“What’s the matter?” Sandra asked, taking me by surprise. I had no idea she had been listening to my phone conversation. “The matter?” I stuttered, “with what?” “I couldn’t help but listen to your conversation,” she confessed, “who was arrested?” “Oh! That’s what you’re asking about?” I said, trying to buy time to think of a lie to tell her. There was no way I was letting her know it was Nonso. I wasn’t even sure why he had been arrested, and I couldn’t risk telling her about it. I didn’t want her to think my boyfriend was a criminal.
“Yes, that’s what I’m asking,” she replied, looking suspiciously at me.”
Some people don’t just give up, I thought, rolling my eyes. “It’s my dad’s driver,” I said, clearing my throat, “I don’t know what is up with drivers nowadays.”
“What did he do?” She asked curiously. I could’ve sworn I saw her ears twitch in excitement, probably at the thought of hearing some hot gist. “He broke traffic rules and was arguing with law enforcement officials instead of apologising, now he’s been arrested, and Dad’s car has been impounded,” I lied.
“That sucks! Does your Dad know about it?” “Not yet,” I replied, “he called me first.” A few minutes after telling that pathetic lie, I was off to the police station to rescue Nonso. I’d told Sandra to cover for me for the rest of the day as I had no plans to return to the office even if I could get Nonso released before the close of work.While still on my way, I called Toun, a lawyer cousin, to meet me at the police station just in case they insisted a lawyer had to be present to secure Nonso’s release.
It was annoying how she kept saying, ‘pardon?’ ‘sorry?’ and ‘can you say that again?’ after almost every sentence since I mentioned Nonso. I would have assumed she had an ear infection affecting her hearing if I didn’t know better.
About ear infections, they are more common in children, especially middle ear infections. They are usually caused by viruses or bacteria resulting from illnesses such as flu or colds that cause congestion and swelling of the nasal passages and tubes running from the middle ear to the back of the throat. Some ear infections will resolve themselves, while others may require drug treatment with antibiotics.
One of the complications of having an ear infection is mild hearing loss that goes away after the infection clears. I guess you can now understand why I was almost beginning to think Toun must’ve had an ear infection till I realised the repeated ‘pardon?’ and ‘sorry?’ only started after I mentioned Nonso’s name. She pretended not to hear me properly after I said his name because she wasn’t willing to help and didn’t know how to refuse.
Toun wasn’t very fond of Nonso. She disliked him from the moment she heard he had cheated on me. Of course, it didn’t help that Nonso’s cheating became a regular occurrence because it only made her dislike him the more.
I could understand where she was coming from. Being married to a man who constantly cheated on her and spent most nights away from home, she knew how I felt every time Nonso cheated. She had vowed to do all she could to ensure I never made the mistake of marrying him. It’s not like I hadn’t tried ending things with Nonso or enjoyed being cheated on. I just hadn’t been able to find the strength to leave him for good. Each time I tried, he kept begging to have me back and did the most drastic things to win my love. So, in the end, I always found myself entangled with him in a love web all over again.After much persuasion, I convinced Toun to meet me at the police station. “I promise you he’s changed,” I pleaded. “He’s not the cheating Nonso you used to know. But she didn’t seem to be convinced about that.
“I’m only coming because of you and not that cheat you call a boyfriend,” she replied. “Thanks cuz, “I replied, blowing kisses to her over the phone, “I owe you a million.” After everything, she got to the police station before I did. She was parked and waiting by the time I got there. Relieved, I waved frantically to get her attention as I parked. She scowled, stepped out of her car, and came to meet me.
We went in together and made our requests known to the police officer who attended to us. “Hmm! That one?” the officer replied when he heard Nonso’s name, “his case is severe. It’s being handled specially by our boss.” “Please, what did he do wrong?” I asked. “He raped a lady,” he replied bluntly.
Rape? I thought. Nonso might have been capable of doing many horrible things, but rape was not one of them. I glanced over at Toun, and she gave me the ‘I’m not surprised’ look and was about to turn to leave. I held her back, begging her to stay. “You have to help me,” I pleaded, “please, it’s me asking for your help, not Nonso.”
“I will only help secure his bail,” she replied sternly. “I will not be representing him if his case goes to court,” she insisted. I had no choice but to reluctantly agree to her terms.
We were ushered into a room where we were allowed a few minutes to speak with Nonso, who was sitting looking very sober when we walked in.”What’s all this talk about rape?” I questioned angrily, ignoring the pitiful look on his face. “Please sit down,” he replied, motioning for us to sit on the bench in front of him. “I can explain.” “You better start talking,” I replied, folding my arms across my chest while Toun sat.
“I went to visit a friend of mine yesterday. I only went to settle a misunderstanding we were having … ” “Keep talking. We don’t have much time,” I urged, looking at my wristwatch “Why then is he accusing you of raping his girlfriend?” I questioned, jumping to conclusions. “It’s a female friend,” he stammered.
“Really?” I said, raising an eyebrow, “Do I know her?””Yes,” he replied, looking away. It was clear he had done something wrong, especially since he looked away. “Who is she?” I demanded, waiting to hear her name. This time he paused even longer, making me even more nervous. “Who is she—”
“It’s Nancy!” he confessed, burying his head in his palms in shame.
My heart sank on hearing that name again, and I instantly felt a wave of depression come over me. I was weak, and my legs became wobbly. I leaned against the wall for support.I couldn’t believe I had come all the way to rescue him only to find out he had tried getting back with Nancy barely three days after we returned. My head was banging. I was confused; I didn’t know what to think.
Find out what happens next in Episode 15
