Chapter 24: Chapter 24
The Uber had taken her to Rebecca's house. That was the only person aside Skye that she could confide in. She knew her mother would be pissed if she got home and announced that she'd rejected Tekena's proposal. She knew people on the internet would be mad that she'd rejected their prince charming who'd proposed to her despite her internet scandal.
Rebecca was waiting outside the gate of her apartment when she got to the address she'd been texted. She paid the Uber man and got out of the car. Rebecca embraced her fondly and rubbed her back in such a soothing manner that she almost broke into tears okay.
The two ladies walked into the
Compound and into Rebecca's apartment that was downstairs.
"It's funny how your house was always nearby but I never visited until now" Olivia said sadly as she sat down.
"Welllll...we still saw each other every now and then, we talk almost every day on Whatsapp. Besides, I just furnished my apartment, so I wouldn't have let you visit before now. The chair you're sitting on arrived few weeks ago and everything else in this house. When I moved in here, everything was so expensive all I could afford was a bed. My mum gave me some kitchen utensils and that's how I was able to survive for so long. Fortunately I was able to save some money to furnish this place" Rebecca said.
Olivia smiled, maybe it was time for her to move out of her parent's house and start her life independently without their help or money. "If you don't mind me asking, how much is the rent?" she asked.
"It's seven hundred thousand for a one bedroom apartment. You have to pay for two years and when the rent expires, you can renew the contract for another two years if you want to or move out. By the way, Noni stays upstairs. She was the one who told me about this place" Rebecca said as she was turning on the television. Chinonye aka Noni was also her roommate in university but they weren't as close as she was with Rebecca. This was because they barely hung out, Noni was always busy. She spent a lot of her time at her fellowship, and she was in church so much that Rebecca used to tease her that she would end up as 'Mrs Pastor'. Olivia wondered if Noni was still that way or she'd changed.
"I really need to move out of that house. My mum is driving me insane and I really can't deal anymore" Olivia sighed. "I always say your mental health is your priority. If you're losing your mind in that house then leave. Wait, let me get you something to eat. I made yamarita, would you like some?" Rebecca asked. "Yes please" Olivia smiled as Rebecca got up and went into the kitchen.
Few minutes later she was back with a plate of the yamarita, some sweet chilli sauce and a glass of milk. "Here you go" Rebecca placed on the glass table in front of Olivia.
"Thanks babe, I hope you don't mind me being here the whole weekend" Olivia asked. "I don't mind at all, if you want to stay here for an entire month no problemo" Rebecca smiled.
Olivia nodded and nibbled on a piece of yamarita. She wasn't hungry but the yamarita was really delicious and she didn't want to offend Rebecca by eating so little of it.
"so....what did your parents say about the post?" Rebecca asked curiously. Olivia shook her head "My dad hasn't spoken to me" she said and got angry again because she remembered that her dad had spoken to Tekena instead of her. "My mum on the other hand is treating it like something that happens everyday" Olivia murmured.
"You're so lucky you have liberal parents, my mama will kill me if she hears that something like that happened" Rebecca said turning down the volume of the television.
Olivia smiled bitterly, lowkey she'd wanted her mother to be angry too. Angry at her or even angry on her behalf but Gogo was too bougie for that. "I won't be so lucky when they find out that I rejected Tekena's marriage proposal" She said irritated as she remembered how Tekena had brought out the ring from his pocket and all but demanded that she accept it.
Rebecca's eyes were wide with surprise. "Wait a minute, Tekena proposed to you, today?"
Olivia nodded. "Awwwwn, that man really loves you. Why did you say no nau?" Rebecca said pouting.
There were fan girls and they were shippers. Rebecca was a shipper and had been shipping the duo since their relationship became public. "I don't want that kind of love Becky, where marriage is a damage control measure. He suggested that if I went on National TV and cried and played victim, people would sympathize with me and then announcing our engagement would get people to stop talking about the scandal" Olivia hissed.
"You know, I hate the damage control aspect but he does have a point though" Rebecca said reasonably. "Does he? Those fan girls will never stop talking about it, they will say he's unfortunate and unlucky, they will say I'm a promiscuous girl who doesn't deserve him and that my parents are forcing him to marry me to save face. There are so many things they will say but they will definitely not sympathize with me. And honestly I don't want that at all" Olivia said resignedly.
Rebecca bit her lips, she could see now how difficult it was for Olivia. "I'm so sorry you're going through this" Rebecca sympathized.
"I need to be away from him, my parents, social media and everything else that ties me to them" Olivia said shaking her head. Rebecca sighed "See what did I tell you when we graduated? You live pretentiously Olivia, you want to be model daughter so bad and for the past two years you've been playing model girlfriend. Forget about those people, don't live for them. Don't be what they want you to be, be who you truly are. Live for you baby girl"
Olivia stared at her friend mutely for several seconds. Yes, she'd been living just to please her mother for years, maybe it was time to rebel like her older brother who'd refused to work for her father and was living his best life as a photographer.