Previous Engagement (Nigerian)#2

Chapter Eight - Present Day

      The case went on and on for like five hours before  the Judge decided that we all go on a thirty minutes break.
       I, Demola and the rest of the lawyers that came with me walked over to one of the rooms set aside for breaks. I walked into the room that had already been temporarily upgraded to fit the company's taste.
   Luxury!.
   "That was a good start, but we might need to upgrade our tactics" I said as everyone sat down except Demola who stood looking out the window with his hand in his pocket as I briefed the rest of the team.
      Two people dressed as waiters started to wait on everyone as they took snacks from the buffet table to the large mahogany table we sat around.
      Most of the lawyers refused to take anything other than water and the others simply ate light.
      I would have preferred they didn't eat at all but I was glad they behaved accordingly.
   One of the waiters handed Demola a cup of tea and he raised it towards me with a smirk on his face from across the room.
     Thirty minutes passed fast and Ibukun came to notify us that the judge would be out soon.
      I had been eating an English scorn before the waiters came to clean the table before me. I dabbed my mouth with a serviette as the other lawyers started to leave one after the other.
        I picked up my files from the table as a waiter collected Demola's Cup from him.
"Thank you" I heard him say with a smile.
      He looked at me and I looked away. I heard his footsteps as he walked towards me. I looked down at his shoes.
There were obviously designers.

       I looked up from his black shoes to his properly ironed suit pants to his jacket sleeves that had silver matching cuff links.
   "Tell me, how do you zone out in the middle of a multi million dollar Law suit" he asked when he got to my front. He looked down at me with a straight face.
     "It didn't ruin anything, did it" I said as I looked up at him after picking up my phone from the table. It was just us now in the room. There was a lot of tension as we just stared at eachother.
    The doors fell open and my Ex, Elias came in.
"Ola, can we talk" Elias said ignoring Demola's presence like it was a possibility.
     I couldn't help but compare he and Demola together. Unlike Demola he was average height. Standing in the presence of Demola, made Demola look like a god compared to him.
     I started to re-evaluate the whole relationship I thought we had and I realized it wasn't so much of a relationship. Even though we had been together for almost two years, I actually didn't know so much about him and he didn't know much about me either. At least, that's what I thought. He must have found out about my family somewhere and maybe that was why the relationship even lasted that long.
      Or maybe he knew who I was from the very start.
Sex?. The sex was fair but not very regular.
       Now that I am thinking about it. It had been six months since I last had sex. I should have  seen this coming.
     
    "Congratulations on your marriage" I said plainly
"Ola, please don't be like this" he said to me before looking at Demola "can we please have a little privacy"

"Sure, Demola said before walking to the end of the room.

    "I am sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you" He said
"Do I look hurt?" I said to him sarcastically "is this some plan of yours to get me off my guard"

"No, it's just coincidence that we met here, I was going to reach out either way" he said with a hint of anger in his voice "look, I don't mean anymore harm".
"If it wasn't a ruse why couldn't you wait till we were done with the case?" I asked him before looking at Demola who was looking at some painting on the wall with one hand in his pocket and the other brushing against his jaw.
     I hoped he wasn't paying attention to our conversation
  "The world doesn't revolve around you, Ola . God. I am doing this to seek for your forgiveness. The guilt is killing me knowing that I hurt you in anyway." He said now yelling. I can't help but be surprised.
     Me selfish?
"Through out our relationship you didn't even let me get to know you like I should. You always kept me at arms length. The things you did, the way you acted. I couldn't help but feel you were just in the relationship with me to please your family or to make yourself feel better about yourself. It was like I was dating a robot, you never showed how you felt with your actions or expressions"

"Excuse me!" I said back.
"I am not done" he barked "I came to do this for closure. I am sorry I collected what your Grandfather had to offer but it didn't seem like we were going anywhere. You are an amazing person if you will just let yourself be. I can't deal with the guilt anymore and I just need you to forgive me"

" I hope the guilt kills you, Elias." I said before storming out angrily past Demola who watched me walk away before he walked out of the room behind me.

       The court was called to order and I took a deep breathe. We went back and fourth for a few hours before the judge declared my client not guilty for the charges against him. Demola had decided to sue the plaintiff for millions of Dollars which we didn't plan on doing before.
      I enjoyed seeing Elias bang his head against the table after we declared we were suing. It was fun to watch before we had to shake hands like we did at the end of every case.
            I shook hands with the lawyers that worked with me as well as the assistants who had to work day and night in preparation for the case. They all had eye bags. I bet they were all daydreaming about sleeping immediately they got off work.
         Demola was the last person i shook hands with and to my surprise he said "thank you"

" if you really want to thank me, you shouldn't show your face around me again" I said
"The world doesn't revolve around you, Ola" he said with a smile on his face.
"So you were listening" I said as I took off my coat and handed it over to Ibukun.
"It was hard not to" He said "but he wasn't wrong"
"You don't know me" I almost yelled before looking around the room to make sure no one was looking.
      I hate that he got to me so much.
Everyone else was rushing out of the courtroom or going about doing their own thing.

" I will see you tomorrow evening" he said  "Its your engagement announcement party, yh"

    I looked around the table searching for something. My eyes locked with a glass of water and he reached for it before I could and dragged it against the table. Away from my reach. He pushed the cup away and it fell, spilling all its content  all over the table.
     I watched the cup roll on the table towards the edge before he grabbed my chin and made me look up at him against my will
     "Tonight"  he said again. I jumped at the sound of the cup chattering as it hit the floor.
     He flashed a grin and removed the hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear.
    I released my face from his grip. I rubbed my palm against my chin where his hand had been.
     He looked down at me one last time before he walked away.
"Bring my handkerchief with you" He said out loud firmly without looking back as he walked out the door that was held out for him by one of his men.
         I felt defeated. I felt like crying as my phone started to ring.
It was my mom.