Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Valentino still hadn't called by Sunday. Halal waited by her phone all through Saturday and Sunday but she didn't get anything. Not even a text,  she felt terrible.

She tried calling him to inform him that Doctor Femi was dead but she couldn't get through to him,  it was as if he'd barred her from calling him.

Daria who had been texting nonstop had texted her address Saturday evening. She called early on Sunday morning asking if Halal was coming later for lunch.

"Was it lunch we agreed on or dinner?" Halal asked taking out her clothes from her wardrobe.

Daria smiled before replying "I'd prefer you to come and sleep over. Anyway if you want to come for just dinner no problem" Daria said.

"I'll be by your house by...." she stopped as she took out a dress she'd worn once when she was younger and much happier. Her wedding dress,  Valentino had gotten it for her then and it had been worth every dime.

The dress was an off shoulder virginal white silk dress that was beaded with pearls from the top to the waist.  Unlike most wedding dresses, it didn't have a full skirt. The silk clung to her body like a second skin and stopped right above her ankle before continuing with a flurry of silk and lace.

"Halal are you okay?" Daria asked after a few seconds of hearing nothing from Halal. Halal took the hem of the gown admiring the embroidery.

"Halal" Daria called again getting worried. "I'm here, I'm here. Sorry I just spaced out a bit, I'll be coming to your house by four" Halal said and ended the call immediately.

She didn't feel like talking anymore, she just wanted to be left to her thoughts.

She'd loved this dress once but not anymore,  she wasn't even sure if she loved the person who'd picked out this dress for her anymore. Did Valentino deserve her love? he'd been posting videos of his self and his friends on instagram all through Saturday but hadn't bothered to call her or text her.

Halal felt tears brimming at the back of her eyes.  Maybe Valentino had loved her once but it was quite obvious he didn't love her anymore.

She laid out the wedding dress on the bed and picked up her phone from the night stand. After taking a few pictures, she edited it and posted it on an online trading platform.

'For sale' she captioned the picture.  Perhaps Valentino wouldn't care whether she sold it or not.  He didn't care much for anything but himself these days.

With the way he was acting, she was tempted to damn all and sell her wedding band and expensive engagement ring too.  What use was it anyway? it was simply for the  beautification of her finger.

"Just look at me, eight years along the matrimonial lane and I'm downright miserable. I'm pretty sure Valentino is avoiding me" Halal said taking the dress off the bed.  She hung it in the wardrobe before taking out a peach crepe pant with a matching kimono and a white silk sleeveless top.

For the fun of it,  she applied make up on her face.  She was never a fan of makeup, and she never needed it, but today she felt the need to conceal her dull skin and the dark circles under her eyes. She wanted to look brighter.

She used a bright pink lipstick for her lips and darkened her eyes with some kajal. She picked soft pink colours for her eye lids and elongated her naturally long and dark eyelashes with a mascara.

There, concealed in a simplistic manner. She got dressed and wrapped her head with a white velvet scarf.  Completing her ensemble her with a white leather sandals, she picked up her clutch and left the house.

Halal decided to stop at a store to buy some dessert for dinner and white wine too,  she also bought drinks and chocolates for Daria's children. As she walked past the kiddies section, she purposely glued  her eyes to her toes,  she didn't want to see other people and their kids exploring the pleasures that section was offering.

As for Daria's kids,  she prayed for strength to be around them without shattering completely.

Her little Daria was married and she had kids, what a shocker. Daria had little interest in men years back, she'd get upset whenever Halal teased her about having a boyfriend. It was hard to believe this same Daria dropped out of the University to start a family with a man.

She pulled up in front of a fancy gated brown stone and parked. "Nice house" she commented as she looked out of her car.

She took a deep breath, willing herself not to change her mind and cancel before taking out her phone from her clutch to dial Daria.

"Hello baby girl, I'm right outside your house" Halal said cheerily.

"Oh my God, why didn't you call to tell me you were already on your way? I'll be right outside" Daria said dropping the call.  Halal chuckled and waited patiently for Daria who showed up two minutes later.

She opened the gates allowing Halal entrance into the compound. Halal parked beside a wine colored sienna before getting out of the car.  "Hey b" Daria hugged Halal.

"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, we don't have a gate man yet" Daria said nervously.

"Please, I barely waited for five minutes. Why do you feel the need to always apologize around me?" Halal frowned a little.

There was unnecessary tension hovering around them. "This one you're carrying plenty bags,  mother Christmas" Daria said trying to break the tension.  Halal grinned at the nickname, she threw an arm around Daria as they walked into the house.

