Shattered Dreams Episode 9 – 10 By Nissi Adeola

Shattered Dreams Episode 9 By Nissi Adeola

Alexander felt as white as a ghost as she got to her feet with shaky legs. Belina looked similarly white as she stared at Alexa in total shock. Her facial expression was frightening and Alexa soon started crying all over again. Richard was completely in the dark and his patience soon waned out.
 
“Is someone going to tell me what the drama is about?” Richard bellowed.
 
Belina deflated and seemed to go faintly dizzy as she tried to get something to hold on to before her knees buckled. Richard quickly held her but she left his arms almost instantly to sit on a chair. Richard’s frustration and anger became more prominent and he shot Alexa a stern look that could make any daughter squirm. “If you don’t open your mouth now, I would forget that you are twenty three and give you the spanking you deserve” he yelled at Alexander who was crying profusely. Tears started rolling down Belina’s cheeks and Richard almost lost it. He started pacing in his quest to keep his temper down.
 
The news of pregnancy had both come as a surprise and a shock. It was not enough that frank came to tell her that Michael is gay, but the stunning news that Alexander had reveal by herself was the real shocker. Pregnant! Pregnant?
 
“What did I do wrong?” Belina sobbed with eyes down, not trusting herself to look at her daughter without giving in to the urge to tear her apart. “was I not a good mother? didn’t I lay good examples…”
 
“You did all that mum, I am sorry. Please forgive me dad” she cried bitterly.
 
“Forgive you for what?” Richard roared and Belina raised tears stricken eyes to Belina and her eyes burned with dark fury.
 
“Can’t you talk?” she yelled. “Open your filthy mouth and tell your father what he should forgive you for. Go on” she shouted on top of her lungs. Alexander cowered and recoiled. “You can’t? Oh no, you would definitely tell him with your mouth, not mine. Go on” she commanded, shooting to her feet like a bullet.
 
“No mum, please” Alexa said shaking but looking at her dad with fright written all over her features. Richard could not remember ever seeing Alexa this scared and seeing this made Richard even more perplexed because he could not imagine what news could be this terrible. Alexander had never been so frightened of her own dad but now, she felt like a limping ant before a dragon.
 
“What is it Alexa?”
 
The calm tone was even worse and Alexa shivered. She knew that it was always calm before a storm. She could not open her mouth.
 
“Alexander is pregnant” Belina dropped and the bomb landed. Silence reigned for a few seconds and Alexa could not bear it anymore.
 
“I am sorry dad… I am sooorry” she cried and fled to her room as fast as her legs could carry her. Even after the audible slam of Alexa’s bedroom door, Richard was still frozen. Belina collapsed on a chair and sobbed.
 
**********
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Prisca stood outside Patricia’s room and knocked softly. The door flung open and Patricia smiled. “Oh mum, you are back” she murmured as she went for a hug.
 
“Obviously” Prisca replied, smiling.
 
“Welcome mum” Patricia said and Prisca entered her daughter’s room. She was not yet used to the fact that Pat was back but she was liking the feel of having her daughter with her.
 
“How are you woman? oh… I know you would say ‘busy’” Prisca murmured with a faint smile immediately she saw the open laptop and the books on the bed.
 
Pat grinned. “You are insightful mum, actually, I am working on my assignment”
 
“Well, whatever you are doing can wait, we need to talk” Prisca said sitting and Patricia frowned. This was what she hated about home works. You always get interruptions.
 
“Can’t it wait mum?” she lamented.
 
“No, it can’t” Prisca responded and pat sat down hesitantly. “Good. Now, I am going to face the issue that you have been dodging and avoiding for a long time”
 
There we go again, Patricia thought as she braced herself for the long and boring marriage talk that she knew was coming.
 
“You are not getting younger Patricia Williams, you are twenty six now and yet, you have never mentioned the name of a man, not to talk of introducing someone that you are serious with. Your younger sister already has a guy that she wants to settle down with, how long would you keep hiding? Or is there a man but you don’t want to tell us now?”
 
