"What! How? When?" Joyce exclaimed when James told her that the money had been stolen from his mother's safe. She was shocked and speechless. Thirty million was a huge sum of money. Who could have done that?
"I really don't know how but it happened yesterday. The police are still doing their investigation on the how it happened. I will be going there soon," James uttered.
Joyce rose from her seat in the living room and started parading the room. She put a finger to her lips and bit on it. "Oh, my God!" she exclaimed. "What do we do now? That money is huge. Fuck, the person who did that must be someone you know or could it be that you were tailed?" The inspective side of her was awakened. She could not help but start assuming the possibilities and the probabilities.
"I don't think I was tailed there. I would have noticed if that were the case." James sighed heavily. "Actually, refunding the money would not be a pr
Angela finally got the new address of Joyce. She had been to the house she used to live, thinking she was still there,but on getting there, she was told that the family had relocated. She had been fortunate enough to find a neighbor that knew their new residence and had given her the new address.She vowed to visit her that morning and tell her all she overheard from the snobbish woman. She could not just open her eyes and watch her friend's life get ruined when she could do something about it. She took a taxi and told the driver where she was going.Minutes later, the driver parked in front of a beautiful bungalow. She was awed as she looked at the building. Her friend had really upgraded. From the look, she knew that the house was not like some very expensive ones on movies or the ones described in novels, but for someone to be living in a house such as that could only mean they were living well.She paid the driver and alighted. She
James widened his eyes and moved closer to the screen. He replayed the video and paused it where the lady was entering. He tried to look clearly to see if the figure was really familiar,but no matter how close he looked, the lady did not resemble Joyce.But, that dress was the same as Joyce's and according to the time and date, it was the night he had been to the club with her. He stopped himself from thinking further. He trusted Joyce."Isn't this Joyce? So, her aim was to steal the money when she came by. How could she? She has no sha–"James was pissed off. "Mum!" He called, trying to control his anger. "Do you realize who you are talking about?" He asked in case her mother had forgotten that Joyce was his fiancée."I find it hard to believe, too, but she's the one we're seeing here," his mother protested. No matter how much she loved the lady, she would never condone her acting in such a
James was taken aback. What was she talking about? What nonsense was she saying? He was confused. He could not believe his ears. He concluded he must have been hallucinating. "Sunshine, what... What.. are you say...ing?"Joyce got on her knees and started crying. She sobbed as she thought of words to say. She felt a pang of guilt for lying to them, most especially to James. She could not look him in the eyes. She was afraid of what she would see there. She did not need anyone to tell her before she knew she had crushed his trust in her with what she said.As James attempted to get closer to her and lift her up, his father spoke, "I am so disappointed in you, Joyce," he started and rose to his feet. "I took you as family, yet, you let me down. I'm calling off your wedding and that's final," he declared and walked out of the living room into his bedroom.Andrew did not want to believe that Joyce was capable of doing such a thing
James brought her outside the living room into the compound beside his car. He suggested for them to go inside and talk but she had refused with the excuse that she was okay with standing on her feet.She could not look at him. She kept playing with her fingers and sniff once in five seconds.James also had red eyeballs as a result of hurt and anger, but he could not say if the anger was directed at himself or Joyce. "Joyce, I–" the remaining words got caught up in his throat. He sniffed, put a palm over his nose and mouth, then returned the hand back to being in his blue hoodie."I'm... I am sor...sorry,"Joyce apologized, still not looking at him.He shook his head. "Don't tell me you are sorry, Joyce,because I know very well that you were lying earlier."Joyce was taken aback. He trusted her. Her mind started jubilating, but teary expression remained on her face. S
As Joyce ran out of James' sight,she knew that was the end for them. She began to shed uncontrollable tears as she started trekking home. Her thoughts had wandered too far for her to think of taking a cab home. Her hope was lost. Her pride and joy had gone down the drain. The ocean of tears that swirl out of her eyes was merciless as it drown every ounce of happiness that could remain in her, not even bothering to give her a left over she could hold onto.As she walked past people on the road, she was met with so many eyes that spoke volume, but she was too carried away to have the time to mind their stares, mostly glares. She walked very slowly,unable to work more than that or she would collapse on the road. She was utterly depressed and broken.She managed to get home after spending an hour on the way and could no longer walk properly. She dragged her feet along on the lawn in front of their building. She sniffed as she slogged inside a
Few hours later, her parents arrived and sat on a couch. Joyce was not in the room so her mother called out for her. She wondered the state her daughter would be in at that moment.She had just finished dinner with her husband and was about to have a nap when she had heard a soft knock on the door. She had left her spouse in the living room to answer the door. She had expected the person to be Joyce, though she was not the type that knock when coming in, but you never can tell when she act strange sometimes.She had opened the door for a young woman who would probably be in her early twenties. She had been so sweet and charming. She had even greeted her and her husband as if they had known one another for long. So, with that, she won her heart. She allowed her inside and even served her a cup of tea.
It had been a week since the kidnapping of Joyce's parents and Annabelle was just going back to Vivian's house after buying herself a dinner.Vivian had promised to take her out of the country the following week and she had been very excited about that. She literally bounced her way back home as she lingered on the thought of what she could do when she got abroad. Her thoughts strayed to the suffering and molestation she had experienced in her Uncle's house.His Uncle never allowed her to leave the house. He would lock the door with her inside whenever he was going to work and come inside her room to sexually harass herwhen he got back. She had been so helpless at the time, and that was why she had not hesitated to live with Vivian when she had suggested it.She could almost not believe that she would be running away from him forever. Her plan was to travel out of the country and never come back to Nigeria since she had
Joyce rushed outside her room to the bathroom to puke. She had been ill and had been having morning sickness for a few days now. She had been feeling very weak and lazy to even wash to even wash the dishes.She opened the tap and rinsed her mouth a few times. She placed her hands on the zinc and sighed, looking at herself in the mirror. "I need to get myself treated for malaria," she muttered to herself as she closed her eyes briefly. She heard someone cleared their throat behind her, so she looked at the entrance beside her and saw her mother watching her in some kind of way. She could not decipher what the look meant, so she raised a brow, indirectly asking her mother what the problem was and why she was staring, more like glaring at her.Instead of replying, Felicia moved closer to her and soothingly rubbed her daughter's belly, hoping she would get the hint of what she was trying to relay to her. But unfortunately, Joyce looked