Tobi CRYSTAL

Happy Celebration to our Muslims and happy Sunday to the Christian Folks

CHAPTER 23

ROSA

“It doesn’t really mean I’m his mother does it? I mean this whole thing is so twisted but I m not his mother! no way! I wasn’t even officially married to his father, I am just staying in this house and sleeping with his father right? It doesn’t mean I am Mrs Debby Nicholas even though that is what everyone calls me right?

Oh my God! I am in a deep shit Rosa! Rosa! Are you even listening to me?”

“Yes Debby, I am.”

“If so, what was the last thing I said?”

Rosa thought for a while. “That you are sleeping with your fiancé’s father and you are not legally married even though he gave you a ring and everyone calls you Mrs Nicholas?” The sarcasm in her tone was crystal clear.

Debby gave an exasperated sigh. “You are not helping Rosa I need you to think okay? Think of what I need to do?”

Rosa was getting tired of all these, Debby has issues and she has other pressing issues regarding the whereabouts of her laptop, it just disappeared and she had no time to even think about it because Debby wouldn’t even let her think. The lady is driving her nuts! They were in Debby’s bedroom-not the one she shared with Frank,.

She had to handle this in a more mature way so that she would have time to think about her laptop and where she must have misplaced it.

“How often have you been avoiding him?” Rosa asked. Knowing there was no one she could avoid Debby.

“All the time”

“Maybe you need to stop and confront him”

“And tell him what exactly?”

“Ask him if he is going to tell his father or not if he hadn’t already told him, plead with him and..”

“Stop Rosa, that is a very good idea but I think you just gave me have another CLUE’’ She said, wide-eyed.

Something tells Rosa this wasn’t going to be good for her.

“What is that?” She asked Debby with languid interest.

“How about if you stay close to him ,you know, stay close to him in such a way that you know what he’s doing and when he’s doing it ..i mean-both of you will be so close that he would share everything with you”

Rosa shook her head. “I don’t want to understand what you mean DEBBY but I am not interested” She made to go but Debby quickly confronted her, standing in her way.

“Please, think about it Rosa, you have nothing to loose, he used to like you when he was around, I knew that ,I’m sure he still does”

“No, I don’t bloody care about that. I am not a puppet, he can be your own puppet that you can manipulate anyhow but I am not a fool. I refuse to be part of it”

Debby stood her ground, arms akimbo. “Its either you do that or you leave this place, you have this night to think about it…”

Rosa stared at Debby in bewilderment, did she just get an ultimatum from her? How crazy is this Debby of a woman anyways! Maybe its high time she actually left her for good before she ruins her eventually. She realized she had been standing starring at Debby who seemed to have forgotten she was still standing. Well, she would have to find her laptop first before she leaves,even though she has no idea where she could go.

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Few hours later, she was able to sneak into Francis room, she had remembered it was in the garden she had last used it and probably Francis may have seen it.

She bothered not to put on the light as she prowled around, into his study and then around his bed. She couldn’t find it. she was going crazy, what if he was with the laptop, she remembered she usually locks her laptop but that is just twenty minutes after being used..she tried to calculate the time she had spent talking with him in the morning, it was barely ten minutes. Panic struck her mind. What if he had seen what was written on her laptop. Oh God!No,no no!

Just then, the light in the bedroom was on and she remained where she was, at a stand still, she knew who it was..she was too scared to look at him.

“You know you are too pretty to be called a burglar” He said,starring at her, he seemed rather pissed with the tone he has used.

With her chest rising and falling, hand squeezed, she turned around to face him, unable to look into his face.

“I..im sorry Francis, I was looking for..” She stopped as she saw the laptop in his other hand.

“Oh!I'm sorry, here you go.” He handed it to her and she collected it while he moved to his mirror. She muttered a “thanks” and was about to leave until-

“You didn’t say anything about writing or knowing how to write or how do I even put it?” He thought for a while , holding a shaving stick in his hand. “ yea, you didn’t say you could write so well…”

Well, the worse had definitely happened, she had no reason to panic anymore, she just needed to face the music.

“When a woman wants does make an interesting title.” He was straightening his suit in the mirrror. “However, Is it just me or does the story sound so familiar to me?”

She knew he was toying with her but she made no response.

“That fella, Jordan, seems too familiar to me, I could have sworn you were writing about me except for few lapses though. I mean, yea, he is a soldier in the novel and he had to travel, leaving his slut of a fiancé at home and he came back only to realize his fiancé is married to his long lost father who was now the General of the country, how so familiar! I’m sure you feel the same way because you are the writer, the innocent know-it-all who can see everything ,you were the maid in the house. Correct me if I;m wrong but I bet Debby hasn’t seen this, has she?”He sneered and flicked lint off his suit.

She made no reply.

“I know if she sees this, she could be very angry with you and wouldn’t have brought you into this house. Both of you are just the same.”

“No!We are not the same!” She replied with lips set in a grim line.

‘Oh really? Because I can see you do what you think pleases you without bothering who gets hurt or whose story you write in such a despicable manner. You portrayed me as being pathetic, a fool, who has no dignity and who is foolishly in love with that demon of a lady..do I seem that desperate to you?” He laughed painfully fondling with his beard.

“You don’t know me Rosa. I can make sure that novel you are writing gets to no where,I can sue your entire class for this rubbish! Do I seem pathetic to you still?” He stared at her, the muscles in his face was tightened.

“I am sorry..Francis. but forgive me, you were both in a shitty relationship. You allowed yourself to be fooled twice and what is stopping you from telling your father about the two of you. I really don’t understand you”

“You don’t understand me because you don’t know me !" His nostrils flared.

"I don’t have a reason to explain myself to you but seeing how interested you are. I am going to give you a chance, you are going to know me. Starting from tomorrow, you will start to know me . and you are going to write that book starting from the beginning or that book will never see the light of the day. You have this night to think about it. Now can you leave my room!”

Rosa had never seen him that angry before. He seemed really terrifying. She knew she had caused this and she had nothing to say other than to leave the room. She had expected this and now it had happened, what she had feared had actually happened and just that, it wast Debby that discovered this but he did and now he has given her the ultimatum just as she did. Funny how they had both given her the same timing. She needed to think and she had just this night to think about the future of her book and the future of her staying in this mansion.