His Other Side

He sat on the highest hill at the far end of the clearing which overlooked the river. It was a cool, windy night with a full moon to match. It was the perfect night for brooding.

His senses perked up, warning him of someone’s presence behind him. As his muscles began to tense, he smelled her, and he immediately relaxed. His mother quietly approached and sat beside him, staring ahead just as he did. After a few minutes of companionable silence, she spoke.

"I know you are unhappy, son," she said in a calm, precise tone devoid of pity. "But you know this is how things are with our kind. You knew this day might come, so why do you feel so hurt?"

He inhaled deeply before responding. "Why do we still do things like this? Times have changed, so why can’t we evolve and get with the times?"

"I know what you mean but if you’re honest with yourself, you will agree with me that the times of men are not the same as ours. When have we ever done anything according to what people did? We live by our own rules and on our terms; you know this."

"Yes, I know but that doesn’t make it right, does it?"

She sighed. "I don’t know what else you want me to say but you are fully aware that there's nothing that you or I or anyone else for that matter can do about a decision that has been made and signed under the full glare of the entire clan. It is irreversible."

They were both quiet for a while before he broke the silence this time. He turned to look at her for the first time since she came to join him on the hill.

"Mother, I am going to ask you a question now and I want you to be very sincere with your response. Did you love my father when you married him?"

His mother looked flustered for a moment but immediately regained her composure.

"Well…” she began tentatively. "He was and has always been good to me, so yes, I did feel a positive affection towards him, and I still do."

"That doesn’t answer my question, Mother. Did you love him when you got married?”

"Look, we had an arranged marriage just like everyone else," she said, sounding exasperated. "If you are fortunate to be paired with someone who treats you with respect and kindness, then you should be grateful. Leave this love of a thing alone. It’s an illusion created by humans to keep themselves in an unending loop of dissatisfaction. Happiness is what matters, not love!"

"But happiness comes with love," he argued.

"How would you know? Have you ever been in love?"

"No," he replied quietly. "But I want to be. I want to know what it feels like to finally find someone that I care about so much that I wouldn’t want to live without them."

His mother’s features softened as she looks at him, seeing the longing in his expression, the hope.

"I may not know what love is, my son, but I can tell you that it isn’t worth tormenting yourself over. You have seen what it does to people when it goes sour, why would you want to put yourself through that. It’s not worth it, my dear. Trust me."

"Let me be the judge of that, Mother. I have never gone against you or Father; I have always done whatever both of you wanted, no questions asked. This time around, I want to make this decision by myself. I want to live this next phase of my life on my terms. Please let me."

She sighed again. "You do know that there are severe consequences for going against the decision of the clan, don’t you?"

"Yes, I know and I am ready to bear those consequences."

"Very well then. I see that there’s nothing I can say or do to change your mind. Do as you wish, but I sincerely hope that you do not regret it."

"I won’t Mother. I am sure the experience would be worth it."

She eyeballed him for a few more minutes before turning to leave. Her son had mingled with the humans too long and now he thinks he is one of them. What a rude shock it would be on the day he finally realizes that his quest for love was a complete waste of time. Even if he eventually fell in love with someone of his choosing, what next? If his beloved wasn’t his betrothed, then that relationship wouldn’t lead anywhere. So why bother?

Even she had once come close to experiencing that elusive emotion called love, but it was snatched away from her before it could fully bloom. It was a hopeless feeling, and she didn’t want her son to go through the pain that came with it. However, he was fully grown and wise enough to know what he wanted; even if that was something he could never have.

Farrah Njoku snapped her laptop shut with an air of satisfaction. It was Friday and she couldn’t wait to get out of the office. She was planning a surprise dinner for two for herself and her fiancé, Alex.

He was returning from Germany tonight after an 11-day business trip. He would land in Lagos by 9 p.m., so that gave Farrah enough time to get to his place and put things in order before he got home. She was planning to prepare her mother’s favorite goat meat curry sauce with Basmati rice and steamed veggies. He loved that meal very much, so she knew it would be a befitting welcome feast. Alex was an investment banker and financial consultant for several companies within and outside Nigeria, and he earned a sultan’s ransom annually from his job and personal business.

