NFTMB)Chapter 90
Victoria
(Reunited)
Mr. Manuel returned and thankfully he has learnt his lesson from the first time and he didn’t jog or run anymore.
He simply walked. Briskly.
Instead he took his time and carefully brought whoever was looking for me to the garden.
“Ma’am, this is who is here to see you”
As I lifted up my eyes from the book to see who it was, a scream escaped from my mouth in surprise.
“Grace?!”
“Vicks!”
“Grace, is that you?!”
I got up from the mat as slowly as possible as I ran straight into her open arms.
“Grace?!”
“Yes, it’s me. Take it easy. You can hurt the baby with a run like that”
I hugged her as tight as I could and hoped that this wasn’t a dream.
“Okay. They know each other, I’ll just leave now”. I heard Mr. Manuel mutter to himself before turning on his heels and walking away while whistling.
“How I’ve missed you, Grace! I thought you left me! You and Simon I called you and Simon to meet up with me but none of you showed up. Not even you.
I was hurt. The two of you hurt my feelings a lot that day so I just stayed with Leonard instead”.
“Who’s Leonard? The same guy from back then?”.
“Yes. It is him. The same guy from before”. I said while wiping my tears.
“Ohh. We never abandoned you, babe. I would never think of doing something like that to you and Simon loved you too much to do that to you”
My eyes snapped to hers immediately as I felt hurt pierce through my very soul.
“Loved? You used the word Loved which speaks in past tense, right? So he doesn’t love me anymore?”
“Victoria, you’re glowing! And your baby is growing too”. She said happily as she rubbed my tummy and avoided my question.
“You’re avoiding the question, Grace! You’re trying to make me look stupid! Answer the question! He doesn’t want to be friends with me again, right?”
After my outburst she had a somewhat sad expression on her face before she gently wiped my tears away from my face before taking my hand in hers.
“You might want to sit down for this one, dear”
“I’m confused, Grace. Why?”
“Please just sit”. She said while she slowly guided me down to the mat.
“Thank you. Where is Simon? And I’m seated right now aren’t I? So tell me, what happened to him?”
“Victoria, Simon is dead”
No.
It can’t be.
“No! Don’t say something like that! Don’t make death jokes about someone who’s alive, Grace! That’s very bad!”
No. Simon can’t really be dead.
It’s just not possible.
“I’m not joking- I’m not joking, Victoria”. She choked out.
I gasped as I covered my mouth in shock and slid farther away from while she pulled me back by the hand.
“No! It’s not possible! Simon can’t just die like that! You’re lying!”
“I wish I was, Victoria but I’m not. You know me very well and you know I would not think of playing a prank like this on you or Simon and you know that”
Then it dawned on me that really Simon was dead and gone.
Just like the crashing waves, the wave of guilt hit me like I was a boat hit by a thousand storms.
It really hurt. It hurt a lot.
Grace pulled me into her body and whispered comforting words as she tried to stop me from crying too much to avoid affecting the baby negatively.
I don’t know for how long I cried or for how long Grace urged me to stop crying but I couldn’t.
It felt like my tears were unending. It never ceased.
After a very long time when I was sure my eyes were puffy and my nose was red, did I have the courage to ask the question I’m sure she has been expecting from me for a long time now.
“Grace?”
“Yes?”
“How did hehow did Simon die?”. I asked her while wiping my nose.
“Victoria, he met me with an accident on his way back from work”
“Oh no”
I covered my mouth with my hands as I felt the surge of sadness and hurt overpower my system again.
“How?! How did that happen?!”
“You know Simon was suddenly laid off at work with no meaningful reason, right?”
I nodded in response because I can remember the time when I had just found out that I was going to have a baby and he was really mean to me because he was going through a rough patch and he didn’t know how to cope with the issue.
“Yes, I remember.”
“So, it happens he found another job at another place much farther than the previous place of work. The pay wasn’t even as good as his first job but he had to learn to manage and adapt.
The whole thing was frustrating him but I always encouraged him to go on but looking back, maybe I shouldn’t have done that”
“No, it’s not your fault, Grace. You didn’t know that this would happen. Don’t blame yourself, please”
“One day he sent me a text asking about you and how your baby daddy was treating you so I told him that I don’t know and he was like maybe when he’s free by the weekend then we can both trace you down to this place and come see you”.
“Ohh. So he didn’t get my text?”
She slowly shook her head in a negative motion as her eyes were glassy and sad.
“He never got it because he died that day. That night on his way back from work a car rammed into him and he didn’t make it.
I couldn’t contact you and neither did I know that you sent a text because I was in shock that night after receiving the call that I don’t remember where I dropped my purse and everything.
I literally just ran off to the hospital I was informed he was being treated at. I’m sorry, Victoria. I would never ignore you like that and you know that deep down”.
“Oh my God!”
Fresh streams of tears poured down from my eyes as I couldn’t believe the horrible fate that Simon had to face.
