IN the dimly lit living room sat Amelia, the soft hum of the air conditioner the only sound breaking the heavy silence. She stared blankly at the walls, their beige monotony now seeming more oppressive than ever. The statements which Jeremy had made the other day echoed in her mind, each word a shard of glass that cut deeper with every recollection.
His words were sharp and cold, a stark contrast to the warmth and understanding she had grown accustomed to over the years.
Now, sitting alone in the aftermath, Amelia felt the weight of their fractured relationship pressing down on her. She picked up her phone, her fingers hovering over Jeremy’s contact. She wanted to reach out, to apologize, to fix what had been broken, but fear of the unknown held her back.
Instead, she wandered into the kitchen, the soft glow of the nightlight casting long shadows on the walls. She poured herself a glass of wine, hoping it would calm her racing thoughts. The first sip was bitter, much like the regret gnawing at her insides.
Amelia’s eyes welled up with tears. She had always prided herself on being strong, on not letting emotions dictate her actions. But tonight, the sorrow was too overwhelming to contain. The tears spilled over, and she let them, allowing herself to grieve for what had been lost.
She sank to the floor, the cool tiles a stark contrast to the heat of her anguish. How had things gone so wrong to the extent that Jeremy told it to their faces? The night stretched on, and with it, Amelia’s sorrow deepened.
***
Jasira’s heart pounded with a mix of anxiety and relief as she pulled up to the secluded warehouse. The early evening light cast long shadows across the ground, adding a sense of gravity to the meeting she had been both dreading and anticipating.
Jeremy had finally agreed to listen, to hear her out, and tonight was her chance to reveal everything.
She stepped out of her car and approached the entrance, her footsteps echoing in the stillness. The meeting point was his warehouse.
The warehouse, usually bustling with activity, was eerily quiet. Jeremy had arranged for privacy, understanding the gravity of the conversation they were about to have.
Inside, Jeremy stood waiting, his expression a mix of curiosity and concern. He thought he had known Jasira for months, but tonight, he was about to meet a part of her she had kept hidden, the part that had fought in the shadows to protect him.
The minute she entered the warehouse, her eyes fell on him, her man, the scent of his perfume and cologne filled her nostrils and pain nudged at her heart, as the memories of them hit her in full force.
She fought so well to take them off, she was here for serious business.
“Thank you for granting me audience,” she said, her voice steady despite the turmoil within her.
Jeremy nodded, gesturing for her to sit on a nearby bench.
“You said you had something important to tell me. I’m here to listen.”
He quickly studied her, she was still his beautiful woman, the beautiful woman he had fell in love with, but deeply hidden in her eyes, he could see pain, melancholy and sorrow. He quickly waved it off.
Taking a deep breath, Jasira began. “Jeremy, there is a lot you don’t know about me. About my past, my identity, and the dangers you have been facing without even realizing it.”
He frowned, his confusion evident. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not just Jasira, your friend and colleague. I wasn’t born into a world of violence and crime, circumstances pushed me there. You remember the story I told you about my early life?”
His eyes twitched.
“About your grsndmom and… and all that?”
She nodded.
“Yeah. They were true. Where I had told a lie was after I had ran out of the house. That night, I hadn’t ran into any tech woman, I had ran into The Mambas Organization as they operated at a bank that night, they had captured me and then took me straight to the Don, Lord Lucario, who took me as his daughter and taught me all I know about the underworld,” she said.
Jeremy’s eyes widened, but he remained silent, urging her to continue.
“And… and I have been there for years until the need to quit began nibbling at me. I have done so many terrible things, murdered people, threatened people, manipulated people, and that was how I made ends meet.”
He scoffed.
“Still the same story. You killed people Jasira, you are a murderer and a traitor -,” she lowered her gaze, “you mudered my little cousin whom I mourned for years. How am I not sure that you aren’t the one behind all the attacks I have been getting lately.”
She looked up, tears already welling down her face.
“Oh no! This is one of the things I have also come to say.”
“Well go on,” he shrugged.
“Jeremy I have been the one protecting you all these while. From Mr. Redford, from Lord Lucas, from Zach, my uncle.”
His eyes slowly widened in shock.
“What are you talking about?” He asked.
She sighed.
“Well if you can remember a long time ago at Soweto 5, you had even asked me if I was a detective, well I wasn’t, I was only a mafia queen, acting on a tip off from Tarmah, she was the person who got me involved.”
His mouth fell wide open, he was speechless.
“Then the many attacks which abruptly stopped, followed by an apology letter, it was me as well. Mr. Zach, the CEO whom had wanted to partner with your company but you refused, he was the one who involved the services of Lord Lucas, Lord of The Python Confraternity, they were the one behind the series of attacks and I made him stop it and tender an apology.
“The last straw that broke the camel’s back was when he attacked your construction site, destroying everything in there, you were so down afterwards and I felt for you, I had to intervene the little way I could, I asked him to back off”.
She paused, watching Jeremy’s reaction. His shock was palpable, but he didn’t interrupt.
“I have saved you from attacks more times than you know Jeremy. There were attempts on your life that you never even knew about because I stopped them before they could reach you. And then, there is the matter of the task. The task I was given to earn my freedom.”
She sighed deeply to let it sink in before she continued.
“After Lucas backed off your case, Zach came to my father, Lord Lucario to get the job done for him, and it happened that it was at that period that I made my decision to quit known to him, so he decided to give me the task to earn my freedom. That task was to get you do his bidding or I eliminate you at once if you refuse.”
“Huh!” Jeremy gasped, shock written all over him.
“I did what I could. I went on with the plan with them but secretly involved Nathan, your personal guard. The last day you were attacked if you could remember, was the day you were meant to die -.”
Jeremy’s expression softened, a mix of empathy and bewilderment crossing his face.
“Why are you telling me all these now?”
“Because I can’t live with the lies anymore,” Jasira said, her voice breaking. “I want to be free, truly free, and the only way to do that is to come clean. To tell you everything and hope that you can understand why I did what I did.”
The silence that followed was heavy, filled with the weight of Jasira’s revelations. Jeremy looked away, processing everything he had just heard. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet but firm.
“I don’t know what to say, Jasira. This is a lot to take in. Although I believe you. I believe that you were trying to protect me, even if it started for the wrong reasons.”
Relief flooded through Jasira, her heart lifting slightly.
“Thank you, Jeremy. I know it won’t be easy to move past this, but I needed you to know the truth.”
Jeremy nodded.
“I recalled you mentioned Mr. Redford at the start, please explain in details what exactly he did,” he said.
She sighed again.
“Well at Soweto 5, he was the one whom had texted you to meet up. He planned to get you kidnapped so he could coerce you into marrying his daughter.”
“What!” He got up.
She nodded.
“Yeah, Tarmah told me this. He also was the one who sent you a letter through your mailbox if you could remember. Mr. Redford isn’t a good man and doesn’t mean well for you,” she added.
If others weren’t that shocking well the last one was, he was so shocked, dumbfounded and speechless. Mr. Redford of all people, their so called family friend? All for what please?
“What!” He finally found his words.