COME WHAT MAY

CHAPTER THIRTY - SIX

"I had her right where I wanted her; I knew she wanted to please me and receive my approval. I promised to wait for her and I did like a lion hunting for prey...I devoured her. She trusted me with her heart, mind and body and I betrayed her."

Darren's face paled as he thought about the past. He could remember the night he introduced Lorato as his girlfriend...it was suppose to be Desire; the girl who had been planning to share the news with her loved ones. Lolita had confronted him fiercely and even punched him on the face. He stood up and began pacing around the living room. Sofia watched her husband fret over his past mistakes; he hid nothing from her and she was glad for that.

"How do you plan to resolve this? She is already married!" Prof. Fani asked with concern written all over his face.

"I don't know Dad but I have a bad feeling about Desire since I arrived. I just can't have peace of mind."

"It is probably your conscience but I promise I will call Kgosi right now and let him know." Christine said. Darren gave his mother the, "are you kidding me?" look.

"We should call her husband? Mum! I need help here but you are not helping!"

"Calm down Darren; why don't you call her first although mother feels it is appropriate to call her husband as he is involved now." She sighed then shifted slowly in her seat to face Christine who was sitting at her far left in the living room. "It might become a problem for Desire if her husband doesn't know about her past with Darren."

"We call Desire then but be careful Darren, she is not an angel anymore."

Darren sat down with a heavy sigh, how was he to get Desire to forgive him now?

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

Desire's grand plan pleased her as she rehearsed it in her mind. If she could get Ryan Johnson seriously injured to the point of losing the use of his limbs, not only would his medical career end but Lolita's grief will be overflowing as she would never forgive herself for bringing the innocent doctor into her miserable life. She laughed out loud alone in her hotel room. Why should everyone else be happy if her life is spiraling out of control? What kind of God allowed her to suffer as she did right from the beginning? If she was never going to have happiness then those claiming to serve him too should not experience it.

But of course, God's way of working things out differs from man's ways. Desire was blinded by her anger, greed and paranoia to see how God compensated her for the years without love from those close to her. The answer to her prayer came in the form of a loving friend and a doting husband both of which she discarded. As she flipped through channels on the decoder, her mind went to God at last. What if her plans back fire because he was obviously protecting Lolita? That shows she is doing something wrong right? She shook the thought off and concentrated on how to destroy Lolita's happiness. Should she hit Ryan with her car? Stab him with a knife or find someone to shoot him?

A call coming through her phone interrupted her gory thoughts. It was a call from Christine Fani. Desire frowned as her thought drifted to what she saw earlier in the day or was it someone that looked exactly like her first and only love Darren?

She had gone driving around just to clear her mind when she saw the person drive by. She laughed softly this time around at how crazy that sounded. Darren in Botswana? Impossible. Really? Why then was Christine calling her? A cold smile lit up her face as she stood up, took her phone, her car keys and her white cotton winter jacket. She was going to pay the Fanis a much overdue visit.

********

Lolita tossed and turned on her bed as she thought about the person she thought looked like Darren. It was already past nine but she decided it was better to put her mind to rest once and for all. But what if it wasn't Darren? Well, she would greet them and say, "hello" as crazy as it sounds but she felt a push towards Christine's family. She got up and quickly changed from her pajamas to appropriate clothing and dashed to the living room where her parents were watching TV.

"Where are you headed?" Grace asked.

"I need to see Mrs. Fani. I strongly feel I must go there." Her parents exchanged a confused look then looked at her.

"I really need to go. I will call you when I get there I promise." Without waiting for their reply, Lolita dashed out of the house.

***********

Desire parked her car under a tree not far from the Fani's house. She had waited for almost thirty minutes and almost lost the courage to get inside and confront them when she saw Lolita's car drive straight to the house. She watched as her ex- best friend came out of her car and pressed the doorbell. Few seconds later, the tall gate opened, Lolita went back inside her car and drove in. Desire took the chance, got out of her car and made a run for the opportunity right in front of her.

Sofia watched as her mother in law's face paled. Darren had gone to his room to freshen up and now a woman by the name Lolita was at the gate. From what her husband told her Lolita was Desire's best friend who hated him for breaking up with the latter. She waited in anticipation as the gate closed, a car entered the compound and about twenty seconds later, a knock could be heard directly by the door. Just at that moment, Sofia could hear her husband's footsteps descending the stairs. Fear rocked her heart at what was to come.

Christine stood up from her seat to open the door confused about Lolita's abrupt visit. Darren came down and sat next to his wife with a smile on his face but as soon as the door opened and Lolita walked in, his mouth slowly curved into a thin line. She was the last person he expected to see...

Lolita ignored Christine's greetings as she saw Darren. She slowly walked towards him with her hands curled up into fists. Slowly Darren got up from his seat...

"Lolita what brings you here?" Christine asked. Lolita's eyes left Darren for a second and landed on the pregnant Sofia. A soft sob escaped her throat as she stood finally face to face with one of the people responsible for Desire's stone cold heart. The man that pursued Desire with so much passion only to get what he wanted and dumped her.

Without a second thought Lolita slapped him hard across the face twice. Sofia and Christine gasped in shock while Prof. Fani stood up from his seat.

"You piece of nothing! Why did you come back? Were you deaf when I told you to leave and never come back? Did I not warn you to never let Desire see your face again? Do you plan to hurt her over and over again? You hurt the two young women who gave you nothing but love! What do you want here you piece of trash?" She screamed at him and punched him causing Darren to stagger backwards falling right on the sofa.

Before anyone could say anything the door opened and Desire walked inside looking like she saw a ghost. Was it Darren in flesh before her? Did Lolita just say she sent him to exile? Did she just say she was responsible  for Darren leaving and remaining abroad for these many years? Tears that had not been shed for so many years started to trickle down Desire's face as she walked towards the nervous Lolita and the speechless Darren. What had she done? What had she done? There was no turning back now...Lolita moved away from Darren who stood up to face the reality he ran away from.

Desire stood face to face with Darren...the tears flowed down uncontrollably as she touched his face gently caressing it. She opened her mouth to speak and all that came out was,

 "Darren my love."