The first thing she noticed about Daria's living room when she entered were the toys that were littered about.  She stiffened as her eyes met the toys,  Daria must have noticed because she cleared her throat and began to pick up the toys on the floor.

"I'm sorry, I asked my husband to clean up right before you called. He must have forgotten" Daria said.

"That's fine" Halal faked a smile. "I brought some drinks, wine, cakes and chocolates" Halal handed Daria the bag.

"Oh that's so sweet of you, thanks a lot Hallie" Daria smiled.

"You're welcome, and it's nothing. If anything I should properly apologize to your husband for keeping you away for days" Halal smiled.

"It's nothing, I'd be a terrible friend not to be there for you. Come into the kitchen, dinner is almost ready" Daria said pulling Halal gently.

Halal dropped her clutch on the chair and followed Daria into the kitchen. Halal briefly wondered if Daria had hidden her kids somewhere because of her.  Asides the toys,  she hadn't seen or heard anything kids related.

"Are the kids asleep?" Halal asked looking around the kitchen.  Daria shook her head "They are in the bedroom, I told them to go shower and dress up before dinner. Femi is in there with them" Daria replied.  She looked at Halal more carefully before speaking "I can have Femi take them out if you want. I don't want...you.. I don't want...anything to make you comfortable" Daria said.

"That I don't have....that I don't have children doesn't mean I can't be around them.  I love children, I'd love to meet your kids" Halal said sincerely.

"Mummy!" The women heard a screech. Daria's three years old son entered the kitchen dressed in a blue cotton top and orange shorts.

The little boy was the carbon if not photo copy of Daria. Daria frowned before addressing her son.

"Christiano, what did I say about coming into the kitchen when I'm cooking?" Daria asked. "Sorry mummy,  good evening auntie" Christiano turned to Halal with a sheepish smile.

"Awww, he's so cute.  Look at his chubby cheeks,  he looks exactly like you" Halal picked him up.  Christiano simply grinned revealing his adorable teeth. Daria's smile widened as she watched the duo.

The twins entered the kitchen minutes later, Jeffrey and Joshua. "Good evening" they chorused politely. "Hello,  what's your name?" Halal asked the shorter one.  "I'm Jeffrey, he is Joshua.  You must be auntie Halal, how do you do?" Jeffrey replied.

"I'm fine, and you Joshua?" Halal asked. "Fine" Joshua replied shyly hiding behind his twin. Halal felt a tinge of jealousy, seeing another woman having what she wanted but she held it in.

"I didn't know you had twins" Halal whispered.

"Uhm....yeah we never talked about that" Daria said. Daria had barely finished her statement when her husband walked in with her daughter. Her fingers were stuck in her mouth with tears streaming down her face.

Halal felt the last straw broke when she saw the baby in an adorable onesie.  "Can I use the bathroom?" she asked clearing her throat. "Sure, Jeff show Aunt Halal to the guest toilet. Femi why is Princess crying?" Daria turned to her husband.

Halal nodded at Femi in acknowledgement before walking out of the kitchen. He wasn't exactly what she had pictured for her friend but it didn't matter. Daria seemed extremely happy and fulfilled,  Femi was not exactly handsome and he was of average height.

At least he isn't treating her like crap, at least he made her happy. Her own husband treated her badly, he made her feel terrible. She followed Jeffrey to the guest bathroom and thanked him before entering the bathroom.

After taking about ten minutes to compose herself, she went out of the bathroom more confident than before. Her confidence shattered a minute later as she walked into the living room. When she saw the man in the living room, her heart broke.

What was he doing here? She wondered in shock.  Her head and heart began to pound simultaneously.

Right after Halal left the kitchen with Jeffery, Femi turned to his wife with questioning eyes. Daria took her little girl out of his arms before eyeing him in disbelief. "Seriously, what happened to keeping her in bed till after dinner?" Daria asked her husband a little harshly.

She knew that Halal barely managed to be around the twins and little Christiano who was already all over her but topping it with Princess was way over the top. If she herself were in Halal's shoes, she'd have broken down.

"I'm sorry, she wouldn't want stop crying. You know how she is when it's you she wants" Femi said. Daria watched Princess babble all over the place "Sweetheart, you're going to have to stay with Daddy upstairs. Do you understand me?" Daria said adopting a stern voice.

"Mama" Princess said using baby gibberish to communicate with her mother. "You're going to be a good girl for mummy huh?" Daria pinched her cheeks just before the bell rang.