I like such a bad person. A very horrible person.
And for that. I cried.
I cried into Grace’s body like a child who had been beaten by an adult for asking for extra candy.
It hurt me that while I was playing the game of cat and rat with Alessandro that Simon was having a hard time and maybe was even breathing his last.
I felt sick to my stomach. I felt like throwing up.
And that’s exactly what I did.
I threw up in the garden. This is all too much news to bear.
“Calm yourself, Victoria. You’re pregnant. Never forget that.”
“I can’t believe this!”
“Stop hurting yourself, Victoria. He’s at peace now and Simon would never want you to feel bad or sad because of him. He’s in a better place now, Victoria”
I honestly can not believe that Simon is gone.
My Friend, Simon is no longer alive.
My only close male friend who I have known for almost all my life and who I formed a bond that not even marriage or personal relationships could break. Our friendship is solid. Very solid. We were close knit friends and good pals.
But now, just like that he is gone. It is too hard and too painful for me.
It is too difficult for me to take in. It felt like a bitter pill that I can’t just swallow and keep down.
It hurt and it hurt a lot more than when my dad died. It even hurt me more than when my mom left me
It hurt even more than when I was forced to marry Alessandro. This one hurt me real bad.
“I feel so bad, Grace.”
“I feel the same too”
“Why didn’t you both try to reach out to me a long time ago? Alessandro hardly let’s me leave the house else I would have come look for the two of you myself”
“Everything was a mess, Victoria. We thought that maybe you didn’t want to communicate with us anymore after your now husband brought you here. It’s pretty difficult for people like me to make it into places like this and you know that”
“Still! You should have tried! You should have screamed! You should have thrown stones at the gate and and even used a microphone! Anything, Grace! Anything! You left me! You left me alone to suffer! It isn’t fair! We’re best friends, right? Best friends stick up for each other! That’s what we promised each other”
“I came.”
“What?”
I don’t understand what she’s saying right now.
Did Grace just say she came to look for me? If she did then why didn’t I meet her? Why didn’t I see her? Why was I not told that someone came to seek for me? Why was I kept in the dark?
Who is lying to me here? Whose fault is this? Who did this?
Grace hardly lies to me and will never lie to me. Someone in this house doesn’t want me to meet my friends.
Was it Alessandro?
“I’ve been here twice. And those two times I’ve been here? I’ve never be let in to see you. The first I was told you were ill and wouldn’t be attending to guests as instructed by your husband then yesterday I was here too”
Alessandro. This wicked man. I thought we had an understanding now.
“Alessandro kept you away from me? He told you I was ill and wouldn’t be entertaining any guests? When? When was I ill? I haven’t been ill for the longest time so when exactly did this happen?”
“That was around two or three months ago. I had just decided to try my luck. That was why Simon wanted to come with me. He was planning on creating a scene at the gate until your husband releases you to us”
I laughed and cried.
I laughed because I would have loved to see a face off between Alessandro and Simon. That would have been funny.
“But I wasn’t sick then. I was fine. I haven’t been sick for some time. Why would he do that to one?”
Because he’s a masterclass asshole. My inner thoughts said.
“I have no idea why but I just had to leave every time I was told you weren’t available. But last night I was passing through the area to drop off something for my boss and I saw a whole lot of cars around and I guessed the party might have been here at your place and I was right.
I was very scared, Victoria.
I thought that you had given birth and he was throwing a party for the celebration. I was scared that I had missed out on such an important moment of your life.
I sprinted to your gate only to meet the same man there as he told me that people like me weren’t allowed here, that there was no Victoria inside and that you said you were going to press charges at me if I return to the gate”
“What?! Why would he say that?! That’s a lie! I never said anything like that!”
“And that’s why I’m here. Somehow I knew it was a lie. I knew you would never say and do that to me and that’s why I camped around the bushes outside and waited till he wasn’t seen outside at the gate. I approached the kind gateman and narrated everything to him and he asked me to wait while he goes to get a response from you. Bless him. I was nervous and praying that that man wouldn’t pop out and chase me away from the premises. Luckily it seems like he isn’t around”
I couldn’t believe my ears.
“You slept outside the gate for me?”
“Yes. I told myself that I would only give up on you. If you tell me to my face that you don’t want to be friends anymore then I’d take it. One mean man isn’t going to keep me away from my best friend”.
I hugged her tight as I was overwhelmed by emotions.
“But why would Alessandro try to stop you from seeing me?”
“I have no idea but that mean man who chased me away deserves a good beating”.
“Mean man? Isn’t it Alessandro that told you to leave?”
“No, I don’t know if the order came from him directly but he wasn’t the one who was driving me away. It was another man”
“What man?”. I asked in absolute confusion.
“I don’t know him or his name”. She said while shrugging.
“Can you give a brief description of–”
“Actually, Victoria look over there. That’s him”
What?!