Farrah grabbed her beige Michael Kors handbag off her desk and made her way to the door. Her slender frame was stylishly wrapped in a tan knee-length Zara dress that was designed like a trench coat. Her beige Prada stiletto pumps matched her handbag perfectly and complimented her light caramel skin tone. She’d let her jet black naturally curly hair flow freely down her back just the way her fiancé liked it.

As she dashed out of her office towards the elevator, she ran into her colleague and bestie, Kessiana who was on her way to Farrah’s office.

“Hey, easy there! Where are you rushing off to?” Kessiana asked and held the documents in her hands tighter as they had almost slipped out of her hands when Farrah nearly ran her over a few seconds ago.

“I’m going home, of course,” Farrah replied impatiently. “What do you want?”

“Oh dear, someone is in a crappy mood…” Kessiana said in a sing-song tone.

“Come on, Kess! What do you want?”

“Ok, ok, calm down. Sheesh!” Kessiana said with a dramatic eye roll. “I need you to go over these numbers with me one final time before I submit them to the MD on Monday.”

Farrah groaned. “Can’t this wait till Monday?”

“No way. I need to finish this up right now and have it submitted to the MD’s desk first thing on Monday morning. I don’t know why you’re rushing off like this, but whatever it is must wait. This is your biggest account so far since you got this job and I’m very sure you wouldn’t want to mess it up because of something as trivial as simple mathematics.”

Kessiana was right and Farrah knew it. Landing a job as a Marketing Manager in a fast-rising advertising company in Lagos, Nigeria was a dream job and she’d worked her butt off for 6 years before finally getting here. There was no way she was throwing away this lifetime opportunity over a self-imposed booty call.

She sighed and motioned for Kessiana to follow her back into her office. As they settled down to work, she glanced at her wristwatch and saw that it was already 7 minutes past 4 p.m. This had better be quick, she thought impatiently as Kessiana laid out the paperwork on her desk. Being the head of accounting, every single transactional document was thoroughly vetted first by Kessiana, and then with the staff in charge of the account in question, before the documents finally got to the Managing Director for approval.

As if reading her mind, Kessiana smiled knowingly at Farrah and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll make it quick. Just want to be sure everything is in order. You know how this works, right?”

“Yeah, sure. Shall we begin?”

Ten minutes later, Farrah was packing her stuff again, ready to dash out of her office. Time was already against her, and she didn’t want anything or anyone to ruin her special surprise for Alex.

“Why are you in such a hurry today, though?” Kessiana wanted to know.

“Alex is returning from Germany tonight and I want to get to his place early enough to organize a surprise welcome dinner for him. It’s going to be just the two of us,” she added with a playful wink.

“Ooh, I see…” Kessiana said, not sounding impressed.

Farrah noticed her tone and wasn’t surprised by it. She knew her friend didn’t like Alex and unfortunately, the feeling was mutual. She felt sad that her best friend and her fiancé just couldn’t get along and neither of them had ever explained to her why they didn’t like each other. It was just so frustrating.

“I just don’t like the guy,” had been Kessiana’s response when Farrah had asked her why she didn’t like Alex. “There’s something about him that’s just off.”

That was when Farrah and Alex just started dating about two years ago. Imagine Kessiana’s horror when she saw the relationship continue to blossom till Alex took it a step further and proposed to Farrah five months ago. If Farrah thought her engagement to Alex would make Kessiana come around, she was sorely mistaken because the latter only disliked him the more, claiming that Alex only proposed to Farrah to spite her. That statement by Kessiana had driven a wedge between the friends for some weeks before they eventually smoothened things out, with Kessiana promising Farrah to get along with Alex as best as she could. Well, she didn’t exactly try to get along with Alex after that promise; she simply got better at avoiding him altogether.

On his part, Alex had said Kessiana disliked him because she was jealous of Farrah. “She’s high maintenance and just can’t keep a man. That’s why she doesn’t like me because I remind her of how lonely she is.”

“That’s not a nice thing to say, Alex,” Farrah had cautioned him. “That’s my friend you’re talking about. She’s like a sister to me.”

“She’s not your sister, and you’re better off without her in your life. Nobody needs a hater for a friend. You should stay away from her.”

Farrah hated being told what to do, so she’d closed the case and stopped trying to get her fiancé and her best friend to get along. It was way too much stress, and she was tired of the whole drama.