"Are you expecting someone else?" Femi asked. He was the kind of man who kept simply to himself, he didn't have friends, just business associates and none of them knew his home address.

Daria shook her head. "Go answer the door, I'm pretty sure I cleared my schedule today" she said. "Okay" Femi said going to the living room.

Femi answered the door shortly after he walked into the sitting room and was surprised to see Darell at the door.

He and Darell never got along because Darell had always felt he was too old for his sister and didn't support their union.Darell also felt that Daria was extremely naive and that his sister had been swayed by Femi's wealth.

"Darell" he said stiffly. "Femi" Darell responded tightly. They both gave each other heated glances before Christiano broke the tension. "My uncle Darell!" Christiano yelled running to his uncle. Darell was based in the states, and only came to the country to see his sister and his nephews on rare occasions.

"Uncle Darrell!" Joshua raced into the living room with Daria following a little confused. Her brother, why was he here? And he hadn't even bothered to call to tell her he was coming.

Her brother was there in his living room, throwing her son high in the air and catching him playfully.

"Darrell, I wasn't aware you were coming, why didn't you call me?" Daria asked going over to hug him.

She hadn't seen him since Princess's dedication and that was over a year ago. "I wanted to surprise you, and didn't you say I was welcome here anytime" Darrell said dropping Christiano. He reached out for Princess who came readily into his arms.

"Look at my Princess, you're all grown up. How many teeth do you have now?" Darrell peaked into her mouth. Princess babbled loudly. "You should have called me" Daria stressed.

"What's wrong?" Darrell asked surprised. His sister was acting a little strange, he wondered about her attitude. Wasn't he welcome to her home anymore?

He was still deep in thoughts until he saw a flash of white and peach, Halal. Halal! that was the last person he expected to see today or any other day, she was nonexistent as far as he was concerned.

He glared at her when he noticed she was looking at him too. So this was why his sister didn't appreciate his surprise visit. He quickly looked away from Halal remembering how they'd parted years ago, certainly not on good terms and he'd warned her that he didn't want her to contact his sister anymore. So why the hell was she here?

He frowned and turned to his nephews "Josh, Jeff please take Christiano into the room. Femi please take care of princess, I need a few minutes" He said not blinking once at his brother in law.

Femi turned to Daria who nodded before he left with the kids. "Should I leave too?" Daria asked quietly. She didn't know why Halal and her brother hadn't parted amicably but she wanted them to sort out their differences.

"No, the only person who should leave is the other woman. " Darrell said without looking at Daria.

Daria looked at her brother horrified "Dall, I invited her over for dinner. She's my guest, you have no right to throw her out of my house" Daria frowned.

"It's okay, my husband just called. I didn't leave the spare keys at home and he's stuck outside. I really should go now" Halal cleared her throat. She walked to the sofa where her clutch was lying and picked it up.

Daria looked on helplessly at Halal, why was Darrell being so cold and extremely mean. "And I meant what I said Mrs, stay away from my sister. Stay away from my family" Darrell said harshly.

"Darrell, don't talk to her like that" Daria frowned at her brother.

So what, they were enemies now? It was absurd, the two of them had been so in love with each other. What went wrong, why did they split, who was at fault, why did they hate each other?

Halal never spoke about him, and Darrell saw any topic Halal related as a taboo. Daria felt conflicted, she loved Halal, she loved her brother too and this conflict between them was tearing her apart.

"I'll see you some other time" Halal whispered to Daria before leaving the house. Daria watched her leave without a backward glance before turning to her brother angrily. "Why did you speak to her that way?" Daria yelled.

"Enough, I don't want to hear anything about that woman" Darrell spat. Daria wasn't backing down, she was no longer a child and she didn't appreciate her brother making decisions for her.

"That woman is Halal, your ex girlfriend. And you were going to marry her, I don't know what happened, why it happened and I don't care Darrell. She's over it, you should be over it by now. Please just don't speak to her that way, she's going through so much and I don't want her unhappy. She's like a sister to me" Daria said dropping her raised voice to a pleading note.

"Please, Nkemjika" she said calling him by her late father's name hoping to appeal to his gentler side.

"I don't care what you do with her, if she's going to be a regular visitor here, then don't expect to see me here. Do you understand?" Darrell hissed.

"Brother...." Daria sighed but he held up his hand. "Enough, I don't want to hear it okay. I'm jet lagged, the last thing I need is this bullshït" Darrell said.

"Okay, would you like to have dinner with me, we need to catch up. I'll prepare a guest room, how long will you be here for?" Daria asked tiredly.

Why are men so goddamned stubborn anyways?