"Where is she?" Akin demanded heatedly. Seyi sat in her office, her brows burrowed in confusion.
"I am not allowed to say. Cant you get it? She just wants to be left alone." Seyi declared, reiterating her stance concerning her sister's whereabouts.
"I am not leaving this office till I get an address. Do you have any idea what I have been going through? Do you? It feels like she ripped out my heart right out of my chest and left me to bleed, hurting, angry, and confused. Please Seyi, I just want to talk to her. I need to talk to her. I have to see her, please." His voice broke, his shoulders hunched and his body sagged with the weight of his burden. Seyi's heart went out to him. He had hounded her for weeks relentlessly, she reached for a sticky note on her desk and scribbled down the address, Akin looked like a drowning man who had just be given a life jacket, he grabbed the note, holding it like a precious jewel, his lips mouthed his gratitude, then, quick as a flash he dashed out of her office.
Akin and Yemi dated for five years and were madly in love with each other. For Akin, he was certain the only woman he needed in his life was Yemi. She was smart, beautiful, loving and prayerful, she was everything to him and when she said yes to his marriage proposal it was the one of the happiest moments of his life. Yemi also loved Akin dearly, she had only been with one guy before she met Akin and they’ve been together ever since. Unlike most long term relationships which were always on and off, Akin and Yemi had never been broken up. Whenever they had misunderstandings they always worked it out without including a third party. Everybody concluded they were the most compatible couple they had ever seen.
So it came as an unexpected shock to everyone when Yemi suddenly called off all wedding plans three weeks to their wedding day, and went into hiding. No one could reach her because her number was disconnected, she closed up her shop, and her sister who was also her flatmate said she had no idea when Yemi packed some suitcases and left their apartment. Akin was beyond consolation, he could not fathom Yemi’s sudden behaviour, but he decided he was going to get to the bottom of it. He was going to find her and know why she had crushed his heart. He needed to know why someone who had shown him so much love and care for five years would just up and leave without a proper explanation. She had not even deemed it fit to break up their engagement to his face, instead she had sent a short cryptic message telling him she no longer wished to marry him and it was best they go their separate ways; she had ended the text with “A broken relationship is better than a broken marriage.” The words haunted him both day and night. Their relationship had been peaceful and blissful, with none of the insecurities and distrusts that plagued a lot of relationships amongst their friends. What made her think a marriage between them wouldn’t work? What had caused this sudden change of heart?
He needed to find her, he would hear her tell him to his face that she no longer loved him, he wanted to look her in the eye and hear her reasons for calling off their wedding three weeks to the D-day. Feeling disillusioned, betrayed and hurt, Akin began a desperate search for his ex-fiancée who did not want to be found. Her parents and friends were not very forthcoming with information when he inquired about Yemi’s whereabouts from them; it was like they knew something and were deliberately keeping it from him. Still he persisted in his quest because he was hurting; he had never thought Yemi would cause him so much pain. Every day he would see something that reminded him of Yemi, anything he saw could trigger a memory of her and it was driving him nuts. He was losing sleep over her, replaying many conversations they had over and over again in his head. How they used to talk about everything late into the night. How they shared plans, ideas and dreams together. How she always had the most amazing suggestions to everything. His house became unbearable for him, Yemi had practically decorated the place so almost everything in his house was a constant reminder of her much felt absence. He began to spend a lot of hours at the gym working out his frustration and anger.
Now armed with the details of her new location from her sister Seyi, and a steely determination to get some closure, Akin drove for hours till he located the place. He sat in his car, his hands shaking nervously, his mind was in turmoil, because he was about to discover why the woman he loved above everything had rejected him. While he was still seated in his car the gate to the house opened and a woman stepped out. Akin felt a sharp pain to his gut like he had been kicked in the stomach; Yemi was standing outside looking radiantly beautiful in a white maxi dress, the heavy roundness of her belly evident that she was pregnant. Yemi was pregnant! He sat there stupefied by the unexpected shock of Yemi’s pregnancy. He was filled with anger, pain and disappointment. He and Yemi had abstained from sleeping together for the past two years because of their religious faith, and here she was carrying another man’s child. He needed to leave, he did not want to see her or talk to her, but the next thing he knew he was out of the car and walking towards her. She saw him then and stood perfectly still as he approached her.