Patricia sighed audibly. “Oh mum, I don’t know what to think or do with you. When I was much younger, you forbade me from having male friends, not to mention a boyfriend but now, you are pushing me to them. Are you tired of seeing me in your house? If so, I can have my own apartment, it would actually help my work.”
 
“Stop spilling trash Pat. All you think about is work. I kept you away from men because I wanted you to focus on your education and not allow men destroy your life but now that you are mature enough, you need a man in your life”
 
“What do I need a man for? Just tell me mum” Pat was dead serious now. “is it for money? Mum, I have more than enough money to last a lifetime. Is it fame? I am more famous than millions of men out there. Name it mum, what can a man give me that I don’t have already?”
 
Prisca was too stunned to speak for some seconds. “Pat, money and fame is not everything. Don’t you desire the type of relationship that I have with your dad? You may have it all but what of love or children?”
 
“Oh, forget it mum, love does not exist, at least, not anymore. Sure, you and dad are a match made from heaven and your kind of love is rare but that was back in the days. This is the twenty-first century and love has faded out of life, all that remains is lust and hatred. In a nutshell, the point I am trying to make is that I am not getting married, it is not in my agenda. If you want grand children from me, that can be easily solved, I can adopt. I also love children a lot, but marriage, no way. I would never get married mum, I don’t need it”
 
**********
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Michael paced his office and his two friends, Tunji and Eric, sat down and watched as he moved steadily from one end of the office to another. Nothing had ever affected Michael this much ever since they had known him and that mere fact was enough to give them worry also.
 
“I don’t get this: First, I noticed that ‘Tel’ is going down, secondly, Alexa comes here to accuse me of something I know nothing about; I discover that I have nude pictures floating around on net and I have been ridiculously labeled as gay. As if all that is not enough, I have to deal with Pat Williams”
 
“Now, the last one is a serious problem”
 
“Oh, that sexy trouble maker? I have been dying to see her glorious body ever since she took over Canada” Eric said and was rewarded with a glare. “What? Is she not hot?”
 
Michael deliberately decided to ignore Eric simply because he had more problems to think about. He was not going to pay attention to the fact that her body was what he had noticed first when she entered.
 
Tunji shook his head. “I had forgotten that you are always senseless at awkward times” he murmured to Eric but Michael heard none because he was too preoccupied with his thoughts.
 
“Oh, shut up, no one here is as sensible as I am”
 
“I don’t understand this. I am as alarmed as I am angry at the rude invasion of my body and privacy. Who could have pulled this stunt? And to prove what? I have searched but can’t find anyone who I offended so much to the extent that he or she would want to destroy me” Michael said, still pacing slowly.
 
“Probably you did an unprofitable business with someone” Tunji suggested.
 
“Or you jilted a girl. Only women do insane things like this” Eric said.
 
“There is no one I can pinpoint. I make sure all my business partners are satisfied and I have not done any evil to any woman. all the break-ups I have had have been mutual agreements”
 
“Except this last one” Eric chipped and Michael swallowed.
 
Michael’s door flung open and the first thought that crossed Michael’s mind was that he needed to fire his secretary because she had become so incompetent. His eyes fell on the two men that entered and he faintly saw his secretary standing agitatedly behind them.
 
“Who are you and why should you barge into my office like that?” Michael demanded.
 
Both of them removed their ID cards. “I am inspector Luke from the state police station. I have a warrant for your arrest Mr. Coker, you are needed at the station.”
 
Eric and Tunji’s eyes widened and they stood instantly but Michael did not even move an inch from the place he was standing. Michael swallowed as a chill ran through him. “On what charges?” Michael asked quietly.
 
“You would know when we get to the station. Please move sir” Inspector Luke said.
 
“Well, we were having a conversation before you people barged in so he can’t leave” Eric said.
 
The inspector regarded Eric vainly before he turned to face Michael with the door wide open. “After you sir”
 
Michael took out his phone and called his lawyer, told him all that had happened and ended the call. Only then did he leave his position and walked towards the door. Eric and Tunji were both angry and they blasted the policemen relentlessly but at the end, nothing was resolved. Michael walked boldly and confidently and the police men followed.
 
