THE BETRAYAL

She opened the door and let out a sigh as she saw Asa standing on the doorpost that afternoon.

 "Asa," she called tiredly as she walked back into the room.

"Have you been crying?" Asa asked as she walked in after her.

"Yes. I'm so confused right now. I don't know what else to do," she cried as she sat on the neatly arranged bed.

"Lex, you're wearing yourself out for nothing," Asa said as she sat on the bed with her. 

There is no other furniture in the room apart from the large bed and a wooden table in the middle of the room.

 "For nothing?" She asked as she wiped the tears off her face.

"Babe, this is an opportunity for you to leave this farm. You know it has always been our dream to get married and leave this place. You have that opportunity before you, to get married to a billionaire man..," she explained with empathy.

 "Asa, you seem to have forgotten the man we are talking about" she said as she looked at her face.

She shrugged and looked away from her.

"Well, you can manage. You will not be the first to go into such a marriage," she said.

"Really? You want me to walk with my two legs into domestic abuse? You want me to die, right?" She asked angrily.

"No, I'm just after your own interest. I want the best for you. Or you want your parents to go to prison?" She asked.

She kept silent with her gaze on the cemented floor.

"And if I'm to marry that man who is probably seven or eight years older than I am, what happens to Femi, then?" She asked and Asa smiled broadly.

 "Femi will be fine. You think he is ready for marriage? You need to forget about him and carry on with this marriage" she advised.

She kept silent as she counted her fingers slowly.

 "I'm fed up! I'm frustrated! I feel like running away with Femi right now," she said as she stood up.

 "Run away with who? Don't even think about it!" Asa cut in.

Alex frowned as she gave her a surprise look.

"I..I mean.. Femi cannot take care of you. His whole life depends on the farm. Or you think he will be able to give you a life elsewhere?" She asked with a scoff.

She kept silent and went back to the bed.

 "Think about your parents, babe, you can't watch them go to prison, can you?" She coerced as she caressed her back.

She took a deep breath and placed her palm on her forehead.

"This is killing me right now!" She cried as she stood up again.

"It's the fifth day already! In just two days, my life will be over!" She cried bitterly.

"Calm down, everything will be fine, ok?" Asa said as she stood up and walked over to her.

The door opened and her parents appeared in the room with their baskets and Cutlasses beside them.

 "Maami, Baami," she called as she walked over to meet them.

Asa walked over to them and greeted them with her knees on the floor.

 "Um, Alex, I will take my leave now," she said.

 "Oh, ok, I will catch up with the girls later," she said to her.

 "See you then," she said as she bade her goodbye and walked out.

 "There is water in the bathroom for you both," she said to her parents.

She could see her father standing dejectedly in the middle of the room while her mother arranged the tools on one side of the room.

 "What's wrong, father?" She asked anxiously.

 "Mateo called. He says he and his son will be coming for the rites after the end of the seven days," he revealed.

 She shook her head in disbelief as hot tears flowed down her cheek.

 "I'm not getting married to that man!" She yelled at once.

 "Alex," her mother called soberly as she walked over to meet her.

 "You will have to do this, please, my daughter," she cried as she wrapped her arms around her.

 "Leave me alone!" She slammed as she pushed her hands away.

 "You both want me to die! You don't even care about me!" She yelled as she walked to the door.

 "If we don't care about you, we would have watched you die some years ago!" Her father yelled.

 "You could have let me die rather than making me go through this torture!" She cried angrily.

 "Alex!" Her mother called.

She shook her head and ran out of the house.

 "Alex!" Her father called, but she was gone.

"Arrgh!" He winced as he held his head tightly.

 "Oko mi! Oko mi!" (My husband) Toyin exclaimed as she held her husband who was falling to the ground.

**

She stood under the mango tree as she watched him walk out of the house. The whole place was quiet and there was no one in sight. A broad smile appeared on her cheek as she saw him walking closer to her. He was dressed in his usual native shorts over his huge unclad chest.

As he stood in front of her, she could see the sweat dripping from his chest and she licked her lips as her eyes settled on his abs.

 "What are you doing here?" He asked with curiosity as he stared at her round chubby face which had a light makeup.

 "I'm here to see you," she said as she tried to touch his chest.

"Asa, what are you doing?" He asked as he pushed her hand away.

She hissed and looked away from him with her hands akimbo.

"I just returned from Alex's place. And I'm here to tell you that she is getting married," she said.

"We talked about it and she is not getting married to that man," he corrected.

"Really?" She asked as she smirked and touched his short trimmed beards.

He kept silent as he looked at her face which wore a sinister look.

"Well, for your information, Alex has agreed to the marriage. And you know what she said, she doesn't even want to settle with a man like you who can't take good care of her. She thinks you're not man enough to cater for her needs," she said with a smile.

"That's a lie. Alex would never say that! She knows how much I love her!" He slammed.

"But everything has changed, Femi, a billionaire suitor has come knocking on her door and you expect her to settle for less?" She asked as she placed her arms around his shoulder.

