Chapter 73

"Thought you had a roommate." She said.

"Oh, he didn't sleep in the house tonight. He actually went to the club." Eric replied.

"I see..." Grace murmured.

"Please, sit down." He said politely, gesturing at a plastic chair.

"Nah, I'd rather sit on the bed, that's if you don't mind." She said.

"I don't..." He answered, and she sat down, placing her teddy bear on her lap. 

He also sat on the bed but gave her some distance and they both remained quiet in the room without saying anything more. Suddenly he started to speak when she also started to speak then they both paused and she said: "You go first."

"I was actually going to say that you are very beautiful." He stammered a bit.

"Thanks..." She smiled, stroking her teddy bear. "You are not bad yourself."

"Um... it's pretty late and I'm sure that you must be tired. Let's call it a night." He rose, taking a pillow with him. "You can take the bed, I'll take the floor."

"I'll sleep on the bed two conditions." She quickly said.

"Okay...what?" He asked.

"That you share it with me and you also cuddle me."

"You sure that will be okay by you?" He skeptically asked.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Alright then." He tossed the pillow back on the bed then got on the bed. She got up, removed her robe, draped it over the backrest of the chair, sat her teddy bear on the chair then got into bed with him. He slept in while she slept out and then he molded himself against hers and put an arm around her body. They remained that way; none even attempting to close their eyes or go to sleep.

Soon, she murmured after a few minutes, hiding an amused smile. "I can feel your erection."

He immediately began to apologize and dug his hand between their bodies to adjust his erection and probably trap it between his thighs when she slowly turned around and stopped him. "No need to be ashamed or apologetic, I actually like it." She said softly to him and when he stared at her in surprise, she moved her head closer and kissed him. 

At first, he hesitated but after she kissed him two more times, he pulled her closer and captured her lips, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tight against his body as their legs tangled too. As they passionately began to kiss, caress and moan, they began to tear each other's clothes till they were completely naked on the bed. 

She moved down his body and took his manhood into her mouth and he groaned in pleasure. After pleasuring him for a while, he did the same on her to even the score and she was pleased.

They resumed kissing again and he rolled on top of her and began to explore her body. After several minutes of more foreplay, he suddenly paused and lifted his head with a start as if it was just dawning on him.

"Shit! I don't have a condom!" He cussed under his breath.

She smiled and caressed his head. "Don't worry, I can't get pregnant a second time." She said and when he gave her a puzzled look, she quickly confessed: "I'm already pregnant."

"Shit!" He cussed under his breath and started to get off her but she locked him to her body by wrapping her legs around his waist. 

"What? You have a problem screwing a pregnant woman?" She asked, sounding a bit offended now.

"No, but you should have told me from the beginning!" He said.

"What difference would it have made? Would you have found me less attractive because I don't deal with no motherfucker!"

"No, I wouldn't have found you less attractive but-"

"But what? We have come too far now for you to end this! If you want the talk about my pregnancy, I'll be more than obliged to leave no detail out but as for now, slot that stuff in."

"Are you sure about this? In fact, are you sure you are not married?" He hesitated.

"Oh, I'm not married but I have a dumbass boyfriend who introduced me to drugs and doesn't give a shit about me!" She stated. "Is that enough information for you to trust me?"

"I guess..." He murmured then moved upward again making her relax her hold on his hips then she placed her feet down on the bed as they started to kiss again. When he finally lowered his hip and guided himself into her, she moaned against his lips as if she was taking a deep breath then the gentle thrusting and lovemaking began.

                                                                                  ★★★

It's almost dawn by the time Grace left Eric's place. In order not to wake up anyone in the main house, she slowly and quietly crept up the stairs, holding her teddy bear to her chest. As she snuck into the hallway and started to head for her room, her mother's unexpected voice startled her and made her gasp.

"And where are you coming from, young lady?!" Mrs. Eweala asked in a stern voice.

Grace froze on the spot and after a few seconds of trying to compose herself, she sheepishly turned around to look at her mother. "Good morning, mum."

"That doesn't answer my question, Grace." Mrs. Eweala retorted. "The question is- where are you just coming from at this time of the day?"