**********
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Felicia continued her assassin movie from the place she had stopped and relaxed fully on the chair with a cigarette in one hand and a glass of wine in another. It was for times like this that she really loved American movies. Sophia had already briefed her on all the happenings in Tel Communications and Felicia was extremely happy to hear that the company was going down drastically. She was waiting for the time where the company would be taken over. Seeing Alexa had been one great step. She wanted Alexander to hate Michael so much and that picture had achieved more than enough. The mere fact that Michael had not only hidden his gay status but was also married, should be enough to make Alexander want to destroy the man. She focused on her movie but was once again distracted by her phone. A message popped in and it was from Sophia. When Felicia read the message, she jumped up, unable to hide her happiness.
 
“Yippeeeee” she exclaimed and toasted herself. She drank her fill, dropped the cigarette in the ashtray and picked up her phone. She dialed the number of Michael’s cousin – John Coker. “Congratulations to you Mr. John Coker, you are now the head of ‘Tel Communications’…” she said immediately the phone was picked up. She smiled after listening to the receiver. “Yes, Michael is out now, it is time to take over Tel Communications”
 
**********
**********

Patricia  had been able to get rid of her mum after a very long argumentative time and she was finally able to go back to work. she took out her camera and went to the photos. Immediately Michael’s face popped up, she was forced to pause. It would have been better if he was not strikingly handsome. He was just breath-taking. His dark, unreadable eyes looked so full of secrets that Patricia would gladly investigate. His stubborn chin and slightly shunned face looked incredibly appealing and Pat could bet that soft women would drool over him. She hissed. Luckily, she was not one of those soft women to cower at a man’s feet.
 
Patricia destroyed her annoying thoughts and went back to work. she studied the picture critically, seeing only a man. She had stayed in Canada, long enough to know so many gay people and know how they dress and what they looked and behaved like. Unfortunately, Michael had no feature that relates with the gay personality. If anything, he looked more manly than most men. She swallowed and dropped the camera. She launched her browser again to do more findings but her phone alerted her of an incoming message. She picked up the phone, opened the message and frowned at the words she saw. “What?” she murmured. She had known that the police would intervene in this issue but she hadn’t thought that it would be this fast. This would affect her work both positively and negatively. She smiled faintly but it was gone in a heartbeat. She closed the laptop, took her phone, car keys and handbag and was out of the house in less than two minutes.

EPISODE 10
 
Richard stormed into Alexa’s room without knocking only to find it empty. “ Alexa” he roared and his voice echoed. He had never lost his temper this much before. He marched out of the room bellowing Alexa’s name several times without getting a response and Belina also joined in calling and looking for Alexa.
 
Alexa quietly closed the back door and ran on silent feet with her shoes in her hands. The sound of her parents’ voices tore at her heart but she could not go back in there. She could not bear their disappointed and hurt faces anymore. When she got to the gate, she was happy that the gateman was not outside. She opened the gate and it gave a slight squeak. Hurriedly, she sneaked out and closed the gate carefully. Satisfied, she dropped her shoes, wore them and started running. It was just a matter of time before her parents decide to check outside when they can’t find her anywhere inside and Alexa needed to be out of the estate gate before that happened. Her dad might call the estate security and she would not be allowed out. immediately she approached the gate, she slowed and walked a bit calmly.
 
She exited the gate with a sorrowful sigh, her bag balanced on her shoulders with the keys to her apartment in it. For the mean time, she decided it best to stay with Teresa for a few days. She dialed her number as she walked down the road. All the taxis that usually stayed outside the estate were all gone. When Teresa picked, she explained her predicament to her and the latter asked her to come over. After the extensive call, Alexander had walked along distance, so she stood by the road side to get a cab. A car spotted Alexa and reversed. When the car paused in front of Alexa, she saw the driver – Michael’s assistant.
 
