CHAPTER FIVE “CONVINCED”

©️ Opeyemi Akintunde
As inspired by the DEEP ONE

I took the elevator.

At that moment, I had no idea which floor I wanted.
The glowing buttons stared at me as if asking, “Oga, where exactly are you going by 3 a.m.?”

I just pressed 1.
Reception, I assumed.

I leaned back against the elevator wall, trying to process the chaos in my mind, when the elevator chimed and stopped.

Who else was going anywhere by almost 3 a.m.?
Definitely a staff member, I thought.

The display read 3rd Floor.

I bowed my head immediately.
I didn’t want any greetings, small or unnecessary talk.

The elevator doors slid open… and a female leg stepped in. Her toes were painted soft pink.
Black lace sandals.
Slim, well-shaped legs.
Smooth skin.

Everything in me wanted to look up … just to see her face. But I reminded myself:

I was a married man.

I wasn’t one of those men who stared stylishly at women.

But her legs…

Her legs were calling me like a ringtone from my village.

Still, loyalty forced my eyes to remain down…until she made me look up.

“If this is not the new groom… then it must be the drink messing me up.
Teju Adejumo!” She said

I looked up.
And I knew her …
but at the same time, I didn’t.

I raised my eyebrows, asking silently: “Who are you?”

“Beauty… Rainbow College.” She replied

Ah.
There it was.
The identification.

But this Beauty…
This Beauty was beautiful.

A complete transformation.
She looked like a work of art sculpted out of deliberate intention. She wasn’t blacky anymore…She wasn’t fair… but brightened up. This Beauty had leveled up.

“How?”

I didn’t know when the question slipped from my mouth.

She laughed.
“How did Ugly Beauty become this?” She asked

The elevator resumed its descent, and I straightened up, still stunned.

“Hi… you look different,” I finally managed.

“I know,” she replied casually.

Then she tilted her head.
“What brings a groom out by this time? You looking for your Cinderella?”
She gave a mischievous smile.
“Tell me Imade has outgrown her issues.”

“Issues?” I repeated.

“You want me to answer that?” she asked, raising one brow … the knowing brow of someone who had witnessed history.

Before I could respond, the elevator chimed.
Ground floor.

“I’m heading to the poolside to relax,” she said.
“The breeze there is diabolic.”
She laughed.
“It makes you forget your worries.”

Like a puppet … I followed.

Truth is, I had nowhere else to go, and the elevator had delivered me into her hands.

As she walked ahead, I still stared, shocked at the transformation.
Only one thing hadn’t changed:Her eyeballs.
Still slightly bulgy … noticeable even behind the classy shades she wore.

We reached the poolside area and found two lounge chairs.

She sprawled on one immediately.

Common sense kept me standing. I couldn’t lie on the next one …It would send a wrong message to anyone.

“Are you planning to stand?” she asked.

Then she caught the reason.
“Ohh… I get it.”

She stood and motioned toward the closed open bar.

“Let’s sit at the bar.”

“I don’t drink,” I blurted out, my mouth faster than my brain … before realising the bar was clearly closed.

“It’s fine. We’re not drinking,” she said, walking ahead.

I followed and took a chair beside her.

She crossed her legs, leaned forward, and studied my face like a therapist who already knew the answer to the question she hadn’t asked yet.

“I’m sure you have a lot on your mind tonight, Teju.
And you’re looking for someone who knows you… yet can be neutral.”

She tapped her chest gently.

“I am that person.
Trust me … I’m not on anybody’s side.”

She smiled slowly.
A deep, perceptive smile.

“So…” she said, tilting her head,
“What happened to the relationship I dreamt of being in back in the days?”

Her eyes locked with mine.

She wanted the story.
She wanted the truth.
She wanted the tea.

And honestly?
At that moment…
I needed to talk to someone, yet I was not sure if it was necessary!

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Written by Opeyemi Akintunde
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