She and Kessiana had been friends since their university days; in fact, their family had become friends because of the two of them. They’d been inseparable for over a decade now, so it would be painful if she had to put an end to her friendship with Kessiana because of Alex. He had been pressuring her to sever her ties to Kessiana and focus on her relationship with him, but Farrah just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Kess wasn’t just her friend anymore; she was the sister Farrah never had, being the only child of her parents. How could she cut ties with her sister because of a man? Who does that?

She also found it disturbing that another one of her friends, Nadia, had expressed her dislike for Alex a few times, accusing him of being pompous or arrogant “like most rich kids.” So, would she have to cut Nadia off too?

“Look Kess, at some point, you’re going to have to get along with Alex because he’s going to be my husband soon. I mean, you’ll be my maid of honor for heaven’s sake. How can you do that if you can’t stand being in the same space with Alex?”

Kessiana shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s not a problem boo. I’ll be the sweetest and most well-behaved maid of honor you’ve ever seen, I promise.”

Farrah sighed heavily.

“Don’t let me keep you waiting any longer, lover girl,” Kessiana said with a wicked laugh. “Go have fun with your man. And tell him I said hey.”

And with that, she sashayed out of Farrah’s office.

******

Fortunately for Farrah, she’d hit the road just before the traffic started to build up, so she was able to quickly dash into the market to get the ingredients she needed to make her special goat meat curry, fresh vegetables, and a 5kg bag of scented Basmati rice.

It was fifteen minutes before 6 p.m. when she finally drove into the gated neighborhood where Alex lived in Lekki, a highbrow suburb in Lagos mostly inhabited by celebrities and affluent citizens. Everything here was over the top—the houses, cars, stores, schools. It was a different world entirely, like a pretty little bubble floating over a murky lake. Where she lived on the other side of Lekki looked like a ghetto compared to this community, even though her neighborhood was quite decent and inhabited by people with deep pockets. Alex’s neighborhood was simply in a class of its own. You had to be crazy rich to be able to live here; like supremely bougee!

A happy smile spread across Farrah’s face as she saw a young mom and her toddler twins strolling along the street. Farrah couldn’t wait to have her kids too. She’d told Alex that immediately they got married, she wanted them to start trying for a baby. He wasn’t too excited about that and had told her to there was no hurry to start a family. They were both 30 and healthy, so waiting one year before having kids wasn’t such a bad thing, he’d said but Farrah wasn’t taking no for an answer.

She slowed down as she approached Alex’s house. He’d bought the place a few months before they’d started dating. They’d met through one of her former clients, Priye Sammi, who happened to be Alex’s long-time buddy. When they first met at a party hosted by Priye, Alex hadn’t seemed to be really into her even though she’d found him to be quite attractive. Priye had taken it upon himself to play matchmaker, setting them up on their first date which had gone better than Farrah had expected. And then there was the second date, and the third and many more others afterward. That was how the relationship started, and now in a few months, she would officially become Mrs. Farrah Olaniyi. Oh, how she couldn’t wait!

Her mother, Kareena Njoku, had been up in arms planning a massive wedding for her only daughter. Farrah would have preferred a small, intimate ceremony, but her mother wouldn’t hear it. The older Njoku wanted to prove to her relatives who would be coming from India for the wedding that her half-Nigerian daughter was about to marry into an affluent family, and that she would be living a better life than her Indian cousins who had looked down on her all these years and called her, “Little Monkey.” This wasn’t just a wedding to Kareena, it was an epic comeback. Her family had never supported her decision to marry a Nigerian, and they had extended their prejudice to her daughter. Now it was her turn to show them that she and her daughter were living the life of their dreams. The wedding would be a lavish fairy tale; it would be the talk of the town and no expense would be spared to make it so, even if the Njokus might go bankrupt while they’re at it, Farrah’s mother didn’t care. This was her ultimate revenge against her family, and it would not be taken away from her.

Farrah’s father, Raymond Njoku, was a successful businessman who made his first million from the international shipping company he started with his younger brother. He had since expanded his business into oil and gas, commercial agriculture, textile, real estate, and information technology. His palatial mansion in Banana Island in Lagos was a testament to his wealth. Kareena on the other hand owned a chain of boutiques that catered to the upper echelon in society and had branches in 6 states in Nigeria.