"Um..." Grace stuttered as she tried to think of an answer to give. "...I went down to the kitchen for a glass of water." She lied.

"No, you didn't!" Mrs. Eweala took several steps towards her daughter. "You did not even sleep in your room all night!" She accused.

"I did not?" Grace asked in feigned surprise. "I must have been sleep-walking again." She said as an excuse.

"Oh, shut up!" Mrs. Eweala spat. "You and I know that you don't sleepwalk! I went to your room thrice and your room was practically empty!"

"You didn't see Doris?" Grace asked, trying to digress.

"No, I did not! She probably went to spend the night with her own boyfriend! Your room was very empty! Grace, where were you?!" Mrs. Eweala asked.

"Um...I... I actually..." Grace stuttered, unable to give a meaningful response.

Mrs. Eweala read the look in her eyes now and gasped. "Don't tell me it's what I'm thinking!"

"What? What are you actually thinking, mum?" Grace carefully asked, confused.

"Don't tell me that you were with that boy!" Mrs. Eweala spat with contempt.

"What boy, mum?" Grace deliberately pretended she had no idea whom her mother had guessed.

"Oh, don't play dumb with me!" Mrs. Eweala scolded. "Of course, it's the Eric guy, isn't it?! Do you think that I haven't noticed how he looks at you in the dining?! I would have warned you earlier but I never figured that it would get to this, especially this soon!" She said in dismay.

"But does it really matter?" Grace tentatively asked. "He's a nice guy, mum."

"Your mission here is to get Stephen to love you, not going around with some dimwit who probably has nothing to offer!" Mrs. Eweala snapped.

"Mum, you and I know that going after Stephen is a lost cause! He doesn't even look at me! In fact, he started avoiding me after I forced him to sleep with me!" Grace bemoaned.

"Then it means that you are not doing your best to win his affection! You have to try harder, Grace! I know that Stephen's intention is not to push you away, his ego is just bruised! You should put in more effort instead of letting yourself get distracted by that boy!"

"What about me?" Grace despairingly asked. "Doesn't what I feel matter? Doesn't what I want to also count?! Must everything be about Stephen? What about me??! Mum, I've told you severally that I do not feel anything for Stephen! I don't love him! We grew up together as best friends, fine! We were childhood pals and almost inseparable, but that's all there is to it! Besides that, I feel absolutely nothing for him!"

"You don't know what you are talking about Grace!" Mrs. Eweala hissed now. "You are just being fooled by whatever that boy is filling your head with! Can't you see that he's only playing on your intelligence and also taking advantage of your naivety?! Can't you see that he's only trying to use you until this anniversary ends which after he will suddenly vanish without a trace?! Do not stray away from the main reason why we came down to Nigeria in the first place, Grace! Do not ruin everything I have worked so hard for!"

"But mum, with Violet in the picture, I stand no chance, can't you see?"

"If that's the problem, I can assure you that you don't have to worry about her. Violet will be well-taken care of and you'll have Stephen all to yourself!" Mrs. Eweala boldly assured.

"What do you mean by well-taken of? What's going on?" Grace asked with a puzzled frown.

"Do not worry about that; just make sure you never see that boy again!"

"But mum-" Grace started to protest but was suddenly cut off.

"No buts, Grace! I mean it! Stop seeing him! He's not worth it!" Mrs. Eweala ordered.

"But how can you judge when you have not even taken out your time to know him?" Why not give him a chance first?" Grace suggested.

"I don't need to know him, Grace! He's not my target, Stephen is! STAY-AWAY-FROM-THAT-BOY!" Mrs. Eweala warned. Grace subtly glared at her mother for a moment then turned to leave when Mrs. Eweala stopped her again, "Hold on, did you have sex with him?"

Grace, stopping, rolled her eyes and partially turned to look at her mum. "I'm thirty, remember?! You have got to stop treating me like a child! I'm not thirteen anymore! That part of my life should not be your business, mum."

"Now, you listen to me and listen good! I don't care that you sold yourself so cheap by sleeping with that boy but I want you to wipe off every scent of that boy by sleeping with Stephen a second time when he gets back from the hospital!"

