Chapter 12: Chapter 12

TWELVE- LIVING IN A FOOL’S PARADISE

William woke up very early the next morning. Throwing the covers off his body and trying to sit up, he stole a glance at the sleeping figure lying next to him. She was still soundly asleep.

He padded into the bathroom to brush his teeth, trying as much as possible to avert his eyes from the mirror which seemed to mock him. He wasn't even fifty yet but a considerable amount of grey hair had begun showing, especially at his sides. His once vibrant eyes were looking tired now and the dark circles under them didn't help at all, they must have shown up due to his inability to sleep the night before. The bathroom was splendid really, spacious, finely tiled in white and the entire setting was well put together. The shower had a huge shower head and there was a Jacuzzi in the corner and a toilet. The bathroom mirror was very large, with a medicine cabinet and all the other necessities. It was a very beautiful room.

He stepped into the shower and turned it on full blast, settling for ice cold as if to punish himself.

He was freezing cold when he finally finished bathing but he still went on to dry himself and get dressed.

The clock in the opulent bedroom read 5:00 am by the time William had finished dressing. He headed for the bathroom to properly fix his tie.

He felt arms snake their way around him and a pair of lips kissed his neck.

"Reggie..."

"Shh. Good morning love. Where are you going so early?"

"Work Reggie. Where else will I be going to?" He wearily responded.

Their eyes met in the mirror and the woman noticed how tired her fiancé looked.

Regina Aryee, supermodel extraordinaire, commonly known as Reggie had met William at one elite socialite get-together in London and the duo had had an on and off relationship for the past ten years before he had finally proposed five years ago.

Looking at her fiancé now, he seemed detached, of course there had been times when he had issues going on and had seemed off, but it had never been like this.

William sighed. "I have a video conference with some foreign investors, and we are two hours behind them in time, that's why I'm going to the office. I would have done this at home but I need some files from the office first."

Reggie nodded in understanding and tied her bathrobe that was coming undone, and then helped him with his tie. William hastily kissed her cheek after he said his thanks and went to the bedroom to grab his briefcase.

"I'll call you later, love." He turned to assure her before he headed downstairs and drove off.

The couple lived at one of the plush residencies in east Legon. A beautiful two storey building, three bedroom, Terra cota style with a grand automated gate and a somehow Victorian look about it. It was perfect, not too flashy and with a sophisticated touch to it.

Reggie brushed her teeth and had a light breakfast. She had a lot to do on her itinerary today but she first off had to go see her doctor first, all the other stuff could wait. She quickly took her bath, got dressed in a bright yellow summer dress and heels, then she fixed her makeup and put all the stuff she would need into her bag. She then headed downstairs, got into her car, pressed on the remote to open the main gate and then drove off.

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It was 11:00am.

Louisa was at work trying to handle some last minute issues before she went out on lunch break. She had surprisingly slept soundly and felt refreshed today, so refreshed that she had barely given yesterday's ordeal any thought. But she knew she'd have to relive the experience all over again at lunch with Naa Larley and she honestly didn't really look forward to it.

She went to the conference room to meet up with Nate and two other partners to work on a case they had been at for three months. She was there for thirty minutes, then she had to check in on one of the junior associates to see how her case was going. She was pretty much free after that so she decided to take an early break so she could beat the lunch hour traffic.

Naa Larley arrived at Jerry's ten minutes late and looking very fatigued.

"Don't even look at me luv, I know I look like shit." She croaked out before Louisa could say a word."

Louisa looked at her friend in concern. "You're working yourself too much Naa, I don't think that's good for the baby."

Naa Larley signalled to one waiter for a cold bottle of water and she didn't say a word till she had drank to her satisfaction. She sighed, "I know that Louisa, but this is the wedding season you know, and it's not like I don't trust my assistant, I know she's just as good but lowering my load seems like I'm neglecting my company, I just don't know why, but it does."

Over the next fifteen minutes, Louisa advised her friend on how to slowly ease of work so she didn't face withdrawal symptoms and her friend listened with rapt attention.

A waitress came to take their order. Naa Larley was craving beans and plantain, and all Louisa could think about was vegetable chicken sauce and curry rice.

The two dug into their food with relish and teased each other on how eager they were to eat. Halfway through the meal, Naa Larley said, “Now tell me what happened yesterday to get you in the doldrums like that."

Louisa seemed to have lost her appetite in a flash, but nevertheless, she told Naa Larley everything thing that happened and her friend sat rooted in disbelief.

"No fucking way, he came to your office and said all that?"

Louisa nodded in confirmation.

"I find this very funny and ironic because I have a meeting with his fiancée. We're picking colours and settling on the venue for the wedding. It's right after lunch."

Louisa's countenance changed. "Oh okay. That's good."

Naa Larley looked at her friend. "No Louisa, you're not over the man. I can see it. You still love him."

Louisa almost choked on her orange juice. "What?" She spat out.

"Trust me Naa. I am, Will can do whatever he wants to do with his life. I'm good. I'm great." She ended with a very bright smile.

Naa Larley was not convinced, but she kept mute. Louisa could keep living in a fool's paradise, while she did whatever she could to save her friend. She'd find out what the hell happened to William and why he bolted, then she'd bring them back together again, even if that was the last thing she did on earth. William seemed like a decent person, perhaps he had a genuine reason why he couldn't stay and she was going to find out what it was.

Lunch ended and the duo parted ways with Louisa promising to call and check up on her best friend later on in the evening.

○●○●○●

"So now we are down to two major themes. A vintage theme with turquoise and fuchsia pink as the wedding colours, and a casual theme with cream and wine red as the wedding colours." Naa Larley concluded.

Reggie sighed dreamily. "I'm kinda interested in the romantic beach theme too you know, the colours are just as amazing. Lemon green, fuchsia pink and turquoise. I can just picture it too."

Naa Larley smiled.

"I can easily include it in the portfolio and then give you an extra week to make up your mind. The date hasn't been decided yet so you can take your time and really choose well.

Reggie beamed. "Perfect! You really know what you're about Naa Larley. I'm glad my mother recommended you."

It was nice to see this look on the faces of the clients she worked with. It brought this feeling within her that made her feel powerful. Like some fairy god mother of some sort with the ability to grant wishes and she loved it. It saddened her that she couldn't do the same for her best friend but she was working on it.

The downside was, she really wanted to hate William's fiancée, because then that made it easy to help her friend out but with her nymph-like structure and very outgoing persona, it was very difficult. The woman seemed nice and Naa Larley realised that perhaps, she couldn't help her best friend with her happiness after all.