Chapter 15: Chapter 15

FIFTEEN- THE BREAKUP

"William are you okay?" Reggie asked him as she combed her hair in front of the dressing mirror. She had been observing her man for about twenty minutes and he seemed troubled. She didn't understand. Everything was getting back on track, and he was almost his normal self...that is, until the night after they came back from the beach, she really didn't get what was going on. Their eyes met, bluish-grey clashing with dark brown and William sighed.

How was he going to break it to her that he wanted to end things? He really didn't want to hurt her feelings but he knew there was no way she was coming out of this relationship without getting hurt.

He stood up from the bed and knelt before his fiancée, turning her chair so she faced him completely.

Taking in a deep breath, he said. "Reggie, I want us to break up."

The woman looked at him for a long while and then burst out laughing.

"Whew William, that was a good one. Okay I admit it now, you're a little funny."

Reggie stopped laughing when she realised her fiancé was not joining in... He knelt before her still wearing that remorseful look on his face and that was when her heart broke. He was serious.

"Why??... uh...uhh did I do something wrong? Is it because I've been nagging you to tell me what has been bothering you?" She asked distressed.

"Reg-"

"Is it because of another woman?"

Her fiance's contrite look gave her all the confirmation she needed. She stood up sharply and didn't even bother to look at the chair that had fallen down in her haste. William got to his feet and tried to reach out to her and calm her down.

"Don't touch me!!!"

"How could you? All this time I've been trying to fix our relationship, you've been out there throwing it all away. How could you do this to me William? How could you?" The poor woman broke down in long racking sobs. She was so down that she couldn't even push him away when he engulfed her in a hug.

"I'm sorry Reggie, I'm so sorry." He whispered as he held her in his arms. Her tears tore at the strings holding his heart but that same heart belonged to another and he was going to try to get her back, he felt very bad... but he had to do this, for her own good at least.

They stayed like that for a moment, then like a woman possessed, Reggie pushed William away angrily.

Wiping away her tears, she grabbed her car keys and slipped her feet into a pair of shoes, then she turned to her fiancé and whispered in a menacing voice that would come to haunt him for a long time.

"It is not over between us William, not after all the years I've wasted on you. You and I will be together forever, so if I were you, I'd actively use this break we are taking, because when I do come back for you, there will be nothing that will stop me, not even the whore of a woman you have decided to leave me for."

William stood there in shock as he watched her exit their bedroom and heard her drive off a few minutes later. He run his hands through his hair. He had done it. He was a free man.

○●○●○●○

Louisa had had to dash back to her office right from court to meet their biggest client who had seemed distraught on the phone over a new lawsuit.

She was very tired, even though she didn't look it with her black power suit and moderate heels. She was the perfect definition of classy and demurely sexy and yet, she couldn't wait to end the meeting and get back to her office so she could kick off the heels and slip into her comfy slippers, and simply relax.

"Mr. Akorful, you have nothing to worry about." She heard herself say. That was the truth actually, for the rich businessman was being sued over 50 million Ghana cedis on the basis of unsafe condition of work, but Louisa and her team had done their homework and they had realised that the plaintiff had failed to comply with company policy, and wasn't even fully protected as at the time of his accident and Louisa told her client so.

The man cleaned the sweat that had collected on his face and visibly sighed in relief. It was in times like this that he was grateful to have given Louisa a chance back when she was starting her firm. He was one the few people who had left her old firm with her and was a stickler-for-rules kind of person. He wasn't really as worried about the money as he was about the bad publicity the lawsuit would have brought his company and he made his fears known to his lawyer.

After about ten minutes of reassuring Mr. Akorful some more, the distraught man finally took his leave of them allowing them all the breather they desperately needed. The man was very demanding sometimes. After a brief chat with some of her partners, Louisa marched to her office, kicked her shoes off, and settled down in her swivel chair where she spun aimlessly for a few minutes thinking about random stuff.

The knock on her door roused her from her thoughts.

"Come in." She answered, and Akua peeked in with a smile on her face.

"You have a visitor Louisa."

The older woman stopped her movements and raised her eyebrows in question. "Who is it?"