Despite being the daughter of a wealthy couple, Farrah had made it a point of duty to work and earn her place in society. She never wanted anyone to think that she achieved any feat in her life because of who her parents were. Although she wouldn’t deny that her parents’ names had opened certain doors for her on some occasions, she was still proud to say that majority of her accomplishments were due to her hard work and not because of her parents’ influence.

As she eased her silver 2019 Toyota Camry into Alex’s driveway, she saw Priye’s white Ford Escobar parked beside her fiancé’s black BMW SUV. Farrah was surprised to see Priye’s car there. Although he had the key to Alex’s apartment, he always informed her whenever he would stop by to work in Alex’s home office especially if Alex wasn’t around. Both men worked in the same industry and sometimes collaborated on the same projects. They were also co-investors in a fast-rising tech company in Lagos.

Why did he have to come here today of all days? Farrah wondered in annoyance. It was looking like Priye was going to ruin her surprise dinner for Alex. If he got wind of what she was about to do, he would sneak off to rat her out to Alex before she could stop him. For some reason, he always liked to be the first to tell Alex everything like some trusty sidekick. Ugh!

She parked beside his car and proceeded to unload the groceries from her back seat, all the while thinking of a clever way to get rid of Priye without him having a hint of what she was up to. She had way too much to do before Alex arrived and she wanted to be done and relaxed before he showed up, not flustered and out of sort, which was what could happen if she was unable to get Priye out of the way in time.

Farrah made her way to the front door with both arms heavily loaded with food. To her relief, the front door was unlocked. The neighborhood was much secured but she always insisted that Alex and Priye keep the front door locked, but they never do. This one time, she was glad Priye didn’t. She pushed her way in and closed the door softly behind her, not wanting to startle Priye who might be in the home office opposite the guest sitting room. The office door was closed, thankfully, so she hurried down to the kitchen to offload the groceries. After carefully tucking everything away in the freezer and stashing the bag of rice in a cabinet, she made her way back to the home office to say hi to Priye.

Walking down the corridor, she couldn’t help but admire the luxurious apartment that was tastefully furnished and downright gorgeous. Alex had spent a pretty penny to make the 5-bedroom duplex look like a mini palace. No matter how many times Farrah came here, she was always in awe of the beauty and sheer splendor of the house. And to think this would be her home very soon…wow!

She knocked softly on the office door before calling out to Priye. “Hey Priye, are you in there?”

No response.

“May I come in?” she asked politely.

Still no response. That’s odd; she thought and turned the doorknob. She was greeted by an empty office that looked untouched and as neat as Alex left it nearly two weeks ago.

He’s probably resting in his room; she thought and headed towards the guest quarters beside the palatial dining room. She knocked softly on the door to the room where Priye usually stayed whenever he came over. There was still no response, so she opened the door and let herself in. Just like the home office, this room looked neat and untouched. She called out again, wondering if he was in the adjoining bathroom but there was no response.

After checking the bathroom to be certain that Priye wasn’t really in there, she stepped out of the room, puzzled. Where was he? To the best of her knowledge, Priye never went beyond the home office, the guest room, the kitchen, and the dining room; so, where could he be now? He wasn’t the type to snoop around, so she didn’t think that was what he was doing right now. Did he leave without taking his car? But if he did leave, why didn’t he lock the front door at least? It all didn’t make sense.

Farrah sighed. The only part of the house left for her to check now was upstairs which was the private quarters reserved for her and Alex alone, and maybe family members. She climbed the stairs slowly, admiring the rich mahogany banister for the billionth time. The upstairs living room was far more glamorous than the one downstairs. There was a huge portrait of her and Alex which was painted last Valentine and presented to them by a celebrity artist. The artist had used a picture of them that was taken at a charity event the month before. The image was lifelike and breath-taking, and they both unanimously agreed that their private living room was the best place to put it. It was the first image that greeted you as you stepped into the loft.

While still admiring the massive portrait, her attention was abruptly drawn to the coffee table. She saw a half-empty bottle of Merlot (Alex’s favorite wine) and two empty wine glasses on the table. One of the glasses had a red lipstick stain on the edge. There was an open pack of cigarettes and some stubbed-out cigarettes in an ashtray nearby. Farrah’s brain froze. Did Priye bring his girlfriend up here? She wondered. She could feel her temper rising slowly to the surface.