He looked away from her face nervously as the smell of her perfume filled his nostrils.

 "Femi, you need to realize that Alex is gone. You need to embrace your future. And I'm going to be that future," she said as she planted a kiss on his lips.

He looked away and wiped his lips.

"Alex is my future," he said with his head bowed.

"No, I am. You know I've always loved you. I can give you everything that Alex has failed to give you," she said as she pushed her big breasts against his chest.

He kept silent as he felt a fire ignite in his body. 

"As.." he tried to speak but she covered her lips in his.

"Come, let me show you a better life," she whispered into his ears.

"I can't do this right now..Asa…stop..," he muttered as he tried to push her away.

She laughed and kissed him deeply again. 

"Come," she said as she dragged his hand while leading him to the house.

"My..my grandmother..is at home," he stammered as he followed her into the house.

"We will go to your room" she said with a giggle. 

"Asa..," he called with a smile as they both walked into the house.

**

She could feel the heat of the sun which blazed mercilessly against her body as she ran along the bush path leading off to Femi's home. She had made up her mind, yes, she was determined to elope with him. She couldn't withstand the thought of getting married to that monster son of Mr Steel.

 She would run away with Femi to somewhere far away from this place. And maybe life might decide to smile on her and she will no doubt repay her father's debt, she thought as she wiped the tears off her eyes and increased her footsteps.

  As she ran into the yard, she could see the old woman sitting under the mango tree, holding a walking stick.

"Iya mi" (my mother) she called with a forced smile on her face as she knelt before the old woman who was dressed in a black buba dress and headtie.

"Ha..Omo Toyin," the lady called with a smile on her wrinkled face.

"Iya, how is your health?" She asked with a smile as she stood up from the ground.

"a dupe lowo olorun"(we thank God) the woman replied with her hand raised up and she smiled.

 "Is Femi home?" She asked at once.

"Oh..I left him in the room when I went to pick something from the farm," she explained.

"Ok, I'll just check on him," she said and the lady nodded with a smile.

She exhaled as she climbed the verandah leading to the doorpost. As she walked into the small living room, she found the whole house quiet.

 "Femi," she called as she walked to the passage leading to his room.

"Fem," she was about to call again when she heard noises coming from his room, followed by the moans and screams of a lady.

 She stood for a moment with her hands on her waist. She couldn't understand the sounds she was hearing from his room.

With her whole strength, she marched to the door and kicked it open, injuring her feet in the process.

"No..this can't be," she said in disbelief as she saw Femi and Asa on the bed with a bedsheet over their unclad bodies.

 "Alex!" He exclaimed as he tried to get up from the bed.

"You..you bitch!" She screamed as she jumped into the bed to attack Asa who was trying to get out of the bed.

She surged towards her and dived her to the bed. 

 "Alex!" Femi yelled as he saw her raining blows on Asa who was shouting on the bed.

 "If you touch me!" She yelled as she turned to face him with her whole body shaking violently.

 Satisfied at the blows she had dealt on Asa, she stood up and faced Femi who had shifted to the end of the bed while staring at her with fear written all over him.

 "I..I.. can't believe I trusted you!" She cried as she broke into hot tears immediately.

"Alex.. it's not what you think.." he said, shakily.

 "Really? And to think that I was ready to elope with you! To let my parents go to prison so I can be with you!" She yelled again with her black afro hair dangling over her beautiful face which was streaming with tears.

 "She..she deceived me..she seduced me!" He cried as he pointed at Asa who was crying on the bed with her hands on her face.

 "Really? Enjoy. Who wants to have sex in such a disgusting bed anyway?" She asked as she kicked the bed and walked out angrily.

 "Alex..," Femi cried as he tried to run after her.

**

She stood in front of the short wooden gate with her eyes looking around the yard. It was dark and the whole place was quiet. She thought about her parents and her heart skipped. She had stayed away from home since the argument they had in the afternoon.

She sighed as she thought about Femi and Asa's betrayal. She felt tears pour down her cheek again as she opened the gate and walked into the yard.

  As she walked into the house, she could see the candle light burning on the table. She found her father asleep on the bed with her mother sitting beside him.

 "Alex," Toyin's voice came as soon as she saw her daughter walk in.

"Maam,i" she called anxiously as she walked to the bed.

"Where have you been?" She asked as she looked at her daughter whose face was gloomy.

"With Maiden and Bisi," she replied as she looked at her father who was snoring in his sleep.

 "Is father okay?" She asked.

"His blood pressure went up again. He will die because of this whole marriage thing" her mom replied sadly.

"No, father will not die!" She cried as she sat before her mother's feet.

 "I wish there was a way out," she said sadly.

She kept silent as she looked at her mother's face. Her heart became heavy and she felt tears trickling down her cheeks.

"There is a way out," she said at once.

 "What way?" Her mom asked.

"I will Marry Adrian," she said confidently.