel caused this, right? Is it about him?" The incoherent entreaty hovering on Eva,s pale face gave her up.
Looking over at Favour, Eva, lended a momentum snort that sealed and leveled her emotions. "He came with a lady. Can you imagine?"
Favour shoved a brow up in pervade fastidious. "You shouldn't be affected if you have no feelings for him."
Eva, rose slowly; thoughtlessly. "I'm momentarily outstripping modification process." She defended tying her disheveled hair behind with a band.
"That's not excuse enough." Favour asserted lying back flat on the bed. "If he isn't occupying your mind, whatever he does shouldn't bother you."
With a beginning of frustration, Eva clutched the back of her head as if preventing it from falling off. "You don't get the picture here. The man I am talking about is my ex. Someone I once loved."
"Well aware of that obvious fact__"
"You talk like you don't understand. The truth is that I don't feel nothing for him currently. What aggravated me is him having a date with another woman where I work when there are other countless places he can do that. Doesn't that tell you something? Pretending like we never shared anything__" Eva, cut herself off right before she said: pleasure each other. Too angry to give him credit for still torturing her even after she vowed never to let him. "The next time he walks in there with a lady__"
"You aren't going to do anything."
"Besides there won't be no next time."
"What are you insinuating?"
Eva, yanked he uniform over her head. "I'm quitting that job," she said shocking even herself. When had she decided on that. When did the thought form and from where? Gush, she's really messed up.
Favour's already bulged eyes rounded back to normal, then narrowed to a slit. "You can't mean that?"
"Hundred percent." Eva, let the t-shirt land wherever it could.
Favour, smiled. Frowned when Eva, turned to face her. "Don't be naive to give him what he wanted."
"Like roaming on the street jobless, huh?"
Eva, shook her head. "Better than to recieved more of his indirect insult. Better than to__" she proceeded to angrily pull at her plain trouser, "__keep seeing his face. He destroyed my little happiness when he showed up. I've not been thinking straight for the past few days." Eva, confessed as she hurled the pant to her abandoned upper cloth.
"Eva, it would hurt more this time believe me."
"If you were the one, you stay back and watch him ruin your life just because of keeping a job?" Eva, demanded. Surprised.
"If I were the one, I'd find a way to pay him back by making him jealous like he'd made you feel. Not the other way round. It wasn't your fault you both separated."
Eva, glared at her sister. "I know what you did there. Ha! Made me jealous indeed." She hissed.
"C'mon Eva. Its been three long years. You should blame yourself for loosing him."
"You said it wasn't my fault, now it's my fault that he chose to leave without a second thought. You are not making sense." Eva, fired with her hand on her hips.
"And how was it my fault? Geez! I can't believe you in support of him."
"Not the matter of who I support or whose side I'm not. The truth is you dedicated yourself excessively to your job which is admirable. But__"
"I hate buts."
"You only spared him an hour or a half in an entire week, sometimes three. If the table were turned, how'd you have felt? Loved? Cherished? I could vividly remember the day you accepted he come over. It took you approximately five hours to show up. Sometimes you'd not. He even offered to get you another less stressed job when you once complained of stress, you bluntly refused. Went ahead to spark a fight between the two of you to further punish him for daring to offer that." Favour, took a deep breath to calm herself. She was beginning to get pissed about the entire matter. All centered on her baby sister.
"I don't expect__"
Favour, silenced her with a raised finger. "You made him feel unimportant. And when he couldn't get to you as he wanted, he stopped calling. You ever cared to know why." Favour, stood up. "What do you have to show for all those late nights at the office?"
Eva, gritted her teeth. "Are you insulting me now?" She couldn't deny the stinging truth. Why would she accept. He should have done more better. All his effort to make the relationship work was just not enough to spice things up.
"You lost all your savings. Your car and other valuable properties. All to that company you sweated your ass for!" Favour's entire body shook with suppressed rage. Which proved how long she kept that bottled up for the right time to say her piece. "After all the extra hard work you put out to help build that company, they kicked you out like trash for false fraud. Never conducted an investigation to discover the truth__"
"Enough!" Eva, bellowed. Puffed and slouched back to the wall for support. The back of her skull pounding so hard she saw star dancing. Her torso trembled till she slipped down to the floor and began weeping. It was her fault she knew, but why did she have to remind her...
Seeing her in that state of emotional and physical pain, Favour regretted her action. Felt like smacking herself upside for inflicting that on her sister. All for her always wanting to be right and just when judging. It shouldn't be for her to do. Now she had ruined what she wanted to build. Slowly, she moved towards Eva, bent and laid a hand on her shaky shoulder. Eva, in returned pushed her away with a shove.
Nothing as painful as knowing you'd lost someone who care deeply for you. Being reminded of what she knew shattered her all over again. And the realization of her pride string if she ask him back, incensed her. Especially since he had found a replacement. A woman he must have had in his bed already.
Anger rode like a bile to her throat. Threatening to squeeze the life out of her. It wasn't this painful when they were far apart. His return brought back all she had tried to forget. Their sweet-bitter memory.
Daniel would never accept her back even if she tried. Her pride altogether was a hindrance to set a test. The best thing to do was buckle up and prepare for whatever the future held. Shake off the guilt and jealousy and move on. There is no gain at dueling in the past. She had survived so far without much difficulty. Might not be fatalistic that they get back to each other. Could be subjected as a residual part of her life. As every journey counts.
Her bitter thoughts scattered when she heard Favour approaching her again. Her knee raised to support her chin. She stared at the floor.
"Go wash yourself up." Favour's voice was low. Cracked." She clasped her small fingers around Eva's bit bigger ones. She squeezed. "I am sorry for saying all that to you. I shouldn't have. I was wrong I admit. Please forgive me. Me being your big sister does not give me the right to talk to you in such a way that I did. We all have feelings. We all human. We all deserve respect due us. Please forgive me." Favour, crouched beside, Eva. "Don't let it eat deep into you. If you don't feel the need to return to your job, then you free to forget about it. Bury it along with the past. There are so many opportunities littered out there waiting for you."
That brought a small smile on Eva's, face. " I have no grudges towards you. By the way what you said is nothing but the truth. I just don't want to admit it. For that way it would be difficult for me to find healing." She sniffed. Brushed a hand across her face to wipe off tears. "He already has a girlfriend. I have to move on like he did."
Wearily Favour, beamed weakly. "Good decision."
Expelling a breath Eva, bounded to her feet. Strangely felt embarrassed of herself for her breakdown. She made her way to the bathroom, looked over her shoulder. "Quitting my job would surely make me look weak and incapable of controlling my life. Tomorrow, I shall go back and begin from where I left off." The door closed behind her.
The tired beam on Favour's, face bloomed. "Now you talking."
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End of chapter three. Wanted it to be longer, but then decided to shorten it for the next chapter would mostly center on, Daniel. I can't wait to update it!
If there is anything you don't understand about this book, don't hesitate to indicate. I cherish you all my readers and fellow writers. Please vote!
Till next time.