As if in response to her mental question, she saw a pair of chrome-colored stilettos left haphazardly on the floor along the corridor leading to the bedrooms. Then she came across a pair of men’s shoes that looked like Alex’s. Or probably Priye’s, since both men usually shopped at the same stores. As she got closer to her and Alex’s bedroom, her heart sank when she started to hear loud moans. So that clown truly brought his girlfriend here, she thought angrily. How dare he?

Without hesitation, she barged into the room and was welcomed by the most bizarre sight she had ever seen in her entire life. She had expected to walk in on Priye and his girlfriend, Sophia, romping on her soon-to-be matrimonial bed; but to her horror, she stood there staring at Priye and Alex having sex. With each other!

The lovers writhing on the bed were doing the reverse cowgirl style with the reckless abandon of a couple who thought they were alone. As if in a trance, Farrah stood stock still and watched as Priye who wore a pink wig, a red bikini top with white polka dots and his lips painted red, was bumping and grinding furiously on Alex who laid flat on his back; his head was thrown back in pleasure and his hands gripped his lover’s hips firmly as they moved in unison. It was the most shocking scene Farrah had ever witnessed in all the 30 years of her life. Yeah, she had watched a few gay porn films here and there, but none of those rehearsed sex scenes could have ever prepared her for this raw, erotic display that she was seeing right now; and at that moment, it dawned on her that this wasn’t the first time these men would be having sex with each other. They’ve been lovers all along! How come she’d never suspected it? How come she’d never guessed it—the excessive brotherly closeness, the two of them always working on the same projects and traveling together, Priye having a key to their (no, Alex’s) apartment…and it was Priye who had even brought her and Alex together in the first place. Now it all made sense.

As if sensing her presence, Priye opened his eyes and saw Farrah standing at the doorway. He maintained eye contact with her as he continued to rotate his hips while bouncing up and down, bringing Alex to an explosive climax. There was no remorse or embarrassment in his eyes. What Farrah saw was defiance, like he was daring her to do something. His dark brown skin glistened with sweat even though the split unit air conditioner in the room was on at full blast. After what seemed like an eternity, the erotic scene was finally over, and the lovers were left panting like tired athletes.

“Hello, Farrah,” Priye drawled in his rich baritone voice. “Did you enjoy the show?”

“Farrah?” Alex wondered aloud before lifting his head to see who Priye was talking to. The moment he saw her standing at the doorway, he pushed Priye off and scrambled to cover his genitals with the bedsheet as if Farrah hadn’t seen him naked more times than she could count.

“Oh my gosh, Farrah! What are you doing here?” he asked, flustered.

“You were supposed to be returning from Germany tonight,” Farrah informed him like he didn’t know his itinerary. “Your driver was supposed to pick you up at the airport by 9 p.m., wasn’t that what you told me this morning? How come you’re here now?”

Alex glanced at Priye who was sprawled on the bed like a satisfied lion, watching the exchange with an amused expression.

“Um, I landed earlier than scheduled and Priye picked me up from the airport.”

“Of course, he did,” Farrah said snidely. She was inside a nightmare and for some weird reason, she wasn’t freaking out or throwing things or stabbing someone. It was all so insane.

Is this happening? She wondered. I am I standing here in this room, talking to Alex after watching him have sex with his bestie on the same bed where both of us had made love many times before? Is this the same Alex I’m supposed to walk down the aisle with before the end of this year? Am I imagining this?

“I-I’m sorry, Farrah,” Alex stuttered.

“Yeah, me too,” Farrah whispered and turned around to leave. She walked stiffly down the corridor with the shoes laying on the floor, then past the lavish private living room with the ginormous portrait, down the carpeted stairs with its glistening mahogany banister, through the perfectly decorated downstairs corridor, past the inviting guest living room and finally out the huge front door that was never locked except she was around.

When she got into her car, she noticed that she was shivering even though she wasn’t cold. Her hands were shaking, and her mind just wouldn’t accept what she had just witnessed as the truth. It was mind-boggling. Her life as she knew it had just been shattered into a million tiny pieces and she didn’t know if she could ever gather them back together again.

As if in a trance once again, she started her car and drove out of Alex’s driveway and out of his life.