Chapter 10

Never stop hoping.

It has been 3 months since Naomi left home. Even if no one talks about her openly, Emily was worried sick for her child. All she could do was pray for her to be safe. As for Adam, it is hard to tell if he misses his Naymi.

But one person was broken and lost.

Ever since Naomi left, Dave has been soaking himself in liquor. Life became a routine of work, gym, and liquor. If he had known that he loved her this much then he would never have let her go. His life has become meaningless.

Edward his father, was worried about his son. He tried hooking him up with some ladies but it didn't work. All Dave wanted was his Debby. He began searching for her but how was he to find someone who has taken another identity?

Dave was not just tackling Naomi's where

about, he was also being blackmailed. It happened that Dave has gone to a party with his friend some weeks before he met Naomi.

He had drunk too much and his friends spiked his drink. It was a harmless plan to get him laid. But Dave was aggressive and lost control of himself. When he went to take a nap in one of the rooms in the clubhouse, he met a woman who was also drunk. One thing led to another and he raped her. Though the woman was drunk too, Dave did not consider her and took advantage of the woman.

When he woke up he was scared of being charged with rape so he ran away.

Yes, it was not his fault but the fact that he ran away made him guilty as charged.

Now someone was blackmailing him, threatening to release the pictures of the incident. Dave suspected that it could be his friends or any of the attendants from the clubhouse. Dave could not help but think about Naomi. Maybe this was her story too.

Dave never saw the connection between him being the one that raped her or Naomi being the woman in that room.

Well, Naomi was the victim that night. Fate is cruel. There is a saying that says, never throw stones in a marketplace because you might stone one of your own.

Oblivious of this, Dave kept searching for the blackmailer and also the woman from that night. He wanted to apologize and take responsibility if the woman ended up pregnant. Unknown to him that he was searching for the same person, Naomi.

In a restaurant, far from home, Naomi was doing the dishes. Being 5 months pregnant and working from 6 am to 8 pm was not pleasant for Naomi and her baby. Some days when she felt weak but still had to go to work, Madam Taste and See will nag and complain none stop. She would have sacked Naomi but none of her girls was honest as Naomi. Naomi was hardworking but the pregnancy was taking so much energy from her.

Eric, a doctor on fieldwork, and Buhse ( the street where Naomi was staying) were among the places he was working. Eric usually goes to Madam Taste and See to eat and relax. He met Naomi there and liked her but when he noticed she was pregnant, he kept hiding his feeling. He guessed she might be a wife to one of the street hustlers.

So that he came to eat as usual. Naomi was having one of her weak days and Madam Taste and See were shouting that she should hurry up.

" Madam take am easy na, you know say she carry belle," the costumers said.

" Na me say make she go carry belle. Abeg I dey pay her so she must work" Madam Taste and say said eyeing Naomi.

Eric looked at Naomi and how pale she looked gave him concern but he still reminded himself that she was someone's wife.

Naomi was unwell and she felt dizzy. So when she was taking the food a customer ordered to their table. Her vision blacked out and she fainted. But Eric was fast enough to catch her before she gets to the ground. That was when he noticed she was burning with a fever. Eric's heart was moved toward her. Madam Taste and See panicked. Naomi did tell her that she was sick but she brushed it off with the belief that pregnant women are always unwell and weak. She didn't expect it to be serious which made her mainland needed

"Where is her husband? " Eric asked carrying her.

" Husband? I no hear them say she get a husband oo" Madam Taste and See said still shaking.

" So she didn't have a husband?" Eric said taking her to his car. The girl in his arms looked pale and he suspected that she might be shot with blood. She was also underweight for a pregnant woman.

" Take us to the nearest hospital," he told he told his driver. He checked her pulse and that of her baby. He could hear the baby's heartbeat but it was as faint as his mother's. Seems she was having a complicated pregnancy. He poured water on her head and gave her a drip. Her condition was severe. He prayed they make it to the hospital on time.