Anita smiled. “What a surprise Alexa” she said. “It is not every day that we see celebrities like you standing by the road”
 
Alexa stuttered. “Erm… I am.. I’m on my way to see a friend and I wanted a cab instead of the stress of driving”
 
Anita sighed. “well, hop in. it can be really hectic driving in this insane state”.
 
Alexa entered and did her best to hide her pain behind a cheerful face. “Thanks” she said.
 
“I can see that you are really troubled”
 
Alexa wondered how Anita saw beneath her façade all the time. she thought for a second. “The gay news is still too much to take on”
 
“Hmmm. Why do I feel like there is something else?”
 
Alexa swallowed. She was surely not going to talk about the pregnancy with Anita. “Michael is married”
 
“What? The bastard” she looked astounded. Alexa took a deep breath and kept quiet. “Well, I am not sorry that he is suffering”
 
“What do you mean?”
 
“He was arrested today. You know it is illegal to be gay in Nigeria now, the police came today and took him away. I also think there is a takeover plan going on.”
 
This was a serious shock to Alexa. She swallowed and willed herself not to feel pity for Michael because he deserved everything he was getting for making her life miserable. But losing ‘Tel?’
 
“If I were in your shoes, I would crush him with the last drop of my blood”. She said, pounding her hand against the steering. “You would be called soon, you know you are a shareholder, you need to decide if you would support Michael or be against him”
 
**********
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it had been three days and Michael’s lawyer hadn’t been able to secure his bail. Everything seemed to be on halt as Michael stayed behind bars with all his thoughts scattered against the four walls of his cell. How had he gotten himself into this mess? He wondered. Should he come out with the truth? No! he couldn’t do that. He wondered why he couldn’t be released on bail. It was not like he was being accused of murder! He was more worried about ‘Tel’. the company was suffering seriously and he could not imagine what was going on now that he was not there.
 
A cell attendant came to open his door and took him out. Some of the policemen feared Michael, maybe because he showed no sign of fear or anxiety in his face. Michael had mastered the art of hiding his fears even in the face of death. Michael expected to see his lawyer but he was slightly surprised to see the last person he wanted to see.
 
The policeman murmured five minutes and vanished quickly.
 
“Why am I not so surprised to see you” Michael murmured.
 
Patricia smiled heavily. She had seen the policeman squirm slightly before Michael and she had wondered why Michael had so much effect on people. Seeing Michael again almost made her edgy. “You should be happy to see me” she said. “Many people don’t get to see me”
 
“And they are happier that way” Michael said, sitting.
 
She smiled tightly. “I can be your ticket out of here”
 
“And how is that?”
 
“I have connections”
 
“That I don’t have?” Michael looked amused and Pat tried very hard to hide her anger.
 
“Like I said, I have my connections. Your world is crumbling, if you want to stay here, it is up to you”
 
Michael frowned. “What does that mean?”
 
“John Coker is planning to take over ‘Tel Communications’”
 
Michael seemed to blanch as he swallowed heavily. “Who told you what?”
 
“I have done my findings, you obviously know that I don’t go by rumors” Now, Patricia did not feel the satisfaction she always felt when she surprised people. She felt a disturbing compassion for Michael’s plight.
 
“What do you want?”
 
“I need you to respond to the rumor, I want to know if you are truly gay and in return, I would get you out of here. She stated. “I see no reason why you should be running from this if you are not gay. This is the best way to end these rumors and problems, except you are enjoying it”
 
Michael ignored that. “And how would I prove this?”
 
“You should think of something”
 
Michael’s eyes travelled from her face, down to her creamy long neck, to her shoulders which was covered due to the shirt she had on. Michael caught himself in time, stopping himself from following the V-shaped opening at the front of her shirt. He returned his eyes back to hers and saw the embarrassment and fury in hers. She swallowed and looked indifferent but Michael was not fooled, he smiled knowingly.
 
The policeman came back in. “Do we have a deal?” Pat quickly asked.
 
Michael smiled and stood slowly. “Yeah. It might be worth it.”
 
