The Moment I Met You (Chapter 390)

 

By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu

Since Chisom didn’t want to speak, Michael didn’t force her.

          

Meanwhile, Chioma’s tears didn’t seem to stop flowing as the bus made its way to Lagos. Leaning her head against the window, the scene of her first meeting with Michael came playing in her mind. It was the wind that had led her to him. She would never forget his beautiful face,   his elegance, his mesmerising voice and his sweet fragrance. He was breathtakingly handsome. The image of that scene seemed to have been deeply imprinted in her mind as she could never forget it. Every time she recalled that scene she could not help but smile- because that was the very day her life changed for good. But now, thinking that she had hurt him and also hurt herself, she felt her heart tearing in pain.

                                        

  Michael did not ask Chisom more questions. Instead, he stood up slowly, took his phone and started out. If he hadn’t love Chioma too deeply, he might not have felt any pain right now.                                                   

Thinking about Chioma leaving him, he felt that today was the worst day of his life. He had been so busy that he didn’t realise what was happening behind him. If he was told about this, he would have stopped her from leaving. He couldn’t do without her; he could feel it deeply in his heart.                                                                                                    

Michael drove around Abuja city, praying to get a glimpse of her. As he drove the streets of Abuja, he kept glancing around at the dark sky which was lit up by the glowing streetlights that showed off the busy hustle of the city. He wished that Chioma was among these people. He wanted to see her and give her a big hug. She wasn’t anywhere around here, and under the flickering neon lights not even her shadow was seen.

  Turning left, he travelled for almost an hour before Michael remembered that it was almost late and Chioma would never be out alone so late at night. Driving on a little farther, Michael stopped his car on the side of the road and pulled out his phone and dialed a number. 

 ‘Izunna Anthony, I don’t care what method you use! I want you to organise your men to search every corner of Abuja, by tonight. You must find her! Do you understand?’                                                                

‘Yes, Sir.’ That was the Inspector General of police who received the instruction. Even if he was annoyed at Michael ordering him like a child, he still knew that he could do nothing except to obey him. After, the Njemanze family was the reason he became the inspector General of police. He would never and should never forget that.                                     

Michael made countless of calls as well as sending people to investigate the reason why Chioma had left Abuja city with her family. He wanted to know if she had left the city already, and to where was she headed.                                                                                                              

After the calls, he turned homeward. Reaching home, he made his way to their water fountain as the night wind whistled. The weather was cold, but Michael didn’t feel cold. He was desperate to find Chioma and so no amount of cold affected him.                                      

There were coins in his hands, Audrey had gifted them to him in one of his birthdays with the reason that wishes were granted when coins were tossed into the fountain.                                                                           

With tears in his eyes, he kept on tossing the coins into the water fountain, making one wish after another. Squatting by the fountain, he murmured something before tossing the last coin into the water. He quietly watched the water ripple. When the water finally became still, he reached for his phone and dialed Chioma’s number but it wasn’t reachable. He knew that she had blocked him, but he still wanted to try and speak to her. He was eager to hear her voice, eager to kneel before her and beg her to return to him. As long as he could have her back, he was willing to do anything.                                                                                               

At this moment, Michael’s phone rang. Anticipation filled his heart uncontrollably. Though he knew that she had blocked him, but he still wished for her to call him, even if she had to do it with another line. However, upon answering the call, he was disappointed.                               

  It was a call from one of the investigators he had asked to find Chioma. Michael’s handsome face seemed as cold as ice as he spoke to one of the private investigators on the phone.                                         

‘Sir, we have searched the neighbouring states schedules shuttles, but we didn’t find Chioma’s name on them.’                                                           

‘Does that mean she is still somewhere here? Are you trying to tell me that Chioma would lie about leaving the city?’                                              

  ‘Sir, there is every possibility that she hasn’t left already or maybe she could have left Abuja on a taxi belonging to a friend...’                                

‘Shut Up!’ Michael hung up.                                                                             

What was more crucial was finding Chioma. But then, his mind raced to different thoughts. What if the person that compelled her to do this booked a fight for her instead of letting her board a bus? Unless she took a flight, if she left to a far away state in a bus, then she must still be on the road. Michael could not be bothered with useless details; all he wanted was to find her. So he used all of his connections, getting in touch with the powerful people from the government, business magnet that had connections as well, hiring more private investigators to find her. He rang the media announcing for a huge ransom should anyone find her. Chioma was his jewel, so he would do anything to find his woman.                                                                                 

Looking exhausted, he sighed deeply, then stood up. Turning around he saw Audrey standing in front of her, dressed in a floral Dior dress. She paired the breezy dress with nude wedges.                                            

‘Audrey, what are you doing here?’                                                                 

Audrey twitched the corner of her mouth. She had wanted to smile, but then she simply couldn’t force a smile. Staring at him, she gently said, ‘It’s okay to worry about her. I know how much you would be worried, and I know that those coins that I gave to you to make wishes anytime you desperately needed something…will be useful today.’                                                      

 ‘Did you come here to remind me that?’                                                        

Audrey looked up at the night sky and Michael joined her to look at the night sky. After a moment of silence, she said as she slowly turned her head, looking at him, ‘I came here because you will need someone to talk to. Felix had gone crazy searching all over for her…I am worried about her too. Honestly, I don’t know why she left you but I could feel deep down that she was forced to end things with you.’                    

‘What if she had not really left Abuja? Perhaps, she is waiting in some corner waiting for me to find her?’Michael took a deep breath, calming the emotions in him that was about to explode. He wanted to believe that Chioma was hiding somewhere in some corner and hadn’t left the city. He wanted to believe that she was safe from harm’s way.               

‘She has truly left the city,’Audrey said after a thought. ‘It must have been far away. When I called Chisom to know what truly happened. She glossed over the details and didn’t give much information. Sensing that she was reluctant to talk about it, I didn’t press her.’ There was a light pause before she added; ‘If she had left for Lagos, that means she is still on the road. The time taken to travel by road from Abuja to Lagos is about 9-12 hours. I googled it,’ she sighed.                  

‘But why Lagos,’ Michael murmured.                                                              

‘Maybe because Lagos is known to be no man’s land… due to the capacity of diverse cultures that are firmly rooted in it… It’s possible that she wants to hide among those people and start afresh with her life.’                                                                                                                                   

‘How could she start afresh without me?’He turned his face away and said, ‘Audrey, I love Chioma so much…She is the only woman that I have ever loved but now she is gone...’ He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and continued, ‘I want her by my side…’                                               

He was naturally breathtaking, and smiling like he did now made him even more charming. Audrey was captivated by her couisin’s handsomeness; she could feel that amidst the soft smile on his face, he was in sorrow. He wanted to shed tears, but he tried his best to conceal the threatening tears. She had always known Michael to be a strong man, but seeing that he was in deep pain, she couldn’t help but worry about him.                

‘She will always be yours. I am sure that you will find her soon,’ she paused. ‘I know that I had really wanted Chioma for Felix, but seeing that destiny had already created a special bond for you and Chioma, I could only wish that Felix finds someone that will love him, and that you become very happy with Chioma. All that I wish is for you to be happy. If only I could just place the whole world in front of you to make you happy.’                                                                                                       

Hearing what she said, Michael turned to look at her with a soft smile, ‘You are my sister, and your presence here makes me happy.’ He reached out his arms, and gave her a big hug.                                                   

‘I hope that you find Chioma soon,’Audrey whispered to him.