"He wouldn't say... He says it's a surprise but he seems like a charming person." Akua assessed.

Louisa frowned. Slipping her shoes back on, she signalled for her secretary to let in however the visitor was and waited while skimming through some files on her laptop.

"Hey Louisa. Did you miss me?" A deep voice spoke out causing Louisa to look up from her laptop.

"Oh my God, Chris! What a pleasant surprise." She sashayed towards him and engulfed him in a warm hug.

"I didn't know you were back. Please sit. Do you want to drink anything? Uh... coffee, tea, juice-"

"Relax Louisa. I'm alright." He assured her amusedly. She was stuttering, meaning he was having an effect on her... just like she was in that suit. He could swear he had caught a glimpse of heaven just from their less than two minute hug, and he couldn't wait to take more than that.

"How is your mum doing?" He heard her ask, causing him to rein in his thoughts before they went down a completely erotic path.

He cleared his throat. "Oh, she's doing fine. I told her about you actually, and she said to send her best regards."

Louisa smiled, it was all she could do at that moment, for Chris's reappearance had really left her flustered... that and the fact that he looked good enough to eat. She shook the thoughts off just in time to hear him say, "-I believe you owe me a date."

She raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "I don't remember ever agreeing to such a thing."

Chris leaned forward and placed his arms on her exquisitely designed mahogany desk.

"Then let me ask you all over again to uh....what's the right word...jog your memory." He whispered and took her hands in his.

"Louisa, would you like to go out on a date with me?" He asked charmingly. Louisa's mind was in overdrive.

Should I accept to go out with him? I want to... but I don't think it's a good idea, maybe we should keep talking some more first. A part of her argued, she didn't even know which one it was anymore.

Another part too voiced out,

You like the attention Chris is showering on you, even though you pretend not to... just give him a chance girl. What's the worst that could happen?

Louisa sighed. The worst that could happen was what scared her from taking Chris's offer and she had initially opened her mouth to say no to his request but she didn't know what prompted the words, Yes out of her mouth.

"Yes Chris. We can go grab some dinner." She conceded and grinned at his blatant surprise. It was obvious that even he didn't think she'd say yes, heck even she didn't think she would too.

She glanced at her watch, it was five thirty pm, and she could call it a day after all. She quickly cleared her desk and took some files she wanted to give to Akua for archiving, then she grabbed her handbag, jacket and laptop and stood up.

"Here, lemme help you with that." Chris whispered gently taking her laptop and jacket from her.

She smiled shyly at the action as they headed out of her office. Such a gentleman.

Akua glanced at the couple headed her way and she smiled to herself. They really looked good together and the way they conversed among themselves showed that they had something going... an almost-more-than-friends relationship, if you could call it that. She was already building their ship in her romantic mind.

"Akua, I'm done for the day, you can leave too if you want... but first put these files in the archives for me." Her boss requested.

She nodded her understanding and watched the couple take their leave. Her boss managed to look even less daunting with the man beside her. Oh, she totally shipped them.

They were at the car park now. Louisa stood there with her lips pursed while she inwardly shook with laughter. It was nice seeing Chris flustered for the first time.

"What do I do with my car Chris? Because, I'm not allowing you to take me home, and I need to change for dinner." She said.

Chris was so lost. The thing was, he hadn't thought that far, he had been a hundred percent sure she was going to refuse the date, thus his mind was now busy working out how to make it worth her while... to make it the perfect date so much so that he had almost no space to take something like her car into consideration.

Louisa couldn't help it. She just had to laugh. His distressed look was epic... but she wasn't that mean to keep him stranded- even though she really wanted to, so she came up with the perfect plan.

"Tell you what. I'll go home and change, then you text me the address of wherever you're planning to send me and I'll meet you there. How does that sound?" She asked as he walked her to her car.

Chris weighed his options. The way he saw it, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, he'd be a full not to take it.

"I really wanted to make it a surprise Louisa, but fine... we'll do as you've suggested." He agreed.

"Surprises are for young ladies Chris, and I am no young lady." She answered sweetly as she got into her white Range rover. She collected her laptop and jacket from him and felt flustered again at the brush of their fingers.

"See you at seven." She called out as she sped off.