**********
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Richard and Belina hadn’t been able to reach Alexa for more than three days. Every time they called her phone, it was always left unanswered. Belina stood up from the bed and stood at the window. She couldn’t believe all that had happened. She was on her way to being a grandmother! She couldn’t believe it. Not that Alexa was too young though. Richard had seemed locked up since the news was revealed. The house had been terribly silent.
 
“Heart”
 
She turned to face Richard as he woke up. “Good morning” she greeted and he smiled faintly.
 
“Come here”. She left the window for the bed. Richard kissed her head and she cuddled next to him till she was lying slightly on him with her head on his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair for several minutes in silence.
 
“I am not a good mother”
 
Richard’s hand stilled. “Don’t say that honey, you did all you could do. You are the best mum”
 
“No. If I had been, this would never have happened”
 
“Sweetheart, Alexa made a mistake, it does not mean that you are responsible for it. Something must have initiated her decisions. You were right, she should never have left this house, so I am at fault”
 
Belina raised her head. “No. It could have happened while she was here also. I need to see her Richy, I want to hear what she has to say”
 
Richard nodded.
 
**********
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five shareholders were already seated in the conference room. John’s excitement was at the peak. Michael had recently sold six percent out of his fifty percent, so it meant that Michael only had forty four shares. He had sold two first and John had hurriedly bought it. When Michael had sold four percent, John had lost it to someone else and the person was not known to him yet but that still did not matter. Even if the last unknown shareholder supported Michael, John knew that he would be on top with the support of the other shareholders. His takeover was already a reality.
 
The conference door opened and Alexander Branson entered. John instantly stood up with a polite smile on his face as he greeted her. She smiled faintly and accepted the chair he pulled out for her which was beside his own. She murmured her thanks to him and greeted  everyone. Anita entered and winked at her. John stood up to commence but the conference door opened again and everyone gaped.
 
“You weren’t going to start without me, were you dearest cousin?” Michael asked as he entered. John looked slightly pale as he stared at Michael. He had hoped that Michael would still be in police custody.
 
“Michael, I thought you were in detention”
 
Michael smiled tightly. “Well, I got out. I can see you want to take my place.”
 
“It is what is best for ‘Tel’” John said vigorously.
 
Michael’s eyes left John’s and found Alexa’s. she looked pale and he felt terribly guilty and burnt. He swallowed and went to sit down. Everyone faced the person who now stood at the entrance.
 
“Pat” Alexa spoke up in surprise for the first time. “What are you doing here?”
 
Pat walked in confidently and went to kiss Alexa’s cheeks. “I am a shareholder here” she announced, surprising majority of those seated. Tension filled the room as Patricia Williams sat down beside Alexa. For several minutes, no one spoke. Pat saw that none of the shareholders could meet Michael’s gaze and she shook her head softly.
 
John finally spoke up. “Well, since we are all here, let us get this over with so we can all leave. We need to leave our sentiments behind and vote for the best person; Michael or me” he said.
 
Michael said nothing and John quickly asked everyone to start voting. “Please vote wisely.” Anita stayed at the board on front of the conference room to accumulate the votes. Michael’s vote was the first and Anita wrote 44% for him. John’s vote followed which was 28%. Pat swallowed. Mr. Dare was called and he hastily said ‘John Coker’ without lifting his eyes. His 5% was instantly given to John who beamed. The same happened when Mr. Roberts was called, along with all the two other men in the room. John Coker had now risen to 47%. “Patricia Williams” Pat swallowed when she heard her name. She looked at Michael at the head of the table but his face was blank and she really felt for him. “Michael Coker” she murmured. Her four percent was instantly given to Michael and Michael rose to 48%. “Alexander Branson”.
 
Tension filled the air and Alexa almost suffocated. John Coker had this secret smile on his face as he waited for Alexander’s response. Her choice would make the entire difference. She swallowed and Pat took her hand and squeezed it. She gave her a faint encouraging look as everyone held their breaths. “Michael Coker”.
 
Everyone in the room gasped including Michael.

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