Valerie's Contractor ||Completed||

The Decision

After standing by the window for God knows how long, I started feeling a combustion of emotions. I wanted to cry, laugh, and scream at the same time. Jesus, why did this hurt so bad?

I walked to the refrigerator and poured myself a glass of chilled water. I gulped it all at once, thinking it was going to calm down my burning heart... But unfortunately, it didn't. The emotions began to change to anger, I stamped my feet around the house, from the living area to the master bedroom, then to all the other rooms, and back to the living area.

"So it was just business to him?" I asked myself. My head was pounding so hard right now. I could bet anything I owned, that painkillers were not the solution to this excruciating pain in my head.

"I guess it was just business to him after all." I said slapping my forehead with my palm. I sat down on the floor, then rested my head against the wall, and bit my bottom lip. To think everyone was warning me not to break his heart... Who's heart was broken now? "Oh Valerie, Valerie. Why do you feel so hurt? This was what you wanted right? To come back home, renovate the mansion and sell it then return back to the United States where you already have a thriving career, right? And everything played out the way you wanted it to, right?" I placed my palms on my warm eyes, then whispered "Right?"

*************************************************************************************

The next day came, after having a sleepless night of tossing all over the bed, I decided to put a call through to Pamela.

I picked up my phone and I was about to dial her number, but something inside me knew for sure that she wasn't the one I ought to be speaking to, cuz she wasn't the reason for my sleepless night. I decided to text him instead.

"Let's meet up at City Cafe by 9 AM, I have something important to discuss with you." My text to him read. I held my breath, then clicked send.

I looked at my wristwatch, it was 7:21 AM. I went on my knees and said my morning prayers. The prayer was short-lived, I had to plead with God to have mercy on me because while praying my mind was entirely focused on Alan.

By 7:30 AM I wore my body spray and headed out of the mansion. For someone who was a neat freak, leaving the house without bathing was not a usual thing for me at all. Anyway, I wasn't really my usual self now, was I?

"Bala, open the gate for me." I said as I entered my Range Rover Sport. I turned on the ignition and drove towards the opened gate, Bala was shining his gap tooth at me, but I wasn't in the mood for any bloody conversation, the only conversation on my mind, was the one I was about to have with Alan Tayo. I zoomed past Bala without even honking which was very unusual, but like I said earlier, I wasn't my usual self now.

Before meeting up with Alan, I had to stop by my hotel room, freshen up and put on clean clothes. I decided to throw on some light makeup, cuz this was war, so I had to go prepared, and looking attractive was one of the most important weapons for me now. I got my things, checked out of the hotel by 8:10 AM. Of course, there was traffic en route, which kept me on the road for about an hour, but it still gave me time to strategize how I was going to compose my speech.

Now, my excuse for meeting up with him was definitely to hand over the check to him. Then, I was going to tell him my second reason for meeting up, which was... Heck! What was the right way to put this into words? Or was I going to call the Mariachi band to serenade him? I facepalmed. "Bloody damnation, that will be so dramatic."

Pim piiiimmmm!!! Horns were blaring behind my ride. I was totally unaware the traffic before me had eased.

"Kilode! Ọmọbinrin naa gbe ni bayi!!" The furious danfo driver behind me shouted. There is this popular saying that 90% of Nigerians are frustrated, but I guess 99.9% of the Nigerians in Lagos were this close to going crazy, especially these danfo drivers, the moment you pick up a fight with any, you are dead meat, so I carefully took up my side windows, and jejely moved my ride.