For a while they just stared at each other, she was not surprised that he had found her. Seyi had called to tell her of Akin's last visit to her office. Akin was a man full of determination and stopped at nothing to get whatever he wanted. Yemi had dreaded this moment for so long, but she knew he would eventually find her and she would have to face him. Now she stood perplexed, filled with fear and regret for her misdeeds, for she had cried herself to sleep night after night. She had mourned the end of their relationship bitterly, she had cursed the day she made the foolish mistake that destroyed her dreams of marrying the one man who had shown her so much love and devotion. She had berated and hated herself for allowing a moment of fleeting hot passion ruin a lifetime of loving tenderness with Akin.
“Why?” He asked sadly.
“Akin I’m so sorry.” She whispered as tears began to well up in her eyes. “It was a mistake, I didn’t know how to tell you or anyone, Some weeks before you proposed, I ran into my ex. Taiwo had been my first and we had this crazy passionate lust between us back then before he left for the states, but that was five years ago and I thought I was over all that. So when he invited me and my cousin who was also his close friend to his birthday party I thought it was harmless and I went. The party was on a big yacht with lots of drinks and people, it got wild and crazy. I began to feel very tipsy." Her voice broke as tears ran down her face. She wiped them off, bracing herself to tell him the truth, she owed him that much.
"The last thing I remembered was looking for my cousin so we could leave but I bumped into Taiwo and he insisted I rest in his cabin on the lower deck while he looked for my cousin. I slept off drunk and while I was sleeping, he came to me. He began kissing and touching me to a point I could no longer resist him, and I succumbed to his seduction. The next morning when I fully came to my senses I felt so stupid and gullible, I felt so unclean and defiled. I was so angry at myself and my cousin whom I found drunk and passed out as I hastened with a bunch of people leaving the yacht. I stayed away from him after that and I thought it was all over. I found out I was two months pregnant after our engagement. I was so confused, I tried to get rid of it but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. So I cancelled our wedding and ran, I ran away from you and everyone. I’m so sorry Akin.” She cried.
Akin was quiet for what seemed like an eternity, anger began to kindle in his veins. The fact that Yemi could hide such things from him was heart breaking, that she had cheated on him with her ex-boyfriend was a crushing blow and he was suddenly consumed with blind fury.
“Does he know about your pregnancy?” He demanded heatedly. Tears were rolling down her face as she shook her head. “Where is he? How come you didn’t tell him you were carrying his child? That you’ve left me so you both can be together now.” He raged
“No, I didn’t tell him because he’s married. I found out he had a wife and a daughter in the states and I could not bring myself to tell him or you. I’m pregnant for a married man, I have brought shame and disgrace to my family, I have hurt the people I love. What will the church say? Just look at me.” Yemi sobbed uncontrollably.
He looked at her, her hair was braided and tied in a bun, and her face devoid of makeup was still exquisitely beautiful even as tears streamed down her cheeks. She was still the loveliest thing he’d ever seen, his anger was ebbing away and he was filled with a deep sense of loss and regret. He loved Yemi more than anything and even now with the proof of her betrayal right before him, he loved her still and could not bear to see her anguish. What would he do now? She had cheated on him with her ex-boyfriend, she had broken off their engagement and ran away to hide in this place. How could he marry her when she was pregnant with another man’s child? What should he do?
“Please go, just go Akin. I do not deserve you. Please go.” Yemi turned and fled into the compound. He did not follow her, he returned to his car confused, sad and more miserable than ever. He needed time to think, to reflect, to pray for strength and wisdom to heal his broken heart.
He had been so certain Yemi was the woman destined for him but what if it wasn’t meant to be? Or what if this was a test? What if all this was to test their love for each other? What if it was to strengthen them and prepare them for the hurdles and obstacles of life? Wasn’t love supposed to be patient and Kind? Wasn’t love supposed to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things and endure all things? He was no longer so sure, life had dealt him an unexpected blow and as he drove further away from the woman he loved he wondered sadly if he would ever learn to love or trust again.