"No, no, no!" Grace refused. "You won't make me do such again! I am not going to force myself on him again just to please you, mum! Do not make me become like your husband! I'd rather have consensual sex with Eric than force Stephen into sleeping with me a second time! I've childhood memories with him, mum, so please do not ruin it for us than you already have!"

Mrs. Eweala approached her daughter now till there was only a small gap between them then she glared into her eyes as she said coldly. "Listen to me Grace Eweala, I don't care what memories you are trying so hard to protect, but if you know what's good for you, you'll do as I say or you can as well forget about getting your daily dose from me!" She threatened, turned and walked away before Grace could reply.

When Grace got to her room, she sat on the bed and called Eric on the phone and luckily, he was still awake. 

"Hey." She said softly into the phone.

"Hey." He replied, obviously pleased to hear her voice.

"Remember what I told you before I left?"

"Yeah."

"I'll need your help to do the right thing."

"Are you sure?" He skeptically asked.

"It's something that I should have done a long time ago. I want it done tomorrow."

"Alright, just know that I'm down for whatever you want to do." He told her.

"Thanks... Good night."

"Good night." He replied and waited for her to end the call.

                                                                                       ★★★

Mr. Michaels and his wife were seated in the living room, with Sarah. While Mr. Micheal was reading a newspaper, Mrs. Michaels was watching a Christian television program on the TV while Sarah was busy with her smartphones. Soon, Laura hurried down into the living room from upstairs and announced. "They are back!"

A moment later, Stephen, Violet, Jerry, Anne and Emmanuel opened the door and walked into the living room. After greeting the parents and exchanging pleasantries, Stephen updated them all about Susan. After that, Stephen and Violet exchanged knowing glances then Stephen cleared his throat aloud and began:

"Dad... we have good news." Stephen said, locking fingers with Violet now.

"Okay, I'm all ears." Mr. Michaels said, closed and placed his newspapers aside.

Stephen stared at Violet who was standing beside him and smiled. "We are getting married." He happily announced while his mother almost spat out the juice she was sipping.

Smiling, Mr. Michaels removed his eyeglasses now. "This is not some sort of prank you all planned on your way back home, is it now?" He asked.

"No, dad." Stephen answered. 

"You are sure that she's the one that you really want to spend the rest of your life with, son?" Mr. Michaels asked again after a slight pause.

"Never been so sure, dad." Stephen stated.

Mr. Michaels shifted his gaze to Violet now, noticing the equally happy look on her face too. "Young lady, I hope my son did not make you accept his proposal under compulsion?"

Violet smiled shyly. "Not at all, sir. We have realized that we love each other very much and will like to settle down." She said, staring into Stephen's eyes.

Mr. Stephen briefly scrutinized them then finally said: "Okay, it looks genuine, but it took you two long enough to yield... I always knew that you two felt something for each other from the very first night that we had dinner, I just wanted you two to realize the worth of each other on your own and also be able to shed off every weight of pride and hate in order to fight for that burning passion within you, and here it is! All my efforts did not go to waste after all." Mr. Michaels smiled proudly, knees crossed.

"So, Chief, you knew all along that it was eventually going to lead to this?" Mrs. Michaels who was displeased with the news, finally asked her husband. "You mean all this was just a setup?" She asked in dismay.

"I won't necessarily call it a set-up, my dear." Mr. Michaels replied his wife. "Let's just say that I only made something that was meant to happen, happen."

"But honey, you can't just do things like this, what about Grace?" Mrs. Michaels asked. "You knew all along that I have already chosen her for Stephen." 

"Well, I didn't get in your way of making Grace win our son's heart, I only played my part and gave you room to do the same, but Violet was the only one who prevailed after everything, what else were you expecting?" Asked Mr. Michaels.

"But how? Her cooking was terrible! She left the chores undone and also lacks a modest dress sense!" Said Mrs. Michaels. "Grace's cooking was great! She did all that was expected of her, why then would you approve the stripper over a decent girl like Grace? Don't you think that you are being biased?"